Speeding

[work_shy]

This relates to other treads on the go at the moment.

I get paid by the hour, every 15 minutes over 8.5 hours a day is time and half.

I think from what has been said on these boards in the past, most drivers are on hourly pay or some form of banked hours. So the slower you go the more you should earn

Why then do most drivers still insist on flying about at 56mph on roads that have a lower legal limit, eg; Dual & Single carrigeways.

On the Wednesday I enjoyed a nice leisurely drive up the A19 to Peterlee(lucky I took a long piece of string to follow back) and sticking to 50mph, I was even overtaken by trucks from Asda & Tesco

My point if the law states 40/50mph, as professional drivers shouldn’ t we stick to the Law.
I know the regulations may be outdated, because of the development in truck technology, they can stop quicker(allegedlly) but the law is the law. Also driving on decent wide “A” roads at 40mph is just asking for trouble from suicidal car drivers who are to impatient to wait behind you.
I know we have to meet booking times and we get delayed by traffic etc… but companies must not expect us to break the law when these problems arise, just as they can’t expect us to break Drivers hours regulations and run with unsafe vehicles just because it’s a rush job.
Or am I on my own on this.

[kitkat]

you are not on your own, if another driver wether its truck or car and they are speeding then that’s there problem,they will get caught soon enough. its the law of averages. as long as you do the right thing then thats all you need worry about. i gave up worrying about other truck and car drivers some years back. i don’t know what firm you work for or how your system works or how far from your last collection is from your depot, at ours if we all get back late from you run then it creates a knock on effect.which means the later we get back the later the trunks get away, its the same in the morning,so we get held up leaving the depot.which means the customers get the frt later than normal.the way i look at booking in time’s is simple if you get to it on time thats fine if not then tough,how many drivers on this form have got to places for a said time and had to wait a long time to get tipped.the customer does not care about you as a driver as far as they are concerned, you have only got them to do and thats you for the day.you don’t break the law for no company may it be your own or a customer,its not life threatning material we are delivering ie some poor sods not lying in hospital waiting on you to turn up. so there is no need for anyone to ask you to break the law so don’t.it’s your licence, and if anyone does then tell them to sod off or something stronger.

[rob_k]

My week works like this :

Sunday-Thursday : 50mph
Friday : 150mph

If you want to do 50mph then do it, but why do you expect everyone else to follow suit?

You might be paid by the hour but there are plenty that are salaried so they want to get the job done as quick as possible. You can’t argue with that.

Drifting off on a tangient…

Even though I am technically paid by the hour, I still like to get the job done asap and sitting behind an artic on the A66 doing on the single-carriageway bit doing bang on 40mph really does cheese me off and that goes for most speed-friendly national limit single-carriageway roads.

I will guarantee the anti-everything brigade will jump out of their boxes at that statement now (watch the replies flood in : “murderer”, “[zb]”, etc…) but if I was going to religiously stick to the speed limit whatever my circumstances (paid by the hour, not booked in til tomorrow etc) then I would have some bloody courtesy for my fellow road-users, be they same-class wagons, cars, or coaches and pull into a suitable layby every so often and let the folks pass. Wouldn’t you appreciate the truck driver doing that if YOU were stuck behind in your car Many truckers should try it out; it’s very rewarding. I used to regularly travel the A57 Snake Pass and I would ALWAYS pull in at the layby just after Derwent Reservoir eastbound to let the cars past before climbing up the other side and they would all wave and/or beep in appreciation.

I certainly wouldn’t apply blinkers like many 40mph-ers do and think “[zb] you lot behind, I’m doing my 40mph speed limit and don’t care what’s behind me” and have the car drivers put my life in danger by attempting overtaking maneouvres on hill crests, blind bends etc.

What doubly cheeses me off are the absolute [zb] truckers that enforce your own speed limit by driving at 40mph ensuring no-one can get past but then once the road rolls out into a 50mph dual-carriageway section, they floor it to the limiter of 56mph so that those wanting to go faster can’t get past. That REALLY pees me off. If they so religiously want to stick to the law then when it becomes dual-carriageway, the figure they want is 50 not 56.

I drive at a speed that I feel safe travelling at unless that falls within a lower speed limit bracket where I will make my own judgement as to what I consider to be a safe speed for that area, eg. 30mph built-up areas don’t get the 30mph limit exceeded by myself EVER. However, I personally feel that 90% of the A66 single-carriageway sections can be safely negotiated at 50mph which is the speed I do.

[v8_karl_v8]

Well said Rob

[icbh]

I travel at 40mph on single carriageways but tend to pull in every so often to let other people by. I use the Stranraer to M6 road a fair bit (Can never remember the number) Although i have two drops along that road so never transit it in one go, the traffic soon builds up and drivers will take risks to get by. But it is my licence and living at risk if I speed and get caught so I wont. But i can understand it annoys other drivers.

