I have had time in the USA this last few days and the speeds of the trucks over there has been astonishing, but at the same time completely safe in my opinion.
I had my cruise set at 80 MPH and still had heavies come past me, one of them had three trailers on Now they can get a bit of a weave on going around a bend downhill, but largely it is not a problem and obviously they can average far more miles that we could ever wish to in Europe.
So, it got me thinkingā¦I have been to China a few times in recent years and I would say that the USA is more regulated than China in many respects and the people have fewer freedoms, but then when you look at this and look at how we do itā¦It is more than worrying that we are more regulated and prohibited in what we can do compared to these two countries!!!
We are truly regulated and confined in regulation to the extent that once you have ventured outside of the EU, you truly realise just how much we are suffocated by legislation and bureacracy big timeā¦It ain`t even funny.
EU is worse than communist China and the Trump led US of ā ā ā ā ā ā ā A!
Tude:
I had my cruise set at 80 MPH and still had heavies come past me, one of them had three trailers on Now they can get a bit of a weave on going around a bend downhill, but largely it is not a problem and obviously they can average far more miles that we could ever wish to in Europe.
Unfortunately for your argument they have much higher accident rates. The drivers also tend to be paid per mile rather than per hour so theyāll put their foot down. All youād achieve by doing 75-80MPH in a lorry in the UK as a driver is taking money out of your own pocket when you do a 4hr run in 3hrs.
When it comes to trucks doing 75MPH compared to 55MPH you want to do the maths and physics and youāll realise the reason behind the lower speed limits. How much power you need to generate just to overcome the difference in wind resistance you find that the energy required at 75MPH is significantly more.
For example to drive a lorry weighing 44 tonnes at 55MPH we need a total of around 138BHP. About a third of that, or 46BHP is needed just to overcome the wind resistance. We are averaging 34l/100km or 8.3MPG .
Driving at 75MPH we need to use a total of 243BHP to move the 44 tonne load but now almost half of the power, 117BHP is being used to overcome the wind resistance. We now are averaging 44l/100km or 6.4MPG.
So per 100 miles you go from needing 12 gallons at 55MPH to needing 15 gallons at 75MPH, increasing the amount of fuel you use by 25%.
BTW doing 50MPH instead of 55MPH will save you around 1MPG hence the reason some companies set limiters 50-52MPH.
Tude:
I had my cruise set at 80 MPH and still had heavies come past me, one of them had three trailers on Now they can get a bit of a weave on going around a bend downhill, but largely it is not a problem and obviously they can average far more miles that we could ever wish to in Europe.
Unfortunately for your argument they have much higher accident rates. The drivers also tend to be paid per mile rather than per hour so theyāll put their foot down. All youād achieve by doing 75-80MPH in a lorry in the UK as a driver is taking money out of your own pocket when you do a 4hr run in 3hrs.
When it comes to trucks doing 75MPH compared to 55MPH you want to do the maths and physics and youāll realise the reason behind the lower speed limits. How much power you need to generate just to overcome the difference in wind resistance you find that the energy required at 75MPH is significantly more.
For example to drive a lorry weighing 44 tonnes at 55MPH we need a total of around 138BHP. About a third of that, or 46BHP is needed just to overcome the wind resistance. We are averaging 34l/100km or 8.3MPG .
Driving at 75MPH we need to use a total of 243BHP to move the 44 tonne load but now almost half of the power, 117BHP is being used to overcome the wind resistance. We now are averaging 44l/100km or 6.4MPG.
So per 100 miles you go from needing 12 gallons at 55MPH to needing 15 gallons at 75MPH, increasing the amount of fuel you use by 25%.
BTW doing 50MPH instead of 55MPH will save you around 1MPG hence the reason some companies set limiters 50-52MPH.
Thatās all a bit selective.If your conclusions are correct then remind us why the US got rid of the blanket Federal 55 mph limit ?.While in many cases followed by further increases after the general increase to 65 mph.The fact is in many cases here or there the 55 mph limit reduces jobs and productivety making jobs unviable,within available driving time,that otherwise would be.While their accident rate increased under the 55mph limit probably, like here, caused by traffic bunching.While in many cases they were using some extreme CB intelligence and radar jammers to defeat the limit anyway.Their trucks often looked like TV broadcasting transmitter stations in that regard.
