Is truck "elephant racing" against the law?
Discussion
Again, if you really want to know the meaning of the word 'obstructive' when driving, you need to drive a lorry.
As I've said repeatedly, comparative to driving a lorry, when you drive a car nothing bad happens to you and you see nothing bad. I know everyone thinks they see bad stuff, but it really is nothing at all compared to driving a truck, or dare I say it, riding a bicycle.
You guys have no inkling how badly some of you/us car drivers behave.
As I've said repeatedly, comparative to driving a lorry, when you drive a car nothing bad happens to you and you see nothing bad. I know everyone thinks they see bad stuff, but it really is nothing at all compared to driving a truck, or dare I say it, riding a bicycle.
You guys have no inkling how badly some of you/us car drivers behave.
heebeegeetee said:
Again, if you really want to know the meaning of the word 'obstructive' when driving, you need to drive a lorry.
As I've said repeatedly, comparative to driving a lorry, when you drive a car nothing bad happens to you and you see nothing bad. I know everyone thinks they see bad stuff, but it really is nothing at all compared to driving a truck, or dare I say it, riding a bicycle.
You guys have no inkling how badly some of you/us car drivers behave.
Oh I do have an inkling, I'm crap. But most car drivers are poorly trained compared to lorry drivers, many car drivers will also have far less experience.As I've said repeatedly, comparative to driving a lorry, when you drive a car nothing bad happens to you and you see nothing bad. I know everyone thinks they see bad stuff, but it really is nothing at all compared to driving a truck, or dare I say it, riding a bicycle.
You guys have no inkling how badly some of you/us car drivers behave.
Lorry drivers that do this are therefore cocks in my book because they should know better.
NoNeed said:
Oh I do have an inkling, I'm crap. But most car drivers are poorly trained compared to lorry drivers, many car drivers will also have far less experience.
Lorry drivers that do this are therefore cocks in my book because they should know better.
Nothing to do with training, it's purely down to the character of the car driver.Lorry drivers that do this are therefore cocks in my book because they should know better.
I'd be interested to see what the result would be if every vehicle on the road had a speed limiter fitted.
In other words in establishing your driving plan to deal with a situation the option to just boot it beyond the applicable limit would be removed.
I expect the result would not be pretty.
In other words in establishing your driving plan to deal with a situation the option to just boot it beyond the applicable limit would be removed.
I expect the result would not be pretty.
heebeegeetee said:
NoNeed said:
Oh I do have an inkling, I'm crap. But most car drivers are poorly trained compared to lorry drivers, many car drivers will also have far less experience.
Lorry drivers that do this are therefore cocks in my book because they should know better.
Nothing to do with training, it's purely down to the character of the car driver.Lorry drivers that do this are therefore cocks in my book because they should know better.
NoNeed said:
You cannot assert car drivers character without accepting the lorry drivers character also. I would say the latter is more important due to the higher level of training.
What higher level of training? They've been taught to pass a test. It is a difficult test, but it's still not one that prepares a driver for a job. The vast majority of drivers take to the roads having never driven a laden truck. They have no or little training for the job for which the lorry is used. It is possible to pass a test one day and be on the road the next day.Things are better now than they were, with driver CPCs etc, but that is classroom based on still doesn't prepare for the actual job.
But none of this matters to the competent car driver. All a truck is is a minor challenge in one's day. Trouble is, the roads are full of cars whose driver's cannot cope with any challenge at all. I reckon that something like 1 out of every three drivers cannot or will not overtake anything.
The one thing I have felt strongly over the years though, is that no competent car driver need have trouble with or get tangled up with trucks. As time has gone on and as my mileage increased, that notion has only ever become more strongly felt with me. And of course, it always takes two to tango/tangle.
NoNeed said:
Lorry drivers are sometimes deliberately obstructive, anybody who says differently has either lead a sheltered life or has not used the two lane section of the M42 in the last ten years.
I've always found Lorry drivers (from 7.5t up) appreciate a bit of courtesy ,and will often return it . Mentioning the M42, last time I went north onto the A42 there was an experiment restricting heavier vehicles to the inside lane .[quote=Who me ?]
