robroy:
There was some councilor or MP on the radio yesterday, was it Balfour or somebody?.He sounded a right posh pompous prick anyway, and he came out with something like ‘‘THESE lorry drivers need to learn’’ …he may as well have been saying these vermin.
“These” lorry drivers don’t drive through these restrictions on purpose. They seem to think we can just stop & do a u-ey.
Yes, there are the numbnuts who do no prior route research & blindly follow SatNav’s, but then there are also the very large number who get caught out whilst trying to find awkward addresses or finding diversions around road closures. We aren’t superhuman. Theres no excuse for driving down the obviously unsuitable village street & getting stuck, but I think most of us have thought “screw it” at some point when the first you learn about a restriction, is when it’s right in front of you & your committed.
I sympathise with some of these villagers to an extent, but restrictions have to be well signposted with diversions around them. They should campaign for that rather than slagging us drivers, but then thats the easy thing to do.
robroy:
There was some councilor or MP on the radio yesterday, was it Balfour or somebody?.He sounded a right posh pompous prick anyway, and he came out with something like ‘‘THESE lorry drivers need to learn’’ …he may as well have been saying these vermin.
“These” lorry drivers don’t drive through these restrictions on purpose. They seem to think we can just stop & do a u-ey.
Yes, there are the numbnuts who do no prior route research & blindly follow SatNav’s, but then there are also the very large number who get caught out whilst trying to find awkward addresses or finding diversions around road closures. We aren’t superhuman. Theres no excuse for driving down the obviously unsuitable village street & getting stuck, but I think most of us have thought “screw it” at some point when the first you learn about a restriction, is when it’s right in front of you & your committed.
I sympathise with some of these villagers to an extent, but restrictions have to be well signposted with diversions around them. They should campaign for that rather than slagging us drivers, but then thats the easy thing to do.
I made the mistake of trying to take the most direct route from Bath to Highbridge the other week. Checked out the bridge map it looked basic, so set the sat nav to my required route and came across Weight Limit Hell all the bloody way At one point I went miles with no warning signs and it just came up in front of me, the one alternative B road took me off route for bloody miles, ended up in Cheddar which ain’t the best road. If you local guys are laughing I am not too familiar with that part of the country
Just 1 example where it could be better signposted (and a good argument for all you guys with the latest hi tech astronaut style navigation aids that I take the ■■■■ out of )
I’m sure there are some small villages who moan about HGV traffic, but is not possible that we might only be using it because of a major road closure? Often I’ve been sent through small towns and villages on a diversion. Nothing we can do about that, and we’d all rather be making progress than using small rural roads anyway.
Maybe part of the problem lies with the unreliability of our motorways and main A roads being totally open without any works going on.
NIMBYism is getting worse, and it’ll get worse yet.
You have increasing numbers of townies moving to the more expensive rural locations, escaping the hell that modern towns have become, semi retiring, about to enjoy the fruits of the massive profits they made on their urban homes/businesses due in no small measure to the unsustainable increases in population, and variations of all.
Similar dispersal of communities has been going on for donkeys years in other ways and in other social classes, white flight, another elephant in the room, though the white flighters tend not to be NIMBYS…
When they move to their idyllic newly constructed village they think they are literally detached from the lower orders which they left behind having used them ruthlessly, but as their numbers increase so the towns spread ever further, its a case of increasing circles gradually encroaching on the dwindling countryside, in another 50 years the country will be barely recognisable for this so called progress isn’t going to stop.
The problem with townies in the country is that they don’t want the mucky rural commercial side that keeps the countryside going (and the natives in work), they are usually new money expecting holiday/weekend cottage standards of life, those of all social classes who were born into country life accept that rural areas still need to work, its part and parcel of life.
The new rich made money out of what has happened to the country over the last 20 years, amusing to see them jumping up and down as the results of their own actions close in on everyone.
robroy:
There was some councilor or MP on the radio yesterday, was it Balfour or somebody?.He sounded a right posh pompous prick anyway, and he came out with something like ‘‘THESE lorry drivers need to learn’’ …he may as well have been saying these vermin.
“These” lorry drivers don’t drive through these restrictions on purpose. They seem to think we can just stop & do a u-ey.
Yes, there are the numbnuts who do no prior route research & blindly follow SatNav’s, but then there are also the very large number who get caught out whilst trying to find awkward addresses or finding diversions around road closures. We aren’t superhuman. Theres no excuse for driving down the obviously unsuitable village street & getting stuck, but I think most of us have thought “screw it” at some point when the first you learn about a restriction, is when it’s right in front of you & your committed.
