Think the argument might be is it signposted legally or adequately?
Big difference unfortunately for those who get caught out.
Would have thought by now if not legal it would have been well noticed??
Adequately? Probably not but that a different story.
Who covers that particular area? Has anyone queried signage?
trubster:
Roymondo:
Winseer:
The big point I’m trying to make here is that the 15’9" aspect of the sliproad is poorly signposted, and doesn’t make allowances for either those with old satnavs nor those coming from the west, who did the job a few months back, but have fallen into complacency at worst.In my mind a fine AND points is too harsh for such an easy mistake to make.
It should be £100 OR 3 points for contesting the fine…
Can’t agree with this - You’re effectively saying that drivers should be OK to “not notice” proper, official road signage because they have their nose buried in an old Satnav or “always came this way in the past without a problem”. Would you apply the same leeway to a speed limit, a weight limit or a No Entry sign?
BUT IT ISN’T SIGNPOSTED PROPERLY! That is the argument here.
So you say - but you also admit that this was the case “the last time you were there” - without actually clarifying when this might have been. I haven’t passed through there since last Summer (in the car), but it was clear to me that there had been an awful lot of changes to signage etc. What signs are actually in place now? Do you know?
Roymondo:
trubster:
Roymondo:
Winseer:
The big point I’m trying to make here is that the 15’9" aspect of the sliproad is poorly signposted, and doesn’t make allowances for either those with old satnavs nor those coming from the west, who did the job a few months back, but have fallen into complacency at worst.In my mind a fine AND points is too harsh for such an easy mistake to make.
It should be £100 OR 3 points for contesting the fine…
Can’t agree with this - You’re effectively saying that drivers should be OK to “not notice” proper, official road signage because they have their nose buried in an old Satnav or “always came this way in the past without a problem”. Would you apply the same leeway to a speed limit, a weight limit or a No Entry sign?
BUT IT ISN’T SIGNPOSTED PROPERLY! That is the argument here.
So you say - but you also admit that this was the case “the last time you were there” - without actually clarifying when this might have been. I haven’t passed through there since last Summer (in the car), but it was clear to me that there had been an awful lot of changes to signage etc. What signs are actually in place now? Do you know?
I was at 1A 2 weeks ago, the green sign has a red circle, but there should be another on the n/s of the road (1 for each side) - they also SHOULD be illuminated as it is a trunk road and within 50m of a lamp post - the below pic is old, but they replaced that sign and put a height restriction sign into it.
They don’t even know what they are doing, 11,180KG Max Axle weight. My drive axle is 11,500kg MGW - so I “Officially” can’t use any Dartford crossings
legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014 … 949_en.pdf
That 11,500kg is a maximum permitted axle weight for that axle on your unit. Do you actually run with that weight on the drive axle all the time? or even any of the time?
Roymondo:
That 11,500kg is a maximum permitted axle weight for that axle on your unit. Do you actually run with that weight on the drive axle all the time? or even any of the time?
The same argument would apply going solo through an 18 tonne weight limit - but they are MGW’s, the actual weight of the vehicle means nothing.
N0rbert:
…I’ve just checked my TomTom satnav about J1A. I updated it 4-5 months ago. From J1A it took me filtering from lane 1 to lane 3, which is wrong now. Not the one I just posted. After update it took be back to J2, and turned me around at the rdb and through the righ-hand tunnel. Always keep you sat-nav updated.
The TomTom is beating the Garmin Dezl 770 - the Garmin is still navigating me directly to the tunnel from Junction 1A this is with the vehicle profile set to a height of 4.88m - and the latest map and software updates installed (I just checked) - I expected better mapping for my £370. 
N0rbert:
… Always keep you sat-nav updated.
Better still never trust a Sat Nav! 
I have posted the fine payment and my licence to Swansea via registered delivery.
Do I need to inform my firm?
Roymondo:
Winseer:
The big point I’m trying to make here is that the 15’9" aspect of the sliproad is poorly signposted, and doesn’t make allowances for either those with old satnavs nor those coming from the west, who did the job a few months back, but have fallen into complacency at worst.In my mind a fine AND points is too harsh for such an easy mistake to make.
It should be £100 OR 3 points for contesting the fine…
Can’t agree with this - You’re effectively saying that drivers should be OK to “not notice” proper, official road signage because they have their nose buried in an old Satnav or “always came this way in the past without a problem”. Would you apply the same leeway to a speed limit, a weight limit or a No Entry sign?
I dont use a satnav, dont own a mobile phone and have a clean licence. I just feel sorry for all those who maybe used to that route, but have not been on it for a few months who suddenly come back to what they thought was a familiar run - only to get fined AND endorsed for an honest mistake.
As for “Speed Limits” - How many drivers out there were quick as a flash running at 50mph down the single carriageways as soon as the law about 40mph was dropped?
I still drive at 40mph on single roads - 'cos it’s the safe way to drive down 'em. The law can be too harsh at times, and too soft at others. I don’t agree with this business of “not pulling car drivers doing 96mph 'cos it isn’t the full ton” either. The police are letting too many people off because of their lack of ability to police the law properly - they’ve got the means to do it with all these managed motorway cameras now - so they should bloody well use them to raise revenues for the police, and stop the rot that having too damned few of them for our ever-expanding population of mostly foreigners demands…
In my mind, they should just “honest up” here, and pull everyone who’s taking the ■■■■ (eg. 50% or 30mph over the speed limit) and start with a big fine which if not paid translates into points on licence.
The “fine” is 10% of the value of the vehicle (but not it’s load), meaning that rightly a truck doing 50mph down school lane gets the book thrown at him over a car driver doing the same (assuming they are driving a “reasonably priced car” of course!)
