I was on the M62 heading from Selby towards Leeds today.
Just before the A1 exit there was a very large crane (8 or 9 axle) belonging to Sarens travelling in lane 1.
The truck in front of me pulled out to overtake and when it was safe I followed.
We both passed the crane in lane 2 giving a litttle bit extra room “just in case”.(The large cranes with extra large tyres Ive noticed tend to wander a bit due to the tyres being wider than the ruts in lane 1)
We were both just past the crane when the truck in front slowed down to about 45ish. at this point we are both in lane 2. The truck in front the moved to lane 3 to overtake the ■■■■■■ van.
As he passed him the van moved back to lane 1 allowing me to pass in lane 2.
As soon as I’d passed him he returned to lane 2 .
Now normally I have the greatest of respect for ■■■■■■ vehicles but this guy
What is the point of travelling 300yds IN FRONT of the crane on a motorway. And doing 45 in the middle lane for no apparant reason…I know it was with the crane because it had Sarens on the side.
Do these guys have to have any training at all?
I would have thought a company like Sarens with their massive cranes would have someone with a bit of common sense to drive their ■■■■■■ van!
Sadly, there is currently no training for ■■■■■■ drivers…however this shall soon change.
On a motorway as a rule of the thumb you sit behind whatever your escorting and if it has an overhang or takes up part of L2, you sit in L2.
If an artic wants past and im escorting, I’ll stick up OK TO OVERTAKE in the LED screen and warn the load driver that i’ve ‘authorised’ someone to overtake.
There are a LOT of ■■■■■■ drivers out there that are lucky to have a drivers licence, but thankfully change is in the air.
Good to here theres going to be formal training stagedriver, take it this will be compulsory ?
As i said normally I have great respect for ■■■■■■ drivers, the majority Ive seen tend to be doing the job right, and I always try to give them the extra room they need.
This guy today had the look of a office waller who’d just stepped out for coffee and got roped into driving the van.
To be honest the crane driver was probably better off without him !
Sadly there is nothing that can be done to enforce it, but there are a few things in the pipeline in collaboration with the police and various other agencies/organisations that will rid the cowboys and idiots.
i saw & passed the same outfit this morning between junctions 23 & 22 on the m62,the lead van was so far in front of the crane that a bulk tipper doing about 35/40 cos he was loaded,pulled inbetween them to allow other trucks to get past,then pulled back out when he was nearer the van,really didn’t see the need for him as he wasn’t doing anything usefull!!
they were all on french plates so not sure if they have different rules in france for escorting slow/wide loads.
It’s those idiots carrying the caravan chalet things that annoy me. They steam towards you on single carriage way roads without giving a dump about whats coming the other way. Loads of times I’ve nearly ended up in the farmers fields!!
What is the point of travelling 300yds IN FRONT of the crane on a motorway. And doing 45 in the middle lane for no apparant reason…I know it was with the crane because it had Sarens on the side.
Alot of people rant at me asking why a ■■■■■■ vehicle they saw was carrying out a ‘certain manouver’, mostly because these people dont understand what the driver was trying to do. I can often explain the reason and they then see the point and understand. However this has stumped me.
Ok, so the van was in front, thats no big deal really as mobile cranes are not wide enough (>3.5m) to warrant a ■■■■■■ vehicle on the motorway, however as to why this guy was in lane 2… that puzzles me.
I regularly go out for loads that don’t require any form of paperwork or rules, it’s just good practice and common ■■■■ sense.
How does that work then? If the load dosent require any paperwork at all then it is pretty much a stanadard truck with no over dimensions or weight. I recently done a permit for one of my dutch customers who was carrying a 20ft container into London, he needed a permit because his tractor unit had a crane mounted which put him a fraction over 44,000kg. Im intriged as how you get regular ■■■■■■ work from standard trucks? I must be missing out on this market!
It’s those idiots carrying the caravan chalet things that annoy me. They steam towards you on single carriage way roads without giving a dump about whats coming the other way. Loads of times I’ve nearly ended up in the farmers fields!!
I would have thought the fact that a vehicle travelling towards you with flashing amber beacons and ‘Abnormal Load’ or similar written on it would of been a slight clue to slow down as theres something big approching■■?
As a very quick reply (I’m in a lay-by), perhaps regularly is the wrong word. Let’s try every now and then.
To give you the best example, I’m escorting a static caravan just now. The only reason I’m escorting it is because I managed to encourage this company that just because it’s a few cm shy of the overhang requirement it is still poking out either side to a fair degree and the route were taking (Glasgow - Ardlui) is full of roads that would make it tricky for the larger vehicle to pass.
Out of courtesy I have informed the relevant folks, but by no means was there a requirement to as the load is still under the regs but common sense suggests an ■■■■■■ is needed for the type of roads ahead.
jrl driver:
i saw & passed the same outfit this morning between junctions 23 & 22 on the m62,the lead van was so far in front of the crane that a bulk tipper doing about 35/40 cos he was loaded,pulled inbetween them to allow other trucks to get past,then pulled back out when he was nearer the van,really didn’t see the need for him as he wasn’t doing anything usefull!!
they were all on french plates so not sure if they have different rules in france for escorting slow/wide loads.
