Your opinion on extreme lorry "overtaking"
Discussion
You're driving on a reasonably busy dual carriageway. Lorry A pulls out to overtake lorry B. After 9 minutes of lane blockage, he still hasn't got past. There's a tailback of 50+ vehicles. Nobody has gained anything.
In your view is this selfish? Inconsiderate? Wrong? Does Lorry A's potential saving of a few seconds off his journey justify delaying the journeys of dozens of others by almost 10 minutes?
Or is this a normal part of everyday driving where lorry drivers are essential workers, can do no wrong and should be exempt from any scrutiny?
In your view is this selfish? Inconsiderate? Wrong? Does Lorry A's potential saving of a few seconds off his journey justify delaying the journeys of dozens of others by almost 10 minutes?
Or is this a normal part of everyday driving where lorry drivers are essential workers, can do no wrong and should be exempt from any scrutiny?
Edited by Trackdayer on Monday 12th April 14:12
Any vehicle limited to 60 shouldn't be allowed outside of the first lane IMO. Should have the same rules regarding overtaking over solid whites so you avoid the obvious pitfalls of HGVs getting stuck behind extremely slow vehicles but otherwise let them sit and wait.
It's not a big problem on most roads but certain ones are terrible for it. The A14 is just miserable.
It's not a big problem on most roads but certain ones are terrible for it. The A14 is just miserable.
I know that this is something that is supposed to wind me up as a 'motorist'...but I really don't care. Vast swathes of the economy are reliant on stuff getting delivered by lorries on time, so it may be annoying but at least they're doing something useful and it's not like they want to be taking ages over overtaking. What gets on my tits is when a cruise control zombie in a normal car does the same thing - a prod of the pedal could see them past the car they're overtaking in no time, but no they insist on sitting at what their car deems to be 70, which is 0.1mph faster than what the overtaken car deems to be 70, and are happy to sit in the outside lane like that for ages as they're doing the speed limit and thus can't be driving badly.
It's the fact the the nobhead that you're trying to overtake pretends that they haven't even noticed you that pisses me off the most. I'll normally give it a minute, then start indicating left on them. It's those f
king scanias with the GPS cruise control that are the worst, bds don't keep a constant speed so you don't actually know if you're faster than them on a flat.
king scanias with the GPS cruise control that are the worst, bds don't keep a constant speed so you don't actually know if you're faster than them on a flat.Oh and another thing. There's always morons in cars trying to do some sort of eco run following behind the truck in lane one so now I don't just have to plan when to get past 50ft of truck I also have to get past another couple hundred foot of tt... who will all start to speed up and bunch up once they see a truck next to them.
t... who will all start to speed up and bunch up once they see a truck next to them.I'm guessing most of you have ever driven an artic?
Yes, it's frustrating, it's also frustrating for the driver in lane 2 that the truck they're overtaking has now pinned him out. If the truck in lane 2 is able to get along side then either the limiter is slightly higher and it will pass eventually or the truck in lane 1 was slower up the hill and now it's levelled out they are dead level on speed.
Ideally the truck in lane 1 should drop the cruise by a k or 2. I certainly do, if the guy is able to get alongside then he's clearly faster, i'll drop the cruise a little to aid the pass. Sadly some drivers don't.
Most of the time if i'm catching in lane 1 very slowly then when I catch i'll sit behind, depending on how long i'll be on the same road. The difference between 56mph and 55.4mph is so tiny it's not worth the hassle.
The truck holding everyone up in lane 2 doesn't *want* to be there just as much as you don't want him to. He'd rather be on his limiter with no traffic in lane 1.
ETA:
Even worse is that when I get along side they speed up, and i'm left looking like a dick in lane 2 with nothing in lane 1... Move back over and they slow down.. It takes great restraint not to just do a pit manoeuvre on them.
All I ask is that cars/vans do 57mph or more, that's it. I'll never be able to catch you so there's no problems.
Yes, it's frustrating, it's also frustrating for the driver in lane 2 that the truck they're overtaking has now pinned him out. If the truck in lane 2 is able to get along side then either the limiter is slightly higher and it will pass eventually or the truck in lane 1 was slower up the hill and now it's levelled out they are dead level on speed.
Ideally the truck in lane 1 should drop the cruise by a k or 2. I certainly do, if the guy is able to get alongside then he's clearly faster, i'll drop the cruise a little to aid the pass. Sadly some drivers don't.
