Did any one see the Scottish news on BBC1 18:30 this evening?
It stated the recommendations given to the Transport secretary after the problems earlier this year with the snow, it was suggested that they implement a plan which involves parking up all Atrics in laybys when there was a severe weather warning, due to the problems with traction and risk of jacknifing
Luckily enough this was never implemented but as seen during the last 2 weeks the amount of roads blocked by artics jacknifing and causing chaos on M8, M74, M80,M9 etc I think it is only a matter of time ie: the next big snowfall we have that they decide to use this recommendation.
In my opinion is this plan feasibleâŚNO. on the Tuesday Hamilton services was at full capacity un under 20 min, the amount of trucks stranded on the shoulder, there are no facilities large enough to cope with the amount of trucks that would need to be parked up. From Johnstonebridge to Hamilton services they may have roughly 1000 truck spaces between all of them maybe a bit more so the rest have to find a layby which has no facilities for drivers so not ideal.
But personaly I think after the last 2 weeks we have had that the next time it happens then it will be enforced.
If this happens how many will refuse to take trucks out especially with the threat of being parked up
Itâs a âplanâ which is often implemented in other countries, including our near neighbours France, during severe weather conditions whether that is extreme cold or extreme heat, the latter often being applied in Eastern European countries.
Yes maybe so Coffee, but I have heard that places like France when they do this they will if possible distribute food and drink to stranded drivers.
The ones that were and could be stranded as they were in Scotland this week were given nothing!! There were hundreds of trucks, and cars with people stranded for many hours up to 15 with no news of what was going on and when they would move again. Would it have been too much to ask the local council, red cross etc to go out and ensure that the people who were stuck in this horrendous situation had sufficient water heat etc. I was one of the lucky ones who never got caught in this, I came up during the night and saw all the trucks parked, poor beggars. The road was treacherous but not a plough/gritter to be seenâŚ
They must think laybys grow on trees 
A wise old man once told me never stop in a layby or services in heavy snow cos youâll be there for days!
There was also another recommendation that was supposed to be implemented. The full closure of roads before chaos ensures to plough and grit.
What happened on Monday was just a freak of nature, the heaviest snowfall in 40 years landing exactly on the major routes in Scotland at rush hour on a Monday morning. God must have been â â â â â â â himself laughing.
I have no doubt weâll get heavy white stuff again this year but i dont think it will have the same perfect factors to â â â â â â â our infrastructure.
radio leeds had on phillip lockwood of bedfords transport this week about the weather and he came out with a classic reply to
" lorries should be off the road in this weather "
his reply was
" well i think cars should be off the road cos they are getting in the way of my lorries. "
merc0447:
They must think laybys grow on treesThere was also another recommendation that was supposed to be implemented. The full closure of roads before chaos ensures to plough and grit.
What happened on Monday was just a freak of nature, the heaviest snowfall in 40 years landing exactly on the major routes in Scotland at rush hour on a Monday morning. God must have been â â â â â â â himself laughing.
I have no doubt weâll get heavy white stuff again this year but i dont think it will have the same perfect factors to â â â â â â â our infrastructure.
maybe we could call on marvelous (5) marvin next time the weather is bad! heâd be better than the council anyway!
thing is monday was a freak of nature but the government was warned and they just never got their finger out theirs backsides cause they were probably out {zb} more public money away somewhere.
i mean why the m8 was shut westbound for 2 days solid is beyond me, could have easily cleared that road with a few diggers in one day.
also the scottish transport minister is a numpty, you notice he looks a bit like father jack from father ted
jessicas dad:
radio leeds had on phillip lockwood of bedfords transport this week about the weather and he came out with a classic reply to" lorries should be off the road in this weather "
his reply was
" well i think cars should be off the road cos they are getting in the way of my lorries. "
whilst the answer he gave back,in my opinion was spot on,he has actually hit on a good point.over the last week,the amount of car drivers,who find it difficult to drive in good weather,are out in force doing 20 mph on completely clear,safe roads and making dangerous manouveres.
i had a new corsa,the other night driven by an old fellow doing 20 mph up the a1 towards alnwick,as we approached the bank at shilbottle,and for no apparent reason,he started to brake with a clear road in front of him.now if i had to stop,i doubt i would have got going again.if people are that nervous driving in cars,they really shouldnt be out,they would be better off leaving the car at home,and not adding to the already slowed down road networks problems.
buck rogers:
jessicas dad:
radio leeds had on phillip lockwood of bedfords transport this week about the weather and he came out with a classic reply to" lorries should be off the road in this weather "
his reply was
" well i think cars should be off the road cos they are getting in the way of my lorries. "
whilst the answer he gave back,in my opinion was spot on,he has actually hit on a good point.over the last week,the amount of car drivers,who find it difficult to drive in good weather,are out in force doing 20 mph on completely clear,safe roads and making dangerous manouveres.
i had a new corsa,the other night driven by an old fellow doing 20 mph up the a1 towards alnwick,as we approached the bank at shilbottle,and for no apparent reason,he started to brake with a clear road in front of him.now if i had to stop,i doubt i would have got going again.if people are that nervous driving in cars,they really shouldnt be out,they would be better off leaving the car at home,and not adding to the already slowed down road networks problems.
i had something similar in wishaw, had another motor following me from the same company, car trying to get out of the side street but just spinning, car stops to let him goâŚnow there is a slight hill here and the motor following me go stuck because of this cars action, now i couldnt stop and help otherwise i woulda got stuck aswell, into wishaw, same thing just to brow of hill and we suddenly stopâŚme = stuck and as i had a flipping mini up my backside i couldnt reverse back to try again. hazards on few motors pass me, move back a few feet and i get goingâŚuntil a white van man decides he wants infront of me, me stuck again just as i got moving. somebody behind musta saw sense though and gave me some space and didnt try and pass me. the battle in this weather is to keep the wheels rolling, if you keep them rolling its half the battle but nervous car drivers should just stay at home. i lost count how many cars i passed on the m8 (which was just wet and hardly any snow left) and i was on the limiter passing them like they wernt even moving.