I sympathise with some of these villagers to an extent, but restrictions have to be well signposted with diversions around them. They should campaign for that rather than slagging us drivers, but then thats the easy thing to do.
I made the mistake of trying to take the most direct route from Bath to Highbridge the other week. Checked out the bridge map it looked basic, so set the sat nav to my required route and came across Weight Limit Hell all the bloody way At one point I went miles with no warning signs and it just came up in front of me, the one alternative B road took me off route for bloody miles, ended up in Cheddar which ain’t the best road. If you local guys are laughing I am not too familiar with that part of the country
Just 1 example where it could be better signposted (and a good argument for all you guys with the latest hi tech astronaut style navigation aids that I take the ■■■■ out of )
I worry sometimes about 7.5 limits. I have a truck sat nav, truckers atlas and mobile with Google Maps. Seems most of time its a bit of a gamble as the sat nav is generally spot on with bridge heights, and weight limit bridges but terrible on the 7.5 limits for roads and the truckers atlas is pretty much the same. Google Maps is useful but not if the weight limit is fairly recent. I noticed some of the councils have maps on their website for truck routes, ‘strategic routes’ blah blah. They normally have a disclaimer saying that local weight restrictions may be in force that are not on the maps which pretty much renders them useless.
Off hand, does anyone know if any of the trunk routes shown on maps have 7.5 restrictions. I have pretty much been relying on the fact they don’t (or it will say way if advance if they do ) as long as there’s no low bridges, weak bridges etc. but I can picture myself driving miles out my way after getting caught out by this!! Can anyone else say if they do or don’t? Common sense tells me that they wouldn’t have a 7.5 nimby restriction as wasn’t the trunk network originally made for trucks?
robroy:
There was some councilor or MP on the radio yesterday, was it Balfour or somebody?.He sounded a right posh pompous prick anyway, and he came out with something like ‘‘THESE lorry drivers need to learn’’ …he may as well have been saying these vermin.
“These” lorry drivers don’t drive through these restrictions on purpose. They seem to think we can just stop & do a u-ey.
Yes, there are the numbnuts who do no prior route research & blindly follow SatNav’s, but then there are also the very large number who get caught out whilst trying to find awkward addresses or finding diversions around road closures. We aren’t superhuman. Theres no excuse for driving down the obviously unsuitable village street & getting stuck, but I think most of us have thought “screw it” at some point when the first you learn about a restriction, is when it’s right in front of you & your committed.
I sympathise with some of these villagers to an extent, but restrictions have to be well signposted with diversions around them. They should campaign for that rather than slagging us drivers, but then thats the easy thing to do.
I made the mistake of trying to take the most direct route from Bath to Highbridge the other week. Checked out the bridge map it looked basic, so set the sat nav to my required route and came across Weight Limit Hell all the bloody way At one point I went miles with no warning signs and it just came up in front of me, the one alternative B road took me off route for bloody miles, ended up in Cheddar which ain’t the best road. If you local guys are laughing I am not too familiar with that part of the country
Just 1 example where it could be better signposted (and a good argument for all you guys with the latest hi tech astronaut style navigation aids that I take the ■■■■ out of )
I worry sometimes about 7.5 limits. I have a truck sat nav, truckers atlas and mobile with Google Maps. Seems most of time its a bit of a gamble as the sat nav is generally spot on with bridge heights, and weight limit bridges but terrible on the 7.5 limits for roads and the truckers atlas is pretty much the same. Google Maps is useful but not if the weight limit is fairly recent. I noticed some of the councils have maps on their website for truck routes, ‘strategic routes’ blah blah. They normally have a disclaimer saying that local weight restrictions may be in force that are not on the maps which pretty much renders them useless.
Off hand, does anyone know if any of the trunk routes shown on maps have 7.5 restrictions. I have pretty much been relying on the fact they don’t (or it will say way if advance if they do ) as long as there’s no low bridges, weak bridges etc. but I can picture myself driving miles out my way after getting caught out by this!! Can anyone else say if they do or don’t? Common sense tells me that they wouldn’t have a 7.5 nimby restriction as wasn’t the trunk network originally made for trucks?
Oh blinking yes, well almost.
A few years ago i’m in the wilds of Wales having delivered to the single make dealership in the area, out near Builth Wells, anyway i’m making me way back with a now empty lorry and drag car transporter, A road but i can’t even tell you where it is now, and thats suits me fine if i never see the place again.