Most of the time if i'm catching in lane 1 very slowly then when I catch i'll sit behind, depending on how long i'll be on the same road. The difference between 56mph and 55.4mph is so tiny it's not worth the hassle.
The truck holding everyone up in lane 2 doesn't *want* to be there just as much as you don't want him to. He'd rather be on his limiter with no traffic in lane 1.
ETA:
s p a c e m a n said:
Oh and another thing. There's always morons in cars trying to do some sort of eco run following behind the truck in lane one so now I don't just have to plan when to get past 50ft of truck I also have to get past another couple hundred foot of tt... who will all start to speed up and bunch up once they see a truck next to them.
Glad it's not just me that gets pissed off at this. If the car stuck right up behind the truck then I can forgive them, but most sit an artic length or two from the truck, so I have to move out much earlier than I need to and end up in lane 2 for 6 miles instead of 1. t... who will all start to speed up and bunch up once they see a truck next to them.Even worse is that when I get along side they speed up, and i'm left looking like a dick in lane 2 with nothing in lane 1... Move back over and they slow down.. It takes great restraint not to just do a pit manoeuvre on them.
All I ask is that cars/vans do 57mph or more, that's it. I'll never be able to catch you so there's no problems.
Edited by Kiribati268 on Monday 12th April 14:58
s p a c e m a n said:
It's the fact the the nobhead that you're trying to overtake pretends that they haven't even noticed you that pisses me off the most. I'll normally give it a minute, then start indicating left on them. It's those fking scanias with the GPS cruise control that are the worst, bds don't keep a constant speed so you don't actually know if you're faster than them on a flat.
Take you are a lorry driver then. I've seen drivers attempting to defend this balls on forums before that if they didn't overtake then it would be five mins here, five mins there and 30 mins lost on the day (which I know counts, my old man was a lorry driver years ago) but if the driver being overtaken just lifted for 30 seconds max then all would be well and he/she might lose a few mins all day through doing that.king scanias with the GPS cruise control that are the worst, bds don't keep a constant speed so you don't actually know if you're faster than them on a flat.Good to see you get it at least
As do some of your colleagues from the later posts
Not sure what the solution is as go to the USA and be doing 70 odd mph then have a massive juggernaut fly by you in the fast lane and you soon pull into the next lay by to recover your heartbeat.
OK not sure if it is still like this, was back in the 90s. Worse, they could overtake on any side.
OK not sure if it is still like this, was back in the 90s. Worse, they could overtake on any side.
s p a c e m a n said:
Oh and another thing. There's always morons in cars trying to do some sort of eco run following behind the truck in lane one so now I don't just have to plan when to get past 50ft of truck I also have to get past another couple hundred foot of tt... who will all start to speed up and bunch up once they see a truck next to them.
Or my favourite, pull out into L2 to let some slow muppet merge onto the road I'm already on and that muppet then matches my speed so I cant get past, then eventually speeds up and leaves me to have to go back to L1, then I'm overtaken by everyone that's been held up by me because of the merging moron who is now nowhere to be seen.t... who will all start to speed up and bunch up once they see a truck next to them.If i stay in L1 you can bet your life the joining moron will either pull out and i have to brake heavily or they will come to a dead stop at the end of the merging lane and and almost cause an accident.
I hate having to drive for other people because they are too stupid to use mirrors, look around or turn their heads.
Roger Irrelevant said:
I know that this is something that is supposed to wind me up as a 'motorist'...but I really don't care. Vast swathes of the economy are reliant on stuff getting delivered by lorries on time, so it may be annoying but at least they're doing something useful and it's not like they want to be taking ages over overtaking. What gets on my tits is when a cruise control zombie in a normal car does the same thing - a prod of the pedal could see them past the car they're overtaking in no time, but no they insist on sitting at what their car deems to be 70, which is 0.1mph faster than what the overtaken car deems to be 70, and are happy to sit in the outside lane like that for ages as they're doing the speed limit and thus can't be driving badly.
To be fair this happens to me reasonably often. I am going 75mph on cruise control and I'm making steady progress up to the rear of a car.I go to Lane 2, and almost as soon as my bumper is along side the rear bumper of their car, they speed up by 3-4 miles per hour
Your anger should be directed at the clown in Lane 1, not the car infront (unless what you are saying is obviously not what I'm saying, it's not always easy to tell)
Lorries should stay in L1 in peak hours (IMO)
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