Why is lorry overtaking not banned?
Discussion
I'd like to see the Government start investing in its transport infrastructure and the DfT getting together with industry and coming up with a robust plan for future freight movements. The roads are full, but banning overtaking lorries is absurd and unlikely to solve the main cause of the problem. Given the likelihood of building new road networks, I'd like to see the rail freight network evolve and remove traffic from the roads.
Few years ago I got stuck behind the elephant racers on the A14 for miles at 56.1mph. Lane 1 truck could have yealded easily but chose to delay everyone else as the overtaking HGV gained on hills but couldn't get past on downslopes.
So, I came off the exit slip, straight on at the roundabout and rejoined ahead of the offenders and drove in lane 1 at 45mph for long enough that the t
t in lane 1 had to back off. As soon as the overtaker was clear I put my (unrestricted) foot down and left.
So, I came off the exit slip, straight on at the roundabout and rejoined ahead of the offenders and drove in lane 1 at 45mph for long enough that the t
t in lane 1 had to back off. As soon as the overtaker was clear I put my (unrestricted) foot down and left.Some sensible suggestions in here.
I'd suggest:
Lorry Radar cruise, with push-to-pass function.
You are in HGV X doing 50, and 40 uphill. HGV Y behind you is happily doing 56 everywhere. His cruise box detects your truck and sends a message to your cruise box. You not cannot exceed 50mph until he is past, and his truck will now allow 60mph.
Will stop the 1-2mph stupidity.
I'd suggest:
Lorry Radar cruise, with push-to-pass function.
You are in HGV X doing 50, and 40 uphill. HGV Y behind you is happily doing 56 everywhere. His cruise box detects your truck and sends a message to your cruise box. You not cannot exceed 50mph until he is past, and his truck will now allow 60mph.
Will stop the 1-2mph stupidity.
s55shh said:
Few years ago I got stuck behind the elephant racers on the A14 for miles at 56.1mph. Lane 1 truck could have yealded easily but chose to delay everyone else as the overtaking HGV gained on hills but couldn't get past on downslopes.
So, I came off the exit slip, straight on at the roundabout and rejoined ahead of the offenders and drove in lane 1 at 45mph for long enough that the tt in lane 1 had to back off. As soon as the overtaker was clear I put my (unrestricted) foot down and left.
You lie. Truck drivers don't do that, and if they do, it won't delay you. You would be far more delayed by the penguins/milk float/anything but trucks. So, I came off the exit slip, straight on at the roundabout and rejoined ahead of the offenders and drove in lane 1 at 45mph for long enough that the t
t in lane 1 had to back off. As soon as the overtaker was clear I put my (unrestricted) foot down and left.How about extreme solutions .
All commutes to work of less than 5 miles done on foot or bicycle.
All commutes of more than 5 miles done on public transport .
Having been a truck or van driver for most of my life all my delays are during commuter times , or major holiday times .
A couple of minutes delay for a car driver can be made up by going a couple of mph faster .
Delays in trucks rarely can be made up as we are limited by lower speed limits everywhere outside towns .
These continuous delays result in us running out of driving hours , something that car and van drivers don't have to contend with .
Several delays during the week and we don't get home on a friday evening .
Depending on how our work pattern has run over a couple of weeks we may have to park up for two days rest before continuing.
Yes their are some idiot steering wheel attendants in HGVs but I have encountered a far higher percentage of inconsiderate or dangerous car drivers out on our roads .
Most of continental Europe is much better outside the major cities of France,Spain or Italy .
All commutes to work of less than 5 miles done on foot or bicycle.
All commutes of more than 5 miles done on public transport .
Having been a truck or van driver for most of my life all my delays are during commuter times , or major holiday times .
A couple of minutes delay for a car driver can be made up by going a couple of mph faster .
Delays in trucks rarely can be made up as we are limited by lower speed limits everywhere outside towns .
These continuous delays result in us running out of driving hours , something that car and van drivers don't have to contend with .
Several delays during the week and we don't get home on a friday evening .
Depending on how our work pattern has run over a couple of weeks we may have to park up for two days rest before continuing.
Yes their are some idiot steering wheel attendants in HGVs but I have encountered a far higher percentage of inconsiderate or dangerous car drivers out on our roads .
Most of continental Europe is much better outside the major cities of France,Spain or Italy .
You can't call him a liar it may well have happened to him sometimes people are belligerent whether they're driving riding walking you will come across someone who wants to be an arse, that's life the majority of people are okay.
As someone pointed out earlier in this thread when people are in an AVG speed zone they won't pull in they'll pass someone doing 50mph at 51mph (usually much to my frustration) because I had my cruise set at 54mph, now imagine that's how you had to drive everyday.
