Let's jump on trucks yet again

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by teak81

another rule that is grossly missunderstood by the car drivers is the signs on the back of trucks stating do not overtake turning vehicles. driving a truck in the city in like being a large cow with little fly's buzzing all around you with no regard to you actually trying to make a manouver.

90% of drivers will drive on the inside lane of a turning semi or b-double at a multi-lane intersection or roundabout.
One thing I notice is when I hang back on the inside lane and give trucks room to turn, drivers behind me tend to get agro!

[Seduce XR6]

Originally Posted by teak81

another rule that is grossly missunderstood by the car drivers is the signs on the back of trucks stating do not overtake turning vehicles. driving a truck in the city in like being a large cow with little fly's buzzing all around you with no regard to you actually trying to make a manouver.

More like a large Bull coz cows are girls & is nothing girlish about a truck & oh I always stay back at roundabouts etc if is a truck or bus beside me though some bus drivers push the rule as they will pull out from the side of the road without even seeing the car approaching which is almost at there rear bumper before they actually put there right hand indicator on to pull out.

I almost crapped myself the other day when my Wife stayed in the left lane next to a Bus on a small roundabout, when I said something she said oh I could see he had enough room (not sure if he thought the same) me I would have let him go through unless we were both stopped waiting for traffic then I would have been able to get off the line much faster then he could & be in front of him through the roundabout instead of beside him.

[GT69]

[mr smith]

Originally Posted by Ducati888

Yeah! Damn right! In my suburb we have railway lines backing on to every shop and service station, and they come directly from every farm and wharf in the country...

Large volumes of freight should be on the rail. Small trucks to make local deliveries, not that hard. Re open the old rail system which once went to every town. Plenty of new jobs building and maintaining the system which would move freight and people much more efficiently.

I have no problem with HR trucks I am concerned though, how the HC are just getting bigger and bigger and their drivers, who were once able to be called professional, cannot be called that today.

Another fact that the truck supporters cant get through their heads is large trucks have a bad rep, this is fact and most of the comments here support why this is so.

[SEZ213]

Originally Posted by mr smith

Large volumes of freight should be on the rail. Small trucks to make local deliveries, not that hard. Re open the old rail system which once went to every town. Plenty of new jobs building and maintaining the system which would move freight and people much more efficiently.

I have no problem with HR trucks I am concerned though, how the HC are just getting bigger and bigger and their drivers, who were once able to be called professional, cannot be called that today.

Another fact that the truck supporters cant get through their heads is large trucks have a bad rep, this is fact and most of the comments here support why this is so.

A bad rep with who?

The ignorant public? Because I highly doubt it's the well-informed public.

They are still able to be called professional. I'm curious as to why you think they can't?

[Dustin_80]

Has Gasolane come into this thread yet and wished death upon any non-truck drivers?

[Jim Goose]

With regards to Ducati888s tongue in cheek comments :

Originally Posted by Ducati888
Yeah! Damn right! In my suburb we have railway lines backing on to every shop and service station, and they come directly from every farm and wharf in the country...

In the good old days this was basically true!
In Townsville up until the early 1980s railway lines criss-crossed the town to dozens and dozens of businesses.

In south townsville particularly the old rail lines are still there where they used to cross suburban streets.

A rail line ran through the showgrounds and onto the old FOX timber yards.

Rail is still a good way to move bulk freight over long distances, however like all things it faces the axe because governments like to cut money to services and push it all into the private sector...

I dont understand why (dunno if its done in other states) but why arent frieght wagons "owned" by private transport and industry and then hauled by government locos? or even private owned locos?

I know a lot of the mines own their coal wagons, why cant it be done with smaller operators?

[Mechan1k]

Originally Posted by Big Trev

Move freight around cities at night - now there is a logical suggestion AND one suggested and supported by Government.

They are complaining as their 'resources', namely roads are being under-utilised for about 10 hours per day.

This is a much better idea ... makes life easier for truck drivers and the daytime car drivers. Less congestion for everyone ... and no meandering pedestrians (well ... maybe the odd drunk one out of pubs I guess).

From what I can see ... supermarkets adopt this strategy of night deliveries ... as it makes it easier for drivers out there ... and also more can be delivered within an allotted timeframe due to "less congestion". My neighbour delivers for Woolies and works evenings/nights ... he much rather does nights than day deliveries.

[whiteELXR6]

For all you gooses on here wanting all this freight to go by rail you people are insane. I am a truck driver and work for a rail division (eg, we loaded containers to go via rail interstate) and although for many applications it works a treat but it doesn't take much for a de-railment to happen, or a service being cancelled and more to the point it's bloody slow!

