My name is Mike and i thought i would join this site in order to get some answers or at least another perspective.
I am a professional motorcycle courier, 66 years of age, done the job for getting on 35 years now. My work takes me all over the UK mainly up north Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield etc . . .
I consider myself a very good rider/driver (I also drive a car) and as of late as im guessing most of you will have also noticed the poor standard of driving on the roads of this country.
Im not here to belittle or moan about lorry drivers but I do need to try and understand why some of you choose to drive the way you do?
A while ago now i had an experience where i was in fear of my life thanks to a lorry HGV driver this led to me installing cameras fore & aft onto my bike.
My question is this; why in a designated 50MPH section on any motorway do lorry drivers constantly break the limit, why do lorry drivers still drive dangerously, and why do you feel the need to tailgate the vehicle in front?
I have a clean licence and i drive/ride considerately and that means sticking to the posted speed limit in roadworks sections, but i see lorry drivers driving well above this limit not bothering to do the same, and the question i have is as professional drivers are you not bothered about your licence? are you not bothered about keeping your job? and do you not have any regard for road safety where other drivers are concerned?
If there is a logical answer that im not aware of that permits you guys to do this then im all ears, as i said im not here to rant but rather in search of an answer to this as I see this everyday now and I just wonder how on earth are you getting away with it?
I look forward to hearing some replies on this topic
be safe out there
There probably will always be that element that consider it appropriate to be right on the vehicle speed limiter if they donāt think there is a chance of getting caught. Effectively that means foot to the floor and they would be going faster if the vehicle wasnāt physically limited. Please be assured that not all lorry drivers are like this.
Hey Mike, good post with good points.
Itās like everything else mate, in any group in any aspect of life, (including and especially bikers tbf) there are good and bad, competent and incompetent, and the latters of both categories always stand out much much more than the formers, and are regularly noticed, to the point of making us all think it is a majority.
It is always noticed more and always make the āheadlinesā in more serious occurences.
You always read stuff like āDrunken trucker wipes out familyā ā¦and rightly so, but by the same token you never read āCompetent efficient driver works daily with never any dramasā and why would you?
I have done this job since God was a lad,.and I agree the standard of many truck drivers in comparison to other times is effin appalling bordering on embarrasing, I too regularly see what you point out,.a lot of it is stupid servile drivers succumbing to pressure from planners, resulting in bad driving and always in a rush, which is no excuse.
There are also a lot of ācar drivers with HGV licencesā rather than āproperā old style truckers.
Also I think standards dropping of courtesy, good manners, and empathy is a whole society thing in every aspect of life tbh.
So rest assured we aint all the same, I aint perfect by any stretch, but me and many many like me do not do any, or at least do very few of the things you point out that have rightly pi55ed you off.
I can only apologise on behalf of the f/wits contingent in trucks you have come across, but as I say, we aint all like that.
I have recently retired from truck driving but have also been a long time two wheel rider petrol and leg powered.
By way of explanation though:
Trucks have a 90kph speed limiter fitted by law. That is 56mph. Often turned down to a true 55 or 54mph.
Lots, but not all police forces have a 10%, +2 tolerance on limits. So, up to 57mph you can have a bet on being OK.
Lots of vehicles have a slightly optimistic speedometer.
You can see where this is going.
Many trucks are breaking the 50mph limit, but there is little chance of a bust.
Many drivers of cars and bike riders are seeing 50mph but are actually doing less.
Again, I am not saying it is right, but that is an explanation of what you may be seeing.
Tailgating?
It happens all too often. No excuse at all. None.
I canāt even think of any reason for it, good or bad.
Many thanks for the great replies.
Yes i agree that there are good and bad on the roads as a biker i see so much of both. I guess its an age thing where you really get to evaluate your own behaviour i personally have pretty high standards but yes it wasnt always like that and im guessing its true for many riders/drivers.
Beleive me i know many bikers who really shouldnt be on the road at all and ive had many mates die as a result of reckless behaviour.
My definition of an expert rider is doing a days work getting home alive and earning good money keeping the licence clean . . . not how many wheelies i can pull or how many burnouts i can do.
Its true that the division between bikers and drivers is huge and there are a lot of issues that are raised on both sides concerning driving on the roads
I have slowed down quite a lot my job isnt what it used to be regarding deadlines and how the job was done back in the 80s/90s is now long gone but yes most of us hooned around like idiots and some of us survived and some didnt.
the old adage āwhat looks like a letterbox to you is a barn door for meā and to be honest the moment i get on the bike everyone is a potential enemy that includes other ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā riders most of whom are now immigrants delivering food on scooters who have no understanding of how to ride, no ettiquette or patience, they are just chasing money like we all used to.
