Everytime there is snow…loads of lorries jacknife…any practical advice to try and avoid this happen…and what tends to happen to the drivers…when they do this…i.e…is that frown upon by bosses and the police or just accepted as one of those things…in other words…is it seen as somewhat the drives fault…going to fast for conditions etc…etc■■?..I thought of this due the one that was blocking the A! near Bigglewade today…(according to Five Live)
my advice these days would be to lie,lie ,lie, telling the truth is a really bad move,youll get sacked,no doubt, blame the foreigner who cut you up, the ambulance that cut across your bows, the lurcher chasing the rabbit, anything but the truth
the easiest way to avoid jack knifing a lorry is by not driving them 
as for how it is looked upon, it all depends on the boss or the police that attend
Oh… and what’s…with all the… dots?
fancy a game of join the dots do we? 
ady1:
my advice these days would be to lie,lie ,lie, telling the truth is a really bad move,youll get sacked,no doubt, blame the foreigner who cut you up, the ambulance that cut across your bows, the lurcher chasing the rabbit, anything but the truth
are you talking from personal experience or just talking out of your ■■■■■■?
it all depends on the circumstances of the accident
falt out into a sharp bend in the snow/ice, yes, there is a possibility of getting the sack, but if you are careful, slow and steady (tachograph will be able to prove this), there is no reason for you to get the sack
Just tell the guvnor it’s his own fault for using a 4x2 or 6x2 unit instead of a 6x4.It’s yet another reason why it’s better to be an owner driver instead of employed unless you’d want to sack yourself which would probably be the right thing to do if you’d managed to jacknife a 6x4 in a few inches of snow.
Best thing is to not drive like a [zb] !!
SuperSmiley:
Everytime there is snow…loads of lorries jacknife…any practical advice to try and avoid this happen…and what tends to happen to the drivers…when they do this…i.e…is that frown upon by bosses and the police or just accepted as one of those things…in other words…is it seen as somewhat the drives fault…going to fast for conditions etc…etc■■?..I thought of this due the one that was blocking the A! near Bigglewade today…(according to Five Live)
Its because they drive like lunatics and then brake hard, like the idiots last night
most of you probably know, but my advice to anyone that is a newbie or doesn’t know would be NOT to use the exhaust brake when the road is icy 
We had 2 jack knifes last christmas(we are a very small depot to have 2 rang the alarm bells) both agency guys, both never asked to return. Both incidents had company investigations. First was found to be speeding down hill , the second guy was 15 mile off route doing a wee personal run .
Braking hard in harsh conditions, snow, ice , muddy roads causes the unit to break faster than the trailer. Some jack knifes where you have been badly cut up or have to try and make a emergency stop are unavoidable. But IMO jack knifes 95% of the time are driver error, will lead to a company investigation and they’ll find something to get rid of you. Police never took any action on these 2 guys maybe because no-one was hurt and the damage was all done to company vehicles.
Seen one of the guys a couple of weeks ago working for howdens joinery so he’s still in work.
bikemonkey:
most of you probably know, but my advice to anyone that is a newbie or doesn’t know would be NOT to use the exhaust brake when the road is icy
Why is this? I thought it slowly slowed you down? 
removalboy:
bikemonkey:
most of you probably know, but my advice to anyone that is a newbie or doesn’t know would be NOT to use the exhaust brake when the road is icyWhy is this? I thought it slowly slowed you down?
Trust me, it’s best not to ask
wise up slow down! drive to the conditions!
shuttlespanker:
the easiest way to avoid jack knifing a lorry is by not driving themas for how it is looked upon, it all depends on the boss or the police that attend
Oh… and what’s…with all the… dots?
fancy a game of join the dots do we?
Don’t get in a tiz about it Shuttle, its just Dotty’s, sorry, I mean Super Smiley’s style. He always did it, just not posted much for a while. Nice to see you back again Smiley. 
C-Kay:
removalboy:
bikemonkey:
most of you probably know, but my advice to anyone that is a newbie or doesn’t know would be NOT to use the exhaust brake when the road is icyWhy is this? I thought it slowly slowed you down?
Trust me, it’s best not to ask
when using an engine/exhaust brake you are not slowing the trailer down just the tractor. In sliprey conditions the weight and momentum of the unbraked trailer could push on and cause a jackknife.
removalboy:
bikemonkey:
most of you probably know, but my advice to anyone that is a newbie or doesn’t know would be NOT to use the exhaust brake when the road is icyWhy is this? I thought it slowly slowed you down?
Because the exhaust brake ONLY brakes your drive wheels.