Our employment contracts have it written in that if we exceed 6 points on our licences we will be let go as our insurance will not cover drivers with more points. I will not risk my job for no one. The limits on primary single carriageways do need changing to allow for more modern braking systems. But they wont because of the public outcry over “killer juggernauts” causing death and destruction.

[v8_karl_v8]

icbh:
I travel at 40mph on single carriageways but tend to pull in every so often to let other people by. I use the Stranraer to M6 road a fair bit (Can never remember the number).

Its the A75

[rob_k]

V8KARLV8:

icbh:
I travel at 40mph on single carriageways but tend to pull in every so often to let other people by. I use the Stranraer to M6 road a fair bit (Can never remember the number).

Its the A75

And when the Stranraer boat has just arrived or is about to depart it’s called the Wacky Raceway

[icbh]

I travel at 40mph on single carriageways but tend to pull in every so often to let other people by. I use the Stranraer to M6 road a fair bit (Can never remember the number).
[/quote]

Its the A75 :lol: :lol:

And when the Stranraer boat has just arrived or is about to depart it’s called the Wacky Raceway :lol

It certainly is. I tend to duck in a layby for a few mins to let them past. They will get caught one day. Its happened over on the A1 north of Newcastle and it will happen there as well, there is money in it for the Old Bill.

[krankee]

Found this on another site and decided it was quite funny

[muckles]

icbh:
I tend to duck in a layby for a few mins to let them past. They will get caught one day. Its happened over on the A1 north of Newcastle and it will happen there as well, there is money in it for the Old Bill.

The old bill never used to worry to much about trucks doing 50 mph provided the truck was driven in a sensible way. However this government now believe the only way to prove services are working is to ask organisations to reach targets. They have already started to target trucks in some places and more police forces will follow suit when they need to reach their targets. VOSA have also been given targets to reach, so expect to see more of them in the near future.
The government know that the speed limits are a mess and raising the limit for truck has been suggested, but this will not happen until the present classifications system is changed as road types vary widely to raise the limit.

[v8_karl_v8]

Rob K:

V8KARLV8:

icbh:
I travel at 40mph on single carriageways but tend to pull in every so often to let other people by. I use the Stranraer to M6 road a fair bit (Can never remember the number).

Its the A75

And when the Stranraer boat has just arrived or is about to depart it’s called the Wacky Raceway

Well put

[manwell]

After managing to get a speed ticket cancelled, and my insurance company now demanding to know about licence points, I tend to to stick to 45 mph on A roads. but what I can’t understand is muppets driving at 50 mph on motorways.

[jonah_1]

I now have 9 points on my licence (6 of which shouldn’t be there but I have gone into that enough times on here already)so I (as an owner driver) cannot afford to get anymore so I stick to the speed limits now but not through choice.
I agree the speed limits are farcical in this country but nothing will get done (unless an mp keeps getting held up by the 40 mph’ers)However I do not pull into layby’s to let other road users through but instead rely on the old system of the left hand indicator to let others know it is safe to pass.
the reason for this is because I’m the one who has to pay for the diesel and all that stopping and starting kills the fuel consumption (esepecially at 44t) and the pressure to meet booking times.the second reason is not so important to me but you can only arrive late so many times before the company you subcontract to will start asking itself questions about your reliability.I also feel the same as kitkat I owe these companies nothing and they dont mind keeping us waiting for hours on end whilst not earning any money for it.
Since I have been keeping to the speed limits on single carriageway roads I have found I dont get as stressed at the end of the day and my driving style has become more relaxed,So maybe it is of some benefit afterall.

[jase]

Well Mr Rob K ,i travel at the speed limits every day as with 6 points on my licence and an increase of nearly £200 on my car insurance i can’t afford it.What really gets me is these so called profesional drivers sitting on my arse and keep trying to push me to go faster,i had a serious crash in 1996 due to some [zb]pushing me,i got panicky and ending up overtaking a tractor and hitting a car and putting the driver in hospital for two weeks.The prat behind just drove past,called me a [zb] and drove off.Believe me Rob K you wouldn’t want things like that on your consience, that you just nearly took someones life away so you could get somewhere just that little bit quicker.Ask yourself why we have speed limiters? Oh and by the way don’t sit on my backdoor as i have a nasty habit of touching my brakes,not very proffessional i know but some people never learn.

