hi all went upto old trafford to watch the mighty reds, took us 4hours to get there which was annoying but there was worse to come on the way home. we got 37 miles away from old trafford and we stopped and didnt move for 3 hours because of an accident.

 

People just carnt drive and some people are just in a rush to get home.

 

it happened at 9.15pm a lorry and a car with a trailer

 

my mate was stuck in that they all ended up falling asleep in the car when they eventually got moving they all had to go round a lorry as the driver must have been asleep and no one could wake him

J

 

yea it was weird being sat on a usually busy motorway with cars with people asleep in um

 

yea i had a nice one today on the M6 i was petrol conserving and was following lorries to try and save fuel by having the air cut by them in front, i wasn't on their bumper but as we came up a hill the lorry in front pulled away slightly and i had to drop a gear to keep up cos didn't want to plant my foot in 5th (i'v only a 1.4 cvh carb), as some foreign lorry tried to over take me, even though there wasn't enough space in front for him to squeeze in, he pulled back in behind me because i caught back up with the lorry in front, and at the same time we came up to an on ramp, so i had a lorry and a car trying to get onto the same tarmac i was on with the foreign lorry up my arse and someone at the side of me trying to over take the only thing i could do is brake and let the car and lorry in, resulting in the lorry behind obv slamming his brakes on and pulling his horn and swearing at me, i gave him my thought's, but now you can see why there is so many accident because of drivers that drive like penis's

 

do u think people crash on purpose like...???..........be thankfull u were'nt in the fuckn crash............

 

lol course not, but driving like a plonker whilst it's busy is just asking for trouble

if i was to go down my high street at 60mph in the daytime, i wouldn't be wanting to crash, but i bet you could put a percentage on how likely i would be to crash.

unless it's a blow out or something because admitted that can be no ones fualt i do belive it's due to neglect of your tyres though, because i've never had one but i could be lucky (i'v just touched wood(and not meaning my knob)lol)

 

ive just started work in manchester and have to say the drivers round that way on the m62 are awful dont get any faster than 50 mph on the motorway !

 

tbh you sound a bit of a dodgy driver yourself following lorries close, and then gettin sandwiched between two, and then braking excessively when its not your job to get out of the way.... oops

 

Burnzybubbles do you have really bad fuel economy or something to need to slip stream lorries Jesus i know times are hard but your only looking a 1 or 2 mpg doing that

 

quote Burnzybubbles following lorries to try and save fuel by having the air cut by them in front, i wasn't on their bumper

following lorries to try and save fuel by having the air cut by them in front,

The only way you save fuel behind a lorry is to tail gate WHICH IS STUPID

i wasn't on their bumper

But to get pulled along in his slip stream ( having the air cut by them ) you was not that fare way from them SO you could not see his mirrers WHICH IS STUPID

think about wot you are doing when on a motor way it gose very rong very fast and people die

 

lol did you read it "i wasn't on there bumper" it clearly states that, yea i was not at a 2 second gap but at 60mph i was prob's about 30-40 feet away, you don't need to tailgate to notice the difference, and wot else was i supposed to do the highway code doesn't state if you have a lorry up your arse you should pull out and speed off, i had to conserve petrol, i had put all the cash i had on me in my tank, so was making the most of it, i can out brake a lorry but quite sure the lorry behind wouldn't out brake me, esp if he's closer than comfortable which he must of been to get annoyed, so the person in the wrong was the lorry driver behind me,

and they where coming onto the motor way and at the end of the slip road i'm sure they had no where to go themselves because it was a double slip road with traffic next to them, so having to put my brakes on and not excessively but admitted firm, prob's saved a collision, and i didn't want to be sandwiched between 2 lorries i have nightmares about that sort of thing, but all happened at once so wasn't alot i could do.

at the end of the day you should keep your braking distance and i'm quite sure i did, i mean i managed to let a car and a lorry in front of me so couldn't of been that close now could i?

