Lorry nearly hit by train after ice skid

[Kryten2340]

I'm sure there's plenty of cases of this today but nonetheless a stark reminder to take extra care in icy conditions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-30625622

A lorry came within inches of hitting a 120mph (193kmph) mainline train after skidding on ice in County Durham, police have said.

The HGV was approaching the East Coast mainline level crossing at Hett Mill on Sunday when it slid down a hill.

Durham Police said the driver was moving cautiously but could do little on the ice.

The vehicle came to rest against the closed barrier just as a mainline train passed by at 120mph (193kmph).

A police spokesman said: "If the HGV was travelling any faster and the driver not being cautious the outcome could have been very different.

"Luckily, albeit shaken, the driver of the HGV was uninjured."

Rail services through the area were delayed whilst the barrier was repaired.

The spokesman said: "This is a stark reminder that you must take extra care in icy conditions."

 

[markindurham]

For once it seems that the media have reported this incident correctly, so well done to them. I know the road & level crossing concerned quite well; this could have been very much worse, as the approach is quite steep. Good work by the driver in approaching with caution; not all drivers using that road do

 

[Bodiddly]

Shouldn't the approach we see in the picture have the high friction asphalt coating applied? I would have thought that a road coming down a hill towards a level crossing would be classed as a higher risk.

 

[Zamracene749]

Shouldn't the approach we see in the picture have the high friction asphalt coating applied? I would have thought that a road coming down a hill towards a level crossing would be classed as a higher risk.

The tarmac itself actually ends a few yards the other side of the crossing. The road is a vehicular dead end that only serves two farms so i'd imagine the usage wouldn't justify it. Having said that, after this incident who knows!

PS is the line speed really 125mph at that point? (It's about 4 miles south of Durham)?

 

[Darandio]

PS is the line speed really 125mph at that point? (It's about 4 miles south of Durham)?

120, but the change in speed limit from 100 isn't far from the crossing so trains would be either reducing or just increasing from that limit. 100 is more than enough where this is concerned though!

 

[Class 170101]

One very lucky lorry driver.

 

[markindurham]

One very lucky lorry driver.

And train driver, crew and passengers...

 

[jon0844]

Slightly off topic, but this year for the first time (but meaning to do it for some time before, having driven in Sweden) we fitted winter tyres to our car - just a couple of weeks back.

The difference in driving is quite amazing. The tyres feel like glue and I am starting to think that we should perhaps be encouraging more people to fit them in the winter, perhaps with incentives like a reduction in insurance premiums?

Maybe some foreign lorries have them fitted, but I doubt many people here would otherwise.. and if people think having a 4x4 is better, I'd say 2WD with winter tyres will probably be better in most cases - followed by a 4x4 with winter tyres!

Do any bus, coach or haulage firms fit these as a matter of course here? For one thing, it might keep buses running that bit longer when conditions worsen.

(Nb: Winter tyres are not the same as snow tyres with studs, but still markedly better than even a new set of ordinary tyres with maximum tread).

 

[Delta558]

I agree, it would be great to be able to go and swap tyres just like that. However, for my primary vehicle (4x4 because silly shifts and lots of hills = untreated roads when I go to or come home from work) I'd be looking at spending over £400 just for the tyres and fitting. That's a lot of money for anyone to spend as an initial outlay for only a few days.

I know they work well up to about 7 degrees, but really if people are going to be persuaded to go to the expense of fitting them, they need to be cheaper and we need more days where the difference is noticeable. Quite frankly, I've driven my rear-wheel drive historic vehicle on summer tyres through snow and ice over the last few winters and been more concerned about other drivers than about the ability of the vehicle to stay on the road in the 'treacherous' conditions we occasionally suffer.

 

[jon0844]

There are a few companies specialising in offering affordable winter tyres, and will store your summer tyres - or wheels if you opt for a second set of wheels completely. Volvo, BMW and others now offer them through dealerships as they clearly see that there's a need in the UK now. Perhaps more in the north, but certainly not only there as I can testify to just by looking out of my window.

I was going to change the wheels for some cheap steels, and then swap myself every six months or whatever, but the car needs 17 inch steels to clear the brakes so the savings weren't that great and they'd have looked ugly! So we just changed the tyres in the end, and the garage is storing them for free (but will charge £40-50 to swap them back over next year).

There's obviously an initial outlay, but I'm also going to be wearing my summer tyres at a lower rate now, and so it should balance out. The real cost being the change, but given there was a nasty wobble/vibration at 60-70mph that has now gone, suggesting I needed my wheels looked at anyway, I'm not too bothered.

I also think we'll have cold weather for more than a few days over the next few months.

Edit: I did some searching to find out more about these tyres on warmer days and found this interesting review/opinion piece: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Winter-Tyres-Real-World-Experiences.htm

That will be the only issue; when to change back. My summer tyres have good dry and wet ratings, so this is clearly going to be more of a problem with our changing temperatures that aren't anywhere near as consistent or as predictable as, say, Sweden.

 

[90019]

The trick is to not wait until December to suddenly decide you need winter tyres and pay a fortune for the cheap chinese sh*t the big chain tyre shops stock.
I'd rather have a decent set of mid range or premium summer tyres on my car during the winter than a set of budget winter ones.


I bought a set of second hand alloys and some good winter tyres (Hankook I'cept RS) for my Polo at a total cost of about £170 and I change the wheels over myself, which takes about 45 minutes.

 

[LAX54]

Slightly off topic, but this year for the first time (but meaning to do it for some time before, having driven in Sweden) we fitted winter tyres to our car - just a couple of weeks back.

The difference in driving is quite amazing. The tyres feel like glue and I am starting to think that we should perhaps be encouraging more people to fit them in the winter, perhaps with incentives like a reduction in insurance premiums?

Maybe some foreign lorries have them fitted, but I doubt many people here would otherwise.. and if people think having a 4x4 is better, I'd say 2WD with winter tyres will probably be better in most cases - followed by a 4x4 with winter tyres!

Do any bus, coach or haulage firms fit these as a matter of course here? For one thing, it might keep buses running that bit longer when conditions worsen.

(Nb: Winter tyres are not the same as snow tyres with studs, but still markedly better than even a new set of ordinary tyres with maximum tread).

sorry... even more off topic: If you go to Germany in the Winter months, then Winter Tyres are Mandatory for everyone including overseas visitors, if you get caught without them, there is a fine, and the Police can take you to a garage to have them fitted, plus id you in an accident and they find you have ordinary tyres fitted, you will be found to be at least partially guilty of the accident regardless of whether you were or not ! Not sure how it affects the tourist industry, I am suremmay would not wish to pay another £400+ to fit such things for a week's holiday !

 

[DownSouth]

Not sure how it affects the tourist industry, I am suremmay would not wish to pay another £400+ to fit such things for a week's holiday !

Lots of €€€€€ in profit for hire car operators who can jack up their prices?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The tarmac itself actually ends a few yards the other side of the crossing. The road is a vehicular dead end that only serves two farms so i'd imagine the usage wouldn't justify it. Having said that, after this incident who knows!

The next person to drive down there might not be as skilled as this driver was, and the potential outcome would probably justify the rather minimal expenditure on a short section of anti-slip coating.

 

[Haydn1971]

Shouldn't the approach we see in the picture have the high friction asphalt coating applied? I would have thought that a road coming down a hill towards a level crossing would be classed as a higher risk.

High Friction Surfacing wouldn't help if it was covered in ice - all HFS does is raise the skidding resistance up from a typical 45-55 PSV to above 68 PSV - you can achieve 65-68 with a good stone content though. Criteria for application comes from numbers of commercial vehicles using the section of road and the risk factors in normal conditions - from experience, I doubt this site would meet the criteria, but that wouldn't prevent HFS from being laid if the local highways team felt there would be benefits or had their arm twisted by local pressure. Even a thin layer of ice a couple of millimetres thick would render HFS as useless as standard surfacing.

 

[Antman]

There are a few companies specialising in offering affordable winter tyres, and will store your summer tyres - or wheels if you opt for a second set of wheels completely. Volvo, BMW and others now offer them through dealerships as they clearly see that there's a need in the UK now. Perhaps more in the north, but certainly not only there as I can testify to just by looking out of my window.

I was going to change the wheels for some cheap steels, and then swap myself every six months or whatever, but the car needs 17 inch steels to clear the brakes so the savings weren't that great and they'd have looked ugly! So we just changed the tyres in the end, and the garage is storing them for free (but will charge £40-50 to swap them back over next year).

There's obviously an initial outlay, but I'm also going to be wearing my summer tyres at a lower rate now, and so it should balance out. The real cost being the change, but given there was a nasty wobble/vibration at 60-70mph that has now gone, suggesting I needed my wheels looked at anyway, I'm not too bothered.

I also think we'll have cold weather for more than a few days over the next few months.

Edit: I did some searching to find out more about these tyres on warmer days and found this interesting review/opinion piece: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Winter-Tyres-Real-World-Experiences.htm

That will be the only issue; when to change back. My summer tyres have good dry and wet ratings, so this is clearly going to be more of a problem with our changing temperatures that aren't anywhere near as consistent or as predictable as, say, Sweden.

The usual argument is that we don't have enough bad weather in this country to justify the expense.

Looking at that photo of the lorry...........scarey stuff!!

 

[talldave]

The trick is to not wait until December to suddenly decide you need winter tyres and pay a fortune for the cheap chinese sh*t the big chain tyre shops stock.
I'd rather have a decent set of mid range or premium summer tyres on my car during the winter than a set of budget winter ones.


I bought a set of second hand alloys and some good winter tyres (Hankook I'cept RS) for my Polo at a total cost of about £170 and I change the wheels over myself, which takes about 45 minutes.

I found a second set of alloys for my wife's Smart on ebay and fitted Continental WinterContact tyres. Best thing I ever did - they stay on approximately December - April. Changing all four wheels on a Smart takes me about 10-15 minutes.

If it snows, I either use my wife's car or walk/take the train. I leave my rear wheel drive automatic beast in the drive!!

 

[jon0844]

The usual argument is that we don't have enough bad weather in this country to justify the expense.

Same argument I had with people in the 1990s when talking up air conditioning in cars, which of course is pretty much standard now. And all for just one or two hot days a year....

For over ten years we've had air conditioning in our house (albeit just the noisy portable units, not a split system) and people think we're mad as it's 'just a few days'. Funny thing is, I can recall many hot sticky nights in bed (and, sadly, not always in a sexy way!) where the aircon has been a godsend and know plenty of people who moan about the heat (going by Facebook and other social media).

Give it 5 or 10 years and we'll probably have more people using them, and see a marked reduction in accidents as a result.

 

[rf_ioliver]

Ah Winter Tyres Come to Finland...

Compulsory from December to end of February but usually necessary from October through to April or even May depending on the weather and where you live.

They come in two types: friction and studded - the latter being more common and better (big arguments pending overall, though some say the friction are better for city driving.

Cost of a second set is the same as a set of normal summer tyres. Cost to change: 30 eur or you do it yourself for free in an hour or less. Some garages will provide storage of whichever set is not in use - no idea how much this costs, someone else pays

As for driving in Winter with summer tyres...forget it. If you managed to arrive here via Sweden and the ferry to Helsinki or Turku, then assuming you did actually manage to cross Sweden without an accident you're not going to get much further than a few meters off the ferry. The cost of towing your car (or pulling it out of the water) is going to be much more than any fine from the police.

t.

Ian

 

[jon0844]

No storage charge for our tyres, and I believe many places will store for free. If not, shop around.

I do think opinions will change. But we do still have to get over the misguided belief that four wheel drive makes you invincible in snow and ice (but with ordinary summer tyres). Brand new tyres with maximum tread might be better than more worn ones, but there's still no comparison.

Rest assured, if and when we get snow you'll see people in their Range Rovers and X5s etc racing around, and being rescued from ditches later.

 

[atillathehunn]

Lots of €€€€€ in profit for hire car operators who can jack up their prices?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The next person to drive down there might not be as skilled as this driver was, and the potential outcome would probably justify the rather minimal expenditure on a short section of anti-slip coating.

I've not particularly noticed them put the prices up. I rented a van from Aachen the other day and there was no extra charge for tires and the price was pretty much the same as when I rented the same size van from the same place in the summer. I think when it is a legal requirement it is at least immoral to charge more for compliance.

And even changing to winter tyres on a private car is not as much. I can't speak for all cars etc, but at a garage near Cologne I believe it was just under €40 per tyre for a Ford Fiesta. Storage was included in the price, though storing at home is also common outside the city.

 

[mikey9]

Here in the Highlands there are a significant number (guess 30%) of cars in the car park with winter tyres on with a significant increase after a bad winter 4(?) years ago.
I had a lift in a mountain rescue friends C-Max up a ridiculously slippy/icy farm track (think days of polishing by tractor and trailer) - couldn't believe the ability so bought myself some steel wheels (£35 each) for our Berlingo. Tyres (quality Dunlop Winter SPort 3d) were about £55 each and are now on their 3rd winter.
Store the others on their rims in our garage and swap over in 45 mins on the drive. Winters on first week of December - prob off in April.
I do notice a lot who leave them on all year.
Grip is significantly better (I go out and test them on a local empty straight untreated road to remind myself where the limit is).

Until you have tried them - I don't think you really grasp the difference (and Summer tyres really are completely different in rubber compound and tread pattern).

And ALL 4 wheels - not just the driving wheels (have a look online for some entertaining tests on FWD and RWD shod only on the driving wheels!).

 

[rf_ioliver]

Rest assured, if and when we get snow you'll see people in their Range Rovers and X5s etc racing around, and being rescued from ditches later.

I think this is a universal fact...

t.

Ian