m1cks

I'm not saying that all lorry drivers are saints (as mentioned in earlier posts) but your argument is still flawed. If a lorry has left sufficent stopping distance, and a car pulls in to that gap, then the gap is now SHORTER meaning the lorry is no longer at the correct stopping distance. <not the lorry drivers fault is it>

As for cars pulling in front and causing accidents, just come down the M23 towards Gatwick one day and watch what happens at J9 when all the idiots dont look at/ignore the signs for the turning, and cut in at the last minute.

Ever wondered how many accidents there would be if it were not for the driving standards of some of these larger vehicles, whose drivers can spot sitautions developing ahead?

Anyway going a bit off thread now

stringostar

lorries even sit up cars ***** on the motorway even when not in roadworks.. i am a wagon mechanic, so i have a good insight into how fast they can go... wagons are limited to 56 by law.

now for the rant.. there is no reason for a car driver to go slower than a lorry... the lorry will sit up the cars **** because they are "pushin" them along, to go faster. if the lorry tries to overtake, (1) it will take miles and miles to overtake, due to the limitation, (2) in most cases, the car driver will more than likely accelerate, thus making the lorries overtaking manouvere void.. wagons also take quite a while to reach top speed, and for the wagon driver to sit on and off the gas, due to some car driver in front, aint gonna happen..

people dont realise how much of an obstruction they are by doin 50 mph.. in my opinion its both dangerous and careless. wagons pull out on other wagons becasue of slow drivers, which in turn makes slower middle lane hoggers move into the fast lane, only doin 60 MPH. i think people need to be taught how to drive safely, esp on motorways.. if your not going to do the limit of 70mph, then why go on the motorway.. your a hazard! police should have powers to stop people who they feel are going too slow, and causing an obstruction or hazard.

we cant blame it all on the wagon drivers, at the end of the day, they have a job to do, and with tacho laws, have to get to different places in the specified time. the last thing they want is some one dithering infront of them, holding them up. at the same time, they should also respect the stopping distance.. a 1 tonne car is gonna stop far quicker than a 40 tonne juggernaught.

mart360

hmm Try this simple FACT

The speed limit on a motorway is just that, a LIMIT. It is not a mandatory requirement to travel at that speed. if in the interests of economy, or as in most cases the scourge of scameras , i or any other driver chooses to travel below the posted limit, providing they are not causing a danger to other road users, it is perfectly legal. (btw if i recall 20mph is the slowest you can go)

Any lorry driver who intimidates or attempts to push a vehicle to increase there speed, should be looking at a driving with undue care and attention charge.

prhaps we ought to lift this thread an put it on 5-0.com and see what they have to say


Mart

tiny gsy

I genuinely think that as part of learning to drive, the learner should be taken on a passenger ride in an HGV maybe then they`ll realise quite how they manouevre. I was watching a program late last night that said about cyclists undertaking HGV`s at junctions and then stopping at the line. As the HGV pulls away, having not seen the cyclist that is sat in its blind spot, to turn left at that junction the cyclist doesn`t stand a chance.

I suppose some would say the HGV driver`s to blame for that too

mart360

Have you actually thought about what you've just posted?



.

Really, the one that pushed the BMW through the specs system on the A1 at the weekend, was well over 56mph.

There are many reasons why cars go slower than lorrys, none of which give them the right to push the car to go faster

SO why do they insist on overtaking?, if they can only do 56mph, why dont they all sit in the inside lane, and let the cars pass them?. Its there overtaking at 56.1 mph, that cases huge tailbacks, when 2 lanes are blocked as they attempt a futile maneuver.

Exactly, it further demonstrates why lorry's shouldn't tailgate cars..

And that gives them the right to tailgate cars and push them, because there running behind schedule.

Do your bosses share your sentiments?

mart

stringostar

mart.. wagons by law are limited to 56mph. however, if the driver knows what he is doin, he pulls out the fuse which is for the speed limiter, therefore bypassing it and regaining all the speed who can muster. this is illegal, and if he is caught, hefty fines come his way.

my bosses sentiments are gettin his goods to the destinations ASAP. regardless of cost.

as for driving too slow: i cant understand why people sit at 50 mph on a motorway... most of the drivers i see tailend wagons, so it isnt entirely wagon drivers who tailgate. as for overtaking... i agree, its a pain in the *** when a wagon is dragging it out for miles. esp on a duel carriage way..

perhaps the people who drive slow, and can see a wagon behind them, might think about speeding up a little. maybe even a couple of miles an hour more.. the driver of a vehicle has a moral right, no just to car in front, but to the car or wagon behind. if he can see the wagon has closed the gap, speed up a little, open it back up. its common sense, and observation too, to notice things like that.

and as for the ******** who hog the middle lane.. GET OFF THE MOTORWAY>

WR 1mposter

iTrader: (1)

They may be english plates, but they may not be english/british drivers. Seems more and more hgv drivers are from poland etc !

WR 1mposter

iTrader: (1)

not according to a traffic cop at rally day year before last !

His words were "a fully laden hgv will stop in a shorter distance than a average family car"

I kid you not !

WR 1mposter

iTrader: (1)

One of my mate's killed a cyclist in london, all because the cyclist undertook and then turned infront of him and stopped, my mate never seen him has he drove forward,the cyclist never had a chance. He now as a angled blind spot mirror on the front of the truck on the nearside !

WR 1mposter

iTrader: (1)

Agreed !

