A question for the lorry drivers amongst us

[subaqua]

This will depend on the weight of your load. A fully laden artic with a maximum gross weight of 44 tonnes will struggle up a long steep gradient, despite its 480 or thereabouts bhp. Run the same lorry on the same gradient with a light load or even empty, and it will breeze up it without dropping a gear.
I would suggest your car is under-powered.

even the wifes little 1.6 with cruise will keep to 56mph . thats the idea of cruise - it keeps you at the speed you set . it uses more fuel on up gradients but on the down you do need to keep an eye to make sure it doesn't pop over.

 

[Paulus]

The thing that really irritates me on Motorways in particular is when two or three lorries are doing more or less the same speed on cruise control, but one is doing 1 MPH more than another so the driver pulls out to overtake and effectively blocks lane 2 whilst trying to get past another lorry at more or less the same speed.

 

[Over The Hill]

Some do drive too close but if you drive at 55mph on a motorway it does seem much slower than the car flow at around 75mph and so they probably feel fine that close.

They probably also consider the load, stuck by hind a slow wagon, the slow one is probably loaded and will have a long stopping distance. The one behind that caught up is likely to be empty and so have a shorter stopping distance.

 

[Retribution03]

I'm a HGV Driver and I do what the op states and the reason is I'm waiting for the cars to pass so I've got clear road to pull into and I won't be holding anyone up more than I have to and although the gap may seem small between me and the vehicle in front it's no less than what you car drivers are behind the car in front.And once I've pulled out to overtake it may take a while to pass the other truck but I'm not doing it to annoy other road users but if I stay behind him for × amount of miles thar may add to my driving time and stop me getting to my destination within the legal driving time limits.

 

[Spinney]

I'm a HGV Driver and I do what the op states and the reason is I'm waiting for the cars to pass so I've got clear road to pull into and I won't be holding anyone up more than I have to and although the gap may seem small between me and the vehicle in front it's no less than what you car drivers are behind the car in front.And once I've pulled out to overtake it may take a while to pass the other truck but I'm not doing it to annoy other road users but if I stay behind him for × amount of miles thar may add to my driving time and stop me getting to my destination within the legal driving time limits.

Part of my point (fairly well hidden, I admit) was that even if the lorries are the same distance apart as the cars, most cars are too close to the ones in front. And
1) they are professional drivers and should know better
2) what is the stopping distance of a fully laden lorry compared to a car? I know they have much more powerful brakes, but they also have a massively larger inertia

(not aimed at you Retribution03, it just happens to fit as a reply to your post)

 

[Arch]

although the gap may seem small between me and the vehicle in front it's no less than what you car drivers are behind the car in front..

No, I know the sort of thing Spinney is talking about and I'd certainly never drive that close to the vehicle in front at that speed. We saw one last week, couldn't have been more than 10 feet from the back of the lorry behind, in lane 2 as both passed a slower truck. Once past, the first truck pulled in, the one behind went on to tailgate the next vehicle and so on. There is no way he'd have stopped in time if he'd had to.

Yes, there are car drivers who tailgate - they are as bad drivers as the truckers who do it.

Time was I'd have said truckers were the best drivers out there - and many still are. But I fear some of them have come down to the general standard, which is getting pretty low.

At least when they tailgate another truck, they're more likely to kill themselves. When they do it to a car, I imagine the car occupants are going to come off worse.

 

[Retribution03]

Yeah those types of driver are just stupid.get out and get back in with the minimum fuss

 

[Cyclopathic]

No gap at all would be better. Drive butted right up to the lorry in front then there wont be an impact.

 

[Retribution03]

A train then lol

 

[Retribution03]

But then how are you going to get things delivered?

 

[Brandane]

In fact, why not join them all together? With metal rails to run on it would be a much cheaper and safer option surely.

What a great idea. It would of course work fine; as long as all the goods on the train were going to the same place, and required at the same time. It is already being done, of course. If it was practical, and was going to actually work out cheaper, then it would be much more widespread.
But you, the great customer, demand that your supermarkets, petrol stations, restaurants, hotels, office suppliers, newsagents, car garages, bicycle shops, garden centres, corner shops, chemists, hospitals, vets, pubs, libraries, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers are all stocked with the items you want, at a time convenient to you.
That is the only reason lorries and their drivers are out there. Unlike a large proportion of cars, they are not clogging up the roads because it is vital that the kids get to the cinema to see the latest crap film; or that the occupants just have to get to the seaside for an ice cream before doing the same journey in reverse. No; lorries do not move a mile more than necessary. They burn a lot of expensive fuel, and their owners are a bit anal about making sure they are making money out of every drop of diesel.

 

[subaqua]

What a great idea. It would of course work fine; as long as all the goods on the train were going to the same place, and required at the same time. It is already being done, of course. If it was practical, and was going to actually work out cheaper, then it would be much more widespread.
But you, the great customer, demand that your supermarkets, petrol stations, restaurants, hotels, office suppliers, newsagents, car garages, bicycle shops, garden centres, corner shops, chemists, hospitals, vets, pubs, libraries, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers are all stocked with the items you want, at a time convenient to you.
That is the only reason lorries and their drivers are out there. Unlike a large proportion of cars, they are not clogging up the roads because it is vital that the kids get to the cinema to see the latest crap film; or that the occupants just have to get to the seaside for an ice cream before doing the same journey in reverse. No; lorries do not move a mile more than necessary. They burn a lot of expensive fuel, and their owners are a bit anal about making sure they are making money out of every drop of diesel.

Beeching and the road transport 1st lobby .oh and the govt after the great war that sold all the surplus lorries while they still held the reins of the railways. that was trhe death knell.

smaller lorries were run by the railways from goods yards but these were seen as prime real estate for development. took 50 years but road strangled rail.

strangely tesco etc are starting to use rail again as it is a more reliable and controlled method. then smaller 10 tonners etc going out to stores

 

[Retribution03]

Let's make a list of all the things we use in life that don't need to be transported by road...

 

[subaqua]

Let's make a list of all the things we use in life that don't need to be transported by road...

nobody is saying nothing does. but if you only want to selectively think then fill yer boots.

the old system of goods yards and then local deliveries worked fine until beeching decided they didn't and convinced governments to spunk billion and billions on road building that could have been better spent on improving an existing infrastructure.

 

[Retribution03]

I do see your point about rail but if someone wants a load transported from Liverpool to Newcastle say it's quicker to send a truck than rely on rail and as someone said it's demand for things a now now now attitude that rail couldn't keep up with.