Fatboy slimslow:
albion1971:
Nobody can speculate on what causes these accidents but nine times out of ten it is proved to be human error.speed limiters
all bunched up!
and car drivers saving fuel
Do you purposely come across as being thick or do you think you are being funny?
PaulNowak:
From my limited experience, when you leave a safe gap, some daft git (for the want of a useable word) who was doing 60 in their Hyundai i10 or whatever, decides to chuck it into said safe gap, then brakes down to 50!That’s one reason safe gaps don’t get used, we’d spend more time backing off than accelerating, and never get anywhere!
As has been said above, risks get taken, that’s life, not just trucking, just extremely sad that 2 fellas that got up on Monday to go to work, the same as you and me, didn’t make it home.
Let he who is without sin…
Yes you are quite correct.Risks get taken by the selfish attitude of some drivers and sometimes that is what causes this type of accidents.
Your view that if you leave a safe gap someone will jump in and slow down is pathetic.I have been driving lorries over 30 years and have always managed to keep a safe distance by using a bit of anticipation and patience.You want to try it sometime before you cause a bad accident.
Ched:
FarnboroughBoy11:
Do they make the full investigation public once it’s concluded?? The reason I ask is because reports just don’t add up or they are not clear anyway. If the women in the Peugeot 307 was indeed between the lorries stationary then how on earth has she only suffered whiplash?? It was obviously enough force to kill the driver in front so that car supposedly took all the initial impact?? I think not.I’ve often wondered about the follow up investigation after these tragic events. Sometimes you see the results published in the news such as the M5 fog/firework display crash, but usually it doesn’t get a mention.
As to the lady surviving in the 307, once an accident happens it’s a case of roll the dice and see. You read stories of people walking away unharmed from 100mph crashes and people loosing their life in a 30 mph crash.
It usually does not get a mention because it is usually down to human error.I think the rest is obvious.
albion1971:
PaulNowak:
From my limited experience, when you leave a safe gap, some daft git (for the want of a useable word) who was doing 60 in their Hyundai i10 or whatever, decides to chuck it into said safe gap, then brakes down to 50!That’s one reason safe gaps don’t get used, we’d spend more time backing off than accelerating, and never get anywhere!
As has been said above, risks get taken, that’s life, not just trucking, just extremely sad that 2 fellas that got up on Monday to go to work, the same as you and me, didn’t make it home.
Let he who is without sin…
Yes you are quite correct.Risks get taken by the selfish attitude of some drivers and sometimes that is what causes this type of accidents.
Your view that if you leave a safe gap someone will jump in and slow down is pathetic.I have been driving lorries over 30 years and have always managed to keep a safe distance by using a bit of anticipation and patience.You want to try it sometime before you cause a bad accident.
There needs to be some fairness in that argument between drivers failing to maintain seperation distances by not adjusting speed according to what’s going on well ahead.Compared to cars jumping into that seperation distance too close ahead then jumping on the brakes or backing off in which case it’s obvious that there’s no way of responding to that situation with a fully freighted truck v the rate that a car can slow down.
As for a car being sandwiched in the middle of a fatal truck on truck shunt and that car driver being able to walk away from that scenario absloutely no chance.The only way that could happen is in the situation whereby a car had run into the back of a truck and the driver had got clear before another truck then ran into the two crashed vehicles.
As for saving lives,at least in the case of truck v truck nose to tail shunts yes the basic driving skill of the need to maintain seperation distances seems to be being forgotten too often.In addition to which a change in length regs to allow conventional/bonneted trucks would also help in the event of things inevitably going pear shaped sometimes.If the New Zealanders can manage with bonnets on their very similar,or even smaller road layouts,then the Brits should be able to manage it.While a bit of extra aggravation when shunting in the yard is worth the life saving abilities of having a chassis,engine and front axle in front to take the impact first.
Carryfast I agree some fairness needs to be taken but in 30 plus years of driving I have never had a problem and I know many others that don’t because they adjust to the situation.
Yes car drivers cut in and slow down suddenly but some truck drivers do not adjust accordingly.They will not come off the gas,they will not thinking be about using the exhaust brake or maybe the footbrake.No they just keep the foot flat to the floor and blame the car driver.It’s all about attitude and lack of aggression.
As for building trucks with bonnets that will not change the way the driver drives.Yes it might save a truck drivers life but it’s the drivers that need to change not the trucks.Aggressive drivers would become even more aggressive with a long bonnet in front of them.It would make then feel even safer than they are now while tailgating other vehicles.
RIP to the drivers.
Happened just up the road from me, a nasty accident and we’re still not 100% what happened here but ■■■■■■■■ and fighting aside, 2 people never got to go home that day and that’s a terrible thing in this day and age. We all take risks every day and sometimes our luck just doesn’t roll. Be glad any day we make it back in one piece.
albion1971:
PaulNowak:
From my limited experience, when you leave a safe gap, some daft git (for the want of a useable word) who was doing 60 in their Hyundai i10 or whatever, decides to chuck it into said safe gap, then brakes down to 50!That’s one reason safe gaps don’t get used, we’d spend more time backing off than accelerating, and never get anywhere!
As has been said above, risks get taken, that’s life, not just trucking, just extremely sad that 2 fellas that got up on Monday to go to work, the same as you and me, didn’t make it home.
