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UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
41

truckman020:
I understand they have to listen to the advice of their solicitor but I can’t understand why they are all denying responsibility,we all know what happened via the press so why deny everything,the jury will only find them guilty anyway so why bother denying it all

Having now seen the prosecution case is as weak, as it is, against the operator and the mechanic I think not guilty was the right plea. My feeling is the mechanic will be found not guilty and the operator possibly on the basis that the jury may feel they have to make someone pay.

Don’t get me wrong, I am perfectly happy for the book to have been thrown at the operator if they were found to be criminally negligent but beyond a few trumped up sensationalist headlines the prosecution evidence and VOSA investigation has just not been there.

42

DVSA persons responsible for ‘‘brakes to slow’’ should be in the dock at some point.

I agree with points made earlier about young drivers learning on lighter vehicles, my own years on vans and then 7.5 tonners stood me in good stead, chucking a young lad straight into an 8 wheeler was asking for trouble, not helped it must be said by knowing full well he could rely on the brakes, as he’d been taught to by experts :unamused:

43

109LWB:
The restriction the the road is a width one, not a weight one, so you could technically take a 40t vehicle down there as long as it was within the width limit, which of course doesn’t exist. However, artics do frequently go down there to get to the industrial estate half way down.
It’s my view the restrictions are not in place bcauase of the gradient or the likelihood of a vehicle running away, but more because the road is quite narrow in places and turns residential at the bottom.
As mentioned,there are many roads in bath that are similar in gradient and width that have no restrictions.

The width limit isn’t anything to do with the hill at all, I don’t think, it’s the bit at the bottom past the Mazda garage.

44

Juddian:
I agree with points made earlier about young drivers learning on lighter vehicles, my own years on vans and then 7.5 tonners stood me in good stead, chucking a young lad straight into an 8 wheeler was asking for trouble, not helped it must be said by knowing full well he could rely on the brakes, as he’d been taught to by experts :unamused:

I’d agree that time spent on 7.5 tonners is valuable in learning to drive trucks.‘But’ I don’t think there’s any reason to think that is mutually exclusive with someone driving a C2 or even C+E at around 20 years of age.While as I’ve said at that point the first day on the first worst case scenario of 18 tonnes on two axles,down a steep hill,is going to be the same regardless of whether it’s someone who’s been stuck on 7.5 tonners until the age of 30 or someone who makes that jump at 19,20 or 21.

Which leaves the question of the situation of someone of 19 or 21 driving a two-four axle rigid who’s been taught on the mantra of gears to slow v the 25-30 year old who’s been taught to drive instinctively on the basis of gears to go brakes to slow.

On that note I for one didn’t drive any differently in that regard whether at the age of 18 or 21 or 25 or 30.If not my career would probably have ended at 21 with a runaway Clydesdale on Reigate Hill before it had really begun.Just as it probably would have at the age of 25 + with an artic on the run into Dewsbury from the M1.Having got all the 7.5t experience I ever needed over with by the age of 20. :bulb:

All no thanks to my HGV instructors in the case of both my Class 2 and Class 1 who I argued with and openly defied in that regard having luckily been taught to drive properly and obviously tested by others who knew better.

While we maybe need to reset our sights as to when the rot actually set in concerning the brakes to slow issue.On that note even at the age of 9,let alone 17 or 21,I probably knew more about how to drive a car,let alone a truck,properly than the muppet who wrote this all those years ago back then.Who seems to have made the 2 + 2 = 5 conclusion that,because he and those he’s ‘taught’ to drive can’t get their heads around properly rev matched sequential downshifts,let’s just use the brakes to slow down from top gear to first or second,instead. :open_mouth: :imp: :unamused:

archive.commercialmotor.com/page … r-1968/249

archive.commercialmotor.com/arti … ing-an-hgv

In view of which,as in my case,drivers should have long ago told the establishment to shove its,flawed,silly,unworkable police car driving theory muppetry as having no place in driving a car properly let alone a heavy truck.Bearing in mind that starting a decent with as cold brakes as possible is as important as using the correct gear on the decent itself.With the gears to go brakes to slow mantra being used on the approach to such a hazard,such as probably in this case,obviously contradicting that.

Just as it’s anyone’s guess how the law ever caught a decent ‘wheel man’ without burning out the brakes of their old Wolseley 6110’s etc at the first T junction, bend,or hill.Or was it perhaps they didn’t. :bulb:

youtube.com/watch?v=LLGKbCSlF44

45

Didn’t realise you were the arguing type CF…

46

Own Account Driver:

109LWB:
The restriction the the road is a width one, not a weight one, so you could technically take a 40t vehicle down there as long as it was within the width limit, which of course doesn’t exist. However, artics do frequently go down there to get to the industrial estate half way down.
It’s my view the restrictions are not in place bcauase of the gradient or the likelihood of a vehicle running away, but more because the road is quite narrow in places and turns residential at the bottom.
As mentioned,there are many roads in bath that are similar in gradient and width that have no restrictions.

The width limit isn’t anything to do with the hill at all, I don’t think, it’s the bit at the bottom past the Mazda garage.

Nope, the limit ends before then at the roundabout