Glad this got brought up, it is a question I always think of too! I know and understand their use and agree the need for them but as someone has already said, drivers take no notice any more. I wonder flipping why. Mr Fourth Emergency Service in his 7.5t Renault tilt and slide deck with a Vauxhall Tigra for a load, doing 60… Yep you guessed it, lights on. Mr Bin Man, shift finished and heading back to the tip, yep you guessed it, lights in. Mr Lowloader driver with a 20t slew on the back, within all size limits, yep you guessed it, lights on. Mr Steel Beam carrier, on the motorway with no oncoming traffic, yep you guessed it, grill full of strobes!
Every Tom, ■■■■ and Harry uses them so often now they just don’t stand out like they are meant to. The motorway is the worst place, slow, wide and/or over length then fair enough the rear end needs lighting up but having them all over the front of the truck too? Save ut for the single carriage way where you will face the traffic approaching you at speed, warning them at junctions and so on.
In short, and especially front facing beacons and strobes, turn the ■■■■■■■ things off unless you’re actually driving in two way traffic!!
Santa:
Same reason those recovery drivers with a little van and a car on a trailer have enough strobe lights flashing to light up the Albert Hall
i think that has to do with some law that the recovery guy has to have the beacons going if the towing a veichle on the road
No law at all, other than for wreckers (even then we don’t need beacons on once moving).
Our lads on recovery are taught to use beacons only when necessary. They are fitted to warn other drivers that they’re there.
We teach them, that as they slow for a job on the hard shoulder, switch them on at less than 40mph, leave them on whilst loading, and switch them off when leaving the scene and speed is over 40mph.
They’re more use on the single carriageways and country roads, where car drivers can see the flashing lights before they actually see the truck/obstruction. This is for our lads safety.
As said though, misuse of the amber beacon has dramatically cheapened their effect. Joe public see that many of them day to day, that they just don’t take any notice of them anymore.
Before you switch yours on, ask yourself, is it really necessary?
Quigg:
I have them on all the time due to loaders working at back of truck all the time. They might as well be switched off as other road users dont even bother about them
Exactly. You misuse them, and their effect is diluted.
Trouble is, there are folk who have a genuine need for them, and when they use them, no-one takes any notice.
Quigg:
I have them on all the time due to loaders working at back of truck all the time. They might as well be switched off as other road users dont even bother about them
Exactly. You misuse them, and their effect is diluted.
Trouble is, there are folk who have a genuine need for them, and when they use them, no-one takes any notice.
I took Quigg to mean that he drives a bin lorry, with loaders emptying rubbish bins into the back. So he does need them on all the time and isn’t misusing them at all.
Possibly something other than a bin lorry, but that’s what sprang to mind.
welshboyinspain:
aahh!! McPloppy, question for you on this subject.
quite often see logs on trailers that are within the poles on the sides, no higher than the truck pulling them and not over length so why do they need at least 4 beacons if not 6 plus
they certainly don’t drive slow and they shouldn’t be overweight
We have beacons on our motors because we do loads that require it … oversize/overhanging not just logs…
Poles over hanging… I think maximum overhang is 1.3 meters before lights are needed. … I’m sure some others will come akong with full reg’s
The rules are different if its a Romanian overhanging the side of your truck though.
Simon:
I took Quigg to mean that he drives a bin lorry, with loaders emptying rubbish bins into the back. So he does need them on all the time and isn’t misusing them at all.
Possibly something other than a bin lorry, but that’s what sprang to mind.
So if you need 14 beacons on a dust cart to work in residential streets in daylight hours where traffic rarely does more than 30mph,
How many beacons do you need on a recovery vehicle or tyre fitting working on the hard shoulder of an unlit motorway in the dark with 70mph traffic, to get the same level of attention?
Simon:
I took Quigg to mean that he drives a bin lorry, with loaders emptying rubbish bins into the back. So he does need them on all the time and isn’t misusing them at all.
Possibly something other than a bin lorry, but that’s what sprang to mind.
So if you need 14 beacons on a dust cart to work in residential streets in daylight hours where traffic rarely does more than 30mph,
How many beacons do you need on a recovery vehicle or tyre fitting working on the hard shoulder of an unlit motorway in the dark with 70mph traffic, to get the same level of attention?
Depends how many over tired, hopped up on energy drink and pro plus wrecker drivers might be passing you I guess
Santa:
Same reason those recovery drivers with a little van and a car on a trailer have enough strobe lights flashing to light up the Albert Hall
i think that has to do with some law that the recovery guy has to have the beacons going if the towing a veichle on the road
No law at all, other than for wreckers (even then we don’t need beacons on once moving).
There is no such law that says the beacons must be used on wreckers etc - the relevant bits of the Road Vehicle Lighting Regs allow them to be used when at the scene of the breakdown and when towing a broken down vehicle. I think the only circumstances when they must be used are on slow-moving vehicles (such as agricultural tractors, milk floats etc) being driven on dual carriageways. I don’t think they are required to be used on overhanging loads either (but I stand to be corrected on that).
