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There's no easy or polite way to say this and I fear it may offend the innocent, but it's got to be said Lorry drivers can be a real nuisance on the road. I hate them for the size of their machines and the reckless way in which they thunder through my village causing children and animals to flee into gardens or the post office for safety. I hate the sun-browned arm protruding from the window and the fag hanging from the mouth as they dictate the rules of the road to others on the highway.
And even on straight, wide roads they are still at it. There they are slinging their huge lumps of metal from lane to lane causing mayhem for other users. How many times are you happily driving along in the outside lane ofsay, the A1 doing 70mph when everyone has to jam on their anchors because some lorry driver up ahead has pulled out into the overtaking lane doing 50 or 60mph. Not only that but they frequently do it going up a hill and the result - a queue behind him creeping along for miles and miles until the selfish individual has pulled back in.
There are even worse examples. How many of us have had to endure endless delays because a lorry has jack-knifed or even more bafflingly, shed its load? How can it do that? A straight motorway or dual carriageway can surely provide no reason for this to happen, unless of course the driver has failed to secure the load properly or has done something completely stupid with the vehicle.
We need to be free of this lorry tyranny and I have a solution. Permit them to use the main roads only between 8pm to 8am or deny them the right to overtake. How about fining them for the inconvenience they cause to other road users. Every jack-knifed lorry or spilled load should attract a fine of 100 to be paid to each of the first 100 cars delayed by the incident! Perhaps that might then make our road networks places that function smoothly.
By: Aardvark
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"the Vicar" unless tires are made from something that cannot wear down and caliberation becomes perfect it won't happen. You can't cabilerate something with no tollerence........well you could in theroy but the costs would be huge. Also unless all HGVs had something over 600bhp, laden trucks will always slow on hills. Time for a rethink maybe............?
03/09/10 class1
3
Firstly without getting all hot under the collar about lorries and as a regular user of the M5 and M42 I would like to put in my five pennith. It is quite obvious that one of the biggest problems that upsets most car drivers is the obsession that lorry drivers seem to have of the need to pass any other lorry that does notch match there speed. In reality you find one lorry gaining on the next lorry in front to the tune of 1 or 2 mph and will not keep pace but will insist on overtaking which could take quite a considerable time thus clogging lane two. This I am sure could be avoided if all lorries had the ability to maintain a constant speed but because some have a much better power to wieght ratio than others, some lorries struggle particularly when climbing hills.This has the reverse effect when going down hills where I have found certain lorries touching nearly 70mph. If all heavy goods vehicles were able to maintain 56mph constantly and run in "Convoy" most of the frustation I am sure would be resolved.
02/09/10 The Vicar
0
Firstly truck drivers don't all fit the stereotype that you suggest. As a lorry driver myself I'll explain some things for you.
Some lorry drivers: obey the highway code, use indicators, don't cut up other drivers to get in front, drive at proper speed i.e not too slow and not too fast, do not speed up while being overtaken to prevent the other vehicle from overtaking, don't cut you up to turn off at a slip road at the last possible minute even though there's plenty of space behind to turn off safely, don't suddenly move into the braking zone of a lorry, don't drive cars at 50mph-56mph on motorways causing the restricted lorry driver to keep changing his/her speed as they cannot overtake because you will speed up to 56mph when they try to, don't park so lorries cannot get by, fire engines are lorries too!
Lorries weigh up to 44tons and need more space to brake and manoeuvre,are restricted to 56mph, cars please do not do the same speed on motorways. On slip roads remember YOU are coming onto the motorway so YOU need to look and adjust YOUR speed to fit in, the lorry may not be able to move into lane 2 for you and he certainly cannot drive any faster for you to fit in behind.
Loads can be shed even on straight roads simply because no matter how tight you strap the load it WILL move and 'settle' during transit causing straps to loosen. The loads I take are a mixture of items, differing in weight, size and density to be delivered in perfect condition with no damage, the weight to be distributed correctly and secured only by several straps 2 inches in width on an open flat bed lorry, even with 12 years experience the complexity and variety of loads will still cause some to come loose no matter how tight it is strapped.
Car drivers don't understand what its like to drive a lorry because they've never done it.
If people behaved in life as they do in there cars it would be a violent world.
29/08/10 Trucker1
Some lorry drivers: obey the highway code, use indicators, don't cut up other drivers to get in front, drive at proper speed i.e not too slow and not too fast, do not speed up while being overtaken to prevent the other vehicle from overtaking, don't cut you up to turn off at a slip road at the last possible minute even though there's plenty of space behind to turn off safely, don't suddenly move into the braking zone of a lorry, don't drive cars at 50mph-56mph on motorways causing the restricted lorry driver to keep changing his/her speed as they cannot overtake because you will speed up to 56mph when they try to, don't park so lorries cannot get by, fire engines are lorries too!
Lorries weigh up to 44tons and need more space to brake and manoeuvre,are restricted to 56mph, cars please do not do the same speed on motorways. On slip roads remember YOU are coming onto the motorway so YOU need to look and adjust YOUR speed to fit in, the lorry may not be able to move into lane 2 for you and he certainly cannot drive any faster for you to fit in behind.
Loads can be shed even on straight roads simply because no matter how tight you strap the load it WILL move and 'settle' during transit causing straps to loosen. The loads I take are a mixture of items, differing in weight, size and density to be delivered in perfect condition with no damage, the weight to be distributed correctly and secured only by several straps 2 inches in width on an open flat bed lorry, even with 12 years experience the complexity and variety of loads will still cause some to come loose no matter how tight it is strapped.
Car drivers don't understand what its like to drive a lorry because they've never done it.
If people behaved in life as they do in there cars it would be a violent world.
7
mr company rep " I bet you,er a right swiss tony on the road! you
just can,t get it together!!
21/07/10 finchey
just can,t get it together!!
7
mr anti lorry. I read your coments regarding heavy lorries i,ve been in the trade 33 years and it makes me smile. every time people such as your self attack our industry true there some very bad lgv drivers out there and yes I too witness very bad driving at times by both car and lorry drivers... however there is a answer to this. pay higher prices in your shops for your goods so that hgv drivers are better trained , hauliers get the right rates and fuel at the pumps the right duty.... but then again I don,t think you ever will understand without these "so called lumps of metal" our tiny little uk economy fragile as it is would grind to a stand still... so when i,m on the A1 going north or south use your eyes and look for the indicator on the lorry because mr Aarvark you might get this hgv driver to put his hand up to say thanks for letting me out.
21/07/10 sj
-2
Company rep, you really are thick if you think all goods can be delivered by 7.5t vehicles. Please explain how it would be economically viable for new cars to be delivered to showrooms or steel and excavators to get to building sites. The supermarket RDCs take deliveries 24/7 however it depends what time they book the delivery for weather it is day or night. They wouldn’t cope with just night deliveries! As for the M1, read the Highway Code, HGVs can legally go in the 3rd lane on a motorway of 4 or more lanes. Since when has repping involved any formal qualifications? You just need to be a self obsessed loud mouth. If you don't like Lorries don't buy anything at all, become self sufficient. 50 mph sounds good to me, I’m hourly paid and it’s the end user that pays for any price increases!
17/07/10 Real job
4
Oh, and I forgot to add.
I really hope you are all limited to 50mph.
Haha.
07/07/10 Company Rep
I really hope you are all limited to 50mph.
Haha.
-3
Lorry Drivers causing problems ? Thats a joke car drivers are a just as bad if not a lot worse . They do not seem to understand that the 2nd and 3rd lanes of a motorway are for overtaking not just to dawdle along in without giving a care about the queue of traffic they have behind them . Then just decide they need to leave the motorway at the next junction and cut across forcing trucks and other road users to brake heavily to avoid them . Therefore causing the accidents and jack knives that are blamed on truckers .
The worst of all is the school mums . I have sat in a traffic jam on my way to Manchester and watched a mother put her two kids in the car . Take an hour to get from her drive in the jam and go the 100 yds down the road to the school and then drop them off and promptly drive back the 100 yds to her house and park back on the drive . Stupid cow .
If trucks were banned from the roads during the day watch the screams of protest when a lorry goes past peoples houses at 3am to then deliver .Without trucks this country would soon grind to a halt .
01/07/10 Bob ( Ex Lorry driver)
The worst of all is the school mums . I have sat in a traffic jam on my way to Manchester and watched a mother put her two kids in the car . Take an hour to get from her drive in the jam and go the 100 yds down the road to the school and then drop them off and promptly drive back the 100 yds to her house and park back on the drive . Stupid cow .
If trucks were banned from the roads during the day watch the screams of protest when a lorry goes past peoples houses at 3am to then deliver .Without trucks this country would soon grind to a halt .
5
FH52EKW
If anyone knows the whereabouts of this Mercedes truck driver - steer clear of him.
He will try to cut you up at busy roundabouts and on dual carriageways and if he doesnt succeed he will make every effort to get in front of you and start to pull over before returning to the outer lane before his HGV is fully passed you to harass you because he wants to be in control.
He wants to play the Im bigger than you and could kill you if I wanted to control freak mentality because he is driving a HGV and thinks he can govern other road users.
Several incidents of this driver I witnessed in the Dudley area of the West Midlands in the past week (last week of April 2010) but he could be anywhere in the UK.
28/04/10 Pont-y-Mython
If anyone knows the whereabouts of this Mercedes truck driver - steer clear of him.
He will try to cut you up at busy roundabouts and on dual carriageways and if he doesnt succeed he will make every effort to get in front of you and start to pull over before returning to the outer lane before his HGV is fully passed you to harass you because he wants to be in control.
He wants to play the Im bigger than you and could kill you if I wanted to control freak mentality because he is driving a HGV and thinks he can govern other road users.
Several incidents of this driver I witnessed in the Dudley area of the West Midlands in the past week (last week of April 2010) but he could be anywhere in the UK.
0
M MOORE
That’s because some bright spark thought it would be safe to limit the speed of HGVs. The problem being the tolerances the limiter has to be set is wide, coupled with tyre wear/size; they all travel at different speeds. A good HGV driver won't want to be behind any vehicle as it’s not as safe so they overtake. The situation you describe is very annoying for a HGV driver as instead of having just to overtake the truck in front of you, he has to overtake for twice as long because you decide to trundle along like a fish on whales back. I don’t understand why you would drive at 55mph when you can legally do 70mph. If you want to talk about stopping distances, spend a day in a lorry on a Friday afternoon and watch as very few people understand the concept as they all travel home in lane 3, 3 ft away at 70mph until someone breaks and you see the Mexican wave until there is a shunt. See it about once a month. Or watch how approaching red lights cars dart in front of the wagon and slam on the breaks.
16/04/10 micky
That’s because some bright spark thought it would be safe to limit the speed of HGVs. The problem being the tolerances the limiter has to be set is wide, coupled with tyre wear/size; they all travel at different speeds. A good HGV driver won't want to be behind any vehicle as it’s not as safe so they overtake. The situation you describe is very annoying for a HGV driver as instead of having just to overtake the truck in front of you, he has to overtake for twice as long because you decide to trundle along like a fish on whales back. I don’t understand why you would drive at 55mph when you can legally do 70mph. If you want to talk about stopping distances, spend a day in a lorry on a Friday afternoon and watch as very few people understand the concept as they all travel home in lane 3, 3 ft away at 70mph until someone breaks and you see the Mexican wave until there is a shunt. See it about once a month. Or watch how approaching red lights cars dart in front of the wagon and slam on the breaks.
1
Why do lorry drivers believe that if they are closer to you that. are going faster.Many times on the M1 I have followed a lorry keeping a reasonable distance ,at least a lorry length behind when another lorry comes up behind and hangs in my tail about a car length or less behind clearly expecting me to close the gap in front of me.Finally when I fail to play ball he will slowly overtake and force himself into the gap in front then settle down to the same speed he was doing behind me.But of course he is happy because he is 6 feet behind the next truck and must be faster.I suppose logic is not a requisite for lorry driving
14/04/10 M MOORE
-2
same old car drivers I bet the car they drive was once on the back of a car transpoter doing 40mph on a road . right in front of them . with out trucks we all get nothing.
27/03/10 sparky
1
you are a nobber how many accidents have you idot car drivers caused ,thousands I bet your the kind of idiot that stays in the outsie lane even though the signs showing its closed of in 800 meters coming up to road works then cut in at the last min you pleb
14/03/10 trucky 1
1
I would love to be the one delivering his new washing machine at 3 in the morning..or be the AA tow truck collecting him from the side of the motorway after he has sat there all day because I wasn't allowed on the road during the day, of course the big floor in his argument is if the trucks only work at night, then so will all the people who have deliveries by truck, all the shops, workshops, factories and warehouses, so most other people will have to go to work at night as well, and they will be late because there will be more trucks on the road than there would have been during the day as there will be both the day and night working trucks running at the same time, of course the other thing is prices will go up as someone has to pay for the extra wage night work pays
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13/03/10 jimti
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class1