just heard on the 1600 news that there has been an accident on the M6 J11involving a tanker carrying acid…the load spilled on to the carriageway…15000 litres…it is reported that there is a 30 mile traffic queue, and the road will be closed for hours…there were 4 people injured…
WHY…WHY…WHY
How can this happen unless it was a blowout, or whatever, i dont supppose we can comment until we know all the facts…but it happens so often and too often…trucks turning over…truck goes into central reservation…truck hits another up the back… truck gets stuck under a bridge…is it down to inexperience, companies taking drivers on without proper training…for which there is too little offered…i have seen far too many accidents involving trucks, and cars, both at home and abroad, and i can say that there are a lot of them that can be avoided…i have a licence that is as clean as the day i got it, never had an accident, never had an insurance claim, a true professional, so why is it i can achieve this and others cannot…because i drive within the speed limits, i drive with the care of others in mind, i drive for my own safety and that of others, concentration plays a very big part of my driving day, and i always think that other drivers are idiots on the road…i dont mean that nastily for there are others out there just like me, but trust no one, always be prepared for the worst…and you will arrive at your destination in one piece, and always be around to see your loved ones…
have a nice day
accidents are just that t.boy… an accident. i,m sure no one likes having them… but they happen… even to proffesionals
I was just about to create a thread on this too…!
Heard it about 30 mins ago on a Sky News Flash. I’d avoid the area like the plague.
More info:
truckyboy:
… is it down to inexperience, companies taking drivers on without proper training…for which there is too little offered…
As an inexperienced driver I can confirm to some extent that this is often so. I am also an agency driver, which means I just turn up and go. Some TMs are really helpful and make sure that you know exactly where you are going and what you are doing. Others just send you on your way with very little help or information. I have made a point of asking other drivers if I need to, and once on the road I take my time and refuse to be pushed into feeling uncomfortable by being rushed.
A few nights ago I took a double decker trailer up to Birmingham. I checked everything over as best I could before leaving, but when I stopped for a leak and had a quick check round the truck again I found 3 inches of wire casing showing through a tyre 
This was despite a good show of tread over the rest of it! I called the depot, and they said to carry on to Brum, and get it looked at there. I asked the driver next door as I was not convinced, and he advised me not to move until it was fixed. It got fixed 
As a newbie it would be easy to go with the TM’s instructions - good job I didn’t though.
Regards bridges, very few rigids seem to have the height displayed which they should. I have had to call the depot before now, and even they don’t know 
To be honest, the training for class 1 or 2 is only that - how to pass the test on the day. Nowhere are you even taught what to do with a tacho or how to load or even what the weight limits are. Once you get out there it is a long learning curve with no-one but other drivers to help.
gardun…you sound as if you are stepping up the ladder in your profession…you seem to care not only for your safety-licence etc.but about overall safety…you are doing the right thing…take your time…dont be rushed…and dont be pushed into something your not happy with…good luck
regards bob
just had a look at the news bulletins posted on this thread…they do vary somewhat…i got my information from radio 2 at 1600…anyway it seems that the accident happened on the slip road…that makes it worse…but it seems that the tanker hit a car up the backside and part buried it under the truck…so was the tank going too fast ■■..did he not judge his stopping distance ■■ or did the car driver decide i gotta overtake this truck to save a few seconds thereby reducing the trucks braking distance ?..i had a few years on tankers, especially the iso tank containers…there are no baffles in these tanks…and it takes a lot of skill to get used to them…especially where braking distances are concerned…and very often cars would cut in front at the last minute and brake…leaving me with my heart in my mouth as i braked to avoid him…with no baffles the load swills from back to front with great force…and if you took your foot off the brake you would shoot forward at a greater speed…they in themselves are a hazard…and health and safety should look at this issue…they should have baffles…the law says they should not be loaded more than 80% of their capacity…which is even more dangerous…quite often i would fill the tank to capacity…it was safer that way…shows how much health and safety know…more interested in yellow vests and hard hats.instead of the real issues…oh well…
have a nice day
ohterry555:
accidents are just that t.boy… an accident.
Very few accidents are just random accidents. The vast majority are caused by someone either getting it wrong or doing something stupid.
just seen it on the 6 pm news, looks like a lorry has gone into the back of the tanker causing the spill
I put a similar post up last week about this. There are too many crashes and incidents, are these accidents?