65 mph is a good all round compromise.Probably 60 mph in the case of 44t gross.Certainly donāt remember any supposed 25% improvement in fuel consumption if any over the same journeys after the introduction of limiters in that regard.Even when comparing an old 1970ās DAF 2800 running at 60 mph + most of the time with the later 2300 ATI and 85 and 95 and Merc 2534 all running with limiters.
Does anyone currently driving a lorry seriously think we could increase the lorry speed limit to 65 or more mph, whilst some vehicles are possibly safer than ever at such speeds many are not (weight distribution, axle layouts, excessive overhangs etc), in pre limiter days the weight limit was 38 tons, double deckers were virtually unheard of and car transporters were either real wagon and drags or semi trailers, not a botched up hybrid of the two and one vehicle i would not want to be in at anything over 60mph.
We have decades of drivers now, old and new, that only steer and thatās more or less the total of their involvement in vehicle control, so many have little or not concept of what is happening at the wheels because the vehicle has been increasingly doing all of this for them, anyone imagine our less capable fellow drivers would train themselves to maintain suitable increased stopping distances or even to actually use the auxilliary braking systems to lose speed, you can count drivers who could safely increase their speeds on your fingers.
As said, fuel usage increases massively as speed increases.
In Britain weāre approaching standing room only, the immigrants are still pouring in and those numbers wonāt change no matter what propaganda is coming through re the points system, our speeds are going to decrease over the next few decades and legislation wonāt be needed to do this, we are heading to total gridlock.
Yes we are a controlled and legislated nation, and the electorate are to blame for that, no one else, they continue to vote for liars and shysters who tell them what they want to hear and promise more free money than the other identical party, we have had the govts and lack of freedoms the electorate as a whole deserve.
Conor:
When it comes to trucks doing 75MPH compared to 55MPH you want to do the maths and physics and youāll realise the reason behind the lower speed limits. How much power you need to generate just to overcome the difference in wind resistance you find that the energy required at 75MPH is significantly more.
For example to drive a lorry weighing 44 tonnes at 55MPH we need a total of around 138BHP. About a third of that, or 46BHP is needed just to overcome the wind resistance. We are averaging 34l/100km or 8.
Driving at 75MPH we need to use a total of 243BHP to move the 44 tonne load but now almost half of the power, 117BHP is being used to overcome the wind resistance. We now are averaging 44l/100km or 6.4MPG.
So per 100 miles you go from needing 12 gallons at 55MPH to needing 15 gallons at 75MPH, increasing the amount of fuel you use by 25%.
BTW doing 50MPH instead of 55MPH will save you around 1MPG hence the reason some companies set limiters 50-52MPH.
Iām slightly puzzled by these horsepower figures, if it needs 1388 BHP to drive a loaded 44 ton truck at 55 MPH, which engines are in the ones that I see on motorways running at that speed? I thought 600 BHP was about the highest rating usual?
On the question of regulation, todayās paper says an EU regulation (even after Brexit) will mean you need insurance for ride-on mowers, golf carts and farm tractors used on private land, unless Boris intervenes and changes the law. (A farmer appealed but the High Court confirmed this EU rule applied)
Tude:
I have had time in the USA this last few days and the speeds of the trucks over there has been astonishing, but at the same time completely safe in my opinion.
I had my cruise set at 80 MPH and still had heavies come past me, one of them had three trailers on Now they can get a bit of a weave on going around a bend downhill, but largely it is not a problem and obviously they can average far more miles that we could ever wish to in Europe.
So, it got me thinkingā¦I have been to China a few times in recent years and I would say that the USA is more regulated than China in many respects and the people have fewer freedoms, but then when you look at this and look at how we do itā¦It is more than worrying that we are more regulated and prohibited in what we can do compared to these two countries!!!
We are truly regulated and confined in regulation to the extent that once you have ventured outside of the EU, you truly realise just how much we are suffocated by legislation and bureacracy big timeā¦It ain`t even funny.
EU is worse than communist China and the Trump led US of [zb] A!
