High sided vehicles and the IDIOTS who get blown over

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scotsy

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I have just been reading some posts on other threads calling the drivers of vans etc "idiots" for getting blown over and inconveniencing the drivers of cars.

I'm obviously a little biased on this subject as i drive a LWB High top van for a living and clock a fair bit of mileage up delivering bathrooms around Scotland, so much so my 14 month old Crafter now has 98,000 mls on the clock so i pick up another new van tomorrow!!!

My question to these people is:-

What exactly is the criteria that makes a vehicle 'HIGH SIDED'

This might at first glance seem like an easy question to answer but i can tell you its not as easy as it seems

Please debate :dog:
 
It's got to do with the wind speed which will cause the vehicle to overturn, not just height.

It is related not only to height, but also weight distribution and centre of gravity. A vehicle can be very high sided but have a lot of weight low down making it very stable. So, not an easy answer, but it is up to the driver to know his vehicle, look at the wind speeds forecast and decide if it is safe to drive.
 
I think the Forth Bridge considers anything taller than a standard transit high sided.
 
well ihad tiny van that got spun on a1 it was only ithink 5ft from the floor and 9ft6 long now is that high sided
 
I think its down to the driver to have a clue about it to be honest.

You get an idea of when conditions are getting a tad 'sporty' so should be able to make a judgement for yourself of when things may be unsuitable for certain vehicles.

I tend to view signs and warnings as generally there for people who could be described as too dopey to figure things out for themselves.
 
oldish hippy said:
well ihad tiny van that got spun on a1 it was only ithink 5ft from the floor and 9ft6 long now is that high sided
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Half as tall as it is long and probably very light would make it effectively high sided, my Hymer is 20' long and 10' high, proportionally the same as your van and I would class it as high sided.
 
I was coming south on the M6 in a 7.5t empty curtainsider with strong crosswinds. I got over the Solway Firth without a problem and thought the worst of it was over, but as I came up towards Penrith I started driving on two wheels. At that point I was pleased that I was carrying a change of clothing and stopped at the Truckstop for the night with 2 or 3 hours driving time still to go.
 
When I was a HGV driver, driving a forty foot curtain sided trailer was considered to be the worst trailer to pull in high winds, the better loads were heavy and low to the floor but this gave problems with allowing the curtains to come in like a sail above the load, a high volume load prevented this but would be much lighter, with an empty trailer we used to slide the curtains to the front and tie them back this would allow the wind to go straight through, the trailer. I have only once pulled of the road due to high winds and that was coming back from Spain with the motorhome 2.7m high 7m long the strong wind was side on for a long time and the wind got worse I was sure I was going to go over so I turned into the first opening I came across which was into a field.
 
A vehicle with a radiused roof/sidewall handles crosswinds far better than a square edged one, and interestingly there is evidence that many vehicles are sucked over by the near vacuum on the lee side as opposed to being blown over.
We used to cross the A66 in high winds when the signs were on, the vehicles were not high, it was the containers on them that were. Wind direction is more important than just wind speed. An experienced driver will know when to quit, but not all of them have the cojones to stand up to an irate boss who thinks they should meet a deadline.
 
My van is 7.5 metres long, just under 3 metres high and weighs in at 4.1 tonne fully loaded.

I wouldn`t risk it if the signs / warnings advised against it. I`m ex-HGV 1 so i do know the risks.
 
I drive a pick up with a demountable camper/dog kennel on the back, i have had a few hairy moments driving over the Severn Bridge [South Wales] in high winds, it usually handles pretty well with no buffering whilst being overtaken by lorries and coaches etc, but when it gets too scary i just pull over somewhere quiet and batten down the hatches......:sleep-027:
 
high vehicles

i drove high sided vehicles for a living.
what are those drivers supposed to do when the wind blow. park up & wait for it to calm down ?
what would those people do if they went to the shop & they could'nt get what they wanted because the drivers parked up somewhere.
how about the idiots of car drivers who pull out in front of a truck or camper & you have to brake because they don't want to be caught behind ?
i'm sure you motorhome drivers have seen this.

tony
 
tony said:
i drove high sided vehicles for a living.
what are those drivers supposed to do when the wind blow. park up & wait for it to calm down ?
what would those people do if they went to the shop & they could'nt get what they wanted because the drivers parked up somewhere.
how about the idiots of car drivers who pull out in front of a truck or camper & you have to brake because they don't want to be caught behind ?
i'm sure you motorhome drivers have seen this.

tony
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As I said, an experienced man knows when to pull over, but one with no cojones is scared to.

Sod the customer, if it blows too much I have different priorities.
 
I personally know two who were blown over. I used to work with them.on 4 or 5 occasions when I worked there I stopped because of the obvious dangers. As the firm got bigger the profits per vehicle diminished and the bosses son became more desperate. He tried to pressureme into carrying on and got told very forcibly to stick to his job which he was not qualified to do anyway, and leave the driving to me.
A year or two after I left an old driver with no balls allowed himself to be "persuaded" to carry on, bang, over it went.
Two months later a younger knowall took it on himself to show up his more sensible colleagues and carried on without being pressurised, bang, again!

Luckily he WAS injured, the only way that clowns like him learn is the hard way, luckily nobody else was involved. I did phone my ex boss to remind him about the time I saved his frikkin lorry, it had to be done.
 
How do Tony?

tony said:
i drove high sided vehicles for a living.
what are those drivers supposed to do when the wind blow. park up & wait for it to calm down ?
what would those people do if they went to the shop & they could'nt get what they wanted because the drivers parked up somewhere.
how about the idiots of car drivers who pull out in front of a truck or camper & you have to brake because they don't want to be caught behind ?
i'm sure you motorhome drivers have seen this.

tony
Click to expand...

Sorry for derailing my own post but not seen Tony for a few years :wave:

I don't personally cross any bridges/roads that are closed to high-sideds in my Crafter as it is over 9 feet tall and 21 feet long, combine this with its MGW of 3.5T and often i'm carrying a lot less weight than it could and you can see its a recipe for disaster in gusty conditions.

The question i posed still remains unanswered though, there is NOWHERE where it states a maximum size (not even on the Forth Bridge as suggested)

I'm expected to do Lanark to Inverurie and back via Perth tomorrow and snow is forecast but i have snow tyres, traction mats, snow socks, folding shovel, maps, 2 x sat navs, blankets and big coats as well as emergency snacks in my van along with 2 phones on different networks.......

Preparing for the worst is a daily ritual for many drivers and although there is no point taking unnecessary risks you ARE expected to do your best to get the job done. When a drivers normal day is around 350/400 miles you learn to adjust your route/speed when required by the conditions and keep an ear on the radio traffic and weather reports.

Keep the 'answers' (?) coming :idea-007:
 
antiquesam said:
I was coming south on the M6 in a 7.5t empty curtainsider with strong crosswinds. I got over the Solway Firth without a problem and thought the worst of it was over, but as I came up towards Penrith I started driving on two wheels. At that point I was pleased that I was carrying a change of clothing and stopped at the Truckstop for the night with 2 or 3 hours driving time still to go.
Click to expand...
Not a facetious question, but as you were empty, wouldn't driving with the curtains pulled back let the wind blow through, or is that not allowed?
 
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