Been doing a lot of miles on the motorway for the last year. I've always noticed this before but even more so over the past year. Roadworks signs with 2 miles on, then 1 mile, then 800,600,400,200 yards. Lane closed signs on the full approach . . . . so why do a lot of HGVs seem oblivious to the fact that a lane is closed, until the very last second and then dive into the open lane with seemingly complete surprise the lane is closed, despite 2 miles of warnings !!! If it's tiredness then surely a break should have been taken well before this kind of driving is occuring. I am ALWAYS fully aware of a lane being closed ( because i'm not blind and know what a lane closed sign looks like ) and surely professional HVG drivers should be the same. I have lost count of the number of cars being cut up by lorries diving into the open lane at the last second and one where the lorry took out about 20 cones before diving into the open lane. I can see NO reason why this should happen and it really is only a matter a time before i witness a serious accident or even worse. Answers on a postcard . . . . rant over

 

Are you new to the roads ?

I guess if the lorries moved over miles ahead of when they needed, you'd be on crying about lorries blocking the middle lane etc

So you are in fact gurning about them using the road properly ?

 

No matter what us HGV drivers do, it will never please the far superior car drivers who have far more road experience and knowledge than those of us HGV drivers who have taken atleast 2 driving tests and in most cases 3 driving tests to get to the Class 1 level,

 

the biggest problem with lorrys is the dicks in cars who think you should be able to turn and move about as they can in there mini lol just remember if it wasent for trucks you would have nothing as every thing is moved about at some time on the back of a lorry!

 

To be fair he isn't generally having a dig at HGV drivers; just those who are not paying attention to a lane closure. I have great respect for wagon drivers but, just like us mere car drivers they can also be shit. Unfortunately being shit in a massive truck isnt ideal and it is that feeling that I feel the OP is trying to convey.

 

Got to be honest I drive a 1200 mile round trip regularly and most HGV boys are brilliant,it's very annoying when they try and overtake at 56.1mph but generally great.

As for the lane thing,it bugs the shot out of me when people DON'T do exact what your ranting about.the signs are there to warn you of roadworks 2MILES AWAY,not 2fucking yards as most retards tend to think I.e enter the inside lane 2miles from the works causing a,yep you guessed it,2mile additional tailback!!!
And those fucking pricks who pull across two lanes to stop you overtaking were to me just clearly bullied in school,nit my fault they don't have the intelligence to realize by simply letting one another in one at a time alleviates 80% of the congestion.
I was shocked when I got to Scotland and witnessed possibly the politest nation of roadusers ever,but fuck me does the traffic move faster.I get zero road rage up here but as soon as I hit Swansea it flares again,usually old people or girls in motability cars texting then slamming on!!!
Arghhh!!!

 

I'm not suggesting that lorries need to move over 2 miles before the lane closure. Obviously this would cause tailbacks but waiting till 100 yards before and swerving into the clear lane at the last minute cutting people up is, in my eyes, not acceptable. I'm obviously not talking about the fine gentlemen on here who drive HGVs of course.

 

Don't knock the HGV boys we've only got 50-56mph flat out and we need a bit of time to move about the place

the problem with most car drivers is that they needed to get there yesterday


Luciano

 

i find truckers have different attitudes towards different vehicles..example, when im driving a car they just seem to pull out to overtake regardless, but when im driving my van it doesnt seem to happen as much. i just put it down to a bit more respect towards 'professional' drivers.

 

I find the same lol, but when you are in an old RS everyone lets you out

 

how old does the rs have to be? ive got a s1 and generally the only people who let me out are middle aged it seems..boyhood cars i guess

 

but with what your saying, if you know there is only 100 yards till the lanes merge, and a lorry is doing 56mph limited in the inside lane...

then YOU know that he is about to move lanes, so why not lift off the gas and let them in??

lorrys dont do 70mph

 

and he's probably had his indicator going for the last 2 miles but no twat in a car will let him out, so has to just pull out at the last minute and thats wrong, most the bad driving is down to non uk truck drivers as well, i don't get any of the problem over here in America, car drivers here have respect, and the trucks do the same speed as the cars 75mph most interstates i travel,

i had to drive at 55 today, and god that felt so slow i almost got out and walked!!!

