I have recently noticed n increase in HGV drivers taking it into their own hand to "police" lanes at road works -

The general scenario - Sign saying one lane blocked 1000 yrds ahead, merge in turn. but also signs saying "If congested use both lanes". at the 1000 yard mark some plonker in a lorry then decides to straddle both lanes or drive a 40mpg side by side with his mate.

All these plonkers are doing is moving the traffic jam 1000 yrds back the road!

Thank god for them.

3 times i have come North across the Forth Road Bridge this week.

Come out of the 40mph into the 70mph, then the 50 MPH, chose the lane and allow those to come in from your Left & those to merge from your Right.

4 lanes wide and merge for the Bridge.

Not good enough for drivers of Scoobies, Audi's BMW's Range Rovers, Evoques & some times a Rover 400.

'The special People', you see the DRL's now and know they are not pulling in or merging before that very last space,

even if that is on the cross hatches and there is no space..

Last 50 yards they need to get in. Last 25 yards dont dare make them slow down.

Hail the Lane Police, they sit up high and see what often the drivers in a car waiting that calm way can not be aware of. JMO.

In Winter other than when they Jack Knife and cause the delay, they are there when those real Police have not a clue.

george

Edited 28 July, 201213 yr by sk4gw

No they are stopping the plonkers who drive down the outside lane and then cut in at the last moment instead of getting into the correct lane like everybody else and causing more congestion and stopping the traffic from flowing thats why the signs are warning you to get into the correct lane to keep the traffic flowing.not so some nob can race down the closed lane and then cut every body up making all the other drivers angry . as you are complaining about this can we assume you are one of the drivers that cut in at the last moment..

bill

SK4GW - That's the bit of road I am on about.

Bill2 - no I am not one of those drivers - I too get annoyed at the c@cks who cut in at the last minute and can, to a certain extent understand why the HGV drivers do this. My beef is

1) they are taking the law into their own hands

2) they are doing this 1000 yrds from the merge point and as a result stopping orderly merging

3) they simply move the road block back 1/2 a mile - on this particular stretch yesterday it was a 20mpg crawl for 1/2 mile behind the 2 HGVs who had a clear road in front of them. the speed limit through this section is 40 mpg.

4) They simply wind up the c@cks and make things more dangerous as the c@cks still try their best to squeeze past

I was in a Land Rover Defender with a Transporter in tow.

So not having the full 360 degree high vision of the lorries, but a slight advantage,

but i also have the CB on.

I can assure you they (HGV's) see all 3 routes coming in.

360 degree view of things for 5 or 10 minutes.

They are looking back up the routes from Edinburgh the coast/Stirling & Newbridge.

Now no Driver of an HGV is usually acting alone, he or she sits and sees whats going on, speak to each other and even a plonker like me will make a call and say 'please' anyone with their ears on, or is that Big Rig from F****R on channel.

Then they might just go a bit wide.

Try & spot what the lanes are doing all around but in a car you cant really see it all as they can.

You can not see back up the slip on your left, or right back 1/2 a mile.

We have cars coming up on our outside and merging, & sometimes they need to go 3 lanes to the left to exit, and ones coming 2 or 3 lanes from the left.

Those late mergers are coming into the right lane before the OverheadBridge pillars, then undertaking into the empty space that they caused with not merging then up the bridge on the inside disrupting the merge from the left onto the bridge.

THen when we get to Dunfermline Turn off they are there on the phone or still at 60 mph and there are no average 40 mph cameras running right now.

Try & get a trip in a Big Rig and its an amazing view & lesson to car drivers behaviour.

george

Edited 28 July, 201213 yr by sk4gw

I suppose the day that you have experience of driving a 44T truck, doing 100,000+ miles per year with idiots:

• cutting you up
  
• sitting on the motorway at 50MPH causing someone who is 44 times heavier than you to overtake your car whilst going up a hill
  
• those that dawdle down a slip road at 45mph only looking to see what traffic is approaching from behind just before they want to join the motorway
  

You will be in a better position to comment.

These are just some of the issues every truck driver face on a daily basis, they can also see 5 times more of the road, both ahead and behind (because of how high they sit) than the average car, you want to criticize them for actually making the roadworks flow better?

Just to emphasise this - I have no argument that truckers have problems with being cut up and I have frequently travelled in these a driver large vans now and again. My beef is and still is that this is a vigilantly act that simply results in inconveniencing those that will merge properly and in good time winding the c@cks up.. The first "merge " signs are 1000 yrds out and the traffic will flow better if we are not all forced to merge at this first point

I know what you are saying.

Let us know how it goes if you are there one day when there are no HGV's within a mile or so of you and the total mayhem.

or

If you are there sometime as the Yuppies exit Edinburgh on mass and start a posh road rage incident, as each will not let another in..

