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You are correct manatee. There will always be HGV drivers who are inconsiderate and stupid like the one in the example was, giving a bad impression of the rest of us but to tar all with the same brush and say they should be banned from sensible overtaking in lane 2 of a dual carriageway is ridiculous. It is frustrating when these idiots overtake like that and if I was in my car behind this type of manouver for more than a reasonable amount of time, I too would be annoyed, flash the lights, blow the horn. On a three lane road you just increase the "reasonable time" you think you may need sensibly to overtake or back off. The fine system may not be enforced much, but it would make more of the inconsiderate HGV drivers think twice and unmarked police cars are more common nowadays. I can't see how an automatic system would work.
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Truckers...I just wish they'd stop when they want to phone the wife,shave ,have lunch,do a crossword,read or call one of their "good buddies" on CB.
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In response to all of the posts, and in particular "Moodygit" (like the name!) I offer you the following observation, without prejudice.
I regularly drive from Nantwich in Cheshire to sunny Wolverhampton: not on the M6, I go Audlem-Market Drayton-Newport-Cosford-Wolves, predominantly this is the A41. The last 3 times I have been, I have experienced: trucks pulling out on me as I approach at 50mph because they can't be bothered to stop as they come out of their lovely transport "caffs", trucks driving across the lanes of a dual carriageway as they decide whether to overtake the truck in front of them or not, when they decide to, THEN they indicate (bit late then, I've already gathered that I'll die if I try and go past them), I have also experienced the frankly frightening experience of a truck passing another one uphill on the A41 DC near Market Drayton and running out of road causing oncoming cars to swerve. Finally, what's all this about speed restrictors? I regularly see them doing over 70 on the A41, usually our Irish cousins with obscured or no number plates.
So, Moody, it might well make your blood boil: the above behaviour makes mine boil too. It's their PROFESSION for heaven's sake, do they have no pride in the way they're perceived?
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I once saw one truck overtake start at the A14 catforth interchange roundabout and complete at the a43 exit at kettering some 18 miles and 25 minutes later.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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We'd do well to scrap the stupid EU 56mph rule, and the stupid EU 40mph on single carriageway rules, why do we need 'harmonisation' as they call it!
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Perhaps I'm the exception to the rule then
When driving a HGV I will ease off the accelerator if an overtaking truck takes more than a few seconds.
And when overtaking I will also drop back behind the another truck if it becomes obvious that the manoeuvre is going to take too long and more than a couple of vehicles are queueing behind me
You have to realise that any one occurrence of deleted driving will stay in your memory for a long time whereas everyday considerate driving passes by unnoticed.
I see no point in banning overtaking when it's could be just a few drivers on a few occasions making a simple error of judgment.
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Why do so many CAR drivers think they have more right to use the road than anyone else..
There are more idiots in cars than in trucks (mostly speeding in the outside lane) so lets have speed cameras every mile to stop them............
Or - and this is stretching reality too far - why can't we all be more tolerant and considerate!
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Moody, you're indeed correct: we all remember the bad experiences not the everyday good ones, good point.
And yes, we all need to be more tolerant and considerate.
I think people (OK, me!) get irked because the perception is an HGV can cause more damage, and also they're more cumbersome, by their very nature. If a Corsa pulls out on me and dawdles in front, chances are I can overtake easily and painlessly. If Norbert in his Dentressangle pulls out on me, I'm stuck.
Also, and again this is just my perception, lorry drivers seem to hate actually stopping at roundabouts and the like, meaning they often cause an obstruction. I KNOW why they do this, it's a hassle to get going again etc. etc. but they know this when they start doing it surely? I'm sure they'd rather stop and then get going again rather than explain why they've got a Mondeo squashed against their grille.
I guess that everyone's under pressure to deliver on time etc. but that won't get much sympathy if they drive stupidly.
No-one's explained the abundance of 70mph lorries to me yet, by the way... any ideas?
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>>No-one's explained the abundance of 70mph lorries to me yet, by the way... any ideas?
I've no idea what rules apply for Irish trucks, but for English, Scottish, and Welsh trucks registered since 1988, the fitting of a speed limiter has been compulsory. Initially, these were set at 60, which was (still is?) the speed limit for HGVs, but since another date which I forget, the speed limiters have been set at 56 mph.
So, trucks going faster are either breaking the law, by having had their speed limiters illegaly removed or tampered with, are older than 1988, or are from some country where you don't need the limiter.
Number_Cruncher
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So, trucks going faster are either breaking the law, by having had their speed limiters illegaly removed or tampered with, are older than 1988, or are from some country where you don't need the limiter.
Or the limiters aren't that accurate, in which case you can't blame the driver.
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L\'escargot.
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Yes you can!!!!! My car will do in excess of 120 mph, but that doesn't mean you can't blame me if I'm going faster than 70.
As stupid an argument as the tube drivers who think they need two of them to make sure thatthey don't miss red signals. What on earth are they there for if it isn't to spot red signals - that's practically their only responsibility!!!
Gets on my wick!
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As stupid an argument as .......
Sticks and stones, Gordon M, sticks and stones!
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L\'escargot.
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Sorry L'escargot, it looked like I was saying that you got on my wick. I wasn't, it's the train drivers claiming that they need two or truck drivers blaming the limiters that annoy me.
In both cases, I would regard part of the professional duty of the driver is to be aware of their environment and drive accordingly. It annoys me when they blame other factors.
I have to say that, in the broader scheme of things, I very rarely see HGVs being driven badly, and have only rarely encountered problems such as others here mention. I have, however, been nearly swiped by LHD trucks with a large blind-spot. I think this is a bigger problem and more deserving of legislation.
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>> So, trucks going faster are either breaking the law, by having >> had their speed limiters illegaly removed or tampered with, are older >> than 1988, or are from some country where you don't need >> the limiter. Or the limiters aren't that accurate, in which case you can't blame the driver. -- L\'escargot.
Oh, they're pretty good - unlike the gimmicks that adorne car dashboards! All UK trucks have to have their tachographs and limiters calibrated regularly - it used to be at two year intervals; I don't know if that is still true, it's getting on for ten years ago when I last took a truck to have this job done. At this check, the truck would be run on a rolling road, and the speed reported to the tachograph and speed limiter calibrated.
Number_Cruncher
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No-one's explained the abundance of 70mph lorries to me yet, by the way... any ideas?
well its true that 38 tonnes at 58 mph will kill you just as much as 39 tonnes at 70mph. I guess the idea is that 38 tonnes at 70 MPH takes a considerable longer distance to stop than 38 tonnes at 56mph so is more likely to have an accident
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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We'd do well to scrap the stupid EU 56mph rule, and the stupid EU 40mph on single carriageway rules, why do we need 'harmonisation' as they call it!
I could be very wrong, but i suspect that the 40mph limit is nothing to do with the EU. But then that wouldn't suit your agenda would it?
Happy to stand corrected though!
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