Since the topic of overtaking has come up again which seems to involves HGVs trying to overtake each other with little if any speed differential on level ground, I wondered how fast drivers think is safe in a fully laden HGV downhill on a motorway?
I in my coach about to overtake 2 tipper lorries on the M2 motorway. I pulled out into lane 3 (of 4) to overtake and then the motorway starts a descent into Chatham (London bound). I was only moderately loaded maybe grossing 14 tons and those tippers were perhaps fully loaded. Their speed increased under gravity and we were both level. By that time our speed was 105 km/h. I only got to about 107 km/h and the tippers easily undertook me leaving me being undertaken by several cars and they disappeared down the hill. I estimate their speed as being 70 mph plus. Is this speed safe? I caught and overtook the tippers anyway once level ground was reached. Any opinions on this?
I admit to being extremely annoyed by drivers who use gravity to get them down hills and then run out of steam going up next hill and expecting everyone else to back off to let them into the nearside lane. What about my momentum etc.■■ Have they not heard ofengine brakes etc? Just totally bad driving in my view
Dave you know how we feel now when left stranded in the middle lane when coaches come barging down the slip road and sail straight up the inside of us when we’ve pulled over to let them out !
Of course no coach driver on here would do that because WE’RE ALL PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS
Its not just down hill, I recently followed a british registerd HGV uphill on the M62 at 68-70 mph, I pulled back & left him to it, god knows what speed he did down hill.
I was taught that the practice of engaging neutral at the top of a long descent and allowing the vehicle`s weight to accelerate it was known as “Scottish Overdrive”.
When I used to run the heads of the valleys, we’d call it “rubber duck” or “silent 6th” Vince! I dunno why because on that particular firm they waere all fuller 9 speeds But, If you let the 240 Gardners overrun in top, theyd drop a valve!
Moving a vehicle between workshops I once did, shall we say slightly more than the 50mph I was supposed to be doing. It was in for a dodgy limiter, but no one had told me, I was chatting on the phone & it was not untill my junction came up much, much sooner than exspected that my concentration returned & quickly to what I was doing.
Lesson learnt. Class ones go much, much faster without limiters & driving requires concentration.
alan:
Class ones go much, much faster without limiters & driving requires concentration.
They certainly do Alan! My own dear old Merc 1748, allegedly, had a feature where the computer could be taken out of the scene by unplugging a large block connector under the dash! I dread to think the velocity attained at some miscreant actually doing this alleged activity.
Can it be that I am the only employed driver here or do your bosses not care? The Tacho disks are send off to be checked every week and when a driver goes over the limit (since the route is laid out to the last detail, they know exactly where you are at any time of the course) he gets called into the office. The first time it is a warning, the second time the driver receives a written warning, and the third time the letter contains the P45 of that driver. They do not tolerate any kind of speeding…
The company I worked with before called drivers into the office when they went over 60 mph for more than one minute and had a word with them…
But for me this isn’t an issue - I am not a speed freak, and I get paid by the hour… All I care about is that I get from A to B in one piece with my load intakt and in place…
ahhh the days of pre speedlimiter, following petrol tankers doing 80 mph across the M56, i know its off the subject of hills but i bet they dont get the load bonus’s they used to by the way i was in a fully freighted scania 143 450 they were running back to base empty
I can only speak for meself Atra, and since Im an old ■■■■, currently Im likely to be done more for loitering thiese days than tearing it up. This has been the sorry state over the last 10 years or so. But, when young and foolish in the dark days of pre-togdom, there were lamentable times of rash behaviour!
Here speedy,
Ta very much,I’m sitting here at 11pm on a Sunday night in the “wee box room” and the wife wants to know why I’m nearly [zb] myself laughing!!!
There seem to be 2 distinct groups of people here.
Those that hate speed limiters, get constantly cut up by coaches pulling out of sliproads when they’ve let them out and who go downhill as fast as gravity will let them…
Professional drivers who value their job and observe speed limits (60 mph on motorways) prefering the relaxed ‘payed by the hour’ approach of getting there in one piece.
They certainly do Alan! My own dear old Merc 1748, allegedly, had a feature where the computer could be taken out of the scene by unplugging a large block connector under the dash! I dread to think the velocity attained at some miscreant actually doing this alleged activity.
Mal.
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I can remember back in the UK if I flicked the key [ edited ] on my Scania it overides the limiter and off the clock was attained.
If I was in an Iveco we just pulled fuse number [edited] and the same effect was achieved
edited-TruckNetUK cannot and will not condone ANY illegal activities or the methods used-ATKIG11
There was a different route to the old iveco limiters other than the [edited] fuse Pat. I only know this as I drive for a Iveco dealership, but if you wished to pull the fuse so to speak, but keep the fuse in, you pulled (edited).
I was told about it as it was a check worth making when collecting vehicles from certain companys.
edited-reference was made to an illegal act-ATKIG11
no one should be doing more than 56mph on a motorway wether it be up down or on the flat its the legal limit END OF STORY.
here come those nice men with that lovely white jacket for me.
I admit to being extremely annoyed by drivers who use gravity to get them down hills and then run out of steam going up next hill and expecting everyone else to back off to let them into the nearside lane. What about my momentum etc.■■ Have they not heard ofengine brakes etc? Just totally bad driving in my view 
Dave you know how we feel now when left stranded in the middle lane when coaches come barging down the slip road and sail straight up the inside of us when we’ve pulled over to let them out !
But, If you let the 240 Gardners overrun in top, theyd drop a valve!
CLIFF!!! Tut tut! 
