depablo:
Train drivers are more skilled than road vehicle drivers which and their hourly rate of pay now reflects that.
More like overpaid less skilled considering that they don’t actually drive the thing or have to secure loads etc etc.And of course road drivers have to drive at a speed which allows them to stop the vehicle in the distance which they can see to be clear ahead and running into the side of something which is already across your path,regardless of how it got there,usually brings some contributory blame on the driver who ran into the other vehicle.
Which just goes to show how little you know.
believe me these guys are far more skilled than any lorry driver…
Oh and hurting into a tunnel at 125mph with sod all lights is scary, very.
As for stopping a train, steel on steel is not a good combination, trains have an emergency position, hit that, and there is nothing more you can do apart from putting head between legs and kissing yer arse
goodbye.
But most lorry drivers are skilled enough to know that you don’t hurtle into any situation in which you don’t know that you can safely stop the thing in the distance that you can see to be clear in front of you.The fact is that truck drivers are’nt stupid enough to let the guvnor tell us to drive the thing at a speed at which it can’t possibly be stopped before it hits something which happens to be in our path.Which is one of the reasons why we don’t drive trucks at 100mph + on single carriageway roads and why you would’nt even drive a fast car into a continental road tunnel without slowing down from those type of speeds first.
Yes, but to compare the braking characteristics of trains and trucks is like comparing sausages to apples. Railways are an enclosed system where movements are controlled by signals. The driver would have been shown a clear signal and he needs only to drive at the speed limit for that section of track.
Harry Monk:
Yes, but to compare the braking characteristics of trains and trucks is like comparing sausages to apples. Railways are an enclosed system where movements are controlled by signals. The driver would have been shown a clear signal and he needs only to drive at the speed limit for that section of track.
But the problem is Harry there’s no such thing as an ‘enclosed’ system wether it be road or rail.Movements of other trains are controlled by signals but that does’nt cater for every other eventuality and signals themselves are’nt fool proof.So we’ve got level crossings where just like road junctions sometimes things can go wrong but because the signal says it’s green it’s ok for a train to approach the junction flat out.So what happens in the case of something across the line and for whatever reason the signal box/train driver does’nt get informed in time to stop the train from such high speeds.You can dress it up however you like but the fact is,unlike road transport, rail transport has the inherent unsafe practice of driving something faster than it can be stopped by the driver’s visual judgement alone.In other words it’s the speed limits which are way over a safe level for that type of vehicle.As Coddy said driving a train at 125 mph is scary but it just shows train driver’s logic that he thinks that driving into a tunnel at 125 mph is scary but approaching a level crossing or in fact anywhere at a speed at which it’s impossible to stop within visual range is’nt.
Carryfast:
Which is one of the reasons why we don’t drive trucks at 100mph + on single carriageway roads and why you would’nt even drive a fast car into a continental road tunnel without slowing down from those type of speeds first.
I am affraid that for some truckers the only reason why they don’t drive 100mph on single carriageway roads is a speed limiter
Harry Monk:
Yes, but to compare the braking characteristics of trains and trucks is like comparing sausages to apples. Railways are an enclosed system where movements are controlled by signals. The driver would have been shown a clear signal and he needs only to drive at the speed limit for that section of track.
But the problem is Harry there’s no such thing as an ‘enclosed’ system wether it be road or rail.Movements of other trains are controlled by signals but that does’nt cater for every other eventuality and signals themselves are’nt fool proof.So we’ve got level crossings where just like road junctions sometimes things can go wrong but because the signal says it’s green it’s ok for a train to approach the junction flat out.So what happens in the case of something across the line and for whatever reason the signal box/train driver does’nt get informed in time to stop the train from such high speeds
That’s true.
The system is not enclosed, therefore there is still a monkey needed to try to do something in emergency (and these are words of my friend, train driver, not mine)
If only the system could be enclosed, the train driver won’t be needed at all, to do not look to far, Docklands Light Railway or some Parisien Metro lines do not have drivers at all.
Shame that the lorry driver chose to ignore the rules regarding that crossing, which are well posted up.
CF you have very obviously never worked on or near the lineside, so really you are in no way qualified to comment from a railway point of view. Our railways are safe, having done a cab ride from Euston to Crewe, non stop going through Milton Keynes at 125mph, is something I wish everyone could experience.
Shame that there are people out there who dont understand the full workings of the railway, if a sign says phone before you cross, thats what you do, should the signalman not answer, you phone again untill he does…
In this case the truck driver will be done, no question about it…
Either way there is a rather bent train, an even benter truck and 21 people injured.
And then we have Carryfast who advocates in every thread he visits that he wants to drive a 75 tonne lorry with two trailers at 70+ mph but was never given the chance.
I suppose we should count our blessings for a small mercy.
And Harry Monk can bring sausages into any conversation even about trains
It’s all to do with the Coefficient of Friction old boy, I’m sure we all remember from our schooldays that the coefficient of friction of steel on steel is around a quarter of that for rubber on tarmac. It therefore takes four times the distance at any given speed to stop a train than a truck. An easy way to look at it is to imagine a sausage, it will slide around a plate but not a sheet of sandpaper
But, well, trains were here first I suppose, it isn’t feasible for them to run at such low speeds that they could pull up within the driver’s limit of sight, a better idea would be to install signs at level crossings instructing lorry drivers to phone the signalman before they cross.
Harry Monk:
Yes, but to compare the braking characteristics of trains and trucks is like comparing sausages to apples. Railways are an enclosed system where movements are controlled by signals. The driver would have been shown a clear signal and he needs only to drive at the speed limit for that section of track.
