I respect your job, but come on guys, must you be so un-pro?

[blueg33]

heebeegeetee said:

blueg33 said:

I was responding to a point where a statement was made that a poster couldn't THINK OF ANY reasons to be travelling at 50mph on the motorway, so I though I would help him out.

Not sure waht is exceptional about having to use a space saver or variable speed limit set at 50mph! The thing is, that the more you do in life the more exceptional circumstances you become involved in. Stay at home and not much happens.

It's your choice to drive a damaged car or a car that doesn't have four tyres fit for m'way speeds, but I don't see that as a reason to do so, I certainly wouldn't do it. A 50 mph limit is one reason, though not many obey speed limits, so no, I'm still struggling to see 'all sorts' of reasons why I would drive a car at 50mph on an m'way, inconveniencing thousands of others out of choice.

This being PH though, a person who can recount many reasons from personal experience can always be found.

Jeez, you sound a bit of a nightmare though. Do you consider yourself unlucky? I mean, I've been an hgv driver (did much of Europe in a former life) and a car enthusiast for 30 years, so staying at home is mot something I've done much of.

Never driven a car that safe at 50 but dangerous at 51, either.

Not especially unlucky (except daugheter scenario) lots of people get flats etc, its hardly my fault if people run into the back of me because they are either too close or not paying attention, but if you drive alot that sort of stuff happens. Are you telling me that you have never had a flat etc? Space saver on mway was from the days when there wasnt advice that said dont change it. Space saver was fitted at the side of the road and i left at the next exit.

A car thts safe at 51 is also safe at 52, the car thats safe at 52 is also safe at 53 etc etc No reason not to do 70mph by that logic.

[Piersman2]

blueg33 said:

I was responding to a point where a statement was made that a poster couldn't THINK OF ANY reasons to be travelling at 50mph on the motorway, so I though I would help him out.

Not sure waht is exceptional about having to use a space saver or variable speed limit set at 50mph! The thing is, that the more you do in life the more exceptional circumstances you become involved in. Stay at home and not much happens.

I've spent the last 15 years commuting up and down the M4 to various contracts, I dread to think how much of my life I've spent on that fecking road! Yet I've never once had a breakdown, burst tyre, puncture etc... although obviously have seen a few. So for me it is exceptional. If I had to use a space saver I'd risk 60mph as reasonable speed and be off the motorway at the next junction to either take alternative roads or find a new tyre to be fitted.

Of course, tomorrow will be the first of a run of blown tyres for the next 4 weeks!

[surveyor]

I think I'm probably very dangerous. After a bulging tyre was spotted at a service, I refused the mind boggling price quoted and got them to put the spare on. I then drove 40 miles on a 3 lane motorway at 50 mph. Very dodgy.

Still better this than bouncing around on small country lanes with only half a tyre on one wheel.

[Super Slo Mo]

Ray, why don't you just 'tag' onto the back of a truck doing a steady 54-56 (or whatever), and follow him/her?

That way you get a bit of a tow from his slipstream, save a bit more fuel, and will get less of the hassle.

Really to avoid the hassle, you will find it beneficial to go just that little bit quicker, keep up with the trucks, and you'll be fine.

[slippery]

Super Slo Mo said:

Ray, why don't you just 'tag' onto the back of a truck doing a steady 54-56 (or whatever), and follow him/her?

That way you get a bit of a tow from his slipstream, save a bit more fuel, and will get less of the hassle.

Really to avoid the hassle, you will find it beneficial to go just that little bit quicker, keep up with the trucks, and you'll be fine.

I suggested this earlier but didn't get a response.

[blueg33]

Piersman2 said:

I've spent the last 15 years commuting up and down the M4 to various contracts, I dread to think how much of my life I've spent on that fecking road! Yet I've never once had a breakdown, burst tyre, puncture etc... although obviously have seen a few. So for me it is exceptional. If I had to use a space saver I'd risk 60mph as reasonable speed and be off the motorway at the next junction to either take alternative roads or find a new tyre to be fitted.

Of course, tomorrow will be the first of a run of blown tyres for the next 4 weeks!

M6 is where people run into the back of me - 2 in the last 5 years. I have only had 2 punctures in my entire driving career of 30 odd years and one of those was on the mway and needed a spacesaver to get me off the mway. Speeding up to 60mph is of course illegal and I couldn't condone it

Of course the whole point was to demonstrate that there are reasons for doing 50mph. Personally I think if you do it without good reason then that's pretty selfish, just like hgv's elephant racing and taking miles to complete an overtake is selfish.

