Kind of off topic but....

[jiggerypokery]

........still relevant as I'm commutiing. Just not on the bike.

Working in Manchester at the mo so trawling up and down the M6 every day. Now I'm not the most confident of drivers so I take it fairly easy on the Mway, don't speed, only ever use the first two lanes and generally stick to the rules.

But what the funk is it with lorry drivers who like to drive within an inch of the back of the car in front???? It intimidatesthe hell out of me and the thought of my having to break suddenly and then have a 30 tonner rumble over the top of me is just sickening.

So...why? My car is hardly big enough to draft behind, I'm not going slo enough to be a hinderanve and now do I drive in such a way as to vause offence. What is it - do they want to sniff my bun crack or summat????


Stu

 

[BentMikey]

I hate that sort of tailgating. You get it a lot on the continent, stupid 'kers.

 

[BigSteev]

I find that suddenly switching on the rear fogs makes them think that your braking and they back off a bit. (Don't leave them on though)

 

[rh100]

sh!t drivers
the quality of hgv drivers seems to have come down over the years (there are still very good ones obviously)
because they are speed limited already, they hate to give up any other speed so will tailgate if they can't quite do the overtake. Pisses me right off, glad I don't have to drive for my job anymore.

 

[Norm]

If you are in lane 2 and there is nothing in lane 1, it could be seen as a subtle hint.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Not that subtle ...
It annoys me, too. Not a thing I do, although like most lorry drivers, I don't like losing speed if I can help it. They use an awful lotr of fuel to get to cruising speed. But there's no excuse for intimidating other road users, although if it's any consolation, we can see an awful lot more than car drivers and can plan a bit further ahead.

 

[upsidedown]

Were you in the way of one getting ready for the uphill 2 lane race, where the lorry in lane 2 is going 0.0001 MPH quicker than the lorry in lane 1 ?

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Were you in the way of one getting ready for the uphill 2 lane race, where the lorry in lane 2 is going 0.0001 MPH quicker than the lorry in lane 1 ?

Annoying, but understandable once you've driven one. I usually slow down if I'm the one being overtaken, and it annoys me when others don't do the same for me. But, as I say, you have to have driven one to know why it happens.

 

[upsidedown]

RT i sort of understand why it happens, momentum and fuel consumption and everything. Most lorry drivers i find to be excellent, and they have my utmost respect. I struggle to get my BMW, sorry, Mini (see Mr P's Mini Clubman thread) into a parking space, never mind something 40 feet long into a supermarket loading bay in the middle of a high street.

 

[fossyant]

You also have a lot of foreign drivers out there now, and dodgy/poorly maintained foreign trucks.....

 

[TonbridgeSteve]

Not that subtle ...
It annoys me, too. Not a thing I do, although like most lorry drivers, I don't like losing speed if I can help it. They use an awful lotr of fuel to get to cruising speed. But there's no excuse for intimidating other road users, although if it's any consolation, we can see an awful lot more than car drivers and can plan a bit further ahead.

It's good to hear that you agree this is intimidating and that there is no excuse for it.

Although it is true that they can see further ahead this does not allow for something mechanical going wrong with the car they are tailgating

 

[Rhythm Thief]

It's good to hear that you agree this is intimidating and that there is no excuse for it.

Although it is true that they can see further ahead this does not allow for something mechanical going wrong with the car they are tailgating

No, you're quite right. I was offering it as a reason, not an excuse. As I say, not a thing I would do.

 

[Gromit]

What I hate is when you do the right thing on the motorway i.e. stay in the left hand lane and only use the other two to overtake when its safe to do so. Everyone else seem to hog the other two lanes, don't these people know how to use a motorway?

Some people don't know how to signal ether. Grrr

 

[jonny jeez]

What I hate is when you do the right thing on the motorway i.e. stay in the left hand lane and only use the other two to overtake when its safe to do so. Everyone else seem to hog the other two lanes, don't these people know how to use a motorway?

Some people don't know how to signal ether. Grrr

Wanna spot a considerate lorry driver?

Let them overtake you and offer a little flash as they clear your front end, those that pull in and give a wave of their indicators (left-right-left-right sort of thing) are usually pretty considerate. Those that don't....usually aren't.

Sometimes you'll get a wave but they won't pull in as they are building speed to get past a further obstacle.

It's tough to concentrate on getting back in quickly, whilst looking at the car on the inside in the mirror and not losing track of the road ahead so a little help from the car driver is usually really appreciated.

 

[semislickstick]

I had a terrifying experience on the motorbike on the A14 with a lorry up on my back wheel, I expect he wanted to draft behind the lorry a fair way in front, but it was getting closer and closer to me being wedged in between these two lorries, I tried for ages to get into the overtaking lane but it was busy, some kind soul flashed me and held up the traffic to let me out in the end, I seriously thought I was going to be flattened. I feel a bit sick thinking about it!