No Lorries?

[Harbo]

Whilst driving 250 miles up north today via A34, M40 & M1 I began to notice something odd - very little traffic, no jams and everybody tootling along nicely. Then I realised there were no lorries!
Well to be honest I think I overtook about 5 of them

What a great drive - just like the old days?
Sadly it won't last and I will probably pay for it on the return journey on Monday?

Rod

 

[Mike Wingate]

Hauliers cannot afford the diesel. Even worse after tuesday.

 

[Steve Jones]

They're not the only one's Mike, I can't either. I've used my car once on the last 6 days and they've just announced on the TV fuel duty will rise again in April

Steve

 

[Chems]

Also made the trip home today in convoy with my partner, M1 was lovely. Did a constant 70 in lane 1 with no lorries or middle land hoggers to worry about and the people who wanted to go really fast had an un-impeded fast lane to do it in.

 

[Pvt_Ryan]

They're not the only one's Mike, I can't either. I've used my car once on the last 6 days and they've just announced on the TV fuel duty will rise again in April

Steve

It's laughable how they can justify that considering that fuel duty is practically 70% the cost of fuel..

I wonder if they have considered what happens when people cannot afford to drive to work.
1) less cars being used = less fuel = less revenue from fuel duty
2) less cars = less road tax = less revenue
3) less cars = less insurance / breakdown cover / car sales = less vat revenue

They should be making fuel as cheap as possible, but it's an easy revenue generator.

 

[Jonzjob]

You could try Bolivia?

HGVs aren't allowed on the Autorouts here, I think it's from either midnight Friday, or it could be Saturday (?) till midnight Sunday. The onlt exceptions are refridgerated or livestock carrying trucks. But then again, unless you are daft enough to try to leave Paris on the first couple of weekends of the summer holls the Autoroutes are pretty quiet anyway. Busy around the big cities, but if you are daft enough to live there then?????

 

[Blister]

Whilst driving 250 miles up north today via A34, M40 & M1 I began to notice something odd - very little traffic, no jams and everybody tootling along nicely. Then I realised there were no lorries!
Well to be honest I think I overtook about 5 of them

What a great drive - just like the old days?
Sadly it won't last and I will probably pay for it on the return journey on Monday?

Rod

Rod

as a lorry driver I would like to point out a little something

Most peoples life would end if there were no lorries

No food , it all comes on a lorry
No clothes , it all comes on a lorry
No Fuel in the garages , it all comes on a lorry
No car , They come on a lorry
No white goods TVs , furniture , DIY goods , all come on a lorry

maybe easier to list what doesn't come on a lorry


So long live the lorry , and please give us a little thought when you see us out on the road trying to get to a delivery :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Allen ( The lorry driver ) out in all weathers to bring you a life :ho2

 

[OPJ]

I noticed the same thing, around 5.30 yesterday morning. Not only was there a distinct lack of lorries but, there were barely any other road users at all (I counted four in a 25 minute/15 mile drive). Though, I put this down to the time of the year...

Didn't see many at work, either - though, head office apparently told our suppliers that our depot was closed!! :x Could've stayed in bed and enjoyed the night before, after all.

 

[The Shark]

Whilst driving 250 miles up north today via A34, M40 & M1 I began to notice something odd - very little traffic, no jams and everybody tootling along nicely. Then I realised there were no lorries!
Well to be honest I think I overtook about 5 of them

What a great drive - just like the old days?
Sadly it won't last and I will probably pay for it on the return journey on Monday?

Rod

Rod

as a lorry driver I would like to point out a little something

Most peoples life would end if there were no lorries

No food , it all comes on a lorry
No clothes , it all comes on a lorry
No Fuel in the garages , it all comes on a lorry
No car , They come on a lorry
No white goods TVs , furniture , DIY goods , all come on a lorry

maybe easier to list what doesn't come on a lorry


So long live the lorry , and please give us a little thought when you see us out on the road trying to get to a delivery :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Allen ( The lorry driver ) out in all weathers to bring you a life :ho2

Allen,
Personally, I can do without almost all of your list, but NO DIY GOODS? :wink:

Malc

 

[devonwoody]

Just assume economic growth, anything over 0.1% means it will only get worse, unless the lorries get larger.

 

[Jonzjob]

"unless the lorries get larger"

Or the trains get used more to take goods to central hubs where smaller trucks can disperse it? :mrgreen:

 

[woodbloke]

Whilst driving 250 miles up north today via A34, M40 & M1 I began to notice something odd - very little traffic, no jams and everybody tootling along nicely. Then I realised there were no lorries!
Well to be honest I think I overtook about 5 of them

What a great drive - just like the old days?
Sadly it won't last and I will probably pay for it on the return journey on Monday?

Rod

Rod

as a lorry driver I would like to point out a little something

Most peoples life would end if there were no lorries

No food , it all comes on a lorry
No clothes , it all comes on a lorry
No Fuel in the garages , it all comes on a lorry
No car , They come on a lorry
No white goods TVs , furniture , DIY goods , all come on a lorry

maybe easier to list what doesn't come on a lorry


So long live the lorry , and please give us a little thought when you see us out on the road trying to get to a delivery :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Allen ( The lorry driver ) out in all weathers to bring you a life :ho2

I was going to say something similar, but got beaten to it - Rob

 

[Harbo]

Sorry Blister I was not trying to knock lorries, just gloating about a very nice driving experience not enjoyed for a long time.

