With the other topic on one of ours being hit on the hard shoulder I thought I’d ask a question. Last week in a Southern region, an ISU van was hit while on the H/S. The LGV driver didnt have his seat belt on and im told he was thrown out the cab and onto the road.
Yesterday I was at an RTC and was stood on the H/S waiting recovery and while I watched at the traffic not many of the LGV drivers that past me were wearing seatbelts. In fact the only one that was was Eddie Stobart. Im sure you all know the benefits and im sure many of you around the country wear them but im struggling to find a reason why you wouldnt wear it.
Also while I was there a couple of the passing heavies liked to tailgate a slow moving rubber necker while gesturing and blasting on the horn. Im sure your all aware that you are not allowed to blast your horn or tailgate even though the Police were there and you risk getting a ticket but that didnt deter them and of course by rolling along patiently you will only be held up for about 10 seconds. There were far worse car drivers such as a woman with her feet on the dash just waiting for the airbag to deploy and bend her in half but to make it worse, she had what looked like a 2 year old on her lap. Crazy, totally Crazy.
All those idiots who don’t wear seatbelts for whatever reasons best known to themselves just help to bump up the cost of my insurance.Injuries sustained without seatbelts are far greater than those with seatbelts and the direct consequence is that it costs the NHS more to put right and it gives the insurance companies an excuse to increase premiums.
first point,i do wear my seat belt ALWAYS after i too,was thrown through the window of an hgv i was driving whilst in the process of colliding with a large supermarket trolley that pulled out in front of me whilst i wasnt wearing a seat belt,and nearly ended my days as part of the fan belt/front axle of an iveco(wouldnt have been as bad if it was a daf).joking aside,i dont even have to think about putting it on now,its just second nature.
second point,i will blast my horn at rubbernecker scourge of the earth idiots who slow down to zero,to marvel in the gore of somebody elses misfortune,whilst causing endless miles of queues in the process.im amazed at the amount of car drivers who come to a near standstill at a spectrum of different colours flashing on the hard shoulder.when an accident is in a carriageway,yes,people should slow down,you cant have joe public and “heavies” flying through an accident scene,but if it was to pose a danger to emergency personnel,i would expect the emergency services to close the appropriate number of lanes and or carriageway.however,the amount of times grandpa bloggs micra has overheated and come to grief on the hs,with a hato behind it having a disco,while “cant drive wont drive” slows down nearly causing pile ups behind,its not truckers that should be done for blasting the horn,its them that should be done for driving without due care and attention.i recently had a similiar situation,whereby,a minor shunt had occured,was on the hs,with the relevant authorities sorting out the “carnage” ,when a woman in front who had a half mile gap with the car in front of her and doing 10mph,decided to slow down to a near standstill,one blast of the horn later,a cheeky smile and thumb up from the traffic police,soon had her concentrating on driving again.
whether its illegal or not,i will continue to do the same,always have done,and in 20 years of driving have never been done yet,and even if i did,it would be worth it.
,when a woman in front who had a half mile gap with the car in front of her and doing 10mph,decided to slow down to a near standstill,one blast of the horn later,a cheeky smile and thumb up from the traffic police,soon had her concentrating on driving again.