I've always found Lorry drivers (from 7.5t up) appreciate a bit of courtesy ,and will often return it . Mentioning the M42, last time I went north onto the A42 there was an experiment restricting heavier vehicles to the inside lane .
[/quote]
I've got piece of film taken on that stretch of the m'way being f
ked up by a Picaaso. Picasso is doing 43, and so are all the trucks. Lane 2 is coming past not at 70 or 70+, but at approx 50-55mph. A bit slower than if the trucks were allowed to overtake, in other words.
It is the future, if the numpties have their way, which is why I dread it as a car driver.
I've always found Lorry drivers (from 7.5t up) appreciate a bit of courtesy ,and will often return it . Mentioning the M42, last time I went north onto the A42 there was an experiment restricting heavier vehicles to the inside lane .
[/quote]
I've got piece of film taken on that stretch of the m'way being f
ked up by a Picaaso. Picasso is doing 43, and so are all the trucks. Lane 2 is coming past not at 70 or 70+, but at approx 50-55mph. A bit slower than if the trucks were allowed to overtake, in other words.It is the future, if the numpties have their way, which is why I dread it as a car driver.
From the highway code - and quoted by a trucker on a truck forum
144. Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass. Never obstruct drivers who wish to pass. Speeding up or driving unpredictably while someone is overtaking you is dangerous. Drop back to maintain a two-second gap if someone overtakes and pulls into the gap in front of you.
145. Do not hold up a long queue of traffic, especially if you are driving a LARGE or slow moving VEHICLE. Check your mirrors frequently, and if necessary, pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass.
LGV = LARGE goods VEHICLE
What usually happens after posting that is many will reply saying it is not practical or they will lose their job etc etc - there are many excuses ......
R0G said:
What usually happens after posting that is many will reply saying it is not practical or they will lose their job etc etc - there are many excuses ......
And that's all they are,excuses.There is zero harm in knocking the cruise down a couple of clicks to aid the over taker.It's no different to hitting a slight incline that might slow you down a tad.
Panda76 said:
And that's all they are,excuses.
There is zero harm in knocking the cruise down a couple of clicks to aid the over taker.It's no different to hitting a slight incline that might slow you down a tad.
I totally agree, up to the point where: if pegging the speed down two clicks brings the trucks behind you out into lane 2, what's the point?There is zero harm in knocking the cruise down a couple of clicks to aid the over taker.It's no different to hitting a slight incline that might slow you down a tad.
DAVEVO9 said:
I have posted this up before on related threads.
I know it's lazy to copy and paste it but I would only have wrote something which read the same.
___________________________________
I am a truck driver..
I have posted this before on a few truck bashing threads..
I have been driving artics for over 26 yrs now..
The limiters are a pain I know, let me tell you all how I overcome this problem when I'm out on the road. It's really very simple..
1 If I come up behind another truck I will be able to tell if I am faster than them to overtake quick enough so as not to be sitting there for ages while I get past, ( on straight level road ) so I will wait until traffic is a fair way back behind me, ok fairly simple so far that one.
2 If the speed difference is small ( would mean side by side for too long overtaking ) I will wait for a hill/slight incline to come up to see how much they will slow down by, eg, they slow down to say 50mph, now I already know how my truck is pulling etc with whatever weight I have on it on the day, so I won't overtake then if traffic is too close behind me at that time. So, I now know the next hill/incline that comes up I can nail them pretty quick and I haven't got traffic behind me for ages while I overtake, job done!
3 Being overtaken. I am doing set speed ( 54/55/56 ) truck comes up behind me and starts to pull out ( this is what bugs you all and rightly so ) to avoid the truck taking ages to try and overtake me I will back off by a couple of mph, this will allow them to pass me fairly quickly and not have a load of traffic waiting behind for miles on end..
I do this because the truck overtaking is faster than me and is going to get past sooner or later, but i like the sooner bit! It doesn't cause me any grief, the truck gets past, the cars/traffic behind doesn't get held up too long, everyone wins!
