Quote taken from another forum , are so called professional driver’s now using abnormal load ■■■■■■ vehicles as target practise ?
Seems as 4yrs on and more ■■■■■■ Vehicles are on the road ,truck drivers are using them as target practise in last 4yr’s at least 15 vehicles have been written off, All have been hit from behind by So called professional drivers, I was just wondering what seems to be the problem ■■? 
I’ve never seen or heard about these problems before. Do you have any links to newspapers / news, etc regarding this?
I’ve not seen anything about this either 
Here is a link to another forum gallery
abnormalescortforum.com/gall … &pic_id=68
abnormalescortforum.com/gall … &pic_id=66
abnormalescortforum.com/gall … p?start=45
z6.invisionfree.com/abnormalesco … owtopic=83
flickr.com/photos/abnormal_l … 198454266/
This is a worrying trend starting here , We know that it can be frustrating sitting behind an abload and you cant get past it .As you they have a load to deliver and the ■■■■■■ is there for yours and his protection , but trying to side swipe the ■■■■■■ van when you can get past is just plain dangerous. Ive seen trucks coming past loads and cutting in on the load that quick forcing the load onto hard shoulder , Trucks over taking loads on hard shoulder , seen cars doing it via laybys (A50) just to get past. Now the last link is called sod the law this is mainly car drivers but we have a So called Professional driver as well .Funny how nobody did it when the police escorted 
never heard anythng about this subject being mentioned before… 
, and considering the diverse range of members on here in various professions including people on here that drive STGO’s.
I think it would be a suprise if this was a regular occurance that no one had mentioned this on here before
May be that stobby driver is on this very forum… 
I think it would be a suprise if this was a regular occurance that no one had mentioned this on here before
Yes it is and who is going to freely admit they tried to side swipe and ■■■■■■ vehicle for a laugh or sat 3feet from the rear of a van just because they could get past , its getting so bad that a lot of ■■■■■■ drivers are fitting video cameras to there vehicles , , Couple months ago i had very nasty exp with a red cabbed, white powder cement tanker driver i was on 3 lane motorway in the dark with wideload broke down in lanes 1&2 i had van parked hardshoulder with mainbeam on load lighting it up so it could be seen i also had cones with flashing amber lights on coming from hard shoulder out to 2nd lane and i was standing in lane one , waving everyone into 3rd lane and everyone went no hassle then this truck appeared i know he seen me he put on his main beam move out to lane 2 then came back in and drove his truck at me demolished all my cones and lights and sped off into the night i contacted the company they got the drive he said he didnt my word against him 
And thats only on Motorway s
Now on single carriageways things are starting to get dodgy , for instance A66 around Warcop coming from Penrith with a Cat 777d dumptruck at around 18ft wide now theres 4ft of that load in other carriageway ■■■■■■ in front waving everyone over to the left (its like a domino affect one goes over they all go ) now we are getting the truck driver that change,s his postion from left to the white line in the middle , which in turn means that everyone behind him does the same thinking theres something on side of the road then as he see us he’s hard on the brake moving back to the left and everyone behind him is stuck in middle road cant move to the side . Now its not Rocket Science that when you see an ■■■■■■ vehicle coming towards you waving you over , theres something bigger the you coming for you to slow down try to get out way . …Yes we know everyones in a hurry keeping to timetable have to get there , But altho he might stop you and hold you up for 1minute isnt that better than you charging past him then hitting what hes escorting and spending the next few hour trying to figure where you went wrong 
and totally missing you tip time 
Slightly off topic,
BUT anyone using the M25 between M4 and A12 tomoz night after 19:00, look out cos our firm is moving 3 cement silos each running at 14,6 wide.
They will then be running up the A12 to jct 27 colchester on Wednesday morning. 
Just my little bit of advance warning for you …
trophyblue:
the ■■■■■■ is there for yours and his protection ,Any ■■■■■■ vehicle is there for the public’s protection not to protect the load I.e to warn other road users that there is a wide or abnormal load.
Now I dont know the regs on this but do ■■■■■■ drivers have to take a course on the correct way for escorting such loads or can anyone drive such vehicles
secondly as I understand the ■■■■■■ vehicle has no authority to stop any traffic or direct said traffic that would be the responsability of the highways or police.
nick2008:
trophyblue:
the ■■■■■■ is there for yours and his protection ,Any ■■■■■■ vehicle is there for the public’s protection not to protect the load I.e to warn other road users that there is a wide or abnormal load.
Now I dont know the regs on this but do ■■■■■■ drivers have to take a course on the correct way for escorting such loads or can anyone drive such vehicles
secondly as I understand the ■■■■■■ vehicle has no authority to stop any traffic or direct said traffic that would be the responsability of the highways or police.
