Lorries in a 50mph average
Lorries in a 50mph average
Author
Discussion

TWW

Original Poster:

80 posts

149 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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Hello All,

Genuine question here:

Are lorry drivers allowed to go faster than 50mph in a temporary average speed limit on the motorway?

The M6 seems to be littered with them, and all too often if I've got cruise control on at - say - 54mph, a lorry will storm up right behind me and flash its lights.

What are the rules?

Eddieslofart

1,328 posts

113 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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Cameras in a 50 are most likely set at 56, which lorry drivers are aware of. And if they flash you, you are dawdling, why ?

Merc 450

998 posts

129 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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No but we are limited to 56mph which will not usually set off a 50mph camera, most truckers seem to leave it on cruise control rather than accelerate and brake every 2 minutes like a car driver. (our vehicles are tracked so we get warnings for excessive use of accelerator or brakes.)

anonymous-user

84 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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Eddieslofart said:
Cameras in a 50 are most likely set at 56, which lorry drivers are aware of. And if they flash you, you are dawdling, why ?
He's just said he's doing 54 in a 50, hardly dawdling

freddytin

1,184 posts

257 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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One of the rules is keep left. wink

rustfalia

1,935 posts

196 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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Still happens sometimes if you are in l1 of a 2 lane section.
I often find lorry drivers tailgating both lanes getting nowhere.
All to gain a few minutes pathetic really.

mcm87

133 posts

163 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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This is a huge problem on the M20 in Kent with foreign lorries. 20miles of 50mph average cameras and the foreign lorries can’t get prosecuted for speeding here so they sit on their limiter. I’ve been actively overtaking slower cars at a few mph over 50 (GPS) but they’ll sit inches behind flashing, even when there’s nowhere to pull over!

Merc 450

998 posts

129 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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rustfalia said:
Still happens sometimes if you are in l1 of a 2 lane section.
I often find lorry drivers tailgating both lanes getting nowhere.
All to gain a few minutes pathetic really.
You wouldn't say that if you had to stay in a truck for the night because your driving time ran out a few minutes from home


Merc 450

998 posts

129 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
quotequote all
freddytin said:
One of the rules is keep left. wink
Exactly you always get one numpty sat in the outside lane at 50 because it's the speed limit, get out of the way you moron if i want to break the law that's up to me

freddytin

1,184 posts

257 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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If they want to exceed the posted limit , why not let them by?

Is it really any different to letting a car by in the 70mph zones?

Gavin0478

480 posts

171 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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You will most likely find that hgv's with tachographs fitted have accurate speed readings where as car manufacturers have a large tolerance to over read your speed but cannot under read it. This means your indicated 50 could actually only be 44mph thats why they overtake or go faster

Fastdruid

9,383 posts

182 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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Gavin0478 said:
You will most likely find that hgv's with tachographs fitted have accurate speed readings where as car manufacturers have a large tolerance to over read your speed but cannot under read it. This means your indicated 50 could actually only be 44mph thats why they overtake or go faster
So what if you are doing 44 in a 50? That doesn't give them the right to drive dangerously. That doesn't give them the right to drive 2in off your bumper and try and bully their way past. In the same way it doesn't give Mr Audi the right to do the same in the outside lane for someone daring to do only 70 while they have an important meeting to get to.

Not that it is the case because like many I've driven with the GPS on showing my exact speed and will stick it at 50mph in a 50. Most people aren't doing 44, they're doing 48-49 and time after time I see poor sods have an HGV inches off the back of them because they are daring to do the speed limit or god forbid 1mph under it.

Bunch of tts. They know that they're not going to get done if they bounce if off the 56mph limiter.

anonymous-user

84 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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Merc 450 said:
You wouldn't say that if you had to stay in a truck for the night because your driving time ran out a few minutes from home
Can they not walk?

donkmeister

12,907 posts

130 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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Oh god this crap again?