But out on the motorways is where i am now everyday and yeah i agree not every lorry does stupid things and i didnt mean to generalise i just wondered why some do the things they do . . . back when i was a lad i used to go out with my stepdad who was a long distance lorry driver all over the country now im doing the same thing only on a mototcycle and its great!
So yeah i guess that we just have to concede that there are good and bad out there and i just have to rely on my 6th sense to spot the idiots
easy to spot they are usually driving Audis and BMWs hahaha
yes i have heard that before. Personally i sit just below the posted limit as I have no desire to live in constant fear of getting done as now the limits have zero tolerance on most motorway cameras i have seen numerous people getting flashed at the posted limmit on gantries
My licence is the most precious thing i have . . . it earns me good money it gives me autonomy and anables me to drive to a bike park and hack down a mountain on my mountain bike supplying me with my adrenaline rush that i used to get on the roads . . .
there are good and bad drivers everywhere in every walk of life you need to drive to the limitations of the road and weather and posted speed limits. rightly or wrongly if the posted speed limit is 50 with nothing in front of you or the traffic is flowing at 50 do it then you know you have done your best to ease the flow of traffic and if there is someone ob your tail sod em. if your doing 40 just worrying about yourself rather than sharing the road then people are going to get annoyed with you especially if the inside lane is closed as they shouldnāt be in the outside line and therefore cant over take .
there is a road near me my friend lives on that starts of at the nsl then goes to 40 then 30. people will do 35 if your lucky in the nsl 45-50 in the 40 that is an industrial area with blind turnings and 50 - 55 in the 30 which is obviously residential and has 3 schools.
What makes you think there is zero tolerance on motorway cameras?
If there really was zero tolerance then no one would exceed the limits posted.
The variable speed limits are a pain and a joke, I watch vehicle going through then at a rate of knots and donāt get flashed. Then other times they seem to flash for no apparent reason. They also cause many vehicle to speed between them and brake like mad coming up to them which does not aid traffic flow at all.
Same with red Xās I watched vehicle after vehicle on the M6 last week just going through them even after watching the vehicle in front being flashed for it, including a couple of trucks. All because they want to try and get a few vehicles further ahead.
Iāve also noticed that people these days and all acceleration and brake no gear changing to slow down and no forward observations to judge what the vehicle is doing Infront.
The issue is there are a heck of a lot of people who think they are decent drivers and safe who should not even hold a licence no matter what vehicle they drive.
Sitting below a speed limit is not needed. If itās 50 then do 50 as like I said on your bike you wouldnāt actually be doing 50 mph anyway so by going slower you are now causing unnecessary congestion. Drive to the limits and conditions of course but donāt hold other people up unnecessarily.
Most of us were taught to drive to make progress also something that is lacking with most drivers these days.
This is a copy and paste of a post I made of facetube last night regarding cyclists.
I nearly killed a guy tonight. Two hours later and itās bothering me. Not the fact that I nearly took another persons life, Iām cool with that, but more so the ramifications with regards to his familyās inevitable and understandable reaction and also how the press would one sidedly portray this. Also the inevitable two year court process and the disruption to my life that would cause.
So, itās 10pm and Iām driving the truck solo (no trailer on it) and Iām on the road between Spalding and Bourne. This is a typical fenland road in as much as itās totally unlit, itās narrowish with dykes either side and itās extremely bumpy. The section I was on is straight as a die for about two miles, Iām travelling around 45mph (the limit there for me is 50) simply because itās too bouncy and pothole ridden to go any faster. Iām straddling the white line because thereās no traffic around and itās far more comfortable. In the distance a car is coming towards me so Iām on dipped beam. As the car got around 600 yards from me I moved completely back to my side of the road when suddenly my dash gives a loud warning. I glance down and itās warning of a ācollision alertā. Itās a DAF so thatās only to be expected as I glance back up thereās a guy ten feet in front of me dressed in black with no lights on a pushbike! I jinked to the right and I estimate that I missed him by mere inches. The radar obviously saw what I didnāt.
I imagine that the guy is severely ā ā ā ā ā ā off that a truck passed him so closely, but JEEZ mate, do yourself a favour FFS!
Thereās no point to this post other than for me to vent and hopefully forget it.
thats because people are taught gears for go and brakes for slow. When i first learnt to drive a car it was in a clapped out mk 1 fiesta and was taught to go down through the gears and to plan ahead for it. 14 years later i went back to it again in a fiesta but a lot more modern with power steering etc etc and was told not to go down through the gears to hold it in the gear till the last second then select the gear i need to pull away. I guess with modern engines with electronic control you can do that.
i sit at just below the speed limit for a reason as i have stated some cameras are fixed at the limit displayed at the gantry . . . I have witnessed this first hand i do not speed and then slow down for the cameras as most people do . . . . i drive at the speed limit i do not gamble with my licence
If im sitting in lane one and adhering to the posted speed limit as i should be then how can i be causing congestion? if you want to overtake then please feel free
sorry to say but you sound like the kind of motorist who my post is all about . .
