As I regularly commute along the A14 at this time of year each evening 4 out of 5 lorries are travelling covered in lights.Is it allowed for lorries to be feestooned with lights looking like a prop out of Las Vegas or a gaudy Christmas tree?
Surely this dangerous? illegal?
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I'm intrigued gramar, for what reason do you think this practice would/could possibly be illegal or dangerous?
BTW, welcome to car4play:)
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Sat 20 Nov 10 at 08:02
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Here is the same reply i gave you on HJ.
Why do you think it's dangerous?
Don't all trucks have lights on above the cab and high up the back so you can see them.
Christmas is coming let them have there enjoyment as there probably on the road when your tucked up in bed or feasting on the turkey.
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Hi Bigtee - Minutes ago I discovered this forum having read the post on HJ that mentioned the defection. I have thought for sometime a lot of familar scribes had gone away. Now know where too I've joined as well.
We are all entitled to our opinion and a few yearss back it was not unusual, at this time of yearto see a christmas tree plugged in and standing proud on the dashboard of a lorry or car. That too me is as far as it should go.
Last edited by: gramar on Sat 20 Nov 10 at 08:13
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I'd ban exterior lights on houses too! 'cause they're tacky and working class.
O dear you have come on to start a argument.!
Working class and love it bring it on !!
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Lights on lorries or houses, are both a case of whatever floats your boat.
Illegal or dangerous?
How?
Pat
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...Illegal or dangerous?...How?...
There are construction and use regs relating to lights.
I've seen a few trucks with strings of blue LEDs in their displays.
Any display of a blue light is not allowed, as far as I'm aware.
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Here we are iffy
www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/regulation/11/made
Roughly speaking, no red light to the front and no white light to the rear unless reversing.
Of course, one should remember that in some circles, the colour of additional lights reflects the drivers sexual preferences.
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Sat 20 Nov 10 at 09:10
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Of course, one should remember that in some circles, the colour of additional lights reflects the drivers sexual preferences.
Do explain please!
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She is saying that all coppers in a hurry are gay.
The rumour is, that truckers who display a blue light in the cab are gay or bisexual. There is also good evidence to suggest that many "trampers" choose and enjoy the life because it enables them to be away fro the wife, so they can bat for the opposite team from time to time.
I doubt Pat has a blue light so I doubt she is a Lesbian.
Last edited by: Zero on Sat 20 Nov 10 at 09:19
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Thanks for that explanation Z, I didn't want Iffy getting misunderstood.
Don't forget that some trampers go up the road with a hidden wardrobe of female clothing too;)
I have spoken to a well known (among us) lorry driver dressed in high heels and a dress while sporting a bald patch and a full beard!
Pat
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No chance of a "mistake" by the unwary then Pat - each to his own, could one drive a truck in heels ?
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driver dressed in high heels and a dress while sporting a bald patch and a full beard!
There's a few work here.!
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Alex Lester's early hours programme on Radio 2 seems to attract a lot of trannie truckers.
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It's surprising how many there are about and even more they are accepted for what they are.
To be fair, they take so much stick from us all that you have to admire them!
Pat
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I have done PU. When I worked in our traffic office I often used to get asked to go and swap a trailer after work.
Standing on a catwalk, attaching airlines elegantly in tight skirt and heels is not easy, and the remarks from those watching are not to be repeated!
Pat
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Glad i don't venture into the fens any more, seamed (sic) like a nice boy, i used to steer clear of those that had the rigger boot fetish never knew the job attracted so many odd types.
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Nice deep voice there GB, you always talk so butch?
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Well hell....low there big boy.
Isn't it the 'queen' who's the only allowed to display blue running lights.;)
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I don't think lorries or any other vehicle should display any light other than the legal requirements.
These extra lights can distract attention from the proper lights that are giving valuable information about a vehicles position/path/intentions.... particularly on a wet/misty night.
On rural main roads where closing speeds of vehicles just a yard apart can be close on 200ft per second even the slighest distraction or uncertainty can be crucial.
