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?

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

So how did the lorry catch up on OP who was doing the speed limit in the left lane?

No you overtake not undertake (unless, like op, your turning is the next one, in which case yes you slow down).

So how did the lorry catch up on OP who was doing the speed limit in the left lane?

He didn't catch up with her, she obviously caught up with him.

So how was the op going to over take the lorry that was already passing them?

Oh for heavens sake, if you all stopped trying to be clever and actually practiced a little reading comprehension you would get it.

Op is in her lane doing the limit. Lorry pulls up on her right and tried to move into her lane without warning, effectively trying to overtake her when there wasn’t the space to do this and not giving her time to react and slow down. So the lorry driver was using his lorry to force her to let him in where there wasn’t space, which has scared the OP as it is bloody dangerous driving.

You were undertaking, if there's no time to overtake due to needing to use the slip road you should hang back because as you've seen you put yourself in danger of entering a blind spot.
Op said 'little traffic' so no she was not undertaking due to congestion.

OK I've slightly confused myself there, my mind jumped straight to dual carriageway.

Oh for heavens sake, if you all stopped trying to be clever and actually practiced a little reading comprehension you would get it.
Op is in her lane doing the limit. Lorry pulls up on her right and tried to move into her lane without warning

Oh for heavens sake you think a lorry can pull up easily to a car that's doing 70mph?

OP how did you come to be side by side? Did the lorry pass you, or did you catch up on him?

@littlejalapeno
No. It sounds like OP drove up on his left and put herself in hid blindspot. Instead of going around or staying behind, she went to undertake. You dont do that because it causes accidents.

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?

No, well before you reach the vehicle in question, you pull out into that land and then the right hand lane and overtake.

Pickwick I have definitely seen lorries doing 70 and doing dodgy manoeuvres like the one OP suggested. The M25 is rife with bad lorry behaviour. And reading magazines and on their phones while driving. And once, while travelling by coach, I looked out the window to see a HGV driver looking at a porno magazine on the steering wheel!! With the wealth of that experience it’s more likely in my opinion that the large lorry driver was throwing his weight around and didn’t gaf about panicking a female driver in a small car in the left lane.

Pickwick I have definitely seen lorries doing 70 and doing dodgy manoeuvres like the one OP suggested.

EU legislation means lorries must be speed limited to 56 MPH. Traffic data shows 99% travel slower than 60MPH. If it's rife on the M25, perhaps the 1% is talking to the ring road for a jolly.

If OP was travelling at 70MPH it is highly unlikely that an articulated lorry would be travelling at such a speed they were able to pass.

Also, was it a lorry, or a van?

I think this is the situation.

The OP is describing one motorway joining another, such as happens a lot around the M25, if anyone is familiar.

It sounds like OP was on the motorway that blends from the left. It sounds like Lorry Driver was already on the motorway that blends from the right and was therefore already in what was, up until the, his left hand lane.

If that was the situation OP should have slowed down where the motorways blended to avoid undertaking. The lorry driver absolutely should have checked his mirrors but it's possible OP was in a blind spot.

If I've got the situation wrong, I apologise and join the plea for a diagram.

• "up until then", not "up until "the"

@hannah7411 can you not just tell us the motorway so that we can look and visualise what is going on?

I think this sounds a bit like the beginning of the M11 and I can understand this happening if it is a similar set-up (although if it were me I'd have overtaken and moved back over rather than just sit in lane 1)

• Lanes 1 & 2 enter from a fly-over exit slip on the left, Lane 3 enters from a slip at road level, speed limited at 50mph for about half a mile but then goes NSL. There's a slip about 2 miles up (Loughton, if anyone's interested) which in this scenario is what OP is shooting for.

In that sort of situation I can imagine a HGV being in lane 3 and moving over to lane 2 as, you know, can't be in lane 3. HGV pottering along in lane 2 and realises that he ought to move over, except OP is now there having reached NSL. She's not seen, HGV starts moving over, big beepy kerfuffle, ultimately nothing happens.

