Driving without due care and attention HGV

mikey72

Sounds like the car driver swerved to avoid the cab, or he clipped him with the wheel.
The fireman didn't see the accident, as a witness that's about all he could state. Anything else is guesswork. Like my theory.
As the only witness blames your husband, and "most sections of society to blame the (HGV) driver", I'd take the course and avoid court.

Conor_3

anewman wrote: »

I'm aware there are a very high number of gears and there is a small power band. It's the lorry driver who needs to be aware of the length of their lorry if they want to move into the next lane while slowly climbing towards 60 with a car doing 70 in the lane at the side of them at the time.

Your illustration misses one massive point.

If the car is adjacent to the lorry cab and more than 2ft to the side of it, if it's on the opposite side to the driver (down the inside for a RHD lorry or on the outside for a LHD lorry), then the lorry driver can't see it through the mirrors and the bottom of the passenger door glass may be so far up that the metal bit of the door obscures the car. On wagons like the Mercedes Actros, the DAF XF and Volvo FH cabs, the bottom of the glass is now virtually 7ft off the floor. Your average car is 5ft or less.

It is when cars are at that point that problems occur.

In the image below, green is where you're safe. Dark blue is the area covered by the blind spot mirror that looks directly down the passenger door. Yellow is the area covered by the wide angle mirror and as it's small and more convex, it's not as easy to use for judgement. Red is where you can't be seen. The higher the cab door, the wider that red area is at its narrowest point. As you can see, the further to the side of the wagon you go, the longer a car you can hide in the gap.



How far to the side that red area extends depends on the how high the bottom of the passenger door glass is and how tall the driver is. Green part is area covered by blindspot mirror, red part is area not covered and also obscured from view by the passenger door.



So as you can see from the above, the further out to the side you are, the more likely you are to be seen. The further forward or behind the passenger door, the more likely you are to be seen. The danger point is when you're near enough to the wagon not to be covered by the blindspot mirror but enough to be obscured by the door and also adjacent to the door enough to not be covered by the rearwards blindspot mirror but again, obscured by the door or the front of the cab below the windscreen.

mikey72

Yes, I agree with your diagram.
However in the scenario above, there is no way the car driver could have avoided the truck. He was on the left already, with nowhere to go.
Pulling away from lights, with the truck positioned on the right, the truck driver put himself were the area of visibilty was limited.
I have driven smaller trucks, and if I overtook before coming to a set of lights, I always tried to get back into the left hand lane before I would have to stop, then be in a flow of taffic, when I knew I had to pull in.
The events leading up to the accident, and positioning of the HGV in the traffic flow with have a bearing on the "due care and attention" as well.

Conor_3

I'm not putting the fault on the car driver, merely pointing out how they could've been in the blindspot.

It's all well and good saying you'd pull over but you're in a smaller truck which needs less space, doesn't suffer the blindspots of large cabbed artics and people are less inclined to do stupid things to get in front of you.

mikey72

Conor wrote: »

I'm not putting the fault on the car driver, merely pointing out how they could've been in the blindspot.

It's all well and good saying you'd pull over but you're in a smaller truck which needs less space, doesn't suffer the blindspots of large cabbed artics and people are less inclined to do stupid things to get in front of you.

I'm certain they were in a blindspot, like I said I drive smaller trucks, and they have them as well. That why I said I'd always try to pull in first, but to turn it round then, you drive a HGV, would you usually try to pull over before or after lights leading to a filter?
Bearing in mind you'll still have the blindspots, and still have the same people around you, and you'll still need as much space.

cyclonebri1

If I've got this correct how the hell did a car driver on the inside of a lorry allow himself to be crunched like this????
Why the hell didn't he drive off quickly out of danger?.

Self preservation instincts should have kicked in here.

Sorry doesn't help with the legal position

vansboy

tomstickland wrote: »

In my experience a large number of car drivers are totally clueless regarding the size of a lorry, the amount of space it needs for a manoeuvre and that it can't change speed or direction as quickly as a car.

& I find it equally annoying, when these inconsiderate, unroadsensed drivers, sound their horns, or mouths, or even try to enter the space, I've left, in an attempt at allowing the HGV driver to have a clearer & safer view of me, the road, other vehicles, when at junctions, or other potentially hazerdous manouvers.

VB

Quinny_2

Conor wrote: »

I've been driving lorries 15 years...

Class 2-17 years.

Class 1-12 years.

Ken.

tomstickland

I was nearly pushed off a slip road onto the grass by a lorry that changed lanes with little warning. Luckily I had a bad feeling before it happened so I was already slowing down and managed to avoid any damage.

robredz

anewman wrote: »

I'm aware there are a very high number of gears and there is a small power band. It's the lorry driver who needs to be aware of the length of their lorry if they want to move into the next lane while slowly climbing towards 60 with a car doing 70 in the lane at the side of them at the time. They obviously need to go slower and wait to pull out *after* the car has passed in order to overtake safely. I have provided an illustration of the situation below as I feel my point may be being missed...

Lorry 2 cannot overtake lorry 1 at 60 mph as it is electronically limited to a maximum speed of 56 mph/90 kph unless it is going down a steep hill in "Silent Ninth" (out of stick, coasting) so car drivers also need to be aware of the limitations the truck driver is under a loss of 5 mph can mean him not reaching a service area to take a break, or not going home that night; and also should be aware that if he cannot see the edge of a trucks mirror whilst behind one, the truck driver cannot see him.