new set of premium tires this summer as well

I did a lot of research and decided on Michelin Defenders. Quite happy with that choice.

I drive very few miles, but own two cars: My '99 Saturn SC-1 which I got in 2008 with 108,000 miles on it, and my mother's 2002 Toyota Camry, which she bought new with 4 miles on it. I just remember what my grandfather always said: "Keep up with that oil", and change the oil in both cars every 6 months regardless of mileage.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

new set of premium tires this summer as well

I did a lot of research and decided on Michelin Defenders. Quite happy with that choice.

I drive very few miles, but own two cars: My '99 Saturn SC-1 which I got in 2008 with 108,000 miles on it, and my mother's 2002 Toyota Camry, which she bought new with 4 miles on it. I just remember what my grandfather always said: "Keep up with that oil", and change the oil in both cars every 6 months regardless of mileage.

Funny you should mention the Michelins...........
I actually did a little bit of preliminary research this winter and was headed right in that very direction.
And oil changing is highly underrated. Most important thing you can do for a car. And do not forget the filter as well.
Meow!

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

When I buy tires, I buy inexpensive ones, th e tires I have seem to follow the rain groves a bit, otherwise they work ok.

Right now I'm heating some water for dinner, I'm having spaghetti. I think that I have enough cheese, and I know I have enough sauce for 2 more times, but cheese and tylenol, I'll find out I guess.

Beer and cheese and snow.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

And yes, Semis are a law unto themselves, kind of like a rhino is...

this is a universal thing... taxis and bus drivers have their own as well here...

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this is a universal thing... taxis and bus drivers have their own as well here.

Worst of all are cyclists a good number don't stick to the highway code , going through red lights etc like they are so much better than everybody else . They are the most dangerous and they will come off worst in a crash but it won't be their fault ( put money on that !!!)

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Life is what you make of it :-)

When i'm good i'm very good , but when i'm bad i'm shi#eloads better ;-) In't I " buttercups " p.m.s.l at authoritie !!;-)

the law here is very simple: it's the fault of the person with the most wheels (humans > bike > car > truck > ... )

so let's say someone decided to take a leap of faith, and landed on your parked car, guess who's at fault? as I said, very simple :)

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the law here is very simple: it's the fault of the person with the most wheels (humans > bike > car > truck > ... )

so let's say someone decided to take a leap of faith, and landed on your parked car, guess who's at fault? as I said, very simple :)

He wanted to become a pavement pattie and your car was in the way. So you are at fault!?

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And yes, Semis are a law unto themselves, kind of like a rhino is...

Yes, and how many people jump up and down if their parcels are late or something they want is not on the shelf!!!

You want to try driving a Semi and seeing some of the risks some people take right in front of our wheels, sometimes its very hard to be polite after you have been carved up or have been expected to get out of the way of someone in an obvious hurry for the umpteenth time and thats before breakfast.

What most people forget is that virtually everything from the bricks and mortar that they live in, the clothes on their backs, the food they eat, and even the car they drive plus the fuel they put in it was at some time transported on the back of one of these Semis.

And for those in the UK, I may have been the nut behind the wheel:-)

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Kevin

The whole idea of merging lanes, is, well, to merge.
It's not up to the traffic on the main road to swerve out of your way when you pull in to traffic, nor should they have to hit the brakes to avoid hitting you- merging traffic should get up to speed, then merge in to a gap.
People expecting a car, let alone a truck, to swerve to avoid a merging vehicle, or to jam on their brakes to avoid hitting one means they really shouldn't be driving. And if there's not enough room between you & the vehicle in front of you for someone to merge then you're too damn close to the vehicle in front.

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Grant
Darwin NT

On one stretch of fwy, an old one in CA, the 110 from from the i10 northward is now forbidden to have semis on it anymore, as that is the Arroyo Seco Parkway, a very tight stretch, 3 lanes each way, which has very short on and off ramps, and the parkway is about as wide as it will ever be, otherwise the Arroyo Seco valley would be all parkway, and no houses anymore, the parkway used to be a fwy, it's just too old and twisty. Though it is good for Motorcycles, sport bikes like Ninjas.

Drive it 5.5 days a week. For as long as I can remember from the 101 just north of Downtown LA to Glenarm St. in Pasadena has been a no trucks zone. I remember this from before I had a drivers license.
Checking http://www.dot.ca.gov/trafficops/trucks/docs/truckmap-d07.pdf It doesn't have a begin date so it is very old restriction, and it indicates "no commercial vehicles over 6,000 Lbs GVR" which covers some SUV size vehicles.

Despite this published no no and numerous signs, nearly every week I see some fool in a 53' STAA rig driving it. As long as he drives the entire segment from the 101 through Glenarm he can get through provided he isn't over 13'6" tall. Caltrans allows regular scheduled bus routes with a special signed agreement too, such as an Airport Shuttle. Of course the LASD jail buses make the run as well. I've seen a couple rigs jackknife trying to make the on and off ramps. I bet that gets expensive having to get a big-rig tow to haul you out plus it will attract the cops, you will get a ticket for sure, because you will block the ramp for an hour or more waiting for the tow. Those ramps date almost from the horse and buggy days so they are built for vehicles of that day which were very short compared to modern standards.

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My Lancia Y is a 2002 Vintage. I had to change the control module (Centralina) this year and the two forward shock absorbers. A friend of mine had a 1938 vintage Lancia Aprilia and he had to scrap it when he went to work for Fiat. They would not accept a Lancia in their parking lot. Now Fiat (FCA of Sergio Marchionne) owns also Lancia. But a Lancia is always a Lancia, which was respected by Henry Ford.
Tullio

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the law here is very simple: it's the fault of the person with the most wheels (humans > bike > car > truck > ... )

so let's say someone decided to take a leap of faith, and landed on your parked car, guess who's at fault? as I said, very simple :)

He wanted to become a pavement pattie and your car was in the way. So you are at fault!?

yes :)

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But you can imagine someone suddenly seeing it, slamming the brakes on, and the car behind rear-endng it.

