Is there a general rule as to what distance you could get to so that you can make it back home on the same day. Obviously taking into account driving hours, rests and other work etc.
What wold happen if on route / or back you were held up by an accident or other delay and you were gong to exceed your driving hours. Would your operator expect you to get back ready for the next day.
Do all trailers / cabs have the same male / female suzzies connecters. For instance if I went from one trailer to another wold the electrics cable be the same universal fitting.
Is there a general rule as to what distance you could get to so that you can make it back home on the same day. Obviously taking into account driving hours, rests and other work etc. 280miles maximum
What wold happen if on route / or back you were held up by an accident or other delay and you were gong to exceed your driving hours. Would your operator expect you to get back ready for the next day.
They would expect you back the same day, but you must inform them, don’t just roll in the next day. Have a look in a vosa guide about Article 12
Do all trailers / cabs have the same male / female suzzies connecters. For instance if I went from one trailer to another wold the electrics cable be the same universal fitting.
Generally yes, sometimes not for ferry or continental trailers
Is there a general rule as to what distance you could get to so that you can make it back home on the same day. Obviously taking into account driving hours, rests and other work etc.
What wold happen if on route / or back you were held up by an accident or other delay and you were gong to exceed your driving hours. Would your operator expect you to get back ready for the next day.
Do all trailers / cabs have the same male / female suzzies connecters. For instance if I went from one trailer to another wold the electrics cable be the same universal fitting.
Cheers
Steve
The first question is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string but there are some things you can take as read. Your maximum speed on a motorway is 60 and your maximum driving hours each day is 9hrs (subject to exceptions) so 9 x 60 = 540 miles, divide that by 2 and it gives you an absolute maximum radius of 270 miles. However, everything else will reduce that figure such as your speed on A and B roads, congestion, other work, the list is endless.
I think I am reading into your second point the question, should you exceed your hours just to get back and meet the expectations of the employer, the anser from any right thinking driver has to be NO… Its your licence and you will suffer for any breach of the rules and regulations, the enforcement agencies and the courts will be unmoved by any plea from you that you did it because of the pressure from an employer. Just remember if you lose your licence the employer will simply employ the next driver in the queue.
In answer to the question about suzzies, the answer is yessubject to a few unusual exceptions as have already been eluded too.
Noddy220:
What wold happen if on route / or back you were held up by an accident or other delay and you were gong to exceed your driving hours. Would your operator expect you to get back ready for the next day.
If delayed on the return journey then you are allowed to exceed the time BUT only to make the first safe legal place to take your daily rest- no further
The operator can then expect you for the next shift after you ahve taken that required rest and driven back to the depot
Think I got that right - others might be along to confirm it - or not !!
iDriver:
The first question is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string but there are some things you can take as read. Your maximum speed on a motorway is 60 and your maximum driving hours each day is 9hrs (subject to exceptions) so 9 x 60 = 540 miles, divide that by 2 and it gives you an absolute maximum radius of 270 miles. However, everything else will reduce that figure such as your speed on A and B roads, congestion, other work, the list is endless.
I think I am reading into your second point the question, should you exceed your hours just to get back and meet the expectations of the employer, the anser from any right thinking driver has to be NO… Its your licence and you will suffer for any breach of the rules and regulations, the enforcement agencies and the courts will be unmoved by any plea from you that you did it because of the pressure from an employer. Just remember if you lose your licence the employer will simply employ the next driver in the queue.
In answer to the question about suzzies, the answer is yessubject to a few unusual exceptions as have already been eluded too.
Mark.
Lorries are limited to 56MPH. Your average speed is more likely to be 50MPH if you’re mostly on motorways, not 60MPH. Over 2 decades I have very rarely ever managed to exceed 800km/500 miles in a shift even though I was doing nights. You are more likely to be looking at 450 miles, less in daytime.
In regards to the running out of time. The law allows you to exceed the hours TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE as long as it is safe to do so. It isn’t written to allow you to complete your journey regardless. You need to do a printout if on digi and record the fact you exceeded the hours due to an accident. If you are found to be doing it regularly, you can expect to be asked to explain why.
Suzies are universal. You will occassionally come across trailers which appear to have two female ones the same size - these are for sliders. You may also come across older ones with a two females where one is larger than the red one. Thats an old type of brake system. There are also still some continental trailers with the old palm style couplings but they’re getting rarer by the year now and you’ll only really come across them when picking up unaccompanied trailers at ferry terminals.
Here in the central midlands (M6 J1/M1 J18) we can go out and back in a single shift to…
South Wales - Swansea
Dorset or very East Devon
Portsmouth / Southampton
All of East Anglia
Yorkshire and up to Newcastle
Merseyside/ Rhyll
Lancashire and up to Penrith
Conor:
Lorries are limited to 56MPH. Your average speed is more likely to be 50MPH if you’re mostly on motorways, not 60MPH
I didn’t say they were ‘limited’ to 60MPH, I said the maximum speed is 60MPH which it is, I then went on to explain that there is an endless list of things that will drag the maximum number of miles down from the theoretical limit.