In a word, we are totally forked.
having been lucky enough to visit Vietnam I have seen the way they go on in Saigon. traffic is like India on steroids no one obays the lights or anything it seems yet people have 10 year old cars with out a scratch on them. This country with all our safety rules people cant drive 5 yards down the a2 with out crashing into one another.
Conor:
When it comes to trucks doing 75MPH compared to 55MPH you want to do the maths and physics and youāll realise the reason behind the lower speed limits. How much power you need to generate just to overcome the difference in wind resistance you find that the energy required at 75MPH is significantly more.
For example to drive a lorry weighing 44 tonnes at 55MPH we need a total of around 138BHP. About a third of that, or 46BHP is needed just to overcome the wind resistance. We are averaging 34l/100km or 8.
Driving at 75MPH we need to use a total of 243BHP to move the 44 tonne load but now almost half of the power, 117BHP is being used to overcome the wind resistance. We now are averaging 44l/100km or 6.4MPG.
So per 100 miles you go from needing 12 gallons at 55MPH to needing 15 gallons at 75MPH, increasing the amount of fuel you use by 25%.
BTW doing 50MPH instead of 55MPH will save you around 1MPG hence the reason some companies set limiters 50-52MPH.
Iām slightly puzzled by these horsepower figures, if it needs 1388 BHP to drive a loaded 44 ton truck at 55 MPH, which engines are in the ones that I see on motorways running at that speed? I thought 600 BHP was about the highest rating usual?
I believe the spare horses are used to get up to speed, not to maintain the speed in question [emoji106]
Conor:
When it comes to trucks doing 75MPH compared to 55MPH you want to do the maths and physics and youāll realise the reason behind the lower speed limits. How much power you need to generate just to overcome the difference in wind resistance you find that the energy required at 75MPH is significantly more.
For example to drive a lorry weighing 44 tonnes at 55MPH we need a total of around 138BHP. About a third of that, or 46BHP is needed just to overcome the wind resistance. We are averaging 34l/100km or 8.
Driving at 75MPH we need to use a total of 243BHP to move the 44 tonne load but now almost half of the power, 117BHP is being used to overcome the wind resistance. We now are averaging 44l/100km or 6.4MPG.
So per 100 miles you go from needing 12 gallons at 55MPH to needing 15 gallons at 75MPH, increasing the amount of fuel you use by 25%.
BTW doing 50MPH instead of 55MPH will save you around 1MPG hence the reason some companies set limiters 50-52MPH.
Iām slightly puzzled by these horsepower figures, if it needs 1388 BHP to drive a loaded 44 ton truck at 55 MPH, which engines are in the ones that I see on motorways running at that speed? I thought 600 BHP was about the highest rating usual?
On the question of regulation, todayās paper says an EU regulation (even after Brexit) will mean you need insurance for ride-on mowers, golf carts and farm tractors used on private land, unless Boris intervenes and changes the law. (A farmer appealed but the High Court confirmed this EU rule applied)
I think you misread the post. 138BHP is easier to see if written 138 BHP maybe?
Tude:
I have had time in the USA this last few days and the speeds of the trucks over there has been astonishing, but at the same time completely safe in my opinion.
I had my cruise set at 80 MPH and still had heavies come past me, one of them had three trailers on Now they can get a bit of a weave on going around a bend downhill, but largely it is not a problem and obviously they can average far more miles that we could ever wish to in Europe.
So, it got me thinkingā¦I have been to China a few times in recent years and I would say that the USA is more regulated than China in many respects and the people have fewer freedoms, but then when you look at this and look at how we do itā¦It is more than worrying that we are more regulated and prohibited in what we can do compared to these two countries!!!
We are truly regulated and confined in regulation to the extent that once you have ventured outside of the EU, you truly realise just how much we are suffocated by legislation and bureacracy big timeā¦It ain`t even funny.
EU is worse than communist China and the Trump led US of [zb] A!
In a word, we are totally forked.
having been lucky enough to visit Vietnam I have seen the way they go on in Saigon. traffic is like India on steroids no one obays the lights or anything it seems yet people have 10 year old cars with out a scratch on them. This country with all our safety rules people cant drive 5 yards down the a2 with out crashing into one another.
Tude:
I have had time in the USA this last few days and the speeds of the trucks over there has been astonishing, but at the same time completely safe in my opinion.
