How close???????

[mkb600]

Right then folks…

As I was driving along the M54 the other night, minding my own business, I was rudely interrupted by by the brakes suddenly applying themselves. Unit and trailer stopped very quickly and in a nice straight line, unfortunately still on lane one of the motorway. I found this situation somewhat unfavourable so decided to make a gallant exit out of the passenger door after trying quite unsuccessfully to shift the aformentioned vehicle.

Anyway, vehicle recovered and problem sorted and no injuries or accidents. Seems an airline had blown off of a control box under the cab…

Got me to thinking…
Had this occurred five minutes earlier, at the previous exit slip rd, then the car driver who had decided to sit very close behind me before exiting would have had rather a surprise.
Had the same problem happened to Mr L. Drivers unit just at that moment he has pulled in front of me (scraping the bugs off my windscreen) then I would be in the position of not being able to say “Oh Sugar” quick enough before entering his trailer through the back doors at 50mph

Seriously,
Why do people sit so close to each other on a motorway?
Why do some drivers cut in so efin close?

Does anybody leave a space, just in case?

I will be easy to see from now on.
I am the one that will drop back when you pass me,
I will be the one that flashes you in when I think you are a safe distance in front of me, might seem a long way for you!
There will be a big gap in front of me, if it seems I am actually going backwards, then so be it…

[grumpybum]

mkb600:
Why do some drivers cut in so efin close?

Does anybody leave a space, just in case?

They cut in so close because they think that being a professional driver means “knowing the length of my vehicle” unfortunately they’re not quite professional enough to think beyond their own needs.

There are a lot of very arrogant drivers around these days who never give a second thought for anyone else, and don’t even seem to notice that the reason you’re stuck out in lane two is because you moved over to let them join the carriageway. Everyone wants to be first, people have their fog lights on all the time to draw attention to how important they are, and very few actually have any road courtesy any more. It’s up to the few proper drivers left to try rise above it and not get dragged down to their level.

Didn’t start out as a rant, but I went with it

[drivingmissdaisy]

grumpybum:

mkb600:
Why do some drivers cut in so efin close?

Does anybody leave a space, just in case?

They cut in so close because they think that being a professional driver means “knowing the length of my vehicle” unfortunately they’re not quite professional enough to think beyond their own needs.

There are a lot of very arrogant drivers around these days who never give a second thought for anyone else, and don’t even seem to notice that the reason you’re stuck out in lane two is because you moved over to let them join the carriageway. Everyone wants to be first, people have their fog lights on all the time to draw attention to how important they are, and very few actually have any road courtesy any more. It’s up to the few proper drivers left to try rise above it and not get dragged down to their level.

Didn’t start out as a rant, but I went with it

Much truth you speak!

[tachograph]

grumpybum:

mkb600:
Why do some drivers cut in so efin close?

Does anybody leave a space, just in case?

They cut in so close because they think that being a professional driver means “knowing the length of my vehicle” unfortunately they’re not quite professional enough to think beyond their own needs.

There are a lot of very arrogant drivers around these days who never give a second thought for anyone else, and don’t even seem to notice that the reason you’re stuck out in lane two is because you moved over to let them join the carriageway. Everyone wants to be first, people have their fog lights on all the time to draw attention to how important they are, and very few actually have any road courtesy any more. It’s up to the few proper drivers left to try rise above it and not get dragged down to their level.

Didn’t start out as a rant, but I went with it

I couldn’t agree more.

Also it never ceases to amaze me when I’m over-taking another vehicle how many people flash me in when I know I’m only just clear of them, is suicidal now a fashion or something

[rog]

Why do people sit so close to each other on a motorway?
Why do some drivers cut in so efin close?

Simple … because 99+% of the time they will get away without incident so they keep doing it

If 50% of the time they did it they ended up colliding then they would stop doing it

[chilistrucker]

grumpybum:

mkb600:
Why do some drivers cut in so efin close?

Does anybody leave a space, just in case?

They cut in so close because they think that being a professional driver means “knowing the length of my vehicle” unfortunately they’re not quite professional enough to think beyond their own needs.

There are a lot of very arrogant drivers around these days who never give a second thought for anyone else, and don’t even seem to notice that the reason you’re stuck out in lane two is because you moved over to let them join the carriageway. Everyone wants to be first, people have their fog lights on all the time to draw attention to how important they are, and very few actually have any road courtesy any more. It’s up to the few proper drivers left to try rise above it and not get dragged down to their level.

