Due to there being some high winds today, it got me thinking, at what point do you actually make the call to pull up before it’s too late and you end up on your side?
We obviously don’t have a wind speed guage with us, but let’s just say you were going off forecasts what wind speed would you risk it at with an empty trailer? Or what else would you guage it against to make the call to not continue before it’s too late?
Its down to you, the driver. Last winter I was just carrying bagels back from Hackney to Immingham in my rigid, got blown from lane 1 into lane 2 on the 46 then almost into the grass verge on the A15. Had a guy tailing so close to me as I only did 52, when I got hit with that gust of wind on the A15 he soon dropped back.
Having never driven an artic in really bad winds I wouldn’t know but having spoken to drivers who have, when you see the trailer swinging out in the mirrors then its time to stop 
unless you can see how other trailers are behaving it really is a guessing game, a major thing is speed the faster you go the longer it will take you to react when hit by a freak crosswind, gap in between buildings, gateway along a hedge etc, a lot of the opening roof trailers fail because the fixings between the cross bars and the fabric is already broken or worn, very few of the drivers I have known even look at them, and when you point it out they just shrug their shoulders, with the not my job syndrome answers, no safety inspection will pick it up it is unlikely they will even open the back doors,
if you can see daylight in your mirrors between the tyres and tarmac surface area, its time to stop and park up 
or…unless your on trip dosh,and work for the by the book brigade…stop at the 1st services and ask the traffic office what to do as your not allowed or encouraged to use any of your own initiative being paid from the neck down.pass the buck,and do what your told.then when it goes over its never your fault…
The civil contingency reviewed suggests the following :
.
Wind Speed Level Actions
Below 30 mph 1 No Action
30 – 45 mph 2 Warning to travellers
45 – 60 mph 3 Advisory restrictions
60 – 70 mph 4 Presumption of closure, followed by closure if conditions persist.
pulled an empty b train (tipping trailers was 20ton tare weight) was 70kph wind with gusts up to 90 was ok till near the quarry when the countryside opened up FFS never again ,the quarry was shutting down as the sand was sandblasting the plant windscreens ,one and only time I soaked the load with water before leaving it was going horizontal…soaked me as well coming back i was 2 full gears down (6 high on a 13 sp)…as I said NEVER AGAIN box vans were coming toward me unit on the shoulder and their trailer in my lane…then FFS I met a motorbike, guy must have been at 45 degree to the road never saw anything like it before and after. Got back to yard didn’t unload greased up the outfit inside for the rest o the day learned my limit that day
dieseldog999:
or…unless your on trip dosh,and work for the by the book brigade…stop at the 1st services and ask the traffic office what to do as your not allowed or encouraged to use any of your own initiative being paid from the neck down.pass the buck,and do what your told.then when it goes over its never your fault…
If it’s windy in the morning make the call and make a day of it, windy in the afternoon then crack on, get back and ■■■■ off home
Let’s just say the closest I’ve ever come to a truck being blown over was on the Heathrow M4 junction over pass at around 1.30am with an artic loaded with empty cages on a run to Northampton and back in the Storm of 1987. 
Although I didn’t even realise there was going to be a storm let alone a hurricane at the time because the weather forecast said so. 
selby newcomer:
dieseldog999:
or…unless your on trip dosh,and work for the by the book brigade…stop at the 1st services and ask the traffic office what to do as your not allowed or encouraged to use any of your own initiative being paid from the neck down.pass the buck,and do what your told.then when it goes over its never your fault…If it’s windy in the morning make the call and make a day of it, windy in the afternoon then crack on, get back and ■■■■ off home
+1…thats about right… 
Carryfast:
Let’s just say the closest I’ve ever come to a truck being blown over was on the Heathrow M4 junction over pass at around 1.30am with an artic loaded with empty cages on a run to Northampton and back in the Storm of 1987.
Technically speaking, it wasn’t a hurricane.
As for when to stop, it’s kind of a gut feeling. If I don’t fancy it (I normally pull 16ft curtain siders) I’ll pull over.
I find any wind speed over a slow rasp puts me at risk of a follow through or a decent skid mark at the very least!
If the wind is above 150 Mph I Park up. No exceptions…
Captain Caveman 76:
Carryfast:
Let’s just say the closest I’ve ever come to a truck being blown over was on the Heathrow M4 junction over pass at around 1.30am with an artic loaded with empty cages on a run to Northampton and back in the Storm of 1987.Technically speaking, it wasn’t a hurricane.
As for when to stop, it’s kind of a gut feeling. If I don’t fancy it (I normally pull 16ft curtain siders) I’ll pull over.
He’ll now take 10 pages to tell you exactly why it was a hurricane and that you’re wrong and he knows best
Without fail…
When ever it was blowing a hooley, my phone would ring with three or four different offers of the same job. The regular double decker men usually threw a sicky and I’d go in to cover and stick on a call out fee too.
The way I see it, not getting blown over is just luck. You can’t see the gust of wind coming at you. If you’re empty there’s no particular tactic you can employ to stay upright when the big one hits (aside from parking it up).
I’ve had the nearside drive axle off the ground once with a gust of wind near Catterick many years ago. That made me squeak a bit.
switchlogic:
If the wind is above 150 Mph I Park up. No exceptions…
Are you sure thats mph? 
Im always at max weight and with a low trailer it never really has any impact, there are exceptions but generally keep going no matter what the wind is trying to do…
switchlogic:
He’ll now take 10 pages to tell you exactly why it was a hurricane and that you’re wrong and he knows best
Thats a bit unfair, depends whether it was a metric or imperial hurricane…
AndrewG:
switchlogic:
If the wind is above 150 Mph I Park up. No exceptions…Are you sure thats mph?
Im always at max weight and with a low trailer it never really has any impact, there are exceptions but generally keep going no matter what the wind is trying to do…
Indeed, being serious I’ve never encountered winds that’ll make me want to stop. Just takes some care, and take notice of closures etc. Remember the awful storm a couple of years ago? Virginia had two go over. One because the moron driver ignored the Britainnia Bridge closure but the other one got blown over while parked. Luckily the driver was out of the cab talking to a police officer about the weather with two other drivers when a massive gust came along and blew all three stationary trucks over!
trux:
The civil contingency reviewed suggests the following :
.
Wind Speed Level Actions
Below 30 mph 1 No Action
30 – 45 mph 2 Warning to travellers
45 – 60 mph 3 Advisory restrictions
60 – 70 mph 4 Presumption of closure, followed by closure if conditions persist.
■■■■ me its come to somthing when you have to warn the gypsies if it’s a certain wind speed.