Going the other way and down the Slip to the Airport, City By pass or Glasgow is becoming real fun.

There are some HGV drivers prepared to play, 'lets get a wing mirror off.'

all the best.

george

Not good enough for drivers of Scoobies, Audi's BMW's Range Rovers, Evoques & some times a Rover 400.

'The special People', you see the DRL's now and know they are not pulling in or merging before that very last space,

even if that is on the cross hatches and there is no space..

You forgot 4x4 pickup truck's. .

Use both lanes and merge in turn, simples.

Lane disipline and courtesy.

This is Russian and possibly a Body guard escort car or something.

I did see the same thing happen one night on the A77 Newton Stewart slip road between a Blacked out X5 on 22" or so rims and funnily a Life Style pick up on about 20" rims.

(EDIT Sorry correction, Newton Mearns, very different places, LOL not)

george

Edited 28 July, 201213 yr by sk4gw

They are being selfish, pure and simple, if you can get the queue in front of you down to one lane it will flow straight into the roadworks making your wait much less.

B01l0cks to the two rows of traffic behind you.

Yes in a 2 lanes down to 1 situation..

This is 6 lanes going down to 2 lanes going off to the left & away.

&

becoming 3 lanes on the right coming down in a 1/2 mile to 2 lanes to get onto the bridge & then another 2 lanes coming in from the left so back to 4 lanes

& then cross the Forth Road bridge which is 2 lanes.

it is a balls up to say the least.

This is nothing to do with the Building of the New Forth Crossing Bridge yet, thats to come.

It is right where they spent 4 Million Pounds to Build new Toll Booths and open them in 2006,

just before Tolls were abolished there Feb 2008..

george

Edited 28 July, 201213 yr by sk4gw

Must admit, I hate the last minute Larries. Merge early, it's only being courteous. Problem is that those in the merged lane can also be total pr**ks by blocking out a merging vehicle.( My favourite comedy clip is that of a trraffic car at a pinch point, pulling sales rep over to check his car )

I've done it ,in the middle of the nihght on the M1( waits for earache). It was down to one lane for night works. I moved over into L2( I'd been in L3, as L1 & L2 had HGV in them, and in the van I could do at least NSL).Suddenly all came to a halt, except for those in L3, making a jam. The HGV blokes blocked the inside two lanes, but L3 wasa becoming jammed, as they( HGV) couldn't legally move over. I was driving a 3.5 T van, so I moved over ,and once the rucus at the front decayed, we moved. As L3 became conned off, I wondered where to go. L1 & 2 stopped, and I got a siren call from the blokes. First they gave me priority into L2, then at the next pinch point, more horns and priority into L1. I'd say a victory for common sense .

Merge in turn ,don't work in UK 2012( that means using brains and courtesy) - it's all about me first, which causes jams.

Edited 28 July, 201213 yr by VWD

What causes the jam in the first place is cars overtaking the slow moving traffic then pushing in making lane 1 traffic start to stop and start which in turn stops all of lane 1. Block lane 2 when the traffic becomes really slow moving or stopped and the jam then disappears. Also as soon as lane 2 is visibly blocked everyone moves to lane 1 making the jam either disappear or not form in the first place. The truck or van drivers help everyone out apart from the impatient twits who causes it in the first place.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 not a Crapple!

Big Accident this afternoon with a lorry and a car.

M9 Spur slip road, j

just around where i mentioned the chaos towards Edinburgh Airport end of the 40MPH average speed cameras.

Just one of many to come no doubt.

george.

Yes in a 2 lanes down to 1 situation..

This is 6 lanes going down to 2 lanes going off to the left & away.

&

becoming 3 lanes on the right coming down in a 1/2 mile to 2 lanes to get onto the bridge & then another 2 lanes coming in from the left so back to 4 lanes

& then cross the Forth Road bridge which is 2 lanes.

it is a balls up to say the least.

This is nothing to do with the Building of the New Forth Crossing Bridge yet, thats to come.

It is right where they spent 4 Million Pounds to Build new Toll Booths and open them in 2006,

just before Tolls were abolished there Feb 2008..

george

The roadworks out on the M9 and heading North on the M90 are for the new access roads for the Fourth Forth Road Bridge

Ye i know, thats why i took through Plant.

But nothing is happening just now where the Booths were.

Tuesday there was an accident and an hour later it was still built up mid afternoon.

Thursday afternoon i crossed twice, there was nothing special and chaos.

Must have been me. LOL not

george

you're meant to make full use of the road and merge in turn and late, the issues are caused by people having the mentality that they are being cut up and that they don't want anyone to get in front of them

I like the Netbook with me and maybe change routes when possible.