Cash 4 crash scam anyone ??

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Life is what you make of it :-)

When i'm good i'm very good , but when i'm bad i'm shi#eloads better ;-) In't I " buttercups " p.m.s.l at authoritie !!;-)

Very many drivers either were not taught or have forgotten the basic rules of 'right of way' or 'yield'.
I was almost crashed into the other night coming home from work when a driver coming at me, making a left turn did not realize that I, making a right turn, had the right of way and turned right in front of me, oblivious to the fact the a right turn has right of way over a left turning driver.
Good thing it was not summertime with all the windows down, or he may have heard my wrath.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

Yes, and how many people jump up and down if their parcels are late or something they want is not on the shelf!!!

All of us!!! But that is mainly due to JIT ordering procedures to save warehouse space, , not bad driving.

Deadlines can be very tight and carry penalty's if they are missed, bad drivers don't last very long in this game.

You want to try driving a Semi and seeing some of the risks some people take right in front of our wheels

I'd love to have a go but not on public roads! To be fair it is 50/50. Artics do tend to act as if I'm bigger than you, so YOU get out of MY way. On the other hand people as you say do stupid things. I avoid getting too close to artics as I know their braking distance is more than my car, and if they jack-knife you don't want to be in the way!

The easy part nowdays is driving on the road, modern trucks are as easy to drive as most cars, yes you have to make some allowances for your vehicle size but the most important part is to think ahead, to not allow a situation to get out of control. Actually experienced motor bike riders make good truck drivers, although filtering with an artic is not recommended.

We do at times use the size of our vehicle to remind people that we ARE bigger than they are, especially when we DO actually have right of way, One of the first things that you would learn is that other drivers will try to push you around and the more that they get away with it the worse they get.

There are a lot of drivers out there that think we are just a nuisance on the roads rather than the lifeblood of industry.

What most people forget is that virtually everything from the bricks and mortar that they live in, the clothes on their backs, the food they eat, and even the car they drive plus the fuel they put in it was at some time transported on the back of one of these Semis.

Yes that is true, because rail freight is not as versatile right up to the final point of delivery. Time was when every town had a goods siding, mainly for coal trains, but also other goods. But there is a resurgence in Rail Freight, which could mean in time road haulage greatly diminishing.

I will believe that when I see it, most of the rail system is working at maximum capacity, most rail connected towns have not got the space now for goods handling at the stations or in the immediate area and why did the post office stop using rail transport.

As you mentioned above so much nowdays is JIT, small amounts on a regular basis not large quantity's into storage, rail freight needs large volumes between fixed places to be economical.

The Department for Transport's Transport Ten Year Plan calls for an 80% increase in rail freight measured from a 2000–1 base. By the year 2015 rail-borne intermodal traffic is scheduled to double, and by 2030 the whole of rail freight is expected to double at 50.4 billion tonne km

Useful article

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Kevin

This happened a good few years ago in my local area.

After complaints about bad driving and speeding by truck drivers in the area around Tilbury docks, a senior police officer was asked to investigate.

Several months later he was asked how the investigation was going on.

His unguarded reply went something like this

95 % of truck drivers are very good, the rest are so bl**dy good we cannot catch them.

Said police officer got reprimanded after his comments got printed in local newspaper.

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Kevin

95 % of truck drivers are very good, the rest are so bl**dy good we cannot catch them.

That is the funniest comment I have ever read on these boards.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

Very many drivers either were not taught or have forgotten the basic rules of 'right of way' or 'yield'.
I was almost crashed into the other night coming home from work when a driver coming at me, making a left turn did not realize that I, making a right turn, had the right of way and turned right in front of me, oblivious to the fact the a right turn has right of way over a left turning driver.
Good thing it was not summertime with all the windows down, or he may have heard my wrath.

The "yield" law does vary from state to state. I learned to drive in Wisconsin, and was taught that the right of way was the same for right turn as straight ahead. Here in Maryland, most right turns have a yield sign, so a left turn does have the right of way. I still have a hard time with it. If I'm making a left turn, I'm timing that the right turn can complete his maneuver without obstructing me, however here in Maryland, everybody stops at a yield sign. Drives me nuts.

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But never fear when Amazon gets its drones sorted out, road & rail transport won't be needed any more :-))))

And when that comes to pass i will personaly be "takin em out" with my air rifle if they come near my house mate !!

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Life is what you make of it :-)

When i'm good i'm very good , but when i'm bad i'm shi#eloads better ;-) In't I " buttercups " p.m.s.l at authoritie !!;-)

JIT is not that much of an issue compared to the bane of the transport industry - WIN/WIR.

I've only ever failed 2 deliveries. The 1st in Shillingford. Arrived at customers home just after 10am & last drop of the day. No answer. Customer was informed by head office of day of delivery. Called customer & get told: "Sorry, you weren't here when I wanted it so you'll have to wait until I get home at 4pm.

2nd was in Saffron Walden. Arrived & no answer. Customer went to work in London even though they had ben told day of delivery. Called customer & got told: "You'll have to delivery it when I'm ready".

As for Amazon & their drones, in your dreams!

Drones delivering an American walk in fridge - 7'6" Valetto sofa - 120kg wardrobe - 120kg glass cabinet, will be totally hilarious asides from the dangerous aspect of course :-)

Road transport will always be needed with the men/women to do the work.