I can often be found trundling the nation’s roads at sub-60 mph speeds in my German whip. I remain steadfastly in the left lane, very seldom do I overtake anything. Very few road-users irritate me, cyclists, lorries, Audis, SUVs. Where are those lorry drivers in such a hurry to get to? Is there a prostitute culling festival on in Hull?

I recommend chilling on the roads.

And left foot braking…

Most truck drivers drive well

So they bloody should! Everyone should drive well of course, but not everyone is driving professionally and piloting a massive steel death machine (yes, yes i know every vehicle can be that…)

I also know it’s harder for lorries to get up to speed but that doesn’t mean they should drive too close, pull out when they want etc in the unfaltering quest to maintain momentum at all costs.

Of course that’s a generalisation and they don’t all do it, but the potential consequences are so great that when they do it really stands out.

kenneththecurtain – Member

It is invariably a pair of trucks stopping to let me across, never cars.

One piece of anecdotal evidence does not a trend make.

“Most truck drivers drive well”
Id agree.
The vast majority are absolutely superb, its not an easy job, its their skills and experience that make it look easy
I dread to think what a normal car driver would destroy if they were let loose in an artic without the (considerable) training/testing that professional drivers are subject to.
Obviously, all drivers make mistakes sometimes, and with a truck its so much more obvious.
When im trundling along in my coach, i always have a sneaky peek if im overtaking someone, just see what they’re doing, its amazing how many car drivers have a phone in their hand.
Or, alternatively, tha telltale one hand on the wheel, the other hand out of sight and the head down reading a text.
I can’t recall the last time i saw a trucker doing this.

+ garage dweller, again

trucks generally seem well driven to me.

anyone tailgating at motorway speeds deserves license removal; car, bike, truck, or members of the special category of aspirational motor car owners who own the third lane.

Can’t remember the last time I had any hassle from a lorry driver. Much higher proportion of car drivers are knobs IMO. Only thing lorries do to piss me off is the rolling roadblock when one overtakes another at <1mph speed differential.

I’ve said it before – when being tailgated, just ease off the gas a bit. Continue slowing down until they either overtake or get the message. This has literally never failed to work for me. In the worst case that they actually hit you, at least there’s more space in front to reduce the chance of a big pile-up.

I don’t understand why car drivers are driving at 55 – 60. Drive at 70 if it’s clear then they wouldn’t be overtaken and causing delays to others while a truck is inching past massaging their ego.

Not as if that few mph is going to do much to fuel economy to the average 50+ mpg diesel.

Years ago I mentioned to a mate that if I was getting tailgated I used to dab the brake with my left foot whilst keeping the right on the accelerator. The brake light coming on usually made them back off a bit.
One day he is driving along in his van and an artic starts driving right up his chuff so he decides to try the brake light thing. Unfortunately, as he had never practiced this before he completely misjudged the amount of pressure to put on the brake. He said the cab of the truck dipped about 3 foot as the driver had to slam on to avoid ploughing right into him. Needless to say they both shit themselves. Hopefully they both learned useful lessons from the experience. 😆

How do people get away with bombing through average speed zones? Baffles me.

How do you know they ‘get away with it’?

joefm – Member
I don’t understand why car drivers are driving at 55 – 60. Drive at 70 if it’s clear then they wouldn’t be overtaken and causing delays to others while a truck is inching past massaging their ego.

Not as if that few mph is going to do much to fuel economy to the average 50+ mpg diesel.

We all don’t live in a world where speed is the main thing to do whilst driving.

Some of us expect to drive at a pace we decide for both comfort and road conditions. Fuel consumption rarely figures in our decision making process, it’s more about being polite and courteous and keeping within any regulated speed limits enforced.
HTHs.

I don’t understand why car drivers are driving at 55 – 60.

Sometimes

CBA to join in the BMercaudiW shark pack in lane 3
CBA to play silly buggers speed up and slow down and speed up and slow down and lane hop to try and go at 70 in nose-tail traffic
Its clearer in lane 1, because middle lane hoggers + shark pack
I’m drafting an artic
I feel like it, you know it is within the legally allowable sphere of driving speeds etc?
I’ve got my digestive biscuit sized spare wheel fitted

edit: the amount of middle fingers / blast-the-horn-that-will-show-him / punishment-passes that entitled twonks safe in their tin boxes give out, when doing the last one of that list, was difficult to believe

One piece of anecdotal evidence does not a trend make.

It’s a discussion forum, forgive me for adding my experiences to the discussion 😆

kenneththecurtain – Member
One piece of anecdotal evidence does not a trend make.
It’s a discussion forum, forgive me for adding my experiences to the discussion

😀 It’s more the string of “well I’ve seen X” and then people (not necessarily you!) extrapolating that to be generally representative of the class behaviour for the whole body or class.

I don’t understand why car drivers are driving at 55 – 60.

My car won’t do 70mph, is that a problem for you?

If an Artic is overtaking you it’s nothing about conditions of the road. You’re a rolling road block.

My car won’t do 70mph, is that a problem for you?

I presume that’s a classic, so out of interest what is it?

