Good experience with a haulage firm

[skudupnorth]

I was out on the bike yesterday and as ever you are always aware of your surroundings whilst cycling. Anyway to cut a long story short, there is a company in Manchester called A.1 Services who haul quarry materials. First encounter with one of the drivers was him letting me cross a junction on the East Lancs, thanked him and off I went only for him to wave again in acknowledgment of me thanking him, good start to the ride I thought.
Further on the ride, I was riding down towards Culcheth which although not a narrow road, it is a bit tight to overtake anything. Well low and behold I could hear another large vehicle behind me which if I could I would stop and let them go but I couldn’t at that point. Thankfully the driver and the vehicle behind waited until it was safe to pass, giving loads of room which was nice. Both were from the same company as before. All I can think is they are either all cyclists or have been trained to pass cyclists in a safe manner.
I have emailed A.1 Services to thank them for their drivers brilliant attitude.
Does anyone else do the same or am I weird ​

 

[swee'pea99]

I was out on the bike yesterday and as ever you are always aware of your surroundings whilst cycling. Anyway to cut a long story short, there is a company in Manchester called A.1 Services who haul quarry materials. First encounter with one of the drivers was him letting me cross a junction on the East Lancs, thanked him and off I went only for him to wave again in acknowledgment of me thanking him, good start to the ride I thought.
Further on the ride, I was riding down towards Culcheth which although not a narrow road, it is a bit tight to overtake anything. Well low and behold I could hear another large vehicle behind me which if I could I would stop and let them go but I couldn’t at that point. Thankfully the driver and the vehicle behind waited until it was safe to pass, giving loads of room which was nice. Both were from the same company as before. All I can think is they are either all cyclists or have been trained to pass cyclists in a safe manner.
I have emailed A.1 Services to thank them for their drivers brilliant attitude.
Does anyone else do the same or am I weird ​

Excellent! Nothing weird about that. I'm all in favour of making that little effort - eg I always raise a hand to acknowledge drivers who've held back a bit rather than squeeze past. Just nudge things in the right direction...

 

[Sharky]

Used to train on the East Lancs and occasionally, you could catch the lorries and slipstream them!

 

[Jody]

I have emailed A.1 Services to thank them for their drivers brilliant attitude.

Does anyone else do the same or am I weird ​

I don't but credit where it is due. I bet they never get emails complementing their drivers.​

 

[Arjimlad]

I have done this before, gotta be worth acknowledging good practice. One or two excellent hauliers around here whose drivers are reliably careful & courteous.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Does anyone else do the same or am I weird

I did it several years ago with a bus company and the reply was one of surprise and immense gratitude. I think I must have been the first to do that for them.
Lately the general standards have not led me to repeat it.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Well done, they need positive reinforcement

 

[skudupnorth]

To be honest I don’t get many problems with HGV’s but these drivers really stood out and made the ride a pleasant one

 

[Dave7]

Excellent! Nothing weird about that. I'm all in favour of making that little effort - eg I always raise a hand to acknowledge drivers who've held back a bit rather than squeeze past. Just nudge things in the right direction...

Me also. It costs nothing and just to see the smile and the nod is worth it.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Well done that man

 

[gavgav]

To be honest I find car drivers far worse than lorry drivers, in their behaviour around me whilst on the bike.

 

[Smudge]

I find truck drivers generally very good drivers.... Of course i'm biased, being as i've been a trucker for a big part of my working life and i've hardly ever run over a cyclist.

 

[Salty seadog]

Excellent! Nothing weird about that. I'm all in favour of making that little effort - eg I always raise a hand to acknowledge drivers who've held back a bit rather than squeeze past. Just nudge things in the right direction...

I always acknowledge courtesy from other road users. It saddens me at times when I'm riding in a group and a driver pulls over to let us through on a narrow lane that I might see 4,6,8 riders pass before I do with my wave of thanks to the driver.

 

[Hacienda71]

One of my clients used to run a haulage firm and I mentioned to him that I had good experiences with one of the larger local hauliers who always give plenty of room and are courteous. He said most drivers are pretty good with cyclists for a couple of reasons. The first they are professional and are less likely to be impatient than private drivers. The other is a lot of HGV's are now fitted with cctv so any unprofessional actions are easily checked if a complaint is made.

 

[oldwheels]

The regular drivers fron Bonawe Quarry on Loch Etive are always pretty good but if there is a large contact on they bring in outside firms. Not only do they not know the single track road well enough to recognise the wider bits but they also seem much more impatient. I find timber lorries are a menace.