I don't necessarily think there's a problem with people driving at 60-65 on the motorway so long as lane usage is correct. Watch carefully for faster traffic coming up behind before pulling out and ensure that once overtake is complete, ffs return to lane 1! I used to travel at this speed in the Polo if I ran it out to work and I always ensured I wasn't tripping folk up or needlessly hogging a lane. Had ace fuel economy, had sympathy with a 19 year old car with 40hp and generally arrived at my location without any stress or teeth gnashing. 

 

 There's plenty of room on the road and it fecks me off that people insist there isn't. The biggest choker of the motorway network are the hoardes of nomarks who believe one lane fits all. The outside lane conga is pure testament to this notion that drivers believe they have a right over rule. 

I always find being the second quickest in any given stretch of motorway has served me well for many years.

Sitting at an indicated 85 on the speedo in reality your sitting 81/82. So not far over the 10% plus 2 threshold. Theres always people flying past even at that speed so generally your okay

Haven't been done by a fixed camera / van (touch wood)

Edited 14 April, 201412 yr by BigJase88

Sitting at an indicated 85 on the speedo in reality your sitting 81/82. So not far over the 10% plus 2 threshold. Theres always people flying past even at that speed so generally your okay

Haven't been done by a fixed camera / van (touch wood)

I will happily pass a marked police traffic car on a motorway at an indicated 80mph, 82/3mph if I'm feeling brave

The logic about being second slowest is that I like to send a quicker car ahead to flush out any sneaky traffic cops

As most likely said, providing the lanes are used correctly, if they fancy doing 50 odd or whatever just do it out of my way. 

 

Depends where i am as to what speed i do and how much fuel i intend on burning.

 

This is where if everyone does the same thing is works beautifully. The German autobahns are fantastic. You can be sat at 90 and your one of slowest moving things or if you do come upon someone doing less, flash of lights and their straight over.

They also have that rule out no lorry's are allowed to overtake on certain days which makes life all that bit easier as your not sat there approaching two lorry's together thinking 'dont you dare, dont you dare!'

The biggest killer on our roads is an always has been impatience.

I personally think differentials in speed is the most dangerous thing. While i also agree 50 isnt stupidly slow, i certainly wouldnt be doing it myself.

The rules are the rules, black & white. But what do you personally think of the 40mph limit in this day and age?

I didnt even realise they were supposed to be doing 40mph. Its very rare you see one doing that!

Whether its not fast enough, i cant comment, as iv never driven one or know how fast they can stop haha.

To follow a truck doing 50mph in a 60 i can cope with, but if its doing 40mph, i will be hanging back and looking for places to overtake. So i guess it would be safer in that respect, if they went a little faster

Because steves I cant see them. I know their there as I saw them close up fairly fast. But then to sit behind me when I am doing 50 after flying up to me makes me feel uneasy. Mind even when walking I hate people behind me.

 

Yep, can see your point there. I'd personally have thought you'd have the same attitude I do when I've got the big trailer on the back of the van, as my sticker says "Tailgating? Hit it if you want, I'm 30 feet away."

 

I don't sit that close anyway, I'm not looking for the slipstream effect, just somewhere I can potter along without ****ing people off. 

 

On a different note. When I've got the trailer (21 foot of Brian James tiltbed) on the van, I do very much sit in with the wagons, as I can't see the point in making the most of the extra 4mph I'm allowed to do. Any tips you can give me to avoid ****ing you lot off?

lol get this all the time. I refuse to move over to let them out when in my truck. Either put your f in foot down or slow down. Lol

Yeah

 

 

259

Joining the motorway. When you join the motorway you will normally approach it from a road on the left (a slip road) or from an adjoining motorway. You should

    give priority to traffic already on the motorway

    check the traffic on the motorway and match your speed to fit safely into the traffic flow in the left-hand lane

    not cross solid white lines that separate lanes or use the hard shoulder

    stay on the slip road if it continues as an extra lane on the motorway

    remain in the left-hand lane long enough to adjust to the speed of traffic before considering overtaking.

 

At no point it says the motorway traffic has to slow down/speed  to all the person to join the motorway, as you say Billy it's up to the joiner to join in a safe and effective maner however their are numpties that think you have to salow/down to let THEM join as their think they are special

The UK speed limits for LGV's is so out of date it's unreal! The 40mph limit on a single carriageway is the slowest in Europe! Set long before air brakes / disc&air / ABS and a host of other new stability and braking aids. Personally I think it should be 80kph like most other countries. If all lorries did sit at 40mph you know exactly the type of dangerous risky overtaking which would ensue from car drivers. Drivers unions have in the past campaigned for drivers to obey the almost 100% ignored limit to strangle the entire country to gain support for it to be revised. It is absolutely crazy that I can legally only drive a 7.5 ton lorry at 40mph but when in a coach with 60 odd souls on board I can do 50mph on same road. 

The rules are the rules, black & white. But what do you personally think of the 40mph limit in this day and age? 

