VTEC to Turbo

I do 3000 motorway miles a month and can honestly say that car drivers cause most of the conjestion on the M25. (you know the ones - those that sit at 70mph in lane 3 because that is the limit!!!!)

The probelm is that lorries compound the problem by overtaking going up hills and when traffic builds up to a crawling pace lorries sitting 2 abreast, they can't accelerate as fast as a car can thus creating a tailback that can not fit through the remaining gap! (lane 3).

Cars should have a minimum speed limit imposed upon them so that they do not sit in the slow lane, driving slower than lorries do causing them to overtake! only to have said car overtake the lorry again!

There are certain stretches of the M25 that have slow vehicle lanes but you'd be hard pushed to see a lorry using them!! And all the cars sit in lane 3, 10 feet off the cars infront.

Overtaking on hills has to be something that is banned, but this should also include pulling out to overtake once at the top of the hill for 1/2 a mile.

Germany have these rules and there roads in general flow much better than UK roads, sheer volume of traffic does create major conjestion, but it does tend to clear quicker due to lorries not sitting 2 abreast for no apparent reason.

Having said all of the above I do agree that lorry drivers have a hard time on UK roads due to poor driving practice of most car drivers.

hugo

My commute home tonight was exasperating. Three times in forty miles I had the same experience of trucks pulling out to overtake at completely unfeasable opportunities. The best one was immediately after exiting a major roundabout onto dual carriageway which was on a moderate incline. The considerate truck driver immediately pulled over to the outside lane to overtake another truck after exiting the roundabout. I measured 1.4miles of obstruction resulting in a major tailback and delay for many other road users. This argument about 'they make their living on the road' is starting to wear thin with me, I have to say. I make my living at work, with others depending on me and in order for that to happen I have to get to work. I therefore consider the commute to work as part of my job...just like truck drivers! The message is...don't overtake on hills. You know it doesn't gain you much but it certainly inconveniences others.

Lum

If an opportunity to overtake that pair of lorries had come up, would you take it even if it meant that the car(s) behind you might not be able to get past?

harvey

iTrader: (48)

Lots of opinions but how many of you actually appreciate what is involved in driving an HGV? I think that some of your views would change radically if you had to do a week at 44Te, assuming you were capable of getting the licence in the first place.
The standard of HGV driving in the UK is generally high. The same cannot be said about the roads/routes and even working through the night is not a sure way to avoid conjestion delays.
Improved car driver education would go a long way to improving traffic flow far beyond anything that can be achieved with HGVs.
There is no place for HGV drivers that think it is clever to travel at "75 mph" or pull tacho fuses and in time, these people, if they exist, will be caught. However I cannot remember the last time I came across a truck doing a genuine 75mph. Some Irish guys can do it when loaded but only down hill but the police are reluctant to deal with them.
Remember that most car speedos over read by 5-10% and you can prove this for yourself. Next time you see three or four trucks on a level stretch of Motorway, pull in behind them and see what your speedo says. They are at 56 +/- .5 mph.
Something else for car drivers to think about when joining a Motorway is that if their speed is a genuine 60 + mph off the slip road, they will be travelling faster than the wagons so joining is that much easier/safer and will not involve a 44Te artic having to brake heavily or try to change lane.