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?

@littlejalapeno
She was going faster than him. She ended up beside him. The only way that is possible is if she drove up on his left undertaking him.
When she joined the motorway and saw the lorry, she should have moved out around him or slowed down to allow him in. The car behind would slow too; you dont slam on your breaks. You slow down.

It is not correct procedure to come up on someone's left and pass them. It doesnt matter how many ways you try to say it is; you dont undertake and that is undertaking.

"And that's why I drive a really powerful car.

Because you can accelerate your way out of most incidents."

Why am i not surprised you've been involved in two serious incidents. Heres a tip. If a situation develops, brake. Don't speed up.

Hilarious, every Granny from Reading has her day, she has never been involved in a crash, she has seen hundreds ...

@Elsiebear90 do you know that junction? It's not like that anymore. Hasn't been for a few years now.

But, if you do know it, you know where the M6 joins the M5 before it. That's what I was picturing when reading the OP, because lorries do just pull over without looking. But if you're aware of it you adjust your driving accordingly - whether you should have to or not.

There always is an element on MN of whatever happened it is always the OP's fault, even if it isn't. However in this instance the OP does have an element of blame as for whatever reason she ended up trying to pass a lorry on the left.

This situation strikes me as one of those situations where most reasonable people would think it's better to be alive than be technically right and dead.

But at the end of the day it is this, never do something intentionally to put yourself in danger.

No @Elsiebear90 - he was already on the motorway and her motorway merged in. So he was in the inside lane until that point. He tried to move into the inside lane once the road became three lanes, quite correctly except the OP was undertaking him which is he he nearly hit her car.

The OP failed to read the road and it's slightly alarming that she and so many of you think she was entirely blameless

ALittle I haven't been involved in any accidents.

I said I Have nearly been involved in two accidents

Nearly

I had one incident where a bloke in a BMW who had his cruise control on, we were merging lanes because there were works going on. I merged in front of him, he was on cruise control, he went for the brake, hit the accelerator, glanced of my bumper, sent me across the carriageway, then panicked and pressed his accelerator more and pushed us right across another carriageway. I accelerated away from him and onto the hard shoulder. He totalled my car. Accepted all responsibility. It was very fucking scary. He was very apologetic when we pulled over.

The second, I was driving on a county lane, a bloke was coming towards me in a van, with two dogs in the front. Windows down. His Labrador saw something that interested him and leaped out. Just as we passed.

The dog went under my wheels. I couldn't do anything about it. I just slowed down and pulled over. But I kept on. I didn't swerve. The dog was caught on my tow-bar. It was horrible. I could feel it under my car. I then had to get out and unhook it as its idiot owner ran towards me. It was mangled and horrible. Every time I see a car with dogs in and windows down I want to give them a telling off. With pictures.

Oh my god hairy that’s bloody awful

In the great scheme of things, t doesn't matter whether the OP was right or wrong - did she want to end up dead or alive? When training my grandson to use zebra crossings, we always said never expect people to stop just because it's the law. If they don't and you get squashed it wouldn't make any difference whose fault it was - you'd still be brown bread (we phrased it a bit differently!).

The person behind her was doing a similar speed and following the same conditions, so she couldn’t break or emergency stop to get out of the large lorry’s way in the time it took between his signal and his manoeuvre. Which scared her.
If two motorways are merging or a slip road becomes the new left lane then speed should reflect the situation.

Nobody in their right mind would do an emergency stop, nor is anyone suggesting it. They'd see their lane becoming the new left lane, see the old left lane becoming the middle lane, see the motorways merging, see an HGV (who has to be as far left as possible),and apply a spot of common sense like thousands of other motorists do.

What they wouldn't do is decide that because they want to drive at 70, they'll continue to drive at 70, pull up to the left of a slower moving HGV and continue to drive in their blind spot on the grounds of "the lorry shouldn't have been in the middle lane, I don't have time to do a proper overtake and I want to drive at 70".

From the highway code:
Rule 268
Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. 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

If the OP was driving at 70, it was NOT congested traffic.

vhs95
I feel the same.
What good is it indignantly insisting you're right if you're lying seriously injured in hospital.

