General Chat

Sitting in our motor home on the M6 on the way up from an enjoyable week in Ludlow and doing just under 70 miles an hour. The motor home is big and requires an HGV license to drive. The traffic is light and the weather lovely so the motorway is moving well. Up ahead of us is two cars being overtaken by an HGV. HGVS are limited to 56 miles an hour so these two cars are going dangerously slow for the motorway.

Hgv's are sometimes their own worst enemy!!

Is the 'limited to 56' physically limited Tawney or can that be over ridden?

They are physically limited. Any commercial vehicle over 3.5 tonnes has a limiter fitted.

Thanks Tawney, I wish it also had something fitted that made them look in their mirror to check there was not a car coming up on their right before they suddenly swung out. And yes, I know why they do it but if they didn't tail gate they would not have to make such dangerous moves.

Our motor home is 4.5 tonnes and so is classed as a private HGV. Private HGVS can do the same speed as any other vehicle on the road but we also have a camera fitted which lets us see behind us across three lanes. I think more vehicles would benefit from this.

On the A75 which we travel get a lot of HG vehicles going to Cairnryan port to cross to Ireland they pass me doing more than 56 mph think they can adjust something to go faster ? There are some Plonkers leave me standing .me 45 mph .saying that they have to catch ferry before they sail. No excuse though for dangerous driving hope you enjoyed your jaunt Barbara

When we were first together, OH thought I knew an awful lot of lorry drivers.Maybe I did, maybe I didn't, I'm not telling him about it!

Daughter of a lorry driver who had spent far too many years as a driver, I would flash lorries past if they overtook me. I had always done it, never thought about it, but it was a revelation to him.

I am quite patient with overtaking lorries anyway, I can get back up to speed a lot more quickly that they can.

I would think that there is summat like a variable cruise control to set their speeds
rather than a fixed limiter...

Sharron no problem if they are overtaking us if we are in the inside lane but do have a problem if we are overtaking traffic in middle lane doing 70 and they indicate and pull out in one move, no waiting until they are sure we can take avoiding action which we often can't if we are being overtaken in the outside lane. It is not only foreign lorries although they are the main culprits.

I don't mind lorries generally, but I do get a bit annoyed when the overtaking one is going only a bit faster than the one it's overtaking!!! Particularly on a hill. :-|

My CPC is very old now and I have to admit that I didn't know there were limiters on all lorries now but I do remember lorries being banned from the outside lane.

I can't explain why lorries overtake one a little bit slower than themselves, too hard for me, but there is a good reason which is why I am pretty patient about it.

Come on, there must be a lorry driver who can explain!

It is all about momentum Sharon.

A car, even a large one, or an ancient mini, has pretty good pickup/acceleration compared to any truck 7 tons and up. Thus for the car quickly slowing down and then picking up speed again is easy.

A truck going at, say, 5 mph more than the one in front has two choices.

One, safest, is to just accept the situation until the next downhill and overtake. However the fron truck will have more momentum and use the downgradient to prevent the following truck to overtake. Hence the slow overtaking tactic. Diesel engines are very much prone to this problem 'cos diesel is designed for running at as constant a speed as poss. and pickup is terrible with HGVs.

If HGV drivers did not do this they can lose a lot of time in a shift especially in hilly areas. Then being late has a knock on effect on stopping for compulsory rest breaks and delviery slots.

Slow and safe will always end up getting sacked or losing biz if an indie.

Eventually the problem will disappear with electric trucks. These have no gearbox and any amount of torque. Problem fixed.

https://www.driving.co.uk/news/daf-electric-lorry-delivered/

I knew Rolo would be able to enlighten me!

Hmmm,,,


"pull up at the next greasy spoon take away, for a bacon sarnie...."

Er where's the charging lead mate?

Recharging every 31 miles? Long-haul journeys will take a long time!
As for electric lorries having more torque - pure porky.

Which has more torque electric or diesel?
"Diesel engines produce torque in about the same way, except due to having a higher compression ratio, and because the fuel stores more energy than gas, diesel engines often produce greater torque. As EVs don't require fuel, they don't produce torque through combustion."

Yet another way I led OH astray. I took him in a transport cafe!

The first flight was for a few hundred meters.

Ignorance is blissful but change happens all the same.
Sometimes there are phases of disruptive change often followed by up to a century of much the same thing and incremental change. People tend to hang on to old and familiar ways but it is to no avail.

Tesla already have long distance hgv on test. DAF are interesting as an early adopter.

My boat has a diesel engine but I would not expect it to go up hill.

RTR - you did say 'eventually'.
So probably not as soon as you then go on to speculate.
Tesla claims production by 2021 is planned - oh - and it would have an 'autopilot'.

Then there's the problem with compatible charging areas - negated by Musk who said he would be " installing a global network of "Megachargers" that would be solar-powered and would be able to recharge a truck's batteries in 30 minutes to a capacity to travel 400 miles (640 km).To accomplish this, it will likely have an output level over one megawatt.

However: "Independent analysis indicated that an electric semi might be feasible for short- or medium-range hauling, but would not be for long-range hauling, as the weight of the batteries required would take up too much of the weight allowed by law. One estimate for the battery weight, at 11,800 kg, was estimated to account for one third of the payload, and would increase the capital cost of the truck to about double that of an equivalent diesel."

Ignorance is blissful, RTR? Whereas speculation - what is that?

As for your boat - I know someone with webbed fingers who can't swim.

I've often been up hill in a boat - and down.