Cruise Control:
i have said it before but the A17 is a sod for that, those bloody reefer lads…
they drive at 40mph all the way on the SC until sleaford when its DC then…WHHHOOOOOOOOOOSH pedal to the metal there making a run for the border
im a reffer lad as you put it lol… and i have to use the a17 on a daily basis… i totaly agree with what you saying but its not only us reefers… well theres a firm i could say that opperate from spalding and kings lynn that are required to stay at 40 with in an hour of there yards.
theres also another from fakenham… not reefers that most of there drivers are inconciderate on the roads… but i find that all the respect that drivers had for each other in years passed has gone out the window… i find this such a shame and would love to know why this is …
I am one of them who keep to the law
40 SC
50 DC
56 MW (flat out)
on a SC i’ll pull over and let everyone passed me but when i get to DC i just keep to 40 (if anyone is behind)
yes 40 on a SC is dumb and if it was not for the points i would go flat out fines don’t bother me points would
i am paid by the hour but some runs i am on take less then 8 hours but i still get 8 hours min
by speeding i could save about 1.15 hours (not running out of driving time) but i still keep to the 40mph and work my 6 hours+
for my 8 hours pay others fly and get back in around 5 and get paid 8 hours
AndrewG:
[quote=“Dunno then?” leaving speed and fog lamps out of it,you can mortally offend some members on here by daring to drive whilst wearing hi-viz
Now that really does annoy me, one of my pet hates…
[/quote]
Then wake up at 2am on monday and be incandessant with rage! For I will be out there…with hi viz.
Cruise Control:
i have said it before but the A17 is a sod for that, those bloody reefer lads…
they drive at 40mph all the way on the SC until sleaford when its DC then…WHHHOOOOOOOOOOSH pedal to the metal there making a run for the border
im a reffer lad as you put it lol… and i have to use the a17 on a daily basis… i totaly agree with what you saying but its not only us reefers… well theres a firm i could say that opperate from spalding and kings lynn that are required to stay at 40 with in an hour of there yards.
theres also another from fakenham… not reefers that most of there drivers are inconciderate on the roads… but i find that all the respect that drivers had for each other in years passed has gone out the window… i find this such a shame and would love to know why this is …
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL
kev
I drove on A17 from Sutterton to Sleaford the Friday before Christmas at 25mph, behind a car. On my return I noticed a lack of traffic in the opposite direction and thought there had been an accident. Eventually a car came into view leading a convoy of 81 vehicles.
There is no shortage of places to pull in on this road, it is just that drivers can’t be bothered. Most of them don’t even know what is behind them. This is obvious when emergency vehicles are trying to overtake and they carry on regardless.
limeyphil:
if it’s safe, then it’s flat out.
if i had people milking it because they were on hourly rate, then i would sack them for taking the [zb].
it is the same as theft from your employer.
40mph, get out of the [zb]ing way.
we are all paid to do a job, and any less than 100% dedication should not be tolerated.
ROG:
I might be mis-reading your post but are you saying that doing the maximum legal speed limit is taking the [ZB] ?
limeyphil:
yes. because if they were on a day rate, then would they act in the same stupid manner?
ROG:
So you would TELL a driver who you employed to deliberately break the law ?
on a SC i’ll pull over and let everyone passed me but when i get to DC i just keep to 40 (if anyone is behind)
yes 40 on a SC is dumb and if it was not for the points i would go flat out fines don’t bother me points would
I do the same thing, you’ll still catch them up at the next jam. The one thing that really(discussed before) pis ses me off is truckers who think it’s good to keep a truck in the middle lane for miles WHY YOU F***WITS? Sorry they just annoy me in a big way.
Cruise Control:
i have said it before but the A17 is a sod for that, those bloody reefer lads…
they drive at 40mph all the way on the SC until sleaford when its DC then…WHHHOOOOOOOOOOSH pedal to the metal there making a run for the border
kev
I drove on A17 from Sutterton to Sleaford the Friday before Christmas at 25mph, behind a car. On my return I noticed a lack of traffic in the opposite direction and thought there had been an accident. Eventually a car came into view leading a convoy of 81 vehicles.
There is no shortage of places to pull in on this road, it is just that drivers can’t be bothered. Most of them don’t even know what is behind them. This is obvious when emergency vehicles are trying to overtake and they carry on regardless.
lol, boring road at times that one!
I’ll often keep going to let emergency vehicles past - sometimes it makes a lot more sense to move over and slow down a bit rather than the typical panic you usually see where everyone just stops in the middle of nowhere or dives for the side of the road.
Why do some truck drivers insist on doing 45 on a s/c? surely 50 would look more normal to someone inspecting your chart and at the end of the day you’re still speeding at 45 just the same as if you were at 50!?
