Motorway gritters

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

as you have seen motorway gritters travel down the centre lane.what is the correct proceedur for overtaking them is it:

undertake in the grannie lane

or

overtake in the suicide lane

both are ment to be no no’s for drivers.so what is it?

jon

2

Stay behind them and get a free prep job for a cab re-paint! :wink:

Mal.

3

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: @ mal…it is a one i wouldnt like to be tested on…if you undertake… hmmmm… illegal…if you use lane 3 illegal…pull in and have a coffee haha…■■■■ good question… i have used both options in the past… plods thoughts would be best… have we not got ex cop on here now… :sunglasses: :sunglasses:

4

Me, I undertake, the cars dither in lane 3 and with an agency attitude, it aint my paintwork. :laughing: :laughing:

5

Well, as I read somewhere once…

They are gritters… and what is there purpose??, to make the roads safer…
I would stay behind, coz the salt they put down on the ice just up ahead, might be what saves you from visiting the ditch… :unamused: :unamused:

6

Andy Honey,
You havn’t got time to do 450miles behind a gritter. :wink:

7

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

8

Simple.

Stay behind them and repeatedly flash your headlights at them until they eventually pull over on the hard shoulder. Pull up behind them,then politely tell them that they are losing their load… :smiley: :smiley:

Well,I thought it was funny…

Dan.

9

Ladytrucker679:
Andy Honey,
You havn’t got time to do 450k behind a gritter. :wink:

Mmm… sounds like I got a bit to learn… :blush: :blush: :blush:
:wink: :laughing:

10

Fwiw, I tend to floor it past them on the hard shoulder for two reasons. One is to try to minimise damage to the paintwork of the wagon and trailer and two is to get past and get where I’m going without disrupting the spread of the grit on the carriageway (how considerate of me). If I’m in the car then I find a different route :laughing: Although not strictly grit, I’ve been on the receiving end of having my car sand-blasted by the gale and sand dunes at Southport a couple of Boxing Day’s ago. It totally wrecked the bodywork on my car so I know to expect much the same by going past a working gritter!

Haven’t seen one out gritting yet :confused:

11

:laughing: :laughing: Rob dear. You don’t want to interupt the spread of grit because your tea is getting cold. :wink: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: LOL.

12

Dan.a.k.a.boo :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

13

Ladytrucker :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Your a star

14

I would have thought that if you really wanted to overtake them, when after all they are making the surface safer to drive on in front so it might be better to back of from being splattered and stay there, it would be lane three to use. When a wide load is under ■■■■■■ and using lanes one and two you are allowed to use lane three and with the gritter in lane two and undertaking a no no that leaves lane three.

15

Ladytrucker679:
Andy Honey,
You havn’t got time to do 450k behind a gritter. :wink:

Typical Woman :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: I’ve heard there’s cutbacks, but to spread one load over 450k is taking the mickey I thinks :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

So what would the urgency be to pass a gritter? On Motorways they travel at around 50mph so I cant see the 6mph you lose being that much of a burden, bearing in mind, they only go out when the forcast is bad. Any Professional driver would automatically take that into account when running in bad weather. One important fact that a lot of drivers dont seem to grasp is merely that a speed limit is just that, it’s not a speed target. :wink:

16

i usually sit there for a few minutes to see if there going to pull off and do u turn if they dont and i cant get in lane 3 and most griters do about 35-40 davey or everyone ive seen does then ill stay in lane one indicate left and hit the flash the main beam just before i got through so the driver knows im there and can get a good assesment on my intentions as the car drivers will usually slow to 30 instead of going through

17

450 Kilometers, is that better :laughing: :laughing: and the gritters don,t hold you up too bad but the cars that don’t know what they want to do and (zb) about do and gritter drivers know what they are doing. I check my mirrors before changing lane so I presume they have had similar training why only use one lane and add to congestion when 2 are available?

18

alix776:
most griters do about 35-40 davey or everyone ive seen does

Having spent 4 years driving gritters, I can assure you that the ideal speed on Motorways is 50 mph for the even spread, the belt is operating on the faster the vehicle moves, the faster the belt runs and the more even feed to the shoot is given.

The rotating spreader disc is adjusted from inside the cab, therefore only used to give the width of spread, you will find that it is 30 mph roads that have the biggest problem due to the belt speed not being consistent due to stops and starts which sometimes allows the belt to run dry giving your “Icy” blackspots on the gritted roads, the driver cannot know at all times that the feed has stoped for those few seconds.

Treatment of Motorways MUST be completed within 2 hours from start to finish, which certainly rules out 400 and odd km :wink: With ordinary A Class roads being given 3 hrs for completion, in all cases the Gritters must commence within 1 hr of being instructed to do so by the authorities. So Bear in Mind, these drivers are just as eager as other Truckers to get out of the way as soon as possible.