A Bad Situation Made Worse

[Zomb Lee]

So...I'm leaving Bern in Sweden with 21 tons of Rice loaded onto my Iveco Hi-Way. I've not driven this route often, and I think when I did I had a much lighter trailer and I was going towards Bern and not away from it. Anyways, I come to a part in the roads where we begin to find some heavy S curves and the like. I am going slow and able to control my truck with no issues, except for the fact that I was almost in a head on collision with a blue Volvo who crossed into my lane. A Very near miss. The roads straighten out and I keep on going and I find myself staying around 45 to 50 MPH as the road is straight but narrow.

 

Suddenly I come up to a part of the road that just drops off into a blind crest over a very very steep downcline leading to...yep, you guessed it, a four way intersection that is absolutely loaded with trucks. I was going around 50 MPH at this point...I should've been going slower because I was not familiar with the road...so I'm at fault...but it only gets better. I turn on my engine brake and apply wheel brakes. I'm not slowing down. I mash the brake pedal to the floor and continue to lean on the engine brake button, I begin to slow down, but I only just barely stop IN THE MIDDLE of the damn 4-way intersection where apparently, someone was already off the road. All four ways were occupied, and because my turn was to the left, I needed to give right of way, but due to the fact that for whatever reason my brakes were not working, I had already essentially forced myself through a mass group of drivers and one guy who was desperately trying to get off the grass back onto the road. Now I'm essentially blocking the intersection, so I had no choice but to clear it as carefully as possible

 

Needless to say I was absolutely embarrassed and I have never driven like such an a**hole before in my life. My air pressure lines were fine, what the hell was wrong with my truck? I know 21 tons is a bit heavy, and I was probably speeding a bit for the situation, but I've never not had control like that before.

 

I pulled over to the side and checked my control settings. Somehow, my settings had changed with my Driving Force GT's pedals, and my braking deadzone was about halfway, and braking intensity in the game options tab was all the way to the left...basically off.

 

I don't know what changed my settings, but I do know that I feel like a massive jerk for forcing my way through a packed intersection. So to any of those drivers that might read this: I'm sorry.

 

Bad luck like this is gonna end up getting me banned...

[Monstruongo]

So, you weren't banned.. Just ashamed for what happened?

 

Nice redaction, worth reading, felt like I was on the passenger seat

 

 

 

Regards!

[Nick]

Bern in Sweden

 

Sweden

Sweden

Sweden

[konfig0]

Nice thread to read!

[DannLock]

Sweden

Sweden

Sweden

Where is Bern at?

[Wolfpig]

Where is Bern at?

it is at least not in Sweden....if that answer is not enough....look at a map

[NoTime4name]

This is just a really unfortunate situation that you got in, nothing you could've done about it. Don't worry, that's life.

 

Where is Bern at?

Switzerland.

[Zomb Lee]

Thanks guys for the kind words.

 

As for the whole mess up with Bern being in Switzerland...you have my apologies. I'm from the US and not every good at Geography, so I should've had the map open in front of me as I typed, lol.

 

 

Anyways, glad to know that sometimes I'm not the only one to have a bad day behind the wheel. 

[Nick]

Thanks guys for the kind words.

 

As for the whole mess up with Bern being in Switzerland...you have my apologies. I'm from the US and not every good at Geography, so I should've had the map open in front of me as I typed, lol.

 

 

Anyways, glad to know that sometimes I'm not the only one to have a bad day behind the wheel. 

 

No problem, I just wanted to be funny. I didn't mean to sound rude, sorry if you felt offended 

[GC_Stealth]

Having a retarder would have helped massively in this situation

[Zomb Lee]

Having a retarder would have helped massively in this situation

 

Oh trust me, I love my engine brake, and I use it extensively, and it's the only thing that stopped me at all, since my brake pedal settings were borked. In fact, I'd say I probably over-use my engine brake and that's very likely why I didn't notice my wheel brakes were messed up until I really really needed them. But yeah, this will sound like I'm being mean and I don't mean for it to, but if you re-read my post I was using the engine brake (retarder) the entire time. Lol.

 

 

EDIT: Whoops, missed your reply Nick, and now I can't quote it...anyways, no offense taken, thank you for clarifying that. 

[Mitra61]

As i, he probably thought that you were talking about the electrical brake!

That must've been "to fill your diapers on" ! lol

[GC_Stealth]

 

 But yeah, this will sound like I'm being mean and I don't mean for it to, but if you re-read my post I was using the engine brake (retarder) the entire time. Lol.

 

You said you were using your engine brake. The retarder is separate it slows you down massively if you have it set to 3, a lot more than engine braking does.

[Zomb Lee]

You said you were using your engine brake. The retarder is separate it slows you down massively if you have it set to 3, a lot more than engine braking does.

 

I'm confused a bit then I guess. All I know is that triangle button on my wheel is I believe what you're speaking of. When I press this button the engine makes more noise as the compression is vented from the valves and the truck will slow down without having to apply the wheel brakes. I assumed this is the retarder which I also though was another word for engine brake. I'll have a look in my settings for a keybinding for retarder then. I'm not used to European trucks, as in the US our trucks have what they call a jakebrake and I had assumed that's what I had been using. 

 

EDIT: AHA! More of my American ignorance is on display here. Apparently, the terms enginebraking and retarder (AKA Jake Brake) are confused. From wikipedia:

Engine braking occurs when the retarding forces within an engine are used to slow a vehicle down, as opposed to using an additional external braking mechanisms such as friction brakes or magnetic brakes.

The term is often confused with several other types of braking, most notably compression-release braking or "jake braking" which uses a different mechanism entirely. Correct use of the term only applies to petrol engines and other engines that throttle air intake (as opposed to, e.g. diesel engines or electric engines)

 

In bold there is what I was doing. Confusing enginebraking and jakebraking as one in the same. Apparently enginebraking is possible only on petrol engines as it works through reducing airflow, and is not possible in diesel engines which remove compression from the cylinders and do not adjust fuel flow and air mixture. 

 

So I have been using the retarder, just not the correct term for it. 

 

Learn something new everyday. 

[Arezkimo]

The one you're using seems to be the exhaust brake, which comes with all the trucks in the game. What I believe GC_Stealth was referring to as the retarder is the optional retarder, which you can buy by selecting the gearbox with an R (Retarder) at the end.

 

The retarder in-game is a powerful break, almost as strong as the "normal" brake but depending on the truck can come in either 3- or 5-step configurations, enabling the drivers to select how much they want to brake, with five taps of the assigned key being the strongest and one tap being the weakest. The first tap is helpful on keeping the speed in check when going downhill withoug messing up the fuel economy by using the exhaust brake or the air levels by using the brake pedal, while the strongest setting can often be used for stopping if the driver anticipates correctly.

 

I've been using the retarder heavily once I learned how it works and can no longer see myself driving without one.

[Zomb Lee]

The one you're using seems to be the exhaust brake, which comes with all the trucks in the game. What I believe GC_Stealth was referring to as the retarder is the optional retarder, which you can buy by selecting the gearbox with an R (Retarder) at the end.

 

The retarder in-game is a powerful break, almost as strong as the "normal" brake but depending on the truck can come in either 3- or 5-step configurations, enabling the drivers to select how much they want to brake, with five taps of the assigned key being the strongest and one tap being the weakest. The first tap is helpful on keeping the speed in check when going downhill withoug messing up the fuel economy by using the exhaust brake or the air levels by using the brake pedal, while the strongest setting can often be used for stopping if the driver anticipates correctly.

 

I've been using the retarder heavily once I learned how it works and can no longer see myself driving without one.

 

Ok, so I am definitely wrong yet again. Ah well, somebody said that a true genius knows that they really know nothing. And I certainly don't know anything, but I'm happy to learn. I believe all 3 of my trucks have OpticruiseR's installed in them, so I'll definitely look into this, as apparently I have only been using the exhaust brake.  Damn....Eurotrucks are complicated and technical. I think American trucks have wheel brakes and a jakebrake and that's it. lol. 

 

Thank you so much for clarifying this and teaching me some stuff I really need to know!

 

EDIT: And to GC_Stealth....thank you for tolerating my stupidity! 

[Inthernet]

The Iveco has the best Exhaust Brake in-game.  Thanks for the heads-up, as a fellow DFGT user, I'll check my settings before driving next time.

[Valmorian]

This is becomming more liek RP truck sim ;p well that kinda is the point isnt it? Nice thread! Hopefully you wont get  banned cause off this little msitake

[Zomb Lee]

The Iveco has the best Exhaust Brake in-game.  Thanks for the heads-up, as a fellow DFGT user, I'll check my settings before driving next time.

 

Yeah the Iveco must have a hell of an exhaust brake! I say this because slow city driving around 30MPH my wheel brakes worked just fine, as there was no speed, so stopping at stoplights, ect was quite easy so I didn't know a problem existed. Once I got onto the smaller country roads it was pretty wide open, and I used the exhaust brake to maintain speed downhills and before corners. I didn't have any issues but I also saw the sharper corners on my SatNav and was able to slow down early enough for them. It was only until I was up around 50 MPH and hit that very sharp downhill straight away (something I only saw as a straight road on the SatNav) that I realized I could not stop. And then checking my in-game settings I saw somehow my brake deadzone and intensity were messed up.

 

This is becomming more liek RP truck sim ;p well that kinda is the point isnt it? Nice thread! Hopefully you wont get  banned cause off this little msitake

 

Thanks! I really doubt a ban would come of it, but that really depends on if anyone of those other drivers in that four way decided to report me. It was definitely disrespectful driving and at least kick-worthy. I also felt the need to make this thread as I didn't have any video proof of my driving at that time (even I did, it would still look like I just didn't care for rules, unless I was recording audio in which case you'd just hear me whimpering and screaming NO! lol)

 

So just in case, I can at least show the admins here that I tried not to be a bad person.