My daily car, with 51mph on the speedo, is doing a GPS-verified 50mph. Tested with multiple devices, many times. The old trope of indicated and GPS speed being wildly different doesn't apply on even my 15 year old car.
At 55mph indicated speed, I occasionally have lorries get on my arse in 50mph average speed zones. So... 1-2mph off their limited maximum.
Where these are 3-6 lane motorways that isn't often a problem as they usually have another lane to use (although on one occasion a trucker decided that I should magic the traffic either side out of the way on a 4 or 5 lane section of the M25 during rush hour).
However... On occasion I have been driving down 2-lane stretches of the A1 & A1(M), come across such roadworks and faced a quandary... L1 is open to all traffic, L2 is of restricted width. I can either a) sit in L1 with Mr Duel 6 inches off my arse b) move into L2 to let Bubba undertake me at +1mph, c) leave at the next junction then immediately rejoin d) risk a ticket but have no comeback and possibly get called a snitch by PH hard cases if I share dashcam footage with the police to justify my actions.
I have tried a-c depending on the situation inc how mental the trucker is acting, not had a collision yet but it doesn't justify a very small minority acting like s.

Lemming Train

5,567 posts

102 months

Friday 15th March 2019
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TWW said:
Hello All,

Genuine question here:

Are lorry drivers allowed to go faster than 50mph in a temporary average speed limit on the motorway?

The M6 seems to be littered with them, and all too often if I've got cruise control on at - say - 54mph, a lorry will storm up right behind me and flash its lights.

What are the rules?
If you're in lane 2 and there is stuff in lane 1, move into lane 3, let the truck come past you in lane 2, return to lane 2. Seriously, do it. It works and it gets the truck off your arse.

No-one uses lane 3 in 50mph average zones as they're all frightened to death of it for reasons I don't understand; as soon as the 50mph area starts you can watch them all like a swarm of locusts all instantly dive into lane 2 to sit alongside Doris in lane 1 doing the exact same 45 mph. End result = pissed off truckers that just want to get on with driving at the speed limit but now can't because they're surrounded by idiots that can't maintain a set speed to save their lives.

surveyor

18,691 posts

214 months

Friday 15th March 2019
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I normally side against the truckers... but I’ve seen so many tin pot helmet wearing warriors sticking at 45mph in the outside lane holding up a whole motorway that I would excuse a love tap.

My lane discipline is pretty much fked in average speed zones - I’ll just use any lane that is moving.

Earthdweller

19,410 posts

156 months

Friday 15th March 2019
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Merc 450 said:
rustfalia said:
Still happens sometimes if you are in l1 of a 2 lane section.
I often find lorry drivers tailgating both lanes getting nowhere.
All to gain a few minutes pathetic really.
You wouldn't say that if you had to stay in a truck for the night because your driving time ran out a few minutes from home
That’s a pretty appalling attitude and one that does professional drivers a massive disservice

To say that dangerous driving in a 44 ton truck on a busy motorway is justified because you need to get home to your fluffy pillow is rather disgusting

Ron99

1,985 posts

111 months

Friday 15th March 2019
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donkmeister said:
Oh god this crap again?

My daily car, with 51mph on the speedo, is doing a GPS-verified 50mph. Tested with multiple devices, many times. The old trope of indicated and GPS speed being wildly different doesn't apply on even my 15 year old car..
I drove someone else's nearly new 1.6 petrol Astra a few times several years ago and its speedo over-read by about 12%; indicated 50mph was actually about 44mph GPS.
My own diesel Astra at the time over-read by about 4% at all speeds; indicated 50mph was actually about 48mph.

Ron99

1,985 posts

111 months

Friday 15th March 2019
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Truckers tailgating in L1 can p!$$ off but if truckers (or anyone else) want to travel at 56mph+ in L2/L3, that's up to them; let them pass.

These days, too many drivers don't mind their own business. Too many interfere with others who they think should be going faster or slower by tailgating or blocking.

Pica-Pica

16,600 posts

114 months

Friday 15th March 2019
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In Scotland, on the A75, there are frequent stretches where lorries only are restricted to 40 mph. This is usually when a dual carriageway is upcoming. That speed restriction is maintained through the dual carriageway and gets lorries down to this stable speed and cars to pass. It seems to work quite well (for car drivers).