[quote=āsimcor, post:9, topic:238267ā]
Then other times they seem to flash for no apparent reason. They also cause many vehicle to speed between them and brake like mad coming up to them which does not aid traffic flow at all
[/quo
this kinda proves my point . . . . you point out that this causes congestion and yet in another post you accuse me of causing congestion for riding sensibly . ā¦ im confused which is it?
Glad your ok dude
cyclists hahah dont even get me started mate . . .
its the goverments fault for introducing the current road āhierachyā . . . cyclists foolishly believe that everyone is looking out for them .or else . . this is just asking for trouble
If you as a cyclist venture out on your bike at night on an unlit road with black clothing and no lights, and expect every other motorist to ālook out for youā then im sorry you win the top prize in the Darwin awards and you deserve all thats coming to you
As road users in whatever vehicle, you are responsible for your own behaviour and actions
āSitting just below the limitā in lane 1 ?, unless youāre overtaking even even slower vehicles in lane I presume ?.
In which case you seem to be exaggerating the issue.
Admittedly thereās no guarantee that cameras have at least a 10% margin, but assuming youāre not generally applying that margin on a basis of itās often safer, than not, to just bet on it, then maybe you are part of the problem.No I donāt agree that they generally donāt have that margin.
Iām surprised that youāre not complaining about the even worse situation of more truck drivers who think that lane changing traffic has the priority.Usually now not even applying the courtesy of only pulling out if theyāve established that lane 2/3/4 is clear for traffic in lane 1/2/3 to move over into .
In addition to the fact that contrary to Franglaisā views there are numerous situations in which tailgating isnāt the fault of the following driver.Usually variations on the theme of pulling out in front and/or lane hogging then slowing down sharply for no reason if not brake checking.Or accelerating while being overtaken then slowing down ahain when the overtake is abandoned.My guess is that most of those are crash for cash scammers.
Which leaves the question why do you feel the need to travel below the limit bearing in mind the predictable ripple effect on following traffic ?.
Im sorry what ārippleā effect are you referring to?
Is it the ripple effect caused by an HGV pulling into another lane and tailgating the vehicle in front, constantly dabbing the brakes causing everyone behind to dab their brakes cause they want that car to move over? cause they have to lift their foot of the limiter . . .that ripple effect?
For clarification im doing 49mph in lane one that to me is perfectly acceptable mate im a vulnerable road user despite my years of experience, and if i choose to ride at 49 mphin lane one then i dont see what the problem is to be honest
how am i āpart of the problemā and to what āproblemā are you going on about
to clarify; the speed limit posted through roadworks is 50mph im not hogging lane 2 or 3 and im riding at around 49mph to negate the chance albeit slim of triggering a camera that could result in my getting points on a clean licence and having my already bloated insurance policy going through the roof.
My riding is borne out of years of travelling the Uks roads and i have millions of miles under my belt, and i can assure you that my overtaking is done with courtesy with regards to other traffic and conditions
I came here looking for an answer to a problem i have with the minority of truck drivers who dont seem to care about the posted speed limit, who tailgate both myself and other road users, who have no regard for the safety and wellbeing of others who use the road, more often than not they use their vehicle in a bullying manner just because they want to get somewhere. well we all want to āget somewhereā i prefer to do that keeping my licence and my skin intact . . and if my roadcraft doesnt quite fit your way of thinking then im sorry but thats your problem
the 10% margin you refer to is not generic and as ive stated elswhere i dont want to gamble with my livelihood
And to pull you on a point tailgating is the fault of the following driver . . . ive had two vehicles done by way of my onboard cameras for tailgating . . . if someone pulls into your lane then its your responsibilty to maintain a safe distance if that means slowing down then so be it . . we are not all here to adhere to your way of thinking or style of driving.
I didnt come here for an argument and i dont have to justify my roadcraft to anyone but the police . . . .i have my answers now and i wont be pursuing this post any further
For me there is no excuse for this type of driving, Is a few mph really going to make that much difference where your going. I also experience this sometimes going to work at 3.30 am. Just the other week two cyclists were biking on the A1 between Stoke Rochford and Grantham causing tails backs as people tried to pass them. My brother is also a lorry driver and a keen cyclist and encounters very poor driving. I also find that lorries are right behind when Iām driving on the A52 at 50mph in a tipper paid by the hour!
Tailgating in a lorry is the action of someone a sandwich short of a picnic, but they live amongst us.
Iām actually fairly convinced that some just go out and drive lorries like cars, paying little or no attention to the weight of the thing and how stopping distances vary accordingly.
as I glance back up thereās a guy ten feet in front of me dressed in black with no lights on a pushbike! I jinked to the right and I estimate that I missed him by mere inches. The radar obviously saw what I didnāt.