As someone who covers a fair few miles in the course of a year driving throughout the country there is one big bug bear that I have about truck drivers. Why, on two lane motorways/dual carriageways, do truck drivers still participate in the art of elephant racing?
If a truck is overtaking you at a rate of about 0.25mph would it be that difficult to just step off the accelerator and let them past rather than cause a huge tailback and frustrate everyone in that queue. You’re a professional driver, you know that the truck is eventually going to get past you and - ever so slowly - leave you behind so why not be courteous, drop back 60ft and keep everyone happy. I get that on hills you might lose a bit of time but when you’re on a straight and level bit of road there’s no reason for behaving like a spoilt child who can’t bear the thought of anyone driving something which is capable of going a tiny bit faster than you.
No excuse but one possible reason is that they are not paying attention and it is only when the cabs get level they even notice that someone is overtaking.
cav551:
No excuse but one possible reason is that they are not paying attention and it is only when the cabs get level they even notice that someone is overtaking.
That’s possible. Doesn’t explain however why they continue to press on at the same speed for the next couple of miles though. I just put it down to bad manners and road sense. How many times have you been behind someone (talking about car drivers here) on the motorway, pull out to overtake them and they then proceed to speed up. It’s just bad driving and selfish.
cav551:
No excuse but one possible reason is that they are not paying attention and it is only when the cabs get level they even notice that someone is overtaking.
That’s possible. Doesn’t explain however why they continue to press on at the same speed for the next couple of miles though. I just put it down to bad manners and road sense. How many times have you been behind someone (talking about car drivers here) on the motorway, pull out to overtake them and they then proceed to speed up. It’s just bad driving and selfish.
Well said that man, on another note what about the car drivers who insist on staying in the second lane of a motorway even though they are not overtaking anyone, on occasions I admit to undertaking these ignorant drivers, sometimes once you have completed a undertake manoeuvre like that you look in the rear-view mirror to see them finally see sense & move over but not all of them sad to say, its when you need a fork lift attachment with long blades on to lift them up and side tip them on the embankment, Buzzer
The Germans solved it years ago by placing many two-lane autobahns and dual carriageways under LKW no-overtaking bans. In the old days, this would have been a no-no here because of the wild difference between any given pair of lorries vis a vis bhp:tonne ratio. But nowadays, with everything limited to 56 mph and everything capable of maintaining motorway speeds at pretty-well any weight, the ban shouldn’t be an issue. Frankly, it would take a lot of the stress out of motorway driving for LGV drivers, I would have thought. I have long thought that the M2 London-bound would benifit from such a ban.
Well said that man, on another note what about the car drivers who insist on staying in the second lane of a motorway even though they are not overtaking anyone, on occasions I admit to undertaking these ignorant drivers, sometimes once you have completed a undertake manoeuvre like that you look in the rear-view mirror to see them finally see sense & move over but not all of them sad to say, its when you need a fork lift attachment with long blades on to lift them up and side tip them on the embankment, Buzzer
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I have a minibus that I use to take gymnasts and coaches to and from competitions so I’m sitting at 62mph and I often have to undertake the lane hoggers. Even sitting behind them flashing your lights has no effect. The number of drivers out there who don’t know the rules of the road is quite staggering.
Dennis Javelin:
Well said that man, on another note what about the car drivers who insist on staying in the second lane of a motorway even though they are not overtaking anyone, on occasions I admit to undertaking these ignorant drivers, sometimes once you have completed a undertake manoeuvre like that you look in the rear-view mirror to see them finally see sense & move over but not all of them sad to say, its when you need a fork lift attachment with long blades on to lift them up and side tip them on the embankment, Buzzer
I have a minibus that I use to take gymnasts and coaches to and from competitions so I’m sitting at 62mph and I often have to undertake the lane hoggers. Even sitting behind them flashing your lights has no effect. The number of drivers out there who don’t know the rules of the road is quite staggering.
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Sadly not everyone who has a driving licence is a driver.
Oily
maybe that the truck in front is on a timed delivery & if he’s late delivery could be refused costing thousands, Now you may think its easy to just ease off & allow them past but if they are fully loaded even just easing off then having to get momentum back again can increase fuel consumption & unfortunately a lot of companies now discipline their drivers if fuel consumption is not kept low,only my view but there you are
Bodian:
maybe that the truck in front is on a timed delivery & if he’s late delivery could be refused costing thousands, Now you may think its easy to just ease off & allow them past but if they are fully loaded even just easing off then having to get momentum back again can increase fuel consumption & unfortunately a lot of companies now discipline their drivers if fuel consumption is not kept low,only my view but there you are
All trucks are on timed delivery, get there get it off to the reload and GEL on, as for late delivery most of the time in DC’s they don’t tip you on time and they don’t give a monkey’s also if they are chocka they make you wait hours with no recompense, that’s how it is in the real world, Buzzer
My own experience regarding timed deliveries at RDCs is as follows :-
Arrive early and you’re almost always obliged to wait , the reason given being “ you aren’t booked in until X o’clock driver “…
Arrive on time , and quite frequently it’s a case of , “ Just stay in the queue mate , as we’re running a bit late at the moment and we’ll get to you as soon as we can .”
Arrive late , and it’s “ Sorry old lad , but you’ve missed your slot . Go to the back of the queue and we’ll try to fit you in if and when we’re able “ .
Or on occasions , it’s “ ■■■■ off now and re-book , there’s a good lad “ .
In all honesty , it has been known for me to get tipped at the pre-ordained time on occasions … albeit very rare occasions .
I accept that my experiences may not mirror those of other drivers , but I can only speak as I find .
The situation may also have improved over the past ten years or so since I was unfortunate enough to have to deliver to these places … although I cannot help but have my doubts .
Bodian:
maybe that the truck in front is on a timed delivery & if he’s late delivery could be refused costing thousands, Now you may think its easy to just ease off & allow them past but if they are fully loaded even just easing off then having to get momentum back again can increase fuel consumption & unfortunately a lot of companies now discipline their drivers if fuel consumption is not kept low,only my view but there you are
Hope the traffic office factored in red traffic lights into the schedule if the delivery time is so critical, easing off a few kilometres to let someone pass easier who is obviously slightly faster than you is hardly going to make much of a difference to your day.
Bodian:
maybe that the truck in front is on a timed delivery & if he’s late delivery could be refused costing thousands, Now you may think its easy to just ease off & allow them past but if they are fully loaded even just easing off then having to get momentum back again can increase fuel consumption & unfortunately a lot of companies now discipline their drivers if fuel consumption is not kept low,only my view but there you are
I don’t know if you’re being serious here. I’m not talking about an isolated incident, I’m talking about what has become a common sight on our roads. Are you seriously saying that drivers are engaging in this to save fuel? And yes it is easy to slightly drop your speed and regain it within a short time. We’re not talking about a Formula 1 race here where the margins are wafer thin, this is a major road system that you are going to be on for a number of hours. If doing the right thing is going to cause a driver to be late to such an extent that he would be disciplined then either he or the vehicle he is driving are not fit for the task he’s been assigned. God only help him if he runs into traffic, he must absolutely crap himself.
Take it you’ve never driven hgv then, yes some companies do go to that extreme that they will call you in for leaving your engine running whilst doing your walk round check & if fully loaded just easing off can cause a great increase in consumption & companies do pay fuel bonuses & as someone else pointed out if you have to ease off numerous times & you arrive late for your booking it’s "sorry mate your late, we ain’t taking the delivery ",
Bodian:
Take it you’ve never driven hgv then, yes some companies do go to that extreme that they will call you in for leaving your engine running whilst doing your walk round check & if fully loaded just easing off can cause a great increase in consumption & companies do pay fuel bonuses & as someone else pointed out if you have to ease off numerous times & you arrive late for your booking it’s "sorry mate your late, we ain’t taking the delivery ",
Both driven and ran a fleet of them. Obviously being courteous to other road users doesn’t fit with your idea of being a professional driver. I would also suggest that if I was employed by a company and getting a fuel related bonus I wouldn’t be sitting with my foot to the floor. From my experience companies that want to save fuel tend to have the speed limiters set to well below the legal driving speed limit. In respect of timed deliveries there’s generally an accepted window to get taken - at least there was in my day. It’s not as if you’re told to arrive at 14.03 and 20 seconds or else.
Anyway you have your take on this and I (genuinely)thank you for your input. I just don’t happen to agree with it.
Always courteous to other road users but why shud someone who is being overtaken by someone else who can only go 1 mph faster be the one who has to slow down■■? This could happen numerous times on a long trip & tied to having to keep braking because of cars pulling into non existent gaps that is probably why some drivers won’t “give way”
I take that you say you have done both but take it from me with today’s micro analysing by some companies I can well understand why some think “why should I do that”,
Just my thoughts as yours are yours& if it was a perfect world it would be great if it worked like you want but it’s a long time till it will in my view
Bodian:
Always courteous to other road users but why shud someone who is being overtaken by someone else who can only go 1 mph faster be the one who has to slow down■■? This could happen numerous times on a long trip & tied to having to keep braking because of cars pulling into non existent gaps that is probably why some drivers won’t “give way”
I take that you say you have done both but take it from me with today’s micro analysing by some companies I can well understand why some think “why should I do that”,
Just my thoughts as yours are yours& if it was a perfect world it would be great if it worked like you want but it’s a long time till it will in my view
Of course, the simple solution to your argument is to remove speed limiters altogether and return to wacky races how it used to be back in the day, Buzzer
Bodian:
Always courteous to other road users but why shud someone who is being overtaken by someone else who can only go 1 mph faster be the one who has to slow down■■? This could happen numerous times on a long trip & tied to having to keep braking because of cars pulling into non existent gaps that is probably why some drivers won’t “give way”
I take that you say you have done both but take it from me with today’s micro analysing by some companies I can well understand why some think “why should I do that”,
Just my thoughts as yours are yours& if it was a perfect world it would be great if it worked like you want but it’s a long time till it will in my view
I totally agree with your opening point. It shouldn’t only be the responsibility of the driver who is being overtaken to manage the situation however, once the point of no return has been reached, surely the commonsensical thing to do is for the vehicle on the inside to be the one that drops back. After all that is the one that’s going slower. This just reinforces my view however that some drivers seem to take umbrage at being overtaken.
Just my opinion though and I appreciate that there will be plenty of folks who don’t agree with it.
I take all your points about it being ideal if that happened but again, you don’t know if that drivers being pressed by his traffic bod to hurry up & keep on pushing & I agree before you say that shouldn’t happen but it does, we all know & have had bods who can’t drive a corgi car & say “it’s only a short distance, push on drive you’ve got to be on time” & yes it’s great when you can say “stuff that I ain’t doin that” but not all can or will do that,
Again I agree with ya if that could happen it would make for a perfect day but it’s never happened & I can’t see it changing mate, only my opinion
I’ll always ease off to let someone in, but as we all have experienced,as soon as there is a downhill section, you’ll overtake the previously faster lorry if you are loaded.Then he’ll overtake you again etc etc.
andrew.s:
I’ll always ease off to let someone in, but as we all have experienced,as soon as there is a downhill section, you’ll overtake the previously faster lorry if you are loaded.Then he’ll overtake you again etc etc.
As long as the other driver lets you pass then there should be no problem. After all you let him/her pass so both drivers showing good road sense would be a win/win. In my opinion obviously.