Well I would say that the ■■■■■■ vehicle is there for the protection of the Public and that of the Load as both are on the road, so by looking after the public, he would surely be protecting the Load too
As for stopping Traffic, If an abnormal Load has to travel on public roads then the relevant police forces along the route have to be notified to give authorisation of the route intended. If they deem it unsafe they will advise of a different route and or ensure that you obtain the services of an ■■■■■■ Vehicle.
We have our own ■■■■■■ vehicles, namely 1 van and 1 L200 pick-up which are marked up and fitted with lights etc as and when the services of ■■■■■■ are required.
Any ■■■■■■ vehicle is there for the public’s protection not to protect the load I.e to warn other road users that there is a wide or abnormal load.
We are there to warn other roadusers that a abnormal load is coming to make sure that both roaduser’s and loads pass without hitting each other.
Now I dont know the regs on this but do ■■■■■■ drivers have to take a course on the correct way for escorting such loads or can anyone drive such vehicles
No Course’s avaliable ,But according to H.A. code of practise the ■■■■■■ driver must have the experience of the transportation or moving of abnormal loads ,ie been driversmate ,driver, policeman, anyone that has worked in the STGO area of transport .
secondly as I understand the ■■■■■■ vehicle has no authority to stop any traffic or direct said traffic that would be the responsability of the highways or police.
Correct we have no power’s to stop and direct traffic But it is done by us in a safe manor when it has to be done and not for the hell of it…
For example the A69 Haydon bridge village wideloads the traffic has to be stopped to let them thru the village ,the ■■■■■■ goes thru the village and stops the traffic then the load comes thru we dont sit at the outskirts of the village phone the police and wait 1,2,3,4hrs for them to come and stop traffic it a case it has to be done and its done simple quick and safely, Other things like Traffic calming sometimes we have to go wrong side of the road to pass traffic calming ,traffic lights, etc .
Driving an ■■■■■■ Vehicle isnt an easy job, on an single carriageway you have to rapidly think about every part of the road and rely that back to the load , you have to think for 3 drivers , yourself ,the load , and the other roaduser … Next time anyone is out in their truck try thinking about what if your load was wide and not a box , fridge, curtain, tipper, look at the side of the road your on whats round about you think about what would happen if you met a other truck on the next bend what would you do, think about it from our point of view . Now thats only Single carriageway think about motorway now motorway everyones going same direction ,But on Motorways we have a faster problem truck doing 56mph Cars doing 70mph we are taking up 2 lanes and traveling slow , sometimes on hill we go down to walking pace in middle lane that becomes scary we dont look ahead just sit looking in the mirror think does that driver realise im going slow is he going to change lane sooner rather than later , ( you know thinking is he on cruise control , listening to radio 2, thinking about his holiday in spain ) when he going to get out of your lane , then its St he hasnt seen me so it of to hard shoulder for me rapid whilst watching him brake like Fk trying to change lane or better still squeeze past the load in whats left of lane two while shoving the car over in lane 3
trophyblue:
flickr.com/photos/abnormal_l … 198454266/
In the above, not one single person has broken the law depending on the speed of the abnormal load. You are legally entitled to overtake a slow moving vehicle on double white lines, however the law doesn’t specify what “slow” means. You are also allowed to enter a hatched area if the lines on the border of it are not solid.
TBH though, when reading the initial post, I was trying to work out WTF it was all about. I originally thought it was meaning the escorted load running into the back of the ■■■■■■ vehicle but after seeing the photos, it finally became clear.
I think that those of us who had trouble trying to work it out is because it’s not something we’d even contemplate doing, let alone actually do it. Sure, you overtake by all means when you can but some of that stuff is just mad.
I guess it’s the usual “must get in front of the lorry/caravan at all costs” syndrome normally afflicting car drivers.
TBH though, when reading the initial post, I was trying to work out WTF it was all about. I originally thought it was meaning the escorted load running into the back of the ■■■■■■ vehicle but after seeing the photos, it finally became clear.
The main Problem we are having is C&U truck’s coming within inches of over backend on motorways /dual carriageways and being perfectly honest it can scare the crap out of you , we tend to sit 50/100yrd back from what we are escorting so if anything come up we can excelerate away but sometime you get caught un awares , one minute the road behind can be clear ,next minute you can read the small print on the number plate ,this happens on regular basis , Then there’s the trucker that over takes in whats left of the same lane the ■■■■■■ and load are in get half way past the load and cuts in on the tractor unit ,
In the past if it could be done safely we used to run wideloads that should have been taking up two lanes we would run in one with the over hang over the hard shoulder or grass verge thus to ease traffic build up so cars and small vehicles could pass .Now i was coming down the A1 dual carriageway around Morpeth with a Hitachi 875 now it was around the 14ft wide mark it was in outside lane about 2ft i was sitting just over the white line when this happened now i wasnt quick enough with the video cam or they would have been on youtube ,not one but two container trucks came past flat out they mounted the kerb and ran half on center reservation half on the road to get past , just imagine what would happen if something was in the grass i shudder to think how they would explain that one to there boss or the police . All i can say they were blue and cream trucks from middlesborough i think riverside ind est that do containers and bulkers .