I had my cruise set at 80 MPH and still had heavies come past me, one of them had three trailers on Now they can get a bit of a weave on going around a bend downhill, but largely it is not a problem and obviously they can average far more miles that we could ever wish to in Europe.
So, it got me thinkingā¦I have been to China a few times in recent years and I would say that the USA is more regulated than China in many respects and the people have fewer freedoms, but then when you look at this and look at how we do itā¦It is more than worrying that we are more regulated and prohibited in what we can do compared to these two countries!!!
We are truly regulated and confined in regulation to the extent that once you have ventured outside of the EU, you truly realise just how much we are suffocated by legislation and bureacracy big timeā¦It ain`t even funny.
EU is worse than communist China and the Trump led US of [zb] A!
In a word, we are totally forked.
having been lucky enough to visit Vietnam I have seen the way they go on in Saigon. traffic is like India on steroids no one obays the lights or anything it seems yet people have 10 year old cars with out a scratch on them. This country with all our safety rules people cant drive 5 yards down the a2 with out crashing into one another.
fair point but in the case of Vietnam the majority of vehicles are mopeds and trust me you havenāt seen overloading until you have been there. regularly saw 5 or 6 people on one moped and to cross the road you just walk out at a steady pace and all the traffic goes round you. first few days there I had my double underpants on I can tell you
Carryfast:
.While their accident rate increased under the 55mph limit probably, like here, caused by traffic bunching.
hhmmm.
Carryfast:
Thatās all a bit selective.
!!!
āAccording to the National Research Council, there was a decrease in fatalities of about 3,000 to 5,000 lives in 1974, and about 2,000 to 4,000 lives saved annually thereafter through 1983 because of slower and more uniform traffic speeds since the law took effect.[23] Later, the National Academies wrote that there is āa strong link between vehicle speed and crash severity [which] supports the need for setting maximum limits on high-speed roadsā but that āthe available data do not provide an adequate basis for precisely quantifying the effects that changes in speed limits have on driving speeds, safety, and travel time on different kinds of roads.ā The Academies report also noted that on rural interstates, the free-flowing traffic speed should be the major determinant of the speed limit: āDrivers typically can anticipate appropriate driving speeds.ā This is due, in part, to the strong access control in these areas but also is an acknowledgement of the difficulty of enforcing the 55 mph (90 km/h) speed limit in these areas.[24]ā
However, in 3 states there was an increase in fatalities.
āAlthough the vast majority of states reported fewer traffic deaths in 1974 compared with 1973, there were in fact three states where traffic deaths actually increased in 1974, 1975 and 1976, compared to 1973, notwithstanding the 55 mph (90 km/h) speed limit: Alaska, New Hampshire and Wyoming. [22]ā
States where it was difficult to enforce the limit, anyway? So it would have no effect.
The biggest difference I see between say the US and UK is road size. Lanes are generally bigger, they are often wide dual carriageway or even multi-lane motorway and since the distances are bigger, they tend to be straighter. Obviously depends on the exact road.
Try that on the M1 - cant even cope with standard rushhour traffic and 4 lanes, so not a hope of going faster. Doing 55 is hard enough sometimes and thats on the night run.
Have managed 70 once passed Wooley Edge services accidently, but that was scary. The truck clocked doing 90 down the A66 last year shows what itād be like trying to stop at higher speeds, not good.
Another difference in US roads is that trucks still use cb radio extensively , they have warnings of problems ahead , In the 80s and 90s we had the same until mobile phone use took over .
Carryfast:
Thatās all a bit selective.If your conclusions are correct then remind us why the US got rid of the blanket Federal 55 mph limit ?.
Pressure from the trade unions and the public.
While in many cases followed by further increases after the general increase to 65 mph.The fact is in many cases here or there the 55 mph limit reduces jobs and productivety
Not in reality. You get an extra 40-50 miles a day. How often do you do a run which is 40 or 50 miles? Now for trampers it may make a difference and they may get an extra run, maybe 2 in over a week but for those home every day or doing trunking the only thing it does is take money out of the pockets of the drivers.
The biggest hit to productivity for haulage in the UK is sitting around for an hour or more waiting to be unloaded, it taking an hour or more to then unload you then another 30 minutes for paperwork. I typically lose 3+hrs per day sitting around waiting.