Pull a Ferrari driver burning up a residential road - and fine them £10k+ would raise a big pile of money from that damned kensington set flaunting their daddy’s oil money about as well. 
Had a DX Decker in front of me last night trying the same, joined at 1a and traffic lights were promptly changed to red and a big overhead sign saying the offending overheight vehicle had to filter off to the left and do the lap of shame being watched by all of us.
I find a hundred quid a bit too lenient, fine them a thousand and give them six points and let’s see if we get less of them hitting bridges all over the country.
Then again, you can’t really legislate for stupidity.
If you made the penalties too harsh then drivers would just refuse to ever drive double deckers outright, and the entire daft idea of putting them on the roads in the first place would perhaps come to an end… A silver lining perhaps.?
10 Double deckers could be said to take 10 extra drivers off the road that could otherwise be employed driving a regular truck for regular wages rather than two trucks at once for the same old wages… 
Winseer, you make a valid point,m i also would refer to that company who wanted to put double trailers on the road but wasnt allowed, and the majority of drivers on here said, what a great idea, would love to drive one of those etc etc without ever thinking that extra lengths would reduce the amount of drivers needed, in theory both ideas sound great, but in reality its a great big NO from me,m, tghey only benefit the haulier. I remember when containers were only 20 ft maximum, and no twist locks in those days, we chained them, or sometimes roped them,i remember when the max length of a trailer was 27 ft with a single axle, then it all changed, even the standard 12m trailer has been lengthened, no extra pay, when containers added that extra bit on the front, then the back, no extra pay, just a bar at the rear of the trailer to pull in or out, double deckers came in, no extra pay…so everything is for the companies benefit, and nothing for the driver except headaches.
truckyboy:
Winseer, you make a valid point,m i also would refer to that company who wanted to put double trailers on the road but wasnt allowed, and the majority of drivers on here said,what a great idea, would love to drive one of those etc etcwithout ever thinking that extra lengths would reduce the amount of drivers needed, in theory both ideas sound great, but in reality its a great big NO from me,m, tghey only benefit the haulier. I remember when containers were only 20 ft maximum, and no twist locks in those days, we chained them, or sometimes roped them,i remember when the max length of a trailer was 27 ft with a single axle, then it all changed, even the standard 12m trailer has been lengthened, no extra pay, when containers added that extra bit on the front, then the back, no extra pay, just a bar at the rear of the trailer to pull in or out, double deckers came in, no extra pay…so everything is for the companies benefit, and nothing for the driver except headaches.
But to compensate we don’t have to change gears anymore!
truckyboy:
(…) double deckers came in, no extra pay…so everything is for the companies benefit, and nothing for the driver except headaches.
This is just one thing, not a big deal I would say. But I can point out a much bigger problem. The frozen wages for trucking.
The national minimum wage keeps rising, but our wage is hasn’t increased at all.Within 10years a truck driver only will earn bit over the national minimum wage.They want to increase it to £9 by 2020.
Even this year brings a significant increase to £7.20 and they wonder why no one want to spend £4000-5000 for a C+E license.
1 Apr 2016 £7.20
1 Oct 2015 £6.70
1 Oct 2014 £6.50
1 Oct 2013 £6.31
1 Oct 2012 £6.19
1 Oct 2011 £6.08
1 Oct 2010 £5.93
1 Oct 2009 £5.80
1 Oct 2008 £5.73
1 Oct 2007 £5.52
1 Oct 2006 £5.35
1 Oct 2005 £5.05
1 Oct 2004 £4.85
1 Oct 2003 £4.50
1 Oct 2002 £4.20
1 Oct 2001 £4.10
1 Oct 2000 £3.70
1 Apr 1999 £3.60
ezydriver:
truckyboy:
Winseer, you make a valid point,m i also would refer to that company who wanted to put double trailers on the road but wasnt allowed, and the majority of drivers on here said,what a great idea, would love to drive one of those etc etcwithout ever thinking that extra lengths would reduce the amount of drivers needed, in theory both ideas sound great, but in reality its a great big NO from me,m, tghey only benefit the haulier. I remember when containers were only 20 ft maximum, and no twist locks in those days, we chained them, or sometimes roped them,i remember when the max length of a trailer was 27 ft with a single axle, then it all changed, even the standard 12m trailer has been lengthened, no extra pay, when containers added that extra bit on the front, then the back, no extra pay, just a bar at the rear of the trailer to pull in or out, double deckers came in, no extra pay…so everything is for the companies benefit, and nothing for the driver except headaches.But to compensate we don’t have to change gears anymore!
I was still working at RM when double deckers started to be introduced there. It was made plain that “training would be provided” and also “extra money will never happen”.
At the time, the only double deckers I was seen at “other firms” were what I now call “Palletliners” going to places like Lichfield, Brum Airport, Burton, and the bike sheds around the back of Watford Gap Services - all among the first jobs I got put on agecies after leaving RM in 2010.
Within a year, DDs started appearing at other mail courier firms like Yodel, Fexex, DPD, etc as well.
I suppose one could argue that “if the run is pure trunking” - then it’s no hardship having to drive one about. What you don’t want is work at some outfit like Salvatori with their yard down some country lane and many roads in the area having 40t weight limits and low bridges. Yep. Just imagine how a 40t limit might catch one out! You see all the “Other artic firms from the local industrial estate” zipping about - but not you that’s now plated for 44t AND over 16 foot high!
Perhaps driving a DD down the country lanes then - will become a job for the “middle aged” driver in the same way that multidrop rigid runs are “for the young”… 
…That leaves us old ■■■■■ to do the depot-depot trunking runs that have never been so popular among the “average age of a driver being 53” as they are right now…
I keep it simple and don’t drive anything over 4 meters high.