So yesterday Forth Road Bridge was closed pretty much all day due to a lorry driver ignoring the "road closed to high sided vehicles" warning signs and being caught out
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38575843
Wonder what the driver will be charged with and what the punishment will be? Technically speaking is the offence any worse than going through a red light? Probably a poor agency worker that will now lose any chance of any further driving work.
And then today, with the first real snowfall of the year, two lorries jackknifed in different locations on the A9 causing complete closures. I know we have discussed this before but should lorries be forced to park up at first sign of lying snow as they cannot go up hills or brake ?
|
|
You'd soon be grumbling about the lazy lorry drivers if you couldn't get your essentials... but you have a point.
|
|
It's the same on Anglesey - Trucks heading for the Port at Holyhead regularly disregard the signs on Britannia Bridge,and regularly tip over. The last one that tipped over was arrested and claimed he couldn't read the warning signs, they now deploy Police and Wombles to stop them in bad weather.
|
>>And then today, with the first real snowfall of the year, two lorries jackknifed in different locations on the A9 causing complete closures. I know we have discussed this before but should lorries be forced to park up at first sign of lying snow as they cannot go up hills or brake ? <<
cannot go up hills or brake?
How many got stuck....just two.
How many made it successfully around Scotland yesterday?
But don't bother looking at those, just ban everything that causes anyone else a bit of a problem.
Cars get stuck on hills too, usually when driven by drivers who haven't yet had time to gain any experience, and yes, some will never gain that sympathetic ear to the engine and wheel spin.
In my experience they're usually the ones in front of me when I'm trying to maintain traction to get up a snowy hill.
But then again, I quickly learned to wait at the bottom until the hill was clear and then make a run for it.
I wasn't born with that knowledge, I had to learn it from scratch, from getting stuck just like car drivers have to.
Perhaps we should ban those too.
My thoughts on the lorry on the bridge are documented in another thread.
Closing both bridges to ALL traffic would solve the problem......sledgehammer anyone?
Pat
|
Agree with Pat, should be driver's decision on going out in snow as they know the handling characteristics best.
However, I feel there should be a maximum demonstrated crosswind limit for high sided vehicles and if the wind exceeds this (perhaps measured and displayed every 50 miles on the motorway or something) they should stop at the next services until the wind calms down.
What determines the maximum wind? The point at which the average driver can no longer keep the vehicle in the lane. I don't envy the drivers who were on the road on Wednesday as the whole thing rocked, twitched, shimmied, and drifted between lanes 1 & 2.
Also prevents difficult managers putting pressure on people to drive in unsuitable conditions, as they have a rock-solid case if the wind is outside the vehicle's limits.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Fri 13 Jan 17 at 13:02
|
>>Also prevents difficult managers putting pressure on people to drive in unsuitable conditions,
>> as they have a rock-solid case if the wind is outside the vehicle's limits.
>>
There would need to be a database of wind speed/ location /time and it be retained for reference for several weeks.
|
>> and if the wind exceeds this (perhaps measured and displayed every 50 miles on the
>> motorway or something)
>>
Wind speed is a complex issue. Shear, gusts, turbulence. Ask a pilot. ;-)
|
Wind is another matter altogether.
A constant gale blowing is easier to deal with than a gusty gale.
I imagine it's the same for pilots too, but on a motorway the problems usually happen when there has been a bank which alongside and it peters out, or there is a a bridge parapet that allows a gust as you pass it.
I do agree with FF there should be a maximum speed but I also agree with Brian, it is a very complex issue.
As an aside, can you imagine the panic buying if Boby's proposal was put in place where lorries had to come off the road in the snow?
No bread, milk, stocks of all other food running out from the supermarket shelves;)
Pat
|
This website gives an insight into traffic restrictions in windy conditions, fortunately the new bridge will have wind deflectors along its entire length and apparently no restrictions for wind. We shall see. :-)
www.forthroadbridge.org/travel/wind-and-weather/
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 13 Jan 17 at 16:00
|
Those Pesky Lorry Drivers again :) - smokie
