ad210358 wrote:

iangam wrote:

ad210358 wrote:

Concerning the A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge mentioned in an earlier post as I understand it this road is now covered by average speed cameras with a 60mph limit, you would think that if the LGV's are the cause of so many incidents on this stretch and with them being limited to 56mph the authorities would have imposed a lower limit on this stretch.

A14 is 50mph for any commercial vehicle over 7.5 ton. Interesting comment about the 40mph limit on single carrageway, I regularly stick to this and as many as 20% of cars that overtake me abuse me for sticking to the limit. One even rang my company to complain that I must be overloaded as I could only manage 40 on the A17 single carrageway.

Very true but if LGV's are so dangerous on this stretch of road surely they would have made the limit lower whereas at the moment they can go through close to the limiter and allowing for 10% they can get through at 55 if they wanted to.

Langham, I know where your coming from, it seems that just because the LGV is involved he is at fault, but some don't seem to consider the fact that he has just been cut up by the BMW without indicaters who waits to the hatchings at the end of the slip road before he makes his move, or like the VW driver who was southbound on the M6 at the M61 split and was still in lane 5 when he decided to cut across 3 lanes of the M6 and miss the slip road completely clipping the verge with the offside as he crossed the hatchings it is a difficult junction from the M65 slip he only had 6 miles to get into the 2 lanes which went on to the M61.

As for sticking to 40 on A Roads, a number of the boys in blue would rather you pushed on a bit on some roads as they say it curtails the odd suicide merchant who gets frustated stuck behind a LGV sticking at the limit.

most hgv drivers are profession and safety concious, I respect them, they keep the country going  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

[quote="iangam"][quote="lmorris4975"]

iangam wrote:

It is surprising that some lorry driver still use hand held mobiles when driving, the penalties for a professional driver caught doing this are much heavier than car drivers,

The penalty for using a mobile phone is the same for any road user regardless off what they are driving, the only extra thing that can happen to a LGV driver is he can be reported to the traffic commissioner, who can suspend his LGV license for a period of time.
As for LGV drivers being any worse than any other road user, i would have to say that i have seen some unbelievably stupid things from ALL drivers regardless of what they drive. It is just when an LGV driver F**KS up it causes alot more damage.
The Doctor: As for the LGV driver being taken for Dangerous/ Driving without due care and attention, i very much doughty this will happen as all he will say is the mondeo was in his blind spot when he checked his mirrors. Again i very much doughty a report will be generated for his mobile phone usage, for two reasons 1: The mobile phone was not seized at the time of the offence so how do we know that is the phone he was using at the time ? can you describe the make and model of the phone ? ( the courts will ask this) 2: The simple reason it costs quite abit of money to check mobile records.

This is untrue, coach /bus and HGV driver can face a fine of upto £2500 where as car drivers only face upto £1000, here is a link
http://www.motorlawyers.co.uk/offences/mobile_phone.htm

Not at the road side they cant its all the same

chicken george wrote:

most hgv drivers are profession and safety concious, I respect them, they keep the country going

razmabaz wrote:

I'm totally with you CG... but there is always the idiot few that spoil it all. Then the big tar brush comes out!

without lorries on the road there would be no tar or probably not even a brush, unless you want to drive to the docks to collect them yourself, but you can as there is no fuel either  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Every segment of society is maligned at some juncture for its actions, but society is interdependent upon them all (as CG indicates) for its functionality and for the benefits that it confers upon us.

On the roads I have witnessed, and had to take emergency avoiding action, from horse riders, pedestrians and police cars - all of whom have manoeuvred themselves in a manner as dangerously as HGV's at times.

every segment of transport does something dangerous at times, whether that be , road, rail, air, sea, foot, bicycle, skateboard, scooter, bouncing hopper Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Didn't the metropolitan police have the highest accident rate per mile of road covered at one point, and that is why the book "roadcraft " was written?

chicken george wrote:

most hgv drivers are profession and safety concious, I respect them, they keep the country going

All very true of course but, when you put it like that, you can't help thinking that Dr. Beeching did the country a HUGE disservice in the early 60's.

Enough from me...  Freelander 1 TD4 HSE - gone, 2 weeks after the Cat.Converter!
Freelander 2 TD4 SE Auto MY08 - Santorini black

Now there's a man that ruined the train network, I love walking the disused railway paths, and especially if I was with Julia Bradbury of 'Railway Walks' fame but would sooner see more of the branch lines return.

The 1960's was the age of car independence and the railways suffered, now I would like to catch a train from my ex village station to the city 8 miles away rather than drive because of the congestion and parking charges. Attitudes to travelling have changed yet again.

EYorkshire wrote:

Now there's a man that ruined the train network, I love walking the disused railway paths, and especially if I was with Julia Bradbury of 'Railway Walks' fame but would sooner see more of the branch lines return.

The 1960's was the age of car independence and the railways suffered, now I would like to catch a train from my ex village station to the city 8 miles away rather than drive because of the congestion and parking charges. Attitudes to travelling have changed yet again.

Couldn't agree more

Not so long ago I visited a railway line in the North East (at this moment can't remember its name!!!) but it is being operated by an enthusiasts railway club. They normally run a diesel engine with very old original carriages but in some months at the weekends they use a real steam loco.

You get a good 30 minutes run station to station - then there's a coffee shop (raising funds!) and the return journey.

All together a much better outlook to life. 2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone