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What a complete irritation it is to have to sit behind HGV drivers who have appointed themselves as gatekeepers of the road on the approach to a closed-off lane on dual carriageways and motorways.
I think that the origin of this behaviour was to stop car drivers whizzing up to a closure at motorways speeds, before suddenly cutting back into the open lane or lanes in a dangerous manner. All well and good, although it is still not clear who asked lorry drivers to police this particular habit.
However, what we now find, as I came across just this morning on my way into Birmingham City Centre, is lorry drivers doing the same thing when traffic is travelling very slowly. The main A38 tunnels through Birmingham are currently closed, so traffic travelling along the A38(M) finds that the road is coned off into one lane close to the city centre. And there he was in his truck, sat in the outside lane with 300 yards of clear carriageway in front of him before the cones started, forcing every vehicle to queue in the inside lane for a far greater distance than was necessary. Why?
I can only imagine that it must be out of a desire to enforce a particularly British kind of 'manners' when queuing. True enough, nobody likes anyone pushing into the supermarket queue. But this is not a shop, it's a road. The Highway Code rule 134 states, "Merging in turn is recommended but only if safe and appropriate when vehicles are travelling at a very low speed, e.g. when approaching roadworks or a road traffic incident. It is not recommended at high speed." To me this basically says it all really.
Lorry drivers acting like nightclub doormen are neither needed nor welcome on our roads. They just make congestion worse by denying other road users the right to safely use a clear section of carriageway. It is not 'pushing in' or 'cutting in', it is merging in turn as recommended by the Highway Code.
So, lorry drivers, listen up. Just get on with your driving, don't seek to modify others' behaviour. You are not police officers, so it is no business of yours. All you achieve is worse congestion and annoyance to drivers. Or is this the true aim?
By: George Doors
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Cars flying past. Causes traffic ahead which for a driver who only has 9 hours a day... legally (being digitally tracked ) causes set backs because of waiting an extra 15 mins in traffic due to car drivers all wanting to be in front of the lorry the driver may then be late to his delivery which means he will have to take a driving break sooner... which is also legally required to reset his driving time.. then after being late to a delivery and being slowly unloaded due to lateness that driver will catch all the traffic on the way back home due to the extra few minutes he’s had to wait which has caused him to take his break... the journey he had planned ahead has all been shot to shit due to every car driver in the world that must be infront of the lorry.... that lorry drivers day has been set back 2 hours or more due to inconsiderate car drivers so that means by the time he gets home his young kids will be in bed and he won’t see them.... it’s a daily occurrence no car driver has any consideration for truck drivers we drive for 9 hours day in day out... we have more experience than any other even police when it comes to driving... and you would be surprised at the amount of grief car drivers cause with there inconsiderate acts. Pulling out without indicating which causes us to slow and it takes ages to regain speed when your loaded with 44 ton. Preventing us from merging because they don’t wanna be behind us flying up the inside of us trying to cut us up on round about a when the Highway Code clearly states to give large vehicles plenty of room when manoeuvring. Most truck drivers will gain more road experience in one year than a car driver will over there while life time. The sheer size of the vehicle alone would make most car drivers quiver with fear whilst driving. If you haven’t driven a hgv then you cannot understand the difficulty and the level of focus and concentration it requires to make sure that we do not kill/ injure the pathetic excuse for drivers that are in this country. The reason lorry’s do this is because they are pissed off with being taken for granted and abused by the general driver on our roads. And like it or not without truck drivers mate you wouldn’t have a fucking thing in this world... from the clothes on the back the car you drive the tyres you put on it the food you get from
Supermarkets the house you live in (building supplies) the furniture you have the deadly you use absolutely everything you have in life was at some point transported by truck. We are the most underapriciated proffesion in this country but we are also the backbone of it. Because if every hgv driver went on strike... you’d go hungry, cold, and the fact is the economy would come to a stand still. You need us. We do not need you! So for fuck sake cut us some slack. And when you are entering our place of work (the roads) have some fucking respect and manners.