With the volumes of freight that is moved around this country it simply can't and will never all be done on rail this country will always rely on trucks so best get used to it. What this country needs is better driver education and awareness of heavy vehicles. Never the less in saying this common sense is optional when genes are being handed out and trust me not everyone has it.

So if ya can't do 100k's get the hell out the right lane and if you have no clue how to merge in traffic get off the road and if your just plain stupid stay indoors it's probably safer there!

[Mechan1k]

Originally Posted by Dustin_80

Has Gasolane come into this thread yet and wished death upon any non-truck drivers?

Nope ... cos he steers clear of the big smoke ... and much prefers the highways

[Mechan1k]

Originally Posted by Full Noise

Avoiding an accident, isn’t always possible regardless of whatever vehicle you’re driving, and let’s face it. Some people are just plain crap drivers.

I had this happen in front of me yesterday, and surprise surprise, I managed to avoid him but it could have very easily ended up badly if the Toyota driver lost control, but thankfully, he didn’t. What would have happened here if he lost control and I couldn’t avoid him? Another truck related fatality perhaps? Who would the media blame here, that big bad truck driver?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7gel1rqAcE

Getting back to the OP, put simply, the truck driver was put in an unavoidable situation, because of the impetuous actions of an inept driver. It’s as simple as that.

Sometimes, there’s just nothing you can do.

Just goes to show ... you need to be on your toes all the time ... and they driver did a good effort to bring it off the road without totally losing the entire thing.

[Trevor 57]

These comments about moving freight by train has really been bothering me. Why, because they make a statement without truly understanding what they are talking about.

A few facts:

85% of all freight moved in Victoria is moved intra-state, that is moved around within the State, inter-state freight only make up 15% of freight moved, so hangin it on the interstaters re: drugs etc, is an irrelevant argument.

The congestion is within the greater Melbourne (red: capital city) area, not on the highways joining capital cities.

The idea of having rail terminals at central point around a capital city is so ridiculous it defies belief.

Why? How is the freight going to get from 'Dandenong' to Noble Park, Oakleigh, Richmond, Mulgrave, etc, etc, etc?

Or are you planning to have a rail terminal at earch normal rail stop on the passenger line? unbelievable

Some stats sourced from:http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/doi/doielect.nsf/2a6bd98dee287482ca256915001cff0c/612a49cebbee70a1ca257521002095fa/$FILE/freightfutures.pdf





Most freight is moved by smaller vehicles not semi's or B-Doubles, so your arguments are irrelevant. Next time you are riding along in your train, lift your head up from reading the Herald Sun and just take a little notice of how many 'smaller' trucks there are on the roads and you will understand the stats above.

My god, can you imagine the congestion around Oakleigh railway station as all these little trucks are trying toget their freight to and from a train.

And as I stated earlier:

Originally Posted by Big Trev

I can see the trains loaded with wet concrete delivering it to building sites

I can see tipper trains carting dirt to the new freeways by rail

I can see Courier TRAMS driving around the CBD delivering packages

I can see Cleanaway trains up the lane-ways and going into the rear of suppermarkets to pick up waste, then delivering it by rail to the garbage tips.

[XDV800]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[84xespac]

Originally Posted by Big Trev

Some stats sourced from:http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/doi/doielect.nsf/2a6bd98dee287482ca256915001cff0c/612a49cebbee70a1ca257521002095fa/$FILE/freightfutures.pdf

Interesting figures there, what also needs to be taken into account is that these figures (assumption on my part) would not include any vans and utes that are not registered as lcv's but infact registered as personal use vehicles that are used for doing delivery work as well. If this is the case as I suspect it is then the percentage of lcv's would in reality be even higher again.

[Hitman]

Originally Posted by Werd.

Don't be stupid. Slowing down to below 80 would not only **** everyone off behind me, but is even more dangerous than 80 is.

I guess the most obvious answer would be to get driving experience in all conditions.

So I guess what you're saying is that the truck driver should have to brake, lose all momentum and then try and merge @ 50kph into traffic that's moving at ~100kph, while weighing anything upto 68 tonnes?

How about you either slow down/speed up/change lanes and be a courteous driver?

[maty]

Deliveries for woolies/coles at night is very difficult due to alot of places have noise curfews.Done deliveries to both people around them ring and complain about the noise they make.I know of numerous sites where soon has the delivery window is open you have a heap of trucks lined up waiting to get unloaded.

