…I am a newly qualified LGV2 and I am this week doing my LGV1.
I have been doing agency work and this has enabled me to drive large LGV2.
I am totally fed up with all sorts of truck drivers who feel that it is OK to drive 3 - 4 feet from the rear of my vehicle, especially LGV1`s…WTF If I have to stop a 26 tonner in a hurry, the 44 tonner will plough straight through me Now if this was an isolated incident I would put it down to driver ignorance, but it happens every time I use a motorway or other 2 lane trunk road…What I would like to know is why are so called proffessional drivers putting my and their well being to risk
It may be an acceptable practice as it has always been the ‘way’ I am afraid that it is stupid and possibly lethal, it infuriates me that so many have such little regard for themselves and others.
And if one person says it is down to limiters, then I shall be doubly infuriated as then you could be construed as being knowledgable to the fact!
I for one do as you call it taigate on the motorway, you said not to mention limmiters, the fact of the matter is that is the case, when I am on the motorway I am flatt out at 56mph, now as you know NOT all limmiters are the same, some are slower than others only by a mile or two but the difference can be alot when you are following, I would leave it till the last min before pulling out to overtake trying to use any slip stream I can get from the truck in front, this is not the case of tailgating but avoiding dropping the speed of my vehicle when the truck in front is slower.
if i look in my offside mirror, the vehicle behind me can look a lot closer than it looks in the nearside mirror.
and maybe he has an idea that you may be quicker than him up the next hill, so he dosn’t try to overtake as he will start to drop back when he’s at the side of you. but he dosn’t want to lose momentum either.
i’ve often got a bit closer than i should, simply because i don’t pull out until i can without slowing down traffic in the middle lane, but if it’s so busy that i’d make a [zb] of myself, then i’d back off and wait for a steep downhill. i just don’t do the sitting in the middle lane thing.
and it is limiters that cause this.
I bet none of them are anything like that close, you are still getting used to driving trucks and cannot judge the distances in your mirror very well, there is a lot of tail gating on our roads, but normally nearer to 20 to 30 ft apart (still too close)
I would also not worry about if you have to brake hard with a heavier truck behind you, their brakes will be as good as yours,
next time you are out on the road look at the trucks on the other carriageway and see what distance they are apart, you will see it is not as bad as it looks in your mirrors.
jimti:
I bet none of them are anything like that close, you are still getting used to driving trucks and cannot judge the distances in your mirror very well, there is a lot of tail gating on our roads, but normally nearer to 20 to 30 ft apart (still too close)
I would also not worry about if you have to brake hard with a heavier truck behind you, their brakes will be as good as yours,
next time you are out on the road look at the trucks on the other carriageway and see what distance they are apart, you will see it is not as bad as it looks in your mirrors.
I have done that, looked at distances on the other side of the carrigeway, they are sometimes very close…I am also good at judging spatial awareness in mirrors, everything is relative in a mirror, as it is to the naked eye…Otherwise I would have done quite a bit of damage, especially with a Moffat on the back
If you are driving too close to stop then that is unsafe - no excuses can get away from that fact.
Easy way to tell if the minimum safe distance is to count the lane lines (small or long ones) between the trucks - one lane line = 10mph so at 50mph there should be a minimum of 5 lane lines - this is easy to see in the mirror as well as in front.
it wont be 4 feet anyway Ive had people cut the nose off me at about 4 feet though usually puddle jumpers and white van men and its usually an empty motorway WTF is that about
if it bothers you or you feel for your safety, drive slower and force them out to overtake you. but most people are waiting for the ideal moment either a break in traffic or a hill as most of us - contrary to popular belief don’t like being hung out to dry.
att:
…I am a newly qualified LGV2 and I am this week doing my LGV1.
I have been doing agency work and this has enabled me to drive large LGV2.
I am totally fed up with all sorts of truck drivers who feel that it is OK to drive 3 - 4 feet from the rear of my vehicle, especially LGV1`s…WTF If I have to stop a 26 tonner in a hurry, the 44 tonner will plough straight through me Now if this was an isolated incident I would put it down to driver ignorance, but it happens every time I use a motorway or other 2 lane trunk road…What I would like to know is why are so called proffessional drivers putting my and their well being to risk
It may be an acceptable practice as it has always been the ‘way’ I am afraid that it is stupid and possibly lethal, it infuriates me that so many have such little regard for themselves and others.
