Often said on here that an increasing number of drivers are driving the lorry like they would their car. So turn it around who drives their car like they do their lorry? Not just thinking of the daft stuff like going for the handbrake on the dashboard or using the wipers for an exhaust brake but the things like easing off early approaching junctions/roundabouts, looking for the gaps to avoid coming to a stop, not flooring the throttle when pulling off?
I like to do all that & indicate as a default even when nothing else around.
Me. I once whacked my hand on the roof of the car trying to turn the radio down. I also take more interest in bridge heights than is strictly necessary.
Harry Monk:
I also take more interest in bridge heights than is strictly necessary.
Yep same here, it just shows how successfully it was hammered into me whilst learning.
I also take notice of good future overnight parking places when driving out of my local area.
If you take a pride in your lorry driving, its bound to have an effect on how you drive any other vehicle, if you drive poorly ie thrashed from cold and driven hard on the brakes and have not the foggiest idea about forward planning in a wagon then it stands to reason the car will be similarly abused.
As a slight aside, i bet most (competent) lorry driver’s personal vehicles are mechanically reliable for many years by being subject to the sort of mechanical sympathy most car/van bods wouldn’t have a clue about nor care one jot.
As a new driver i think my car driving has changed for the better. Road signs just jump out at me.
Better braking distances and more use of the mirrors.
Can sit at 52 (top speed of my truck) without trying.
Do occasionally try and pull off in 3rd sometimes though.
I am told that my 1998 Merc learns your driving style and reacts accordingly.
Mine regularly seems to read my intention and changes down on approaching roundabouts, so I rarely have to use my brakes, yet I watch those in front whose brake lights are continuously on for ages before being needed.
7 years now and the brake pads have lots of life left, there is a bit of a dent in the carpet where I go for the exhaust brake though - I still feel that the button on the floor is the best place for it. Oh and I have never used the cruise control as I’ve never encountered a stretch of road where a constant speed is possible at the upper end + of the speed limit.
Wiretwister:
I like to do all that & indicate as a default even when nothing else around.
You are a rubbish driver then… who does the benefit
I’m going to resist……
My big thing in both a lorry and in my car is not using the brakes whenever possible, consequently it’s become almost a game to roll up to red traffic lights and time the change to green without coming to a stop. In the car my G/F is sick to death of me repeatedly saying “get off your ■■■■■■ brakes!” to the cars in front.
tallyman:
I often go for the exhaust brake and put the wipers on.
Ha ha! Likewise dude! All the time, I once found myself repeatedly glancing up at the sun visor at Corley Services to check how much time I had left on break, Doh!
Then there’s the constant rebuke from the Long Haired One as I swing out for 90° left turns and straddle the lane divider at roundabouts “you’re not in your lorry now you know!”
whisperingsmith:
I am told that my 1998 Merc learns your driving style and reacts accordingly.
Mine regularly seems to read my intention and changes down on approaching roundabouts, so I rarely have to use my brakes, yet I watch those in front whose brake lights are continuously on for ages before being needed.
7 years now and the brake pads have lots of life left, there is a bit of a dent in the carpet where I go for the exhaust brake though - I still feel that the button on the floor is the best place for it. Oh and I have never used the cruise control as I’ve never encountered a stretch of road where a constant speed is possible at the upper end + of the speed limit.
Our 2001 Mitsubishi Magna does the same. My Mrs is a lead foot compared to me. I’m always on at her to lift off and let it roll to a roundabout or lights. Lift off the bloody loud pedal so it drops into overdrive. There’s a big difference in petrol consumption between me and her. I don’t swing out on corners though.
Was askee by a passenger in my car why I change lanes so often, I was making him sick! If in lane 2 for example it was met by bemusement that I would then pull back in to lane 1 after an overtake despite a slower vehicle 500 yards In front…
Says more about car drivers of today than anything else though I think