 

 

Wasn't in a hurry, granted, and it did my mpg figures the world of good too, but I had to endure sitting in a snake que of approx 20 vehicles for approx 20 mins,  following 2 HGV's @ 40mph on Sunday on the A41.

Didn't witness any dodgy overtaking this occasion , so assume no one else was in a hurry either.

Can cause high levels of  frustration though.

Edited 15 April, 201412 yr by Mr Ree

Yeah

 

 

At no point it says the motorway traffic has to slow down/speed  to all the person to join the motorway, as you say Billy it's up to the joiner to join in a safe and effective maner however their are numpties that think you have to slow/down to let THEM join as their think they are special

My pet hate that.

 

I'll always move out into the 2nd lane IF I can, otherwise I carry on and make the joinee brake if he/she hasn't adjusted their joining speed accordingly.

I've had fists and fingers waved at me on several occasions, horn blowing, mouthing off at me as they slow down alongside me, swerving in front of me and slowing down, you name it, and all  for not bowing to their demanding impatient needs, after all, they do own the road......... don't they? :think:

 

Instead of putting crappy signs up on the gantries, advising us all not to throw litter out of the car, and to take a break, why don't they put more informative ones up like..... " GIVE WAY TO EXISTING TRAFFIC WHEN JOINING THE MOTORWAY, AND ADJUST YOUR SPEED ACCORDINGLY."

Edited 15 April, 201412 yr by Mr Ree

Doesn't that require the trucker to give a right signal in good time? You know something before the point where he needs to steer or brake.

 

 

It does and most do   :yes:

 

 

if on a busy mway and I need to overtake I start indicating when a car starts to come along side. Might then let the following car past. If the next doesnt ease off ill start moving over to the line and sit there. Normally I time it right so I am a car or 2 behind the obstruction to pass with minimal hold ups. Same when a lane goes off. Hate ignorant car drivers that dont understand a truck wont just accelerate or stop in some cases.

also cars dont seem to realise that a lorry will stop a lot faster than they will with little to no load on board.

end of the day if you get overtaken by a tesco lorry you really shouldnt be on the road!

Er. my point in the quoted post was that if you want my co-operation you have to drive in the realisation that mine aren't crystal!

Getting to your destination at the sacrifice of safety or courteousness is not an excuse in my opinion.

 

I appreciate lorry drivers hours are limited by the number of hours they can drive and that the quicker they get to their job the more money they earn etc. but just because they drive a vehicle with a limited top speed doesn't excuse inconsiderate driving.

 

It's like me trying to justify bad driving by saying that I didn't want to be late to work.

 

To my original point, if a lorry doing 52mph is following a lorry doing 54mph on a busy fast flowing dual carriageway then please stay in position.

 

Absolutely NOT, nothing unsafe or illegal 'IF' others are driving properly. DHL in the UK alone would loose 180000 miles per day on your request. for this 2mph logic.

Wasn't in a hurry, granted, and it did my mpg figures the world of good too, but I had to endure sitting in a snake que of approx 20 vehicles for approx 20 mins,  following 2 HGV's @ 40mph on Sunday on the A41.

Didn't witness any dodgy overtaking this occasion , so assume no one else was in a hurry either.

Can cause high levels of  frustration though.

 

Yea but you must understand that there is a difference between Sunday afternoon (the quietest time possible) and actual traffic on say Friday afternoon when all the super important people are leaving work......... MAYHEM! LOL 

Ey Furby.

What's your take and opinion on banning HGV's on all roads in the UK on Sundays like they do in Germany and ....Belgium (is it)?

 

Haven't seen any statistics to back their case up as to wheather positive or negative, so i can't really comment tbh.

It was quite easy driving on the four or five occasions I've driven over there on a Sunday though.

Edited 15 April, 201412 yr by Mr Ree

Ey Furby.

What's your take and opinion on banning HGV's on all roads in the UK on Sundays like they do in Germany and ....Belgium (is it)?

 

Haven't seen any statistics to back their case up as to wheather positive or negative, so i can't really comment tbh.

It was quite easy driving on the four or five occasions I've driven over there on a Sunday though.

 

Depends, Germany it's all weekend, not Belgium. Some other countries ban on bank holidays and bank holiday weekends. The exception in Germany is goods such as fresh food which can still be transported by roads. This is a fantastic system in Germany and works fairly well. But it works well in Germany because it is a massive country with a far more extensive motorway network than in the UK and the drivers knowing how to use the roads do not cause as much congestion, therefore their productivity in goods and services is far higher. They also use rail for freight to a much higher degree than we do (also have a more substantive, better maintained rail network), they also use inland rivers for movement of goods. We could impose a similar ban overnight but IMO it would mean shortages on shelves etc we use HGV's for absolutely everything, we are far to heavily dependant and the only difference is that on weekends our already quiet on weekends road networks would be slightly quieter.

