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Tom

@thelorryist

Sep 20, 2021 • 10 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X

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Have we all been here? I bet we have. Infuriating isn't it?

So what is going on here? Why does it happen? And why won't you get the hell out of my way so I can get home. Or at least why don't you get on with it!

Let's unpick this a bit, maybe I can shed some light...

Firstly, we are all speed limited, by law. All lorries over a certain weight are speed restricted, no exceptions (or very few).

At 56mph (90kmh) the engine cuts the fuelling and no more power is available, so that is where you stay.

56mph for endless miles. That's your lot.

But this will vary hugely due to a number of environmental factors and manufacturing tolerances.

Without going into dull detail, as tyres wear their circumference decreases and so for a given engine revolution, they will make more rotations. Simple, right?

So who cares? Well, nobody really. But all trucks will have a slightly different version of 56mph and so eventually you are going to bump into your mate in front.

So we overtake. Places to be!

I don't drive a lorry because I enjoy looking at your rear end. Shiny as it may be

Now the problem.

You are marginally faster than the vehicle in front. So this is going to take a LONG ASS TIME.

You have a rolling road block in all but name and everything backs up behind and then people are FEWMIN 🤬🤬🤬

Not good.

So what can we do?

Well the undertakee could lift off or turn the cruise control off for a few seconds. Gravity and friction do their work and the vehicle begins to slow, giving the overtaker a significant speed advantage.

In a matter of seconds the overtaker is past. No fuss.

So why doesn't this happen?

Well now I am unsure. But it has a lot to do with ego, pride, and a general feeling of "not my problem", and I am sorry to say it but... men.

This is where we really fall down as an industry and as professionals. We could work together but we don't

And so, you will see the rise of overtaking bans for heavy vehicles. Particularly on long inclines or particularly susceptible stretches of road, and that is frustrating for all.

You cannot end up with a long line of queuing trucks. It makes the problem worse.

We need flow

But, thank you for your patience. Please be assured that some of us do try and do the right thing and use judgement when deciding whether to overtake or not.

There are good and bad drivers everywhere, including behind the wheel of the heavies.

But please help us overtake 🙏

Not debating this one for obvious reasons. Waste of time

I was careful to avoid talking about driving standards in the original thread for this reason

Everyone thinks they are correct

I will just present you with the reality and the truth, and with those you can do as you wish

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More from @thelorryist

Tom

@thelorryist

May 16, 2024

What does it actually take to drive one of these?

Well, if you listen to the old timers, they would tell you when trucks were made of wood, men were made of steel... or some other such cliche

But let's talk about the actual driving licence. Bet you have never been told this🧵

The driving licence in the UK wasn't introduced until 1935, and at that time there was no specific driving licence for HGVs.

In fact, in the early days of lorries, the hard part was finding anyone who could actually drive them with any mechanical sympathy, they were unrefined!

The sad truth of it, as it always tends to be: technology and resource is often driven by war.

It was in fact the First World War that led to the creation of a large driving force, people hastily trained in how to drive these rapidly advancing machines

Then later again with WW2

Read 32 tweets

Tom

@thelorryist

May 4, 2024

https://twitter.com/guywalters/status/1786352450829438991

Let's have a look at this, I am reminded so often that most people don't necessarily understand what they are looking at with this industry, so it might be quite interesting to dissect.

We call this a Bridge Strike, when you understand a bit more you can see why they happen 🧵

https://twitter.com/guywalters/status/1786352450829438991

We can start with the lorry, UK registration, Belgian plates on the trailer, already dodgy yes?

No, the container belongs to ECS, a Belgian shipping company, in this case they also own the trailer, but they have nothing to do with the incident.

So why is the trailer here?

Well we voted for that, unfortunately. Brexit has seen a sharp decline in accompanied freight traffic in both directions, as there is a border where there wasn't before.

Trailers will now come here by themselves, and moved by a UK domestic haulier

Point being: unfamiliarity

Read 24 tweets

Tom

@thelorryist

Mar 2, 2023

How does this happen? Well it's far easier than you think.

Shall we start with how many times? Put "lorry hits bridge" into google and see what you get for 2023 alone.

Network rail who own a majority of the low road bridges in the UK estimate 5 bridges per day are struck by HGV

We, as 'professional drivers' are supposed to know the height of our vehicle at all times.

Brings a challenge of it's own. Because in the UK we only have to mark bridges in imperial. But we often measure vehicles, particularly trailers, in metric.

So you have to do the maths

But you also have to consider the coupling height, as most of us will be dealing with a tractor unit and semi trailer, which have two different heights to worry about

And just to make it more complicated. The coupling height marked here is often different between trucks

Read 12 tweets

Tom

@thelorryist

Jan 1, 2022

I realise talking about not drinking is about as popular in the UK as a fart in a lift, particularly at this time of year

However, it is a very popular time to consider it, for obvious reasons, so here goes: 5 years ago today I stopped drinking

Here are some things I learned

Before I say anything else. It's a very difficult thing to discuss with people, still, even though it shouldn't really be.

You can see evidence of peoples reactions to such topics all over twitter today.

Normal. If you decide to stop you WILL bump up against this stuff.

@cathgraywrites

Also, if you don't want to read anything else from me but would like to know where to start. Highly recommend The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by @cathgraywrites which is 99p on Kindle today.

Probably the kindest, relatable and compassionate book I have read around giving up

Read 12 tweets

Tom

@thelorryist

Oct 21, 2021

So how does it happen?

Maybe I can be of some use explaining, people seem to enjoy these threads, so...

Heavy Goods Vehicles Braking Systems 101.

A thread.

What you see there is two vehicles, each with a separate braking system.

Drivers need to understand how these brakes work so they don't kill themselves (or anyone else).

Heavy trucks brakes are pneumatic (worked by air) rather than hydraulic (worked by fluid) like in your car

The air lines have a long way to travel and need to operate reliably in this way and also exert huge forces, so air is a better medium but it makes for complex systems.

They also 'fail safe' so if air is removed from the system the brakes come on....