Call me thick
THICK ok 
You say C&U trucks now i know youve abrev it what is C&U please
C & U = construction and use regulations.
Conor:
trophyblue:
flickr.com/photos/abnormal_l … 198454266/In the above, not one single person has broken the law depending on the speed of the abnormal load. You are legally entitled to overtake a slow moving vehicle on double white lines, however the law doesn’t specify what “slow” means. You are also allowed to enter a hatched area if the lines on the border of it are not solid.
TBH though, when reading the initial post, I was trying to work out WTF it was all about. I originally thought it was meaning the escorted load running into the back of the ■■■■■■ vehicle but after seeing the photos, it finally became clear.
I think that those of us who had trouble trying to work it out is because it’s not something we’d even contemplate doing, let alone actually do it. Sure, you overtake by all means when you can but some of that stuff is just mad.
I guess it’s the usual “must get in front of the lorry/caravan at all costs” syndrome normally afflicting car drivers.
Taken from the Highway code
Rule 129
Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.
Doesn’t say anything about overtaking abnormal loads
trophyblue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaqIgT7ldks
Nice still pics but if it showed a video of the problems that it would be better IMO.
redboxer850:
Conor:
trophyblue:
flickr.com/photos/abnormal_l … 198454266/In the above, not one single person has broken the law depending on the speed of the abnormal load. You are legally entitled to overtake a slow moving vehicle on double white lines, however the law doesn’t specify what “slow” means. You are also allowed to enter a hatched area if the lines on the border of it are not solid.
TBH though, when reading the initial post, I was trying to work out WTF it was all about. I originally thought it was meaning the escorted load running into the back of the ■■■■■■ vehicle but after seeing the photos, it finally became clear.
I think that those of us who had trouble trying to work it out is because it’s not something we’d even contemplate doing, let alone actually do it. Sure, you overtake by all means when you can but some of that stuff is just mad.
I guess it’s the usual “must get in front of the lorry/caravan at all costs” syndrome normally afflicting car drivers.
Taken from the Highway code
Rule 129
Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.Doesn’t say anything about overtaking abnormal loads
So remember this bit, if its double white lines and the line nearest to you is solid, you cannot cross them, if the person on the bike is doing over 10mph, but if the person is doing under 10mph, you can pass.
Remember, that, i doubt many people knew that
Got to agree with Trophyblue, I very rarley use escorts, just a drivers mate, but this year I’ve taken several combines through the 15 mile section of roadworks on the M1 through Notts/Derbyshire at around 3.8 metres which means straddling both lanes.These roadworks have a speed limit of 50mph which I can easily achieve and attain, but its not fast enough, I’ve had two cases of trucks pulling into the cab once they’ve passed the load causing me to brake hard because I’ve nowhere to go, and a third case of a car hitting the load whilst trying to pass, I think cctv is the only way to go, pass the footage on to plod, can’t say they’ll do a lot, but even if they only make the culprits aware of their ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ if may help.
I could go on, the tricks people pull to overtake or get ahead are unbelievable, sadly LGV drivers are some of the worst culprits.
Big Joe:
Got to agree with Trophyblue, I very rarley use escorts, just a drivers mate, but this year I’ve taken several combines through the 15 mile section of roadworks on the M1 through Notts/Derbyshire at around 3.8 metres which means straddling both lanes.These roadworks have a speed limit of 50mph which I can easily achieve and attain, but its not fast enough, I’ve had two cases of trucks pulling into the cab once they’ve passed the load causing me to brake hard because I’ve nowhere to go, and a third case of a car hitting the load whilst trying to pass, I think cctv is the only way to go, pass the footage on to plod, can’t say they’ll do a lot, but even if they only make the culprits aware of their [zb] if may help.
I could go on, the tricks people pull to overtake or get ahead are unbelievable, sadly LGV drivers are some of the worst culprits.
Funny you should mention this and these road works ive a video some where when i was escorting a Cat 777f south bound from Chesterfield we were in lanes 1 & 2 with the outside lane being 6ft6ins and have a few major retailer trucks squeezing past
I agree some truckdrivers have a bad habit of over taking the wide load then halfway past pulling in on the cab forcing the truck to swerve .
The other week One of A.L.E. trucks was traveling up the M1 near Leicester with an ■■■■■■ vehicle behind him , A truck came up from behind hit the ■■■■■■ and forced it into the centre barrier the driver was rushed to hospital and will be off work for at least 12weeks all because the truck driver wasnt paying attention
P.s Im now installing Video cameras in my van as some of the other ■■■■■■ vans have , But i wont send the video to the Police ,you will end up on youtube then everyone will see how good your driving is lol