Caravans being towed over the speed limit
Comments
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We were once tootling along at 65 mph on a motorway ( in the MH ) when we were overtaken by a Rangerover pulling a big twin axle caravan, it was perhaps going 5 mph faster than us. A few miles down the road he was on the hardshoulder with a blowout on the caravan... His speeding saved him no time at all, quite the reverse.
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We were once tootling along at 65 mph on a motorway ( in the MH ) when we were overtaken by a Rangerover pulling a big twin axle caravan, it was perhaps going 5 mph faster than us. A few miles down the road he was on the hardshoulder with a blowout on the
caravan... His speeding saved him no time at all, quite the reverse.might have had a blow out travelling at 45mph, why do you think it was due to his speed?
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We were once tootling along at 65 mph on a motorway ( in the MH ) when we were overtaken by a Rangerover pulling a big twin axle caravan, it was perhaps going 5 mph faster than us. A few miles down the road he was on the hardshoulder with a blowout on the
caravan... His speeding saved him no time at all, quite the reverse.might have had a blow out travelling at 45mph, why do you think it was due to his speed?
I expect the higher speed put a greater stress on the tyre than it was happy with, so it surrendered.
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I'm pretty sure that, if you EVER see a police car when passing a queue of trucks at 65mph they wouldn't pull you over.
A bigger problem for me is the people in cars travelling at under 50mph. Some German motorways have signs indicating the minimum allowable speed for a particular carriageway, I like that
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We were once tootling along at 65 mph on a motorway ( in the MH ) when we were overtaken by a Rangerover pulling a big twin axle caravan, it was perhaps going 5 mph faster than us. A few miles down the road he was on the hardshoulder with a blowout on the caravan... His speeding saved him no time at all, quite the reverse.
might have had a blow out travelling at 45mph, why do you think it was due to his speed?
I expect the higher speed put a greater stress on the tyre than it was happy with, so it surrendered.
I would very much doubt the van was fitted with tyres not rated for the speeds involved, so that should not have been his issue. By far the more likely is the affected tyre had picked up a puncture, these are not unique to speeding and still result in tyre disintegration.
Clearly the energy pent up to throw things about at 65 mph are lower than at 70 mph, 14% but that is not enough to guaranty immunity to the same outcome.0 -
I have towed over 5k miles this year , most at around 50mph due to the speed limits in the countries concerned and journeys usually average out in the mid 40s (upper on a good day) . Personally I dont care much about HGVs passing and find higher speeds not
worth the effort just to arrive somewhere 20 mins earlier.Write your comments here...Exactly my point David.
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Speedo readfings vary quite a bit. My Kuga over-reads by about 6%, my OH's i20 is virtually spot on. I generally tow at an indicated 58-60 which keeps pace with most HGVs and doesn't burn too much fuel.
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Safety is important everywhere Husky. It's 30 for a reason, it's 50 for a reason, it's 60 for a reason etc keeps banging through my head as I drive my ambulance car in all sorts of weather and on all sorts of roads. When the overhead gantries say 60- that's
what I do- Still the 'Audi' drivers ( who are the best drivers in the world as we all know) queue up and start to bully me by tailgating and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Wet road, dry road, makes no difference. Have none of these idiots heard of the 2 second
rule? No, probably not! When driving with a caravan on the back, the margin for error is much less so cutting speed allows more thinking time and more reaction time. Nuff said. In the police, we were taught using ' Roadcraft' 47
yrs on from that I still read it and have just received my latest version. Although it's a book for the emergency driver , it's a goldmine for safe and respectful driving. We are all human and can all make mistakes but to be less likely to make that mistake
is what it's all about. I would say to anyone but particularly to those who think it's OK to speed , that they get a copy and learn the 'system of car control' We are never too old to learn!0 -
Safety is important everywhere Husky. It's 30 for a reason, it's 50 for a reason, it's 60 for a reason etc keeps banging through my head as I drive my ambulance car in all sorts of weather and on all sorts of roads. When the overhead gantries say 60- that's
what I do- Still the 'Audi' drivers ( who are the best drivers in the world as we all know) queue up and start to bully me by tailgating and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Wet road, dry road, makes no difference. Have none of these idiots heard of the 2 second
rule? No, probably not! When driving with a caravan on the back, the margin for error is much less so cutting speed allows more thinking time and more reaction time. Nuff said. In the police, we were taught using ' Roadcraft' 47
yrs on from that I still read it and have just received my latest version. Although it's a book for the emergency driver , it's a goldmine for safe and respectful driving. We are all human and can all make mistakes but to be less likely to make that mistake
is what it's all about. I would say to anyone but particularly to those who think it's OK to speed , that they get a copy and learn the 'system of car control' We are never too old to learn!100% agree,
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But how fast is 'fast'? I drive a Smart Fortwo and at 70mph on the motorway you really do you're doing 70mph, especially if it's a bit windy. Whereas in my larger tow car you're just getting going at 70mph .... even more so in the previous saloon towcar
rather than an upright 4x40 -
Aren't there a number of issues relating to speed?