So, to sum it all up, 2 hgv's straining to get past each other, just back off and let them past they are going to get past in the end, why make other traffic suffer?
I get really pi$$ed off when I see 2 trucks that won't "give in" to each other on the road!
It has nothing to do with the limiters, you just adjust your driving to suit
Please take into account this..
IMO the standard of driving ( trucks included ) has got worse over the last few years..
There is also a lot more traffic on the roads too.
We are all fighting for the same piece of tarmac and it's getting worse not better!
Everything you mention here, I still do and have always done.I also used to time overtakes on the hilly sections of the M11 as it was often the best place to pass quickly (depending on the loads as you know)....then they banned trucks from overtaking there, so you now get slower overtakes before and after it I know it's lazy to copy and paste it but I would only have wrote something which read the same.
___________________________________
I am a truck driver..
I have posted this before on a few truck bashing threads..
I have been driving artics for over 26 yrs now..
The limiters are a pain I know, let me tell you all how I overcome this problem when I'm out on the road. It's really very simple..
1 If I come up behind another truck I will be able to tell if I am faster than them to overtake quick enough so as not to be sitting there for ages while I get past, ( on straight level road ) so I will wait until traffic is a fair way back behind me, ok fairly simple so far that one.
2 If the speed difference is small ( would mean side by side for too long overtaking ) I will wait for a hill/slight incline to come up to see how much they will slow down by, eg, they slow down to say 50mph, now I already know how my truck is pulling etc with whatever weight I have on it on the day, so I won't overtake then if traffic is too close behind me at that time. So, I now know the next hill/incline that comes up I can nail them pretty quick and I haven't got traffic behind me for ages while I overtake, job done!
3 Being overtaken. I am doing set speed ( 54/55/56 ) truck comes up behind me and starts to pull out ( this is what bugs you all and rightly so ) to avoid the truck taking ages to try and overtake me I will back off by a couple of mph, this will allow them to pass me fairly quickly and not have a load of traffic waiting behind for miles on end..
I do this because the truck overtaking is faster than me and is going to get past sooner or later, but i like the sooner bit! It doesn't cause me any grief, the truck gets past, the cars/traffic behind doesn't get held up too long, everyone wins!
So, to sum it all up, 2 hgv's straining to get past each other, just back off and let them past they are going to get past in the end, why make other traffic suffer?
I get really pi$$ed off when I see 2 trucks that won't "give in" to each other on the road!
It has nothing to do with the limiters, you just adjust your driving to suit
Please take into account this..
IMO the standard of driving ( trucks included ) has got worse over the last few years..
There is also a lot more traffic on the roads too.
We are all fighting for the same piece of tarmac and it's getting worse not better!
Edited by Digby on Monday 27th February 16:34
@Heebee
Well you can only hope that they:
a) realise you have knocked it down a click to aid a slow overtaker and won't attempt a run at you themselves (if they couldn't get upto you running@ 56mph
b) are already travelling faster than you anyway so would have had to knock it down at some point.
Bit of a judgement call for all involved.
A lot don't help themselves mind and end up looking like idiots and rightly so.
I still don't understand why some drivers don't have the forward planning to look at a unit before a hill and see if the tag axle is down.If it's down it's loaded have a go at it.
If it's up it's not loaded or very lightly loaded, you have no chance (if you are loaded) of getting past on the hill.
But they still try,no way will I slow down on a hill to aid some numpty with a loaded trailer attempting to overtake one that isn't loaded or very lightly loaded.
They can do one.
Well you can only hope that they:
a) realise you have knocked it down a click to aid a slow overtaker and won't attempt a run at you themselves (if they couldn't get upto you running@ 56mph
b) are already travelling faster than you anyway so would have had to knock it down at some point.
Bit of a judgement call for all involved.
A lot don't help themselves mind and end up looking like idiots and rightly so.
I still don't understand why some drivers don't have the forward planning to look at a unit before a hill and see if the tag axle is down.If it's down it's loaded have a go at it.