Let he who is without sin…
Yes you are quite correct.Risks get taken by the selfish attitude of some drivers and sometimes that is what causes this type of accidents.
Your view that if you leave a safe gap someone will jump in and slow down is pathetic.I have been driving lorries over 30 years and have always managed to keep a safe distance by using a bit of anticipation and patience.You want to try it sometime before you cause a bad accident.
I do leave a safe distance actually, was just sharing my observations.
Of coarse there will be an inquest and the police will submit a report into the accident,i.e. tacho inspections,vehicle inspections and witness statments then a judge will give a verdict on the deaths.
But by looking at the photo it dosent take a rocket scientist to work out what has happened.
albion1971:
Your view that if you leave a safe gap someone will jump in and slow down is pathetic.
you must drive at 50mph on a motoway if that hasnt happend to you. you must be the one that leaves a mile gap when incident is 2 mile away, breaking early for no reason and cawsin jam behind 
espresso:
The HSS driver (blue truck) was a lad called Mike Proctor from Southport, only 22 with a young child.
The Spar driver was called Alan, and was set for imminent retirement from James Hall, Preston (Spar), and had actually already recieved his retirement present from the firm.Just thought I would fill in their details from their friends on facebook, as they are both local lads.
RIP both of them.
Bloody hell that’s a tad unlucky for the Spar guy. Almost looks like the chap in the blue wagon should of survived looking at the cab, but I suppose without seat belts… 22 & and a baby at home, that ■■■■■. I’m rubbish with the belt in a truck and never wear one but always do in the car, crazy really.
RIP.
Let’s not have an argument about who concentrates the most whilst driving as it degrades things somewhat…
Also the Spar chap may have had a heart attack or a stroke so all the speculation & preaching about not paying attention may be moot.
eezeer:
albion1971:
Your view that if you leave a safe gap someone will jump in and slow down is pathetic.you must drive at 50mph on a motoway if that hasnt happend to you. you must be the one that leaves a mile gap when incident is 2 mile away, breaking early for no reason and cawsin jam behind
No I do not drive at 50 on a motorway unless the conditions are not suitable to go faster.Please if you are trying to criticise me at least make some sense.I do not brake early for no reason either and do not cause jams behind me.I drive safely and do not take risks like some even admit to on here.What happened to Professional drivers?
Silver Surfer I am not trying to degrade anything.I am just appalled at the standard of some drivers these days and saddened to hear of people losing their lives unnecessarily.Yes we will always have some accidents for some reason but there an awful lot that could be avoided through drivers changing their attitudes.
ive read loads of your posts and i think that you are so up your own arse you are absolutly bloody perfect. All a accident or crash takes is 1 mistake and you ave never made 1, [zb] people have died and you are on a [zb] soap box
albion1971:
As for building trucks with bonnets that will not change the way the driver drives.Yes it might save a truck drivers life but it’s the drivers that need to change not the trucks.Aggressive drivers would become even more aggressive with a long bonnet in front of them.It would make then feel even safer than they are now while tailgating other vehicles.
But surely saving lives is what it’s all about and it doesn’t matter how it’s done because it’s the numbers that matter.There’s no logic in just trying to improve the figures by concentrating on one issue when those numbers could be improved even more by the combination of looking at both driving standards and the crash worthiness of vehicles.
The idea that improving crash worthiness creates more aggressive driving,leading to more casualties,not less,would contradict vehicle design aims going back years in which vehicle safety has been shown to be just as much of a priority to the designers as driving standards.
Regardless of the NCAP ratings the fact is the more metal that can be put between the victim and the accident the better chance the victim has and I don’t think that there’s any evidence which would show that the safest cars like Mercedes E or S Class for example or bonneted trucks cause more aggressive driving by their drivers. 
Yes I agree wholeheartedly Carryfast.The more lives that can be saved the better but surely the easiest and cheapest way is to educate drivers otherwise it’s a never ending spiral of costs.
As I am sure you know the safety of all vehicles has improved greatly over the past 20 years and long may it continue.
We all have our own opinions some right some wrong but something needs to be done to help stop the carnage.
I was passed by a couple of Irish trucks today billybegs or something.
They had come off the stena ship from the hook I imagine, anyway my point is the first one wafts past me, and once he was about four feet past in he came.
Ok, very impressive, he could judge with such a high degree of accuracy that he was past, but, if the ■■■■ hit the fan at that moment and I ended up dead would that make me at fault.
This ■■■■ happens to me daily.
albion1971:
Yes I agree wholeheartedly Carryfast.The more lives that can be saved the better but surely the easiest and cheapest way is to educate drivers otherwise it’s a never ending spiral of costs.
As I am sure you know the safety of all vehicles has improved greatly over the past 20 years and long may it continue.
We all have our own opinions some right some wrong but something needs to be done to help stop the carnage.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=96199&p=1406931&hilit=fly+sheet#p1404302
RPI drivers.
Lets be honest, there are crap drivers amongts all types of drivers, cars/vans/lorries, etc etc, sadly though, when it goes wrong for a lorry, it normally ends badly.
I commute along the A13 to work, and sadly, I see lorry drivers up each others arses everyday.
what has that link got to do with anythin, this site realy dose my head in somtimes