Vent: HGV Drivers who 'block' dual carriageways

John_Jizzle

Have this trouble every day on the A1. Takes about 5 minutes for them to overtake causing a tail back as far as you can see in the rear view mirror.

Also coming on to the A1 I had a lorry driver behind me cut across onto the motorway before he should have. He then accelerated as fast as possible to the lorry in front of him meaning I had no room to actually move over onto it.

Ilona

I was a class 1 HGV driver for 32 years, and a bus driver. I am an ex driving instructor, and have passed five advanced driving tests in cars and lorries. Even after all this experience I am not perfect. I read all these comments and smile, same old gripes as there was thirty years ago, nothing changes.

Some people turn into monsters behind the wheel, any wheel, any vehicle, they become agitated when others get in their way. They don't give themselves enough time to complete their journey and end up making stupid mistakes through lack of concentration, which can result in loss of life.

If you want to get from A to B without incident I suggest you concentrate 100% on your driving. Take into account that others don't always do what you expect them to do, and adjust your own driving accordingly. Plan your moves based on what you see in front of you, and by that I mean half a mile in front of you, not just the few yards you can see in front of your bonnet.

Yes, it is annoying that HGV's travel side by side for a while, but if you have never been a lorry driver you don't know what it's like to haul 40 tonnes up hill and down dale, hour after hour five or six days a week. It's pretty tiring. Different loads behave differently, a lorry driver will drive according to the load he is carrying. Tall trailers will be battling against the wind. Part loaded liquid tankers will have a surge effect. Containers picked up at the docks may not be packed correctly and the load will move. Livestock trailers should be given a wide berth, the load will be moving about. Steel moves during transit when chains or straps slacken. Empty curtainsiders can easily blow over in the wind. Maximum weight loads will take a long time to accelerate going through 10 or 12 gears, and need a longer distance to slow down. Heavy lorries struggle on the uphills, and gather speed on the downhills, it's inevitable.

On top of that the driver will be on a timed delivery, pressure to get there from the office. I know all about that, I wrapped a trailer round a gate post once because they wanted me to hurry up and get back for loading. A lot of jobs now are where the lorry is double shifted. A day driver takes it out and a night driver is waiting to start when he gets back. Pressure again to get the job done.

I finished driving when I retired at 60 and I feel for the lorry drivers of today, they have a hard job. I will never criticize the person behind the wheel of a 40 tonne truck, they have my respect.

Ilona

martinbuckley

Feral_Moon wrote: »

The A1 around Oakham springs to mind. They slow traffic to 50mph for a good 10 mile stretch. And people wonder why we hate lorry drivers.

I live just off that stretch and drive it every day, and whilst it is true that tailbacks occur, it must also be pointed out that around Stamford (the hilly bit of that A1 stretch), there are three entrances/exits either side of the A1 within a mile. Much of the tailback is caused by lorries moving over to allow cars to enter the A1, then finding it difficult to get back to the left hand lane because of the cars they have allowed on undertaking them.

Ilona

martinbuckley wrote: »

I live just off that stretch and drive it every day, and whilst it is true that tailbacks occur, it must also be pointed out that around Stamford (the hilly bit of that A1 stretch), there are three entrances/exits either side of the A1 within a mile. Much of the tailback is caused by lorries moving over to allow cars to enter the A1, then finding it difficult to get back to the left hand lane because of the cars they have allowed on undertaking them.

Yes, that can easily happen. Cars come charging up the slip road and if it isn't a particularly long stretch they then force anyone in the left hand lane to move over to accommodate them. The consequence is that the lorry is then stuck in the right hand lane with nowhere to go. This is a very dangerous practice. The positioning of lorry mirrors on the nearside have improved over the years, but there are still blind spots.

FM mentions slowing traffic down to 50mph, (post has disappeared). Although cars can travel at 70mph on a dual carriageway it is not compulsory to reach that speed. Easing off the accelerator to 50mph to allow for fluctuations in the speed of traffic in front of you is no big deal. It might add five minutes onto your journey, but that is better than blowing a gasket and arriving at your destination a nervous wreck.

I don't believe that lorry drivers deliberately block lanes for fun, or toot their horns aggressively. Much of their driving has to be carried out defensively, to keep themselves out of trouble. Yes, there will be the odd rogue now and again who thinks they own the road, whatever vehicle they are driving. And there will always be drivers with a wide spectrum of experience, from the new test passes to those who have been on the road for years. It's up to everyone to look out for others and make allowances by adjusting their own speed and distance to keep themselves out of trouble.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists do advanced courses for anyone wanting to improve their driving skills.

Ilona

Pyxis

Plus, if you really want to know what your driving is like, invest in an assessment. For a reasonable fee, an advanced driving instructor will go out with you in your car for about 1.5 hours, and then give you feedback on your driving and helpful tips on how to improve. It's also an insight into any bad habits you may have picked up that you don't realise you're doing.

I did this twice over several years, and it was very helpful.

forgotmyname

A pet hate = people that change lanes to allow others to join. There is usually a reason why your in the left lane to start with so moving over quite often causes issues for others.

Its upto the vehicle joining to find a safe spot to join, if they have the speed then move ahead, if not then drop back and the other lane will be clear for them to move over if they need to.

NBLondon

forgotmyname wrote: »

A pet hate = people that change lanes to allow others to join. There is usually a reason why your in the left lane to start with so moving over quite often causes issues for others.

Its upto the vehicle joining to find a safe spot to join, if they have the speed then move ahead, if not then drop back and the other lane will be clear for them to move over if they need to.

I will move over and make it easier for someone to join if I can do so - that's courtesy. That includes checking that there is space in the next lane for me to do that without impeding someone else - if there isn't - then you're right, it's up to the joining driver to adjust speed and join.
Of course, some joiners haven't worked that bit out and assume that they can just accelerate and swing out and a space magically appears. Either they were all taught to drive in France in the 1950s or they have got used to people getting out of their way and think they are wonderful...