if the lorry behind had done the same there would of been no problem

 

how old are you just out of intrest mate

 

well it's only a 1.4 so motorway work seems to drink fuel esp cos my tracking is out atm, and it seemed to be up long continuous hill's where it does drink fuel, and yea times are that hard, i had to borrow money off a mate to get down there to deliver some goods from an ebay sell for some cash, and used some of it to feed myself last night, so you could say every penny count's

and i was picking high sided lorries so you would be surprised from the amount of room you can get and still notice the difference, it was really windy today so helped alot, and admitted he couldn't see me in his mirrors but i had no intention in overtaking so the only thing he could of done to endanger me would be to brake, and i had that covered by being far enough behind, they only say you should be in view of their mirror's so they don't over take and swipe you off the road is this true?

 

i'm 22 with 7 years of driving under my belt mostly on bikes admitted, and not a scooter before you say lol, and only 1 accident, and i can put my hand's up and say i made a mistake

 

Local Man U fans eh


Hope all those involved in the accident were ok.

 

burnzybubbles, sorry mate but you sound like the dangerous one going by what youve said im afraid. Maybe you havnt explained it well, but thats the way it comes across mate. You cant be messing around like that on the motorways. Whether you think you are in the right or not, you have to use common sense on the motorways.

I see things like this day in day out, and if your not comfortable driving around lorries, then keep away from them in lane two or three and keep with the flow of traffic i say. Thats the safest and most sensible way to drive.

Im not saying lorry drivers are saints, far from it in my opinion (in fact, dont even get me started on them), but they are what they are. I see sooooo many incidents every day down to people driving at lorries' pace when they actually think they are driving safely, its a bloody joke! Lorries are hard enoguh to deal with driving at 56mph without having to deal with even more slow vehicles.

 

i bet the traffic was bad all the way to laaandannnn with all the locals travelling to the match

 

was ronaldo on the m6 @ the time haha ,

 

sorry it must be the way i've come across, i wasn't in any bother about the lorry in front it was just the bloke behind being too close, i didn't feel uncomfortable far from it, I'm quite competent on motorway's and travel along them alot, and when i wasn't driving, my dad traveled alot to pick us up and we travelled between surrey and louth, and he's an instructor of many vehicles himself so i've been taught well ever since i can remember, i was having a go at the lorry behind, for having a go at me, because he was too close , and some people jumped on the band wagon about slipstreaming , i stayed on the inside lane with the lorry's so wasn't in any ones way, and i never pull out on people and have a good sense of speed, i had to travel at that speed cos my car uses juice from 80 onwards so i had 2 choices travel at 60-65 in the middle lane or follow lorries and save abit more fuel on the inside lane so i chose the latter,

i can tell you already no how bad lorry drivers tail gate, this was my main dispute, they say a braking distance is a 2 second rule 4 for wet roads but any one in the no, knows this isn't true and is completely dependent on different factors, look at the new mclaren with the same stopping distance at 120 as the government say's it should take to stop at 60, I'm not saying i have a mclaren but i have a good idea on a safe distance to keep in my car, and i was within my means of stopping, but the driver behind wasn't and proceeded to moan at me because he was too close when a problem did arise, i was more annoyed than anything because if i had slammed on my brakes on for any reason like a deer ran onto the motorways which isn't un heard of, then he would of piled into the back of me because of incompetent driving, I'm not saying I'm perfect because no one is and i've made my fair share of mistakes but i also learn from them.

 

Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule....

Only a c**t tailgates the man infront....

If you can't see my mirrors, I can't see you (written on the back of some lorrys)

Remember these sayings and if your breaking them, expect trouble, and don't assume because you get away with it that it is safe, and dont get upset if someone flips you the bird whilst your doing it. When on the motorway NEVER risk your life because of cash, even a clapped out 1.4 can negotiate a tricky situation better than an HGV, even the best traction control systems and stability systems on the newest of lorrys can't get out of some situations.

my wise words of wisdom from one 22yr old to another

JAmes.

 

At 60mph you are covering 88 feet per second. If the truck in front ran into something, or even braked sharply while you are 40 feet behind, even if you are blessed with the reactions of a cat there is only one outcome - you will make contact! The actual reaction time and the efficiency of your brakes will decide how hard the impact is!

