On Thu, 23 Oct 2008, Boltar wrote:

On Oct 23, 12:40 am, wrote:

The problems are lack of mirror coverage of their near sides made worse by
high driving positions and lack of any or adequate under-run protection.

The high driving positions are due to the large engine that has to be
accomodated at the front. You can't put the cab in front of it because
of length restrictions , or rather you could, but then the trailer
would have to be shorter reducing the max load.

They could put the engine on top of the cab.

That would make the transmission a bit complicated, though.

tom

--
Virtually everything you touch has been mined. -- Prof Keith Atkinson

On Oct 23, 3:25 pm, Tom Anderson wrote:
They could put the engine on top of the cab.

That would make the transmission a bit complicated, though.

Would probably look quite good though I suppose in theory they
could have the engine offset to one side and have a one person only
cab on the other side at the same level. Though I suspect HGV drivers
actually like their high up view lording it over the rest of us

B2003

Boltar wrote:
On Oct 23, 3:25 pm, Tom Anderson wrote:
They could put the engine on top of the cab.

That would make the transmission a bit complicated, though.

Would probably look quite good though I suppose in theory they
could have the engine offset to one side and have a one person only
cab on the other side at the same level. Though I suspect HGV drivers
actually like their high up view lording it over the rest of us

Yes. And for that reason such a design wouldn't sell, unless made
compulsory.

I'd have the driver in front of the engine and under the load -
containers ride higher than the roof of many cars.

This would improve forward and side visibility, and stop the driver
feeling superior.

Also he would know that in a severe collision he'd get the engine in his
back followed by the load on his head!

Colin McKenzie


--
No-one has ever proved that cycle helmets make cycling any safer at the
population level, and anyway cycling is about as safe per mile as walking.
Make an informed choice - visit www.cyclehelmets.org.

On Oct 23, 5:13 pm, Colin McKenzie wrote:
Boltar wrote:
On Oct 23, 3:25 pm, Tom Anderson wrote:
They could put the engine on top of the cab.

That would make the transmission a bit complicated, though.

Would probably look quite good though I suppose in theory they
could have the engine offset to one side and have a one person only
cab on the other side at the same level. Though I suspect HGV drivers
actually like their high up view lording it over the rest of us

Yes. And for that reason such a design wouldn't sell, unless made
compulsory.

Well , it has other problems in that he'd have bugger all visibility
on one side which would make the situation with regards to cyclists
and every other road user worse , not better.

This would improve forward and side visibility, and stop the driver
feeling superior.

Wouldn't do much for stability though with the load up high.

Also he would know that in a severe collision he'd get the engine in his
back followed by the load on his head!

It probably would make the more gung ho drivers a bit more reserved ,
but the extra height would probably be an issue. Things could be worse
though - we could have bonneted trucks like in the states where the
driver has 6 foot of engine between him and whatever he hits.

B2003

On 24 Oct, 09:30, Boltar wrote:
It probably would make the more gung ho drivers a bit more reserved ,
but the extra height would probably be an issue. Things could be worse
though - we could have bonneted trucks like in the states where the
driver has 6 foot of engine between him and whatever he hits.

You could always put the engine behind the cab:
http://www.lkw-infos.eu/images/oldti...16320-(MN).jpg

U

On Oct 24, 9:53 am, Mr Thant
wrote:

You could always put the engine behind the cab:http://www.lkw-infos.eu/images/oldti...hre/Buessing-2...

It looks a bit vulnerable slung under the frame. Probably why its not
done anymore.

B2003

On Thu, Oct 23, 2008 at 07:40:02AM -0700, Boltar wrote:

Would probably look quite good though I suppose in theory they
could have the engine offset to one side and have a one person only
cab on the other side at the same level. Though I suspect HGV drivers
actually like their high up view lording it over the rest of us

Dunno if they like lording it over the rest of us, but they do like to
be able to see to both sides. Cyclists do too, as it means that the
lorry driver has at least *some* chance of seeing the suicidal idiots
trying to overtake on the left.

--
David Cantrell | Cake Smuggler Extraordinaire

Featu an incorrectly implemented bug