And if one person says it is down to limiters, then I shall be doubly infuriated as then you could be construed as being knowledgable to the fact!
Why oh why do drivers do this■■?
Actually, I agree with you, and I passed my test a little longer ago than you - 1981, to be precise!
It was brought home to me a few weeks ago, when I had a puncture on the front of my car, and was obliged to drive from West Berkshire to Southampton and back with the skinny spare on the front nearside. It certainly handled oddly if pushed, and I stuck religiously to the 50 mph limit for the tyre whilst on the A34 and M3 in both directions.
There were several wagon drivers who chose to make attempts to climb into the back of the car, even when Lane 2 was completely clear. The prize buffoon of the day was one of Lambert Brothers of Eastleigh (and yes, I did get the reg) who was so close to the back of the car on the M3 that I couldn’t even see his front number plate!! Again, he had an opportunity to pass but chose not to do so for, perhaps, almost a mile. What a prize [zb].
I seem to spend half my life championing lorry drivers, and telling the general public (and colleagues and customers) where to get off when they criticise drivers, explaining about the terms and conditions that prevail in most of the industry, and then I feel badly let down by idiots like that. Fortunately, they are very much in the minority, but it takes only the blink of an eye for one of them to become a headline and to drag everyone else down with them in the eyes of the public.
I am a biker, I have seen this posted on a couple of biker websites, it is interesting how the different members see it.
In my opinion he was an accident waiting to happen, he was the architect of his own demise.
There was no planning or anticipation of other road users at any moment from what I can see, and as any biker will know, you have to be so aware of the car drivers, as they are usually full blown idiots, truck drivers in my experience are usually better because they know how to use mirrors.
In my opinion if car drivers were more educated and the road systems of this country were planned and designed for every user, the roads would be a much safer place to be, I say this from the perspective of a biker and a truck driver.
I would love to find out which dept. is ultimately responsible for the planning and design of roads in this country, as from my own experience they are doing a truly poor, sub-standard job that we as taxpayers are funding…It would be nice to see some psychological input, not just engineering.
Didn’t take long for you to change your opinion of truck drivers did it
How much more would it ■■■■ off johnny motorist if I pulled out from behind you if I was a good 60 or so feet away. Would make a long overtake all the more time consuming.
Accept that it’s in a way a neccesery evil. I am always a lot more on the ball if I’m close to the wagon in front.
jimti:
I bet none of them are anything like that close, you are still getting used to driving trucks and cannot judge the distances in your mirror very well, there is a lot of tail gating on our roads, but normally nearer to 20 to 30 ft apart (still too close)
I would also not worry about if you have to brake hard with a heavier truck behind you, their brakes will be as good as yours,
next time you are out on the road look at the trucks on the other carriageway and see what distance they are apart, you will see it is not as bad as it looks in your mirrors.
Steve-o:
How much more would it ■■■■ off johnny motorist if I pulled out from behind you if I was a good 60 or so feet away. Would make a long overtake all the more time consuming.
If keeping a safe distance means staying out in another lane much longer then so be it - SAFETY comes FIRST
The safest way to deal with these “Professional” Drivers is to drive at 53 or 54 instead of 56. The suicide jockeys will just fly right past.
You will hardly notice any difference in journey times - one of my regular hops was 120 miles and I would only loose 4 or 5 minutes.
There are other benefits, your fuel consumption will improve, the wear and tear on your Truck will reduce, you will arrive relaxed and unstressed (stress is a REAL killer, you are embarking on a SERIOUSLY unhealthy career) and when the (insert expletive) in front commits hari kari, you will be stopped quite safely out of the way.
Have a crack at the I.A.M. test, you may just learn something.
If I have to stop a 26 tonner in a hurry, the 44 tonner will plough straight through me 
Ive had people cut the nose off me at about 4 feet though usually puddle jumpers and white van men and its usually an empty motorway WTF is that about 
