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.
What about reaction times
I did point out that it is still to close, but he was referring to the weight of the truck as if that would have some relevance with him driving an 18 tonne truck and them a 44 tonne truck…It reminds me of paparazzi with their use of the word juggernaut causing an accident, but when you get to the bottom of the story it turns out to be a puddle jumper, but that doesn’t make dynamic reading
I can honestly say that even when a truck is closing ready to overtake they don’t get to 3 or 4 feet away, that is closer than the distance of your arms stretched out…
I also do not like tailgaters, I have always stuck to the 2 second rule, it works at any speed and I do it subconsiously all the time when out on the road, my reaction to others tailgating is to slow down, even on a single carriageway, I would rather have them pass me so I can concentrate on other things than have them in my safety zone
Give a hazard flash or two?
Learn about personal stress-management strategies?
‘…Have the wisdom to know what you can have an influence over
Learn to know what you can’t
Make strides to cope with the difference…’ (Original author unknown)
Happy Keith:
‘…Have the wisdom to know what you can have an influence over
Learn to know what you can’t
Make strides to cope with the difference…’ (Original author unknown)
Sounds similar to what is written in the bookMIND DRIVINGby Stephen Haley
hptruck:
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.
To put this in perspective, I think you being new on the road maybe the case why you are so concerend about other vehicles behind you, as alot of of older drivers will agree, hopefully , after a few years on the road you will be no different from those you are complaining about, I passed my test in 1971, and done a advance course in 1996, I class myself as a professionel driver, but even I will admit I have a lot of bad habbits when driving, and I think you will find you will be the same as you progress in the job. no one wants an accident but in time you will be able to know if you can pass the truck in front, and as said before it is frustrating to other road ussers to pull out to soon to overtake, that causes more problems.
Not specifically aimed at you hptruck but I’m using your quotes to make a point…
hptruck:
after a few years on the road you will be no different from those you are complaining about,
it’s called complacency due to ‘getting away with it’
A good driver will realise that they are falling into that ‘trap’ and make a conscious decision to do something about it.
hptruck:
I will admit I have a lot of bad habbits when driving
Depends on what they are and if they affect safety - only the driver can determine that unless they get a second opinion which would involve driving as they normally do with someone in the passenger seat who is prepared to ‘tell it as it is’ or ‘how they see it’
hptruck:
as said before it is frustrating to other road ussers to pull out to soon to overtake, that causes more problems.
But if it comes down to a choice between inconvenience and safety - choose safety - a lot do not as they are influenced by others around them and what they might think - drive for yourself, not for others where SAFETY is concerned
Of course you have to be aware of others and how they might react so be prepared for it.
Ask yourself - “Is this overtake where I am going to cause a long delay really worth it?”
att:
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
Having done over 1.5 MILLION MILES in HGV and obviously having a better idea of length than you, lorries driving close to each other tends to be a gap of 20-40ft.
At the four feet you claim, the driver in the following wagon couldn’t see the lights on the back of the vehicle they’re following.
So you’re saying that there’s huge amounts of lorries following others so close at 50+MPG that the gap is less than 2/3 the length of the cab of their vehicle? Perhaps you’d like to tell me where these lorries are?
OTOH, everytime there’s video footage on the news of busy motorways, HGVs leave bigger gaps than cars in L3.
Conor:
OTOH, everytime there’s video footage on the news of busy motorways, HGVs leave bigger gaps than cars in L3.
I like counting the number of lane lines between the vehicles to see what gap they leave in this type of footage - providing that I can accertain the speeds of course
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.
What about reaction times
I did point out that it is still to close, but he was referring to the weight of the truck as if that would have some relevance with him driving an 18 tonne truck and them a 44 tonne truck…It reminds me of paparazzi with their use of the word juggernaut causing an accident, but when you get to the bottom of the story it turns out to be a puddle jumper, but that doesn’t make dynamic reading
I can honestly say that even when a truck is closing ready to overtake they don’t get to 3 or 4 feet away, that is closer than the distance of your arms stretched out…
I also do not like tailgaters, I have always stuck to the 2 second rule, it works at any speed and I do it subconsiously all the time when out on the road, my reaction to others tailgating is to slow down, even on a single carriageway, I would rather have them pass me so I can concentrate on other things than have them in my safety zone
jimti wrote
I did point out that it is still to close, but he was referring to the weight of the truck as if that would have some relevance with him driving an 18 tonne truck and them a 44 tonne truck
jimti wrote
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
An EMPTY LGV C will stop a LOT quicker than a FULLY LOADED (44t) LGV C+E
The following truck has no idea what the lead truck is carrying.
I can’t say I’ve ever had to worry about tailgating trucks. If there is ever a tailgater behind me it is usually a bmw or a Saab with some ■■■■ on the phone. If a truck comes up close to me I know he’s going to overtake, and if that doesn’t happen immediately, it’s usually because of some ■■■■ taking forever to pass him before he can pull out. Knowing what they’re doing, and being aware that they’re coming for a long time before they arrive means that it doesn’t come as a shock. And I’d never hit the brakes, as the whole reason you can use this method of passing in a truck is because you trust the other driver to be aware of you and what’s going on. If people start hitting the brakes to teach others a lesson, then all bets are off. I wouldn’t get as close to a car that’s for certain. And by close to a truck I mean 20 feet at minimum.