Last updated 11 Dec 2010 - 9:25 am
Transport minister Stewart Stevenson was criticised over the response to the recent icy conditionsOpposition parties have launched another wave of attacks on transport minister Stewart Stevenson over his preparation for the roads chaos caused by heavy snow and freezing weather.
Labour, Tories and Liberal Democrats seized on a report commissioned by the Scottish Government which recommended action four months ago to stop lorries causing gridlock.
Heavy goods vehicles caused more than 100 incidents on the roads in recent weeks, according to First Minister Alex Salmond, while unseasonably cold blasts of weather brought much of the country to a standstill.
The report was ordered after last winterâs problems, which were mainly confined to salt and grit supplies, but it also made suggestions for long-term planning.
It said consideration should be given to ârequiring lorries to park in lay-bys when snow arrives to reduce the risk of either losing traction or jack-knifing and coming to a halt, causing traffic delaysâ. It also said roads could be closed before they become impassable âin order to clear it and treat itâ.
The Scottish Government has said that police chiefs are responsible for road closures and long-term changes to legislation would take time. Mr Salmond said all main recommendations had been adopted and said work was also undertaken on long-term suggestions.
But criticism of Mr Stevenson continued. Labour leader Iain Gray said: âHundreds of thousands of lives have been disrupted this week and the economy will have suffered because the minister cannot be bothered to follow advice. His position is untenable he has nowhere left to hide.â
Tory leader Annabel Goldie said: "It beggars belief that the proposals in this report - which could have been acted upon - have instead been sitting gathering dust on Stewart Stevensonâs desk for four months.
âIt emphasises the total lack of urgency which has characterised the Scottish Governmentâs approach to this crisis. Every day brings new revelations and new questions that need answers. Stewart Stevensonâs jacket is currently on a very, very shoogly peg.â
Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott said: âStewart Stevenson needs to have a heck of a good explanation for why he didnât act on this report. If he canât explain himself, how can he do the job?â
In order to make lorries park they would need to introduce new legistation? You wonder if the big companies would stand by and let this happen.
Could u imagine the supermarkets if trucks had to park up when snow arrives lol, itâs nice how they lay the blame on us for father jacks incompetence
I was on the M8 East bound on Tuesday as it was âopenâ there were 2 tyre tracks left by the previous
artic and i was the only motor on the road it had not been looked at by gritters. The West bound
carrageway was closed and between Bathgate and Hermiston gate there was ONE snowplough
and it somehow came as a surprise that the motorway wasnt open by Wednesday.
We live in Scotland yet it always comes as a complete shock when it snows in winter.
Brilliant idea
- Ban lorries because of snow
- cars can now get to shop to panic buy
- No deliveries so shops run out of food
- car drivers starve to death (lorry drivers survive on food in trailers)
- snow melts
- no more numpty car drivers
Wouldnât it just simplier to introduce snow chains requirements when itâs snowing?
orys:
Wouldnât it just simplier to introduce snow chains requirements when itâs snowing?
With single drive axles thatâs stating the bleedin obvious. But youâve got to realise that the British government doesânt run on common sense ideas like that. So if itâs a bad winter like 1963 everyone will just have to go hungry for a while.
Carryfast:
orys:
Wouldnât it just simplier to introduce snow chains requirements when itâs snowing?With single drive axles thatâs stating the bleedin obvious.
maybe they should apply your common sense ideas in the good old u.s of a then ⌠get rid of those fat gits that would⌠
bowser:
Carryfast:
orys:
Wouldnât it just simplier to introduce snow chains requirements when itâs snowing?With single drive axles thatâs stating the bleedin obvious.
maybe they should apply your common sense ideas in the good old u.s of a then ⌠get rid of those fat gits that wouldâŚ
O Bamaâs working on it.Some say that heâs going to stop the use of chains too to save the extra weight carried on trucks and change all tractor units to 6x2 as an example to the rest of the world for cutting C02 emmissions.
Carryfast:
bowser:
Carryfast:
orys:
Wouldnât it just simplier to introduce snow chains requirements when itâs snowing?With single drive axles thatâs stating the bleedin obvious.
maybe they should apply your common sense ideas in the good old u.s of a then ⌠get rid of those fat gits that wouldâŚ
O Bamaâs working on it.Some say that heâs going to stop the use of chains too to save the extra weight carried on trucks and change all tractor units to 6x2 as an example to the rest of the world for cutting C02 emmissions.
he must have read one of your posts lol
I just dont think we have enough severe weather to justify chains and chains only work if everyone has them cos if only one doesnât they end up blocking the whole road.
Anyone ever had any experiences of these snow socks, you get them for trucks at around 150quid. All the videos on youtube seem quite impressive.