Certainly donāt remember any supposed 25% improvement in fuel consumption if any over the same journeys after the introduction of limiters in that regard.Even when comparing an old 1970ās DAF 2800 running at 60 mph + most of the time with the later 2300 ATI and 85 and 95 and Merc 2534 all running with limiters.
You what? We run at 6 tonnes more with engines that have twice the power and return higher MPG. 10MPG back in those days was completely unheard of unless you were running around carrying polystyrene.
Buckstones:
Iām slightly puzzled by these horsepower figures, if it needs 1388 BHP to drive a loaded 44 ton truck at 55 MPH, which engines are in the ones that I see on motorways running at that speed? I thought 600 BHP was about the highest rating usual?
That 138BHP is what you need to maintain 55MPH on a level road with little to no wind. You need more power to climb gradients, drive into headwinds, drive with side winds etc.
Conor:
When it comes to trucks doing 75MPH compared to 55MPH you want to do the maths and physics and youāll realise the reason behind the lower speed limits. How much power you need to generate just to overcome the difference in wind resistance you find that the energy required at 75MPH is significantly more.
For example to drive a lorry weighing 44 tonnes at 55MPH we need a total of around 138BHP. About a third of that, or 46BHP is needed just to overcome the wind resistance. We are averaging 34l/100km or 8.
Driving at 75MPH we need to use a total of 243BHP to move the 44 tonne load but now almost half of the power, 117BHP is being used to overcome the wind resistance. We now are averaging 44l/100km or 6.4MPG.
So per 100 miles you go from needing 12 gallons at 55MPH to needing 15 gallons at 75MPH, increasing the amount of fuel you use by 25%.
BTW doing 50MPH instead of 55MPH will save you around 1MPG hence the reason some companies set limiters 50-52MPH.
Iām slightly puzzled by these horsepower figures, if it needs 1388 BHP to drive a loaded 44 ton truck at 55 MPH, which engines are in the ones that I see on motorways running at that speed? I thought 600 BHP was about the highest rating usual?
On the question of regulation, todayās paper says an EU regulation (even after Brexit) will mean you need insurance for ride-on mowers, golf carts and farm tractors used on private land, unless Boris intervenes and changes the law. (A farmer appealed but the High Court confirmed this EU rule applied)
I think you misread the post. 138BHP is easier to see if written 138 BHP maybe?
Quite right, I must stop reading without my glasses on, hadnāt bothered to fetch them from another room!
Juddian:
~they continue to vote for liars and shysters who tell them what they want to hear and promise more free money than the other identical party, we have had the govts and lack of freedoms the electorate as a whole deserve.
That didnāt apply at the last election. Corbyn was promising loads of extra benefits and free BJs for all, but he still got trounced. Yes, the general public is gullible up to a point, but there is a limit to what they will believe.
Juddian:
As said, fuel usage increases massively as speed increases.
But productivety increases more than fuel use which certainly isnāt a massive increase between 55 mph to 65 mph or even a bit more.Which is why the US isnāt still plodding around the country at 55 mph.
As for the rest a dumbed down environment creating ever dumber drivers here whoād have thought it.So we dumb it down a bit more to suit.Where do we stop when every motorway is limited to 20mph max.When the things are already a pointless liability at common 50 mph type speeds.With no real time saving upsides at best.But the chance of being stuck for hours between junctions in tailbacks caused ultimately by slow speed bunching or collisions caused by same.
Back when the speed limit was 55 here in the US I had company trucks that would easily do 70/80 MPH but as said the CB was popular then so most of the time trucks were exceeding the speed limit. In fact the cops wouldnāt bother you if you were doing 65 if you didnāt have any CB antennas sticking up as they figured that was as fast as you dare go.
Most drivers got paid by the mile so when the speed limit went up to 65 they considered it a pay raise because they could drive more miles in a day, win. And the companies liked it because drivers were driving more miles per day but without an increase in the rate per mile from them, win.
Here in the North East they are allowed pull two 28 ft trailers on most roads and two 48 ft trailers on the turnpike.
Now they can get a bit of a weave on going around a bend downhill, but largely it is not a problem and obviously they can average far more miles that we could ever wish to in Europe.