What happened yesterday? the weather was good, the roads were running freely and then the traffic news reports started. The “accidents” were all over the UK
Jacknived trailers and overturned lorries. 30 mile queue after a van hits a car on the M1.
A broken down car rammed by a truck on the M27
didnt see it in previous posts but i believe 2 people died in this accident.
GOD REST THEIR SOULS
Sky said one killed and the BBC said two, either way it’s very sad.
truckyboy:
i have a licence that is as clean as the day i got it, never had an accident,
When a car driver says these words it is usually from the people that cause accidents and leave them in their wake 
But as a pro I’m prepared to take your word for it 
I think it is down to the fact that driving standards as a whole in this country are diabolical & getting worse.
There are certain junctions on the motorway network where I know I will have a close shave before I’ve even got there
M25 J29 A127
M25 J7 M23 anticlockwise
The dartford tolls
M1 J? M69 northbound (I remember the bad accident here last year at least
they caught the car driver who cut up the sergeant’s
low loader that time)
A1 ferrybridge north & southbound
M62 J? M1
etc etc etc
Truckyboy Wrote:
the law says they should not be loaded more than 80% of their capacity…which is even more dangerous…quite often i would fill the tank to capacity…it was safer that way…
Sorry to take issue with you Bob, but the reasons for leaving a 20% ullage space is for expansion. I too have many years experience on Tankers and it is a knack to learn to drive smoothly, You have to allow the liquid to push you to make smooth gear changes, feel the liquid in the tank as you negotiate roundabouts. Driving without baffles is not as bad with air suspension as the reaction is less than with leaf springs.
When i did my ADR 25 years ago we were shown newspaper reports and photos of an acid tanker that had overturned on the M6, a nurse had got out of her car to help injured people and they only found the diamonds from her wedding ring.
Thoughts are with the drivers families
Yep. they still talk about that nurse story when I did my ADR about 3 years ago, they just found her daughter in the car and no sign of the driver till said ring was found, grim. In my opinion they shouldn’t allow haz chem tankers on the road unles they are pretty much unbreachable.
I was saddened to hear of the death of someone involved in Fridays accident , but accidents dont just happen, something or someone has to cause them, take your eye off the road for a couple of seconds and you find yourself wandering in the direction you are looking. NorthSurreyHaulage mentioned a few intersections that give him headaches but what about the A14/A1 at Brampton Hut and Spittals interchange! So many wagons have gone overat this spot that every time i get to those roundabouts i hang back from the line. If ever traffic lights were needed at roundabouts, then surely these locations qualify more than most?By the way, one of the side affects from this accident was gridlock in Wolverhampton,took me ages to get from our yard into Wolves by bus so i ended up walking the rest of the way home ( via the pub )
Enjoy the rest of the weekend…
roy…
roytheboy:
I was saddened to hear of the death of someone involved in Fridays accident , but accidents dont just happen, something or someone has to cause them, take your eye off the road for a couple of seconds and you find yourself wandering in the direction you are looking. NorthSurreyHaulage mentioned a few intersections that give him headaches but what about the A14/A1 at Brampton Hut and Spittals interchange! So many wagons havegone overat this spot that every time i get to those roundabouts i hang back from the line. If ever traffic lights were needed at roundabouts, then surely these locations qualify more than most?By the way, one of the side affects from this accident was gridlock in Wolverhampton,took me ages to get from our yard into Wolves by bus so i ended up walking the rest of the way home ( via the pub
Enjoy the rest of the weekend…
roy…
there shouldnt be a roundabout at that junction the A14 should go unhinderd and all the rest should be linked by sliproads
Also the M1 end of the A 14, how stupid can you get when you are coming from the M6 you have got 2 lanes going into 1 & you get numpties trying to beat you. I’ve seen cars with the side ripped out. The other week I had my right indicator on & my hand out the window but this idiot still tried to beat me I was a the point of no return & he still came BUT ended up faceing on coming traffic he was luckly as nothing was coming yet he still waved his hand at me & blew his horn.
And why do cars race up to get in front of you at the start of roadworks, risking a crash and then sit there holding you up??
Glad to see it’s not just me then
V8KARLV8:
And why do cars race up to get in front of you at the start of roadworks, risking a crash and then sit there holding you up??
When I get to the 200yd marker I always straddle both lanes.
they seem to fear the trailer more than they do the cab?