Roymondo:
It is not unreasonable to expect that sometimes vehicles break down, and sometimes those breakdowns involves total electrical failure.
But that’s not what happened. My guess is that the truck driver won’t be prosecuted.
Roymondo:
That’s also why people slow down a bit.Whenever we get some really foggy weather, a general warning goes out for folks to slow down a bit. You’ll also see numerous grumbles on this forum regarding drivers who still press on at the limiter even in thick fog (and they get fairly widespread backing from other participants). What is the difference (from a driver responsibility satndpoint) between being unable to see further than (say) 100m due to fog and being unable to see beyond 100m due to pitch blackness and the limits of dipped headlamps?
We’re not talking about 100 m visibility either in the case of dipped headlights or thick fog.In most cases the visibilty limits are about the same for dipped headlights or fog or even sometimes a lot less in the case of fog but in all cases that’s less than 100 m more like 100 feet if that.As I said it’s more reasonable to expect traffic to slow up to the required speed in the case of fog as opposed to every time an oncoming vehicle/s require the use of dipped headlights.Unless that is you want to see traffic travelling on motorways etc at around 20 mph or less every time something approaches in the opposite direction requiring the use of dipped headlights.
As for those so called ‘warnings’ and so called press on drivers on here.As an ex night trunk driver I probably wouldn’t be here today if I’d have been stupid enough to drive at the type of speed indicated on the so called warning signs like 50 mph for example in fog which was thick enough to not even be able to see the edge of the hard shoulder and verge in some cases. 
However in clear conditions in general it’s all about using main beam head lights whenever/wherever possible and minimising the time spent on dipped lights.Rather than it being practical to drop the speed down to that which would actually be required to stop in time in the event of an unlit obstruction ahead on an unlit road subject to the national speed limit.In the case of such an obstacle ahead while on dipped lights it’s probably more a question of luck and being in the wrong place at the wrong time than one of dropping the speed down,to that which would be required to stop,every time that something approaches from the opposite direction.In which case the blame really can’t be put on the unlucky driver who found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time,by running into an unlit obstruction on an unlit road, assuming that it wasn’t possible to have been using main beam head lights at the time.
The question remains are you saying that vehicles should be driven at the speed within which they can stop,in all cases, whenever dipped headlights are used,in the event of an unlit obstruction,on an unlit road,or not 
.
A scenario which I don’t think any one has mentioned, not that I am saying it happened since we are all still guessing, (but ive known it to happen) is that the truck that struck the car was following another truck at an unsafe distance, truck 1 sees this stationary car at the last minute, swings out in to lane 2, truck that struck the car had no were to go as other traffic are in lane 2 and had no choice but to plough in to the car.
Roymondo:
Well… If the car has been stopped long enough for the bloke to get out of the car and retrieve his suitcase (presumably from the boot?) then it has been stationary long enough for a following driver to see it and stop before any collision occurred, regardless of whether the lights were on or off…
NOT AT ALL,
a lot of years ago i was going south on the old A1 past the alpine inn at wetherby around midnight … a few minutes beforehand a car had passed me at a rate of knots and that was the last i saw of it until i suddenly saw it crashed sideways on in lane 2 of the twin track ,just as i went past at 56, wedged against the barrier… NO LIGHTS ON, and as i looked in my mirror a car was in lane 2 just about to overtake me… he hit the sideways car at about 70mph…
i got stopped a few hundred yards further on the hard shoulder, grabbed my torch, and set off to run back towards this lot fearing the worst and phoning 999 at the same time…
unbelievably the 4 young occupants of the first car had got out pretty quick and were in between the central barriers, and the 2 occupants of the second car which was a taxi , were ok cos the air bags AND SEAT BELTS had done their job,
problem now was that this was just over the brow of a slight hill so we had traffic still hammering towards us… AND then the taxi burst into flames, so my next job was running back up the road, trying to get them slowed down… very scary , BUT I CAN CONFIRM THAT YOU WILL NOT SEE AN UNLIT CAR IN THE DARK UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT.
