Alfa1M:
Another one i witnessed on Wednesday…Romiley, Stockport
Probably hasn’t bothered his arse measuring the load before setting off. He might do next time!
Rowley010:
AndrewG:
4m max height in the UK and it wouldnt happen, no need for anything to be over that height…There is a need for it. We have 15’10 trailers and often stuff when double stacked is right up to a few inches off the roof. 4m max height would mean it wouldn’t be able to be double stacked meaning 2 artics would need to be on the road for 52 pallets rather than 1.
It doesn’t need a max height of 4m. It needs drivers to…
- not use car sat navs
- read the road signs if you are using a car or truck sat nav
- if using a truck sav make sure correct height is put in
- know the height of the truck/trailer
- set height indicator to that height
- check all sat nav or google routes with a proper map showing bridge heights
- don’t chance it just because someone else told you your 15 foot trailer would go under a 14’9 bridge.
With all the obver followed there is nothing wrong with high trailers.
Cant agree, we dont have anything over 4m (with the odd exception) as with the right chassis (wheel diameter/ ride height /configuration ect) the same if not more can be carried. Its the UK transport industry not having the will to adapt. The double deckers Tescos/DPD and the like i saw in the UK this week look ridiculous and top heavy. Fuel consumption pulling these types of trailer must be pretty dire. A 4m restriction would drastically cut down on the inept hitting bridges and far less detours would have to be taken surely…
The best part of introducing a 4m limit would be that it might actually create the mythical driver shortage and force wages to rise.
nomiS36:
robroy:
commonrail:
If it weren’t for autoboxes and"truck navs"half these retards wouldn’t make it out of the yard.^^^^^^
+1+2
It’s no joke. We had an attendant turn up recently and when he jumped in the truck he took one look at the gearstick, took his stuff out the truck and hasn’t been seen since.
AndrewG:
The double deckers Tescos/DPD and the like i saw in the UK this week look ridiculous and top heavy. Fuel consumption pulling these types of trailer must be pretty dire.
They may have a higher centre of gravity than a 4m but those trailers make thousands of movements every day without incident. If some idiot wants to barrel a 16 footer round an island at 35mph you can’t really blame the truck for that.
As for for fuel consumption. Yes, compared to a 4m it will no doubt be worse but you’d be looking at two 4ms to pull what’s on a 16 footer.
AndrewG:
Cant agree, we dont have anything over 4m (with the odd exception) as with the right chassis (wheel diameter/ ride height /configuration ect) the same if not more can be carried. Its the UK transport industry not having the will to adapt. The double deckers Tescos/DPD and the like i saw in the UK this week look ridiculous and top heavy. Fuel consumption pulling these types of trailer must be pretty dire. A 4m restriction would drastically cut down on the inept hitting bridges and far less detours would have to be taken surely…
It was the…
Spanish road industry that was still in the 50s in the 90s when I drove there.
If it wasn’t for Brussels money for road improvement schemes and decent tackle, Spain would still be better off using donkeys through mountain passes.
Can’t agree with the above.Spain is perhaps the best European country to drive in.My first drive there was when Franco was still drawing breath.(just about).It was his policy to keep Spain backward compared with the rest of western Europe.Now,thanks to Brussels money they have a great road network and modern vehicles.Not many donkeys left.I recall driving from Sagunto towards Zaragoza on a regular basis when sections of the road surface were packed earth.In the 80s a good quality blacktop road was completed.Now it is the A23 toll free motorway standard dual carriageway.I have to say,also,that while Spanish car drivers are a bit lairy,the LGV drivers are less emotional and safer than many of our Brit so called professionals.
Terry T:
nomiS36:
robroy:
commonrail:
If it weren’t for autoboxes and"truck navs"half these retards wouldn’t make it out of the yard.^^^^^^
+1+2
It’s no joke. We had an attendant turn up recently and when he jumped in the truck he took one look at the gearstick, took his stuff out the truck and hasn’t been seen since.
I could understand it if he only knew auto trucks, and got in the cab to find a 13 speed Fuller, or a crash Spicer, but they are all synchromesh now ffs …the same as his car. 
Can’t change gear or manage a clutch…solution auto gearbox…check.
Can’t read a map…solution prat nav…check.
Can’t manage to apply a parking brake…solution, Volvo got there first with automatic parking brake…check.
Can’t stop tailgating…solution active cruise…check.
Can’t stop hitting other vehicles up the arse…solution AEBS…check.
Can’t stop drifting into other lanes or hard shoulder…solution lane departure warning…check.
Can’t control cornering speed leading to rollovers…solution trailer sensing auto braking…check.
Can’t manage to use lights as and when needed…solution DRLs…check.
etc etc
Can’t stop hitting bridges…solution restrict height of vehicle…is this next ?
