DonutUK:
Someone, possibly a driver trainer somewhere, told me that the best way to “get out of” a jackknife was to gently ease the parking brake on as soon as you felt things start to happen, as opposed to doing the gut reaction and stepping harder on the foot brakes…
Not convinced myself, but fortunately have never been in a situation where i have had to think about it.
Hello all,
I have heard of this and have used it, when i was in the forces and it did appear to work. this was with a wrecker and a 20t trailer with a apc on it.
leave plenty of space, so if you do start to slide you can accelerate out of it. to slow down do it gently by using the exhaust brake NOT the foot brake, use the foot brake as a last resort. trust me, i’ve got myself out of a jacknife. you will be told by those who have never experienced a jacknife or those that have not recovered from a jacknife that they know how to get out of one.
but the best people to ask would be the canadian drivers who are trained to drive in icy conditions. they will back me up.
As an expat now driving in Canada I’m only too aware of jack-knifing.Only yesterday I was piloting my chemical tanker along the Trans Canada Highway in the snow and ice,slipping and sliding,making my arse twitch.You can feel when the drive tyres start loosing traction,time to ease of the pedal and gently guide the truck back on the straight and narrow,no sudden movements.
Rule 1,NEVER use cruise control no snow/ice,you’ll have no control.
Rule 2,Jakes/exhaust are generally ok on snow but not on ice because they can lock up the drive tyres,especially if you’re running light/empty.
Rule 3,drive at a speed where YOU feel comfortable,if others are faster or slower that’s their choice.
Drive to arrive.
limeyphil:
leave plenty of space, so if you do start to slide you can accelerate out of it. to slow down do it gently by using the exhaust brake NOT the foot brake, use the foot brake as a last resort. trust me, i’ve got myself out of a jacknife. you will be told by those who have never experienced a jacknife or those that have not recovered from a jacknife that they know how to get out of one.
but the best people to ask would be the canadian drivers who are trained to drive in icy conditions. they will back me up.
so how do you carry out cadence braking if you are avoiding using the brakes? a method of braking which gives the driver enough control to slow and avoid an obstacle in slippery conditions. sorry mate but the exhaust brake gets switched off and the foot brake gets used albeit very gently along with all other controls. its harsh steering/braking/accelerating etc that causes most of the accidents in snowy conditions, excluding sheer ice
btw, if anyone else was stuck on the M8 eastbound at j6 last night, it was a stobart truck working for tesco that jack-knifed
you’re right scanny. harsh breaking, and driving like a knob are the most likely causes of jacknifes. but i find tickling the speed down with the exhaust brake very effective.
scanny77:
so how do you carry out cadence braking if you are avoiding using the brakes? a method of braking which gives the driver enough control to slow and avoid an obstacle in slippery conditions. sorry mate but the exhaust brake gets switched off and the foot brake gets used albeit very gently along with all other controls. its harsh steering/braking/accelerating etc that causes most of the accidents in snowy conditions, excluding sheer ice
No need for cadence breaking nowadays with ABS/EBS. It does it for you, far more efficiently than a human can do it.
I’ve heard that cadence braking on a truck with ABS is bad.
Apparently bouncing your foot hard on the brake pedal just confuses the ABS chip.
How much of it is truckers urban myth, I don’t know. It sort of makes sense to me though.
Either brake as hard as you need to and let the ABS take care of the cadence braking for you, or switch off the ABS and pump the brake pedal. I prefer to let the ABS do its stuff, and try my hardest not to get into that sort of situation in the first place.
I dont wish to sound big headed or superior but I managed 45years, mostly on continental work without jacknifing in bad weather.
If things got really b ad I just pulled the snow curtains. the job got done and I’m still here to tell the tale.
Thers no such thing as an urgent load, just impatient bosses. Theres a queue off fast drivers waiting at the pearly gates.
rocky 7:
If things got really bad I just pulled the snow curtains. the job got done and I’m still here to tell the tale.
Thers no such thing as an urgent load, just impatient bosses. Theres a queue off fast drivers waiting at the pearly gates.
Wise words there Rocky. There will always be heroes who will get there no matter what and your boss will probably let you know this too… My problem is I’m not a hero. Prisons and graveyards are full of heroes.
I’ve just come back from Sweden. It snowed heavily from the Dutch/German border up, 3 days and nearly 2000 km driving on ice and snow. Was exhausting as you cant switch off for a second, but once you get into the swing of it your charging down the motorways on the limiter just like the Swedes. Admittedly the roads are quieter. It just involves doing everything steadily and gently, turning the retarder off, and using brakes as little as possible.
Not going to get into the Jake thing again. I use it because it is safer. If you are on a straight road like a dual carriageway and it is really icy but there are snow tracks then use the tracks to brake on. Footbrakes are too fierce for any ice, as are jakes, so you should drive in a manner where braking is not required at all. I was in Edmonton during a snow fall this week and the footbrake was just a menace. I put the jake and crosslock on and used that instead.
Truck ABS operates, or used to operate, at 8 pulses per second. You need to have the brakes constantly applied to get them to operate continuously and so AB is also a hindrance in icy conditions. There are no hard and fast rules. Just constant vigilance and caution. As was said, once you gain your confidence you don’t panic as much and can leave some of the tension out. Once you can relax you won’t overreact as badly.
Dont often agree with Limeyphil but exhaust for me, driving Actross & as long as you not revving the … off its gentle enough holding you back downhill with just a gentle boot over the brake,
On the other issue of speed M6Tues night between Penrith & South Kendal a wet inside lane couple of inches of slush middle lane couple inches virgin snow 3rd lane caught up with aline off traffic sitting at 30mph mostly wagons, I agree everybody drive at the speed they are comfortable with but in the words of the geezer on the telly( I DONT BELIEVE IT)