Language edit-ATKIG11

[rob_k]

jase:
Well Mr Rob K ,i travel at the speed limits every day as with 6 points on my licence and an increase of nearly £200 on my car insurance i can’t afford it.What really gets me is these so called profesional drivers sitting on my arse and keep trying to push me to go faster,i had a serious crash in 1996 due to some [ZB]pushing me,i got panicky and ending up overtaking a tractor and hitting a car and putting the driver in hospital for two weeks.The prat behind just drove past,called me a [zb] and drove off.Believe me Rob K you wouldn’t want things like that on your consience, that you just nearly took someones life away so you could get somewhere just that little bit quicker.Ask yourself why we have speed limiters? Oh and by the way don’t sit on my backdoor as i have a nasty habit of touching my brakes,not very proffessional i know but some people never learn.

Referring to the quote highlighted, what the hell are you doing behind the wheel of a heavy goods vehicle then Surely, if you panic when you look in a mirror and see another wagon, car, van/whatever sitting 15ft off your bumper then it should be clear to you that you’re most certainly in the wrong job and are going to kill someone yourself before long because you can’t take the heat of the job .

I don’t tail-gate as a rule, however there are times when it needs to be suggested to the vehicle that is crawling along in front that they either get their toe down or get out of the [zb] way and let faster vehicles pass as clearly stated in the Highway Code if you read it.

With respect.

[colingl]

My boss came up to me today moaning that he had 9 points on his licence cos he has been done twice in the last fortnight. He asked what he should do.

Told him not to drive so fast

[jase]

I had not long passed my H.G. V. test and was gaining that thing they call EXPERIENCE, i suppose you were one of these drivers that had this from day one.Are you telling me that if i was travelling at 40mph on a single carriageway road and you were behind me,you would SUGGEST to me to get out of the way.Sorry mate,it would never happen as i am driving legally and not going to get caught by cameras etc and after my earlier experience i don’t get intimidated anymore.I find that if a truck travels at 50 mph on a single carriageway road ,car drivers will still come round you,so whats the point of speeding.Is the freight that you are carrying a case of life and death?

[kate]

you might be paid by the hour but there are plenty that are salaried so they want to get the job done as quick as possible.

I’m salary paid, but I dont do flying. (No, that’s not because I drive a renault )

[rob_k]

jase:
I had not long passed my H.G. V. test and was gaining that thing they call EXPERIENCE, i suppose you were one of these drivers that had this from day one.Are you telling me that if i was travelling at 40mph on a single carriageway road and you were behind me,you would SUGGEST to me to get out of the way.Sorry mate,it would never happen as i am driving legally and not going to get caught by cameras etc and after my earlier experience i don’t get intimidated anymore.I find that if a truck travels at 50 mph on a single carriageway road ,car drivers will still come round you,so whats the point of speeding.Is the freight that you are carrying a case of life and death?

Unless you do night work where the traffic using the same road would usually be very light, it might have escaped your notice that you have a mile long tail back behind you consisting primarily of car and van drivers wanting to do their[/b] speed limit at least and for them to be sitting behind you doing 20mph less than their speed limit would be the equivalent of you in your wagon sitting behind a tractor doing 20mph which, of course, you’d happily sit behind wouldn’t you You wouldn’t EVER wish he’d pull over into a lay-by and let you get past, would you Oh no
Therefore, having thought about this scenario for a while, you will surely understand and realise why car and van drivers will go to any extreme to get past you, ie. blind bends and crests thus endangering not only their own lives, but also those of the oncoming traffic and your own life as you merrily stick to your “I’m-doing-my-speed-limit-so-[zb]-to-anyone-else” 40mph with your blinkers on, point-blank refusing to be courteous to your fellow drivers behind and pull over for 30 seconds to allow them past.
I’m afraid I don’t agree with your attitude and driving style on single-carriageway roads by sticking to the speed limit (no problem with that bit) AND refusing to pull over from time to time like a true professional driver would do.
I don’t claim to be right in the above situation, as I choose[/b] to exceed the speed limit where I consider and judge it safe to do so, in order to fit in as much as possible with the speed the traffic wants to flow at. Even at 50mph on a 40mph single-carriageway road I will still pull into a lay-by after a while if the traffic behind is clearly itching to get past.
With respect.

[wheel_nut]

Manwell Quote. but what I can’t understand is muppets driving at 50 mph on motorways.

Well Manwell driving at 50mph is probably quicker than having two trucks sitting side by side for 17 miles with the driver refusing to look sideways at each other.

Jase: I had a serious crash in 1996 due to some knobhead pushing me,i got panicky and ending up overtaking a tractor and hitting a car. It makes me wonder who is in control of the trucks on the roads, following drivers pushing or weak HGV Drivers

I drove a truck for a German company and it was limited to 80k, that is 50mph. 50mph is the speed limit on the continent anyway with ADR

It was certainly more relaxing to drive at 50 than it is with everyone trying to beat the target of 56