Nice to see there is still some tongue in cheek humour in these posts 
This nearly happened to me once. I was driving on the motorway through Belfast and thereās a point where two motorways meet, one of which disappears just before a third motorway begins lol Its a bit of a night mare for trucks because all of this happens on a fairly short stretch.
I was on the motorway that merged on the right hand side, so I had to move over three lanes left to get to where I needed to be for my next junction (off at the docks). Iām doing a very steady 56, as you do, and Iām looking, and Iām looking, and lookingā¦
Indicator goes onā¦
And I donāt see a thing. But I had a really funny feeling that something was there, even though I couldnāt see it. But time is getting short, Iāve been watching for a good 200 yards and I need to move.
So I start to inch, ever so slowly to my leftā¦
Lo and beholdā¦ BEEEEEPPP!!! A rather loud blast of a horn and this car comes FLYING out of my blind spot, driver flailing her arms and pulling faces at me.
Iām all like, WTF was she doing SITTING in my blind spot? Matching my speed for that distance?
It makes me so mad! I completely understand road rage in these instances because I just wanted to gouge her eyes out, rip off her head, scoop out her brains and pee in her skull. Gah!
bigandy:
driving along IN MY OWN LITTLE WORLD
So whatās my defence? Tell me as I would happily deny these sorts of claims if I could
how about joining the real world .
me thinks another case of people spending time in a hgv and see what crap we have to put up with.
To be fair to FNG, I donāt think thatās what heās saying at all. Personally I read it that this is one of those situations where even though he as a person can see that the truck is not at fault, he has yet to find a way around the insurance industry requirements in order to deny the claim - and that if there was something we can think of to help him, heād be able to do that in futureā¦
Sounds like a sympathetic point of view to meā¦and highlighting/recognising the insurance industryās inadequacy in these situations. 
Mike-C:
You stated there was no one in lane one?
Mike-C:
Correct, always use your mirrors well in advance of any intended manoevre so as you know what vehicles are around you. Also never look at your bunk whilst driving, itās just for sleeping on,they all look the same and it means you aint paying attention to the road.
Im on a motorway ā¦ I am travelling at 56 mphā¦The other traffic was all cars travelling faster than 56 mph apart from the car beside me and the red car in my blind spot that obviously had emerged from M55 not M6 (why ? because she was hidden in my blindspot in lane 2 )my lane 1 has now become lane 3 the car alongside my trailer was matching my speed (due to in hindsight being obstructed from going any faster due to the red car snuggly sat in my blindspot doing 56 mph)
As i have not at any stage been made aware of the red car (again i will repeat āIN MY BLINDSPOTā and hopefully it will sink in with you) All i can do is sit tight (which i did) and indicate left (which i did) and wait for the only car that i can see in āMY MIRRORSā to react which he/she eventually did after nearly a minute (again hindsight tells me he/she was waiting for red car to move on or move over) he/she moved into lane 1 and by this time all other traffic had dissapeared into the distance
There was 1 car in lane 1 (the one that just moved there) AT NO TIME DID THE RED CAR MOVE OUT OF MY BLINDSPOT AND NO MATTER HOW MUCH MIRROR LOOKING I DID WOULD NOT REVEAL IT
So as far as i could see it was lane 1 = 1 car. lane 2 empty in front and behind. lane 3 empty in front cars behind. lane 4 cars passing steadily
As my crystal ball was not working that day (dont worry i put it on the defect sheet) what else could i have done Mr Perfect??
Im not saying i wasnt at fault hence the title of this thread. But you have no reason (other than a possible dislike for lgv drivers) to question my ability to drive OF COURSE I USE MY MIRRORS AT ALL TIMES IN EVERY SITUATION INVOLVING A MANOUVRE BUT MISTAKES HAPPENā¦ SO REMOVE YOURSELF OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE AND REMOVE YOUR HEAD FROM UP YOUR ARSEā¦and rejoin the real worldā¦
Mike-C:
If iām in my car, i wouldnāt go anywhere near you donāt worry !! Not that youād notice anyway !!