Roymondo:
Well… If the car has been stopped long enough for the bloke to get out of the car and retrieve his suitcase (presumably from the boot?) then it has been stationary long enough for a following driver to see it and stop before any collision occurred, regardless of whether the lights were on or off…
NOT AT ALL,
a lot of years ago i was going south on the old A1 past the alpine inn at wetherby around midnight … a few minutes beforehand a car had passed me at a rate of knots and that was the last i saw of it until i suddenly saw it crashed sideways on in lane 2 of the twin track ,just as i went past at 56, wedged against the barrier… NO LIGHTS ON, and as i looked in my mirror a car was in lane 2 just about to overtake me… he hit the sideways car at about 70mph…
i got stopped a few hundred yards further on the hard shoulder, grabbed my torch, and set off to run back towards this lot fearing the worst and phoning 999 at the same time…
unbelievably the 4 young occupants of the first car had got out pretty quick and were in between the central barriers, and the 2 occupants of the second car which was a taxi , were ok cos the air bags AND SEAT BELTS had done their job,
problem now was that this was just over the brow of a slight hill so we had traffic still hammering towards us… AND then the taxi burst into flames, so my next job was running back up the road, trying to get them slowed down… very scary , BUT I CAN CONFIRM THAT YOU WILL NOT SEE AN UNLIT CAR IN THE DARK UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT.
JLS Driver SOS:
FarnboroughBoy11:
What’s the slow lane?? I thought lanes 1,2 and 3 were all the same speed limitTraditionally it was the slow lane, when the roads were full of sit up and beg Anglias and 100 hp trucks carrying 20 tons, but yas I suppose your right, slow lane doesnt really mean anything nowadays, apart from 730hp trucks doing 50 of course
What a tragedy though, stupid thing to do or not, nobody deservered that… terrible.
Traditionally it was the slow lane
There are some crackers on here! A while back we were told there was only one lane on a motorway and the other 2 were overtaking lanes and now we are told that tradionally it was the slow lane.
Please show me any highway code ever where that was mentioned?..LOL…
Is this case story an admission from Mrs involved, from her hospital bed and made public domain?
…Or a plod “you never guess what I had to clean up at the Godstone turnoff tonight” kind of thing?
Either way, someone’s talking that legally perhaps shouldn’t be hmm? 
I have never read such a load of crap if we all drove thinking what if someone as stopped or what if something is in the road,there is no way you drive in the dark to the speed you can see in front of you that is why vehicles have lights so we can notice them further away than the natural eye can see in the dark otherwise I would guess on an unlit motorway at night we would have to drive at a max of 30 mph with no other vehicle in front
Christ trollmondo is talking out of his ■■■■■■■ passage tonight!
my thoughts are with the truck driver.
the wife got the last word in then, as usual 
A l c:
I have never read such a load of crap if we all drove thinking what if someone as stopped or what if something is in the road,there is no way you drive in the dark to the speed you can see in front of you that is why vehicles have lights so we can notice them further away than the natural eye can see in the dark otherwise I would guess on an unlit motorway at night we would have to drive at a max of 30 mph with no other vehicle in front
So you can’t see in the dark then?
If a car had pulled up on a dark motorway in a live lane, then lights on or off, a lone truck driver coming along behind thinking there’s nowt in front of them with either full beam on (assuming no oncoming traffic) or with dipped lights, but angled high enough so they can still see their stopping distance ahead.
If they can’t see that distance, then their eyesight isn’t upto it, and/or trucker’s lights are not working as they should.
Normally, one would see the darkened car by your own lights in it’s reflectors - Providing one is not watching a DVD, rolling a joint, asleep, mesmerised, or considering if they should have gone to specsavers or not.
My guess is the driver will be clear IF nothing is found wrong with his lights or eyesight - plus having a clean tacho of course! If he’d been driving 22 hours straight, apart from only 90 minutes break on the ferry 2 hours back, then sorry bud, that ain’t good enough.
Who leaked the information about the couple “having a row”? That’s something surely only obtainable from the Woman in the car when it was hit, and has been repeated during a live investigation…
Sorry no chance I don’t think you can see as far as you can stop with 44 ton in the dark if a vehicle is stationary in the dark my eyes are fine but next time you drive in the dark see how far you can see and think could I stop dead in that distance without taking a detour and I don’t mean a little bit dark I mean pitch black I was a passenger in a car once on the a5 and a car in front of us was side on no lights I couldn’t believe we never hit it and if anything would have been coming the other way I dont know what would of happened just my opinion you must have better eyes than me
Harry Monk:
Roymondo:
It is not unreasonable to expect that sometimes vehicles break down, and sometimes those breakdowns involves total electrical failure.But that’s not what happened. My guess is that the truck driver won’t be prosecuted.