20/11/20 Nick
Supermarkets the house you live in (building supplies) the furniture you have the deadly you use absolutely everything you have in life was at some point transported by truck. We are the most underapriciated proffesion in this country but we are also the backbone of it. Because if every hgv driver went on strike... you’d go hungry, cold, and the fact is the economy would come to a stand still. You need us. We do not need you! So for fuck sake cut us some slack. And when you are entering our place of work (the roads) have some fucking respect and manners.
-9
Sadly people haven't a clue on how to effectively use the road available to them. By blocking motorists using both lanes ‘which have not yet been closed’ simply makes a half mile que become a five mile que. They are not pushing in or jumping the que. they are using both lanes which are still legally open. You are encouraged to use both open lanes and merge in turn at the apex where the lanes become one. Ever seen the highway signs sometimes left up in these roadworks ‘use both lanes - merge in turn’ I think they are trying to tell you something. It’s quite simple really. You make a decision whether to que in the left or right lane. Don’t then penalise drivers who decided to take the outer lane because you decided to que in the slow lane. These lorry drivers who deliberately block the carriageway should be prosecuted severely for causing an obstruction and dangerous driving. I find it funny that when you eventually pass the moron who blocked the lane they inevitably look like simple minded numbskulls who struggle to grasp the basic fundamentals of life and can only see as far as the end of their short HGV bonnet (I don’t think all HGV drivers are in this catagory as I’ve seen many wise advanced drivers too).
Consider this : exiting a slip road from a motorway or duel carriageway. You want to turn left. Ninety percent of drivers begin the que in the left lane to take first exit at roundabout. However, lanes 1 and 2 allow you to turn left. I take lane 2 direct to the island and take the turn whilst others who haven’t the foggiest idea both lanes turn left sit and que for an eternity. No one blocks you, it’s just human kinds lack of thinking and ‘sheep’ motives which astounds me but benefits me all the same 😂😂😂
06/03/20 DaveDriver
Consider this : exiting a slip road from a motorway or duel carriageway. You want to turn left. Ninety percent of drivers begin the que in the left lane to take first exit at roundabout. However, lanes 1 and 2 allow you to turn left. I take lane 2 direct to the island and take the turn whilst others who haven’t the foggiest idea both lanes turn left sit and que for an eternity. No one blocks you, it’s just human kinds lack of thinking and ‘sheep’ motives which astounds me but benefits me all the same 😂😂😂
4
Try driving on the A66 across the pennines, every merge in lane is blocked by a truck driver that has appointed himself as the road police. They just cause the traffic to block up 500 yards behind them rather than where the road was designed to merge. It's their little bit of power over motorists, sad buggers.
15/08/18 Fred
2
People who keep commenting about drivers who race down the outside lane; if you used both lanes equally this wouldn't be possible as you would have a slower moving queue in both lanes!
People who think that merging early means less time in a queue are also wrong, as per this RAC article: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/driving-advice/zip-merging/
07/03/18 Mr51
People who think that merging early means less time in a queue are also wrong, as per this RAC article: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/driving-advice/zip-merging/
1
There seem to be a lot of posters here who are unaware for the Highway Code and Highways Act 1980 s.137. The former recommends merge-in-turn and is intended to encourage full use of lanes while they are open and the latter states that deliberately blocking a carriageway is illegal.
If most drivers don't make use of the open lane then it is some kind of mass-hysteria. They are all perfectly entitled to do so.
05/01/17 FreddyF
If most drivers don't make use of the open lane then it is some kind of mass-hysteria. They are all perfectly entitled to do so.
3
treecreeper. I used to use the Runcorn Bridge. During lane closures at peak times, drivers were in effect pushed back in the queue, by selfish drivers screaming down the outside lane then forcing themselves in front of timid drivers at the last moment. Any driver who blocks these selfish idiots has my full support.
22/05/14 boblet
-6
I had a few questions. at my local council office. over my council tax payments.
it took me 3 phone calls 3 promises of a call back.
visited local office. 2 hour waiting time., due to the volume.