For me it's simple raise the speed limit as you'll then speed up all traffic as those dawdlers in the middle lanes will speed up because they won't want 44 tons of Scania's finest undertaking them & on dual carriageways the overtakes may still take as long if both are doing 65mph (less time if there's a speed differential) but you'll still be moving at a reasonable pace so it won't feel as irritating.
As someone pointed out earlier in this thread when people are in an AVG speed zone they won't pull in they'll pass someone doing 50mph at 51mph (usually much to my frustration) because I had my cruise set at 54mph, now imagine that's how you had to drive everyday.
For me it's simple raise the speed limit as you'll then speed up all traffic as those dawdlers in the middle lanes will speed up because they won't want 44 tons of Scania's finest undertaking them & on dual carriageways the overtakes may still take as long if both are doing 65mph (less time if there's a speed differential) but you'll still be moving at a reasonable pace so it won't feel as irritating.
grumpy52 said:
How about extreme solutions .
All commutes to work of less than 5 miles done on foot or bicycle.
All commutes of more than 5 miles done on public transport .
Having been a truck or van driver for most of my life all my delays are during commuter times , or major holiday times .
A couple of minutes delay for a car driver can be made up by going a couple of mph faster .
Delays in trucks rarely can be made up as we are limited by lower speed limits everywhere outside towns .
These continuous delays result in us running out of driving hours , something that car and van drivers don't have to contend with .
Several delays during the week and we don't get home on a friday evening .
Depending on how our work pattern has run over a couple of weeks we may have to park up for two days rest before continuing.
Yes their are some idiot steering wheel attendants in HGVs but I have encountered a far higher percentage of inconsiderate or dangerous car drivers out on our roads .
Most of continental Europe is much better outside the major cities of France,Spain or Italy .
I would expect you would find your life would become easier if restrictions on HGVs were in place. You would have a much better understanding on how long a particular journey would take whilst also not having the issue of "I must get past him he's slowing me up slightly". All commutes to work of less than 5 miles done on foot or bicycle.
All commutes of more than 5 miles done on public transport .
Having been a truck or van driver for most of my life all my delays are during commuter times , or major holiday times .
A couple of minutes delay for a car driver can be made up by going a couple of mph faster .
Delays in trucks rarely can be made up as we are limited by lower speed limits everywhere outside towns .
These continuous delays result in us running out of driving hours , something that car and van drivers don't have to contend with .
Several delays during the week and we don't get home on a friday evening .
Depending on how our work pattern has run over a couple of weeks we may have to park up for two days rest before continuing.
Yes their are some idiot steering wheel attendants in HGVs but I have encountered a far higher percentage of inconsiderate or dangerous car drivers out on our roads .
Most of continental Europe is much better outside the major cities of France,Spain or Italy .
Admittedly you as an individual may see a marginal increase in journey times but the majority would see an improvement to journey times and a reduction in stress.
OpulentBob said:
s55shh said:
Few years ago I got stuck behind the elephant racers on the A14 for miles at 56.1mph. Lane 1 truck could have yealded easily but chose to delay everyone else as the overtaking HGV gained on hills but couldn't get past on downslopes.
So, I came off the exit slip, straight on at the roundabout and rejoined ahead of the offenders and drove in lane 1 at 45mph for long enough that the tt in lane 1 had to back off. As soon as the overtaker was clear I put my (unrestricted) foot down and left.
You lie. Truck drivers don't do that, and if they do, it won't delay you. You would be far more delayed by the penguins/milk float/anything but trucks. So, I came off the exit slip, straight on at the roundabout and rejoined ahead of the offenders and drove in lane 1 at 45mph for long enough that the t
t in lane 1 had to back off. As soon as the overtaker was clear I put my (unrestricted) foot down and left.Conscript said:
Can you tell us what junction? I want to see it, as I find it hard to believe that you'd be able to leave the DC, negotiate the entire junction and then rejoin while maintaining a speed high enough that you'd get in front of a truck maintaining 56MPH on the carriageway. Unless it was the dead of night and you had to make absolutely no allowance for other traffic.
That was my thought exactly. If the A14 was busy, the odds of coming off one of those junctions to an empty roundabout must be absolute nill.However, if his story is true, then that was the whole of lane 1 he slowed. I mean, he's not slowing just one lorry is he, he's slowing everyone behind it too. There must have been a mass movement from lane 1 to 2. If rush hour there possibly would have been a concertina effect bringing both lanes to a halt some miles back.
But I think the story is bulls
t. 
OpulentBob said:
But truck drivers are bitter little uneducated (or worse, self-educated) fat men, generally, who like to dominate the road, and judging by Norfolk's post above, they have absolutely no regard for anyone else's journey and take pleasure in holding as many people up as possible.
There's a stereotype for a reason.
What an ignorant and uneducated statement.There's a stereotype for a reason.
You bitter, little, uneducated, fat man.
ZX10R NIN said:
Raising the limit will help, yes some companies will still run their trucks at 50mph 52mph 56mph & 65mph but what you'd then get is enough of a speed differential to make overtaking easier fuel wise you'd run longer gearing so the truck is running the same rpm as at 56mph.
And the reason the hauliers reduce their limiters, is because they need to save cost. And the reason they need to save cost is because the general public/consumers are needy and self righteous.Someone has to pay for it.
John145 said:
In this country we bemoan our lack of efficiency. The road network is a serious issue in this.
On a weekly basis I drive Cambs to Crewe. M11, A14, M6, M6 Toll, M6.
Elephant racing is not conducted by a 50mph limited lorry and a 60mph limited lorry.
It's the 56.4mph and 56.5mph lorries. Overtakes regularly taking 2 minutes.
The practical effect on a 150 mile journey? 30-45 minute delay. I stick the cruise control on at an indicated 77mph for the whole journey, regardless of time of day. When I leave at 5am the journey takes 2 hours 30minutes. When I leave 1 hour later, it takes 3 hours 15 minutes. The difference? The number of times I'm held up by lorries overtaking.
When the lorry moves out of the way the next 3 miles of motorway are empty. This is the issue!
We are allowing huge sections of empty motorway for the purpose of 1 lorry company getting their journey completed 4 minutes earlier.
Believe it or not, but my time and that of the 10-20 cars behind me is more valuable than a lorry load of stuff that'll likely be parked up when it arrives at its destination for much more time than it saved with overtaking.
The solution is four fold:
- A minimum speed limit of 60mph on the motorway for cars
- A ban on speedlimiters set at below 56mph
- A ban on lorries overtaking on all 2 lane dual carriageways and motorways between 6am and 8pm
- A ban on lorries using lanes 3 or 4 on multi-lane motorways
I drive a lot on the continent. In Germany their smart motorway network is much better and adaptable than ours. There they will ban lorries overtaking when it starts to get congested rather than at specific times of the day whilst at the same time slowing the traffic to 100-130kph. As soon as the motorway is clearing the restrictions are lifted.
The outcome? Everyone (including lorries) get to their destinations quicker.
What an absolute load of badly thought out bOn a weekly basis I drive Cambs to Crewe. M11, A14, M6, M6 Toll, M6.
Elephant racing is not conducted by a 50mph limited lorry and a 60mph limited lorry.
It's the 56.4mph and 56.5mph lorries. Overtakes regularly taking 2 minutes.
The practical effect on a 150 mile journey? 30-45 minute delay. I stick the cruise control on at an indicated 77mph for the whole journey, regardless of time of day. When I leave at 5am the journey takes 2 hours 30minutes. When I leave 1 hour later, it takes 3 hours 15 minutes. The difference? The number of times I'm held up by lorries overtaking.
When the lorry moves out of the way the next 3 miles of motorway are empty. This is the issue!
We are allowing huge sections of empty motorway for the purpose of 1 lorry company getting their journey completed 4 minutes earlier.
Believe it or not, but my time and that of the 10-20 cars behind me is more valuable than a lorry load of stuff that'll likely be parked up when it arrives at its destination for much more time than it saved with overtaking.
The solution is four fold:
- A minimum speed limit of 60mph on the motorway for cars
- A ban on speedlimiters set at below 56mph
- A ban on lorries overtaking on all 2 lane dual carriageways and motorways between 6am and 8pm
- A ban on lorries using lanes 3 or 4 on multi-lane motorways
I drive a lot on the continent. In Germany their smart motorway network is much better and adaptable than ours. There they will ban lorries overtaking when it starts to get congested rather than at specific times of the day whilst at the same time slowing the traffic to 100-130kph. As soon as the motorway is clearing the restrictions are lifted.
The outcome? Everyone (including lorries) get to their destinations quicker.
ks.Lorry drivers seem to get a bad rap, 99% of the st driving I see is car drivers. We have a 26 tonne flatbed at work and have ridden in it a few times, the "must get in front" mentality from other drivers is shocking even when the lorry is doing a decent rate of speed. Cars cutting in and braking at motorway junctions when we had 12 tonnes of high-centre of gravity transformer on the back 
I would probably die of high blood pressure if I had to drive one of those for 8 hours a day.
t driving I see is car drivers. We have a 26 tonne flatbed at work and have ridden in it a few times, the "must get in front" mentality from other drivers is shocking even when the lorry is doing a decent rate of speed. Cars cutting in and braking at motorway junctions when we had 12 tonnes of high-centre of gravity transformer on the back I would probably die of high blood pressure if I had to drive one of those for 8 hours a day. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff