How not to join a motorway!

heartbreak_star

Joe_Horner wrote: »

So you lift off the throttle slighty

Just my two penn'orth - I personally have never driven a truck but have two friends who are HGV drivers (and I'm not bad at physics).

Lifting off the throttle slightly when you have 40-odd tons of metal behind you will do naff all immediately to your speed due to momentum. Yes you will slow down, but not for a couple of seconds - which is a lot of metres of tarmac!

Maybe I'm incorrect, but that's how it would seem to me. It's a lot different driving a truck to a car.

HBS x

roddydogs

The lorry driver may have been "In the right", but was a complete xxxxxxxe the way he drove, why did it take 100 yds to stop when at any time the car could have gone under the wheels?
Next time someone stupidly walks out in front of me, shall I mow them down because "Im in the right"?

Iceweasel

roddydogs wrote: »

The lorry driver may have been "In the right", but was a complete xxxxxxxe the way he drove, why did it take 100 yds to stop when at any time the car could have gone under the wheels?
Next time someone stupidly walks out in front of me, shall I mow them down because "Im in the right"?

If by doing an emergency stop and causing a double-deck bus to crash into the rear of your car injuring your children who are rear-seat passengers and injuring men, women, children, nuns, and baskets of kittens on the bus - then yes, a controlled stop would be more advisable. I would not advice 'mowing them down' but to just slam on the brakes may not be the best response.

If the truck-driver had panic braked the car could well have been pushed aside into the path of vehicles to the trucks right hand side.

As it was the truck driver pushed the car out of harms way. He deserves to be commended.

Retrogamer

roddydogs wrote: »

why did it take 100 yds to stop when at any time the car could have gone under the wheels?

It's a lorry that sits very low to the ground not a monster truck

JustinR1979

roddydogs wrote: »

The lorry driver may have been "In the right", but was a complete xxxxxxxe the way he drove, why did it take 100 yds to stop when at any time the car could have gone under the wheels?
Next time someone stupidly walks out in front of me, shall I mow them down because "Im in the right"?

Yeah should have slammed the brakes on, and let the car spin into lane 2 and be hit at 70mph....


I thought car and lorry were skilfully brought to a steady and controlled stop, I bet a lot would have slammed on and resulted in a much worse incident.

roddydogs

How can you possibly "Know" that the car would have spun in to lane 2?

Mr_Mink

JustinR1979 wrote: »

Yeah should have slammed the brakes on, and let the car spin into lane 2 and be hit at 70mph....


I thought car and lorry were skilfully brought to a steady and controlled stop, I bet a lot would have slammed on and resulted in a much worse incident.

He'd have been fine though... the jackknifing trailer would have blocked lanes 2 and 3 keeping him safe

Nodding_Donkey

roddydogs wrote: »

The lorry driver may have been "In the right", but was a complete xxxxxxxe the way he drove, why did it take 100 yds to stop when at any time the car could have gone under the wheels?
Next time someone stupidly walks out in front of me, shall I mow them down because "Im in the right"?

The complete xxxxxxxes are the people that think the lorry driver did anything wrong.

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roddydogs wrote: »

How can you possibly "Know" that the car would have spun in to lane 2?

Physics.

HBS x

Joe_Horner

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Just my two penn'orth - I personally have never driven a truck but have two friends who are HGV drivers (and I'm not bad at physics).

Lifting off the throttle slightly when you have 40-odd tons of metal behind you will do naff all immediately to your speed due to momentum. Yes you will slow down, but not for a couple of seconds - which is a lot of metres of tarmac!

Maybe I'm incorrect, but that's how it would seem to me. It's a lot different driving a truck to a car.

HBS x

I have driven trucks (let my HGV lapse last year rather than pay the medical for someting I rarely use anymore).

A truck may have a lot more momentum than a car, but it also has a lot more rolling resistance, generally lower gearing (so more engine braking) and a hell of a lot more wind resistance. You're pushing a brick through the air at 50mph and the air is pushing right back at you.

So, if you lift off the throttle, you start to slow down immediately, exactly like any other vehicle that has forces trying to stop it and no power being supplied to keep it going,