I will get a call back. never came.
do these big organized companies not communicate these days/
22/05/14 treecreeper
it took me 3 phone calls 3 promises of a call back.
visited local office. 2 hour waiting time., due to the volume.
I will get a call back. never came.
do these big organized companies not communicate these days/
-1
because my dear, on long tailbacks. approx. a mile away from the one lane reduction, (sometime 3 down to 2 lanes.
this action of a lorry driver. in the outside lane. to hold up over zealous drivers.
is actually a time saver. the lanes filter more quickly. the single line of cars ,toward the the works, flows ,with out this stopping and starting.,,,co prende
22/05/14 treecreeper
this action of a lorry driver. in the outside lane. to hold up over zealous drivers.
is actually a time saver. the lanes filter more quickly. the single line of cars ,toward the the works, flows ,with out this stopping and starting.,,,co prende
-10
IM a lorry driver and a car driver and a motorcyclist. If you can accelerate quickly and safely within the 300 yards to get past upto 60ft of truck without causing a accident or breaking the law then go ahead!!!!!! As i don't really care because you will do it anyway!!!!!
17/05/14 trucker biker clayshooter.
4
I came across a truck driver doing this down a 40mph dual-carriageway, it's road which opens and then merges into a single lane every few hundred yards. This truck driver decides to enforce a 35mph speed limit on everyone else by driving down the middle of both lanes every time the road opened up.
As for "queues", it's a dual carriage way, it has two lanes and two queues, if you want to sit in the LH lane like an idiot, then don't criticise people who use the road properly!!!
17/05/14 Strider
As for "queues", it's a dual carriage way, it has two lanes and two queues, if you want to sit in the LH lane like an idiot, then don't criticise people who use the road properly!!!
3
Surely it's more practical if everybody uses all the available road. Just because some (or most it seems) people want to force themselves out of the soon to be closed lanes in early doesn't mean that everybody should. I've been down the closure lane more than a few times and sometimes I've travelled down nearly 2 miles of unused road. This is surely counter-productive to anyone getting where they want to go.
08/02/14 pops
2
George Doors, You are the problem, by racing down the outside lane to the front, You are causing all the people who queued up orderly to wait even longer by causing a stop start effect on the traffic as you merge. You aren't merging in turn, you are clearly pushing in! To merge in turn you should fall in behind the last car in the queue. That is your turn! Don't you think everyone wants to be at the front, of course they do, but they understand by doing what you are doing only makes the problem worse! Imagine in the supermarket at the self service tills. There are 4 tills but only one queue. Do you join the back of the queue or go to the next available till?
22/12/13 Tiny
0
I'm not a lorry driver but I understand why they do it. They are doing the job that traffic management should be doing.
Let me explain, it's really quite simple, when a road filters down to a single lane or indeed comes down from 3 to 2 lanes, all traffic has to all go in those lanes. But vehicles coming from behind, normally travelling faster than the speed limit quickly catches up with the queue in front and pushes to the front further adding to the queue already being formed and delaying those behind.
The faster cars joining cause those behind to brake and this in turn causes a ripple affect down the queue further slowing the queue and causing a stop start motion to develop.
This continues as more cars join at faster speeds.
The problem for truck drivers is they have gear boxes with a large number of gears which require lots of gear changes to move ahead in rather small steps. Therefore to increase speed from say zero to 20 MPH may need 5 or 6 gear changes. Furthermore the gear changes are often more complex than a cars gearing system requiring double clutch pushes to go from one gear to neutral and then the next gear – its called double de-clutching. The result is the truck driver quickly becomes tired in slow traffic (which is why they often hang back in slow traffic so they can maintain a decent slow speed of advance and not have to change gear (until some idiot pulls in front and causes them to brake but that's another story).
Therefore if they are constantly stopping and starting its hard work going up and down the gears.
Occasionally one truck driver will block the outer lane. This then has the affect of progressively clearing the vehicles ahead and creating a slow steady speed which allows them and other road users to get through the jam.