I don't think it would be viable for the UK at present, there would not be many LGV drivers complaining about not having to work weekends mind you!   Additionally in the UK with our high dependency you would struggle to park up every LGV for the weekend, the roll over impact of logistics companies having to park them would dramatically increase costs and involve lower efficiency leading up to the weekends and following them having had to recall vehicles to sites for parking etc. Drive through Belgium to the French border when it's a bank holiday weekend and you will see thousands of lorries parked up from Friday night, stuck there all weekend parked on top of each other, it cripples the service areas.

Depends, Germany it's all weekend, not Belgium. Some other countries ban on bank holidays and bank holiday weekends. The exception in Germany is goods such as fresh food which can still be transported by roads. This is a fantastic system in Germany and works fairly well. But it works well in Germany because it is a massive country with a far more extensive motorway network than in the UK and the drivers knowing how to use the roads do not cause as much congestion, therefore their productivity in goods and services is far higher. They also use rail for freight to a much higher degree than we do (also have a more substantive, better maintained rail network), they also use inland rivers for movement of goods. We could impose a similar ban overnight but IMO it would mean shortages on shelves etc we use HGV's for absolutely everything, we are far to heavily dependant and the only difference is that on weekends our already quiet on weekends road networks would be slightly quieter.

I don't think it would be viable for the UK at present, there would not be many LGV drivers complaining about not having to work weekends mind you!   Additionally in the UK with our high dependency you would struggle to park up every LGV for the weekend, the roll over impact of logistics companies having to park them would dramatically increase costs and involve lower efficiency leading up to the weekends and following them having had to recall vehicles to sites for parking etc. Drive through Belgium to the French border when it's a bank holiday weekend and you will see thousands of lorries parked up from Friday night, stuck there all weekend parked on top of each other, it cripples the service areas.

I agree, particularly about river/canal freight. For example, you can sail a several thousand ton vessel from the Netherlands all the way to the Black Sea through the middle of Europe!

Interesting that,^^^^ tar.

 

P'raps it's time we started investing on and in expanding of the waterways infrastructure then.

Not sure what speed I do on the motorway, I just pop cruise on and hop in the back for a kip

As most likely said, providing the lanes are used correctly, if they fancy doing 50 odd or whatever just do it out of my way.

Depends where i am as to what speed i do and how much fuel i intend on burning.

This is where if everyone does the same thing is works beautifully. The German autobahns are fantastic. You can be sat at 90 and your one of slowest moving things or if you do come upon someone doing less, flash of lights and their straight over.

They also have that rule out no lorry's are allowed to overtake on certain days which makes life all that bit easier as your not sat there approaching two lorry's together thinking 'dont you dare, dont you dare!'

but they have this rule as cars are normally doing a lot more speed than here.

limit is 70 and coming up on a lorry at closing speed of 20mph max on motorways is nothing really. Plenty of time to react. Mind the main ones that have a problem are thoes that dont do 70.;-)

Thats another thing. 40 is the limit for a lgv on single roads. Not many people know that and dye to it being slow, lorry drivers dont keep to it. But if they bump or do something their tacho will be looked at and if you were not speeding were you had your bump but were at some point on that road they will do you! As if you were not speeding at that point you wouldnt of been at the point you bumped at that time.

hence why I try my best to stick to the limits.

I also indicate and hug the n/s line when its clear to pass me so as to give cars following better vis past me.

every so often a polite driver indicates to show appreciation which makes me feel good for doing it.

I also indicate and hug the n/s line when its clear to pass me so as to give cars following better vis past me.

every so often a polite driver indicates to show appreciation which makes me feel good for doing it.

Its a shame alot of people seem to sit 6 inches away from your back end and miss several opportunities to overtake, because they simply cant see around you from that close.

Iv seen this turn into a dangerous instance as people get more and more impatient plenty of times.

And when they do overtake, theyve built no speed up at all, so theyre on the wrong side of the road for an age

I love a 10 car overtake

I love a 10 car overtake

 

Is that even possible in your 4 cylinder mobilty scooter? :P

 

I drove at 52mph all the way from uni the other day, achieved 80mpg and didn't cause any problems. I don't really mind what speed others do, never really caused me any issues.

I love em too! I just get abit scared incase somebody decides to pull out without checking their mirrors sometimes haha. (Happened a few times on the bike)

Is that even possible in your 4 cylinder mobilty scooter? :P

I drove at 52mph all the way from uni the other day, achieved 80mpg and didn't cause any problems. I don't really mind what speed others do, never really caused me any issues.

Trust me the 320d can take almost anything.

And the worrying thing is. If i can overtake in my mobility scooter then how can't the train of traffic behind the 40mph wagon get passed?

The mind boggles

Edited 15 April, 201412 yr by BigJase88

But then on the other hand i can understand it though.

My mother is one of the train brigade. She will not overtake a wagon EVER!

She doesn't like overtaking.

Previous cars she's had an Evo 4 GSR (no wagon overtaking)

Now she drives a 335d (still no wagon overtaking)

She rather take the low road instead of an A road as she doesn't like lorries.

But if thats what she feels safe doing then i guess there is no harm. 35 years of driving and not an accident (she likes to remind me)

Edited 15 April, 201412 yr by BigJase88