Open a bigger gap, improve your visibility, protect yourself from all the dangerous drivers on the road, and save a life - maybe your own.

 

I totally agree mate, the thing is the lorry drivers should no better to tailgate. Its pure laziness on their part because they just dont want to slow down to keep a safe distance as they might, god forbid , lose that precious 30 seconds of time if they ease off the throttle.

I could go on forever about bad driving on motorways (especially lorry drivers ), and lets face it everyone makes mistakes and breaks laws/rules on the road, but i think lorry drivers should respect the fact that their driving a seriously lethal weapon, and sadly it seems many dont.

One other thing, how come at least 3 out of 4 (if not more) accidents/incidents on the motorways involve lorries!?!?!?! Cars out number lorries probably 3 fold at least, yet lorries are always involved one way or another when you hear the traffic reports or see an incident on the motorways!

Anyway, that makes my weekly rant about lorry drivers and bad driving complete for this week. Same time next week and im sure ill go off on one again!

 

Yeah i got stuck in that was very annoying! They should of at least opened up the hard shoulder, so there was at least some movement!!!!

 

i swear people i give up, i can see that your just trying to help but please, i obviously no about the 2 second rule because i've already stated it, I'm not in the wrong i was driving perfectly safe it was dry and i WASN'T on the bloke in front's arse and i could of stopped well before i would of hit the back of him, yes i was closer than 2 second's but you will hardly ever see someone at that distance, and i bet you don't drive at that distance yourself sit there and count it next time, and proper second's not just quickly 1-2, you'll just get someone pull into the gap if you was, you would just spend your hole time on the motorway slowing down to give yourself the correct room and pissing people off.

lol i just give up, please read the post and understand them properly before commenting on them

i was giving people room that was coming onto the motorway, i couldn't go forward, i couldn't go into the middle lane, so i had to slow down and let them in, then to have the bloke in his lorry behind me get annoyed because HE was too close and didn't give himself the proper braking distance, if you remember wot you was taught in your driving lesson then you should always give yourself the correct gap, yes i bent the rules slightly and was closer than 2 second's but i am not the one complaining that i nearly went into the back of someone, i have never gone into the back of someone, and i don't tailgate, i no how stupid it is, but if your a competent enough driver then you can judge this distance and still keep within a safe limit, any good driver will tell you this.

fact is the 2 second rule was put to use in the 70's or something like that, newer car's are capable of stopping in a much shorter distance, and like my car with bigger brakes than intended, can stop even quicker, so if i was 2 second's apart i would probably stop a good 70yrd's behind the lorry if it was to slam his anchors on and so was i

 

OMG!! thankyou sooo much someone with some road sense, ok i admit my answers might of been abit obscure but i can't help that, i'm a brummie wot do you expect lol,

but this is wot i'm getting at they never leave the correct gap, and another one is when they indicate and pull straight out or hold 2 lanes as one tries to overtake the other up a hill,

i'm quite sensetive to bad driving and besides wot some people think on here, i'm a safe driver and always get commented on it, yes i can make mistakes because i'm human and like to push the limit sometimes, so i'm not replying on this post just to make myself look perfect, far from it, and have admitted the times i've cocked up, which have always bar 1 time, only involved myself and been at relatively low speed's....

i think some people on here like to preach stuff they don't practice and it gets there back up because i'm straight forward and tell the truth about wot goes on, on our road's everyday without a blind bit of notice from anyone, we all break the law's on the road from parking to speeding to drinking a couple and it'll be alright to drive home, how many of you have done that before?, some people just don't like this fact being pointed out

sorry i went off on one myself, yea i totally agree back mate they are in control of about 30 tonnes of steel that will make a mess of a car in no time at all, and like you'v stated it's usually because they can't waste there precious seconds, admitted they are put on a tight schedule but that can't desmiss the fact they can put other people in lethal situations, maybe when it gets out of control they will get to the route of the problem and cut the drivers with some slack on the times, but you can't dismiss there bad driving as well i think lorry driving in general really need's a good look at, but wot hope have we got if the can't even run the economics of the country properly

 

Your right regarding the 2 second rule mate. 2 seconds is actually MUCH more distance than people think. Most just say one two and think thats 2 seconds, but to actually do it properly you have to go.....0 elephant 1 elephant 2

At 70mph thats a hell of a distance, and i agree with burnzy, that if you did actually leave that much room, you would get someone jump in the gap straight away (usually by undertaking you im sure )

More important than the 2 second rule is to look 3 or 4 cars infront of you, so you can anticipate hazards quicker and easier.