Wreckers when loaded run similar to (but not bound by) STGO regs. They operate outside of the C+U regs. There are specific terms to the effect that beacons must be used.
(l)amber light from a warning beacon fitted to—
(i)a road clearance vehicle;
(ii)a vehicle constructed or adapted for the purpose of collecting refuse;
(iii)a breakdown vehicle;
(iv)a vehicle having a maximum speed not exceeding 25 mph or any trailer drawn by such a vehicle;
(v)a vehicle having an overall width (including any load) exceeding 2.9 m;
(vi)a vehicle used for the purposes of testing, maintaining, improving, cleansing or watering roads or for any purpose incidental to any such use;
(vii)a vehicle used for the purpose of inspecting, cleansing, maintaining, adjusting, renewing or installing any apparatus which is in, on, under or over a road, or for any purpose incidental to any such use;
(viii)a vehicle used for or in connection with any purpose for which it is authorised to be used on roads by an order under section 44 of the Act;
(ix)a vehicle used for ■■■■■■ purposes when travelling at a speed not exceeding 25 mph;
(x)a vehicle used by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise for the purpose of testing fuels;
(xi)a vehicle used for the purpose of surveying;
(xii)a vehicle used for the removal or immobilisation of vehicles in exercise of a statutory power or duty;
So I can use them but only when it doesn’t upset the sensibilities of others
You run heavy though Billy?
I’ll have a trawl back through the STGO regs, I’m sure there’s a specific term to the use of beacons for ya
My point above is, there is a specific term in legislation stating when beacons SHOULD and SHOULDN’T be used for a wrecker.
Not just that they should be fitted.
cieranc:
You run heavy though Billy?
I’ll have a trawl back through the STGO regs, I’m sure there’s a specific term to the use of beacons for ya
My point above is, there is a specific term in legislation stating when beacons SHOULD and SHOULDN’T be used for a wrecker.
Not just that they should be fitted.
Not heavy, mate. Wide, mostly over 3m and up to about 19m long with over hang.
As a rule of thumb I have 2 on the tractor roof which I knock off on duals and motorways, knocking them back on only to overtake. The 2 on the trailer are low mounted on the slide out bumper/light bar. These are xenons on the sidelight circuit but I have the tops blacked out so they only really flash at dopey car driver level , as they shouldn’t be there for long, and that reduces the flash to pretty much nil at cab height as I figure a wagon may be stuck there for a longer time.
Most of the height for me is high up and drivers, especially wagon drivers, don’t seem to see it despite all the markings or appreciate exactly how much room I need for street furniture etc. They only seem to see the width of the truck Having them down at car level means cars drivers tend to give me more room which on motorways and duals can be more important to change lanes when there is something on the shoulder which is my normal choice when empty but critical running wide.
It does make my teeth grind a bit though when I’m being blinded by some tool in a van with more flashys than me
Quite right, they’re not required to be shown all the time. Only whilst loading and if they can’t maintain a reasonable speed, relative to the road they’re driving on.
Which is where the ‘open to interpretation’ comes into force.
On STGO, it’s a max speed of 40mph on the motorway - is 40mph a reasonable speed on a motorway?
I believe doing 40 on a motorway (or 30mph on dual carriageways) is too slow, it’ll cause problems.
Hence why we instruct our lads to switch them off above 40mph.
BUT… wreckers are also speed limiter exempt, for general breakdown recovery it’s rare to see a wreker driver sticking to the STGO speed limits! For wrecking work, where cabs are strapped on, axles chained up, trailer load compromised, then yes, nice and steady, often with an ■■■■■■ vehicle.
They’re also switched off at the scene of an accident where the road itself is restricted. If there’s a lane closure, there’s usually an Incident Support Vehicle in attendance, and Highwaymen or Police. In these cases, they’ve usually got enough lights for al of us, so again, we don’t light up.
In any case, what purpose do roof/front mounted beacons serve on a motorway? With an artic on the hook, you can’t see them from behind, and there’s no oncoming traffic, so for whose benefit are the beacons lit?
The same goes for the caravan/cabin lads on the motorway - cars approaching from behind can see how wide the load is before they overtake, and there’s no oncoming traffic to warn, so what use are all them strobes on the front grill?
They just cause an annoyance!
In a lot of cases, they’re just ‘Look At Me’ lights (known in the recovery industry as ‘HERO’ lights). Well the problem with attracting attention is, sometimes you attract the attention of people you don’t want to attract - the VOSA!
If you’re running over weight/width/length, you don’t really want to advertise that unless you’re doing everything by the book.
Quigg:
I have them on all the time due to loaders working at back of truck all the time. They might as well be switched off as other road users dont even bother about them
Exactly. You misuse them, and their effect is diluted.
Trouble is, there are folk who have a genuine need for them, and when they use them, no-one takes any notice.
I took Quigg to mean that he drives a bin lorry, with loaders emptying rubbish bins into the back. So he does need them on all the time and isn’t misusing them at all.
Possibly something other than a bin lorry, but that’s what sprang to mind.
Could any drivers of low-loaders etc that are fitted with orange flashing beacons explain why they feel the need to use said beacons even when the thing is not moving slowly?