I’ve come into this village, there’s a van parked beside this wall and lo and behold the bloody main road goes to the left by this wall unannounced and the van is covering the one and only bloody sign, so i go sailing merrily by unknowing that i’m now on a B road that’s no different to the one i’ve been driving on up till now.
About 7 miles further on i arrive at a wooden bridge, yes its actually all wood with planks across the bridge to drive over, and its 7.5 ton limited and i wouldn’t risk a loaded 7.5 tonner either…
Cue an approximately 1.5 mile reverse till i find a suitable farm entrance to back into to turn round.
This is one of those instances where it would have been better if i’d had a sat nav and had it running alongside, i’d have ‘seen’ the turn even if the local home guard were still fighting the Hun and re-pointed the signs.
robroy:
There was some councilor or MP on the radio yesterday, was it Balfour or somebody?.He sounded a right posh pompous prick anyway, and he came out with something like ‘‘THESE lorry drivers need to learn’’ …he may as well have been saying these vermin.
“These” lorry drivers don’t drive through these restrictions on purpose. They seem to think we can just stop & do a u-ey.
Yes, there are the numbnuts who do no prior route research & blindly follow SatNav’s, but then there are also the very large number who get caught out whilst trying to find awkward addresses or finding diversions around road closures. We aren’t superhuman. Theres no excuse for driving down the obviously unsuitable village street & getting stuck, but I think most of us have thought “screw it” at some point when the first you learn about a restriction, is when it’s right in front of you & your committed.
I sympathise with some of these villagers to an extent, but restrictions have to be well signposted with diversions around them. They should campaign for that rather than slagging us drivers, but then thats the easy thing to do.
I made the mistake of trying to take the most direct route from Bath to Highbridge the other week. Checked out the bridge map it looked basic, so set the sat nav to my required route and came across Weight Limit Hell all the bloody way At one point I went miles with no warning signs and it just came up in front of me, the one alternative B road took me off route for bloody miles, ended up in Cheddar which ain’t the best road. If you local guys are laughing I am not too familiar with that part of the country
Just 1 example where it could be better signposted (and a good argument for all you guys with the latest hi tech astronaut style navigation aids that I take the ■■■■ out of )
I worry sometimes about 7.5 limits. I have a truck sat nav, truckers atlas and mobile with Google Maps. Seems most of time its a bit of a gamble as the sat nav is generally spot on with bridge heights, and weight limit bridges but terrible on the 7.5 limits for roads and the truckers atlas is pretty much the same. Google Maps is useful but not if the weight limit is fairly recent. I noticed some of the councils have maps on their website for truck routes, ‘strategic routes’ blah blah. They normally have a disclaimer saying that local weight restrictions may be in force that are not on the maps which pretty much renders them useless.
Off hand, does anyone know if any of the trunk routes shown on maps have 7.5 restrictions. I have pretty much been relying on the fact they don’t (or it will say way if advance if they do ) as long as there’s no low bridges, weak bridges etc. but I can picture myself driving miles out my way after getting caught out by this!! Can anyone else say if they do or don’t? Common sense tells me that they wouldn’t have a 7.5 nimby restriction as wasn’t the trunk network originally made for trucks?
Oh blinking yes, well almost.
A few years ago i’m in the wilds of Wales having delivered to the single make dealership in the area, out near Builth Wells, anyway i’m making me way back with a now empty lorry and drag car transporter, A road but i can’t even tell you where it is now, and thats suits me fine if i never see the place again.
I’ve come into this village, there’s a van parked beside this wall and lo and behold the bloody main road goes to the left by this wall unannounced and the van is covering the one and only bloody sign, so i go sailing merrily by unknowing that i’m now on a B road that’s no different to the one i’ve been driving on up till now.
About 7 miles further on i arrive at a wooden bridge, yes its actually all wood with planks across the bridge to drive over, and its 7.5 ton limited and i wouldn’t risk a loaded 7.5 tonner either…
Cue an approximately 1.5 mile reverse till i find a suitable farm entrance to back into to turn round.
This is one of those instances where it would have been better if i’d had a sat nav and had it running alongside, i’d have ‘seen’ the turn even if the local home guard were still fighting the Hun and re-pointed the signs.