Yes, you should acquire your kwikfit loyalty card immediately

[heebeegeetee]

blueg33 said:

Personally I think if you do it without good reason then that's pretty selfish, just like hgv's elephant racing and taking miles to complete an overtake is selfish.

If you were a truckie do you think you'd do differently?

[anonymous-user]

slippery said:

Super Slo Mo said:

Ray, why don't you just 'tag' onto the back of a truck doing a steady 54-56 (or whatever), and follow him/her?

That way you get a bit of a tow from his slipstream, save a bit more fuel, and will get less of the hassle.

Really to avoid the hassle, you will find it beneficial to go just that little bit quicker, keep up with the trucks, and you'll be fine.

I suggested this earlier but didn't get a response.

oh dear, bad news for this plan but due to the risk of theft............
try that behind me at night for more than a few junctions and you may find the local traffic police pulling you over for a word after i call them for a suspected hijack.
company policy when you notice or think you are being followed is to, if possible pull into services petrol station where it is well lit with cameras. otherwise to slow down and see if vehicle remains behind you, speed up and call the police. no fking about, no messing, no risk. may sound over the top to some but hijack is a big problem and we sometimes carry very very high value loads in plain trailers so your plan may well save you some fuel but as for the hassle, errrr no!!


to be honest regardless of what i drive i believe there is no reason whatsoever to be slower than a truck on the motorway for more than 1 junction.
All you are doing is reducing a motorway down to a single lane for maximum congestion, very selfish.
Some of you can bang on all day long about the legallity of it, the " right to do it" blah blah blah but i bet you would be the first to cry should you come across some one doing 25 in a 40 or 20 in a 30, usual self righteous rubbish from PH.
Dare i suggest that the HGV drivers the OP encounters probably do the same when they are driving a car too, in fact if they were flying a plane would probably do the same on runway 1? there is no excuse for bad driving, however there is no excuse for encouraging it either, especially when you try to hide behind the convenience of the law and not common sense when it suits you.
very poor driving from the OP for all on the motorway, not just the truck who has to at some point go to lane 2 but all in lane 2 who go to lane 3 and then impede those in lane 3 who want to just crack on at a daring 71 mph.

oh and anyone who actually thinks that a spacesaver is in any way ok for any full journey or for driving more than 1 junction on a motorway regardless of the time of day should be dragged from their car and locked in the back of a transit van with a lifer holding a fistfull of viagra. get off the road and get the fking wheel changed you numbskull!!!!!

[blueg33]

heebeegeetee said:

blueg33 said:

Personally I think if you do it without good reason then that's pretty selfish, just like hgv's elephant racing and taking miles to complete an overtake is selfish.

If you were a truckie do you think you'd do differently?

Yep.

Just like if I am doing 70 in L2 and i come to a car in front doing 69 I dont pull out and hold up traffic in L3,l I wait until I can see its clear and that I won't have to cause someone to slow down. If I also knew that I couldnt go any faster than 70 I probably wouldn't bother at all.

What gets me on this thread is that many people seem to be saying that its ok to drive like an agressive tt because someone is being selfish by driving at 50. Pretty hypocritical if you ask me.

A so called professional driver in charge of 40 tonnes of metal and domestic appliances should act like the professional that he claims to be, not like a pissed up meathead in a lowlife pub.

Edited by blueg33 on Monday 25th November 06:37

[powerstroke]

mrmr96 said:

powerstroke said:

GALLARDOGUY said:

I don't endorse tailgating, but 50mph is too slow for a dual carriageway. You need to go a bit faster otherwise you are basically a rolling roadblock.

Yes and 50 on a car speedo is probably about 47 mph ! There should be a minimum speed
For cars on the motorway in fair conditions 55 would seem fair ?and a minimum limiter set speed of 85 KPH for trucks By law !!

I think anyone who has a vehicle capable of legally not impeding lorries, but who chooses to do so anyway, would be better off not being on the road IMO.

There's no need to drive around at 50 and force the big rigs to overtake you. It's a pain for them, and it's a pain for all the other traffic held up by them whilst they do it.

You're being a pain in the arse to a lot of people. Stop it please.

Thanks.

Sadly people are selfish and or ignorant I try to adapt
my speed to the conditions and traffic , If more drivers gave thought to how their actions
affected others our busy roads would be safer and less stressful ...

[londonbabe]

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

If I drive it normally, coupled with a bit of hooning - it returns an mpg of about high 20's, maybe scraping 30.