I’m hourly paid but I do 50 s/c and 56 d/c when I can for two reasons - firstly; I want to make a good impression and hopefuly get permanent work - if the usual driver speeds (like 90% of us) I’ll look slower than I should be if I don’t. and secondly, 40’s mesmorising to me, the slowness of it all and the dull drone of the engine make me feel like I’m gonna drop off which must be more dangerous than an extra 10mph used with care.
limeyphil:
if it’s safe, then it’s flat out.
if i had people milking it because they were on hourly rate, then i would sack them for taking the [zb].
it is the same as theft from your employer.
40mph, get out of the [zb]ing way.
we are all paid to do a job, and any less than 100% dedication should not be tolerated.
ROG:
I might be mis-reading your post but are you saying that doing the maximum legal speed limit is taking the [ZB] ?
limeyphil:
yes. because if they were on a day rate, then would they act in the same stupid manner?
ROG:
So you would TELL a driver who you employed to deliberately break the law ?
limeyphil:
yes.
ROG:
In writing ?
wibble:
rog,
with the greatest of respect, shut up!
I’ll often keep going to let emergency vehicles past - sometimes it makes a lot more sense to move over and slow down a bit rather than the typical panic you usually see where everyone just stops in the middle of nowhere or dives for the side of the road.
Why do some truck drivers insist on doing 45 on a s/c? surely 50 would look more normal to someone inspecting your chart and at the end of the day you’re still speeding at 45 just the same as if you were at 50!?
I’m hourly paid but I do 50 s/c and 56 d/c when I can for two reasons - firstly; I want to make a good impression and hopefuly get permanent work - if the usual driver speeds (like 90% of us) I’ll look slower than I should be if I don’t. and secondly, 40’s mesmorising to me, the slowness of it all and the dull drone of the engine make me feel like I’m gonna drop off which must be more dangerous than an extra 10mph used with care.
[/quote]
Why do you have to speed to impress your boss. Will he be pleased if you have an accident due to excessive speed? I think not.
I drive to the speed limits, deliver the goods and return the vehicle in one piece. That is what should impress the boss. It does mine.
I keep to speed limits ‘as much as possible’. At least if you shuold be unlucky enough to have an accident its one less thing to worry about. And of course you dont have to worry to much about speed cameras. Get paid by the hour anyway!.
bubsy06:
‘… Funny how the drivers who do less than 40mph because they are ‘hourly paid’ never pull over for a few minutes to let everyone else get on …’
As ‘…funny…’ as explaining to the employer why the consistent stops on the tacho chart?
This seems to suggest that respectful drivers ‘…few minutes…’ are less important when compared to the few seconds that are debateably gained by thrashing around ASBO-stylee? Are there those that can cope with civilised law and those that cant ‘…get on…’ without disrespectfully flouting the life quality of those who exist around them.
waddy640:
Why do you have to speed to impress your boss. Will he be pleased if you have an accident due to excessive speed? I think not.
I drive to the speed limits, deliver the goods and return the vehicle in one piece. That is what should impress the boss. It does mine.
Not sure how else to word this
Right, look back at what the majority have said on this thread - most of us speed when we can / want to / feel it is safe to.
I never said I feel the need to speed to impress anyone, I want to make a good impression - I’ll give you a quick example;
I often do a run down to one-stop at southampton, speeding most of the way (except motorways) it takes 4h 20mins near enough every time, The first time I did it I was told “it’s four and a quater hours there and the same back” so obviously that’s what they’re used to (works out about 9h 45 with break and getting tipped). What if I didn’t speed then?
5h 10mins to get there (over 4h 30 had to take a 45)
5h 10 mins back (over 4h 30 had to take a 45)
30 mins getting tipped
10h 50 total
So the agency driver takes over an hour longer to do the run than your drivers do as a buisinessman or bum-kisser-tm, Would you want him working for you, knowing the job normally gets done much quicker?
Don’t get me wrong, I can see your point but what makes you think someone who often speeds is any less likely to bring a truck back intact? Anyone can make a mistake, speeding or not. I might stick rigidly to the limit tomorow but also spend the whole day map reading on the move which is worse…
Are you saying that the run to Southampton cannot be done legally if the speed limits are adhered to or just that it takes longer due to extra breaks ?
The time it takes to do a particular job is affected by various factors, most of which are out of our control. I normally do a day trip from Norfolk to Dartford and reload in Suffolk then returning to Norfolk.
On one occasion in October I had a night out because my 15 hour spreadover was up.
A combination of delays at delivery point and a six minute journey taking 1 hour 40 mins were the cause.