Of course he won’t be prosecuted! Has anyone suggested that he would?
mataos32:
Christ trollmondo is talking out of his ■■■■■■■ passage tonight!
Er - he hasn’t (until now) posted anything here tonight - or last night, for that matter.
Winseer:
A l c:
I have never read such a load of crap if we all drove thinking what if someone as stopped or what if something is in the road,there is no way you drive in the dark to the speed you can see in front of you that is why vehicles have lights so we can notice them further away than the natural eye can see in the dark otherwise I would guess on an unlit motorway at night we would have to drive at a max of 30 mph with no other vehicle in frontSo you can’t see in the dark then?
If a car had pulled up on a dark motorway in a live lane, then lights on or off, a lone truck driver coming along behind thinking there’s nowt in front of them with either full beam on (assuming no oncoming traffic) or with dipped lights, but angled high enough so they can still see their stopping distance ahead.If they can’t see that distance, then their eyesight isn’t upto it, and/or trucker’s lights are not working as they should.
Normally, one would see the darkened car by your own lights in it’s reflectors - Providing one is not watching a DVD, rolling a joint, asleep, mesmerised, or considering if they should have gone to specsavers or not.
My guess is the driver will be clear IF nothing is found wrong with his lights or eyesight - plus having a clean tacho of course! If he’d been driving 22 hours straight, apart from only 90 minutes break on the ferry 2 hours back, then sorry bud, that ain’t good enough.
Who leaked the information about the couple “having a row”? That’s something surely only obtainable from the Woman in the car when it was hit, and has been repeated during a live investigation…
The only way that you’ll pick out reflectors in the headlights far enough ahead to react is if they’re on main beam.I’ve come across enough unlit vehicles on unlit motorways in my time to know that.As for eyesight on an unlit motorway it’s got nothing to do with eyesight because no one can see anything on an unlit motorway unless it’s lit or there’s some other form of light like moonlight.The only thing you’ll see beyond the cut off range of dipped headlights on an unlit road is pitch black darkness.Which just leaves the question of the distance you can see to be clear within the range of dipped headlights.Which is ( a lot ) less than the combined reaction distance and stopping distance running at the national speed limit.Which is why vehicles are fitted with main beam headlights.
A l c:
Sorry no chance I don’t think you can see as far as you can stop with 44 ton in the dark if a vehicle is stationary in the dark my eyes are fine but next time you drive in the dark see how far you can see and think could I stop dead in that distance without taking a detour and I don’t mean a little bit dark I mean pitch black I was a passenger in a car once on the a5 and a car in front of us was side on no lights I couldn’t believe we never hit it and if anything would have been coming the other way I dont know what would of happened just my opinion you must have better eyes than me
I’ve worked over 20 years on nights, and my eyesight is merely “good enough” rather than the full 20/20.
I’ve avoided several incidents of vehicles and pedestrians blundering around in the middle of a dark road at night, wearing dark clothes and looking the other way to boot. I stand by the concept of only travelling as fast as you can see and safely stop in. My reactions perhaps are fairly quick, but I’ve always made a point of “avoiding distractions” once I drive into a dark stretch of road. The radio goes off, the blower gets turned down, I open the windows slightly so I can hear outside sounds, and I pay far more attention to the road ahead. I’ve killed a fox and two badgers over the years, and the occasional owl that thumped off my cab which I didn’t see until it was point blank, but that’s better than some who manage to run over a cat etc. every week I’m sure.
Of course, this is why I actually prefer trunk motorway driving to fooling around in country lanes at night as well!
Winseer:
A l c:
Sorry no chance I don’t think you can see as far as you can stop with 44 ton in the dark if a vehicle is stationary in the dark my eyes are fine but next time you drive in the dark see how far you can see and think could I stop dead in that distance without taking a detour and I don’t mean a little bit dark I mean pitch black I was a passenger in a car once on the a5 and a car in front of us was side on no lights I couldn’t believe we never hit it and if anything would have been coming the other way I dont know what would of happened just my opinion you must have better eyes than meI’ve worked over 20 years on nights, and my eyesight is merely “good enough” rather than the full 20/20.