Always scared of missing turns like that so like to have the sat nav going alongside, also if I cross reference with the postcode it assures me that I’m driving to the correct county and not another place with the same town name [emoji1]
Yes it made me angry when I heard this on BBC radio. They interviewed people who I can only assume are completely unaware of how the things they want and need get to the shops etc. One woman complained about how lorries “drive through here even though there are cars parked on both sides of the road”! Her car being one of them I assume. FIND SOMEWHERE SENSIBLE TO PARK IT.
It isn’t more powers to “deal with lorry drivers” that are required, as said they already have the powers. What is required is for local councils to think about it a little, ask not what lorry drivers can do for them, ask what they can do for lorry drivers. Drivers don’t in most cases use narrow roads because they enjoy it or to save time, they are trying to find a delivery point. How about a large map in the layby’s on the approaches to towns showing industrial areas etc, Milton Keynes did it in the 80’s, it must have cost money but it was very useful. Not everywhere is easy to navigate like MK so provide some free paper maps, or at least put up and maintain some decent sign posts.
I delivered to a construction site at Ashford the other day, got there okay, no signs telling me how to get back to the main road, made the mistake of listening to the magic lady, ended up on a narrow lane for two miles. Eventually arrived at a narrow bridge with a right angle turn at the approach and severe scarring from previous lorries on the brickwork. I’m sure everyone who had to pass or follow me thought “stupid lorry driver” but surely Wimpy can afford a few signs to get trucks on and off sites?
All I know is that driving along narrow roads when I don’t know what I’m going to come across is bloody awful and stresses me out.
bertiebus:
I deliver daily onto the sites at buckshaw village chorley.
Home of the worst nimbys going.
Dont want trucks parking anywhere. Or passing throu the centre of the village.
Get 3 complaints weekly from 1 guy about me parking in the village…he gets same reply every time!
The trucks doing deliverys to a property.
And now i have a guy who moved into his house 3 weeks ago who complains every time i drive to the unfinished house’s at the end of his road.
Even the site agents had enough of his whinging.
What they need to do is get 20 vans, park them on that road near his house, when he complains say “well they stopped sending trucks here because someone moaned, so now it’s all in vans. This is just one truck load.”
bertiebus:
I deliver daily onto the sites at buckshaw village chorley.
Home of the worst nimbys going.
Dont want trucks parking anywhere. Or passing throu the centre of the village.
Get 3 complaints weekly from 1 guy about me parking in the village…he gets same reply every time!
The trucks doing deliverys to a property.
And now i have a guy who moved into his house 3 weeks ago who complains every time i drive to the unfinished house’s at the end of his road.
Even the site agents had enough of his whinging.
The local MP/bell end for Buckshaw Village used to put pictures on his Twitter feed of trucks parked on the industrial estate and saying they shouldn’t be parked there as its near a residential area and he used to pass on the Rev numbers to VOSA/DSVA
I used to reply to him saying what a sad ■■■■ he was and didn’t he realise the trucks were not braking any laws by parking where they were as there were no restrictions and if he didn’t notie there is a big ■■■■ of industrial estate there
In this age of technology wouldn’t it be helpful if companies put on their websites how to get there, a nice printable map showing the last few miles from a main road, avoiding all the trouble spots, it wouldn’t take much. Then if they wanted to really help they could also put the parking available if there’s a queue, and even a list of do’s and don’ts
Foxstein:
In this age of technology wouldn’t it be helpful if companies put on their websites how to get there, a nice printable map showing the last few miles from a main road, avoiding all the trouble spots, it wouldn’t take much. Then if they wanted to really help they could also put the parking available if there’s a queue, and even a list of do’s and don’ts
Ha Ha!! Dream on. Some of them hide even their postcodes away, never mind putting anything actually helpful there. Even the ones who have restrictions that you only see when you get there, like “Do not approach through ■■■ village” don’t put it on their websites.
I used to go regularly to a slaughterhouse and meat packing plant in Langport in deepest Somerset. It is a big place that must get loads of HGV traffic but there is not a sign to be seen to guide you through the maze of country lanes. They said that was meant to make it difficult for the animal rights lot to find them?? The best clue was the tyre marks and crushed verges on all the junctions.
If companies put suggested routes to their premises online, they would just open themselves up to the local “unrealistic expectations complainer brigade” who would all want the directed route to be away from themselves. It really wouldn’t work, as someone would always be unhappy…
At one point I went miles with no warning signs and it just came up in front of me, the one alternative B road took me off route for bloody miles, ended up in Cheddar which ain’t the best road. If you local guys are laughing I am not too familiar with that part of the country 