Every day is different, every hour is different. The job takes as long as it takes and unless drivers deliberately waste time then no employer should put pressure on drivers to try and do a journey faster that it is safe to do.
The planners are sitting in offices and many of them have never driven an HGV, we are the ones doing the job and we are the ones that make the decisions and accept responsibilty for those decisions, if we get it wrong.
ROG:
Are you saying that the run to Southampton cannot be done legally if the speed limits are adhered to or just that it takes longer due to extra breaks ?
Sorry, I’m a bit confused…
They’re used to people doing it the normal, not quite legal way - one break and the tip and less driving hours. It can be done with a 10hr driving day (not speeding) but here’s what I’m getting at;
Being so close to 4.5 hours away, if you don’t speed you can’t do either direction without a 45 - which makes the whole job take over an hour longer. My point is, the people in the office know it can be done in the lesser amount of time (under 10 hours) because most of us speed - if I didn’t, and they were relying on the truck being back for another run roughly 10hrs after I set off, I’d look considerably slower than most wouldn’t I which wouldn’t help me much if they were thinking of taking one of their more regular agency drivers on permanantly would it?
Just my opinion really, it’s quite rare to see a truck sticking to the limits unless it’s one of the supermarkets but it’s also relatively rare to see a truck involved in an accident - I’d’ve thought if speed was as big a cause of accidents as people think it is, there’d be a lot more involving us that do 50 in a 40 (while cars buzz past at 60,70,80,90 possibly more
“The RAC Foundation believes that speed is merely one factor among many which cause collisions. TRL research indicates that excessive speed is a factor in some 6% of collisions and the JDT review of West Midlands accidents in 1989 indicates that excessive speed was a factor in only 2.8% of collisions compared with failure to conform to a sign or signal [19%] or turning right without due care [11.4%]. Excessive speed as a factor in accidents has been dropping since 1991.”
“Speed - defined as exceeding the posted speed limit or driving too fast for conditions - is a factor in nearly one third of all fatal crashes.”
These two quotes indicate to me that although speed is rarely the cause of an accident — it usually makes it worse. Actually we don’t really need research to tell us that; it’s bleedin obvious.
If the majority of HGV drivers exceed the 40 mph limit and drive at 50mph and there is no evidence to show that there is a greater risk of a collision, then commonsense would dictate that increasing the speed limit to 50 mph would be appropriate.
The only problem with the above is it refers to “commonsense”, something lacking in both Central and local government.
After reading through this thread I think I would change my driving habits if I was still in the UK & stick to within 10% of the speed limit, now I consider myself to be a good driver (who doesn’t) & I reckon it’s safe to ride the limiter on a lot of A roads, I’m not worried about cameras & the like because I’m observant enough to see them before they see me, but that’s putting a lot of trust into the unknown, not everyone on the road is a good driver, it only takes one idiot to do something silly & suddenly you’re caught up in somebody else’s mistake, as you’re in a vehicle weighing from 8ton up to 44ton there’s a good chance there will be injuries or worse, if you’re speeding then you’ve contributed to the accident, that could have disasterous consequences, the threat to your livelihood, possibly your freedom and the psychological impact of never knowing that things may have been a whole lot different ‘if only you were going 15mph slower’
I am going to hazard a guess as to why a lot of drivers, not just LGVs, do not like speed limits where it is safe to go faster…
Many have said that keeping to the exactly the same speed for long periods of time gets monotonous and boring which, in turn, leads to reduced alertness.
For professionals this is not usually too much of a problem as they have a sixth sense that heightens that alertness when a hazard demands it but it can still catch a few out!!
Most drivers would rather have a limit that reflects a safe maximum speed for the majority of the road but requires them to adjust that speed every so often for the hazards that are presented to them.
My view is that this type of driving keeps all drivers a lot more alert but it has a downside…
The very small minority who think that the speed limit is a safe one for the whole road!!
It is this minority that seem to determine the way speed limits are set.
I am still of the view that the only way to improve the current situation is for drivers to be post test assessed at regular intervals and then further trained if necessary.
The problem is that most drivers will not want this as they believe they are better than average and it will probably be a political vote loser for any Govt.
The choice seems to be - better safer drivers or lower speed limits…
Case in point - the Govt has a proposal to increase the speed limits for UK motorways but it has just one proviso - it will not happen until drivers keep to (at least) the minimum safe distances…
WHY YOU F***WITS? Sorry they just annoy me in a big way.
as a buisinessman or bum-kisser-tm, Would you want him working for you, knowing the job normally gets done much quicker?
which wouldn’t help me much if they were thinking of taking one of their more regular agency drivers on permanantly would it?