Wouldn’t it be better asking for advice of how to avoid a jackknife?
ABS helps if its working correctly but by the time you need it it is much too late.
Why not give yourself more room to avoid a hazard rather than trying to find a way to sort out the mess afterwards 
speedyguy:
Anyone got any idea’s on a quickest/easiest way to unjackknife a lorry, chatting to a couple of workshop lads, is it possible if you pull off the airline suzy and trailer brakes lock on , can the unit be raunched round under it’s own power with a bit/lot of tyre wear,or can the trailer be towed backwards a bit to straighten the whole caboodle up?
Has anyone tried anything successfully or unsuccessfully?
I suppose it would depend on how embedded the trailer is into the cab.
As long as the unit is drivable, you would just drive it out wouldn’t you?
Taking the red line of wouldn’t serve any useful purpose that I can think of.
We occasionally have to screw round extremely tightly. So tight that the rear of our unit is almost touching our trailer. When that happens, we are pushing the trailer backwards while the unit is going forwards. A jack-knife is only a bit further round, unless it’s gone so far its lifting the cab off it’s mounts.
I was loading coal in an artic tipper on a wet, muddy slippery hill. The exit was down hill, diagonally across the slope. I kept it on the level for as far as I could, then had to turn to do the last bit as straight down the slope as I could. It wasn’t straight enough though 
I ended up with my unit going straight down the slope, sideways, full lock on, being pushed by my trailer. My heart was in my mouth, boot on the boards keeping drive into the back axle, hoping there was enough traction to keep my unit moving forwards enough to stop my trailer pushing my unit round that extra few degrees. There was 
, but I had a really tight grip of my seat I can tell you 
That was a hairy few minutes.
Coffeeholic:
In my case the chassis was twisted, the cab had shifted on it mountings and had a fair bit of damage to the N/S rear. The whole cab had twisted as well, I couldn’t open the driver’s door because of it. The Insurance company paid me out £10,000, which was less than the repairs would have cost. I had paid £12,500 for the truck so was happy with the payout.
Should of been sacked even if your are/were an o/d 
wheelnut:
Wouldn’t it be better asking for advice of how to avoid a jackknife?ABS helps if its working correctly but by the time you need it it is much too late.
Why not give yourself more room to avoid a hazard rather than trying to find a way to sort out the mess afterwards .
The reason i am askin is because i don’t really drive trucks anymore, just tryin to keep the m/way runnin’ and if there is any half baked way i can shift something to reopen lanes (within procedures of course 
, if on camera) i will try it, nothing tried =nothing lost but possibly gained,
That’s why i’m asking all you professional , drivers who have jackknifed how i can shift the ■■■■ thing quick so all the other professional unjackknifed drivers 
, can get past you.
speedyguy:
The reason i am askin is because i don’t really drive trucks anymore, just tryin to keep the m/way runnin’ and if there is any half baked way i can shift something to reopen lanes (within procedures of course
Get The air pressure up in the j/k if possible.
Get a chain on the front of the unit as you wait for the air pressure to get up.
Knock the handbrake off, on the j/k and rugg it straight.
Pulling the red line off will just lock up the trailers wheels, obviously.
You would want the whole thing to move, I would have thought.
Funny seeing this thread after events today - watched my first jacknife today (fortunately in my rear view mirror)…
I joined the M8 west at the start, pulling out to let out a artic at the first on-slip which is about 200 yards up the motorway - I would guess at this point he was nearly at 50mph. Overtook a Luton that was about 50 yards ahead of where he joined and then looked in my mirror to pull in…
… at that point the artic was in the outside lane, not far behind the Luton and the cab was beginning to swing rapidly to the nearside, nothing in the road between me and him, so I would normally assume he would be on the gas / at the limiter prior to whatever happened. All seemed in slow motion as he swung round ending up blocking both lanes and the hard shoulder.
Not got a clue what caused it, although I would guess some sort of failure (would a blow out cause that ■■). Hope the driver was ok … … …
G
I’ve been involved when one jacknifed in ice and snow, and all we did there was to attach a Range Rover to the front, to provide some directional stability, and the driver ‘unwound it’ under it’s own power.
Gazzareth:
Funny seeing this thread after events today - watched my first jacknife today (fortunately in my rear view mirror)…I. All seemed in slow motion as he swung round ending up blocking both lanes and the hard shoulder.
Not got a clue what caused it, although I would guess some sort of failure (would a blow out cause that ■■). Hope the driver was ok … … …
G
Just about right that’s why we had a prob, all lanes and shoulder blocked,
Thanks for all the tips think i’ll try a tug from front or back to shift em if no camera’s about
Owt to keep the truckers movin eh
Gazzareth:
swung round ending up blocking both lanes and the hard shoulder.Not got a clue what caused it, although I would guess some sort of failure (would a blow out cause that ■■). Hope the driver was ok … … …G
I was overtaken by a TNT lorry from Rotherham depot as we went down the first steep hill after Woodall services South. He was doing 65 and got in front no problem. Suddenly a massive cloud of smoke and he is going down sideways using all the lanes. I stuck my hazards on and he eventually got it over to the hard shoulder where he waved to show he was ok and thanks. He was lucky as hell not to roll it or jackfnife. 
i have never been close to a jack knife but i have had a trailer slide sideways in the middle of southampton on a bend that takes a downhill slope rather urgently. i heard the tyres scuffing, saw the trailer sliding towards the pavement and i hit the fast pedal. i was empty so it pulled straight
Longman:
Gazzareth:
swung round ending up blocking both lanes and the hard shoulder.Not got a clue what caused it, although I would guess some sort of failure (would a blow out cause that ■■). Hope the driver was ok … … …GI was overtaken by a TNT lorry from Rotherham depot as we went down the first steep hill after Woodall services South. He was doing 65 and got in front no problem. Suddenly a massive cloud of smoke and he is going down sideways using all the lanes. I stuck my hazards on and he eventually got it over to the hard shoulder where he waved to show he was ok and thanks. He was lucky as hell not to roll it or jackfnife.
I bet he went home and kissed his wife .
One of ours jacked the other week , and it isn’t surprising given the driver who did it . Somewhere in Birmingham and he jacked it which tells anyone his speed and not approriate for the condidtions probaly had a lot to do with it .
He is the kind of driver that only has one speed …
Cabs a mess , not sure if it is a write off but it sure looks like one .