It's far safer, because there's not as many idiot car drivers out there doing 50 mph on a motorway in L2 and cutting up not just lorries other cars aswell, when they realise they have to get off at the junction they have just passed, while reading the paper, using a laptop, women putting there lippy on or even having a .....

gazza-uk

****?

Flatcapdriver

First off, we're talking about cars being able to filter off the motorway which your mate seemed to think would be impossible due to lorries bunching up on the inside lane as a result of being banned from overtaking.

Secondly, if another vehicle pulls into the breaking gap of a HGV what's so special about lorry drivers? Simply adjust the gap to allow for the fact that the other vehicle has filled the space. That's what the rest of us have to do.

Lum

Edit: ^^^^ They shouldn't be pulling into someone's stopping distance in the first place, it really winds me up when people do that.

Just because something is legal doesn't mean you're not a ***** for doing it, for example I could park my car outside the house of a neighbour who has difficulty walking and I'd be well within my rights to do so. I can put my washing machine in the room adjacent to next door's child's bedroom and run it at any time up until 11PM and that's perfectly legal too.

Also, I think you'll find that if you're doing 20mph and you're not an unusual load with flashing yellow lights and/or an escort vehicle, then the police will probably decide you are causing a danger and will have a word with you. Well they would if they were actually patrolling, which they aren't any more.

Generally speaking 56mph is where the best fuel economy is to be had[1] and the fuel consumption on those lorries is enormous compared to your Subaru, I wouldn't be surprised if every person who cuts in front of a lorry costs them a few quid in wasted fuel, multiply that by a 12 hour day and you're probably getting close to triple figures for fuel wasted due to arseholes.

And then there is the tacho laws, basically after 12 hours driving you MUST stop or you are in all kinds of trouble. Even if you are a mile away from home, you still have to stop in a layby (and I bet plenty of people here hate lorries doing that) and spend the night sleeping in your cab while a bunch of chavs steal your load and then set your truck on fire rather than spending the night at home with your family.

[1]Yeah, I know it's a lot more complicated than that (hell, 80mph seems the most economical speed in my Legacy) but these truck engines and gearboxes are pretty much optimised for cruising on the limiter these days.

stringostar

lum.. like a mentioned earlier, i am a wagon mechanic and totally agree with what you have put. the average MPG of a wagon, on a motorway run is 6 - 9 miles per gallon. couple that with the fact that a fully laden wagon, usually have about 12 - 16 gears to get thru, no wonder the wagon drivers wanna get onto the motorway, and hit top gear... changing up and down that sort of box all day is not fun... and most wagons have cruise control..

i'm in total agree ment that wagon drivers shouldnt sit up someones **** on the motorway, cos at the end of the day they still have to adhere to the 2 second rule... but the advantage the wagon driver does have is that he can see alot more of whats in front than a car driver, and can adjust his driving accordingley...

as for people who choose to sit in the slow lane behind a lorry, maybe you ought to consider pulling into the middle lane like wagons do, when approaching a motorway slip road, to where the traffic is joining the flow... there is nothing worse than coming up a slip road, only to find someone dordelling and causing a nuisance..

wagons are becoming a lot more greener.. the introduction of the EURO 4 emissions last year, and also euro 5 in the next couple of years, means 10 wagons from 2008 onwards, will produce the same amount of gas that 1 wagon would have 10 - 15 years ago.. thats pretty good going.

also, there is a country wide shortage of wagon drivers, something stupid like 1 million... thats why polish and other immigrants are driving british wagons.... its the bulk of these who sit up your ****, not the english drivers... we have more manners!!

Lum

ahh yes, the driver shortage, probably because you now have to pass 3 additional driving tests (7.5 tonne, 7.5 tonne plus trailer and 44tonne), each with the sodding theory test before you can actually drive one. The removal of 7.5 tonne rights from photocard licences (watch it that those of you exchanging your paper ones for photocards, the DVLA like to remove it without warning from your existing licence) has really screwed up the supply of drivers.

Note: I'm not a truck driver, I can't even drive a 7.5 tonne box van, I just looked into it for a while before realising that it'd cost me £3500 in lessons and tests before I could actually get into the industry and I didn't have the money.

Flatcapdriver

Any vehicle currently already on the motorway is perfectly entitled to 'sit in the slow lane' and as stated in the Highway Code, it is the responsibility of the vehicle joining the motorway to do so appropriately as the vehicles already using the inside lane do not have to give way.

There seems to be a complete lack of understanding as to what the rules are.

stringostar

its not about it been the law, its about been courteous. your coming up the slip road, at a steady 50 - 60, there is a car, sat there completely ignorant to what is goin on around him. all the other vehicles can see that there is traffic merging, and so move into the middle lane to allow you pull onto the motorway safely... how ever, the goon in the slow lane is still there, he then looks at you, and when you think its safe to pull onto the motorway, he decides to put his foot down and play silly buggers.. as if to say, thats my space, keep out...

whats all thata bout, because it happens... people are so arrogant and think if they move over, or give way to you, that they are in the wrong, and it somehow demeans them.....

maybe if we were all a little more symaptheic, and a bit more careful and helpful, then driving would be a pleasure again, and not a chore...

and yes, there have been times when i have done the afore mentioned, but i usually drive to help and aid others, not pissss em off

4X4BOB

What a pr!ck

Drivers like you need a good slap


Now I know why I hardly come on Scoobynet these days

[/waits to be banned]