Thread: Outback Truckers - Better than Ice Road Truckers!

Originally Posted by garrycol

Yep typical truckie - crying that cars do not understand their stopping distances yet truckies drive too close to the vehicle in front. It seems to me truckies also don't understand their own stopping distances.

All vehicles, irrespective of vehicle type should be abloe to meet the same standards for stopping at various speeds so a 80t truck should be able to stop within the same standard as a lightweight car. If a vehicle cannot meet these predetermined standards then they are off the road.

Garry

LOL, you ever driven a truck bigger than a 101 Garry?

Originally Posted by garrycol

Yep typical truckie - crying that cars do not understand their stopping distances yet truckies drive too close to the vehicle in front. It seems to me truckies also don't understand their own stopping distances.

All vehicles, irrespective of vehicle type should be abloe to meet the same standards for stopping at various speeds so a 80t truck should be able to stop within the same standard as a lightweight car. If a vehicle cannot meet these predetermined standards then they are off the road.

Garry

If you really think that You probably could`nt drive ducks to water in a desert

AM

Originally Posted by Brentttt

So what you are saying is that if a series 1 Landy can't stop within the same standards as a Range Rover Sport then it should be put off the road?

No - what I am saying is that a standard should be determined that is considered the minimum for all vehicles to safely stop and apply that. Clearly a modern light vehicle will stop the quickest and and older and maybe heavy vehicle will be the slowest but as long as both meet the safety standard they pass.

Originally Posted by BMKal

The number of prangs that are caused by idiots in cars cutting in front of trucks which are already slowing down / braking for traffic lights etc will never cease to amaze me.

And the number of trucks running into the back of other trucks amazes me - likewise the number of trucks sitting up my clacker when I am doing 110kph and would never have a chance of stopping with running over the top of me amazes me. Clearly truck drivers do not understand the limitations of their vehicles.

If a vehicle no matter what it is cannot stop within what is considered a safe distance then they should not be on the road.

Certainly in NSW and the ACT cars have to meet certain braking standards why do larger vehicles not have to meet the same standards.You are advocating that trucks should not have to have the ability to stop within a safe distance just because they are big.

Originally Posted by MR LR

LOL, you ever driven a truck bigger than a 101 Garry?

Yes - but what is the relevance of the question - you also advocate there should be no braking standards for large vehicles.

Originally Posted by garrycol

This is about the third rerun on TV at the moment. Has been discussed a few times previously. The classic is the woman truckie blaming a car for stopping at a railway crossing and she overtaking at the crossing against the red flashing lights.

The amount of truckies in the Pilbara who tried to race iron ore trains at the rail crossings was frightening , flashing lights which gave plenty of warning for braking of their trucks was nothing but a hindrance to these blokes who thought nothing of racing a 25/30 thousand tonne train so as not to stop for the train , sometimes missing by a knats hair and giving the driver a heart attack . IMHO Trucks are becoming a national menace on our roads .

No matter which way you look at it, these guys and gals certainly don't have an easy gig.

Some of the recoveries when the rig and/or trailers get bogged in the mud look "interesting"...

Originally Posted by garrycol

And the number of trucks running into the back of other trucks amazes me - likewise the number of trucks sitting up my clacker when I am doing 110kph and would never have a chance of stopping with running over the top of me amazes me. Clearly truck drivers do not understand the limitations of their vehicles.

If a vehicle no matter what it is cannot stop within what is considered a safe distance then they should not be on the road.

Certainly in NSW and the ACT cars have to meet certain braking standards why do larger vehicles not have to meet the same standards.You are advocating that trucks should not have to have the ability to stop within a safe distance just because they are big.

Not advocating anything of the sort - that's just what you choose to read into it.

Trucks DO have to have brakes that meet a certain standard - but that standard is certainly NOT the same stopping distance as a small car as you suggested in your earlier post. Basic physics will tell you that this is simply not possible.

Like the drivers of all vehicles - truck drivers should maintain a safe distance between themselves and the vehicle in front. If they cannot stop in time and run up the rear of the vehicle in front of them if that vehicle stops - then the truckie was travelling too close and is clearly in the wrong. Problem is - that when the truckie backs off a little to maintain a safe stopping distance - dipsticks in cars jump into the gap. This is why a lot of trucks struggle to stop in time at the lights - they may have left themselves plenty of room to stop, but next time you're out and about, just watch how many idiots will jump into that gap as the truck is approaching stopped traffic / red light etc. and force the truckie to stand on the brakes - hard. I see it every day on the roads.

Not saying by any means that they're all perfect - there's plenty of idiots out there. But on average, I'll trust my personal safety on the road to the average truckie before the average city car driver any day of the week. At least when I'm close to a truck, I can usually predict what he's going to do with a fair degree of accuracy. You sure can't say that about a huge number of the muppets behind the wheel of a car these days - especially in the cities.

And I will NEVER cut into the gap in front of a truck when he is approaching stopped traffic / red lights etc, even if I think there might be plenty of room.