Dr Damon:
No not obvious at all unless of course you speculate all about a driver you know absolutely nothing about.
Of course it’s speculation, unless of course you or me know the driver personally, or we are on the actual site accident investigation specialists,.
Well I aint but I can’t speak for you.
That is what this thread is all about is it not, that is what a forum is for, opinion, discussion and…Speculation.
So what is wrong with that exactly ■■
If you don’t like what you read, then don’t bother coming on,. as you appear reluctant to give your views on it.
The problem with speculation is the fact you are never sure who is reading it.I am sure you understand what I mean.
Why do you assume you know more than anybody on here,
just because you have driven since the 60s does not necessarilly mean so.
I know blokes who have been in this job for years who in real terms know the far end of [zb] all.
I did not say I knew more than anybody on here. I said I knew more than some and that is apparent by the standard of their posts.
I have qualifications in engineering amongst others.My life and work has been spent in transport and various elements of it.
Dr Damon:
No not obvious at all unless of course you speculate all about a driver you know absolutely nothing about.
Of course it’s speculation, unless of course you or me know the driver personally, or we are on the actual site accident investigation specialists,.
Well I aint but I can’t speak for you.
That is what this thread is all about is it not, that is what a forum is for, opinion, discussion and…Speculation.
So what is wrong with that exactly ■■
If you don’t like what you read, then don’t bother coming on,. as you appear reluctant to give your views on it.
The problem with speculation is the fact you are never sure who is reading it.I am sure you understand what I mean.
Who cares who is reading this thread? It’s geared towards understanding cause and looking for ways to not repeat it.
Sounds like an intelligent thing to do in my view, learning from any mistakes made.
switchlogic:
I did a defensive driving course 15 or so years ago and I can safely say it was the most rewarding work related course I’ve ever done. It completely changed my driving, I was 25 at time, and I’d recommend them, even if it meant paying yourself
Absolutely best thing a lot of drivers could do. Might make them realise their mistakes.
Norfolkinclue1:
Plenty of comments about “saving” blowouts in an artic, not seen anyone address the fact this was a rigid.
In an artic you have less weight over the axle, more axles to balance, weight further back and a pivot point to help cope with the drop when it blows.
That rigid had 2 axles, I’m sure the experts here can figure out the vast difference in handling, loaded or not, good condition or not…
Thing is, there will be a hell of a lot of truck drivers out there who will have no idea how to deal with a front axle blow out when it happens because they have have never been taught how to react, any other axle is a non event, but steering axle is likely to end in disaster for the uneducated driver concerned.
In 30 years I have never seen or heard any instructions on how to deal with a steer axle blowout on a truck, so the average driver will probably panic do the wrong thing and lose total control of their truck.
Plenty of evidence out there of drivers going into a panic when something unexpected happens or the driver screws up which results in third parties ending up being injured or killed.
This is a good video showing how to recover from a steering axle blowout without losing control, problem is everyone is flat out on the limiter leaving no room to recover from it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8znCgvHMb-g
That’s a good Video. I had a blow out caused by a large bolt through a front near side tyre at about 02.00 on the M6 (it was pre limiter days so I was hopping on shall we say). The tyre didn’t explode or shred, but did deflate rather rapidly, all I did was lift off everything, hang on tight, and get it on to the shoulder, only when it was nearly stopped did I touch the brake to bring it to a stop. I wouldn’t have had the presence of mind or ■■■■■■■■ to accelerate though.
Point is, it’s the luck of the draw how it turns out I reckon, when it goes wrong you’re totally in the lap of the gods, as we all are when the smelly brown stuff hits the fan.
Training, and experience are good things to have under ones belt though, I would agree with that.
Why do you assume you know more than anybody on here,
just because you have driven since the 60s does not necessarilly mean so.
I know blokes who have been in this job for years who in real terms know the far end of [zb] all.
This.
We had a lad join from the army at 25, he’d picked up more than most I know in his time behind the wheel. His practical mechanical ability was outstanding, and his driving was spot on. Same can’t be said for a couple of our more seasoned drivers who expected everything to be fixed for them and get all the easiest tasks…
Great to hear of a 25 year old like that but he still has an awful lot to learn and I am sure he will. The problem is a lot get their license and learn no more hence all the poor driving on our roads.
Carryfast:
More real world examples which bust the myth of the ‘controllable’ steer axle blow out.The third video example below actually capturing the rim collapsing onto the deflated tyre and pulling the steering over to the left.
Yes. Good examples indeed. We often hear phrases uttered like “Fred Bloggs lost control of his vehicle” as if it were 100% down to driver incompetence. I’d have to argue that such LHS blowouts would be enough to tax everyone’s skills on here to the very limit!
It’s more an issue of luck than skill.You’re effectively a passenger in a vehicle that’s gone from being steered by the directional control of its equally rolling steering wheels.To one that’s being steered by unequal braking inputs on either side like a tracked vehicle or a wheeled tractor in the off road mode.The only skill would be ‘if’ you had a way of applying an equal braking force independently to the opposite wheel on the steer axle to cancel out the unequal rolling resistance acting as a brake on the deflated side.Without that option everything else is a case of bringing a knife to a gun fight and therefore luck as shown in the RV etc examples as opposed to the artic that came back into line before going into the central reservation.The surprising thing is that Dr Damon with all his expert knowledge doesn’t seem to understand that.
