...News bulletin then cuts to a picture of a stationary truck with it's trailer out of line by about five degrees.
Now I don't know much about trucking, but I'm sure that one ain't jack-knifed, nor were the previous twenty they showed today.
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Spot on. They discussed this on R2 one day last week. A few callers made the same point, but it sounds good in the headlines doesn't it?
As I understand it, the problem is that all new (57-reg on) lorries have to be fitted with ESP stability control by law. Different lorries (tyre fitment notwithstanding) have their ESP set up specifically according to their intended use - therefore trunk vehicles (such as supermarket or post office / parcel co lorries) which are only routed between major depots and spend most of their lives on motorways and dual carriageways are geared towards good economy and cruising performance. Aggregate trucks (Bardon, Lafarge etc) have a less aggressive intervention threshold which allows them to better negotiate poorly surfaced quarries and, as a by-product, slippery roads.
It seems to be the trunk lorries which are getting stuck.
Also, as Pat has mentioned previously, most new lorries come with automated transmissions which take some degree of control away from the driver. I often have to shunt lorries around the yard at work and the auto's are very difficult to position within less than a 6" tolerance. More than one indicator lens has fallen foul of this design quirk.
Last edited by: Dave_TD {P} on Sun 19 Dec 10 at 22:43
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At the risk of sounding a bah humbug, with all these reports of jack knifed lorries and only venture out if you have to, I followed a Royal Mail artic at the weekend (incidentally pulled by a non RM cab).
Now, it crossed my mind that the lorry was probably full of Christmas cards, people sending a card to folk they don't speak to from year to year and will all end up in the recycling bin within the fortnight!
Not quite got into this festive spirit yet.....
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We've discussed this before, quite recently. Jack-knifed means the tractor unit has come round so far that the unit is facing back towards the trailer; well, as far as it can given that the cab has been crushed against the headboard. Only ever seen that happen once, and I'd rather not see it again thank you.
There was a discussion going on BBC Radio 4 today, where a few people were advocating parking lorries up in these conditions. Proof if it were ever needed that some people do indeed still believe in Father Christmas; who the hell else is going to deliver the stuff if all the damn lorries are at a standstill?
Biggest problem is empty artics. Single axle drive, 44 feet of empty trailer hanging on behind, once they get stuck the job stops. However, it often does not take a lot to get them going again; I was witness to this last night at Black Rock on the A465 Heads of the Valleys road. Lorry ground to a halt, police eventually hitched a Land-Rover to his front bumper, that extra bit of pull gave him the momentum to get going again. Only to be stopped by a bunch of pillocks in 4x4's who'd tried to jump the queue, and then panicked when they'd seen the police Landy hitched to the front of the lorry.
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Often it's these modern designs that cause the problems.
Saturday i used a manual MB artic, old fashioned as hell and none the worse for that it was 06 plate and could easily have been 15 year old, simple as can be, 6" of snow and this Benz laughed at it...torquey engine nice clutch able to balance constant power and keep the thing moving constantly sympathetically.
No trouble starting off either, no power limiting of lower gears to gentle application of power to pull away with no problems at all.
Today i used a super high tech automated manual boxed truck.
1" of snow and it took about 3 minutes of gentle spinning to get the truck to dig it self out...after i'd turned the TC off, course silly me i'd asked this truck to do a bit of old fashioned work and it couldn't cope.
Before it got out the gearbox warning ligts all came on, the box or clutch had overheated, why i don't know as the cltuch wasn't being used it was in drive.
Had to stop, select crawler as it was the only gear that would work and eventually it clawed itself into the yard and i could change trailers.
After an hour it cooled down and seemed ok afterwards.
At the main depot they have two identical trucks waiting for new clutches to be fitted...other chaps expected asked them to do some work in the snow at the weekend and they couldn't manage it either.
Even without snow these automated manuals don't do anything for several seconds then lurch off like some drunk is at the wheel.
Progress.
I wonder how owners of automated manual cars have found them this winter...is that question worth it's own thread?
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>> Often it's these modern designs that cause the problems.
>>
Exactly GB
Give me a good old fashioned car,(pref rwd with sand in the boot) and Ill drive you almost anywhere.
Modern rwd or fwd - naw... it will almost certainly get stuck.
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>> Even without snow these automated manuals don't do anything for several seconds then lurch off like some drunk is at the wheel.
Having seen the way some of our drivers career across the yard, I did wonder how they explained it away.
Funny how I can persuade both rigid 26t's and articulated 44t's to move off smoothly, and I don't even have a licence for them.
I was out for a few hours yesterday and today in the snow and slush in a RWD Sprinter and RWD 7.5t, both with manual 'boxes. On both days I saw drivers getting properly stuck on perfectly navigable roads. I got out of the van at one point to help 3 guys push a car which absolutely reeked of burning clutch, then I got back in and drove up the same hill from a standing start :)
Last edited by: Dave_TD {P} on Tue 21 Dec 10 at 22:10
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>> Funny how I can persuade both rigid 26t's and articulated 44t's to move off smoothly,
I use several makes, most of which have automated manuals, Volvo's in particular are very good for pulling away smoothly.
2 other makes are about as much use as the proverbial choc teapot for anything that involves a bit of grunt, close manoeuvering, steep hill climbing and especially hill starts, competent hazard/junction negotiation or smooth normal starts.
In preference i always take an old fashioned manual if allowed the choice, they just do what you want them to without any fuss or bother.
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When you watch IRT (Ice Road Truckers), they put chains on when they 'spin out'. Why don't lorry companies issue some snow socks or chains...and training for the drivers?
Money? Profits? Share holders?
I don't blame the drivers (generally), they have to work with what they've got.
I saw on the news earlier that ambulances in the West Mids were issued with snow socks...so it can be done....it just needs some forethought and willingness to put their hands in their corporate pockets.
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Snowsocks, chains and training would solve a lot of the problems Westpig, but they all cost money.
The outlay is certain, hold ups due to being stuck are not a certainty, so therein lies your answer.
Pat
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>> Snowsocks, chains and training would solve a lot of the problems Westpig, but they all
>> cost money.
Yep, I thought that would be the reason - it's the same with the countless delivery vans. Obviously getting a lorry moving by using chains would free up the motorway, get everyone to where they need to go, and hence save millions which might be/are lost due to non operating businesses, but that's not the way haulage companies see it, when every penny counts.
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"The Road Was Blocked By Jack-Knifed Lorries" - Dave_