As somebody who has spent 40 years designing and building motorways, other highways and Railways, I fully appreciate the necessity of having them.

It was just the absence of lorries that was noticeable.

Rod

 

[Blister]

Sorry Blister I was not trying to knock lorries, just gloating about a very nice driving experience not enjoyed for a long time.

As somebody who has spent 40 years designing and building motorways, other highways and Railways, I fully appreciate the necessity of having them.

It was just the absence of lorries that was noticeable.

Rod

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :ho2

 

[flying haggis]

"unless the lorries get larger"

Or the trains get used more to take goods to central hubs where smaller trucks can disperse it? :mrgreen:

And how do the goods get to the train terminals in the first place, Oh yeah, on another truck!

 

[big soft moose]

Whilst driving 250 miles up north today via A34, M40 & M1 I began to notice something odd - very little traffic, no jams and everybody tootling along nicely. Then I realised there were no lorries!
Well to be honest I think I overtook about 5 of them

What a great drive - just like the old days?
Sadly it won't last and I will probably pay for it on the return journey on Monday?

Rod

Rod

as a lorry driver I would like to point out a little something

Most peoples life would end if there were no lorries

No food , it all comes on a lorry
No clothes , it all comes on a lorry
No Fuel in the garages , it all comes on a lorry
No car , They come on a lorry
No white goods TVs , furniture , DIY goods , all come on a lorry

maybe easier to list what doesn't come on a lorry


So long live the lorry , and please give us a little thought when you see us out on the road trying to get to a delivery :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Allen ( The lorry driver ) out in all weathers to bring you a life :ho2

you are right allen - though many of those things could go long distance by train

however i have no problem with lorries per se - but why in a vehicle limited to 56mph do so many driver try to overtake another similar limited vehicle thus totally screwing up the traffic (last week on the M5 we had lorries 3 abreast totally totally screwing up the traffic)

also with regard to the fuel - surely most of price of the fuel is passed to the consumer as higher transport fees, so i'm not sure how true it is that "hauliers cant afford the deisel"

 

[flying haggis]

however i have no problem with lorries per se - but why in a vehicle limited to 56mph do so many driver try to overtake another similar limited vehicle
And why are trucks in this country limited to 56 when the highway code says we can do 60
(thanks Europe!!!!)


Have you ever spent the day in a vehicle and I mean all day driving at no more than 56mph?

If the vehicle in front is doing 55mph why should I sit behind. If the car in front of you on the motorway was doing 65 would you sit behind it? I know it can be frustating if one truck is trying to pass another but as all limiters are not set exactly at 56 we can and do pass one another. If I am returning to the depot unladen I will be able to accelerate faster from a roundabout etc so am able to get in front.

 

[gnu]

Naturally a lot of lorries are off the road during the break and most things are still carried about on trucks. The glory days of lorry driving is long gone with the congestion on the roads and there are very few interesting trucks compared to 40 years ago when there were many British maufacturers such as Atkinson, Seddon, Scammell, Guy, Albion, AEC, Bedford, Foden, ERF, Leyland and many others. They were all quite unique and distinctive in their design and character. There days there are very few truck manufacturers left in Britain which is a great shame. We must sulute all the truckers for all the hard work they do.

 

[big soft moose]

If the car in front of you on the motorway was doing 65 would you sit behind it? I know it can be frustating if one truck is trying to pass another but as all limiters are not set exactly at 56 we can and do pass one another. If I am returning to the depot unladen I will be able to accelerate faster from a roundabout etc so am able to get in front.

I wouldnt sit behind a car that was doing 65 no - but nor would i pull out and inch past it at 66 - rather i would punch the turbo upto 75 pass and then pull back in , driving with consideration to other road users.

Ive no problem with an unladen lorry with decent acceleration overtaking a slower one off lights etc - what i'm talking about is the two abreast inching past hogging the middle lane of the motorway, or worse the overtaking lane on an uphill section of A road, scenario which is an all to common site on the roads - I'm aware than not every HGV driver drives in this manner - but those that do let the rest down

 

[Blister]

If the car in front of you on the motorway was doing 65 would you sit behind it? I know it can be frustating if one truck is trying to pass another but as all limiters are not set exactly at 56 we can and do pass one another. If I am returning to the depot unladen I will be able to accelerate faster from a roundabout etc so am able to get in front.

I wouldnt sit behind a car that was doing 65 no - but nor would i pull out and inch past it at 66 - rather i would punch the turbo upto 75 pass and then pull back in , driving with consideration to other road users.

Ive no problem with an unladen lorry with decent acceleration overtaking a slower one off lights etc - what i'm talking about is the two abreast inching past hogging the middle lane of the motorway, or worse the overtaking lane on an uphill section of A road, scenario which is an all to common site on the roads - I'm aware than not every HGV driver drives in this manner - but those that do let the rest down

I see your point re the 2 abreast hogging the road , taking 5 miles to get past , My solution to that problem is ( If I am being overtaken slowly ) Its so easy , I just lift off the gas for 5 second let the faster lorry pass then back up to 56 , Job done , But HGV drivers are not all like me :mrgreen: