Setting off slow

[NH1]

I'm sure I will get flamed for venturing into this section but I have a genuine question. I'm sure it never used to be this bad years ago but when trucks set off from traffic lights they have barely got the arse end of the trailer through the junction before the lights are red again, obviously this is even worse if its on a slight incline.

Its almost as if the driver has put it into second? the instant the wheels have started rolling, it is anoying if you are stuck behind one.

Are they underpowered compared to what they used to be, are the drivers under instruction to take it easy and save fuel or are they simply overloaded nowadays?

[AF1]

A combination of more traffic so the lights seem to change a lot quicker these days and some of the horrid auto boxes on the market today in my opinion.

[loko]

if its an auto box ( which i.d say about 90% are nowadays) then when setting off heavy the auto will always use a lower gear to preserve the life of the drivetrain, i usually stick it in manual mode and skip a gear to get it rolling quicker, although a lot of big fleets have the manual intervention disabled to save fuel

[grumpy52]

Another cause in london especially is letting cyclists get out of the way.

[ZR1cliff]

grumpy52 said:

Another cause in london especially is letting cyclists get out of the way.

This. F*ck rushing if it saves lives.

[grumpy52]

ZR1cliff said:

grumpy52 said:

Another cause in london especially is letting cyclists get out of the way.

This. F*ck rushing if it saves lives.

Hell yes, imagine the carnage if us truckers drove even 25% as bad as a) we are accused of ,b) most of the cyclists do .

[iva cosworth]

grumpy52 said:

Another cause in london especially is letting cyclists get out of the way.

Especially when you have up to 15-20 in front,left,right,everywhere.

Regularly get that many on A24,A3 Tooting,Balham ,Clapham in the mornings.

I also pull away quite slow if block changing 1st to 3rd.

[agent006]

Lots of fleets measuring and tracking drivers MPG now. If you're nailing it away from every set of lights then you'll be in for a chat.

[Plastic chicken]

Trucks rarely, if ever, take off in first gear (only if you were heading up Ben Nevis with a full load); it's usually 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th, depending on weight, & if heading uphill or not. Some auto 'boxes respond more quickly than others; from memory the Merc is a particularly slow take-off. Also, you lose a lot of momentum during low-speed gear changes. By the time the back of the wagon's through the lights, it's probably changed gear twice already.

[grumpy52]

Things are also not helped by the timing of a lot of traffic lights
Many around London are only green for 15 seconds or less during rush hours.
Many are not coordinated with those at nearby junctions .
TFL do a wonderful job

......NOT !!

[GC8]

I can remember when eight wheel tippers had seven litre engines producing 240bhp (not that long ago, although I were only a lad). That's 240bhp to pull 32 tonnes. Similarly articulated tractors might be pulling 40 tonnes with 280bhp.

Most drivers would feel had done-by now if they only had 280bhp in a six wheeler. 380bhp in a 32 tonne rigid is regarded as relatively pedestrian now, despite being 100bhp more than many articulated vehicles had which were pulling a good deal more.

lorries are certainly not less powerful than they used to be. Life is faster, of course.

[s p a c e m a n]

A lot of the manual trucks (looking at you scania, you annoying piece of st) set off really slow because they have clutch save. It stops you from slipping the clutch in any way so you end up starting in 1st gear if you're heavy, can't accelerate whilst your foot is anywhere near the clutch so you pull away from the bottom of the rev range.