[deesun]

Originally Posted by maty

Deliveries for woolies/coles at night is very difficult due to alot of places have noise curfews.Done deliveries to both people around them ring and complain about the noise they make.I know of numerous sites where soon has the delivery window is open you have a heap of trucks lined up waiting to get unloaded.

And working for one of those I would say its not the actual noise of the truck itself, in most cases it's the noise of dock lifters, electric and manual pallet jacks,roll cages and loud voices during the unloading process as the main offender.

[84xespac]

I know of a 7-11 in Brisbane that isn't allowed deliveries after 10pm due to noise complaints of neighbouring houses. From memory it also took about 18months of battles for this store to get a licence to trade 24 hrs a day due to this.

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by Big Trev

These comments about moving freight by train has really been bothering me. Why, because they make a statement without truly understanding what they are talking about.

I don’t know why you bother, Trev. It’s like trying to tech long division to a two-year old… they will never get it.

Originally Posted by 84xespac

I know of a 7-11 in Brisbane that isn't allowed deliveries after 10pm due to noise complaints of neighbouring houses. From memory it also took about 18months of battles for this store to get a licence to trade 24 hrs a day due to this.

In the years that I drove tankers, there were probably around 5% of service station sites that had noise curfews on them. Now it’s around 35% of metropolitan sites because everyone just loves to complain. But they still want everything delivered.

[84xespac]

Originally Posted by Full Noise

In the years that I drove tankers, there were probably around 5% of service station sites that had noise curfews on them. Now it’s around 35% of metropolitan sites because everyone just loves to complain. But they still want everything delivered.

See this crap amazes me. Lets face it negotiating a service station to deliver fuel at night time when the traffic is far less is obviously a much easier task. Less disruption to traffic on the road around the entrance to the service station can only be a good thing. What gets me most about this is that I use to live on Grannard rd in Rocklea right beside a 24 hr service station and directly accross the road from another. Now granted this is a very busy road during the day but at night no busier than every other main road in Brisbane and I for one can say that I was never awoken by the sound of a truck delivering goods with the exception of if I knew the driver and the mongrel decided that he wanted a coffee break and was banging on my front door at early am hrs for me to make him one. lol

[Seduce XR6]

Originally Posted by Sezzy

A bad rep with who?

The ignorant public? Because I highly doubt it's the well-informed public.

They are still able to be called professional. I'm curious as to why you think they can't?

Bad rep with us average people who dare to drive on the Pacific Hwy or dare to watch the News or ACA or any other Media (have any of you watched RBT) or other shows showing Police doing there jobs when they happen across a truck driver & noticed in many cases the attitude & lack of Intelligence displayed by the truck drivers (not not all & yes many car drivers also).

So I consider myself to be rather well informed & truck drivers (many of them) carry a bad rep with me & its because of what they do & not what I do that causes this to be so.

Yes they may still be called professional drivers however they are much less professional than they were 30 years ago

[Seduce XR6]

Originally Posted by Full Noise

In the years that I drove tankers, there were probably around 5% of service station sites that had noise curfews on them. Now it’s around 35% of metropolitan sites because everyone just loves to complain. But they still want everything delivered.

I agree on this point as it would make life easier for truck drivers & car drivers alike & the few people who choose to live next door or across the road from a servo or a coles store etc can move or get ear plugs.

[Seduce XR6]

Originally Posted by deesun

And working for one of those I would say its not the actual noise of the truck itself, in most cases it's the noise of dock lifters, electric and manual pallet jacks,roll cages and loud voices during the unloading process as the main offender.

I do agree having worked in these sorts of places & made lots of noise myself when I was a young man .... with trucks your main noise would be the air bleeds from brakes etc, starting of some engines & exhaust brakes (which are hardly going to be used to slow in a back lane of a woollies store).

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by Big Trev

That is the 'girl' version of the Princes Highway - LOL


These comments about using rail have really cranked my handle I can tell ya!

I can see the trains loaded with wet concrete delivering it to building sites

I can see tippers carting dirt to the new freeways by rail

I can see Courier TRAMS driving around the CBD delivering packages

I can see Cleanaway trains up the lane-ways and going into the rear of suppermarkets to pick up waste, then delivering it by rail to the garbage tips.

My god, these people who suggest trains are doing my head in.

I seriously do not care about this thread the slightest anymore, but did anyone actually suggest there should be a 10,000 ton freight train with 100 wagons going through the middle of a city delivering a box to every shop?

Nobody was suggesting that(that I noticed), so why are you even using it your favor.

I believe the argument was supposed to be something like a load on 1 interstate train is probably a better idea then the same load spread out on 100 tucks on the freeway. I thought that was the topic at hand, but it seams that's not the case since this thread only consists of truck drivers complaining about how trains cannot deliver stuff to city centres.