But if I drive it carefully, by cruising at around 50mph, and by leaving a big gap between me and the car in front in traffic so that I have a buffer and do not engage with the normal 'start / brake / stop' shenanigins on a crowded motorway, I am finding that I can now get mid 40's fuel consumption. For a poor student, this makes a MASSIVE difference to me.

Try tucking in behind the HGVs and matching their speed exactly. OK, you have no forward vision, so you're 'driving on instruments' to some extent - those instruments being the truck's brake lights, but with the truck punching a massive hole in the air for you you should get even better fuel economy.

[Jawaman]

Slightly different twist but this is why I've stopped using the motorbike on really windy days.

Some stretches of the the M3 and M5 over here are scary in a proper cross wind so you tend to stick to around 50. (I'm talking about proper stormy conditions btw!!)

That's when I've had artics sitting two foot from the back of the bike, combined with being blown near onto the hard shoulder / outside lane by the wind it's pretty damn frightening.

You would think HGV drivers of all people would understand crosswinds.

[spitsfire]

From the posts on here, I'm guessing that there aren't many PHers who've tried using a Citroen 2CV on a motorway?

Utterly terrifying for the reasons that the OP so eloquently explained; 55mph felt a bit like I'd imagine take-off in a Sopwith Camel would be like, but with more vibration and noise. But that's why I'd never, ever, in a million years buy a Citroen 2CV or anything that would limit me to such low speeds.

As much as anything else, at 50mph, the average vehicle is closing on you at a rate of 20+mph. That's a lot of faith that the average motorist's observation and anticipation skills are good enough that they won't misjudge and go straight up your chuff....

[Super Slo Mo]

NorfolkInClue1 said:

slippery said:

Super Slo Mo said:

Ray, why don't you just 'tag' onto the back of a truck doing a steady 54-56 (or whatever), and follow him/her?

That way you get a bit of a tow from his slipstream, save a bit more fuel, and will get less of the hassle.

Really to avoid the hassle, you will find it beneficial to go just that little bit quicker, keep up with the trucks, and you'll be fine.

I suggested this earlier but didn't get a response.

oh dear, bad news for this plan but due to the risk of theft............
try that behind me at night for more than a few junctions and you may find the local traffic police pulling you over for a word after i call them for a suspected hijack.
company policy when you notice or think you are being followed is to, if possible pull into services petrol station where it is well lit with cameras. otherwise to slow down and see if vehicle remains behind you, speed up and call the police. no fking about, no messing, no risk. may sound over the top to some but hijack is a big problem and we sometimes carry very very high value loads in plain trailers so your plan may well save you some fuel but as for the hassle, errrr no!!

Interesting point. It's a rare scenario though, and if you pull through a service area, a slipstreaming car will just go and follow someone else. A colleague of mine does it all the time (slipstreams that is), never has any issues.

Out of interest, have you ever had reason to phone the police while being followed? I'd be interested in how quickly they respond, especially since motorway traffic police seem to be a rare beast these days.

[mrmr96]

powerstroke said:

mrmr96 said:

powerstroke said:

GALLARDOGUY said:

I don't endorse tailgating, but 50mph is too slow for a dual carriageway. You need to go a bit faster otherwise you are basically a rolling roadblock.

Yes and 50 on a car speedo is probably about 47 mph ! There should be a minimum speed
For cars on the motorway in fair conditions 55 would seem fair ?and a minimum limiter set speed of 85 KPH for trucks By law !!

I think anyone who has a vehicle capable of legally not impeding lorries, but who chooses to do so anyway, would be better off not being on the road IMO.

There's no need to drive around at 50 and force the big rigs to overtake you. It's a pain for them, and it's a pain for all the other traffic held up by them whilst they do it.

You're being a pain in the arse to a lot of people. Stop it please.

Thanks.

Sadly people are selfish and or ignorant I try to adapt
my speed to the conditions and traffic , If more drivers gave thought to how their actions
affected others our busy roads would be safer and less stressful ...

Absolutely agree. Another example might be if you're in an overtaking land making progress against the vehicle you're overtaking but you can see an even slower vehicle in their lane which you're both catching. In this situation I'd put my toe down a little further so I'm past the guy I'm overtaking in enough time for him to pull out behind me and not have to brake for the slower vehicle in his lane. I'll then drop back to my normal cruising speed. I could have left my car on cruise control and effectively "boxed in" the car I'm passing through my inaction. But that's not a very considerate thing to do, so I don't do it.

OP needs to have some consideration for the impact his actions are having on a large number of other road users. Sure, it's his prerogative to act self interestedly, but it would be nicer for everyone else if a little consideration were shown.

[AGK]

If you are being overtaken by HGV then you should really surrender your licence.

