Brake Testers

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

I imagine this will be old news and common practice for most of you, but i’d like to get it off my chest all the same. If you’ll permit me.

Had my first the other night, M42 J10 heading west on the A5 about 2200. Car comes charging down the sliproad as I come trundling past, he is about level with the back of my trailer. This is one of those half hearted sliproads that really shouldn’t be treated as a way to merge traffic, but he floors it, manages to get to maybe the back wheels of the unit before it closes the door on him. I have traffic to my right that had followed me from the motorway junction just prior, I can go nowhere.

So he slams on and leans on the horn. It’s been on the cruise control at 50mph since pulling away from the J10 roundabout, so I really hadn’t considered i’d done anything wrong, just another who thinks that the red sea should be parted just for them.

He comes back round me, cuts in half a yard from my bumper, then dabs on his anchors enough for me to have to slam on (no, to be honest, I wasn’t expecting anyone to be that stupid). He tries it once more and I back off to 10mph, dual carriageway is reasonably quiet between the traffic released from the motorway junction traffic lights.

I assumed at this point he is happy that he has control of such a big machine, he gets bored after about 30 seconds and disappears into the distance. I know some people are just stupid, but I haven’t been able to stop dwelling on it.

In my experience if you try to slow for people on sliproads to join, like sheep, 9 out of 10 will just slow with you, and you will reach that stale mate which normally causes you both to nearly have an accident. Afterall the highway code suggests the prevailing traffic has priority. Assuming you can’t move over, safest thing for a truck to do it just to maintain speed.

If I was certain it wouldn’t just run straight over the top of the car, it would almost be tempting to let them take the 44 tonne nudge they were so desperately asking for. Might get the message through.

Not sure how to end this, apart from saying that for a few blinks of an eye I was pretty ■■■■ scared something very nasty was about to happen to my day. I just don’t understand people. Assuming he had his mate or girlfriend in the car with him, showing them what a big man he is… by setting a date for their funeral. :question:

How do you deal with it when it happens?

2

I have had similar on the m6 north bound, but was able to give them a scare back,lol
no it’s not good,But is precisely what that jobsworth Angus in his police scania should be targeting ,instead of just being a turncoat on the profession his used to be employed in
turd’s like that car driver should not have a license, but unfortunately there are thousands of them on our roads

3

I don’t suppose there is any simple solution to this, except maybe keep a camera running facing forward to record idiots slamming their brakes on in front. At least then you would have some ammunition for the police… maybe lol.

Most people on the road seem to have forgotten about give way to the right… :imp:

4

I tell myself that if someone brake tests me I’ll just let the truck run into them, but in reality no matter how ■■■■■■ off I am I just can’t bring myself to do it, to much at risk. I just try and calm down and think that one day they’ll get what they are owed from someone else.

5

I’ve also said the same, but you can’t help it, they do get a dose of main beam and air-horn though and an invitation to stop at the side of the road for a chat, maybe teach them the error of their ways and sort them a free meal out for the evening.

6

Problem is that they know you will be at fault if you hit them. doesn’t matter that you did nothing wrong, it is automatically assumed that the following vehicle didn’t leave sufficient room for braking, and you try and prove what really happened! only if you are lucky enough to have it caught on the motorway CCTV would you stand a chance.
I had a similar event on the M25, I was signalling to move into lane 2, car in lane 2 started to move over, so I started to move over too, a jag in lane 3, which had to be doing over a ton, had to slow down a bit, nothing dangerous or serious, the Jag pulled in front of ME and jammed his anchors on! Only time I have actually wanted a traffic jam on the M25 so I could point out his error with a cab tilt bar!

7

I’ve now got a cctv camera running constantly in the windscreen, courtesy of my insurance co, the next one that trys that stint on me will get hit as I will refuse to test the efficiency of my load restraints because some ■■■■■■■ can’t remember what to do on a slip road and takes umbridge, and the paintwork at the front of my truck needs touching up anyway :grimacing:

8

I was coming around the round-a-bout on top of juction 1 of the m5 last year and there was a car that was in the wrong lane that tried to push in but I didnt let him, he managed to get in front then slammed on the brakes :imp: , the muppet then came up to a red light so I jumped out and I was going to open the door, grab his keys out of the ignition and throw them onto the m5 :laughing: didnt happen tho cos he locked his doors before I got to him, I just booted his door and went back to my cab, now the lights went green and he didnt move :unamused: he waited until they were amber then moved leaving me to wait for another red.

9

truckerjon:
Problem is that they know you will be at fault if you hit them. doesn’t matter that you did nothing wrong, it is automatically assumed that the following vehicle didn’t leave sufficient room for braking, and you try and prove what really happened! only if you are lucky enough to have it caught on the motorway CCTV would you stand a chance.

Agreed it’s the consequences that stop me from pileing into the back of them to teach em a lesson, that and i don’t wanna wreck me motor, if it’s dark I’ll just switch the main beam and spotlights on til they (zb) off

Just hope one day they’ll do it to a jonny foreigner who’ll punt em off into a ditch on his way to the ferry and home :smiling_imp:

10

It’s as bad as the idiots that want to leave the motorway just as you are passing the slip road. Never occurs to them to wait behind you. I take it as a complement to my driving skills that they know they will not get hurt. Sadly not every driver is that good and their day will come.