A 65 year old truck driver from Berwick has been given bail after a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.
A car driven by a male had stopped after an incident and he was being assisted by an off duty female police officer.They were both killed by a truck which drove into the.A passenger in the car was also injured.
I know only those bare facts but it doesn’t reflect well on our industry again.Time will reveal more.
believe the truck speed limiters needs taking down a peg or three to 50 tops , no end of near misses iv seen .Cars too,the newest cars are real death traps nobody but nobody can react quick enough to these missiles on wheels
Can’t see how that would help, when there is actual contact yes, but the vast majority of drivers never hit anything.
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based on my observs on the Orwell Bridge where variable speed limits with cam were introduced a few yrs back iv not heard of any bad wrecks since .In the old days no end of crashes .Having said that i think the speed limits were only brought in to save on wear and tear of the bridge . When the limits 40 it really is a joy to cross . Another thing that needs looking at is these modern headlights that dazzle something terrible ,theyre so bright they encourage a fast pace of driving but to the detriment of oncomers.
I also have a feeling that [some] trucks have a bypassed speed limiter,by about 4 mph over i say that as they careen along so fast im glancing at my own speedo and even if mines not 100% accurate these clowns are caning it.Not too long ago i did a seatbelt awareness course and [i forget the finer details] but it said a crash at 30 without a belt is like jumping off a house roof but at 60 its as if from a 9 storey building
That may be true if you are not paying attention and employing defensive driving techniques. If you can see what’s coming you can brace yourself to avoid being thrown through the screen your injuries will be limited to crush damage which seatbelts will help you not one little bit. The emergency stop has been part of the driving test since before I took mine 65 years ago and you’d think they would not continue with that if you ended up on the road each time. 
ummm they stopped doing emergency stops in anything more than a car quite a few years ago
That’s the test I meant, the only one available at the time. I have no experience of an HGV test, never having needed to take one.
I know a guy who had only took his bike test.
He took his girlfriend for a driving lesson on a disused airfield (where I once lived ) in his (bike licenced) 3 wheeler Reliant.
They practiced an emergency stop, …he thought it was done in same way as a bike, and stepped out in front of her.
Yep…she ran him over.
She was then hysterically hammering on my front door,.and I called an ambulance.
He lived to tell the tale btw.
my father went from push bikes to motorbikes (licensed). he then bought a share in a van with a friend on the proviso he taught my father to drive. One night they had been out for a lesson and gone back to the friends house and my father wanted to go home. his mate said just take the l plates off you will be alright. he got stopped on hyde park corner the copper never asked for his license or anything.
The worst driving I’ve seen on night trunking is from the drivers who work at companies that limit them to 50-52MPH. They basically switch off because of the sheer boredom of it all.
Also remember the slower the vehicle the longer the journey time which increases the amount of fatigue a driver is likely to experience making the risk higher, not less.
youv a point there, praps leave the limiters where they are.What can you suggest ? imagine youd just got into power as the new minister for transport - one idea might be to reward drivers financially for an ultra clean vehicle ,50 notes cash if you are spotted parked in a layby and they cannot find a spec of dirt on any wheel.Youd be encouraged to stop very often and wipe your wheels in so doing staying alert?
Not too long ago i did a seatbelt awareness course and [i forget the finer details] but it said a crash at 30 without a belt is like jumping off a house roof but at 60 its as if from a 9 storey building
Alas the trainer was offering a useless comparison. The seatbelt doesn’t change the rate of deceleration that much, only what you might hit on the way to coming to a stop …… remember those days when drivers got impaled on the steering column once the Bakelite wheel has shattered
But we move away from the OP. Pi perhaps it’s a reminder on concentration and observation which may help avoid these incidents happening to one of the forum
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As I understand it, the car was parked on the grass verge, so the two people who where struck by the truck must’ve been stood on the edge of the road or very close to it
i used to drive up to spalding every night. 147 miles each way. difference between 56 and 53 was 9 minuets so a generous 20 minuets added onto the drive time. nothing compared to the 3 hour wait for a load ever night and all the waiting at spalding and where ever i tipped on the way back
What Conor is getting at is the slower you are going theat makes you drowsy, try driving at 60 MPH it keeps you alert, Conor is correct in what he has said, By the way 60 MPH is better for MPG FACT, give it a try, 52 MPH is dangerous on the motorway, allways see Crap / Thick mananged companys that think they are saving fuel.
That’s a broad statement that may be correct in a given set of circumstances. Engine revs, not vehicle speed is a greater determining factor in fuel consumption. Many circumstances affect fuel consumption.
That is a Fact 60 mph is one mpg better than 56 as its still in the Green, the gearing needs to be changed to run as 52 mph, not just adjust the limiter that abusing the vehicle, good if you are in the Gearbox game though lol
It’s not that simple. There are too many variables to nominate ant single speed to be more efficient than any other.
Its revs that guzzle the gas not speed