It really gets my goat

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

A lot of you on here hark on about if a truck is overtaking you on a dual carriageway and there is little speed difference between you and them and traffic is building behind the overtakeeee then knock off the cruise control to let them pass.

All well and good and I do that, but today it just wound me up and it happens all to often… :imp: :imp: :unamused:

You ease off to let the overtaking truck pass, they then pull in and you go back to your max speed and put the cc on but then in between you slowing to let them pass and speed up another truck who is now right behind you because you slowed down despite them staying behind you on the dual carriageway because they don’t have the extra speed to overtake they then for some reason take the opportunity to try overtake.

Why ffs :exclamation: :exclamation: surely they could see I had braked to let that truck pass me and I wasn’t just driving slow :confused: . So then as you speed up they wonder why all of sudden they are not going anywhere :exclamation: :exclamation:

It was a reefer lad so that says it all really… :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

anybody else find this :question: :question:

if that happened all the time you’d end up futher back down the motorway and never get anywhere, so just read the road ahead and ask why has that truck slowed down.

rant over.
:grimacing:

2

I just don’t slow down at all…if a truck is unable to overtake then unlucky fresher. I’ve had many a time when a truck has been sat beside me and eventually he’s dropped back…and before many of you start moaning, I’ve worn the shoe/boot on the other foot and been unable to overtake somebody before…My attitude is if you can’t overtake, then don’t.

3

Adam_Mc:
I’ve worn the shoe/boot on the other foot and been unable to overtake somebody before

Adam_Mc:
My attitude is if you can’t overtake, then don’t.

:question: :question: :question:

4

redboxer850:

Adam_Mc:
I’ve worn the shoe/boot on the other foot and been unable to overtake somebody before

Adam_Mc:
My attitude is if you can’t overtake, then don’t.

:question: :question: :question:

:question: :question: :question: to you too.

5

Cruise Control:
A lot of you on here hark on about if a truck is overtaking you on a dual carriageway and there is little speed difference between you and them and traffic is building behind the overtakeeee then knock off the cruise control to let them pass.

All well and good and I do that, but today it just wound me up and it happens all to often… :imp: :imp: :unamused:

You ease off to let the overtaking truck pass, they then pull in and you go back to your max speed and put the cc on but then in between you slowing to let them pass and speed up another truck who is now right behind you because you slowed down despite them staying behind you on the dual carriageway because they don’t have the extra speed to overtake they then for some reason take the opportunity to try overtake.

Why ffs :exclamation: :exclamation: surely they could see I had braked to let that truck pass me and I wasn’t just driving slow :confused: . So then as you speed up they wonder why all of sudden they are not going anywhere :exclamation: :exclamation:

It was a reefer lad so that says it all really… :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

anybody else find this :question: :question:

if that happened all the time you’d end up futher back down the motorway and never get anywhere, so just read the road ahead and ask why has that truck slowed down.

rant over.
:grimacing:

i totally agree, had it happen last night on A1(m) some pillock who couldnt keep up with me on the flat (after following me for 20mins)just managed to get beside me up a hill (i had 26 ton on he had middle axle up) i kept power on till we got on the flat then backed off, then another truck that was behind both of us decided to try to pass me as i slowed down to 87kmh to let the other bloke in. He sat there a long time, he couldnt even keep up with the first truck on the flat so had no chance of passing me, and eventually after 5mins he realised this :unamused:
Both these trucks had been a way behind me for around 20mins so they both knew they couldnt keep up with me on the flat, so why bother pulling out when they knew i would only drop 2-3mph max on a hill.
If i catch a faster truck up on a hill that is getting a move on on the flat (or has the legs on me and has already passed me)if i am empty or very light i will stay behind him down to 45mph before i bother to overtake

6

I agree with you both, it’s madness, why does everybody have to be in front, we’re not Italian FFS, if it takes 15mins to gradually catch somebody up to the point where you’re so close you need to go around them then it stands to reason that it’ll take that same 15mins to pass them & get in front, 15mins to get 25 meters further up the road, WTF is the point of that? It used to be that the older drivers were just not used to speed limiters, now there are probably more drivers who have never driven a lorry without a limiter so that doesn’t apply anymore.