I don’t understand why car drivers are driving at 55 – 60. Drive at 70

Much rather trundle along at 60mph with the predictable trucks than in the hammer lane with everyone else driving bumper to bumper. Makes a difference to MPG as well, even a safe distance from a lorry there is still a significant increase in mpg

Suddenly 40tonne artics have started overtaking me on dual carriageways when I’m pootling along at cruise controlled 60. This never used to happen because lorries are limited to 56, right? But suddenly, several have come past on the same stretch, and not only just faster, fair barrelling along. Have lorry drivers learnt to hack their trucks? These weren’t foreigners, they were UK wagons.

Brexit, innit?

MrSparkle, I wouldn’t recommend actually braking. Flicking on the rear fogs may have a similar effect depending on location etc. But the idea being slowing down is not so much to “warn off” the tailgater but to actually decrease the danger. Everything goes slower, the gap in front is bigger, and it’s easier for the tailgater to overtake if that’s what they are hoping to do.

Sometimes

CBA to join in the BMercaudiW shark pack in lane 3
CBA to play silly buggers speed up and slow down and speed up and slow down and lane hop to try and go at 70 in nose-tail traffic
Its clearer in lane 1, because middle lane hoggers + shark pack
I’m drafting an artic
I feel like it, you know it is within the legally allowable sphere of driving speeds etc?
I’ve got my digestive biscuit sized spare wheel fitted

Added to this list:
Have a car with 3″ straight pipe and short ratio gearbox.

Ever since I bought a weekend car with the above ‘features’, I’ve taken to driving at 60 on motorways to avoid being deafened and bankrupt.

Such a stress-free experience compared to being caught up in the 80mph traffic jam in lane 3.

giantalkali –
Where are those lorry drivers in such a hurry to get to?

Probably to a timed delivery where you have an allocated slot. Miss it and you’re stuffed. Driving hours are restricted, run out of time due to unexpected delays and you’re parked up for the night rather than getting home to the kids Christmas play or parents evening. I bet you complain when your parcel is delivered a day late as well……………

I bet you complain when your parcel is delivered a day late as well……………

No, I’m the epitome of chill, in this thread anyway

I use the inside lane, moving into the middle temporarily to allow faster/more german vehicles past.

1) I think you mean the outside lane.
2) send your licence back to the DVLA.

I don’t understand why car drivers are driving at 55 – 60.

No problem with this as long as it’s being done in lane one…it becomes a problem when the idiot does it for mile after mile in the middle lane forcing traffic to split either side of them and undertake or all pile into lane three.

Again, it’s dead simple…if you’re not overtaking get in lane one.
In lane one nobody cares how slow you want to drive because you’re easy to overtake…the only people that may have something to say eventually are traffic police who may feel that below a certain speed you now pose a danger to yourself or other road users.

HGVs always seem to 6 ft behind me in 50 limits itching to overtake. Here’s a radical idea – why not do 50?

And the blocking 2 lanes whilst trying to inch past another HGV, that’s ridiculous. If your speed differential is that low just stay behind FFS.

Again, it’s dead simple…if you’re not overtaking get in lane one.

But look ahead and stay out if there’s more traffic. Dont’ be zig-zagging all over the road constantly like some people do. I reckon they drive 10% more miles for the same trip.

But look ahead and stay out if there’s more traffic.

I know you have form for this middle lane thing but…how far ahead are we talking here?

Cougar – Moderator
1) I think you mean the outside lane.
2) send your licence back to the DVLA.

1) You’re right.
2) So they can stamp ‘FULLY AWESOME’ on it? Good idea!

I know you have form for this middle lane thing but…how far ahead are we talking here?

Based on the nearest motorways to me I’d say the acceptable distance is at least a mile probably more, at a closing speed not exceeding 0.13mph.

More seriously I think the answer to your question is that the right amount of time to stay out is variable with traffic density and flow and road conditions and your speed relative to traffic behind, traffic in front and the speed limit.

1000 on a Sunday night in October you can sit in the middle (first overtaking?) Lane at 65-70mph all night long and it won’t cause much bother on a practical level. I wouldn’t because I think it’s sloppy but the real world impact is limited.

M40 at 7.00pm on a weekday you’ll likely be a pain in someone’s arse if it’s less than a minute between overtakes if they want to go quicker.

I use a rough 15second rule for passing multiple groups of vehicles. My feeling is less than that from starting to pull in to starting to pull out is a waste of time and can make you look unpredictable. I have a vague recollection of reading this in an article or book on driver improvement.

I flex around that for what else I can see on the road ahead and behind. E.g. Queue of tailgaters behind and no easy gap to get back out I’d maybe stretch it a little (seconds not minutes). Clear road except one rocket ship approaching fast from behind I’ll nip in and straight back out once they are past if it’s safe to do so. I’d also be sizing up if I’m likely to get undertaken by some boy racer/power ranger etc.

Based on the nearest motorways to me I’d say the acceptable distance is at least a mile probably more, at a closing speed not exceeding 0.13mph.

🙂

I use a rough 15second rule for passing multiple groups of vehicles. My feeling is less than that from starting to pull in to starting to pull out is a waste of time and can make you look unpredictable.

Yeah, I use a little more – 30 secs but obviously, as you wrote above, it’s really a conditional thing – if a herd of traffic is approaching fast behind in lane two and three and there’s space for me to tuck in, lift off and let it pass I will.