So if you come upon road works or an accident do not push to the front as it slows the jam even more. Instead join the queue as far back as possible and this will help every one to get through it quicker. Finally when you see signs advising slower speeds then slow down, this will then mean your time at the queue will be less.
If everyone did this then things would clear a lot quicker.
11/12/13 AreYouThickOrSomething
Let me explain, it's really quite simple, when a road filters down to a single lane or indeed comes down from 3 to 2 lanes, all traffic has to all go in those lanes. But vehicles coming from behind, normally travelling faster than the speed limit quickly catches up with the queue in front and pushes to the front further adding to the queue already being formed and delaying those behind.
The faster cars joining cause those behind to brake and this in turn causes a ripple affect down the queue further slowing the queue and causing a stop start motion to develop.
This continues as more cars join at faster speeds.
The problem for truck drivers is they have gear boxes with a large number of gears which require lots of gear changes to move ahead in rather small steps. Therefore to increase speed from say zero to 20 MPH may need 5 or 6 gear changes. Furthermore the gear changes are often more complex than a cars gearing system requiring double clutch pushes to go from one gear to neutral and then the next gear – its called double de-clutching. The result is the truck driver quickly becomes tired in slow traffic (which is why they often hang back in slow traffic so they can maintain a decent slow speed of advance and not have to change gear (until some idiot pulls in front and causes them to brake but that's another story).
Therefore if they are constantly stopping and starting its hard work going up and down the gears.
Occasionally one truck driver will block the outer lane. This then has the affect of progressively clearing the vehicles ahead and creating a slow steady speed which allows them and other road users to get through the jam.
So if you come upon road works or an accident do not push to the front as it slows the jam even more. Instead join the queue as far back as possible and this will help every one to get through it quicker. Finally when you see signs advising slower speeds then slow down, this will then mean your time at the queue will be less.
If everyone did this then things would clear a lot quicker.
-11
I think the operative word used being 'about' to be closed, as opposed to 'actually' closed. If a lane is open then it should be used, the cones or the road markings funneling into the other lane (rather than the lane abruptly closing) give you an idea of what is supposed to happen.
What you call "racing ahead" is what people who understand the Highway Code (Rule 134) call making progress in lane.
03/10/13 JohnnyB
What you call "racing ahead" is what people who understand the Highway Code (Rule 134) call making progress in lane.
9
Jack
As pointed out by FreddyF, the Highway Code recommends merge-in-turn and is intended to encourage full use of lanes while they are open. The Highways Act 1980 s.137 states that deliberately blocking a carriageway is illegal.
Everyday (Monday - Friday) since around September, I have been unable to use the outside lane westbound as it is intended to be used by the Highway Code because HGV's are deliberately and illegally blocking the outside lane. The HGV drivers who have been doing this have been ignoring the overhead variable message signs that read 'use the outside lane for overtaking only' - which I suspect have been put in place to stop this behaviour.
On three occasions in the last two weeks a HGV has blocked both lanes at once from about 400 yards from the lane merge.
Last night, whilst approaching the lane merge eastbound (approximately 600 yards) a HGV quickly moved from the inside lane across the middle lane and then halfway into the outside lane before slowing right down. I was in the outside lane with no cars in front of me when the HGV pulled out. I had to slow down from 50mph to 25mph very quickly - not safe. I waited behind the HGV for a few seconds before going around. The HGV driver began flashing their headlights. I've seen this happen to other drivers several times now. WHY!?
I totally understand the frustration of HGV drivers described in this thread and I understand and appreciate how vital HGV drivers are to the everyday running of the nation. That being said, this doesn't give HGVs the right to police the roads or put others at danger. It doesn't give HGV drivers the right to take away the right of other road users from using the outside lane as intended. This behaviour is preventing other road users from completing their journeys in the time it "should" take. If I need to use the outside lane in order to get to my destination on time I should be able to do so.
And... ultimately, the behaviour of HGV drivers I've described is illegal and at times unsafe - so please stop!!