Scumbag lorry drivers!
- Thread starter rubberduck
- Start date
I rarely have an issue with HGV drivers. But when I do, it's because they have missed several height notifications and warning of the low bridge in Baldock, Hertfordshire. Funnily enough there was one this morning who stopped before the bridge and almost took me out with his door when I rode past on my bike. The queue was backed up good and proper by the time I passed.
At least the trains don't get delayed any more since they put up and massive impact/"crunch" girder for the lorries to crash into instead of the bridge
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At least the trains don't get delayed any more since they put up and massive impact/"crunch" girder for the lorries to crash into instead of the bridge
.
Soldato
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I don't recall ever having a problem with any HGV driver. A few foreign drivers have occasionally made a slight mistake, been a touch too close when manoeuvring and so on, but nothing that really impacted my day. Certainly never found my life ruined from an HGV taking an extra 30 seconds to overtake... and even more rarely been unable to just roll on the throttle and zip past once they were done.
The people that gang raped an 11 year old girl, their families who portrayed them as victims of the kid who "was asking for it with the way she was dressed", and the persons in authority who concurred with that portrayal... THEY are scumbags.
An HGV driver who is doing their damnedest just to get you your stupid bloody Japanese love pillow or whatever you ordered within the Next Day Delivery window you paid for is not a scumbag.
The people that gang raped an 11 year old girl, their families who portrayed them as victims of the kid who "was asking for it with the way she was dressed", and the persons in authority who concurred with that portrayal... THEY are scumbags.
An HGV driver who is doing their damnedest just to get you your stupid bloody Japanese love pillow or whatever you ordered within the Next Day Delivery window you paid for is not a scumbag.
Soldato
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While I understand your reasoning, I have to agree with the OP, albeit in a less lunatic manner. HGV overtakes should be banned on dual carriageways unless overtaking things like tractors (which are a semi-frequent occurance on the A55) and the speed difference is substantial.
It's not the lengthy overtake itself that is the problem as in reality unless they really are being ****** and having a snail race, which does seem to happen, its over relatively quickly. Its the massive tailback of traffic that is the problem. Its quite obvious that the snaking effect of over-compensating braking by car drivers after a can cause stationary traffic a mile back from a HGV overtake. In my eyes this is far more detrimental, if not outright dangerous when you can come across stationary/slow traffic just after a sweeping blind bend, than one poor lorry driver having to take an extra 5 minutes to do his journey.
And this is absolutely true. Leave any sort of decent gap from the car in front in lane 2 and HGVs will happily pull out, indicating only after they've started their manoeuvre, despite doing 70+ mph so having a fairly quick closing speed.
Associate
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I'm on the M20 near Aylesford with traffic starting to move after being at a stand still - so all 4 lanes full and starting to move at 20-30mph and a HGV on the inside lane decides he wants to be in my lane.
Unfortunately I'm still in the lane and somewhere close to the right hand side of the Cab (LHD) so I assume in a blindspot when he starts pulling into my lane with no where to go as all the lanes are full.
Luckily he noticed before a more serious accident occurred and the damage was limited to the paintwork and dents on passenger side resulting from his wheel nuts running down the side.
Unfortunately I'm still in the lane and somewhere close to the right hand side of the Cab (LHD) so I assume in a blindspot when he starts pulling into my lane with no where to go as all the lanes are full.
Luckily he noticed before a more serious accident occurred and the damage was limited to the paintwork and dents on passenger side resulting from his wheel nuts running down the side.
If it's a four-lane dual carriageway, then go into the third lane and overtake the lorries. Or do you not understand what a dual carriageway is?
If it's a four lane carriageway then usually the 1st 3 lanes are taken up by lorries (as I noted at least 4 times travelling down the M6 last night), also it seems lorry drivers are not taught mirror, signal, manoeuver like everyone else it's usually manoeuver, signal, stick forks up at car driver who has just swerved to avoid you having just pulled into the lane that wasn't clear.
I am not a lorry driver, but I would put money on it that a lorry driver has infinitely better use of MSM than car drivers use decent forward planning. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have had issues with MSM from a lorry driver, and they were all when I was on a Motorcycle. I could not count the times I have had issues with Car drivers rubbish forward planning, non-observance of indicators, last minute lane changes without looking/signalling. Lorries are just as entitled to use ANY lane bar the outside on 3/4 lane Motorways as anyone else, the sooner car drivers accept this and stop whining like little cry babies the better.
