This is my first post after reading rikki’s u know who u r.
When i first started driving i basically copied what other drivers did and this included A roads, Ithought that you had to go hell 4 leather especially on the oldA43, but lately i’ve had a few job’s delivering around suffolk and norfolk and it’s all A roads, I know the law and have never driven dangerously but i have gone too fast which i’m not proud about. anyway when i was driving around suff and norf i said 2 myself [zb] it i’m gonna do 40 and that’s it, after about half an hour i had about 10 miles of traffic behind me but the scenery was nice and there was no awkward corners, just keep on cruising until u c the black and white marker boards and slow down a bit. This is stating the [zb] obvious i know but how many times have u driven down an A road and had another truck up your [zb]. The more you rush your puttin more money in your boss’ holiday fund know what i mean
Hi Chris, and welcome aboard…sorry to have to edit your first post, but start as we mean to go on, eh?
paid by the hours so no need to speed like you say its money in the bosses pocket.
nope 40 mph for me and all the others that want to get passed well its there licence and not mine. if i get a nice long straight i will drop a kerb side indicator to alow them passed
Yeah, this topic’s been done to death a good few times already.
Personally I find sticking to 40mph extremely boring and feel like I’m getting nowhere so I usually sit at 50ish if the road is decent. I can hear the keyboards clattering already at the do-gooder brigade labelling me a dangerous driver but I couldn’t give two hoots what anyone else thinks. It’s my decision.
Even if I was paid by the hour I don’t think I’d sit at 40mph. If you feel you have to sit at 40mph so you get maximum income for the hours worked then something is wrong somewhere. We’re paid a set wage for the week which is well above average (in fact it’s above what some agencies are paying in the area if you work out the hourly rate over an average working week).
It’s a personal decision re the speed. If I sat at 40mph on a single-carriageway A-road I wouldn’t think twice about pulling over into a layby every so often to let the queues get past, but I notice that those members of this site who religiously sit at the speed limit (them being professional drivers and all that) don’t bother pulling over to let the queues past and it’s merely a case of “[zb] 'em, I’m doing my speed limit” seemingly.
I wasn’t aware that they were all supermarket delivery drivers (renowned for sitting at 40mph) but I’ve yet to meet a class 2 or 1 driver on a single-carriageway road doing 40mph.
[but I couldn’t give two hoots what anyone else thinks. It’s my decision.
If I sat at 40mph on a single-carriageway A-road I wouldn’t think twice about pulling over into a layby every so often to let the queues get past, but I notice that those members of this site who religiously sit at the speed limit (them being professional drivers and all that) don’t bother pulling over to let the queues past and it’s merely a case of “[zb] 'em, I’m doing my speed limit” seemingly…
And why should they pull over they are not a slow moving vehicle, like you say it is your decision, if there is a Q ten mile long, tough.
And before you have a moan at me i am not a do gooder i think that the speed limits are unrealistic, 70 on a M/way come on you sit at 70 and watch how may car’s pass you, but also i think that you should have to slow down to 20 outside schools between 0830 and 0900 and 1500 and 1600. But at the end of the day if you speed you could lose your licence in a day
I wholeheartedly agree about the limits past schools but to me that’s simply common sense.
I still think regardless of whether you class a truck as a “slow vehicle” or not it is courteous to pull in where you can when you can’t see the end of the queue behind you. My way of thinking is that if the boot were on the other foot and you were stuck behind the truck in your car wouldn’t you like the driver to pull over and let you pass ? Hence why I do 50ish to try to keep everyone happy.
Just a straw poll on this subject. Has anyone here been done for 50mph on a de-restricted road. Don’t reply with “no, but I know a mate who has”, have YOU been done. I think its extremely rare.
Qhunter:
Just a straw poll on this subject. Has anyone here been done for 50mph on a de-restricted road. Don’t reply with “no, but I know a mate who has”, have YOU been done. I think its extremely rare.
Qhunter, No I haven’t been done for 50 on a de-restricted road. I got done for 47 and yes I do have a mate who was done also.
I have to say when I was younger and shall we say less professional most of the time I was flat out. Only after double manning with an O/D and he told me it’s his truck drive it properly did I realise how much less stressful it was to stick to the limits.
Have to agree with Daf Man on this one there is nothing more annoying than being behind one of Herefords Cider men doing 40 on the A49 on a lovely bright day.Hes like The Pied Piper with a huge convoy behind him.Were not talking about driving like a lunatic in the dark and fog here.But doing 40 on a nice road is taking the urine
I spose im one of the ones everybodys annoyed with here. I do 40-43 or so, because its the law. I didnt make the law, and at the same time, I aint a holier than thou either, I want to keep my licence clean. BUT, if anybody should be a target of peoples frustrations, its those that MAKE the laws, not those that just keep to them. But having said that, its far easier to intimidate an individual keeping to the law than to put a lot of hard work into trying to getting it changed aint it?
I am not annoyed, when i go down the A5 at night i do 40 45 if a parcel rocket comes up behind me i will let them pass, like i said it is your licence, when you get 12 points on it no more job. But some roads really don’t need to be 40 and some need to be less
i think its okay to exceed the limit slightly. On s/c roads, I generally run between 80 and 85 km/h (50 - 53 mph), so i see nothing wrong with doing 65-70 km/h (40-43 mph) in an HGV. Anymore than that is asking for trouble.
I generally drive as conditions dictate. If people feel that they have to break the law to do their job, thats entirely up to them. I do pull over to allow people to pass me, and if the road is wide enough I keep well to the left and flash the left indicator to let them know its safe to pass. This generally results in a friendly wave from the passing driver, which means I cant be doing much wrong. Im not saying I stick rigidly to the 40mph,
but Ive never had a speeding ticket, and dont intend to start collecting them now. Rob, Im not a do-gooder, and as long as you feel safe doing 50 or whatever, I wont chastise you, but just bear in mind how many speed cameras are scattered about (some of them are the smart type, which can tell what type of vehicle you are in, and the first you know of being caught is when your gaffer shows you a ticket from the police - and what if youve committed 2 or 3 offences, and didnt know youd been caught. Youre then walking a tightrope regarding keeping your licence enabling you to continue doing your job).
