well,yesterday,at 0245 i left our depot South of Leicester,1st roundabout,a Samworths artic was in front of me…we got down to the M1 j.21 i followed him (or her) down to j.15a,both doing 56mph,we came off and followed the A43,past Towcester…down to the M40…me still glued at a safe distance,off at the A34…dowm past Oxford…both at 50mph then back to 56 overtook a couple of slower lorries,down onto the M3…still behind…as we got to the M27 split,i moved into the 2nd lane for Portsmouth…he stayed in lane 1 for Southampton…i noted the time i’d been behind him…2 hours 41 minutes…as he realised we were separating…he gave me the ‘dancing indicators’ left right left right and i gave him a big flash of my main beam 
sad perhaps,but as an old school driver,that made my day. it’s my 67th birthday today,had a few beers,but little things like that make me think this job can still be enjoyable 
I gave six drivers the dancing indicators today … for not flashing me in. Thanks lads!!
How refreshing to have a positive post. I thought it was going to be bemoaning the lack of camaraderie, I was pleasantly surprised. Nice to know it’s still out there… sometimes
Yep, you don’t see it as often as you used to ,.gestures of empathy and respect. especially with all the tossers out there who masquerade as, and think they actually are truckers, but it is still out there to a point.
Jimmy McNulty:
I gave six drivers the dancing indicators today … for not flashing me in. Thanks lads!!
Becoming rarer as the days go bye!
Jimmy McNulty:
I gave six drivers the dancing indicators today … for not flashing me in. Thanks lads!!
The same driver in the same truck overtook me three times this week (I recognised him and his truck due to his ridiculous nameplate in the windscreen). I flashed him in on the first two occasions and received merely a thank you of him indicating left. I didn’t bother on the third occasion and received a sarcastic dancing indicator that time! Go figure 
Does one solitary flash of the left indicator still mean “■■■■ you”?
axletramp:
Does one solitary flash of the left indicator still mean “[zb] you”?
Why…did it ever? 
As for not getting an acknowledgement after flashing somebody in…Not really fussed tbh,.(although it is ■■■■ poor manners. 
)
I’m more disproportionately ■■■■ gut wrenchingly angry if the f/whits nearly take my mirror off and shave my grille when they pull back in too ■■■■ early . 
Don’t you blokes have radio comms?
Star down under.:
Don’t you blokes have radio comms?
Back in 80’s and 90’s yes it’d be fair to say most had CB’s fitted. Nowadays with fleet motors, different motor each day it’s rare to spot a CB aerial.
Being of very old school,unfortunately the camaraderie of old has long gone,when if you had a roadside problem somebody would stop and see if they give you hand. I have in the past seen Drivers with the same Company drive straight bye one of their own.
lolipop:
Being of very old school,unfortunately the camaraderie of old has long gone,when if you had a roadside problem somebody would stop and see if they give you hand. I have in the past seen Drivers with the same Company drive straight bye one of their own.
I used to do the same, but nowadays nobody changes their own wheels like we used to, most firms are on a maintenance /breakdown fleet care scheme, everybody now has phones,… but apart from that you are likely to get nicked for stopping nowadays.
The tipper crowd and those on specialist or heavy plant seem to stick together but I don’t feel part of anything in this industry, most driver’s on the same firm as me don’t even flash each other up.
the maoster:
Star down under.:
Don’t you blokes have radio comms?Back in 80’s and 90’s yes it’d be fair to say most had CB’s fitted. Nowadays with fleet motors, different motor each day it’s rare to spot a CB aerial.
i was on tippers for 25 years,and everybody was on the CB now i’m on a big fleet no chance
There’s as much camaraderie as there ever was, it’s just moved online. Lots of us do all we can to help others online as can be witnessed on here daily. I don’t think attitudes have really changed, the same type of people who enjoy helping still help and still enjoy it and the same people who enjoy putting others down still enjoy being c**ts. They simply have a bigger audience now because people struggle to do what they should do……just ignore them.
the maoster:
Jimmy McNulty:
I gave six drivers the dancing indicators today … for not flashing me in. Thanks lads!!The same driver in the same truck overtook me three times this week (I recognised him and his truck due to his ridiculous nameplate in the windscreen). I flashed him in on the first two occasions and received merely a thank you of him indicating left. I didn’t bother on the third occasion and received a sarcastic dancing indicator that time! Go figure
FWIW I give two very quick left hand indicator flashes as a thank you. To give a RHI could be confusing to a following (car) driver.
axletramp:
Does one solitary flash of the left indicator still mean “[zb] you”?
No you do that to avoid triggering the auto lane departure system
Camaraderie ha ha ha
There only 7 of us and only 4 of us speak to each other .
There’s a couple who don’t want to mix at all , mind you that suits me fine , I don’t want to know who’s doing what and what they had for tea but good morning is general good manners in my eyes or if it’s ■■■■■■■ down blowing a Gale and your in the yard it’s nice for one of your colleagues to give you a hand with the curtains , no not these 2 clowns just drive off leave you struggling , like I said camaraderie ha ha ha
I don’t mind slowing down to let an otherwise slow overtaker past more quickly, but I draw the line at artics up my arse in a 50 limit section of motorway roadworks, egging me to go to the limiter 56, because lane 2 is market 6’6"…
F… 'em. My clean licence - and I intend to keep it that way. 
On the subject of “flashing in”…
It is a bit awkward when:
lift-for-full-beam sticks, giving driver in front a mirror full of full beam for what seems like an eternity before I can get the damned thing to click back on the stick again… 
Dancing Indicators - damned thing sticks so it looks like I’m turning off/pulling out… Same thing.
I’m limited to 52, you get bored of flashing every man & his dog in after a while. I do it for the odd one struggling, will ease off to assist if a fellow 52 man has ballsed it up, but generally stopped bothering with flashing everyone quite a while ago.
Tin hat on, come at me.