 

Im not exonerating lorry drivers from any blame at all, but I think people sitting in the inside lanes and not driving correctly on motorways plays a huge part in accidents, and this will inevitably involve slow, un-maneuverable lorries. Im not insinuating what you have said is wrong, just saying that lorries can often get caught up in others accidents, which usually adds greatly to the seriousness of an accident.

I think the general state of driving on motorways is shocking, you rarely see people leaving any sort of reasonable gap, let alone 2 seconds. I do genuinely try to keep a sensible gap between me and the car in front, maybe not always 2 seconds plus, but I do keep a close eye on my distance. I've been driving now for 8 years and havent had a single shunt caused by my own error (had a guy pull out in front of me once) but I never, ever let myself beleive I am invincible, or that motorway driving is safe. Its very easy, as you have less things to concentrate on (traffic lights, pedestrians, lots of gearchanging, parked cars, blind bends, junctions etc etc) but people relax far too much on motorways imo.

I once had a huge moment in my saff on a wet motorway, dropped a gear and planted it, the wheels spun up and I had a right wobble, went from lane 3 to the hard shoulder and was very close to crashing. Luckily the motorway was very empty or I would have had a very nasty crash I expect. It doesnt take masses of concentration to drive well on a motorway, yet people seem to drive so much worse on them.

Steve

 

Bang on, totally agree. I forgot to mention in my post above that you should never have to use your brakes on a motorway, you should anticipate the traffic ahead by leaving a good distance and observing traffic.

If anyone jumps into my gap I just lift off gently and roll back, i dont have to slow down, just correct the gap. And I usually try to overtake them, flicking the bird as I go. They never get it

 

yes thankyou i have edited my last post because i sort of went off on my own on that one lol and replied to your actuall post , but yea i used to ride bikes and do a hell of a lot of miles, so i'm used to looking ahead and also predicting other peoples actions, even though i would never go off this as a rule but has helped me if i was to think the person was about to turn without signalling or so on, if someone has taught you to ride or drive fast the hole game is to plan ahead look as far as possible you shouldn't worry about wots right in front of you because you should of already thought about that and be thinking about wots up ahead, the same as a track, a good driver/rider has already thought about the corner before they come to it, and are then thinking about the exit as they are in the bend and so on it makes for a more competent and smother driver, i like it when there is someone i can level with, top bloke S1rst

 

*Most* HGV drivers are fucking awful drivers, they do 56MPH EVERYWHERE,ALL THE TIME , the number of times I have been doing less than 40 Mph due to not being able to see 2 cats-eyes in front due to the fog, and an HGV comes thundering past at 56MPH is unreal.... Then on the motorway they do 56MPH in torrential rain, sat 2" off each others arse end, forming an inpenetrable train stopping people getting off and on the motorway...

I won't even get started on them indicating 0.0000003 of a second before they throw the 40 tonnes of HGV towards you as you are almost overtaking them, just so they can overtake another HGV at 56.000000000000000000000000176 MPH, , then after 10 miles of side by side 56MPH non-overtaking, they come to a hill and the HGV on the inside suddenly becomes 0.00000000000000000176 of a MPH faster, so it starts to pull back lost ground on the HGV overtaking it .....

AND (according to a good source) they murder prostitutes

They ought to ban them from the roads at rush hour and weekends, the French ban HGV's from the roads at weekends and it is awsome

 

My last contribution to this thread - I promise!!!
A) Traffic joining the motorway has to give way. I'd be fucked off if you slowed in front of me to allow someone on when we have priority. It is one of the most basic rules of the road, not that far down the list from drive on the left. If we all start adapting the basic rules we'll find it hard or impossible to go anywhere.