Just as a matter of interest what licence do you hold Mike??
Oh, i donāt question your ability to drive, iām sure youāre very good. Iād just question your observation techniques which patently arnāt working.
What licence do i hold? A C+E of course, i think thats the artic one, theyāre big trucks i drive anyway.
Anyway, best wishes just be thankful she wasnāt hurt live and learn hey !!
Mike-C:
Oh, i donāt question your ability to drive, iām sure youāre very good.
Why thank you 
Mike-C:
Iād just question your observation techniques which patently arnāt working.
99% of the time they work just fineā¦ā ā ā ā the human element 
Mike-C:
What licence do i hold? A C+E of course,
You say of course but there are lots of various licence holders using this forum (and going by some of the threads ive read in the past i seriously wonder sometimes if the writer holds a licence at all)
Mike-C:
Anyway, best wishes just be thankful she wasnāt hurt live and learn hey !!
Thanks ā¦And im very grateful no one was hurt ā¦Seriously hurting or god forbid killing someone is no doubt every drivers worst nightmare (that and running out of polish for some)
Right Reef, you have another claim heading your way. Due to the comments below I need a new screen. This one has coffee all over it and it is your fault, 100% your fault. 
Reef:
99% of the time they work just fineā¦ā ā ā ā the human elementSeriously hurting or god forbid killing someone is no doubt every drivers worst nightmare (that and running out of polish for some)
Coffeeholic:
Right Reef, you have another claim heading your way. Due to the comments below I need a new screen. This one has coffee all over it and it is your fault, 100% your fault.Reef:
99% of the time they work just fineā¦ā ā ā ā the human elementSeriously hurting or god forbid killing someone is no doubt every drivers worst nightmare (that and running out of polish for some)
LMAO 
ā¦Soz m8
Lucy:
To be fair to FNG, I donāt think thatās what heās saying at allā¦
Iām sorry Lucy but I have to disagree with you. IMHO āFNGā clearly hasnāt got a clue what heās talking about!
āDratsabastiā made a comment in error regarding Rule 36 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
āFNGā replied that āRule 36ā is for drivers to comply with traffic signs and then makes the following comment in another post:
FNG:
Are those gantry signs legally binding?
He obviously didnāt read āRule 36ā otherwise he wouldnāt have needed to ask the question. This plainly demonstrates that āFNGā has no understanding of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and, IMHO, I would doubt that he has no understanding of the Highway Code either. If he were bothered to read the Highway Code, he would find a section that is devoted (believe it or not āFNGā) to driving on motorways - there is his ādefenceā!
āFNGā also made this comment in another thread:
FNG:
I havenāt driven south of birmingham in 10 years and things have changed.Iāve never seen compulsary speed signs on overhead gantries on the M60 or M6 and Iām not aware they have them. (M6 doesnāt even have gantries for a lot it towards Scotland) As I said in my post, they do a lot of things different on the roads in the SE and London that are not needed or done in the NW.
I replied:
brummie:
If youāve not driven south of Birmingham in 10 years, how do you know they do a lot of things different in the SE and London?
If heās ānever seen compulsary speed signs on overhead gantriesā then, IMHO, he doesnāt look any further than the front of his bonnet when driving!
Furthermore, is he inferring that there are separate rules for driving in the SE and London to that of the NW? Is there a different edition of the Highway Code for the SE to that of the NW? How would he know, weāve already established that he hasnāt read either!
FNG:
I defend insurance claims against commercial trucks and that is one I wouldnāt bother to.