Didn’t start out as a rant, but I went with it

agree with all of this.
i very rarely pull out anymore to assist someone else joining the carriageway. been shafted to many times now, and sadly its not just the cars that shaft you anymore.
had a guy pulling a heritage trailer cut in on me last night on the m4.
i was only doing 54/55, he had no trouble catching and passing me, but caught me by surprise as he indicated and started to pull in before he’d cleared the front of my truck i always flash people in, but only when they are well past the front of my motor, and then if they are .5mph quicker than me, i prefer to ease off for abit, to maintain a safe gap.
he soon pulled away from me. i came off at the next junction, (16 on the m4) and as i got to the slip road he was at the lights, in the left lane, and as i was going to icelands i wanted the right hand lane. i was 42 tonne, he obviously wasn’t, as when the lights changed he soon got away, and then with no indication, cut across me as guess what, although i didn’t know it, he was going to iceland aswell. he wasn’t hanging about, and i don’t remember seeing him use his indicators from the m4, all the way to icelands, including the left turn into their premises from the main road. he did have his fog lights on though, i could see them clearly, as it was abit misty, but not foggy. as we pulled up near the gate, he then pulled a u-turn and stopped on the exit road, again no warning, but by now i’m not surprised.
as i was booking in he waltzed over.
i had a brief chat, informing him that his indicators were broke, and his fog light was on.
no surprises, he wasn’t bothered, saying something along the lines, of the switch being faulty or something.
i didn’t even mention the carve up on the m4, as it was clear it would fall on deaf ears.

to be fair, he looked knackered, and said something about coming from belgium. he wasn’t booked in till 6am, and this was 11pm at least he was early
think he was only interested in getting parked and getting his head down. fair play, but always worth remembering there are others on the road aswell.
as grumpy says, far to many arrogant drivers these days.

[martinviking]

I had a brake hose decide to detatch itself from one of my trailer brake chambers whilst I was hurtling down a hill in France a few years ago ‘Stopped me everso quick’ but managed to get it pulled over onto the side of the road. A nice Ferrymasters driver stopped to lend a hand & we found the culprit after a bit of head scratching & searching. All it took was a 50p jubilee clip (which I had in my tool box) to get me back on the road. Made me think WTF, if someone with fully loaded wagon had been behind me, they would’nt have stood a chance, no brake lights came on-just my hazards as soon as I realised something was wrong.
I always try to maintain a good 2-3 second gap.
‘Makes you think’

[aht]

I would say, If possilbe and you have time to think its a good idea to put you foot on the brake pedal in such circumstances to at least illuminate the brake lights so people behind know what to expect

[martyh]

AHT:
I would say, If possilbe and you have time to think its a good idea to put you foot on the brake pedal in such circumstances to at least illuminate the brake lights so people behind know what to expect

In which case quite a few would smash right into the back whilst wondering what the 2 bright red lights are “i’m sure they are important”, “aren’t i supposed to do something now”

[yuppie]

Agree with a lot been said,being curteous has long since gone. Driving too close does annoy me,is it mentioned in the DCPC??

[rog]

yuppie:
Agree with a lot been said,being curteous has long since gone. Driving too close does annoy me,is it mentioned in the DCPC??

Generally the dcpc does not deal with on road driving because that would be too sensible - why include what a driver does most of, road driving ■■!!

[mkb600]

I asked the original question because I had the eye opening experience mentioned at the start of the thread, that is popped airline causing instant and full application of brakes on the trailer.
Had anyone been anywhere near my back doors I think it unlikely they would have avoided running into me.
If it happened to me then as sure as heck it can happen to anyone else.

Please think about this when:
1, you pull in front of someone after passing.
2, Someone pulls in front of you!
3, Whenever you are following someone.

Allow some decent room and live to see this Christmas and the next!!!

Take care folks

[robroy]

ROG:

yuppie:
Agree with a lot been said,being curteous has long since gone. Driving too close does annoy me,is it mentioned in the DCPC??

Generally the dcpc does not deal with on road driving because that would be too sensible - why include what a driver does most of, road driving ■■!!

If we HAVE to have the dcpc ,that is exactly what the job needs …instead of the teaching you to ■■■■ eggs B/S a basic course to educate drivers, in driving up to a standard to where they used to be, I’ve said before on here that the standard of some drivers today compared to years ago is shocking,… you know the ones… the stars who cannot differentiate between driving a car and a truck, because in real terms there are no actual skills involved to do so, as driving a truck today is ■■■■-easy, hence the calibre of some drivers is dumbed down to standards bordering on special needs And to the guy who has stopped flashing trucks out of junctions after being left out by these knobheads…if you do that it lowers you down to their level and makes one more of them and one less of us

[wiiispa]

Many sit behind the wheel. Only a few actually drive.