Perhaps just an approved low wattage backlit sign for the company name or sexual preference on the cab roof might be OK.
BTW... That was the sign on the cab roof... not the sex.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Sat 20 Nov 10 at 10:48
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I can't say it has bothered me yet, but Fenlander has a point - at night we can only judge what is approaching, how big, far away and fast it is by the lights on display. Look how confusing a car with a headlight out can be especially when the other is aimed at your eyes.
Odd arrangements of lights can confuse, though I can't say I've had a problem with the extra lights on lorries.
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...I can't say it has bothered me yet, but Fenlander has a point...
Seconded, or I suppose that should be thirded.
I've seen lorries which have a lit display on what I can best describe as the inside back wall of the cab.
That can be distracting because it is clearly visible when the lorry is coming towards you.
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anyone who drives a car at night with the interior light on will know that its dammed dangerous to clearly see out of the windscreen because of reflective glare,therefore a lorry driver driving the equivalent of a house down the road should not be allowed to festoon the interior of his cab whilst driving with distracting lights
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Bellboy, all the new lorries now have a 'driving' light fitted in the cab from new, usually a low wattage red one.
And for those of you who are put off by a cab with a light on the back interior wall, how ever do you perform when a double decker bus comes towards you?
Pat
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As an after thought, shouldn't you be looking at the dark bit on the left hand side of the lorry coming towards you?
Pat
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>> As an after thought, shouldn't you be looking at the dark bit on the left
>> hand side of the lorry coming towards you?
Sometimes not so easy given the vast array of colours and positioning of some of the displays out there.
Just for the record i don't bother with fairy lights, never have never will and i never wanted or needed spotlights on the roof when cruising at 80 at night, so why they need them now is a mystery.
I don't object to the light displays though it strikes me as a bit sad seeing as the drivers sometimes end up paying hundreds of pounds to decorate some else's truck, but each to their own.
There's standard red lights in the roof of the Volvo i currently use, could i make a few quid extra if i hung around certain layby's, dogging on the clock..;)
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Light clutter from unnecessary sources is a real problem for night vision in many areas... driving, at sea, pilots, snipers, intelligence/military operations etc.
Driving is the everyday one we experience where lives are on the line.
In some ways a lit bus is less of a distraction than the random coloured extra external lights so popular on lorries and Corsas.
And yes of course the dark bit on the left is what we want to concentrate on... but every extra source of light on the facing vehicle makes it more likely something (body) could get missed in that dark area.
Regarding Bellboys comments about interior lights... Foggy in the fen last night and I had to ask my daughter to stop texting on her phone in the passenger seat as the glow from its screen distracted from the absolute concentration needed to keep 4 teens safe on a greasy road in poor visibility.
>>>'driving' light fitted in the cab from new, usually a low wattage red one.
Yes my cab has one of these... albeit in the form of twin orange LEDs.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Sat 20 Nov 10 at 13:47
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Bellboy, all the new lorries now have a 'driving' light fitted in the cab from new, usually a low wattage red one.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>yes i am aware of the red light apparently it takes some of the glare off nightime driving too
however it cant help if there is a festiniog of vivid lights all over the inside of the cab window
ball back to you ;-).......
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I agree with lighting things up but in a discrete way - I hate DRL's and have de-activated them on the X1 - both bikes I use have hard wired lights and maybe that's right. Any extravagant festoons of light on car or truck make bikes less visible....
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>> I agree with lighting things up but in a discrete way - I hate DRL's
>> and have de-activated them on the X1>>
You will have to get used to them, PU, there will be increasing numbers of them over the next few years. All vehicles will have them eventually.
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As far as bike safety it's been proven that they are actually a hazard as bikes "disappear" into a streetscape of more and more daytime lamps - I particularly dislike these grinning LED types...
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>> As far as bike safety it's been proven that they are actually a hazard as
>> bikes "disappear" into a streetscape of more and more daytime lamps ->>
I agree, but it doesn't change the fact that more are on the way.
