Minimum safe speed for Lorry to join a free flowing motorway

[surveyor_101]

Just wondering was behind a horse Lorry at a services and they entered at 22mph, causing bedlam.

What is legally is the position on that?

[Dave Hedgehog]

HTP99 said:

Who is Larry?

he has a leisure suit

[Seesure]

Dave Hedgehog said:

HTP99 said:

Who is Larry?

he has a leisure suit

Blimey... had forgotten about that game !!!

[Drumroll]

WOW 22mph is very specific, how did the OP get to that figure? My understanding is there isn't actually a legal minimum speed limit. (Reasoning if there was a minimum limit you could be prosecuted if you had to slow down for roadworks etc)

[Slidingpillar]

Stupidly, there is no minimum speed in the UK. 30mph in the Republic of Ireland though.

I dimly remember a steam lorry getting prosecuted but I don't think it was a the speed (28 from memory) but something to do with driving furiously - he was setting the verges on fire with the sparks from the boiler.

[Ste1987]

Drumroll said:

WOW 22mph is very specific, how did the OP get to that figure? My understanding is there isn't actually a legal minimum speed limit. (Reasoning if there was a minimum limit you could be prosecuted if you had to slow down for roadworks etc)

Maybe OP has a digital speedometer, or it read on a GPS?

I'd have thought it would be classed as dangerous driving, or driving without due care or attention? Doesn't apply just to speeders

[agtlaw]

More likely inconsiderate driving / driving without reasonable consideration. Prosecutor must prove a driver was inconvenienced. See s. 3 RTA 1988.

[longshot]

I understand the point of a minimum speed but what if a lorry gets cut up (very common nowadays I would think) at the bottom of the slip road and has to slam on the brakes.

Entering then would cause a lot of disruption but if not as if he can back up and have another go.

I use the M1 during peak times once a week and one junction in particular is always ground to a halt by the sheer volume of traffic pouring on to the motorway.

The though crossed my mind that a forth lane at junctions for about half a mile would make things a lot easier and would help with this too.

Edited by longshot on Friday 1st July 11:06

[surveyor_101]

Drumroll said:

WOW 22mph is very specific, how did the OP get to that figure? My understanding is there isn't actually a legal minimum speed limit. (Reasoning if there was a minimum limit you could be prosecuted if you had to slow down for roadworks etc)

Have a camera system with gps speed

[HappyMidget]

longshot said:

I understand the point of a minimum speed but what if a lorry gets cut up (very common nowadays I would think) at the bottom of the slip road and has to slam on the brakes.

Entering then would cause a lot of disruption but if not as if he can back up and have another go.

He could use the hard shoulder to get up to speed rather than being a rolling roadblock in lane 1.

[longshot]

HappyMidget said:

He could use the hard shoulder to get up to speed rather than being a rolling roadblock in lane 1.

He could, but he'd need a law to allow him to do so

[HappyMidget]

longshot said:

HappyMidget said:

He could use the hard shoulder to get up to speed rather than being a rolling roadblock in lane 1.

He could, but he'd need a law to allow him to do so

Surely the law allows for this? He has had to stop, therefore he can use the hard shoulder and AIUI you are not supposed to re-join the main carriageway until you are at speed.

[longshot]

HappyMidget said:

longshot said:

HappyMidget said:

He could use the hard shoulder to get up to speed rather than being a rolling roadblock in lane 1.

He could, but he'd need a law to allow him to do so

Surely the law allows for this? He has had to stop, therefore he can use the hard shoulder and AIUI you are not supposed to re-join the main carriageway until you are at speed.

Just playing devil's advocate here but what if there is a broken down car on the hard shoulder at the bottom of the slip road?

[Drumroll]

OP maybe what you should have said is I had to slow down to 22MPH you/I can not say what speed the lorry was actually doing.

[surveyor_101]

Drumroll said:

OP maybe what you should have said is I had to slow down to 22MPH you/I can not say what speed the lorry was actually doing.

Speed was matched, so not really relevant

[Pete317]

longshot said:

HappyMidget said:

longshot said:

HappyMidget said:

He could use the hard shoulder to get up to speed rather than being a rolling roadblock in lane 1.

He could, but he'd need a law to allow him to do so

Surely the law allows for this? He has had to stop, therefore he can use the hard shoulder and AIUI you are not supposed to re-join the main carriageway until you are at speed.

Just playing devil's advocate here but what if there is a broken down car on the hard shoulder at the bottom of the slip road?

Well, if an when such an occasion arises, he wouldn't be able to use the hard shoulder

[GreatGranny]

I know they are carrying horses but Horseboxes seem to be the slowest vehicles on the road.
No real reason why it can't get up to a decent speed on a (presumably) straight ish slip road.
I understand caution when cornering but its hardly going to accelerate so harshly that they all fall out of the back :-)

[surveyor_101]

GreatGranny said:

I know they are carrying horses but Horseboxes seem to be the slowest vehicles on the road.
No real reason why it can't get up to a decent speed on a (presumably) straight ish slip road.
I understand caution when cornering but its hardly going to accelerate so harshly that they all fall out of the back :-)

I suspect in their mind (Having been in a relationship once with a girl with horses) they are protecting their horse going slow and not accelerating. It was not the youngest lorry. However if you get hit at 20 by a car going 70 its not going to be good news for the horse.

[snobetter]

Joining the motorway (rule 259)
Rule 259
Joining the motorway. When you join the motorway you will normally approach it from a road on the left (a slip road) or from an adjoining motorway. You should

give priority to traffic already on the motorway
check the traffic on the motorway and match your speed to fit safely into the traffic flow in the left-hand lane
not cross solid white lines that separate lanes or use the hard shoulder
stay on the slip road if it continues as an extra lane on the motorway
remain in the left-hand lane long enough to adjust to the speed of traffic before considering overtaking.

Match your speed to fit safely into traffic, what the Police do if you don't I've no idea, charge you with something if you cause an accident?

[caelite]

Im generalizing but I think this for the most part is something that has most likely been caused by another car driver than the truck itself, surely I cant be the only one who has witnessed (normally old biddies or young girls) stopping on slips when they fail to merge correctly. Or slowing down to horrendous speeds until a 50m gap opens up if there happens to be a truck behind them it takes a laden truck a LONG time to get back up to 30, nevermind 56. So that pretty much leaves the driver with 2 options, pull out and slow down the active lane for a couple of minutes, or accelerate in the shoulder and merge 200m down the motorway.

The later would cause less disruption but the motorway cops are currently running a crackdown on trucks on shoulders and it would be extremely difficult to justify slowing lane 1 for a few minutes as an 'emergancy', also the safety issue if there is a breakdown on the shoulder that you are accelerating towards with 44ton gvw.