Peeing down and quite quiet, but nice if people put their lights on.

http://www.trafficscotland.org/lev/#

george

Edited 28 July, 201213 yr by sk4gw

Its quite simple really, merge in turn.

All the trucks are doing is forcing people to merge in turn but further away from the roadworks.

This is the job of the cones, not another driver who think's he knows better.

When there are two lanes of slow moving traffic does it matter if the vehicles merge in turn at the point two lanes become one as opposed to half a mile earlier than necessary?

In an ideal world we would all merge at the first 'lane closed' sign 3 or 4 miles from the roadworks where the speeds are higher and the gaps are bigger allowing us all to get into lane 1 and stream continuously through the road works at 50mph - but we don't live in an ideal world.

The next best option would be if we all used both lanes up to the roadworks and "merged in turn" then there wouldn't be an empty lane to the right for people to fly down and 'push in' from.

Nor would there be the need for trucks to contravine the Highway Code.

Unless you are sat in the passenger seat of every car approaching the roadworks attempting to educate the driver on the benefits of merging early then the simple fact is that when a busy road goes from 2 to 1 or 3 to 2 which interupts the traffic flow people will always lose all sense of perspective and it turns up being a free for all.

When this happens we all suffer.

No they are stopping the plonkers who drive down the outside lane and then cut in at the last moment instead of getting into the correct lane like everybody else and causing more congestion and stopping the traffic from flowing thats why the signs are warning you to get into the correct lane to keep the traffic flowing.not so some nob can race down the closed lane and then cut every body up making all the other drivers angry . as you are complaining about this can we assume you are one of the drivers that cut in at the last moment..

bill

You're actually incorrect, for the reasons in the post above mine.

I suppose the day that you have experience of driving a 44T truck, doing 100,000+ miles per year with idiots:

• cutting you up
  
• sitting on the motorway at 50MPH causing someone who is 44 times heavier than you to overtake your car whilst going up a hill
  
• those that dawdle down a slip road at 45mph only looking to see what traffic is approaching from behind just before they want to join the motorway
  

You will be in a better position to comment.

There are just as many numpties driving trucks.

• Sitting 6 inches off the trailer of the truck in front.
  
• Weaving into lane two / onto the hard shoulder whilst he pours boiling hot water into his Pot Noodle.
  
• Texting / phoning.
  
• Not reading the speed of approaching traffic when pulling out to overtake another truck.
  
• Taking two miles to overtake another truck.
  
• Tailgaiting and intimidating other road users travelling at 56mph or less.
  

The list is just as long for truck drivers as it is for car drivers.

The difference being the consequences of their negligence in a 44 ton truck more often results in death or serious injury.

You are all of course correct, in different situations and locations.

'Merge on turn'.

This is not a Merge on turn situation.

Its a 'Merge in 1000 yard' 'Merge 800 yards' Merge 400 yards' merge 200 yards',

Then 2 lanes to go under a Bridge/flyover to enter the Forth Road Bridge Going North.

All the Merging has been done, or should have been done, 1200 yards, 1000 yards, 800 yards, 400 yards, 200 yards before.

Because now There are 2 lanes at Gridlock filing under the bridge/fly over. and about to go over the Forth Road Bridge.

The HGV's at this location just block a little a 3rd lane that is 50 yards or so from the Flyover Legs.

These mergers are wanting to and do force their selfs in again and another again constanly till the Right hand lane has to start going over to the left or the lane sits and never moves.

They only merge into stationery traffic if you see what i mean.

A traffic officer now and again would not go amiss,

but then they dont need that,

'They have HGV unofficial Lane Police that they let get on with the Job.

'Much Cheapness' The Scottish way.!!

george

Its quite simple really, merge in turn.

All the trucks are doing is forcing people to merge in turn but further away from the roadworks.

This is the job of the cones, not another driver who think's he knows better.

When there are two lanes of slow moving traffic does it matter if the vehicles merge in turn at the point two lanes become one as opposed to half a mile earlier than necessary?

In an ideal world we would all merge at the first 'lane closed' sign 3 or 4 miles from the roadworks where the speeds are higher and the gaps are bigger allowing us all to get into lane 1 and stream continuously through the road works at 50mph - but we don't live in an ideal world.

The next best option would be if we all used both lanes up to the roadworks and "merged in turn" then there wouldn't be an empty lane to the right for people to fly down and 'push in' from.

Nor would there be the need for trucks to contravine the Highway Code.

Unless you are sat in the passenger seat of every car approaching the roadworks attempting to educate the driver on the benefits of merging early then the simple fact is that when a busy road goes from 2 to 1 or 3 to 2 which interupts the traffic flow people will always lose all sense of perspective and it turns up being a free for all.

When this happens we all suffer.

At last a sensible response!

People who block the lanes are the ones who make the queue longer, simple as that!