Therefore, whether youāre to blame or not, its a foregone conclusion. āCoffeeholicā sums it up nicely:
Coffeeholic:
Yeah, youāre at fault because you drive a big smelly truck so you are to blame for everythingā¦
In a dozen or so posts āFNGā remarks have been inaccurate, contradictory and condescending. IMHO, heās judging us with the same contempt most other motorists treat us - weāre truck drivers and therefore weāre as thick as the supersingles on my triaxle! Personally, I believe his driving ability is questionable and has no real understanding of the problems LGV Drivers encounter. Like most other motorists, he probably considers himself an experienced driver despite spending most of his time ādriving a deskā!
Finally, the name āFNGā seems quite apt!
wow I rattled someones cage. but while I am here 
So can you tell me of any compulsary gantry speed signs on the M6 between Preston and Carlise and or on the M60? Where exactly will I have seen these signs should I have bothered to look past the end of my bonnet.
Things different down south? Poxy red lines at the side of road? Aint none of them in sunny Manc by the side of the mill Iāll let you.
Whilst rule 36 says obey the signs, the signs have to correctly worded for them to be legally binding. Therefore they can be ignored and there is little the police can do about it. Certainly they canāt do you for speeding. Gantry signs, or in the case of the M6 in ā ā ā ā ā ā ā poxy dusty knackered reservation signs, are just a guideline and recomendation as to how to proceed, usual giving information that was only valid 12 hours ago as no one bothered to turn them off.
As to your comments as to how I treat you, well I tell you how it is. I might not like it, you might not like but tough. I know lots of truck drivers and fleet operators and speak to them on a daily basis. Most are very nice and prefer me not to ā ā ā ā ā foot around being solid down to earth blokes.
How you can question my driving I donāt know, it would be like me questioning your ā ā ā ā ā ā prowess. Never having seen you do it I would just be fumbling in the dark and making it up.
As for not appreciating your problems, I see your problems day in day out in statements, claim forms and witness questionnaires.
You can insult me all you want, I find it quite amusing that you are sat their going red in the neck, vein throbbing at the side of your head whilst hammering away at the keyboard. To help you with this I can also say that I am ginger and slightly porky .
FNG
FNG:
How you can question my driving I donāt know, it would be like me questioning your ā ā ā ā ā ā prowess.
Whoa, hold up there, you know the rules. Everyone is a good driver and everyone is great at ā ā ā .
Itās true I tell you, just ask anyone.
Coffeeholic:
Whoa, hold up there, you know the rules. Everyone is a good driver and everyone is great at ā ā ā .Itās true I tell, just ask anyone.
And thats why neils a site admin coz he knows the basic rule!!!
right, thats got that sorted then!
reefās made a boo boo and eventually admitted it, mike cās demounted and extricated himself from a position i wouldnāt have thought humanly possible unless your made of Plasticine, FNG has revealed a strange fetish for men that go red ( and heās a ginner) and coffee has spilt yet another cup on the dash!
all in all a good thread!
btw did you know iām a good driver and
FNG:
So can you tell me of any compulsary gantry speed signs on the M6 between Preston and Carlise and or on the M60? Where exactly will I have seen these signs should I have bothered to look past the end of my bonnet.
Coming southbound on the M6, between junctions 33 and 32, where the inside lane becomes a filter for the M55 and the middle and outside lanes are a continuation of the M6 South, youāll notice some steel structures with electronic signs overhead. I wonder what they could be? Possibly gantry signs, maybe? I might also add that J32 M6 is precisely where āReefā had his altrication!
Do you really want me to list the location of every gantry sign on the M6 and M60? Believe me there are definitely gantry signs on these motorways, Iām sure many of the members on this forum will confirm this!
FNG:
Whilst rule 36 says obey the signs, the signs have to correctly worded for them to be legally binding. Therefore they can be ignored and there is little the police can do about it. Certainly they canāt do you for speedingā¦
Gantry signs not only highlight speed limits but provide other information such as lane closures, etc. Would you, therefore, ignore a gantry sign showing a speed limit of perhaps 40 mph, with a police patrol car present, and blatantly proceed at 70 mph? I can imagine the police officerās face when you explain to him that it can be ignored and there is little he (the police officer) can do about it.