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I know but I can still moan about can't I ! :-)
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>> I know but I can still moan about can't I ! :-)
>>
With your fairy dust dispenser you can do anything you like, (well almost). :-)
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>> As far as bike safety it's been proven that they are actually a hazard as
>> bikes "disappear" into a streetscape of more and more daytime lamps
I don't think its been proven, it's a nice theory spread about by bikers. Didn't stop them being knocked off bikes when they were the only ones with lights now did it?
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No there's proper research by MIRA going back to when this was first floated as a compulsory thing.
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Now you know this is here-say PU, where is the source material?
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I read it in an authoritative magazine (Motorcycle Sport) - I have every copy going back 30 years so it may take some time !
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I've e-mailed MIRA asking them.
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...those of you who are put off by a cab with a light on the back interior wall...
The ones I'm thinking of are a lot more than just a light, they are a display incorporating many lights.
To move this on a little, what about the orange lights on the side of some lorry trailers?
They're also fitted to rigids and some coaches.
When I ease past on a dual carriageway, I can't help but worry the lights might be right hand indicators which have stayed on because of a fault with the relay.
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>> To move this on a little, what about the orange lights on the side of
>> some lorry trailers?
>>
>> They're also fitted to rigids and some coaches.
I never agreed with the transition to these Iffy, we used to have white/red lenses dotted along the sides and the only amber light would be a side repeater lens or sometimes 2 on the side of a trailer.
I agree with you a flashing side indicator repeater now is hardly noticeable among the myriad of lights and i know where to look for 'em.
Mind you tractor unit indicators were usually great big sticky out things like ears situated about 4/5ft above the ground and very visible, aesthetics not really featuring which sensibly didn't seem to matter then on a working vehicle.
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>>
>> I've seen lorries which have a lit display on what I can best describe as
>> the inside back wall of the cab.
>>
I've noticed several of these on my homeward journey recently (or possibly the same one on several occasions) where the in-cab decoration has been so bright as to stand out amongst the lights of three lanes of approaching traffic on the M62, and to be noticeable from quite a distance.
If they are that bright, the reflections on the cab window must surely afftect the drivers ability to see what is going on outside the cab ?
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Being as lorry components provided me with 28 years employment, I'm lorry-sympathetic and accept lorries in all their guises.
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Well, for the record I'd like to say that I never had all the fairy lights on a lorry of mine. Spotlights yes, for navigating farm yards in the dark looking for loaded potato or sugar beet trailer, were invaluable.
I never had them for two reasons.
1) I couldn't afford them
2) If they are fitted they have to ALL be working or attract foxed penalties from VOSA
BUT, I absolutely reserve the right for those who like them to have them.
A lorry to a tramper is the equivalent to your bedroom,lounge,kitchen and workplace all rolled into one. You choose the decoration at home, why shouldn't they do the same?
Those lights are almost always paid for by the driver and not the employer, but it goes without saying that any driver who is proud of his lorry, will also be proud about how well he does the job.
I always wanted a Scania Griffin on the back of my cab (inside) but could never quite find the money for it!
I always drove with a driving light on and it does make long journeys easier but what you have to remember is that a lorry cab is approximately 8' x 8' and the roof was about 4' above my head when seated in the driving position.
So none of these lights are intrusive.
Incidentally, the only time I turned my driving light off in the cab was in the middle of Edinburgh just after 3am when the clubs were kicking out and I may have to stop at traffic lights!
I much preferred them to think I was a big butch trucker:)
Pat
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What bits were you involved with L'es?
Pat
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Pat.
Did you have a good old CB Radio in your cab lady breaker??
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In my experience, even if lorries are lit up like Christmas trees it doesn't stop myopic mimsers pulling out in front of them. We light them up for two reasons; because we take a pride in the job we do, and so that car drivers can have something to look at and whinge about on their sad boring journeys.
I bet those who moan about it are the same ones who object to their secretary having a bit of tinsel on her desk.
Humbug to the lot of you! ;-)
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Very funny HM ! Made me laugh that.
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That's a big 10:4 good buddy:)
Pat
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>> What bits were you involved with L'es?