If it's up it's not loaded or very lightly loaded, you have no chance (if you are loaded) of getting past on the hill.
But they still try,no way will I slow down on a hill to aid some numpty with a loaded trailer attempting to overtake one that isn't loaded or very lightly loaded.
They can do one.
Edited by Panda76 on Monday 27th February 16:39
Panda76 said:
Well you can only hope that they:
a) realise you have knocked it down a click to aid a slow overtaker and won't attempt a run at you themselves (if they couldn't get upto you running@ 56mph
b) are already travelling faster than you anyway so would have had to knock it down at some point.
Bit of a judgement call for all involved.
Lots of drivers do ease off, even though this often goes unnoticed by other roads users, but I would like to see it more often and as a sort of unwritten rule amongst drivers.a) realise you have knocked it down a click to aid a slow overtaker and won't attempt a run at you themselves (if they couldn't get upto you running@ 56mph
b) are already travelling faster than you anyway so would have had to knock it down at some point.
Bit of a judgement call for all involved.
Digby said:
Panda76 said:
Well you can only hope that they:
a) realise you have knocked it down a click to aid a slow overtaker and won't attempt a run at you themselves (if they couldn't get upto you running@ 56mph
b) are already travelling faster than you anyway so would have had to knock it down at some point.
Bit of a judgement call for all involved.
Lots of drivers do ease off, even though this often goes unnoticed by other roads users, but I would like to see it more often and as a sort of unwritten rule amongst drivers.a) realise you have knocked it down a click to aid a slow overtaker and won't attempt a run at you themselves (if they couldn't get upto you running@ 56mph
b) are already travelling faster than you anyway so would have had to knock it down at some point.
Bit of a judgement call for all involved.
We have a few at my place,they can't even stand and chat for 2 minutes at a depot.They are round the depot and out the gates like a whirlwind.Spend the whole night under some pretend pressure.
ETA: One of our lads found out the unit has a rollover warning on it that flashes up.He was talking about it on a training session.He said to the trainer "Hey these trucks have got rollover warnings on them too"
frigging numpty.Edited by Panda76 on Monday 27th February 16:50
R0G said:
From the highway code - and quoted by a trucker on a truck forum
144. Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass. Never obstruct drivers who wish to pass. Speeding up or driving unpredictably while someone is overtaking you is dangerous. Drop back to maintain a two-second gap if someone overtakes and pulls into the gap in front of you.
145. Do not hold up a long queue of traffic, especially if you are driving a LARGE or slow moving VEHICLE. Check your mirrors frequently, and if necessary, pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass.
LGV = LARGE goods VEHICLE
What usually happens after posting that is many will reply saying it is not practical or they will lose their job etc etc - there are many excuses ......
No excuses from me, just some observations.Correct me if I am wrong..144. Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass. Never obstruct drivers who wish to pass. Speeding up or driving unpredictably while someone is overtaking you is dangerous. Drop back to maintain a two-second gap if someone overtakes and pulls into the gap in front of you.
145. Do not hold up a long queue of traffic, especially if you are driving a LARGE or slow moving VEHICLE. Check your mirrors frequently, and if necessary, pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass.
LGV = LARGE goods VEHICLE
What usually happens after posting that is many will reply saying it is not practical or they will lose their job etc etc - there are many excuses ......
144 will apply more to overtakes relating to drivers using the other side of the road to pass.That said, the number of cars who speed up as I pass is truly incredible (and repeat the process several times).Also, the number who pull in front of me and brake to exit a slip road, or get in the correct lane for a roundabout etc, is more incredible still.No two second gaps there.I barely have time to react.
145 will apply more to tractors or wide loads etc and other slow moving vehicles and primarily on roads where there is no chance to pass said slow vehicle (you could apply it to really slow elephant racers I guess).They won't be talking about trucks sat at 56 mph and possibly only 4 or 5 mph under their legal maximum motorway speed, or sat at near 50 mph on a DC.If it were the case that this applied to HGV's in all situations, they would have to pull in every few minutes on SC roads due to the 40 mph restrictions.
As I say, happy to be corrected.
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