Is it legal for a lorry to use the 3rd lane of the 3 lane carriageway on the A14 just north of Cambridge services?
ArcticMonkey:
Is it legal for a lorry to use the 3rd lane of the 3 lane carriageway on the A14 just north of Cambridge services?
yes
ArcticMonkey:
Is it legal for a lorry to use the 3rd lane of the 3 lane carriageway on the A14 just north of Cambridge services?
Yes…
Crack on driver.
Whoosh coming by ya box jockey…
Yes.
Thankyou…if someone sees the Shipley Transport driver aged about 60 (probs doesn’t narrow it down) who threw his arm up at me as i was getting back into lane 2 from lane 3, please educate him on the rules
The highway code rules is that LGVs cannot use the outer lane of a MOTORWAY which has 3 active/usable lanes or more
A14 is not a motorway
Whilst technically legal, whether its wise or completely necessary is another thing altogether.
There will always be certain conditions when use of an outside lane could be beneficial for everyone concerned, such as a sudden bunching up and harsh brake event where one or two shifting onto an otherwise unoccupied outer lane means everyone gets to go home safely.
There will always be other times when using the third lane, whilst apparently legal, only serves to antagonise or cause distruption for a bunch of fast moving non lorry traffic who would otherwise continue normally, the maneuver itself only serving a selfish saving of a second or two whilst the overtaker in the middle lane clears that lane and returns to the travelling lane.
Unlimited variations of the two.
I wasn’t witness to the situation here, and make no judgment either way, what i will say is that all of us should practice trying not to antagonise or obstruct other road users even if they often deserve it even if they behave in the most selfish or aggressive ways themselves and they do frequently, we after all are supposed to be professional drivers (check the title of this very forum) and other roads users generally arn’t…even if they do consider themselves fit to judge how we drive.
If we don’t self discipline ourselves then the authorities will do it for us, ie the weight limits on overtaking lanes on M11 and A14 and others, which removes the possibility of us making sensible unobstructive use of lanes when suitable, these lorry overtaking bans won’t be removed they will only increase, let us not give them justification if we can help it.
Juddian:
Whilst technically legal, whether its wise or completely necessary is another thing altogether.There will always be certain conditions when use of an outside lane could be beneficial for everyone concerned, such as a sudden bunching up and harsh brake event where one or two shifting onto an otherwise unoccupied outer lane means everyone gets to go home safely.
There will always be other times when using the third lane, whilst apparently legal, only serves to antagonise or cause distruption for a bunch of fast moving non lorry traffic who would otherwise continue normally, the maneuver itself only serving a selfish saving of a second or two whilst the overtaker in the middle lane clears that lane and returns to the travelling lane.
Unlimited variations of the two.I wasn’t witness to the situation here, and make no judgment either way, what i will say is that all of us should practice trying not to antagonise or obstruct other road users even if they often deserve it even if they behave in the most selfish or aggressive ways themselves and they do frequently, we after all are supposed to be professional drivers (check the title of this very forum) and other roads users generally arn’t…even if they do consider themselves fit to judge how we drive.
If we don’t self discipline ourselves then the authorities will do it for us, ie the weight limits on overtaking lanes on M11 and A14 and others, which removes the possibility of us making sensible unobstructive use of lanes when suitable, these lorry overtaking bans won’t be removed they will only increase, let us not give them justification if we can help it.
It was about 0730 and i was in lane 2 and the lorry was on the shoulder of Shipley truck in lane 1. He was struggling to get past and as my lorry is a very very fast 56mph, i checked my mirror and saw that lane 3 was clear for miles behind, so i moved over into lane 3 and took over the lorry in no time at all, then had the old Shipley driver looking across at me throwing his arm up into the air as if to say i was doing something wrong.
I wouldn’t attempt this if it was busier and meant holding up lane 3 but it was dead.
Tbh i think the roads have been quieter this morning, don’t know if it has owt to do with last nights game
You need to carry a copy of the Highway Code or just a large A4 picture of it to hold up and point to them when the clueless like the Shipleys driver does that. I keep meaning to get one that shows a 50 limit to point at for all those morons in this country who are unaware the speed limits for HGVs increased over 6 years ago.
ArcticMonkey:
Juddian:
It was about 0730 and i was in lane 2 and the lorry was on the shoulder of Shipley truck in lane 1. He was struggling to get past and as my lorry is a very very fast 56mph, i checked my mirror and saw that lane 3 was clear for miles behind, so i moved over into lane 3 and took over the lorry in no time at all, then had the old Shipley driver looking across at me throwing his arm up into the air as if to say i was doing something wrong.