But the problem is Harry there’s no such thing as an ‘enclosed’ system wether it be road or rail.Movements of other trains are controlled by signals but that does’nt cater for every other eventuality and signals themselves are’nt fool proof.So we’ve got level crossings where just like road junctions sometimes things can go wrong but because the signal says it’s green it’s ok for a train to approach the junction flat out.So what happens in the case of something across the line and for whatever reason the signal box/train driver does’nt get informed in time to stop the train from such high speeds.You can dress it up however you like but the fact is,unlike road transport, rail transport has the inherent unsafe practice of driving something faster than it can be stopped by the driver’s visual judgement alone.In other words it’s the speed limits which are way over a safe level for that type of vehicle.As Coddy said driving a train at 125 mph is scary but it just shows train driver’s logic that he thinks that driving into a tunnel at 125 mph is scary but approaching a level crossing or in fact anywhere at a speed at which it’s impossible to stop within visual range is’nt.
Based on your expert evaluation should we conclude railways are very unsafe and have all trains proceed only at the speed they can stop in the distance they see to be clear? If so that speed would be approximately 20 mph. This is a revelation why didn’t I think of this before? Then railways would be very safe and accidents such as the one at Suffolk wouldn’t happen!
Harry Monk:
It’s all to do with the Coefficient of Friction old boy, I’m sure we all remember from our schooldays that the coefficient of friction of steel on steel is around a quarter of that for rubber on tarmac. It therefore takes four times the distance at any given speed to stop a train than a truck. An easy way to look at it is to imagine a sausage, it will slide around a plate but not a sheet of sandpaper
But, well, trains were here first I suppose, it isn’t feasible for them to run at such low speeds that they could pull up within the driver’s limit of sight, a better idea would be to install signs at level crossings instructing lorry drivers to phone the signalman before they cross.
I’ll remember all that if I ever get the chance to drive that 75 tonner + wagon through a road junction at the national speed limit safe in the knowledge that no idiot will ever make a zb up at a give way line or be broken down across my path.
Harry Monk:
Yes, but to compare the braking characteristics of trains and trucks is like comparing sausages to apples. Railways are an enclosed system where movements are controlled by signals. The driver would have been shown a clear signal and he needs only to drive at the speed limit for that section of track.
But the problem is Harry there’s no such thing as an ‘enclosed’ system wether it be road or rail.Movements of other trains are controlled by signals but that does’nt cater for every other eventuality and signals themselves are’nt fool proof.So we’ve got level crossings where just like road junctions sometimes things can go wrong but because the signal says it’s green it’s ok for a train to approach the junction flat out.So what happens in the case of something across the line and for whatever reason the signal box/train driver does’nt get informed in time to stop the train from such high speeds.You can dress it up however you like but the fact is,unlike road transport, rail transport has the inherent unsafe practice of driving something faster than it can be stopped by the driver’s visual judgement alone.In other words it’s the speed limits which are way over a safe level for that type of vehicle.As Coddy said driving a train at 125 mph is scary but it just shows train driver’s logic that he thinks that driving into a tunnel at 125 mph is scary but approaching a level crossing or in fact anywhere at a speed at which it’s impossible to stop within visual range is’nt.
Based on your expert evaluation should we conclude railways are very unsafe and have all trains proceed only at the speed they can stop in the distance they see to be clear? If so that speed would be approximately 20 mph. This is a revelation why didn’t I think of this before? Then railways would be very safe and accidents such as the one at Suffolk wouldn’t happen!
I’m no expert but that sounds about right to me bearing in mind truck stopping distances/braking abilities and speed limits.
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Harry Monk:
a better idea would be to install signs at level crossings instructing lorry drivers to phone the signalman before they cross.
All joking aside, the best thing would be to have proper barriers at all crossing points surely
But isn’t a gate a barrier enough? you have to get out of your cab to call the signal box, check the line is clear, open the far gate first, it seems like a simple instruction. I was brought up in the country, railway lines were a fact of life and crossings were numerous, as a kid I was taught three things, always close farmers gates, don’t smoke in a barn and be careful crossing the railways!
This crossing was unmanned on private land like almost any farm who’s fields are near railway lines. What do you expect a railwayman sat in a little hut waiting for harvest time? Even that scenario the gates are closed after every vehicle despite the fact the farmer maybe needs to cross the line up to 20 times per day.
In many European countries, they do not even have a physical barrier, just a flashing amber lamp and that is even on the main roads.
This looks like it was either familiarity breeding some contempt or a dangerous risk, very lucky that no-one was killed.
Suppose that will be another one we all have to pay for on the dole, and as he has more time at home no doubt he will end up with another sprog for us to pay for too…I hate this country now…
PS I drive all over europe and have yet to see many english signs, so why should we put up foreign signs
I so wanna say stuff on here but would probably get booted for racism.
I live in Slough(No comments please…lol) have been off work for 5 months now as i got T boned by a car while riding me hog thereby having me leg broken.I get SSP only and no other help whatsoever, yet a bloody asylum seeker would get ££££££s of help…can i become a minority being white british yet.
Sorry thats my rant over.
Hope the train driver is OK…as for the truck driver…no comment
The honest answer is…I would not know…but would get out of my truck and look down the line …check…get back in truck…creep up to line and check again before crossing…
Did a job to Belgium…crossing i was at lights flashed for 20 mins…sod this…did a u boat as the train had i think broken down just down the line…went further into the town to another crossing…DID THE ABOVE…and drove across the lines.
Basically used common sense.
If in doubt check and check again…and if someone nearby…ask for help…I aint embaressed to ask…and would do same for others…regardless of who they were.
