Not wanting to apprear too condescending to those who would have lifted quite well in advance realising their was a hill coming up and wagon and drags don’t always have the HP to pull their fulll load chances are the drop off in speed was more than a few clicks off the limiter could cope with and a touch of the middle peddle was needed.
In which case the W & D would have realised he had to fall back in behind and thus not really affected his pace which was controlled by the power of his vehicle rather than his own ambitions unless he was such a nob that he didn’t realise he could drop a cog to maintain more momentum.
Sometimes you can’t do right for doing wrong and I have a feeling in this situation I would have been down to 45mph and giving myself a right bollocking for letting him in.
You absolutely did the right thing. It was his bad judgement by trying to overtake on a hill. Had you let him in you’d have lost momentum. These morons only care about themselves though.
Terry T:
You absolutely did the right thing. It was his bad judgement by trying to overtake on a hill. Had you let him in you’d have lost momentum. These morons only care about themselves though.
Thing is, I don’t for One minute mind someone, especially a truck driver, making a misjudgement in this situation.
(And simply dropping in behind me)
The problem I have with this guy is his apparent anger at what he sees as my bad driving.
I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong and thought I’d ask on here for your opinions to see what the general consensus was.
I would definately not have been upset / angered in any way had the roles been reversed.
You did nothing wrong, these type of individuals are in a
Growing minority of drivers, I know this sounds childish but I would have been sorely tempted to ease up on the next hill let him start to overtake and give it the gas, I see this type of behavior on a regular basis It makes me wonder what a crap job they must have that means loosing a few seconds leads to a bout of entertaining behavior.
What does the highway code say about this?
What does this say about the haulage industry?
What does this say about your company?
What does this say about ego’s?
Nobody likes a smart arse!
global.
I would ( and have done) eased back a little , I get paid a hourly pittance the minute or so lost would be in my favour 
. had I been in the overtakers position I would simply have shrugged my shoulders and dropped back . why get stressed out for the sake of 20 yards ■■ 
The Soulman:
There were no other truckers in lane Two.
What difference would it have made if there were a line of trucks queing in Lane Two ?
Would you have eased back then ?
Yes ?
So why not ease back anyway?
In undertaking on the left, apart from making life difficult for your fellow truck driver, you probably broke the law under Highway Code Rules 267 or 268 anyway.
Too many people in this industry are getting killed or injured for life. In general, and not specifically in this case, we need to improve our attitude towards other truck drivers.
It starts with common courtesy. Slowing down when a Driving Examiner would expect you to slow down is not a bad starting point.
global:
What does the highway code say about this?
That undertaking is illegal unless certain conditions apply ?
I reckon that the W.and D wanted to take a run at the hill,there was no need for aggressive behaviour though.When his speed relative to yours began to drop off he should have just popped into your slipstream.
As has been said, there is no right or wrong here only shades of grey (no pun intended).
What I do in the op’s position largely depends on the traffic situation at the time, and as I generally run light with the cruise set at 86kph it’s quite a common occurrence for me. My general rule of thumb is that if they get their cab past mine and then start to struggle I’ll knock the cruise off and let them pass (especially if they’ve got Mr Impatient in his 2000 horsepower Scania behind him), however I’ll only perform that courtesy once per vehicle! If later on I happen to be back in front due to hills, traffic etc and he makes another attempt to pass me uphill I’ll keep the cruise on and pull away on the inside.
On the odd occasion that I do run heavy I will pull out beside a slower vehicle to get a run at a hill, but I would not expect them to slow for me once gravity kicks in. I’ll quite happily drop back in behind them with no theatrics whatsoever.
Is this actually an undertaking maneuver though?
[/quote]
That undertaking is illegal unless certain conditions apply ?
[/quote]
What else does the highway code say about being overtaken?
Imagine each time you get behind the wheel you were being tested, would the driver have made the attempt to overtake in the first place then get over excited when it didn’t happen, would the other driver have eased off or responded to the gesticulation.
I remember there used to be a caption with an explanation of a traffic accident in a local newspaper and the reader was asked who was to blame… invariably both drivers were (proportionately) to blame in one way or another… human error!
global
He’s got a little ■■■■. Don’t worry about it!
If you drop off & lose the turbo boost, you may as well get out & push if you’ve weight on.
It’s up to you if you help him out or not & drop off. If he can’t do his sums properly for the overtake than that’s his problem.
Any gradient & it’s on the overtaker.
If it’s on the flat & he’s got it on him then drop off a bit.
the maoster:
As has been said, there is no right or wrong here only shades of grey (no pun intended).
What I do in the op’s position largely depends on the traffic situation at the time, and as I generally run light with the cruise set at 86kph it’s quite a common occurrence for me. My general rule of thumb is that if they get their cab past mine and then start to struggle I’ll knock the cruise off and let them pass (especially if they’ve got Mr Impatient in his 2000 horsepower Scania behind him), however I’ll only perform that courtesy once per vehicle! If later on I happen to be back in front due to hills, traffic etc and he makes another attempt to pass me uphill I’ll keep the cruise on and pull away on the inside.
On the odd occasion that I do run heavy I will pull out beside a slower vehicle to get a run at a hill, but I would not expect them to slow for me once gravity kicks in. I’ll quite happily drop back in behind them with no theatrics whatsoever.