B) Even if 30-40 feet was an exaggeration of how close you were, I promise you will be astounded at how long it will take you to stop. Cars HAVE hugely improved since the Highway Code stopping distances were introduced, but the basic human element hasn't. The thinking time happens while you are travelling at maximum speed and before any deceleration due to applying brakes. I did an Ultimate car Control course with work before Christmas, in brand new high-performance cars on a runway (which has more friction than a road) and it was an eye-opener for me. Even when you know you will be told to brake suddenly but don't know when, there is a frightening amount of ground covered before anything actually happens.

And as a sales rep I cover about 40k a year and have done for maybe 20 years or more so, no, I don't always keep to the posted limit, I do have some points on my licence, I do have some bad habits, and I've had some minor bumps, but I'm very aware of my own and other people's driving and always have an escape route subconsciously in mind. From what you describe, you have put yourself in a horrifyingly dangerous situation.

As for lorry drivers needing to be aware that they are "driving a seriously lethal weapon", I think you will find most of them are VERY aware of this. Remember, they needed to pass a special test to drive their vehicle, pass a regular medical, and now sit exams to show professional competence. Unlike us, who can pass our car test in a Fiesta 1.1 then hare off in a Cosworth!

A little gun might be less dangerous than a big gun, but it can still kill someone...

 

noone is saying do 80mph, cars have the speed limit of 70mph for a reason, lorries have a different speed limit for a reason.

you SHOULD try and do the speed limit at all times, not under it or over it. this is the safe way to drive according to the highway code! if everyone did this, then there would not be any traffic jams!!!!

people coming onto a motorway should anticipate the gap they need to join the motorway, not force their way in!

people who follow a lorry close behind, to 'slipstream the lorry' to save fuel, and not letting the lorry infront see you, driving below the speed limit; are driving like a cunt, whichever way you dress it up!!

 

They dont call it the M6 Car Park for nothing.

 

I beg to differ on this point, I am of the opinion that its the gaps people leave (or lack of) that causes jams, as soon as the car in front touches their brakes, it sets off a chain reaction of people braking (even if they arent actually braking, just 'comfort touching' the pedal) that eventually leads to jams. That and sheer weight of traffic too.
Im not saying lets all speed, and I do recognise what you are saying though

 

Burnsy - if you KNEW he was tailgating and there was a sliproad to your left then moving into the middle lane for the junction would have been the sensible thing to do......you should never brake to let people on the motorway, they have to give way to you and judge their entry whilst they're at the top of the slip road.

In a situation like you were in it's not a matter of fault, its a matter of keeping everyone as safe as poss.......blame can be dished out afterwards.

I had a 1.4 cvh fiesta and did 90 mph everywhere it had a twin choke weber on it and was pretty frugal......i'd suggest a setup somewhere that knows carbs, and disconnect the choke.

 

Agreed 100%

Also middle lane dawdlers are a pain

My big bugbear is lorries overtaking.......they should be limited to the inside lane during peak traffic times......say 7am to 7pm.....would free up motorways no end and possibly encourage more off peak journeys for those who couldnt bear to lose a few seconds behind a lorry travelling 0.0000000003 mph slower than it

 

yea ok my hand's are up, i forgot about it is your right of way on the motorway than if you was joining from the slip road by law, but common courtesy is to allow people room, i still think i used my head though because the traffic was heavy but traveling at a steady 50ish mph, if i had been stubborn it would of left a car and a lorry stationary on the slip road now that would of been more dangerous imho, some one would of had to slow down even more than i did to allow the lorry to come onto the carriage way, or no one give way to them resulting in a tail back up the slip road, if lorry drivers are sooo good then being in such a high vehicle he would of seen what's happening ahead and maybe gave some room, instead of being an arse and being on my arse.

 

i hear what you are saying there, do you think then, that if everyone did the speed limit and kept a 2 second gap, then there would be no jams? as that is the theort behind it isnt it!