HGV speed limits! Poll

[Richard Grosvenor]

Now I don't know if you know, but the speed limits for LGV/HGV's on a main single carriage way road is only 40mph. Now this is dangerous as it causes huge tail-backs with car drivers taking massive risks to overtake trucks and no doubt getting very angry at the "stupid, ignorant truck driver who is stopping them getting where they want to be!"

Now we don't want to be stuck at 40mph either, but with tacho's recording everything there's not a lot we can do about it.

 

 

But....even though it won't do any good ..... there is a petition on 10 Downing Street's site asking for it to be raised to 50mph. It would be nice :-)

 

 

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/HGV-increase-MPH/

 

Regards

Richard

[ArtistsRifles]

OK -signed it mate. But thus far I've not heard of a single one of these petitions succeeding.

Seen a lot of double-talk and gobbldy-gook served up as reasons why not though....

 

Won't go any further as the infamous "P" word will rear it's ugly head.... :shake:

[6 X 6]

40 mph ? I'm hourly paid, suits me.

[radiomike7]

40 mph ? I'm hourly paid, suits me.

 

Couldn't have put it better myself 6 x 6. Trucks are for delivering goods not for tearing round the countryside and terrorising old ladies.

[radiomike7]

And from the petition creator:

 

"The current law states that all HGV's must travel at 10mph below the spead limit of cars on main roads"

 

On planet Zog perhaps, in the UK the speed limit for cars on a single carriageway is 60 unless a lower limit applies. On dual carriageways the figures are 70 for cars and 50 for trucks.

[6 X 6]

In a slightly more considered post, what I would say is that any HGV driver who feels under pressure to exceed the existing speed limits, for whatever reason, including being over sensitive about the real, or imagined, feelings of motorists held up in a queue behind them, isn't really being very professional in their attitude. If I see a small queue stuck behind me, I think, well, they might all arrive a few minutes late but at least they'll get there safely. If a long queue builds up I'll pull over when I'm able to and let them pass. A lot of drivers do this, and in some countries, is it the USA ? it's the law to do so.

 

The question I would really like to ask you, Richard, is this....do you really think that running at 50 mph would stop, or even reduce, the number of w**kers who think nothing of jeopardizing their own, and other peoples, lives through reckless overtaking ? I don't.

 

One last thing, have you tried stopping 44 tons at 40 mph even on a dry road ? Situations can develop very quickly on A and B roads and for that reason I shall be sticking with 40 mph even if your petition is successful. I'd prefer always to be making late deliveries than have to face the mother of some dead child in a coroner's court.

 

PS. When are we going to see some 'photos of your gorgeous Milly Gun Tractor ?

[Guest catweazle (Banned Member)]

Its a shame we cant get back on the railways for the long distance stuff,just think of all those scammells running around the depots again.Lovely.

[Tony B]

Couldn't have put it better myself 6 x 6. Trucks are for delivering goods not for tearing round the countryside and terrorising old ladies.

At the risk of upsetting the Mod's it would be nice to see some very definite control on some of the driver's coming into this country from the new members of the EEC. especially tipper drivers. As you say paid by the hour, great ! Piece work can lead to a 'Lack of proffesional standards'. One of my lifes ambitions is to avaoid giving evedience in a cororner's court.

[Richard Grosvenor]

Personally, I genuinely believe that 40mph on a main single carriage trunk road is too slow for today's traffic and vehicles. I'm not thinking for a minute that it's safe to tear through built up areas at 50mph. I'm on about major trunk roads, round here we have the A47, A17, A52 to name just a few that all have long stretches where it is completely safe to run at 45-50mph, but we can't. Most of my driving tends to be for Tesco who are very hot on speeding and allow plenty of time for deliveries but even so huge ques build up behind us. Only last Thursday night someone nearly killed themselves trying to overtake, I was on the A47, 40mph, another lorry in front of me, double white lines, car coming the other way and the prat behind pulls out! And then he nearly hits the trailer pulling back in!

One thing I really would like is for the 40mph limit to be more known about, not only by car drivers but also other LGV drivers, I've lost count of the times I've been hounded by other trucks! On the back of my Magnum I've had a sign done stating the speed limits, which helps a bit.

 

While we're on about speed limits does anyone know what the speed limit is for a transit sized van on a main single carriageway road? It might surprise some people.

 

Regards

Richard

 

Ps. Photos of Mally will be about shortly. I am seriously thinking of selling her as I just don't have the time to do much with any of my vehicles. If anyone is interested get in touch

[radiomike7]

While we're on about speed limits does anyone know what the speed limit is for a transit sized van on a main single carriageway road? It might surprise some people.

 

50 for a Transit/Sprinter >2tons, 60 for Escort/Astra etc.

 

Now where are those pics of Mally? One of my favourite MVs.

[Richard Grosvenor]

I forgot this,

 

Tesco say they have trackers on their units and trailers so they can see where you are and what speed your doing. Now I never really believed this until a few weeks ago. I drive for a sub-contractor so I use his units with Tescos trailers. This one night it was very windy and when one of the other drivers stopped for his break the air suspended cab on his truck was really rocking about so he thought it was a lot rougher than it really was. A while latter the boss got a phone call from the Distribution Center asking if that driver was alright because they'd been watching him and he was only doing 30mph on the A14!

 

Mind you, both him and me hit fallen trees that night, I got away with no damage ( luckily as the boss was behind me at the time ) but the other chap did £700 worth of damage to his unit!

 

Regards

Richard

[ArtistsRifles]

And when was the last time you saw white van man in his rusty old transit doing less than 70 on such a road???

[6 X 6]

Richard, you make some good points in your last post about speed limits and I would be the first to agree this is not a black and white issue.

 

The thing that I have a problem with on motorways are motorists who, on seeing they're being overtaken by a lorry, speed up. You then drop back in behind them only for them to slow down again. You pull out to overtake again, and they speed up again, and so on and so on sometimes for miles. I'm sure you've experienced this many, many times. Can be very tiresome, to put it politely. I have developed a technique for ending this pattern but I think I'd better not describe it in such a public place as this forum.

 

Some tracker systems, I would call them surveillance systems, can even tell the traffic office which gear your in. I'm not kidding that's true.

 

Your Magnum looks pretty cool by the way.

[younggun]

interesting to see wot peoples views are the subject my veiw is that hgv speed limits could be increasesd on certain roads but rearly the root of the problem lies with the genral public not knowing the rules of the road .. fog lights with no fog ! hogging the middle lane ! overtakeing on double wite lines and chevrons ! and not giving way to traffic couming up a hill ! simple road rules wich seem to have been forgoton . standards of driving are poor especialy on moterways now ther is not as much policeing on them these days . i work as an abnormal load escort driver and to be honest the thort of lorries couming at me head on at 50 scares me sligtly

:shake: and not many people understand that abnormal loads have different speed limits . STGO cat2 (80tons) 40 mph moterway 35 mph duel carrige way and 30 mph single and now the big boys STGOcat 3 (up to 150 tons ) 30 mph moterway 25 dule carrige way and 20 mph single carrige way . but we try to go faster if be deem it SAFE to do so .

[radiomike7]

Younggun you have my utmost respect for doing what must be a very difficult job, trying to think one step ahead of the load and annoying motorists who cannot be bothered to work out why you have blocked a lane to prevent them from overtaking.

 

Fog lights with no fog? My pet hate and I have never understood why so many truck drivers do it. My eyes are 10 feet off the ground yet I still get dazzled by some front fogs, particularly if the road is wet. What do they keep in reserve for when it is foggy, or do they then go in to stealth mode and drive on sidelights only?

 

On the 40/50 debate, it must be remembered that speed limits are not just in place to prevent crashes, but to mitigate the consequences. For instance a vehicle travelling at 50 has the kinetic energy to cause 1.56 x the damage than it would at 40, or to put it more simply, if it hits a wall at 40 and knocks 1600 bricks out, the number at 50 would be 2500. Energy is proportional to the square of the velocity.

[younggun]

thanks radiomike7 it is a hard job made harder by people not thinking and being inpaciant . near miss inccedents happen on a daily basis and sadly to say the worst offenders are other lory drivers and suit and tie offce bods

dosent help that when the police stoped escorting abnormals that they did not anounce that escorting was now becouming privite i still get people shouting U SHOULD HAVE THE POLICE ..

as for the fog lights totaly unnessasery and a nother populer thing these days displaying a blue light to a front of a vheical but no one seems to take notice of that neither

[antarmike]

As has been said if you are running under Special Types, General Orders the limits are lower still, the Legal limit for an Antar is 20 M.P.H. normal roads, 25 M.P.H. on dual carraige ways and 30 on Motorways,

 

But if anyone has a Militant or a Scammel Explorer taxed as a mobile crane. These fall under engineering plant, and are subject to a 12 MPH limit

[Guest catweazle (Banned Member)]

. Energy is proportional to the square of the velocity.

I agree but you havnt taken into account the group theoretical constructions of mutually unbiased bases in hilbert spaces of prime dimensions.:-D

[Richard Grosvenor]

Your Magnum looks pretty cool by the way.

 

 

Why thank you. I quite like it. It's completely a toy and not used for work at all. People just think I'm a bit eccentric!

 

I know what you mean about the standard of driving from other road users. And it's not always from car drivers! Other lorry drivers can be very inconsiderate at times. I've only held my artic licence for just under 2yrs and only drive part time but am often surprised at how bad some drivers are. I'll often have lorries speed up when I'm over-taking on a dual carriage way or motorway. And I don't know why! If I'm on a motorway I set the cruise control to 55mph sit there quite happily bopping away to the radio and if a lorry tries to overtake and is struggling I just drop it back a couple of clicks

and let them past . But I'm sure there are plenty of drivers who think that their mirrors are only to be used when they're reversing!

 

You do see some funny sights on the road though don't you. I'll always remember one night coming along the A14 which was empty except for me and another lorry a good distance in front of me. Then this little old Escort comes chugging by be all loaded up, just as it passes the lorry in front it suddenly brakes and shoots up a slip road, the lorry swerves into the outside lane but as I start to think what a prat I start hitting debris! There's shoes and knickers and stuff all over the road because this little Escort was so loaded up that the tail-gate catch just gave up the fight! The look on the coulpes faces! :-)

 

Regards

Richard

Edited May 15, 2008 by Richard Grosvenor
pressed the submit button not review!

[Tony B]

Richard, you like me are UK trained!! Hopefully by proffesionals with saftey first last and always beaten in to you with a very large hammer! Unfortunatley and quite rightly you and as proffesionals consider the skills we worked hard to aquire, the responsobility we have to others and the sheer work, to be worth a decent rate of pay. However , and here goes a Mod upset agin, drivers from other EEC countries will work for less money, their licnce is recognised yet the standard is no way as high as ours. Very close to me a major tipping contract is going on, this entails vehicles of 16 ton coming through a reidential etstate and along country lanes On the first day of tipping the Police recived so many complaints in the first 4 hours of dangerous driving the shut the whole operation down. As the contract 'to build a nature reserve' is worth about £4,000,000 to the local council, route restrictions were put in 'in the intrests of saftey'. The other day I tried to get out in my car, couldn't 8 fully loaded tippers were parked wheels on pavement outside a local cafe blocking the road. Not one driver spoke english. I phoned council and Police and raised hell. The local Police tryed to get things sorted but all the drivers just gabbled on and nothing was understood (yeah right!) The council guy huffed and puffed and said he was goin to contact the contractors to get the pavement re instated, Actual saftey improvements %%%%%%%% all. and its due to last another 9 momths.

[younggun]

is it just me or had eny one else noticed the reocuring pattern with moterway accidents .... miles of tail backs to find a loan car sat on the hard soulder with normaly a big dent in one side and then u notice couple of hunred yards ahead ther be jhony foreighner missing his passenger side step :nono: british lorries goin overseas holland germany ect have to buy road tax for the relavant country of visit and for the duration of stay humm dont see a sytem like that here

[Tony B]

In Europe it seems that they take a lot harder view of HGV. No cruise control allowed, stick to the 'inside' lane. distance cheverons. About time we adopted some.