Dr Damon:
Carryfast my only comment to you is you may benefit from a bit of psychiatry.
There’s nothing as dangerous on the roads as someone with too much confidence and an over inflated sense of their own abilities.In the case of tyre failures it’s more about trying to avoid them by regular preventative replacement using the best not the cheapest and constant condition checks.Rather than thinking that you can control a steer axle blow out at motor way speeds.
No one can categorically state they have the know-how, reactions, or technical ability to avoid a crossover situation with a front wheel blowout!! I have had three of these scary incidents in my driving career of forty eight years. The first was a probably a valve failure, the other two were hitting spanset hooks in the carriageway, only the last time did I see what was going to happen and was able to anticipate the blowout. I was very lucky and managed on all three occasions to stop the vehicle without mishap, but, it was pure luck nothing else. My son had a blowout on the offside last year after hitting an object in the dark, he took out 100mts of armco and wrecked the front of the cab!! His opinion is the same as mine pure luck saved him. Regards Kev.
kevmac47:
No one can categorically state they have the know-how, reactions, or technical ability to avoid a crossover situation with a front wheel blowout!! I have had three of these scary incidents in my driving career of forty eight years. The first was a probably a valve failure, the other two were hitting spanset hooks in the carriageway, only the last time did I see what was going to happen and was able to anticipate the blowout. I was very lucky and managed on all three occasions to stop the vehicle without mishap, but, it was pure luck nothing else. My son had a blowout on the offside last year after hitting an object in the dark, he took out 100mts of armco and wrecked the front of the cab!! His opinion is the same as mine pure luck saved him. Regards Kev.
Well said.
I think it is safe to assume that any incident of this nature will be completely different to any others.
Speed,weather,load,.driver and so on, all contributing to what will be a unique event.
I have experienced several tyre blowouts, at least two being front axles,
If the power steering is working properly it is ‘unlikely’ that the steering wheel will be whipped out of the drivers grip with a simple blowout.
The same could not be said of a catastrophic failure in the steering linkage.
Whatever the reason behind this event, it is undeniably sad.
We should all wait for the official findings, then perhaps we can start to apportion blame.
Dr Damon:
Carryfast my only comment to you is you may benefit from a bit of psychiatry.
There’s nothing as dangerous on the roads as someone with too much confidence and an over inflated sense of their own abilities.In the case of tyre failures it’s more about trying to avoid them by regular preventative replacement using the best not the cheapest and constant condition checks.Rather than thinking that you can control a steer axle blow out at motor way speeds.
It would seem that the same forces criticizing CF are based around this same notion “If you don’t agree with someone, - attack them” rather than “put in your own tuppence worth of how you’d do it differently.” I can’t really argue about how political the users of this board have become, but surely can’t we all just agree to disagree when it comes to “My Dad’s bigger than your Dad” ya-boo thing all the time eh?
History and Time will eventually decide which of us has the best long-term methods, lifestyle, and opinions. Those who believe themselves to be perfect already, and cannot be corrected, cannot be told - are likely to end up coming a cropper “through no fault of their own”.
Pray such people never end up in the sticky situation that a third-party fatal collision is then. That AIM driver has been charged on 8 accounts of causing death by dangerous driving - should be a wake-up call to us ALL - even if we don’t drink. Why? - Because he wasn’t bloody driving at the moment of impact! “Poor Judgement” and “catastrophic workplace choices” could happen to many a so-called Driving god if you think about it.
Dr Damon:
Carryfast my only comment to you is you may benefit from a bit of psychiatry.
There’s nothing as dangerous on the roads as someone with too much confidence and an over inflated sense of their own abilities.In the case of tyre failures it’s more about trying to avoid them by regular preventative replacement using the best not the cheapest and constant condition checks.Rather than thinking that you can control a steer axle blow out at motor way speeds.
For once I quite agree with most of your post.Please though can you point out where I said I could control a blow out■■?
All I said was that tyre technology has vastly improved and that out of control blow outs are less likely these days then you went off on one as you frequently seem to do.
Dr Damon:
Carryfast my only comment to you is you may benefit from a bit of psychiatry.
There’s nothing as dangerous on the roads as someone with too much confidence and an over inflated sense of their own abilities.In the case of tyre failures it’s more about trying to avoid them by regular preventative replacement using the best not the cheapest and constant condition checks.Rather than thinking that you can control a steer axle blow out at motor way speeds.
Who are you and what have you done with Carryfast??
Dr Damon:
Carryfast my only comment to you is you may benefit from a bit of psychiatry.
There’s nothing as dangerous on the roads as someone with too much confidence and an over inflated sense of their own abilities.In the case of tyre failures it’s more about trying to avoid them by regular preventative replacement using the best not the cheapest and constant condition checks.Rather than thinking that you can control a steer axle blow out at motor way speeds.
Who are you and what have you done with Carryfast??
I actually find him quite amusing especially when he goes off on a completely different tangent! If he could read and understand English he may do better. (I think ) lol.
as you appear reluctant to give your views on it.