How much deeper down the barrel do we scrape before some bugger yells STOP
I wouldn’t say an auto box is a bad thing personally. I also don’t think a Satnav is a bad thing either. It is the way they are used where the problem lies. You cannot simply say people are ■■■■ drivers because the truck virtually drives itself. The next step will not be to lower the height of trailers, wait for it… It will be self driving trucks!! The morons that I see in trucks nowadays the sooner the better too. Too many people blame all the tech for the problems we now have, it is unemployment, training companies and Agencies taking any tom ■■■■ and harry. It doesn’t stop there either as the likes of Stobart and other firms struggling to keep drivers by employing numptys. Sorry but I disagree with all of the comments that SatNavs and auto boxes have destroyed the driver. No they have helped the driver but allowed idiots into the cab at the same time.
Hitting bridges is down to bone idleness and complete lack of professionalism, simply put.
It’s a simple process which involves determining the height of your vehicle and making sure that your height is slightly lower than the height of the bridge. It cannot get any simpler FFS
There are people who lack the most basic of tools (aka common sense). These people are then allowed to drive an automatic truck on a test and get full manual entitlement for a 15 year old 44 tonne artic with a potentially challenging gearbox.
The WHOLE industry needs to have a serious look at itself and start being a bit more honest about the complete debacle that it has fostered
Computer systems are cheaper than good drivers. Each new advancement allows and encourages BigCo to push down wages and get more steering wheel attendants on the books. Smaller companies are left behind to make their own way as best they can, which will be some sort of middle ground approach.
I’ve said it many times before, the only thing standing in the way of autonomous vehicles is cost. Practically means nothing to CEOs - that’s some worker plebs problem. If the insurance provided by their CEO chums was more expensive, there would be a push to fix the problem. Pride in the job is equally meaningless to them - their eyes are fixed on their next bonus and next CEO position.
As soon as it becomes too expensive to keep hitting bridges, a solution will be found.
Rowley010:
commonrail:
All part of today’s h&s culture.Once upon a time,morons were freely allowed to wipe themselves out…thus diluting the gene pool.
Now they are protected,and actively encouraged,especially in this industry.
If it weren’t for autoboxes and"truck navs"half these retards wouldn’t make it out of the yard.Is that thw drivers fault though? Or the fact that your allowed to gain your full licence in an auto and because of this many training providers teach you in an auto. I learnt in a manual but I know many don’t!
No it aint the driver’s fault, and thankfully there are still a lot of very good drivers today that know nothing else but automatic gearboxes.
Imo, these very drivers would still measure up today if they had to learn to drive as we used to, with crash and semi crash boxes,… because they are drivers in the true sense.
The problem lies with the d/heads alongside them today who passed on autos.
In the old days the ‘Natural selection’ system would (and did) not let these stars get through the net, as they were either too thick, incompetent, or both to manage to master an enigmatic gearbox, where as now that obstacle does not exist, so they manage to become ‘‘drivers’’ armed with a Class 1 licence
That is why we have knobs with Class 1s, and why the ease of autoboxes are (partly) to blame. 
robroy:
Rowley010:
commonrail:
All part of today’s h&s culture.Once upon a time,morons were freely allowed to wipe themselves out…thus diluting the gene pool.
Now they are protected,and actively encouraged,especially in this industry.
If it weren’t for autoboxes and"truck navs"half these retards wouldn’t make it out of the yard.Is that thw drivers fault though? Or the fact that your allowed to gain your full licence in an auto and because of this many training providers teach you in an auto. I learnt in a manual but I know many don’t!
No it aint the driver’s fault, and thankfully there are still a lot of very good drivers today that know nothing else but automatic gearboxes.
Imo, these very drivers would still measure up today if they had to learn to drive as we used to, with crash and semi crash boxes,… because they are drivers in the true sense.
The problem lies with the d/heads alongside them today who passed on autos.
In the old days the ‘Natural selection’ system would (and did) not let these stars get through the net, as they were either too thick, incompetent, or both to manage to master an enigmatic gearbox, where as now that obstacle does not exist, so they manage to become ‘‘drivers’’ armed with a Class 1 licence
That is why we have knobs with Class 1s, and why the ease of autoboxes are (partly) to blame.
I wholeheartedly agree.
If everything goes my way I will be back shifting gears manually by the end of the year or early next year and I can’t wait! 10+ years of these retarded autos have nearly sent me mental.
I wonder how many bumps wouldn’t have happened if these auto boxes had never happened. Gearstick replaced with smartphone■■? Alert forward planning driver replaced by zombie■■?
nomiS36:
robroy:
Rowley010:
commonrail:
All part of today’s h&s culture.Once upon a time,morons were freely allowed to wipe themselves out…thus diluting the gene pool.
Now they are protected,and actively encouraged,especially in this industry.