The speed indicated on your speedometer.
Your actual speed (possibly derived from a Sat Nav)
A safe speed dependent on your vehicle and prevailing conditions.
A safe speed dependent on your personal ability and experience.
The legal maximum limit, set arbitrarily.
If you consider countries like the USA there are substantial differences between legal limits/ States despit similar roads and vehicles.
Safe driving isn't necessarily matched to a legal limit as indicated on your speedometer.
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But how fast is 'fast'? I drive a Smart Fortwo and at 70mph on the motorway you really do you're doing 70mph, especially if it's a bit windy. Whereas in my larger tow car you're just getting going at 70mph .... even more so in the previous saloon towcar rather than an upright 4x4
Write your comments here...I understand what you are saying MM and I'm sure that these 'Audi' drivers feel cosseted and pampered in their comfortable warm cars with the CD blaring- so much so that they feel invincible. We all have a speedometer in our vehicles- it's there to be used, and as TF says- Anything over the speed limit is too fast - end of. BUT some treat the speed limit as a target not as a maximum! Even 30mph is far too fast in some circumstances like my street for example- the speed limit is legally 30 but only a maniac would drive at 30 down there and do they? Yes, they do and faster! And why? Because they think nothing is going to happen. That child isn't going to run out, that dog isn't suddenly going to end up in the road and cause them to swerve is it? Etc etc- fortunately or unfortunate for its owner the last thing that died in the street was a much loved cat- reason- speed! It's a very old adage with whiskers on it but - It's better to arrive late than not at all! So back to the 70+ with a caravan on the back- THINK what COULD happen and a slower speed begs for a presence. It's not cars that kill people, it's people driving those cars like prats that kill people!
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I use the M20 5 days a week to get to my shop ,aprox 450mile a week and the issue is not the caravaner overtaking a lorry at 65mph then pulling back in and reducing their speed back to 60mph ,but it's the ones that pass me at well over the limit than can
be the issueonly last week i was doing 72mph(solo) as indecated by my sat-nav and a 4x4 towing a twin axle caravan overtook me in the 3rd lane,and disipeared in to the distance, i think he might have been late for his ferry !!
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Was towing my caravan down the M5 recently doing the usual 60 mph when a gurt big lorry decided he was going to overtake me, Now if he wants to well thats fine BUT he decided that he was going to do it at 61 mph ish which meant I had this darn huge lump
to my right causing all sorts of turbulence. I have seen loads of lorries doing very similar and it makes my blood boilWhat did I do ? I accelerated to about 65 mph just to get away from him. What did he do ? Gave me a blast on his horn thats what he did. :- Numpty.
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Sorry helensrock but I I have to be honest and say I don't agree with what you did. Please don't be offended by what I am about to say- Perhaps next time you could try this - I would have assisted his passing by checking my mirrors, and if safe to do so taking my foot off the gas and using 'acceleration sense' to slow down very very gradually, thereby getting rid of him asap. It wouldn't take you very long to get back to speed. I would want him in front of me as quickly as possible to keep an eye on him. No good winding him up by frustrating his plan- it only causes his blood pressure to rise , an aggressive use of the horn and a red mist to form - result - another accident looking to happen. Courteous driving is always a winner.
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Me too, I drive at 65mph with cc on with my xc60 D5. Sat nav says I'm doing about 62mph. If it was unstable I would go slower. In the summer I drove from St Ives to Inverness and I passed a ridiculous number of caravans crawling along below 50 on the M6.
For me time is more important than 3mpg!Write your comments here...I don't know what the exact distance is from St Ives to Inverness but it must be somewhere in the region of 700 miles. At 60mph this would take 11.6 hours whereas at 63mph would take 11.1 hours (assuming the impossible of maintaining
these speeds all the way). That is only 30 minutes difference which is nothing on a journey of that length. Is 30 minutes so important?0 -
Was towing my caravan down the M5 recently doing the usual 60 mph when a gurt big lorry decided he was going to overtake me, Now if he wants to well thats fine BUT he decided that he was going to do it at 61 mph ish which meant I had this darn huge lump
to my right causing all sorts of turbulence. I have seen loads of lorries doing very similar and it makes my blood boilWhat did I do ? I accelerated to about 65 mph just to get away from him. What did he do ? Gave me a blast on his horn thats what he did. :- Numpty.
Write your comments here...I thought lorries (HGV's at least) had limiters for 56 mph? They also have tachographs to prove what speed they are doing?