Although it’s very unlikely to lock up your drive axle, it could, in the right (wrong?) circumstances, cause your drive wheels to slow down enough to skid which could be all thats needed to start a jack-knife.
A jack-knife happens when the rear end of your unit steps out of line and your trailer pushes it the rest of the way round.
It’s sometimes possible to straighten up, with quick reactions and some luck, but if your exhauster is switched on and comes in automatically, you won’t know WHEN it’ll come on, so the little skid won’t be expected. By the time you’ve realised you need to do something, it’s too late. Using your foot brake, you will be aware that a skid is possible, so when a little skid happens you’re ready to react. Using the foot brake slows all your wheels evenly ish, most wagons also have ABS all round now, so your much less likely to lock up any wheels.
I get it now. 
SuperSmiley:
Everytime there is snow…loads of lorries jacknife…any practical advice to try and avoid this happen…and what tends to happen to the drivers…when they do this…i.e…is that frown upon by bosses and the police or just accepted as one of those things…in other words…is it seen as somewhat the drives fault…going to fast for conditions etc…etc■■?..I thought of this due the one that was blocking the A! near Bigglewade today…(according to Five Live)
Happend to one of our drivers the other week, on black ice.
His speed wasnt excessive, 20mph on a NSL A road.
Police were all over the road trying to ■■■■■■ the crane that was coming to recover the artic.
The driver was agency, but long term agency been with the company a couple of years, liked. The police called up his employer to explain what happend and to assure them there wasnt much he could have done because of the condition of the road.
He had to get re-assessed but was allowed to return working for the company.
DAF95XF:
SuperSmiley:
Everytime there is snow…loads of lorries jacknife…any practical advice to try and avoid this happen…and what tends to happen to the drivers…when they do this…i.e…is that frown upon by bosses and the police or just accepted as one of those things…in other words…is it seen as somewhat the drives fault…going to fast for conditions etc…etc■■?..I thought of this due the one that was blocking the A! near Bigglewade today…(according to Five Live)Its because they drive like lunatics and then brake hard, like the idiots last night
but then i would class the idiot truck drivers doing 30mph in 2 inches of snow down the A19 as lunatics, if you dont like it stay in bed and let those who want to get on get going
Simon:
removalboy:
bikemonkey:
most of you probably know, but my advice to anyone that is a newbie or doesn’t know would be NOT to use the exhaust brake when the road is icyWhy is this? I thought it slowly slowed you down?
Because the exhaust brake ONLY brakes your drive wheels.
Although it’s very unlikely to lock up your drive axle, it could, in the right (wrong?) circumstances, cause your drive wheels to slow down enough to skid which could be all thats needed to start a jack-knife.A jack-knife happens when the rear end of your unit steps out of line and your trailer pushes it the rest of the way round.
It’s sometimes possible to straighten up, with quick reactions and some luck, but if your exhauster is switched on and comes in automatically, you won’t know WHEN it’ll come on, so the little skid won’t be expected. By the time you’ve realised you need to do something, it’s too late. Using your foot brake, you will be aware that a skid is possible, so when a little skid happens you’re ready to react. Using the foot brake slows all your wheels evenly ish, most wagons also have ABS all round now, so your much less likely to lock up any wheels.
im glad you explained that Si …i’d heard about it on here when i first started driving…thought i’d try it out on the A365 Heads of the Valleys when the road was covered in about 4/5 inches of snow and ice…i put on the exhaust brake on my Merc and within a second or 2 the back of the unit stepped out…i just had an empty 40’ box on!!!..was nothing serious but certainly confirmed to me that it wasn’t the right thing to be doing
This may be helpful…
I was out in an artic today in the snow for the first time, I listened to the traffic reports of jackknifing trucks, I decided to check out my thoughts, it`s all physics really.
I only had two pallets on the truck, that could be moved by hand! So it was no weight in a 45ft trailer! and I had a collection of display units, no weight again…I saw my first jackknifed truck at clacket lane services entrance. I was in Kent, Sussex, so it was 8" of snow mostly.
I was on the A21 and saw another jackknifed truck…I took my time, drove to the conditions and I have to say that it was the best day of paid employment ever in my life!!!
I got to see and experience the snow from the Daf 105, I got 460 BHP with an auto box around with no problems, OK I got stuck once, but a shovel and good fortune saw me out of that.
I would be lying if I said that I wasn`t ■■■■■■■■ myself to start with, but as the day went on it became enjoyable, smooth is the way…Drive to arrive is what they say and I went at a pace that I was comfortable with and got all my jobs done, despite delays, accidents that were in the carriageway, abandoned cars etc.
I love my job 