The only rules i encountered while driving wide loads in france[apart from obvious]marker lights,flashing lanterns etc were.
at least one ■■■■■■ van per load.
no travelling on autoroutes
if more than one load vehicles to be half a mile apart.
travel only permitted between 7.00am–4.30pm
This was for the loads we were carrying which were 3.1m wide.
regards dave.l
abloadescort:
I would have thought the fact that a vehicle travelling towards you with flashing amber beacons and ‘Abnormal Load’ or similar written on it would of been a slight clue to slow down as theres something big approching■■?
Sometimes it’s not enough.
Once I stopped as far to left as I could and he still hit my mirror, smashing the glass. He did not even stopped, and I had not much chance to chase him in 26 tonner…
I did my fair share of Higlands driving, and on some occasions I’ve been following the caravan carriers (but usually not for long, as unlike some of them I don’t stick to 56mph all the time) and have to say that they often do not pay too much respect to the other road users.
As for me I was never driving an oversized vehicle, but used to run a trucks lot on the narrow road (and still do on occasions) and it was allways my understanding that if I need more than half of the road, the oncoming vehicles have priority, as it’s “their” lane I am “borrowing”. Off course, they usually help me to pass, but I treat it as their courtesy, not their duty.
Am I wrong on that?
As for the motorway situation, I can imagine ■■■■■■ vehicle going forward to secure the junction on which the crane was to leave the motorway… Or in that case they should have two ■■■■■■ vehicles?
Once I stopped as far to left as I could and he still hit my mirror, smashing the glass. He did not even stopped, and I had not much chance to chase him in 26 tonner…
Thats different, the other post clearly states “They steam towards you on single carriage way roads without giving a dump about whats coming the other way” The point im making is that the ■■■■■■ vehicle thats leading is ‘giving a dump about whats coming the other way’.
The fact that the caravan haulier smashed your mirror is not the fault of the ■■■■■■ driver is it. Despite what alot of people think, the driver of the abnormal load is responsible for his truck, not the ■■■■■■ driver.
In all my years in the business I have only ever escorted two caravan hauliers as thats not really the market that I deal with. One of those was quite dangerous, and its quite known within the pilot car industry that some caravan haulier drivers (mainly those bigger ones) are quite ‘dangerous’. That said, there are quite a few good ones about.
As for me I was never driving an oversized vehicle, but used to run a trucks lot on the narrow road (and still do on occasions) and it was allways my understanding that if I need more than half of the road, the oncoming vehicles have priority, as it’s “their” lane I am “borrowing”. Off course, they usually help me to pass, but I treat it as their courtesy, not their duty.
Am I wrong on that?
No your correct, thats how most of us work as well.
stagedriver:
Sadly, there is currently no training for ■■■■■■ drivers…however this shall soon change.
On a motorway as a rule of the thumb you sit behind whatever your escorting and if it has an overhang or takes up part of L2, you sit in L2.
If an artic wants past and im escorting, I’ll stick up OK TO OVERTAKE in the LED screen and warn the load driver that i’ve ‘authorised’ someone to overtake.
There are a LOT of ■■■■■■ drivers out there that are lucky to have a drivers licence, but thankfully change is in the air.
first of all never heard of any trainning
next You dont have the powers to AUTHORISE anyone to over take ,you are solely there to warn other road users that they are approaching an abnormal load
stagedriver:
Sadly, there is currently no training for ■■■■■■ drivers…however this shall soon change.
On a motorway as a rule of the thumb you sit behind whatever your escorting and if it has an overhang or takes up part of L2, you sit in L2.
If an artic wants past and im escorting, I’ll stick up OK TO OVERTAKE in the LED screen and warn the load driver that i’ve ‘authorised’ someone to overtake.
There are a LOT of ■■■■■■ drivers out there that are lucky to have a drivers licence, but thankfully change is in the air.
first of all never heard of any trainning
next You dont have the powers to AUTHORISE anyone to over take ,you are solely there to warn other road users that they are approaching an abnormal load
Changes are happening, it’s a long long way off but things are in the works.
I know ab load escorts have no authority, hence why I worded it with speech marks. By sticking a message on your LED board, your letting the driver know it’s safe to pass should they wish, perhaps I worded it wrong.
stagedriver:
Sadly, there is currently no training for ■■■■■■ drivers…however this shall soon change.
On a motorway as a rule of the thumb you sit behind whatever your escorting and if it has an overhang or takes up part of L2, you sit in L2.
If an artic wants past and im escorting, I’ll stick up OK TO OVERTAKE in the LED screen and warn the load driver that i’ve ‘authorised’ someone to overtake.
There are a LOT of ■■■■■■ drivers out there that are lucky to have a drivers licence, but thankfully change is in the air.
first of all never heard of any trainning
next You dont have the powers to AUTHORISE anyone to over take ,you are solely there to warn other road users that they are approaching an abnormal load
He’s not authorizing anything he’s just telling the driver it’s safe to overtake, the driver doesm’t have to listen to him
He’s not authorizing anything he’s just telling the driver it’s safe to overtake, the driver doesm’t have to listen to him
This is very true
But im surprised he is allowed to ■■■■■■ up to Ardlui as he says in his other post and he is in glasgow yet never seen his 3 ■■■■■■ vehicles but i must say he does get around going by his other posts
.