I wouldn’t attempt this if it was busier and meant holding up lane 3 but it was dead.Tbh i think the roads have been quieter this morning, don’t know if it has owt to do with last nights game
Wasn’t having a go at you AM as you’ve obviously used your noddle, more pointing out for some others, some of whom of our flock we see every day deliberately baulking others, that there’s a time and place and situation you make use of all lanes…ie i straighten every roundabout out if there’s nothing coming from any direction…but exactly as you’ve done (by making sure you arn’t going to just add another elephant to the overtaking mix) it shouldn’t be regarded as a free for all.
ArcticMonkey:
Thankyou…if someone sees the Shipley Transport driver aged about 60 (probs doesn’t narrow it down) who threw his arm up at me as i was getting back into lane 2 from lane 3, please educate him on the rules
Just use whatever lane you want if you’ve got the legs to get past them.
Shipley driver would have been apoplectic with rage if driving the RM DAF this morning on the M1. Coming back north up the hill to J37 Barnsley and RM pulls out to overtake a slow DPD just as he gets to the top of the hill, and just before I was about to pull out to overtake the RM who was only doing 50 up the hill. Both of them then sat side by side riding the brakes at 56, scared to death of getting an overspeed warning 
so I just did them both in lane 3 down the hill 
. RM clearly loved this as he thoughtfully illuminated the road ahead with his high beam for quite some time after I’d returned to lane 1 .
DCPCFML:
Coming back north up the hill to J37 Barnsley and RM pulls out to overtake a slow DPD just as he gets to the top of the hill, and just before I was about to pull out to overtake the RM who was only doing 50 up the hill. Both of them then sat side by side riding the brakes at 56, scared to death of getting an overspeed warning
Clearly not the Scottish RM trunks. They’d have been riding the central reservation trying to overtake you overtaking that lot.
All this talk of speed…
I managed a top speed of 7mph up a 20% hill earlier
I could’ve have got up quicker had it not been for a car deciding that me being part way up a steep incline on a single track road gave him priority
Conor:
DCPCFML:
Coming back north up the hill to J37 Barnsley and RM pulls out to overtake a slow DPD just as he gets to the top of the hill, and just before I was about to pull out to overtake the RM who was only doing 50 up the hill. Both of them then sat side by side riding the brakes at 56, scared to death of getting an overspeed warningClearly not the Scottish RM trunks. They’d have been riding the central reservation trying to overtake you overtaking that lot.
ArcticMonkey:
Thankyou…if someone sees the Shipley Transport driver aged about 60 (probs doesn’t narrow it down) who threw his arm up at me as i was getting back into lane 2 from lane 3, please educate him on the rules
Was he driving a plain white FH Volvo pulling a Shipley curtainsider?
Who else goes in lane 4 on the QE2 bridge ?
It used to be interesting when they where building the new foot bridges, and the eastbound road narrowed into 2 lanes just before the Cambridge services slip road, the traffic would typically bunch up as trucks moved from lane 1 to lane two, so Id move into lane 2 well ahead of it bunching, and inevitably move over into lane 3, albeit as it passed the footbridge site it became a little tight. BUT there wasnt any width restriction, so crack on drive. Once or twice Id have someone pulling a trailer toot at me and wave, so occasionally Id wind the passenger window down and tell them that its an A road, not a motorway, and theyd swing in behind me. Recently S/B at Girton as it approaches the M11 it bunches up so if Im heading down the M11 its lane 3 for me, and also heading west after Cambridge back towards Girton as it approaches the A14/A428 split I`ll use lane 3 to keep it rolling smoothly, then after the RH curve roll into lane 2, which becomes lane 1 as it get to the Cemetery.
BTW I understand that the new 12 mile stretch of the A14 might in the future be designated a motorway, but not until the whole project (inc black cat to Caxton Gibert) is finished, then it will be a different ballgame
Am I the only one who uses lane 3 round Newcastle in peak periods to save getting caught up with all the idiots who can’t figure out how to enter and exit from a slip road without coming to a near stop? 
Need to pull your driver’s side mirror in a bit to avoid it hitting the bridge support pillars 
. 6’6 restriction? What restriction officer?
blue estate:
Who else goes in lane 4 on the QE2 bridge ?
Me…
Also the A27 eastbound out of Pompey when I worked in that area, as well as the A2.
yourhavingalarf:
blue estate:
Who else goes in lane 4 on the QE2 bridge ?Me…
Also the A27 eastbound out of Pompey when I worked in that area, as well as the A2.
Twas in that 4th lane today heading to Chi with timber