Same for me, generally speaking. I was in an old knackered heap last night which despite the 450 badge on the side, pulled more like it only had 350hp which was not amusing with 27 tonne of cement on the back. It found hills on “flat” bits of the M1 that I never knew existed! In the roadworks before the climb to J30 I wanted to get a run at the hill so pulled out round an empty Rick Bestwick FH. I had no intention of getting past him, the plan was to get probably alongside then him pull away and me slot back in behind. Inevitably my speed quickly tailed off and I was down to 40 before I was even half way up and still losing speed, but instead of the Bestwick keeping his toe in at 50 he eased off and hung on my back doors, presumably “helping” me by allowing me to move over, but I didn’t want his help, I just wanted him to carry on as he was and I’d slot in behind him, no “theatrics whatsoever”. He didn’t flash and I didn’t indicate any intentions to move back in as he was only just behind me. Eventually he got bored and came up my inside and off he went and I returned to lane 1. There was no-one else close by as it was only 5am so no dramas (I wouldn’t have done it if it had been busy), but personally I prefer it if people just drive their own wagon and let other’s drive theirs in those situations. I’ll sort myself out thanks.
The Soulman:
Hi all.
I’m a reasonably regular visitor on here reading various threads etc but I rarely start a thread, however something happened today that I thought I’d ask your opinions on.
I’ll keep it as brief as possible.
I was in a fully laden (With paint) articulated tractor/trailer travelling North on the M6 / M74, I was in the inside lane and begining the upward climb of one of the many peaks and troughs along the way and a wagon and drag belonging to a well known national haulier came alongside and managed to get just about 2/3 rds past me before running out of steam.
I continued at my steady speed in the inside lane and after a short while went back in front of the wagon and drag, as I did this the driver blasted his horn and in between making rude gestures, started waving his fists about and appeared to be offering to ask me to pull over and indulge him in a bout of fisticuffs.
I was a little puzzled by this reaction as it seemed to me that I had done nothing wrong as I had not caused him to slow down or take any other action and we had both been able to continue up the hill at the maximum we could and all he had to do was drop in behind me, continue as normal and await another passing oportunity.
Had the roles been reversed I would have had absolutely no problem with what I had done and would have, as mentioned have simply dropped in behind.
I’m not asking anyone to agree with me and would just like your opinions / what you think about what I’ve described.
Regards, The Soulman.
Hello Soulman I’ve been in road transport all my life
For the past 12 years I’ve been a yard Shunter but my job is finishing in March 2016 due to our firm relocating our manufacturing to Poland
I too read posts and topics on here to see if road transport is worth coming back to
I’ve not even done my DCPC yet
Judging by some of the posts on Trucknet I see the standard of lorry driving has declined so hopefully I’ve got about 18 months to decide
Why should a vehicle thats being overtaken, have to drop back for the plonk who runs out of steam, my motto is if you havnt got the power to overtake, then dont, as annoying as it may seem, you did nothing wrong, and i and many others would have done the same. The reason for his gestures was his embarrassment at being made to look a fool, which he was.
Dieseldoforme:
In undertaking on the left, apart from making life difficult for your fellow truck driver, you probably broke the law under Highway Code Rules 267 or 268 anyway.
Not really relevant here as he wasn’t undertaking. The overtaking vehicle was unable to complete the manouver safely.
Too many people in this industry are getting killed or injured for life. In general, and not specifically in this case, we need to improve our attitude towards other truck drivers.
Very true but it becomes even more dangerous if you ‘expect’ other truckers to help you out, I’m happy to assist a fellow damsel of the road in their manouvre by knocking it off a few clicks to allow them to overtake faster and thus allow traffic flow to improve but i don’t factor this courtesy into the rare moments I overtake something.
If the driver of the vehicle is a like minded soul and offers me assistance, i am greatful but do not expect it.
However a hill climb/ gradient is different and the overtaking driver realising he ego was writing cheques his truck couldn’t cash should have just resigned himself to this fact without any tantrums and tried again later on.
Being 2/3rds past does give him a point but if both drivers ended up slowing down it could have got very silly i.e. 'no after you, no after you, no i insist afer you etc.
Sometimes when this situation arises one of us has to wear the trousers and make a decision and stick to it.
Pretty much sums up the really poor standard of truck driving these days. He was another moron who is incapable of thinking for himself and planning ahead. The hill was hardly invisible, and surely he knew he was heavy, if he had any sense he would have knocked off the cruise control for a few seconds and stayed behind till the top of the hill. But that involves too much common sense for truck drivers these days. I encounter this stupid driving every day, so many truck drivers seem allergic to ever coming off the limiter. You did no wrong, another truck expecting you to slow down while pulling up a hill is stupid
Dieseldoforme:
In undertaking on the left, apart from making life difficult for your fellow truck driver, you probably broke the law under Highway Code Rules 267 or 268 anyway.
Too many people in this industry are getting killed or injured for life. In general, and not specifically in this case, we need to improve our attitude towards other truck drivers.
It starts with common courtesy. Slowing down when a Driving Examiner would expect you to slow down is not a bad starting point.
3 Statements which need , at best, some clarification or challenge.
1- I don’t see any undertaking from the OP’s account. The OP has NOT changed lanes to pass another vehicle, has been in the nearside lane throughout the incident.
2- Why only truck drivers? Are other road users not worthy of an improved attitude?
3- I would contend that making progress in a safe manner is also an expectation that an examiner would look for. How much slowing down would you concede before the whole situation becomes dangerous? 2 trucks side by side at 56 is annoying enough when there is other traffic that can legally do 70 and in reality more. 2 trucks side by side at 40 because the vehicle in the second lane is dictating the speed is, IMHO, moving into dangerous territory.
For what it’s worth I don’t see anything in the OP’s account that is different from the action I would have taken.
gazsa401:
Hello Soulman I’ve been in road transport all my life
For the past 12 years I’ve been a yard Shunter but my job is finishing in March 2016 due to our firm relocating our manufacturing to Poland.
Not the first & defo won’t be the last. Welcome to the EU. Them boys are on half the money you are on & will work like dervishes for it, were screwed here for at least the next 20 years.
. Seriously.