Was that actually ever apart of anyone argument in the first place?

[wodahs]

Originally Posted by Full Noise

I don’t know why you bother, Trev. It’s like trying to tech long division to a two-year old… they will never get it.

In the years that I drove tankers, there were probably around 5% of service station sites that had noise curfews on them. Now it’s around 35% of metropolitan sites because everyone just loves to complain. But they still want everything delivered.

that it just there why every one hates truckies

Originally Posted by Seduce XR6

Bad rep with us average people who dare to drive on the Pacific Hwy or dare to watch the News or ACA or any other Media (have any of you watched RBT) or other shows showing Police doing there jobs when they happen across a truck driver & noticed in many cases the attitude & lack of Intelligence displayed by the truck drivers (not not all & yes many car drivers also).

and yet you are perpared to hit all truckies based on this few and not care about the meny car drivers

and with the lack of respect bordering on abuse that we recieve from car drivers you want to say we are un profesional coz we dont let car drivers have total right to the road

[Seduce XR6]

Originally Posted by wodahs

that it just there why every one hates truckies



and yet you are perpared to hit all truckies based on this few and not care about the meny car drivers

and with the lack of respect bordering on abuse that we recieve from car drivers you want to say we are un profesional coz we dont let car drivers have total right to the road

Not at all as I have said many but not all or something similar in most if not all of my posts on the subject.

I don't see a truck in front of me or behind me & assume he is a bad driver or a bogan however as a result of what I have experienced myself & observed what others have had happen to them it is always in the back of my mind & in most cases they prove me correct either with there driving or abuse you get once they pass you & for what, sitting on the speed limit or slightly above & staying on the same speed in the left lane on overtaking lanes.

I do sometimes see a good truck driver who is happy to sit a decent length behind me & am happy for him to pass me when & if he can which is a pleasant change & I will even often give him a wave or a short toot on the horn.

It is the bad drivers that give all truckies a bad name & cause car drivers to disrespect them in general as there are far too many bad truck drivers around for many to feel the other way as its not just a few but in my experience most.

[Feathers]

Originally Posted by Jim Goose

I dont understand why (dunno if its done in other states) but why arent frieght wagons "owned" by private transport and industry and then hauled by government locos? or even private owned locos?

Interestingly, the Government sold off all their locos to save money.
Now they hire them back from the private operators and rail enthusiasts that bought them for about $900/hour.

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by Ben73

I seriously do not care about this thread the slightest anymore, but did anyone actually suggest there should be a 10,000 ton freight train with 100 wagons going through the middle of a city delivering a box to every shop?

Nobody was suggesting that(that I noticed), so why are you even using it your favor.

I believe the argument was supposed to be something like a load on 1 interstate train is probably a better idea then the same load spread out on 100 tucks on the freeway. I thought that was the topic at hand, but it seams that's not the case since this thread only consists of truck drivers complaining about how trains cannot deliver stuff to city centres.

Was that actually ever apart of anyone argument in the first place?

Firstly, I am glad you do not care about this thread anymore, why, because your arguments lack substance and you know it.

If you read the posts, there is are fellow posters who believes that there should be rail stops at Dandenong etc to ease the traffic flow in Melbourne, I was just pointing out how ridiculous their argument are.

Yoy say put interstate freight on a train, I say, that is not what this debate is about, this debate is about the amount of truck and big trucks on the roads interacting with cars in city environs, this is not an issue on interstate highways, this is a perceived issue in greater city environs.

You are losing the debate and are now trying to change the direction of it.

[SEZ213]

Originally Posted by Seduce XR6

Bad rep with us average people who dare to drive on the Pacific Hwy or dare to watch the News or ACA or any other Media (have any of you watched RBT) or other shows showing Police doing there jobs when they happen across a truck driver & noticed in many cases the attitude & lack of Intelligence displayed by the truck drivers (not not all & yes many car drivers also).

So I consider myself to be rather well informed & truck drivers (many of them) carry a bad rep with me & its because of what they do & not what I do that causes this to be so.

Yes they may still be called professional drivers however they are much less professional than they were 30 years ago

I'm an average person...so I still fail to see your logic.

My boyfriend and his mother were killed by a road train when I was 17...and prior to understanding or knowing the full story, I too had put the blame on the truck driver (just like the 'average person' does - without fully thinking it through). It wasn't until his father told me exactly what had happened, in that the car had hit a reasonably large pothole and speared off under the second trailer or some such, that I understood the truck driver wasn't at fault - yet he had to live with that for the rest of his life, and many people put blame on the driver (including me) until the facts were known.

