Or did good old UK taxpayer trump up the money again to subsidise the hauliers who undercut our own
Or we could spend our tax pounds on research, paying "experts to give their opininion, perhaps even a parliamentry commitee or two…
Just for once the government has spent a few quid on some thing that is actually useful.
I am the first to knock when they decide to spend a few million on setting up a committe to see if one legged black lesbian whales should have a grant to become lorry drivers, but in this case I do believe they have genuinely identified a problem and adressed it in a correct manner. tax money for once well spent in my opinion.
and as someone who drove a right hand drive truck throughout Europe, and narrowly missed on many occasssions that car sitting down the passenger side, and who has been in the the cab with a Fresnal fitted , I can only say that they do make a hell of a difference. almost totally elimintaing the blind spot.
Do the foreign vehicles have a charity registration address on their vehicles i could send some of the wages i have left after deductions to.
Yes, probably sounds like i’m nit picking over a few quids worth of plastic, but if the cure is so magical and cheap, let the foreign drivers buy them.
Heaven forbid, but there could be a case of ‘‘you don’t come into the country without one, thats £8.50 please’’
I had one of these FREE on my last truck - it was handed to me as I got off the boat in Dover - and I have to say theyre very good.
Now personally I would buy one, if I could actually find one. The cost to me would not be a problem as Spanish drivers are paid very well, probably better than UK drivers, but east european drivers arent. In fact they earn very little so to expect them to pay is nonsense.
It might seem like your (my ex) government is giving us freebies, but in real terms the cost to the UK taxpayer is negligible and the savings considerable.
And just as an aside side swiping is accidental - no “foreign” driver needs the hassle of accidents, the police, insurance forms, delays etc… etc…
P90DLS:
I think there is a show on monday night ITV about this
Killer Lorries: Monday 31st March on ITV 1 from 8:00pm to 8:30pm
Quentin Willson investigates statistics that show more than 1,300 people were involved in collisions with lorries driven by foreign motorists in Britain in 2006. The reporter reveals how UK safety laws are being broken and looks into how the problems can be solved.
The members of the “Centre Lane Owners Club” who come up behind you like a rocket and then either sit on your off side rear corner or alongside you, to stop you pulling out to overtake the vehicle which you are rapidly gaining on in your lane, are one of my pet hates . They rank almost up level with the idiots who don’t know that they have their high intensity rear fog lights on in clear visibility. I think that with the technology available today that manufacturers ought to have a system installed which switches these rear fog lights off when the vehicle speed goes over 40 mph. If you can see to go over 40 mph then you don’t need rear fog lights on!
Rant over for now.
To get back to the original thread about fresnel lamps, I seem to remember reading somewhere that when these fresnel lenses were first introduced and positioned in the rear window of busesand coaches (to aid with checking proximity of vehicles behind when parking) that on sunny days the lens concentrates the suns rays, like as through a magnifying glass, and was thought to be the cause of setting fire to the rearmost seat backs. You don’t see many of them fitted to PSVs these days. Just something to be aware of given the closeness of curtains etc to these lenses when installed in sleeper cabs.
Good idea in general but change the scenario, you go france no passport (or non eu country nowadays) you get turned round straight back,
No fresnel lens bought/fitted on entry to uk, truck held at port or returned on next ferry at owners cost, i’d open a little store cos you could guarantee they’d queue up to buy them then.
As a british taxpayer i’d rather see mandatory fresnel on entry and a fiver off the cost of a passport.
Times are hard stop throwing good taxpayers cash away and stop the problem at source.
speedyguy:
Good idea in general but change the scenario, you go france no passport (or non eu country nowadays) you get turned round straight back,
No fresnel lens bought/fitted on entry to uk, truck held at port or returned on next ferry at owners cost, i’d open a little store cos you could guarantee they’d queue up to buy them then.
As a british taxpayer i’d rather see mandatory fresnel on entry and a fiver off the cost of a passport.
Times are hard stop throwing good taxpayers cash away and stop the problem at source.
I can guarantee the cost of bringing in such a law would far outweigh the cost of giving the lenses away. On top of that if it was introduced it would have to be applied to all vehicles, UK or not, left and right hand drive, they can’t even make a retrospective law to add more mirrors to older trucks even though they have to be fitted to new trucks.
With the cost of a fatal accident reported to cost around a million quid, from the first 999 call; police, ambulance, fire brigade attendance; hospital treatment; the cleanup; lost time to those caught in the tailback; evidence gathering/investigation; funeral & time off work for relatives; coroners’ inquest; court appearences; probable prosecution; insurance settlements etc etc…
Based on that, giving away a total of 330.000 would cost the same as 1 fatal accident and that is money well bloody spent for once, and there’s the bonus that many relatives won’t have to grieve for loved ones, for which no value can be placed upon.
I had a few LHD lorries, mainly F12s, 3 & 4 series which are fitted with a pretty good mirror arrangement, I also had a fresnel lense on the window in the 4 series & it does give an increased view BUT cars are not always in the blind spot, if you are looking in your mirrors enough then you will see the car before it enters the blind spot, you then simply wait until you can see it again & then make your move, that isn’t rocket science, is it