Plus if you pull out too far back, there is a good chance that by the time you actually start to pull alongside, you’ll hit a hill and he’ll out drag you or you’ll slow down. Get a bit closer and be sure of the move.
Even riding a bike I’d rather follow a truck than a car, because you can trust that a truck ain’t gonna stop or hit the brakes for no reason. The whole point is to keep going. (See also roundabouts, traffic lights that have only just gone green etc etc)
All of this depends on the situation of course. If there’s a slip road coming up you don’t do it, and if you know there’s heavy traffic ahead you don’t do it. But if you have seen that the road in front of him is empty, you can be pretty sure that he ain’t gonna brake test you, and then have to climb up through the box again, just for a laugh.
There are techniques for passing other trucks depending on whether you are loaded, whether he is loaded, what motor they’ve got etc. Obviously a loaded truck will be faster than an unloaded one downhill, so if you’re unloaded wait until they hit an uphill, preferably on a right hand curve so you travel less distance too. Gets it over with much quicker. The ■■■■■■■■ who run on the CC and the limiter all the time and let you get 3/4 of the way past then allow the CC to take them back past you on the inside need shooting.
hptruck:
as said before it is frustrating to other road ussers to pull out to soon to overtake, that causes more problems.
But if it comes down to a choice between inconvenience and safety - choose safety - a lot do not as they are influenced by others around them and what they might think - drive for yourself, not for others where SAFETY is concerned
Of course you have to be aware of others and how they might react so be prepared for it.
Ask yourself - “Is this overtake where I am going to cause a long delay really worth it?”
[/quote]
Rog
I did say that I have some bad habbits, like evry one else, I drive comfortably, normally with a vehicle that I am used to and know how it reacts, I can also judge if the vehicle infront is slower than me and will I be able to pass, but with all my faults I have, I ALWAYS drive with saftey in mind, and even though some car driver`s may think different, I am when ever possible curtious, I have passed the stage where I try to impress, or think how good I look driving a big truck, to me its a job, but one I do safley, always,
hptruck:
Rog
I did say that I have some bad habbits, like evry one else, I drive comfortably, normally with a vehicle that I am used to and know how it reacts, I can also judge if the vehicle infront is slower than me and will I be able to pass, but with all my faults I have, I ALWAYS drive with saftey in mind, and even though some car driver`s may think different, I am when ever possible curtious, I have passed the stage where I try to impress, or think how good I look driving a big truck, to me its a job, but one I do safley, always,
Well said
A driver who KNOWS their faults and limitations will always be a good driver - unlike those who THINK they know
Conor:
OTOH, everytime there’s video footage on the news of busy motorways, HGVs leave bigger gaps than cars in L3.
I like counting the number of lane lines between the vehicles to see what gap they leave in this type of footage - providing that I can accertain the speeds of course
hptruck:
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.
Which translated means "I am an idiot’
FFS man, would it really make a difference to your day to knock a km/h off your cruising speed? That way you don’t use your 44tonnes (unless you drive something smaller, although it’s probably only your reproductive organ that is small) to hammer the poor bloke you’re tailgaiting into whatever he tries to avoid when has to brake hard?
Slipsreaming, don’t make me laugh, it’s a lorry not a formula 1 car! & slipstreaming will only get you halfway alongside the slower lorry anyway before the turbulence he is creating slows you back down to your limited speed again, so there you are stuck alongside waiting for a hill or a slower vehicle to slow the other lorry down just so you can get 20 metres further down the road!
You & others like you are a disgrace to the profession, but it’s far more serious than just setting a bad image, because your idiotic behaviour will affect thousands when you eventually run out of luck & crash into the back of somebody, not only the people you hit, but the poor sods stuck in the resulting traffic jam, the firefighters & paramedics who have to cut bits of truck away so they can get you out & hopefully save your life, your family, your boss etc etc etc.
Think man, is that extra 20 metres really worth it?
My wife really hates it in the car. There’s nothing more scarier for kids in the back of a car looking at the massive grille of a wagon aproaching the rear of the car and sitting there, its intimidation and bullying.
gorby1:
My wife really hates it in the car. There’s nothing more scarier for kids in the back of a car looking at the massive grille of a wagon aproaching the rear of the car and sitting there, its intimidation and bullying.
if this happens on the motorway then maybe your missus should stop driving there should be no reason for a truck to overtake a car on a motorway if not on a motorway then im sorry please ignore my post
, after a few years on the road you will be no different from those you are complaining about, I passed my test in 1971, and done a advance course in 1996, I class myself as a professionel driver, but even I will admit I have a lot of bad habbits when driving, and I think you will find you will be the same as you progress in the job. no one wants an accident but in time you will be able to know if you can pass the truck in front, and as said before it is frustrating to other road ussers to pull out to soon to overtake, that causes more problems.
