Almost wiped out by lorry driver - would you report?

[hannah7411]

Was on a motorway today 3 lanes I was in the left lane, massive lorry in middle lane, lorry driving at the side of me starts indicating and moving over to my way, I used my horn to let him know I was there, still starts moving into my lane and then when I tooted again he blares his horn for a silly amount of time back at me, his own stupid fault completely by not checking mirrors. He was an inch away from totally wiping me out and causing a fatal accident, my heart was beating really fast I was really shaken up by it. I noted the name of his van and time when I pulled over shortly after, after I'd taken the slip road. It's happened before a few months ago similar incident I had came off slip road and a woman starting coming over to my lane to the point I had to swerve back to the slip road. I drive this road everyday to work and feel it's only a matter of time before one of these idiotic drivers seriously cause an accident with me or someone else involved and it really worries me. Im a sensible driver never caused an accident or been close I drive at the speed limit not slow and not not over. I drive a little car and I feel like that angers people! Should I report this idiot from today or leave it?

@Weregoingonanadventure you don't have to be bumper to bumper for this to apply! And the op isn't clear in her post whether there was congestion in the right lanes. They could have been crawling along at 20 for all we know and the lorry driver decided to pull out into the left lane.

@FrankieManca it couldn't have been. OP was going at speed limit. There is no way a lorry was going faster than 70....

I had entered this motorway from where it starts, I would of let him infront if me if I had the chance but I didn't, there wouldn't of been a chance for me to break to allow that either, he was driving the same speed. As I said, I needed to stay in this lane or I would of missed my turn for the slip road, I wouldn't of had the chance to change even if I didn't. There was no reason for him to be in middle lane. Everyone else was driving at speed limit and traffic not bad at this time.

Do you mean an HGV? He an only go at 60mph so if you were doing 70 you were undertaking him.

@LER83
Shes said more than once that she was going at the speed limit. So not a congestion situation..

What do you mean you couldn’t brake? Under what circumstance can you not brake?

I am sympathetic - I can tell exactly what you mean and it isn’t pleasant at all. But you should have braked to let him back in rather than go faster and essentially undertake him.

As I said, I needed to stay in this lane or I would of missed my turn for the slip road

You could've just slowed down and you wouldn't have missed your slip road. I don't understand why you couldn't slow down?

He was already moving into my lane, so even if I sharply braked there wouldn't of been enough time due to the length of the lorry. And also would of likely made someone go into the back of me.

He was driving alongside of me, slowing down would of been pretty useless in this situation and too late. Not sure people are understanding properly.

When you say there was no reason for him to be in the middle lane, it might've been because he'd moved out to overtake or allow someone to join from a slip road and no bugger let him back in?
Sorry but I cant see how you couldn't brake to let him in, or at least take your foot off the accelerator and slow down to 60. From the way you describe it I can't see how he was in the wrong considering his size and limited visual range.

Not sure people are understanding properly

Maybe a diagram would help, op?

If you entered the motorway where it starts, where did the lorry driver come from? Had he moved to the middle lane to let you and others onto the motorway?

We dont understand because you wont answer!
How did you come to be beside him? Did you drive up beside him? Or did he drive up beside you?

He was probably in the middle lane to allow cars to merge from the slip road. But he did need to move back in. So, did he drive up on your right and pass you? Or did you drive up on his left and start to pass him?

Yes when he was alongside you that's the point that you slow down to make a gap for him. That's what I do anyway. Before you get to a point where he might take you out.

It sounds you you are side by side going 70, then in one single manoeuvre he indicates and begins changing lanes, giving you no time to slow or brake? Is this the situation?

‘Like you’ not you you flipping autocorrect

@perkypompoms yes that was how it was. It was midday and little traffic. To previous poster, no he did not move into the middle lane to let vehicles including myself merge from the slip road, as I said, I was on the road from where it starts and as he was passing there was no vehicles on the only other slip road there was to join the motorway.

So was he coming from the same road as you?

Passing a vehicle on the left, in congested conditions where vehicles are doing similar speeds, is perfectly legal: www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q891.htm

"In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake."

If you are remaining in your lane, you are not undertaking. Undertaking would be sitting in the middle lane behind the lorry, pulling into the inside lane, passing on the left, and then pulling back into the middle lane.

Undertaking is not staying in your lane, and nor is there any obligation (as at least one poster upthread seems to think) that traffic MUST travel at a slower speed than the traffic in the lane on the right.

In short, OP was not doing anything wrong legally. However, you should always exercise additional caution when passing vehicles on the left.

It wadn5 congested!!! Even she has said that herself
No congestion!!!

You do not pass traffic on your right. You m9b3 out and around them.

*move

Why is a lorry that can only do 60mph, trying to over take a car doing 70mph? If OP was doing 70mph and he managed to get past her, he must have been going faster than 70 🤔

So, how did you come to be travelling next to each other, OP? Were you travelling side by side at the same speed all the time as you went up the motorway, did you catch him up on the inside, or was he breaking the lorry speed limit and trying to pass you? Did you in fact brake when you saw what he was doing?

If the lorry was doing 60mph, surely he could have just pulled in behind OP. I'm not sure why everyone seems to think OP was undertaking, they said they had been on the motorway since it began.

But lorries cannot go faster than 60. Unless the speed limiter has been removed.

So going by the logic on here, if I'm doing 70mph in the left lane and catch up on someone doing 60mph in the right hand land I should slow down to 55mp, so I'm going slower than them? Or are they in the wrong for doing 60mph in the overtaking lane when the left lane is clear.