slim said:
Canaldrifter said:
16 out of 19.
As an ex-trucker who lost his licence through getting caught doing more than 40mph on a 60mph road (Yes, I'm bitter) I should have done better!
CD truckers are the bane of my life. Thank god they are not allowed in the third lane on motorways, the two lane sections on the M4 in Wales is a prime example. I have followed a truck which has pulled out on my attempting to overtake another truck for two or three miles, when he comes to a bit of a hill he realises that he hasn't got the power and then returns to his place behind the truck he was attempting to overtake. Truckers used to be the knights of the road, now they are bully boys with I'm bigger than you so I won't get hurt attitudes.
That is bowlocks!
Whilst I understand where you are coming from, the problems faced by truckers now are ALL caused by four things: Speed limiters, tachographs, cab phones and sat nav.
In the days when truckers (lorrry drivers then) were the knights of the road, all we had to worry about was a log book. Once out on the road we were totally on our own. We had nobody breathing down our necks asking every hour where we are, or why we've stopped, or why we're off route or late, or giving us extra work we can't cope with half way round a delivery route.
It was actually fun in those days, despite noisy, smelly, drafty old non-sleeper cabs, lack of power, ropes and sheets, crap driver's digs and tyres that blew out if you went above 50mph loaded that you had to change yourself in the hard shoulder.
But the money was great, and the camaraderie fantastic. The cafe's were meccas, and the roadside pubs overnight the biggest laughs you would have had. The driver's code (head and tail light flashing as it should be done, a hang-over from hooded headlights during WW2 blackouts) made overtaking easy.
If a lorry broke down on the M6 at 4am in those days, there would be a dozen stopping to see if they could help.
And yes, a truck would slow down or pull in to let a motorist pass, or even stop to help a motorist in distress if he had the time.
In those days, if a trucker was tired, he'd stop for an hour and get his head down, wake up refreshed, and go on his way quite safely. Now, they can't stop without explaining why... and a necessary kip is not a kosher reason to greedy hauliers trying to keep their fleets to impossible time limits on congested roads.
The money isn't too good now either... and quite frankly air conditioned sound-proofed sleeper cabs with stereo music, speed control and soft air suspension are conducive to sending drivers to sleep. Why do you think so many trucks simply run off the road or ram somebody else up the stern? If you knew how many truckers are now driving on uppers, you wouldn't venture out of your side road!
The reason two trucks have trouble overtaking is the speed limiter. But, not to overtake.... to stay behind the slowest truck you come across, is not an option. All modern truckers are expected to press on as fast as the limiter will allow, even if that is 0.0001mph faster than the truck in front.
Did you know that on a single carriageway A road with a 60mph national speed limit, trucks over 7 tonnes are still not allowed to do more than 40mph, even though modern breaking systems are almost as efficient as the family car's? Can you imagine what this limit would do to the A1 north of Berwickin the height of summer if drivers stuck to it?
I was caught when they altered the dynamics of the gatsos so that they would catch any HGV or coach driver doing more than 50mph. I was caught, not by my speed, but by the speed of spray coming off my cab..... in a force 9 coastal gale at 2am.
When they offered me my HGV licence back after a 6 months ban, having, of course, lost my job, I told them where to stuff it. After 30 years of driving, on and off, with an otherwise totally clean licence, it was a great relief.
Anyway.... I'd bought a boat!
Sorry...... but I do feel passionately that most motorists don't begin to understand what modern trucking means.
Remember, if you resent trucks being there.... everything you own came by truck at some point.
Rant over.
Got me goin' there Slim!
Barp barp!!