 

i do around 1000 miles a week normally .. and tbh the lgv drivers i find are always no issue ..
but you get the odd one or 2 that deem they have the right to dictate that they are the law on blocking that open outer lane that they didnt think about when they joined the 500 yard queue now they dont want anyone else moving faster than them .... i agree there are 2 lanes for a reason ... not so that your lgv can block it off cos you think it will be quicker .. but now the queue extends onto the roundabout and is royally screwing it up for others ..
we all have our moans about truckers .. but im sure i am happier in my van doing 70 rather than in a lgv getting cut up by car drivers who think that the, oh fuck i can get into that gap before the slip road attitude is fine .. would love to see you trying to stop 40 odd tonnes of truck now you have narowed the gap i had in time .. 56 mph .. poor fuckers i really feel for you guys .. having to sit there in the middle lane cos some idiot is doing 55 in thier car on the motorway ... i could go on for ages and i know the other lgv drivers on here could do a page of thier pet hates ..
the few ruin the image for the many ... big respect to the lgv drivers from me .. i know i wouldnt want to do it ..

 

I find HGVs on motorways to be good! What bugs me is HGVs on dual carrigeways..... They get all demonic and decide to overtake the HGV in front of them thats doing 55.4mph, holding them up at 55.7mph.... And the pass takes 47 miles.....



When I'm going to Portsmouth or Devonport I spend about 6 hours on the motorway before a good 3 or 4 on the dual carrigeways and being stuck behind an HVG passing another HGV for an a month will drive you totally insane!

 

even worse when they are doing under 56mph,you indicate,wait for a gap,pull out,then......theyre doing 65-70mph!then you pull back in,they slow down,you indicate,wait,pull out.....70mph!!!!!!!now THAT winds me up!
or....on a slip road,if you are EVER in a car on a slip road joining a motorway and there is a lorry coming up the motorway,in the inside lane JUST SPEED UP TO MORE THAN 60mph!im tired of sitting in the inside lane with cars in both outside lanes so i cant move over regardless, then a car drives down the on ramp at 50mph looking over their shoulder at me directly as if i should be giving way somehow when there is a whole motorway in front of me if they would just put their foot down!
and as for the cone thing,we are trying to give car drivers less to whinge about,we stay in the inside lane as long as possible so you can get to work 0.1 seconds quicker.

 

try it when youre in another HGV thats faster than the one in front,you can only drive for 4.5hrs solid at a time before a legally required break,you can only do a maximum of 10hrs driving a day a couple of times a week,the lorries are restricted and yet you are still required to get everywhere on time based on a computer simulation that doesnt take traffic into account.

for instance,my first day every week is this
start Gloucester,drive to Sheffield,spend an hour there being unloaded (note,if i miss this slot it adds an extra hour or 2 to my day because other lorries are also arriving),then from Sheffield to Wakefield,half hour unloading time,then on to Leeds, another half an hour,then back to Sheffield,an hour,then Borehamwood,which is just inside the M25 by South Mimms services.
Now,if i DONT overtake when i have a chance then it can seriously screw up my day,if i dont get to sheffield on time i have a huge wait (i am restricted not only on driving time,but also on the hours i work in a day,i must have a 30min break before 6hrs working and can only do a max 15hr day a couple times a week,otherwise its a max 13hr day)so that knocks on for the rest of the day,i get to Wakefield late,another delay for another wagon,i get to leeds late,again, another delay,so now im down at least 3-4 hours,not to mention if if takes longer for me to drive somewhere i have to take my rest breaks more frequently by mileage,and then because transport systems are interlinked,if im late for a delivery then the rest of the system is screwed as they are waiting on me before they can even start their journey.Now,if i am that far delayed i might miss the last delivery at Borehamwood completely on the first day,meaning that,after my minimum 9hr overnight stay,the delivery could be anything up to 12 hrs late at this point!

so please, learn to live with it a little,i dont try to upset other drivers on the road,but i do have strict deadlines to meet and missing them really puts pressure on me,not to mention late fees that are charged to the company.if i dont need to be anywhere immediately i will let lots of cars go whenever i can,but if im tight for time its me vs you,and a 40 tonne wagon tends to be a little more scary!lol

 

That REALLY does make my piss boil....anything 7.5tonne and over should stay in the inside lane only. The truckers on here will do their bollocks for me saying that but the amount of times bottlenecks occur because there's only fucking lane to get past on the flipside, if they stay at 50mph everything would be late

 

inside lane only on a motorway?are you pissed?how about all the middle lane hogging car drivers?how many lorries do you see sitting in the middle lane with NOTHING to overtake?now compare that to cars.

imagine a line of 20 trucks on the inside lane of the motorway with no overtaking,now you get to a hill, the first truck is pulling 35 tonnes of freight (PLUS the weight of the lorry,and the unit without trailer weighs 8 tonnes!) and only has a 350bhp engine in it,its now suddenly going to be doing 30mph up the hill,or less!so all the other lorries will bunch up,ALL doing 30mph,all massively slowed down,and theres no way of anyone getting off the motorway because we are all bunched up,but thats ok,because you pay Ł120 a year road tax to swan about in your free time.OKAY!!!!!!!