Realistically could have all been avoided by better planning by you OP, you must have at some point realised the HGV you were either approaching or was on your right would want to be back on the left. Unless you were driving a lawn-mower I don't understand why you couldn't have let him in while moving over to lane 2 and overtaking, since you were actually going faster than him in a vehicle capable of meeting NSL. It all sounds a bit like you sat in lane 1 and refused to budge because at some point you were coming off again.

Lorry drivers have a HUGE blind spot, and as a general rule of driving I will never sit next to, or just behind a lorry driver, because they just cannot see you!

wether I was in his blind spot or not that isn't my fault. Actually, yes it is.

You were almost certainly in his blind spot.

You do realise don't you that your speed limit in a car is 70 mph whilst his is 60? So if you were insistently doing 70 at that point then you were about to undertake him.

The only sensible thing to do in those circumstances is to slow down and let the lorry driver come across safely. It doesn't sound like you did that.

I think you should report the driver OP.

BTW this might be very controversial and a generalisation but I consider lorry drivers to be one of the riskiest set of drivers on the road. They generally drive 1000's of miles, it is easy to become complacent and lose concentration. They are likely to be tired too even if they are complying with the set breaks they are supposed to have. I try to avoid being near them at all costs, I just don't feel safe around them especially on a motorway. Blindspots being another main reason for keeping my distance literally.

He can't have caught up with the OP if she was doing 70. Lorrys are limited to 60, apart from small delivery lorries I'm nof sure I've ever seen a proper HGV travelling much above this speed (hence why it takes so long for them to overtake each other!). I can barely reach 70mph on the M25, let alone a lorry!

I don't really understand the how OP came to be next to the lorry but either way you obviously don't undertake or sit in a lorries blind spot.

Even if you are merging motorway on motorway if you see a lorry on the right of you you ease up your speed so you aren't sitting in their blind spot.

Op was quite blatantly undertaking in some capacity as she was traveling 70 and the lorry will have been doing 60 or maybe less. That'always going to be an undertaking manoeuvre, it's how speed works.

I had a similar experience recently OP. Dual carriage way. I went to overtake on the right, there was an HGV that every time I tried to overtake properly he floated into my lane, he just kept aggressively sliding over, I drive a 350 merc so I just put mh foot down and got past. BUT as we went past DH noticed he was watching a film on his phone.

So I phoned 999 (on my hands free) and reported him. As we took the next exit I saw a police-car pulling him over.

I've reported erratic driving as a passenger before on the motorway.

I always report bad driving.

I'm always very wary around large lorries on motorways. I was driving at 50mph along a section of the M25 that had roadworks and a temporary 50mph limit - I'd set my cruise control. A foreign-registered container lorry behind me tailgated for about 2 miles until I was able to pull off - he hooted me (with an air horn) and repeatedly flashed me (his lights being high enough to blind me in my mirror) and I thought he would push me off! I noted his company's name and when I arrived at Bluewater went to the police centre to report him (obviously on his way to cross the Channel) only to be told that as it had happened in Essex and we were now in Kent nothing could be done - would I like a glass of water? No I frigging didn't!! I was still shaking but mainly with anger by then. OP, never sit in anyone's blnd spot (it has that name for a reason) and if you see a lorry indicating to pull over then back off, flash him when his tail is clear, and LET HIM! Tooting him with your little hooter achieves nothing.

OP I was on your side until this: If lorry drivers are incapable or driving at the speed limit then they should stay in the left lane.

Isn't this exactly what he was trying to do?
So was he driving at the speed or was he driving under it?

If he was driving under it, you were undertaking. If he was driving at it, you'd have been moving at exactly the same speed and he would have completely wiped you out.

Was he slightly ahead of you?

If he indicated and you had time to beep your horn twice before he moved you had plenty of time to slow down.

OP it doesn't sound like you were undertaking at all. People on this site (and it seems particularly bad on this post) love to to take a situation and twist it to have a go. I don't know why, perhaps it makes them feel morally superior? In reality it just makes them look pathetic and argumentative.

Anyway, yes report him.