Air brake system components ~ compressors, governor valves, unloader valves, air dryers etc.
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Before I became a lorry driver I was selling those type of parts and got sent on Clayton Dewandre and Bendix courses.
The weeks course ended with a bare lorry chassis and a deliberate fault in the system that we had to locate and remedy. I loved that side of my job!
Pat
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That should read FIXED not FOXED penalties for the pedants!
My excuse....been out in the garden all day trying to unplant hanging baskets and get them in the greenhouse before the frosts get them, and fingers don't work after that!
Pat
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I was wondering whether that was some sort of truck jargon ....too embarrassed to ask !
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Referring to HM and GB posts above in reply to Iffy, they will be familiar with the trailer wiring fault that can make every side marker light flash everytime the indicator that side flashes.
Totally illegal, but some car drivers still can't tell which way you're going to turn!
Pat
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...for the pedants!...
I'm not mentioning that word any more.
I think we're getting on better without it.
So come on Pat, what was your, er, handle?
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>>embarrassed now<<
Maggie May
...and yes, I do know what she was too!
Pat
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Next the moaning minnies on here will moan about the car that pulls santa round the housing estates which really is a trailer converted sleigh with lights and music blaring out and of course santa with his big sack of prezzies.
Lets hear the moaners moan.!!
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...Maggie May and yes, I do know what she was too...
She wasn't in the Rod Stewart hit, she was simply the older woman with whom he had his first sexual encounter when he was 16, at a jazz festival, apparently:
www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1304
Maggie May was a prostitute in a Liverpool folk song, and she is featured as such in one of The Beatles' songs, but I can't recall which one.
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>>>will moan about the car that pulls santa round the housing estates which really is a trailer converted sleigh with lights and music blaring out and of course santa with his big sack of prezzies.
Not that it's anything to do with the distraction and potential danger of all forms of non-standard lighting but....
I hate those santa outfits. They trawl round making a terrible racket and even have the cheek to knock on your door for cash... worse if you have young kids they expect them to look out the window and enjoy it even more.
Odd.
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>> I hate those santa outfits. They trawl round making a terrible racket and even have
>> the cheek to knock on your door for cash... worse if you have young kids
>> they expect them to look out the window and enjoy it even more.
Go out and offer them a jar of humbugs and see if they get the message!
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...she is featured as such in one of The Beatles' songs, but I can't recall which one...
That'll be Maggie Mae from Let It Be.
www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=183
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I pretty much hate Christmas actually. Don't get me wrong, I love watching the excitement of kids opening presents on Christmas morning and while not a regular church goer I love Christmas services and carols. The rest of it though, I could cheerfully do without.
Christmas office parties - yuk !
Being forced into extended periods of contact with relatives you can't bear.
The TV ads - God spare us !
Fairy lights in town centres and all over people's houses. - Dear Lord.
The months of commercial build up and so on...
Can't be doing with it.
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...I love watching the excitement of kids opening presents...
What's Humph Jnr asked for this year?
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....might be getting a new bike....
:-)
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>> ....might be getting a new bike....
>>
>> :-)
Excellent, my dog will be round with a deposit.
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...might be getting a new bike...
And is the lad getting one as well?
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>> I pretty much hate Christmas actually. Don't get me wrong, I love watching the excitement of kids opening presents on Christmas morning a
I've never really been one for Christmas, due to my maternal grandfather passing away on the 25th Dec. Mum never enjoyed Christmas after.
For me, its a time for the kids, maybe a chance to catch up with those friends and family you haven't seen in ages. (and a reminder just WHY you haven't seen them.....)
Christmas; a time where you spend money you haven't got, on gifts people don't really want.
Pass me some more humbugs please?
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>> Maggie May
>> Pat
I know I keep you amused.
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For Z..
The morning sun when it's in your face really shows your age.
Thanks for the link above Iffy, I always assumed the song was about the Liverpool one.
Having been a Rod Stewars fan for years, I really should have known better.
Pat
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Lorries lit up like Christmas trees - Pat