I know some of you will knock off the cruise or back off to allow the clown holding everybody up to pass you, forget for a moment that the clown behind him will then do the same, and think about that, yes the driver being ‘passed’ is being polite & considerate to other road users, but it’s not his job to make sure the overtaker can complete his manouver, the ‘overtaker’ is just being a bully if he expects that, or a total ■■■■ if he does it in the hope that he can pass you when you catch something up, in my book that is cutting you up, not exactly professional is it, it ■■■■■■ lorry drivers off, it ■■■■■■ car drivers off & it leads to overtaking bans, so thanks lads, ■■■■■ :imp:

It ain’t just over here that it happens either, before limiters many German 2 lane autobahn s had the same problems, the limit was 80kmh & strictly enforced so if someone overtook somebody doing the limit the fear of prosecution led to them doing it at 1 or 2 kms over the limit, this as you know takes forever so to prevent the trucks holding everyone else up the outside lane become a no go zone.

In the USA many of the big fleets limit their trucks to 62/3/4/5mph, you see them sitting beside each other for miles on end, it drives everyone up the wall. A while back I was poodling along at 65mph & one of these tried to pass me, after 10mins of him sitting alongside my trailer wheels he got on the CB mouthing off that I should slow down so that he could pass, I told him bollox, if he didn’t have enough truck to pass me then he should stay where he belongs, behind me, more abuse followed, I offered him the chance to mouth off face to face in the next rest area, which he declined, I then knocked my cruise down 1mph until he got his trailer alongside me, instead of a thank you I got some more of his ranting so I [zb]ed him about for the next 5mins or so, going 1mph faster, 1mph slower, until I got bored with that & put my foot down leaving him standing, just wanted to show him what a proper truck could do! There were no queues behind him or I wouldn’t have done it, but the whole thing is ridiculous, why do they have to be in front? Just what do they get from it? I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have to stand further back from the urinals because of an overtake, I just don’t get it :unamused:

7

newmercman:
I agree with you both, it’s madness, why does everybody have to be in front, we’re not Italian FFS, if it takes 15mins to gradually catch somebody up to the point where you’re so close you need to go around them then it stands to reason that it’ll take that same 15mins to pass them & get in front, 15mins to get 25 meters further up the road, WTF is the point of that? It used to be that the older drivers were just not used to speed limiters, now there are probably more drivers who have never driven a lorry without a limiter so that doesn’t apply anymore.

I know some of you will knock off the cruise or back off to allow the clown holding everybody up to pass you, forget for a moment that the clown behind him will then do the same, and think about that, yes the driver being ‘passed’ is being polite & considerate to other road users, but it’s not his job to make sure the overtaker can complete his manouver, the ‘overtaker’ is just being a bully if he expects that, or a total [zb] if he does it in the hope that he can pass you when you catch something up, in my book that is cutting you up, not exactly professional is it, it ■■■■■■ lorry drivers off, it ■■■■■■ car drivers off & it leads to overtaking bans, so thanks lads, [zb] :imp:

It ain’t just over here that it happens either, before limiters many German 2 lane autobahn s had the same problems, the limit was 80kmh & strictly enforced so if someone overtook somebody doing the limit the fear of prosecution led to them doing it at 1 or 2 kms over the limit, this as you know takes forever so to prevent the trucks holding everyone else up the outside lane become a no go zone.

In the USA many of the big fleets limit their trucks to 62/3/4/5mph, you see them sitting beside each other for miles on end, it drives everyone up the wall. A while back I was poodling along at 65mph & one of these tried to pass me, after 10mins of him sitting alongside my trailer wheels he got on the CB mouthing off that I should slow down so that he could pass, I told him bollox, if he didn’t have enough truck to pass me then he should stay where he belongs, behind me, more abuse followed, I offered him the chance to mouth off face to face in the next rest area, which he declined, I then knocked my cruise down 1mph until he got his trailer alongside me, instead of a thank you I got some more of his ranting so I [zb]ed him about for the next 5mins or so, going 1mph faster, 1mph slower, until I got bored with that & put my foot down leaving him standing, just wanted to show him what a proper truck could do! There were no queues behind him or I wouldn’t have done it, but the whole thing is ridiculous, why do they have to be in front? Just what do they get from it? I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have to stand further back from the urinals because of an overtake, I just don’t get it :unamused:

love it,

do the UK trucks have a CB link like the yanks have?

8

If theres more than one truck I won’t back off for that very reason, if there’s one I sometimes do depending on whether I’m about to go up or down a hill or Im on the flat.

What annoys me though is when you do back off and flash em in sometimes a quick flash of the indicators to say thanks would be good, afterall you have made their day easier. The ones who just carry on thinking that’s another zb who’s rolled over just makes me think next time I’ll keep my foot down.

Like the container guy on the A12 the other week, wasn’t fast enough to get by me so stuck behind, then he pulled out to let a car on at a sliproad, as usual the car left him hanging out in lane 2 nowhere to go, traffic building up, so I braked so he could pass the car and me, did I get a thanks? Did I zb, bloke just carried on like nothing had happened, not even a flash of the indicators, probrably thinking ‘thanks sucka’ as I laid out the red carpet, next time I’ll leave the zb hanging :imp:

9

Maybe it’s an age thing, but in those circs I just slow down until they are all gone. it isn’t a race and does it really matter if you are a minute or two later than you would have been? I like a bit of clear road in front of me.

To be honest I can see little difference between the attitudes of the drivers above “going 1mph faster, 1mph slower, until I got bored with that & put my foot down leaving him standing, just wanted to show him what a proper truck could do!” says it all. So mine IS bigger than yours - nah nah na na nah!!!

10

Grayham:
next time I’ll leave the zb hanging :imp:

Don’t do that, let him past, if he’s an ignorant or arrogant pillock don’t let that get to you, by doing what you’ve done you’ve just proved that you’re the better driver, we all know that there’s a lot of shocking driving out there, ‘doing the right thing’ can only be good, unfortunatly the ‘pillock’ will eventually learn, usually the hard way, and someone loses a life.
After 27 years on the road i’m still proud of what i do, and always try not too get peed off when one of these pillocks crosses me,

Sometimes i even manage it!!!

11

I never run on the limiter i always set the cruise at 85/86kmph, then if i do find that i’m up someone’s arse then i got a spare 3-4 kmph to get pass, and if i find myself in the middle lane at max speed not gaining any ground, i slow down and slip behind them again, but this only normally only happens when your about to over take a royal mail or a stobarts truck, when they realise your about to over take them, they speed up again, then 2 miles down the road you go over the same sceniro again because they’ve slowed back down to 80kmph! :astonished:

12

it depends on the mood im in, but generally it’s up to them im not slowing down for anybody.

13

What’s your goat called?

I have two one called Gerald, one called Doris

14

mickyblue
love it,

do the UK trucks have a CB link like the yanks have?

You been watching Smokie and the bandit /Convoy ? :laughing:

15

jessicas dad:
it depends on the mood im in, but generally it’s up to them im not slowing down for anybody.

is your limiter still set to 47mph :question: :wink: :grimacing: :grimacing: :grimacing: :grimacing:

16

Santa:
Maybe it’s an age thing, but in those circs I just slow down until they are all gone. it isn’t a race and does it really matter if you are a minute or two later than you would have been? I like a bit of clear road in front of me.

To be honest I can see little difference between the attitudes of the drivers above “going 1mph faster, 1mph slower, until I got bored with that & put my foot down leaving him standing, just wanted to show him what a proper truck could do!” says it all. So mine IS bigger than yours - nah nah na na nah!!!

Out of context mate, if you read the part where he started giving me a load of abuse for not LETTING him past then it’s not the act of 'mine is bigger than yours as you describe it, I roared away to ■■■■ the bloke off, now it wouldn’t ■■■■ me off as I counldn’t give a shiny ■■■■ how fast you can go, but I knew it would get right up the blokes nose, I was minding my own business before this bloke decided to try & pass me, my speed did not change, i was on cruise in an empty truck on a flat road, he got out of my slipstream & no longer had the speed to pass me, for that I got a mouthful, I don’t like that kind of thing, my preference would’ve been to poke the scroat in the eye, but he declined the offer to have a face to face, so I thought that as he was such an angry person I would add to his anger by messing him around, I do the same as you do normally, I won’t run between 62 & 65 because that’s where all the limited trucks are & you always end up in a bunch, I do 60 & let them all past or 68-70 & pass them all, but at this particular time 65mph was the limit & that’s what I was doing.

17

newmercman:

Santa:
Maybe it’s an age thing, but in those circs I just slow down until they are all gone. it isn’t a race and does it really matter if you are a minute or two later than you would have been? I like a bit of clear road in front of me.

To be honest I can see little difference between the attitudes of the drivers above “going 1mph faster, 1mph slower, until I got bored with that & put my foot down leaving him standing, just wanted to show him what a proper truck could do!” says it all. So mine IS bigger than yours - nah nah na na nah!!!

Out of context mate, if you read the part where he started giving me a load of abuse for not LETTING him past then it’s not the act of 'mine is bigger than yours as you describe it, I roared away to ■■■■ the bloke off, now it wouldn’t ■■■■ me off as I counldn’t give a shiny [zb] how fast you can go, but I knew it would get right up the blokes nose, I was minding my own business before this bloke decided to try & pass me, my speed did not change, i was on cruise in an empty truck on a flat road, he got out of my slipstream & no longer had the speed to pass me, for that I got a mouthful, I don’t like that kind of thing, my preference would’ve been to poke the scroat in the eye, but he declined the offer to have a face to face, so I thought that as he was such an angry person I would add to his anger by messing him around, I do the same as you do normally, I won’t run between 62 & 65 because that’s where all the limited trucks are & you always end up in a bunch, I do 60 & let them all past or 68-70 & pass them all, but at this particular time 65mph was the limit & that’s what I was doing.

I’m neutral on that argument except for the fact that it’s just not like the old days of no limiters and just treating speed limits as a guideline.It’s obvious that the yanks are a world away now from the days when it was an arms race and the only thing that the CB and all the RADAR detectors were for was to try to avoid the attentions of the Bears while running as fast as the thing would go.But my argument is if the wagon being ovetaken is having issues with the one overtaking because of the speed differential then how did the slower wagon,causing all the aggro trying to get past you,catch you in the first place if he was miles back to start with and if you’re both running at 65 mph ?.But we did have those problems in the old days when no one had limiters with either slightly differently loaded, geared,or powered trucks which could pull like a train going up hills so the higher geared or less torquey wagons would get caught out in the centre lane when climbing.The best way to deal with it was to forget slowing up to let them in but just keep going as fast as possible so the one out there could fall back and get back in again until he could wind it up again on the flat to get by.The difference is we treated all that as something which we knew would happen a lot and just accepted it as a variation in trucks.But that’s why most drivers always wanted to have a wagon which could run almost as fast uphill as on the flat.But I’m surprised that those drivers with limiters over there just don’t take the fuse out of it as they don’t have tachos.Or have the modern computer controlled wagons removed that possibility?.But speed limits and limiters on motorways and dual carriageways cause more problems than they solve in whatever country you’re in.But looking at the Canadian regs in some provinces recently it looks like you might be getting a limiter put on your own wagon soon and then your problems will really begin.

18

Carryfast, he gradually crept up on me, I passed him at the Westgate on the Ohio turnpike, as I said I was empty, I never saw him again for 200miles when he kept getting closer & closer, from the time I first spotted him in the mirrors to the time he pulled out was about 20mins, as I said my cruise was set at 65mph, his max was the same, but as you get a slight difference in 90kmh limited trucks here, the same factors will apply over there, tyre wear for example. They can’t pull a fuse as the limit is set in the ECM & the truck’s every movement is tracked by their satellite, this particular company uses the Qualcomm (satellite) for their logs too, you can’t get around them without discovery (until an Irishman gets his hands on one anyway :open_mouth: ) Anyway the whole situation would’ve been avoided if 1, he had an ounce of common sense or 2, had called me up & said something along the lines of ‘hey driver, I’m creeping up on you but only just, would you back off for a minute & let me past?’ I would’ve done just that, but I got a mouthful from him instead, so I [zb]ed him about, when confronted by somebody mouthing off & telling me over the radio that he’s gonna kick my arse I offer them the opportunity to do so, now please understand, I’m no thug & haven’t had a punch up for many years, I don’t instigate this behaviour, but I don’t run away either, pulling across the Interstate to stop the bloke & drag him out of his cab to give him a sound thrashing seemed a bit extreme so I tormented him instead, now I know two wrongs don’t make a right, but I’m going to hell anyway, had my place booked for years, so I really don’t care :wink:

You’re right about the limiters, that’s Ontario for you, but the province is being taken to court, the limiter is against the rules of the NAFTA agreement, anybody going there has to have a limiter, that interferes with Interstate Commerce & that’s illegal. Even if it passes on to the whole of North America I don’t care, I’ll be an Owner Operator by then & buying my own fuel, the only time my truck will be going over 60mph will be downhill & no limiter will stop that happening :laughing:

19

newmercman:
I agree with you both, it’s madness, why does everybody have to be in front, we’re not Italian FFS, if it takes 15mins to gradually catch somebody up to the point where you’re so close you need to go around them then it stands to reason that it’ll take that same 15mins to pass them & get in front, 15mins to get 25 meters further up the road, WTF is the point of that? It used to be that the older drivers were just not used to speed limiters, now there are probably more drivers who have never driven a lorry without a limiter so that doesn’t apply anymore.

I know some of you will knock off the cruise or back off to allow the clown holding everybody up to pass you, forget for a moment that the clown behind him will then do the same, and think about that, yes the driver being ‘passed’ is being polite & considerate to other road users, but it’s not his job to make sure the overtaker can complete his manouver, the ‘overtaker’ is just being a bully if he expects that, or a total [zb] if he does it in the hope that he can pass you when you catch something up, in my book that is cutting you up, not exactly professional is it, it ■■■■■■ lorry drivers off, it ■■■■■■ car drivers off & it leads to overtaking bans, so thanks lads, [zb] :imp:

HIghway code rule 168

Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass. Never obstruct drivers who wish to pass. Speeding up or driving unpredictably while someone is overtaking you is dangerous. Drop back to maintain a two-second gap if someone overtakes and pulls into the gap in front of you.

20

Driveroneuk:

newmercman:
I agree with you both, it’s madness, why does everybody have to be in front, we’re not Italian FFS, if it takes 15mins to gradually catch somebody up to the point where you’re so close you need to go around them then it stands to reason that it’ll take that same 15mins to pass them & get in front, 15mins to get 25 meters further up the road, WTF is the point of that? It used to be that the older drivers were just not used to speed limiters, now there are probably more drivers who have never driven a lorry without a limiter so that doesn’t apply anymore.

I know some of you will knock off the cruise or back off to allow the clown holding everybody up to pass you, forget for a moment that the clown behind him will then do the same, and think about that, yes the driver being ‘passed’ is being polite & considerate to other road users, but it’s not his job to make sure the overtaker can complete his manouver, the ‘overtaker’ is just being a bully if he expects that, or a total [zb] if he does it in the hope that he can pass you when you catch something up, in my book that is cutting you up, not exactly professional is it, it ■■■■■■ lorry drivers off, it ■■■■■■ car drivers off & it leads to overtaking bans, so thanks lads, [zb] :imp:

HIghway code rule 168

Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass. Never obstruct drivers who wish to pass. Speeding up or driving unpredictably while someone is overtaking you is dangerous. Drop back to maintain a two-second gap if someone overtakes and pulls into the gap in front of you.

I would say that sitting at the exact same speed on cruise control would satisfy rule 168? That response which you so cleverly highlighted was in reply to the original post & there was no mention in that of anybody making life difficult for anybody else, it was in response to Cruise Control saying that it ■■■■■■ him off when someone tries an overtaking manouvere that needs input from him, namely slowing down, in order for it to be completed without holding everyone else on the road up, so find the rule that says that you can pull out & spend 20 minutes overtaking somebody with absolutely no regard to other road users, highlight in whichever colour you like, I suggest brown, that’s appropriate as you’re talking out of your arse mate :wink: