What is it with poeple not overtaking Tractors?

Mart2912 · 20 Jul 2017 at 18:54

grudas said:
Pretty much every day.. same roads, people doing 30-40 on a 60 road with nothing in front of them... :/ Which is fine but when I get fleshed at for overtaking it kinda makes me wonder.. do they know the speed limit? The law? Or the fact that what I did was safe?

This properly makes me rage. Mainly for the fact I failed my diving test for doing just this (40 in a 60 when conditions were fine), yet I don't do that anymore as I'm a much more confident and competent driver. What the **** happened to these people? Did they get through the net or something? I feel that if you are not confident enough to drive to the conditions, then you should either not be driving, or have some extra driving lessons.

It seems people these days like to rage at you when THEY are at fault. Example being, just outside my work there are a set of traffic lights with 2 lanes. Left hand lane is left and straight only, right hand lane is right only (markings on the road...). So, I'm in the left hand lane going straight, and them being in the right hand lane have the cheek to beep me when they decide to go straight ahead. :confused:

MissChief · 20 Jul 2017 at 18:58

Some drivers are afraid to use more then 3k RPM believing that a thousand baby otters will be murdered and they'll empty their petrol tank in thirty seconds if they do. It doesn't help that along with the above small engined cars have been tuned for emissions and not for usable torque low in the rev range.

Its one of the reasons I've taken to cars with a decent turn of speed, to help with overtaking.

Rroff · 20 Jul 2017 at 19:00

MissChief said:
along with the above small engined cars have been tuned for emissions and not for usable torque low in the rev range.

I know some of my more elderly relatives are a bit afraid of overtaking these days due to taking a bit to get going to overtake and having people with more powerful cars come blasting past from 2-3 cars back just as they are going to pull out.

That said I remember when I was younger and in the car with them they'd be the ones doing that stuff :s

Flack88 · 20 Jul 2017 at 19:04

Best is when you do a simple safe overtake on broken lines and get flashed, it's like you have deeply offended the person or that in their mind it's illegal.

Gaygle · 20 Jul 2017 at 19:51

Unfortunately, people lack the confidence or the knowledge to safely overtake.

Two of the main things i see every day are:

- Cars getting right up behind someone slower and looking like they obviously want to overtake....but don't. They just sit there right on the bumper of the car in front, 2ft from their rear quarter, despite there being a clear, straight road ahead of them. Or they take so long to decide if they want to overtake that it gets to the end of the straight bit and they're into dangerous territory, but they go anyway.

And the other type of overtake is when someone tries to overtake the person in front in 5th or 6th gear. It takes them about 1/2 a mile to do it and due to the amount of time it takes, they're often on bends by the time they get passed.

Richy888 · 20 Jul 2017 at 20:33

sovietspybob said:
I'm always very cautious of tractors and can understand why people stay behind them, this happened to a guy i work with when he overtook one a month or so back.

Tractor turned across him into a field with no warning, brake lights or indication while he was overtaking on a straight well sighted bit of road.

Once a week I pick up a couple of trailers from a local racehorse trainer. Take them a couple of miles up the road to tip the horse manure. Always check indicators are working on trailers. So the road bends and is up and down dale with little opportunity to overtake until round the last bend the road straightens out and in around 400 yards I have to turn right. Indicator on and move up to center line. You will not believe the number of drivers that never see the indicator. I think they get fixated on overtaking and never see the indicator. If nothing coming the other way I move over the line to try to block cars overtaking but always watching in mirror for one forcing his/her way passed, in which case it's better to let them go before turning.

From the tractor perspective I get cars that sit tight behind. Soon as its clear and road wide enough (none A roads) I'll tuck in to left, indicate left and slow right down. The number that just sit behind and refuse to come passed beggers belief. I've even stopped and still they sit there. But the worst is you set off again and they follow then try to pass where it's clearly blind, unsafe or too narrow to do so :mad:

Why they do it I have no idea.

On busier A roads when there is a build up of traffic I'll pull in and let the traffic get passed. The odd HGV will flash lights or wave but the rest mostly just drive by and look at you like you were a turd at the side of the road :rolleyes:

I know of other tractor drivers that never pull in to let traffic go though. Whatever, we're coming into a busy time of year for tractors and combines on the roads so take care when they're about. I know they're a pain when they delay you ( I drive a car too) but it's not worth killing yourself or someone else so "lets be careful out there"

radar19 · 20 Jul 2017 at 20:33

adolf hamster said:
but does it pull like a train?

Its a Scania, of course not!

Entai · 20 Jul 2017 at 20:47

robj20 said:
Might not have been in a rush, why risk an overtake at all.

Screws your fuel consumption up something chronic by flooring it during an overtake too.

Far more economical to just sit behind at 20mph for dozens of miles

adolf hamster · 20 Jul 2017 at 20:54

Entai said:
Screws your fuel consumption up something chronic by flooring it during an overtake too.

Far more economical to just sit behind at 20mph for dozens of miles

not to mention reliability, we all know if an engine exceeds 3000rpm it's 50% more likely to fail within 50k miles.....

wilber · 21 Jul 2017 at 11:53

Richy888 said:
From the tractor perspective I get cars that sit tight behind. Soon as its clear and road wide enough (none A roads) I'll tuck in to left, indicate left and slow right down. The number that just sit behind and refuse to come passed beggers belief. I've even stopped and still they sit there. But the worst is you set off again and they follow then try to pass where it's clearly blind, unsafe or too narrow to do so Why they do it I have no idea.

This annoys me so much, particularly when we travel 30 odd miles on a busy A road. I shut the throttle right in on the straight and make people pass me now, tractor is only 40k too!

Diagro · 21 Jul 2017 at 11:59

MissChief said:
Some drivers are afraid to use more then 3k RPM believing that a thousand baby otters will be murdered and they'll empty their petrol tank in thirty seconds if they do. It doesn't help that along with the above small engined cars have been tuned for emissions and not for usable torque low in the rev range.

Its one of the reasons I've taken to cars with a decent turn of speed, to help with overtaking.

I have a friend who will try and stay below 2k rpm no matter what.

He's worried the car will blow up at 5k (dirty diesels)... So he never gets close to redline lol.

I feel sorry for the bottom end bearing in his motor... Taking a beating

Glanza · 21 Jul 2017 at 13:10

Have to be careful round these parts as the tractors tend to just do what they want with no indication, I overtook a car the other day on a straight country lane with a good distance between that and a tractor in-front, caught up to the tractor about to overtake again when he suddenly swerved into the other side of the road to get into a field with no indication, it's the first time I've nearly touched cloth in years driving.

jpaul · 21 Jul 2017 at 13:24

B roads here, tractors are often not very sympathtic, overhanging other carriageway (steel till rollers, rakes), then ominpresent oncoming potholes.
(don't know what the width rule is, spiked bailing attachment on front would be nice impaler too)

Unmentioned HB flash reason, being overtaken , trying to see through black exhaust cloud from the mondeo/jag, other diesel user, with the knack'd injectors.
(or is that self appointed anti-particulate judge, jury, .. role

) cost my colleague nearly a grand for his jag

bobbyspangles · 21 Jul 2017 at 15:50

Glanza said:
Have to be careful round these parts as the tractors tend to just do what they want with no indication, I overtook a car the other day on a straight country lane with a good distance between that and a tractor in-front, caught up to the tractor about to overtake again when he suddenly swerved into the other side of the road to get into a field with no indication, it's the first time I've nearly touched cloth in years driving.

I saw a loader tractor being driven yesterday with it's spikes down at head height with the driver steering with his elbows whilst texting two-handed. :eek:

ttaskmaster · 21 Jul 2017 at 16:08

MissChief said:
Some drivers are afraid to use more then 3k RPM believing that a thousand baby otters will be murdered and they'll empty their petrol tank in thirty seconds if they do.

I don't really need to go that high during an overtake, though, even in the car - Up a gear, move out, turbo kicks in at about 1500, vrooooom and the overtake is pretty much done...

Diagro said:
I have a friend who will try and stay below 2k rpm no matter what.

At one stage, that 2k limit was something taught in driving lessons, though...

Nasher · 21 Jul 2017 at 16:18

Driving at 2k RPM all the time must be super annoying, there's just no power there. Not healthy for the engine either really.

adolf hamster · 21 Jul 2017 at 16:23

ttaskmaster said:
I don't really need to go that high during an overtake, though, even in the car - Up a gear, move out, turbo kicks in at about 1500, vrooooom and the overtake is pretty much done...

big diesel by any chance?

At one stage, that 2k limit was something taught in driving lessons, though...

many things are taught in driving lessons that get un-learnt pretty quickly.

ttaskmaster · 21 Jul 2017 at 16:27

adolf hamster said:
big diesel by any chance?

Nope, not especially.
1.9TDi 130PD.

adolf hamster said:
many things are taught in driving lessons that get un-learnt pretty quickly.

By some people... others need a Car Throttle video just to tell them what to unlearn... and others still adhere rigidly to what they were taught... yet even more others kinda need to go back for more learning!

adolf hamster · 21 Jul 2017 at 16:32

ttaskmaster said:
Nope, not especially.
1.9TDi 130PD.

still torquey enough then, petrols tend to need a bit more revs to get moving, not that that's any worse really you can still get the same effect.

By some people... others need a Car Throttle video just to tell them what to unlearn... and others still adhere rigidly to what they were taught... yet even more others kinda need to go back for more learning!

true, i'm a big advocate that the driving test in this country is really poor at teaching actual car control, something both the overconfident "watch this" crowd and the underconfident "ooh i'm not sure" crowd could benefit from.

things like proper brake control, the actual effect of poor weather on handling, and in this case how to overtake/merge properly are all really badly covered if at all by the current driving test.

ttaskmaster · 21 Jul 2017 at 16:37

adolf hamster said:
still torquey enough then, petrols tend to need a bit more revs to get moving, not that that's any worse really you can still get the same effect.

If I can manage it on a 125cc bike, though...

adolf hamster said:
things like proper brake control, the actual effect of poor weather on handling, and in this case how to overtake/merge properly are all really badly covered if at all by the current driving test.

Thing is, some of this stuff needs either particular circumstances, and/or special training environments... which costs money and hikes the prices of lessons up even further. For example, we grind to a halt when it snows just a little bit because, even if we know the theory, we mostly have no actual experience of driving effectively in it and there's nowhere we can go with snow on demand to practice.