 

No, not pissed. Just usually late because I've been stuck behind HGV bottlenecks or accidents mate ! And seeing as I average 50-60k miles a year (not as much as a trucker admittedly) that's alot of time wasted and alot of phone calls apologising for being late.

 

my wagon weighs 44 ton fully loaded, people WILL move out of my way!

 

I drive a 44ton Mobile Bomb , they WILL NOT fucking move ! I find it hysterical people play chicken with petrol tankers !

 

Lorries don't cause me concern, well apart from where they insist on overtaking another lorry that's almost going the same speed.

Van drivers and taxi drivers are by far more concerning as most think they can drive but have a level of incompetence that is seemingly unbeatable

 

its annoying when a wagon overtakes another wagon...if you were a HGV driver, you'd understand, all wagons are limited to 56mph, now some go faster, some slower, which also depends upon whats on the trailer weight wise, but if you can do say 57mph and the one in front is doing 55.5 mph, i'll be overtaking him as its frustrating for me to sit behind it letting on and of!

 

Surely you shouln't be letting on and off? Simply maintaining the speed.

Speed limitting Lorries was a daft idea, as these overtaking manouvers proove. If you guys could overtake and tuck back in again it would be better and quite likely safer for all of us.

 

especially considering the speed limiter is the wrong fucking speed. the legal maximum speed for said HGVs on motorways etc is 60mph NOT 56mph. this is what happens when you let the fucking pooftah europeans mess with the laws....

 

Ive always thought that trucks should be able to do at least 70. Why can they only do 56mph. Is this something to do with truck companys trying to save on there fuel bills?

 

no, because saving time would out weigh fuel bill, i personnelly am happy at 56 when its 44 ton gross.

oranaco, yes, if your empty, and put your foot down, it'll go!! over 1000 lbft of torque is going to pull

 

european legislation

 

I have this argument so many times at work lol i set limiters the high way code was written a long time ago it is a legal requirement for a goods vehicals over 7.5 tons to be limited to 56mph or you will have your balls choped off by vosa and will not pass an mot

 

lol if you feel safe with 44 tons doing an emergancy stop behind your car with your wife and kids in it

 

iirc, the 56mph limit on Lorries was in a bid to reduce accidents, it was a trial. As usual the facts didn't back the political viewpoint so were never published and they never withdrew the limiter.

Another case of how crooked the powers that be can be

 

so why is it an MOT requirement for 56mph yet the legal speed limit is 60??? contradiction of law again.... is it not that 56mph was forced on us by europe wide legislation because it suited europe but yet again not the UK.

 

its been a legal reqirement on anything over 12000kg since 1 1 1988 to be limited to 56mph forget the high way code thats what vosa say and there word counts lol also anything over 7.5 tons as well now but after what date i forget

 

to be honnest most run at lower anyway to save fuel dhl are set to 52mph!

 

scary enough with a lorry braking behind me at 56 let alone 70!

 

I had a near miss today on seven sister road, i was coming upto a Red light so I was slowing down, a twat in a Bmw 3 series came flying up the outside, jumped in front of me and slammed on the brakes for the Red light!
I had to slam on the breaks alot harder. the dick see what he had caused and moved further forward which was across the stop line just to give me some extra breaking space.

if the cock hadnt of jumped in I wouldnt of had to break so hard ( which ill now have to explain to my boss as the tracker picks up harsh breaking )
and he wouldnt of had to cross the line. absolute idiot. im sure car drivers think trucks can stop just like a car!

 

its mostly the lorrys that cause the holdups on the a303 at stone henge as they block both lanes from the roundabout for 2 miles up to where the 2 lanes merge. some ive been stuck behind drive like absolute cunts weaving to fill both lanes and even have a go at stopping the bikes getting through.. i can never work out why they dont just either get in their spot in the que or drive to the front up the empty lane that they have been blocking and this would then free up miles of dual carridgeway behind them..

 

leave a bit earlyer then

 

motorways 56mph
duelcarageways 50mph
single lane carageways 40mph
and then the normall speed limits for 30 20mph zones