FNG:
Things different down south? Poxy red lines at the side of road? Aint none of them in sunny Manc by the side of the mill Iāll let you.
An explanation for the red lines, found at the side of the road in London, are explained here! These red lines are usually found on trunk roads within the M25 and not on motorways where this particular discussion has been focused.
From your most recent reply, Iām now convinced your driving ability is questionable. You have little understanding of the Highway Code and youāve never seen a gantry sign on the M6 or M60. It doesnāt matter what information is displayed there because youāll never see it anyway!!!
Do you want me to continueā¦?
Erā¦I may be being picky hereā¦but didnāt he say COMPULSARY speed limits on gantry signsā ā ?
The ones on the M6/M60 are only advisory - no red circle, see. Whilst the police would take a pretty dim view of anyone having an accident whilst ignoring these advisory speed limits - due care and attention, Iād have thought - they canāt actually do you for speeding if you ignore themā¦
As a sidenote, please, please, please try and remember that knowing the intricaces of motorway and red-route signing throughout the country may be normal for a long-distance driver like you or I, it is NOT normal amongst the general population. Nor is it normal to drive 80,000+ miles a year.
I consider Teesside to Peterborough and back a day/local runā¦a non-trucker would tell you it was a long way and probably best done over 2 days. You get the idea.
Ps. Nice to see you FNG btwā¦I forgot to ask before, was it mine or Rikkiās signature/profile link you followed from the other forums?
Ohā¦and there are red routes in Birmingham now tooā¦so there! 
Brummie, as far as I can see, FNG was merely asking can the speed limits on gantry signs be enforced. They canāt. As Lucy posted, the standard ones you are talking about are advisory and cannot be enforced.
Check the following from the Highways agency.
highways.gov.uk/knowledge/vm ā¦ _signs.pdf
Scroll down to page 13.
There is a matrix sign with a red circle i.e. the ones on the M25, which states.
The signal displays the 50mph maximum mandatory speed limit. The mandatory instruction is depicted with a circle around the number. If a signal depicting a speed limit is not circled it is advisory.
I canāt remember seeing these anywhere except the M25, so therefore FNG wonāt have seen these.
paul b:
reefās made a boo boo and eventually admitted it,
You just cant drop it can youā¦What the ā ā ā ā do you mean āeventually admitted itā
Just another point to add to the āif i was driving a Daf instead of a Renault it wouldnt have happened due to the far better positioning of the mirrorsā ā¦I was driving a Scania tonight and it wouldnt have happened in that either coz of them big old mirrors i could see right down the side of the passenger door all the way down the length of the trailer and quite a wide sweep out on my nearside too ā¦Very impressed 
The drivers mirror is another matter though creates a ruddy big void of a blindspot at roundabouts
just canāt drop what? 
Just as a side issue, I donāt think Reef was at fault for the accident, I just said he unlikly to win in Court as regrettably theres no supporting evidence. Thereās a big difference.
In my experience with HGV/Coach claims often the driver isnāt at fault, itās just one of those things. HGVās have a tendancy to lane drift going around roundabouts designed by people who cycle to work, they have often blind spots that put Blunket to shame. But the Courts donāt have a one of those things settlement clause so the HGV driver gets stiffed as their evidence is the weaker.
However I did read one report where a truck driver reversed into a canopy and blamed his bumper sensor for not detecting it.
Yes Brummie, I am aware there are gantry signs, however Iāve never seen ones that have compulasary speed limits marked on them. It would be easier if you could read my threads before typing a response.
FNG
PS, I discovered the site a while back before there was a link so I had to search the forum and piece the evidence togethor before googling for the site. Tracking people/things down was always one of my strongpoints. Iāve shifted my talents from being a blackmarket fixer to finding people for civil proceedings.
Iām in a really euphoric mood today and, reluctantly, Iāll concede!
Why?
Read my post Revenge is a Dish Served Coldā¦! and youāll understand why!!!