Hate lorry drivers

[GoldenFern]

I’ve had two encounters over the last week with lorry drivers parked on small residential roads with cars parked on the other side refusing to move their vehicle and trying to push me to go through the gap. The first time I did it it scratched my wing mirror. Second time was this morning and I refused to do it. I bloody hate these people!

Sorry but they have a job to do. Often in difficult circumstances when people park in such a way as to not help them and obstruct the road.

Moving a massive truck in limited space is quite hard work. I generally try to give them as much space as possible especially at roundabouts and when they are trying to turn out.

My guess is you hate them when you encounter them on roads. But not when they are delivering the stuff you want. You should probably hate the people who park and restrict road access more.

Disclaimer : I am not a lorry driver.

I agree with GasPanic. It's a lot more difficult to drive one than you might think, and people frequently don't make allowances for them.

These two may have parked inconsiderately, but the fact is that we all need them. Everything you own will have been brought on a lorry at one stage. The start and end of the journey is always the most challenging; and if you want to have your new three piece suite or fridge freezer delivered to your home in a restricted residential area, the lorry likely will have no option but to manoeuvre and park in an inconvenient way for a short space of time.

And there are thousands and thousands of lorries on the roads, so two is a minuscule sample size on which to base your hatred of 'lorry drivers' - which strongly suggests ALL lorry drivers. It's like saying that you once had somebody called Lisa be really nasty to you, so therefore you hate all people called Lisa!

You scratching your wing mirror is on you. Just because someone ushers you through doesn’t mean it’s not your fault if you hit something. It’s why I never go around a cyclist when they wave me past. I’ll go around when I deem it safe to do so!

Coming up against a lorry or bus in tight gaps is annoying but they have as much right to be there.

I actually think that many lorry drivers are quite courteous on motorways, they often slow to let people on at slip roads, or when cars are filtering in due to lane closures.

What, all of them?

I can understand OP. I find them, on the whole, intimidating. I get that they have deliveries to do, deadlines to meet etc, but the number of times I’ve been cut up on roundabouts and junctions just because they’re big vehicles and can, really frightening.

I think they often need drivers to be courteous to them, so they try to generate a environment of co-operation in fellow drivers.

In the UK although I think driving standards are getting worse, we still mostly drive in a co-operative environment where everyone generally works together to help everyone achieve their objective. Whereas in a lot of countries driving is looked on as more adversarial, the other people on the road are regarded as opponents who will stop you making as much progress as you want.

They cut you up because it is often really difficult or impossible to manoevre a large truck in a small space. You need to give them the space they need to do their job and anticipate that due to their size they are sometimes going to have to behave in ways that are non standard, for example being in the left lane of a roundabout when turning right.

If you are on the outside of a big lorry at a tight roundabout and are going straight on assuming that they will turn left or go straight on that is a dangerous assumption to make. It is better to hang back and give them space.

Exactly. My dad was an HGV driver and as soon as we started to learn how to drive, that was one of the many things he warned us about. The other being that when on a motorway/duel carriage way or any other fast road, hang back so you can see their wing mirror. That way they won't pull out when you do because, if you can't see the wing mirror then they can't see you.

Yes, absolutely.

Plus, as a car driver, you press your right foot down a tiny bit and you shoot away, but it's much, much harder and time-consuming getting a massive heavy lorry up to speed and then not losing your momentum.

Might I suggest your spacial awareness needs improving if you're scratching mirrors? Out of towing necessity I drive a big, wide car but know exactly how big and wide it is - to the extent there is a road in a village which is very narrow with parked cars, and numerous cars tend to misjudge whether they can get through. I will sail through a very narrow gap, but the Mini sized car behind will struggle. I suggest you practice judging width. It is a case of practise. Find out how wide your car is, then, take a tape measure about with you and guess the width your car will fit - then measure that width and see how far out you are.

I think it should be taught on the driving test.

Maybe it is. It is so long since I have done the test it has been modified so much maybe it is.

I know the test is more rigorous these days. But I don't know whether people are given an appreciation of how large vehicles move and things they are likely to do that will catch people unawares, such as moving across lanes in roundabouts.

I picked it up by driving and watching and getting cut up myself before realising why. You were lucky to have your Dad !

Thank you, I was indeed lucky to have him.

On a point a PP made amount momentum .Something that I see most times I have travelled on a motorway is the sudden slamming of brakes as a car hurtles up the middle lane as a lorry is trying to overtake. I do wonder why those drivers don't go to the 3rd lane sooner, they can always pull back in if the lorry has completed the overtaking by the time the car has reached them. It just seems that a lot of ignorant drivers think that a lorry is just a big car and is capable of doing what cars are able to do in the same amount of space/time.