This is stupid.
The driver knew that it was unsafe to carry on and he did.
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>> The driver knew that it was unsafe to carry on and he did.
Did he? Very hairy minute or so anyway.
If the truck had been heavily loaded it wouldn't have happened, seems to me. It was probably empty, with most of the mass low down, in the chassis.
It looks like a curtain-sided truck rather than a box body, but I can't be sure. But the curtains could only be rolled up if there was no load - a light one if there was one - to protect from the weather.
Extraordinary clip anyway. Wonder what Pat and Ian think.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sun 7 Feb 16 at 16:51
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It isn't always obvious, especially if you've just joined the motorway. I had to leave the elevated section of the M5 (between J1 and J2) on Saturday as the crosswind was threatening to blow my bike into the central reservation. Reduced my speed from about 50 mph down to 30 mph, got on to the hard shoulder and stayed there till just before the junction. Most unpleasant.
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High winds expected in South and West tonight as storm Imogen arrives. Severn Bridge could be closed.
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Rate they're coming in I'm expecting Zachariah by the end of the month.
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>> High winds expected in South and West tonight as storm Imogen arrives. Severn Bridge could
>> be closed.
Lets hope its not made of tin cans.
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>> High winds expected in South and West tonight as storm Imogen arrives. Severn Bridge could
>> be closed.
>>
Can verify its already getting up - it's whistling around the bay windows!
Just hope the new fence panels I put up last week hold out or I will never hear the end of it...
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North Devon getting a battering just now. 50 mph winds forecast for most of the night with up to 64 mph in the morning. Not good for building gable walls!
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Holy Smoke, House has just been hit by a violent wind and torrential downpour. The rain is lashing against every window on every side of the house. Thats not possible, you can't get wind from 4 the four points of the compass at once!
The road has suddenly flooded and the wind is causing waves so high on it, the urban foxes are surfing!
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Hahaha ! ...sounds like a northern stormette :-)
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>> you can't get wind from 4 the four points of the compass at once!
My learned fiend clearly hasn't visited Cornwall during winter.
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I can vouch for that!
Pat
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Arghhhh A weather casualty.....
My fish windsock has gone, disappeared, nowhere to be seen....
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>> I had to leave
>> the elevated section of the M5 (between J1 and J2) on Saturday as the crosswind
>> was threatening to blow my bike into the central reservation. Reduced my speed from about
>> 50 mph down to 30 mph, got on to the hard shoulder and stayed there
>> till just before the junction. Most unpleasant.
Approx 10 years ago, I came down for a weekend off in Devon, from London..on my bike.
At the allotted time to go back it was blowing a right hooly. Not a problem I thought, I'm not exactly light... and the bike fully laden (Honda Blackbird) with a large top box and tank bag... is right up there, so bring it on.
I managed 3 miles.
At a higher bit and more exposed, a good blast of wind as I passed a gate well and truly got me and blew me well out of my lane... so I rang work and changed my plans by a couple of days.
Sod that.
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Nearly had my head taken off in France a few years ago with a similar incident on the bike. Going around a left hander, break in the trees/hedges on the right blew me sideways at the same time a cement mixer was going the other way. I had a tail bag and a big rucksac on.
Experienced Police rider on an R1 behind me said there wasn't much in it. I remember the buffeting from the side of the truck as I went passed.
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>> It looks like a curtain-sided truck rather than a box body
I'd say it's a box, because it has a roller shutter rather than barn doors. The dark stripe low down on the body looks like the remnants of the previous owner's livery.
Seems to be a 7.5 tonner; whether it's loaded or not wouldn't make a massive difference as the payload would constitute only around a third of the vehicle's overall weight. The reason it caught the wind is because it's a particularly tall body for that type of vehicle - they're usually built at around 12' high but some (usually light, bulky) loads require the extra volume.
The closest I've come to doing that in a similar truck was one night on the M62 over the Ouse Bridge, when during a prolonged gust the engine's revs rose suddenly for a second or two; one end of the back axle had lifted far enough clear of the road surface to allow the driven wheels to spin freely for a moment. That's close enough, thanks.
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At what point did the driver know it was unsafe to carry on Dutchie before this happened?
What was he to do? Where was he to stop? I can't see a full hard shoulder, neither can I see any bank to give him some shelter where he could stop.
I suspect he's just got on the motorway and found a direct side wind blowing.
He would be praying for the next exit sign, or at the very least an over bridge he could shelter under.
''The young manual labourer and his work colleagues had been flashing the lorry to pull off the motorway in the moments leading up to the incident – and Mr Smith believes the driver was lucky his ‘recklessness’ did not cost lives.''
Pull off where? I love it how two labourers can pass a verdict of 'recklessness' on another driver without being able to give a valid alternative option.
Had he have stopped in the carriageway they would have deemed that careless too and a van will blow over, without shelter, when it's stationary as well.
Pat
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The Daily Mail goes into more detail (well they would, wouldn't they!)
tinyurl.com/zlzfgys
After the lorry pulled over on the side of the road, the wind continued to batter the HGV, blowing the roof off into the motorway, which prompted the driver to try to balance it - with his bare hands.
The young manual labourer said 'When the lorry driver began trying to hold the lorry up with one hand I couldn't believe what I was seeing - he didn't even use two hands as he was on the phone. If it had blown over, he could have been crushed."
I don't think it would have mattered trying to stop the lorry blowing over with one hand or two. It would have still blown over regardless if it wanted to. I suspect the lorry driver was just leaning against the lorry while he was making a phone call. Still a daft thing to do though.
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Even dafter thing for the labourers to sit and watch and not go and say 'Do you need any help?
Sign of the times though to watch others downfalls and post a video of it on social media sooner than actually DO something positive.
Everyone is an expert at everything these days....
Pat
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Any tips on what to do should you suddenly find yourself driving on two wheels?
Intuition says steer towards the direction of lean, if road room, like steering into a slide?
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When it gets to that point the only thing you can do is close your eyes and pray.
It's what most drivers in the southern half of the country have been doing today.
The van driver in the video clip would have been trying to prevent the roof from blowing off across the motorway. In hindsight he'll laugh about that, but at the time it's an instant reaction because he would have been aware of just what damage it could do if it had gone through a car windscreen.
Pat
Last edited by: Pat on Mon 8 Feb 16 at 15:17
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Agree Pat good point.These Labourers should have had a word if the driver was ok.
We used to have this at sea.Trying to leave Port Talbot in a force ten gale.
The Old man rang the main office explaining the situation.Chap in office you be fine cap make your way across.The Oldman came back no way with a ship in ballast.When it boils down to it you have to make a decision if it is safe even if it means you could be out of a job.
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Brown Trouser Moment! - Dutchie