ClearlyNoDrivingSkillMister said:
The most entitled ********* thing I have read in years. Seriously? Ban Lorries from overtaking each other because it adds a few minutes to your journey? How about you start your journey earlier?
The solution is simple:
Unless with exemption, no HGVs on dual carriage way or motorways between 7am and 9am and 4pm and 6pm
All other times, or as above with exemption, no overtaking on said roads.
The latter works for massive stretches of pan continent roads (between Spain and France especially) and it works absolutely fine.
Unless with exemption, no HGVs on dual carriage way or motorways between 7am and 9am and 4pm and 6pm
All other times, or as above with exemption, no overtaking on said roads.
The latter works for massive stretches of pan continent roads (between Spain and France especially) and it works absolutely fine.
My word you have got riled up haven't you, this is merely my observations from driving 600 miles a week obviously your experiences differ, I also noted that whilst driving round the M42 nobody was using the hardshoulder (should be renamed relief lane in my opinion) despite the overhead gantries clearly showing they were in use.
Soldato
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Sorry, thought I was in GD for a minute, what with all the 'scumbag' talk... Glad I didn't mention murdering prostitutes, now!
Soldato
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Did you even read my post? Clearly not. I may invest in a dashcam purely to prove how ridiculous the consequences are of trucks overtaking on dual carriageways during rush hour. I've seen numerous times a truck "race" blocking both lanes on the other carriageway and a mile down the road behind them the traffic is stationary. And then the people joining that queue are potentially coming across stationary traffic at 70+mph. Sounds totally safe in your eyes? Even better when its just after a bend like this so you can't even come in with your "should be looking ahead down the road" excuse
I use the A14 regularly at rush hour(s) and can’t honestly say I recognise your description of two trucks overtaking slowly (albeit travelling @~55mph each) causing stationary traffic a mile back, trucks overtaking are a constant from Felixstowe right up to Catthorpe - some doing so at ridiculously slow passing speeds I quite agree - bear in mind from the elevated view you get in a full size artic you can see a good deal further ahead than you can in a car and as I say I’m afraid I don’t recognise this as a regular occurrence.Did you even read my post? Clearly not. I may invest in a dashcam purely to prove how ridiculous the consequences are of trucks overtaking on dual carriageways during rush hour. I've seen numerous times a truck "race" blocking both lanes on the other carriageway and a mile down the road behind them the traffic is stationary. And then the people joining that queue are potentially coming across stationary traffic at 70+mph. Sounds totally safe in your eyes? Even better when its just after a bend like this so you can't even come in with your "should be looking ahead down the road" excuse
Around Cambridge especially it always tends to crawl to a stop but IMO this is usually just traffic trying to join and doing so badly causing sudden braking from traffic of all types on the main carriageway causing a ripple effect of braking which does result in the road slowing to a stop or crawl.
Not having a go, just saying my experience of using that particular road around the clock over the years.
I’ve also noticed the section in Northamptonshire where HGV’s are banned from the outside lane for a few miles tends to be particularly poor, one very slow truck causes all the others to slow considerably which then forces other traffic into the outside lane where normally they wouldn’t be which just tends to impede everyone.
One thing though, you think coming around a relatively blind bend at 70 in a car to discover slow / stationary traffic is lairy, try the experience with 44tons behind you!
Did you even read my post? Clearly not. I may invest in a dashcam purely to prove how ridiculous the consequences are of trucks overtaking on dual carriageways during rush hour. I've seen numerous times a truck "race" blocking both lanes on the other carriageway and a mile down the road behind them the traffic is stationary. And then the people joining that queue are potentially coming across stationary traffic at 70+mph. Sounds totally safe in your eyes? Even better when its just after a bend like this so you can't even come in with your "should be looking ahead down the road" excuse
Not only did I read your post, I drive for a living and have previously driven 5-600 miles in a day regularly, currently I drive 8-9 hours a day and up to 11. I have never had an issue with coming up on a queue of traffic whilst I was doing 70mph because I use this thing called forward planning, whereby you look a lot further down the road than the car in front's bumper, it really isn't hard if you pay attention. Yes I can use forward planning as an excuse on a bend, because if you cannot see around the bend far enough then you're going too fast, end of. You are far more likely to come across stationary traffic due to car drivers having an accident than lorry drivers overtaking, or the usual accordion in the outside lane of people struggling with maintaining a gap and constantly pressing to overtake the car in front. I have also regularly had to sit behind trucks overtaking for 2 miles, it is fine, get over it, it delays your journey by a few minutes, stop acting like you are entitled to use that stretch of road more than the trucks, that attitude is everything that is wrong with many car drivers these days.