The truck was there, but he didn't cause the accident...and in 65% of cases last year, they weren't the cause of the accident, just the unfortunate vehicle who happened to weigh 30 times more than a car, of course people are going to die.

And to be honest, I hardly think that watching a television show such as RBT gives you a 'good indication' of your average truck driver, let's face it...you're only seeing the ones that get pulled over, and if you're going to base an assumption on that...I really do feel sorry for you. Those shows are designed to get ratings - all of them...even the news...you need to make it as emotive and interesting as possible to hook in as many viewers as possible. It seems it's only dumbed down our once fine nation.

I noticed there was a comment that every time someone went out on the road, they were tailgated by a truck - I assume that was you as well. Well, I call BS.

How many truck drivers do you think there are in the country?

There are cowboys everywhere, in every industry - those who have a clue know that there are not the standard, but the minority...

I got tailgated my whole way back home on Thursday, despite sitting in the left lane and having the cruise control on...I guess EVERY car driver must be an idiot...same poor logic, and not true at all.

As far as being less professional than they were 30 years ago...go out and have a look at the world...you won't find the same professionalism that you did 30 years ago in any industry...because the consumer is a greedy bastard who takes takes and takes some more...

[Seduce XR6]

Originally Posted by Sezzy

I'm an average person...so I still fail to see your logic.

My boyfriend and his mother were killed by a road train when I was 17...and prior to understanding or knowing the full story, I too had put the blame on the truck driver (just like the 'average person' does - without fully thinking it through). It wasn't until his father told me exactly what had happened, in that the car had hit a reasonably large pothole and speared off under the second trailer or some such, that I understood the truck driver wasn't at fault - yet he had to live with that for the rest of his life, and many people put blame on the driver (including me) until the facts were known.

The truck was there, but he didn't cause the accident...and in 65% of cases last year, they weren't the cause of the accident, just the unfortunate vehicle who happened to weigh 30 times more than a car, of course people are going to die.

And to be honest, I hardly think that watching a television show such as RBT gives you a 'good indication' of your average truck driver, let's face it...you're only seeing the ones that get pulled over, and if you're going to base an assumption on that...I really do feel sorry for you. Those shows are designed to get ratings - all of them...even the news...you need to make it as emotive and interesting as possible to hook in as many viewers as possible. It seems it's only dumbed down our once fine nation.

I noticed there was a comment that every time someone went out on the road, they were tailgated by a truck - I assume that was you as well. Well, I call BS.

How many truck drivers do you think there are in the country?

There are cowboys everywhere, in every industry - those who have a clue know that there are not the standard, but the minority...

I got tailgated my whole way back home on Thursday, despite sitting in the left lane and having the cruise control on...I guess EVERY car driver must be an idiot...same poor logic, and not true at all.

As far as being less professional than they were 30 years ago...go out and have a look at the world...you won't find the same professionalism that you did 30 years ago in any industry...because the consumer is a greedy bastard who takes takes and takes some more...

I did not just say I was an average person fullstop, there was much more to that statement which you have chosen to ignore.
I am an average person who takes notice of peoples behavior & or events around him & base my opinions on information gathered from many sources & not just RBT but my own personal experiences as well as those of people I know or people I see in the media on many shows over many years.

Oh so the truck drivers or even the car drivers I see on shows like RBT & other shows showing Police doing there job are actors lol?
They are real car or truck drivers & no I don't base my opinions on 1 show or any number of shows (oops I already said that but think this will take a bit to get it through to you).

I said every time or almost every time I travel on the Pacific HWY or even our local HWY I am tailgated, me not everyone lol (cant you read)?

As for people in every industry not being as professional these days as they were 30 years ago in many cases I would agree though not in all & not because of some consumer greed but because as the generations move along many are simply less dedicated & lazy.

Generations who want it all at 21 while living at home & paying no board & don't seem to think they have to work hard for decades before they will have it all (but that's another topic) & no not all young are like that but again MANY are just as I have said MANY truck drivers are bad & NOT ALL!

I would be willing to guess you are married to a truck driver or have something to do with one as again from my experiences the only people who defend them like you have are drivers themselves or married to them, or brothers or sisters or friends to 1 or in your case work in the industry by the looks Sarah lol

You also sound young to me in your answers however of that I would not be sure.

finally as for your loss I am sorry as it must have been a really nasty time for you & all concerned, oh & no I would not have assumed that the truck was at fault however as you said if it was a car they hit instead of a 60 ton truck they may have survived.