As for safe speeds 70mph is not safe nor is 30 they are just the legal speeed limits intriduced inthe 1970's in response to the oil shortage. Nowadays with modern technology on cars they may no longer be sensible but I doubt the government will change it.
Even if you set it to 100 mph Mr BMW driver will still go faster.....(other makes of cars driven by inconsiderate idiots are available) more important is traffic/weather/road conditions etc. On an open motorway with no traffic it is safer to travel at a faster
speed but on the same road with lots of traffic even the speed limit is too fast.Its a bit like clothes dress for the weather not the season, on roads drive for the conditions not the limit.
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speed limits have not changed for decades they remain what they were when cars had drum brakes and caravans had no stability control. I would rather tow at 70 with my modern outfit than tow a 70s caravan with a Vauxhall viva at 60 mph. Its crazy that speed
limits are what they are, apart from a few exceptions such as near schools etc0 -
Was towing my caravan down the M5 recently doing the usual 60 mph when a gurt big lorry decided he was going to overtake me, Now if he wants to well thats fine BUT he decided that he was going to do it at 61 mph ish which meant I had this darn huge lump to my right causing all sorts of turbulence. I have seen loads of lorries doing very similar and it makes my blood boil
What did I do ? I accelerated to about 65 mph just to get away from him. What did he do ? Gave me a blast on his horn thats what he did. :- Numpty.
Write your comments here...I thought lorries (HGV's at least) had limiters for 56 mph? They also have tachographs to prove what speed they are doing?
As for safe speeds 70mph is not safe nor is 30 they are just the legal speeed limits intriduced inthe 1970's in response to the oil shortage. Nowadays with modern technology on cars they may no longer be sensible but I doubt the government will change it. Even if you set it to 100 mph Mr BMW driver will still go faster.....(other makes of cars driven by inconsiderate idiots are available) more important is traffic/weather/road conditions etc. On an open motorway with no traffic it is safer to travel at a faster speed but on the same road with lots of traffic even the speed limit is too fast.
Its a bit like clothes dress for the weather not the season, on roads drive for the conditions not the limit.
Write your comments here...A couple of years ago the max speed limits fr HGVs was upped to 50mph on single cariageways and 60mph on duel and m/ways
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Let me tell you all what I witnessed in Spain a few weeks ago. We were travelling solo on a motorway near the French border at about 70 mph. A Belgium regisrered Berlingo towing a smallish caravan overtook me and I guess he was doing 75 +. For the few
minutes he was ahead of me every time he passed a HGV he developed a violent swing and not surprisingly when he had a particularly violent swing his offside caravan tyre disintegrated spewing rubber, wheel arching and various colours of insulation etc over
the road. Fortunatley, he was able to bring his outfit safely to a halt but before then cars, including myself, had to swerve around this debris and he could easily have overturned with catastophic implication for himself and other road users. I know that
there were probably many causes for this incident, old tyres, bad loading etc; BUT the prime cause was his speed. The speed limits are there for a purpose ignore them at your peril and the risk of harming over road users.0 -
BUT the prime cause was his speed. The speed limits are there for a purpose ignore them at your peril and the risk of harming over road users.
Write your comments here...how do you know that? He may have hit some debris, as you say worn tyre or even not the right tyre for his van but you cannot say it was speed that caused the blow out.
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Of course I am not 100% sure that there may not have been other factors in this incident and I said so in my post. Yes, he may have hit some debris, but we were about 200mtrs behind him at the time of his blow out and the road was clear he was in the middle
lane. But as I said, before his blow out he had violent swings everytime he passed HGVs and he was doing in excess of 75mph. I am just trying to stop any support for speeding by pointing out what could happen to you. We are very experienced caravanners
(over 45 years) and could see what was likely to happen.0 -
Was towing my caravan down the M5 recently doing the usual 60 mph when a gurt big lorry decided he was going to overtake me, Now if he wants to well thats fine BUT he decided that he was going to do it at 61 mph ish which meant I had this darn huge lump
to my right causing all sorts of turbulence. I have seen loads of lorries doing very similar and it makes my blood boilWhat did I do ? I accelerated to about 65 mph just to get away from him. What did he do ? Gave me a blast on his horn thats what he did. :- Numpty.
You did right, accelerate and get rid of the ignorant lump. They should all be confined to the inner lane so I can go sailing on unimpeded
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We were driving north to Ripon on the A1 on Sunday in our SLK at a steady 70mph (unusual for the A1 I know) but there was a caravan about 1/2 mile up the road from us that we simply simply weren't catching - so eventually being intrigued, foot goes down
and it was a Transit pulling at a steady 70 for mile after mile... I guess being so high there isn't as much drag/wind resistance either.0