If it weren’t for autoboxes and"truck navs"half these retards wouldn’t make it out of the yard.Is that thw drivers fault though? Or the fact that your allowed to gain your full licence in an auto and because of this many training providers teach you in an auto. I learnt in a manual but I know many don’t!
No it aint the driver’s fault, and thankfully there are still a lot of very good drivers today that know nothing else but automatic gearboxes.
Imo, these very drivers would still measure up today if they had to learn to drive as we used to, with crash and semi crash boxes,… because they are drivers in the true sense.
The problem lies with the d/heads alongside them today who passed on autos.
In the old days the ‘Natural selection’ system would (and did) not let these stars get through the net, as they were either too thick, incompetent, or both to manage to master an enigmatic gearbox, where as now that obstacle does not exist, so they manage to become ‘‘drivers’’ armed with a Class 1 licence
That is why we have knobs with Class 1s, and why the ease of autoboxes are (partly) to blame.I wholeheartedly agree.
If everything goes my way I will be back shifting gears manually by the end of the year or early next year and I can’t wait! 10+ years of these retarded autos have nearly sent me mental.
I wonder how many bumps wouldn’t have happened if these auto boxes had never happened. Gearstick replaced with smartphone■■? Alert forward planning driver replaced by zombie■■?
Hang on, I didn’t say I was missing manual boxes mate. Autos are much easier, so much so you could train a monkey to drive a truck today, and we see them everyday. 
I would hate to go back to manuals if I’m honest, just put in drive and relax is fine by me. 
.
Anything for an easy life nowadays.
I’ve used and mastered most manual boxes in my time in different trucks, so nothing more to prove… not interested anymore.
It’s me mate, I think I must be a control freak when it comes to machines and tech! I ain’t got anything to prove but so miss the control especially on the tight building sites etc. For plodding up and down motorways between rdc’s autos are fine. Trying to second guess when the clutch is going to decide to let me set off on roundabouts drives me nuts [emoji35] not to mention all the unnecessary gear changes. People say use the manual mode! If they were that good there wouldn’t be any need for a manual mode which ain’t manual anyway because the clutch is still just as retarded. Rant over, each to their own [emoji23]
Terry T:
nomiS36:
robroy:
commonrail:
If it weren’t for autoboxes and"truck navs"half these retards wouldn’t make it out of the yard.^^^^^^
+1+2
It’s no joke. We had an attendant turn up recently and when he jumped in the truck he took one look at the gearstick, took his stuff out the truck and hasn’t been seen since.
Lucky escape for the company then, maybe other companies should take note and specify vehicles that require more input than selecting D, might go some way to thinning the numpties out.
IMHO the one major home goal of the industry was replacing the gearstick with a switch, from that moment the truly incompetent could manage.
Commonrail is quite right.
Those newer drivers who want to drive lorries and try to do it right and take a pride in their work will always manage a gearbox, all of us had our first times out (and what a racket could be heard 
), but the wheel attendants won’t.
Juddian:
Lucky escape for the company then, maybe other companies should take note and specify vehicles that require more input than selecting D, might go some way to thinning the numpties out.IMHO the one major home goal of the industry was replacing the gearstick with a switch, from that moment the truly incompetent could manage.
Commonrail is quite right.Those newer drivers who want to drive lorries and try to do it right and take a pride in their work will always manage a gearbox, all of us had our first times out (and what a racket could be heard
Think me and you have been here before on this subject Juddian. 
Like you, I was brought up on Eaton Fullers, David Browns, ZF Synchros, Spicers, and all the rest of it, which will sound like part of a team sheet to most on here.
I don’t think the answer is going back to them though, …although I know you will disagree.
The way to, as you say ‘‘Thin the numpties out’’ is to not let them get as far in the process as they do in the first place, and tighten up the selection process at driver training level.
The evidence is there that many of them will never be drivers, I’ve already explained why virtually none of them would get through the old ‘selection process’ so things need to be tightened up to prevent them from getting licences.
I’m sounding like an old git here so I’m off as it’s doing nothing for my Cool Trucker with sunglasses image.
robroy:
Juddian:
I don’t think the answer is going back to them though, …although I know you will disagree.
I’m sounding like an old git here so I’m off as it’s doing nothing for my Cool Trucker with sunglasses image.
Yes i disagree 
though i am right of course , but even where i am old fashioned as it is i’m fighting a losing battle on this one 
As for the old git versus the CT with sunglasses options, you were probably right first time
I don’t think there is any way to weed them out now, but i have a feeling that if there are more tragedies involving lorries in a short space of time then govt knee jerk reactions will be the order of the day, which as they usually do will penalise the wrong people whilst making it even easier for the incompetent to carry on as they do.
I kinda hoped the industry might take on board its barrell scraping failings, and sort itself out voluntarily
I kinda hoped the industry might take on board its barrell scraping failings, and sort itself out voluntarily