Not riled up at you, and 600 miles a week? Really that isn't that much. What I see regularly is a lorry indicate in plenty of time, wait a few moments and then start to move while someone then lane changes from the 3rd lane to lane 2 (not visible in truck's mirrors) and then slam on the brakes and lean on the horn because they had not seen the lorry indicating (they couldn't return to lane 3 because the car that had been tailgating had started his overtake and now blocked lane 3 for them). One of the reasons we have such poor lane discipline in this country is how difficult people in lane 2 and 3 make it for others to pull out when they need to overtake, they have zero understanding or observation of "closing speed" and they baulk the legitimate lane changes of other drivers. As someone who ALWAYS uses lane 1 I am now left with a scenario where I can almost hear the idiots in lane 2 saying "why have you pulled out so early?" Well mate, it's because if I didn't, with my closing speed and yours, I would be in the back of the car in front of me if I waited for you to pass or would have to brake harshly. I agree with the smart motorway issue, see it all the time on the M5/M4 interchange as well, but as most people don't understand a lot of stuff in the highway code that has been there for years, why would we expect them to cope with new stuff?
Quite simply, drive like everyone else is an idiot and it going to cut you up, baulk you, but treat them with respect, ie do your proper MSM and forward observation and you will have a much more enjoyable journey.
Only this week I was driving a PCV fully loaded reaching the end of a 100m row of cars (on my right so my priority) and an oncoming Q7 just pulled out and nearly hit me head on, didn't even slow for what was obviously impassable for him, that is the measure of so many people's forward planning these days.
Soldato
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You obviously didn't read because my post clearly stated that it's not the overtake itself that's the problem. I forward plan perfectly well on the road which has paid off on a number of occasions, and I very rarely travel above the speed limit on my commute because it makes such a minimal difference to the journey time because of the usual congestion spots, so the extra minute or two really doesn't bother me. Besides it's not my forward planning I'm worried about, it's the masses of other drives who are paying no attention, on their phones etc... that are there to slam into the back of me when I do slow down for the upcoming traffic jam. While that's not the truckers fault, until we manage to cure the population of useless drivers them causing more traffic jams is only going to be negative.
I disagree wholeheartedly based on my experiences. Many trucks I see appear to have a total disregard for people closing in from behind in lane 2 and pull out with little to no warning.
I only have a 23 mile each way commute but 20 of that is on the A55 and most days I see the negative effects on traffic flow behind a truck overtake. Bear in mind the number of trucks going to/from Holyhead, sometimes it is laughable how many trucks are convoying in lane 1 with another going for a huge overtake. Perhaps it's the Irish ones with no concept of MSM, I haven't bothered to make that mental note yet..
Soldato
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There are a lot of complete **** on the roads, in fact, that's half the reason HGV drivers stop being HGV drivers. Lorries overtaking each other on the motorway is not something I find annoying in the slightest, but I could list you a million other things that don't relate to HGVs that do.
Yes I read your post clearly, you said it is the massive tailback of traffic, and that is down to poor car driving, like you say, so why the hell should lorries be banned from overtaking because car drivers are utter muppets in the main? You are legislating for an "in case" someone hits you up the back then? Many Dual Carriageways where this is an issue already have a ban on lorry overtaking in the Rush Hour, such as A361 and A14, problem is this is usually poorly signposted and a lorry that has started an overtake sooner can't suddenly stop it.
I have loads of people accuse me of not indicating as well, even when I have been sitting there for 30 seconds with my indicator on whilst cars refuse to let me pull out... Simple fact is many people don't look, line of sight gets blocked and it is a hell of a lot easier for a car to brake and accelerate than a 44 tonne wagon. Sure there are a few poor drivers in lorries but sadly a whole lot more in cars and in my experience, lorries are a hell of a lot more considerate to Bus/Coaches than cars are.
Soldato
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So some authorities have deemed it is an issue for lorries to overtake on dual carriageways.. Perhaps this should be introduced more widespread as someone above suggested.
It covers hilly areas in morning rush hour, not a blanket ban, because that would just be dumb like the other person suggested.