[heebeegeetee]

blueg33 said:

1. Yep.

2. Just like if I am doing 70 in L2 and i come to a car in front doing 69 I dont pull out and hold up traffic in L3,l I wait until I can see its clear and that I won't have to cause someone to slow down. If I also knew that I couldnt go any faster than 70 I probably wouldn't bother at all.

3. What gets me on this thread is that many people seem to be saying that its ok to drive like an agressive tt because someone is being selfish by driving at 50. Pretty hypocritical if you ask me.

4. A so called professional driver in charge of 40 tonnes of metal and domestic appliances should act like the professional that he claims to be, not like a pissed up meathead in a lowlife pub.

Edited by blueg33 on Monday 25th November 06:37

1. You wouldn't. I mean, you can't be naieve enough to think that, on the basis of no experience, if you were to suddenly find yourself doing the job you would do it differently from everyone else and everyone else was/is wrong, and only you could see the light?

What would actually happen is that you would begin the job with all good intentions, then learn what happens and why, and then find yourself doing the same as everyone else, because that's what tends to happen.

Then you could decide if looking after your employer, your job and your family is selfish or not.

2. And I do *exactly* the same. I posted on PH a long time ago that for me, L3 could have a minimum sped limit of 70 rather than a max. However, the actions of us not in a hurry are never going to be the same for someone who is in a job where every minute can count.

3. Nobody is saying that at all. What they're saying is that if you piss people off, don't expect to be treated well. This would apply everywhere and to everyone in life pretty much, and hgv drivers are not going to be any different.

4. Why domestic appliances? Think of the facts: The vehicles are very expensive and considerable investments are made in them. They are carrying a cargo that has a value. The industry is paying enormous amounts of tax. Each hgv consume hundreds of pounds of tax-heavy fuel every 24 hours of work. The running costs of the vehicles are expensive. Speeds are limited as are working hours. Time has to be maximised and the industry has to be efficient.

The industry has to put itself first, just as every other industry has to and it surprises me that anyone can think it would not ever be thus.

[shovelheadrob]

NorfolkInClue1 said:

oh and anyone who actually thinks that a spacesaver is in any way ok for any full journey or for driving more than 1 junction on a motorway regardless of the time of day should be dragged from their car and locked in the back of a transit van with a lifer holding a fistfull of viagra. get off the road and get the fking wheel changed you numbskull!!!!!

Because you will die if you drive on a spacesaver http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPh90yNX-mY

[spike50]

AGK said:

If you are being overtaken by HGV then you should really surrender your licence.

^^^^^THIS^^^^^

end of thread

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Ok, so I'm back in the room.

I appreciate all the comments, suggestions and banter, for better or worse

As said, my original idea was to do 50mph to both save fuel, and drive at a low enough speed that HGV's approaching from my rear would be going faster than me to enough of an extent that simply pulling out to lane 2 and overtaking would be relatively simple for them - with enough of a speed differential so as to cause them the minimum of problems. But, as also said - this hasn't really worked, and I get many HGV's roaring up behind me and trying to intimidate me to speed up.

I want to be a good road-user, and hate to think I am annoying anyone else. I am not happy to be just 'doing my own thing' oblivious to anyone else, despite me actually doing nothing wrong. As I've also said, I appreciate, understand and value the contributions HGV drivers make to our lives, and recognise their generally high level of training and professionalism.

A lot of people have slated me for the '50mph' thing on here - ok, most posters on this thread are HGV drivers - but I posted on here on purpose, in order to get some feedback and comments from the very people I seem to be annoying. Thanks for your comments all, food for thought.


So - to conclude. This week I have experimented with a hopefully 'happy medium' for us all. I've now been doing 60mph. I am happy to report that this speed, in comparison to 50mph, does not impinge hugely on my fuel consumption worries. Yes, it is not as good - but using the on-board computer in the car for figures, is not so bad. On average, it's now doing early 40's mpg - 42/43, instead of mid-40's. I can live with that.

The good news is that at 60mph I have not had a single HGV have cause to steam up behind me and have to brake / get annoyed. I generally now can cruise in lane 1, enjoying it to myself for the most part, and occasionally I now catch up with the odd HGV - generally a 'heavy' on an uphill stretch. Depending upon the forthcoming gradient on the motorway, and my ready-reckoner of how much it might speed up on a downhill stretch - I either overtake at 60mph and get well clear, or just slow down and keep tucked in behind it.

In summary - I am happy with this arrangement - and even happier still that it shouldn't now give rise to a situation that causes any road rage from our HGV guys and gals.

Thanks for all your input! Keep smiling