I’ve avoided several incidents of vehicles and pedestrians blundering around in the middle of a dark road at night, wearing dark clothes and looking the other way to boot. I stand by the concept of only travelling as fast as you can see and safely stop in. My reactions perhaps are fairly quick, but I’ve always made a point of “avoiding distractions” once I drive into a dark stretch of road. The radio goes off, the blower gets turned down, I open the windows slightly so I can hear outside sounds, and I pay far more attention to the road ahead. I’ve killed a fox and two badgers over the years, and the occasional owl that thumped off my cab which I didn’t see until it was point blank, but that’s better than some who manage to run over a cat etc. every week I’m sure.
Of course, this is why I actually prefer trunk motorway driving to fooling around in country lanes at night as well!
I’ll stand by the idea that there’s no way that anyone can stop within the distance they can see to be clear within the range of dipped headlights at least travelling at the national speed limit on unlit dual carriageways and motorways in the case of trucks.The best safety advice is to use main beam head lights wherever and whenever possible and minimise the use of dipped head lights except when absolutely required.While the idea of reducing speed to the distance which can be seen to be clear within the range of dipped head lights is just totally unrealistic.
…
Lorn trakta:
If it is in principle a permitted action to drive a vehicle into the unknown contents of the pitch black void of night, beyond the spread of the vehicles beamlight, full or dipped, at a speed at which you know full well you are unable to stop in the distance seen to be clear, why is it regarded as murderous folly to do the exact same thing in the fog, why are you not allowed to drive at a speed that does not fascilitate the stopping of the vehicle in the distance seen to be clear during daylight?.
Here’s a clue the next time you’re driving a truck on an unlit dual or motorway reduce speed according to the distance which you can see to be clear,within the range of the lights,every time you need to dip your headlights.I think you’ll find it a bit more difficult than driving to the speed that you can see to be clear ahead in thick fog.
…
Lorn trakta:
Carryfast:
Lorn trakta:
If it is in principle a permitted action to drive a vehicle into the unknown contents of the pitch black void of night, beyond the spread of the vehicles beamlight, full or dipped, at a speed at which you know full well you are unable to stop in the distance seen to be clear, why is it regarded as murderous folly to do the exact same thing in the fog, why are you not allowed to drive at a speed that does not fascilitate the stopping of the vehicle in the distance seen to be clear during daylight?.Here’s a clue the next time you’re driving a truck on an unlit dual or motorway reduce speed according to the distance which you can see to be clear,within the range of the lights,every time you need to dip your headlights.I think you’ll find it a bit more difficult than driving to the speed that you can see to be clear ahead in thick fog.
There is no situation that I’m familiar with where the law permits a driver to drive a vehicle at a speed that does not fascilitate the requirement to stop the vehicle within the distance SEEN TO BE CLEAR, it is not at all conditional or subject to any prevailing weather conditions, or any line of sight impediments created by the brows of hills or corners of the roads, the requirement to be able to stop is ABSOLUTE, those whose lives that anyone is prepared to gamble with or sacrifice by not being able to stop, have a different life value at night or in the fog do they?.
My younger brother was knocked down by a hit and run driver leaving him critically injured laying near to the middle of the road, the road was the B1368 in east herts, unlit single carriage country road with long to short straights and winding bends, on one such bend lay my brother, its a road that bikers seek out for fun, at around 01.00 in the pitch black of night, laying in the road dressed in dark clothing, along next came a humberside truck near 200 miles from his own familiar surrounds and factually saved his life by stopping short and not running him over and calling for the emergency service, he is definitely what I call a real driver, going by the evidence supplied by their own hands there’s a distinct shortage of them on here.
Where’s the connection with that case and a vehicle running on the limiter on a motorway having needed to dip the head lights as opposed to running on main beam head lights.In which case as I’ve said it would require the impossible situation of every vehicle needing to slow down to the speed in which it would be possible to stop,within the range lit by the lights, every time the lights need to be dipped.
Your brother was lucky.He obviously wasn’t in the position of being in the middle of an unlit road with a truck running on the limiter as in the case of an unlit motorway with the need to run on dipped lights.This is the reality of what you’re really able to see in the case of something without lights in the road ahead assuming that you’re not running on main beam head lights.Which is obviously the advice which this driver needs.
youtube.com/watch?v=CG4HwqV-CBA
2.12-2.30