It's a bit like the fact that drivers should anticipate pedestrians walking out at any given time. It doesn't mean it's right or sensible to be an idiot with headphones in who walks into the road without checking because you're too busy staring at your phone. Sure, the driver should have anticipated you might walk out, but only an idiot walks into the road without checking.

She wasn’t undertaking. Undertaking is the same as overtaking only to the left rather than the right. You aren’t obligated to overtake someone that isn’t in your lane. Engage your brains for a minute, if this was the rule and you came across a middle lane jogger going 10 mph under the speed limit. Chaos that’s what.

If a lorry was overtaking you on a motorway I'm guessing if its 3 lanes or even a dual carriage way you definitely weren't doing the speed limit. Lorries can only do 60mph and the national speed limit for dual carriageways is 70mph unless stated otherwise.

Car drivers that do less than 60 on these roads are the reason there is always traffic as lorries have to go round them and then slow up the rest of the world trying to overtake.

If a lorry overtakes you when you are tootling along in little car then you probably shouldn't be driving!

Just learn to be careful where lorries are they are alot bigger than you and can't always see you. I try not to be close by to any and will make sure I speed away from them.

She wasn’t undertaking. Undertaking is the same as overtaking only to the left rather than the right. You aren’t obligated to overtake someone that isn’t in your lane. Engage your brains for a minute

The highway code says otherwise:
Rule 268
Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake.

1. Do not overtake on the left
2. Do not move to a lane on your left to overtake

Probably time to stop telling people to engage their brains.

If the OP was alongside an HGV, keeping pace with it, she was doing at most 55 mph. Speed limiters for us top out at that. Now, if I want the left lane after another road has merged from the left, with a continuing single lane, I put the left indicator on. If there's another vehicle already there, I wait 10 seconds for them to drop back or accelerate. Then I beep to announce my presence. I'll also hit the camera button, so the blind spot fisheye catches their next move. Mostly they move away safely. If they hoot and stay level, they'll get the full air horn. They can report if they like; I'm pretty sure they'd get a bland reply if the camera doesn't show aggressive driving on my part. Conversely, if they continue to block me, my manager will submit the video to the police and they will get a CD10 in the post.

It does matter actually @vhs95. Because people like the OP cause accidents. Not only are they driving badly, they're convinced they are in the right. And that's bloody dangerous

You've never driven a lorry or large van have you?

Regardless of whether you was doing the speed limit, you was in the other vehicles blind spot, therefore you are at fault

If they hoot and stay level, they'll get the full air horn. They can report if they like; I'm pretty sure they'd get a bland reply if the camera doesn't show aggressive driving on my part.

Except that blasting your horn at someone to make them move out of your way is aggressive driving. You should ease off and pull in behind them, not just bully other drivers out of your way. Regardless of what you're driving. If you're changing lanes, the onus is on you to only do so when the way is clear. All these comments about who has and hasn't driven a lorry - the law doesn't change based on what vehicle you're driving. You still can't bully other people because you don't like their driving.

The middle lane is not for cruising along at 60mph if the left lane is clear. The lorry was in the wrong for that alone.

The middle lane is not for cruising along at 60mph if the left lane is clear. The lorry was in the wrong for that alone
The lane the lorry was in WAS the left hand lane, until the OP's sliproad lane became the new left lane, making the lorry now in the middle lane until they moved over.

This is precisely why the OP's 'they didn't even have a reason to be in the middle' argument doesn't work.

HGVs should be in the left lane unless overtaking. As the new left lane appeared the lorry went to move over, only the OP drove into their blindspot because she wanted to preserve a couple of seconds driving at 70 instead of applying some common sense.

My motorcycle instructor always said 'there is no point in being right if you are dead' and I always try and drive by that motto.

Regardless of whether you was doing the speed limit, you was in the other vehicles blind spot, therefore you are at fault

Being in somebody else's blind spot doesn't make you at fault. What a bizarre suggestion.

It really isn't a bizarre suggestion at all. Being aware of other vehicles' blind spots keeps you alive.

Look into defensive driving. Being a good driver isn't just about what you're doing, it's about being aware of other vehicles on the road and driving appropriately.

Because people like the OP cause accidents. Not only are they driving badly, they're convinced they are in the right.

Exactly! Which is why I'm guessing OP hasn't been back because so many of us disagree with her.