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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not want to be intimidated by an HGV driver on a busy motorway.

237 replies

EdwiniasRevenge · 30/09/2013 23:49

I was on the motorway today. Fairly busy but fluid and freely flowing traffic.

I was travelling at about 55-65mph in the slow lane. I wasn't in a hurry and found myself approaching a car +caravan in lane 2.

As I was doing an acceptable and safe motorway speed and I was in no hurry I decided that I wwasn't going to weavve out to lane 3 to overtake and I wasn't going to break the law by 'undertaking'. I was also approaching my junction. I sat behind the caravan in my lane (ie ensuring I wasn't in the caravan blind spot).

An HGV approached from behind, and continued to drive in my estimation, less than 2 car lengths behind me. It was so close that all I could see in my mirror was the radiator grill. I literally could not see his winscreen. I could not see the number plate.

I touched my brakes gently couple of times to indicate that he was uncomfortably close.

A couple of minutes late rhe was using his horn to tell me to move.

As it was a 4 lane motorway it would have been legal for the lorry to move out to lane 3 if he was tgat desperate. Meanwhile I felt intimidated and unsafe.

OP posts:
DoBatsEatCats · 01/10/2013 21:30

So if she was dawdling in the street in an inconsiderate way and being irritating to someone with a Really Important Meeting to go to it would be all right to point a gun at her? The driver knew he was risking killing her (or if he didn't know he's too thick to be allowed out alone). She arguably made errors of judgment, possibly because she was scared (I was petrified when it happened to me). It's hardly equivalent.

mmmdonuts · 01/10/2013 21:33

Aren't HGV's limited to 50 anyway? Apologies if it's 60. YANBU

WMittens · 01/10/2013 21:36

So if she was dawdling in the street in an inconsiderate way and being irritating to someone with a Really Important Meeting to go to it would be all right to point a gun at her?

Are you selectively reading? The very first bit of my post:

"No it's not acceptable,"

"it would be all right to point a gun"

So no, it fucking wouldn't.

But, it's the reason you don't flick the Vs if you're driving in South Central LA or Joburg, because there's a much higher chance of getting shot.

It's not 'acceptable' for someone to commit a crime, but you can take steps (and probably do, every day) to reduce the risk that you will be a victim of crime.

Can you really not understand the difference?

WMittens · 01/10/2013 21:36

Aren't HGV's limited to 50 anyway? Apologies if it's 60.

It's 56mph (90kph).

gobbynorthernbird · 01/10/2013 21:53

Dobats how about this comparison? Would you hand over your bank cards and pin code to a mugger with a gun, or refuse because the bank tells you to not give out your pin?

PrincessFlirtyPants · 01/10/2013 21:54

WMittens seems to be the voice of reason.

Weller · 01/10/2013 22:10

If you are driving between 55 and 65 bearing in mind for the hgv to be tailgating you are under the 60 could imply that as the op slowed to not undertake she was shortening the braking distance between both vehicles. The caravan must of also not been driving at one speed which could be because the person was trying also to get over. I hate driving behind people who cannot maintain an even speed when no one is in front of them.

blobandsnail · 01/10/2013 22:11

You have to be kidding me!? This thread could be ended in one post. OP you were 110% in the wrong. Your driving skill level is not suitable for a 4 lane morotoway if a lorry felt the need to do that. Anyone being overtaken in a fully functioning car by a lorry on a motorway or duel carriage way is in serious need of some driving tuition. Look up pass plus courses. Or get someone who can actually drive to take you out on a motorway and teach you the ways of driving safely and sensibly. Your driving was not safe. Driving like that would more likely cause an accident than speeding up to go past the caravan in the inside lane and keeping consistently ahead of it without swapping lanes. No policeman would ever pull you over for doing that. The same way as a policeman wouldn't pull you up for doing 80mph to perform such a manoeuvre. But a decent policeman would hopefully pull you over for doing 55mph on a motorway!

GiveItYourBestShot · 01/10/2013 22:19

What a load of bollocks, blob. My car only does 60mph tops, lorries drive up my arse all the tme when Lane 2 is perfectly empty and all they have to do is mirror, signal and pull out to overtake. Baffles me why they don't. Tailgating me is not going to give my car an extra 10mph.

northernlurker · 01/10/2013 22:29

I think a car which will not top 60mph is probably best kept off motorways.

mmmdonuts · 01/10/2013 22:31

Don't be daft. 60mph is what the slow lane is made for.

FutTheShuckUp · 01/10/2013 22:36

Where does anyone get a car that wont go above 60mph? Little Tikes?

northernlurker · 01/10/2013 22:36

A modern functioning car will do considerably more than 60mph as it's maximum speed. If the OP's car won't do that then I'm suggesting it may not be in a suitable condition to drive on a road where generally speeds will be higher and drivers will expect that it can go faster. What sort of car is it? Even my mil's ancient mini would do more than 60 ok.

northernlurker · 01/10/2013 22:37

Not the Op's car (though that would explain a few things) I meant giveit's car.

gobbynorthernbird · 01/10/2013 22:38

There is no slow lane. If all the other traffic is doing 65, then a car which will only do 60 is dangerous.

ExcuseTypos · 01/10/2013 22:40

YANBU

The lorry driver was very much in the wrong and a complete tosser IMO.

What was he/she trying to achieve anyway?
It is illegal to undertake on the motorway unless the motorway is very contested. So even if you had moved out, the lorry driver shouldnt have gone anywhere, as the caravan driver was only doing 55. So by beeping and flashing at you, he clearly intended to undertake and break the law.

In that situation, I would have tried to pull out and just let him break the law tbh, because I wouldn't want to be infront of such an idiot. However as you said your junction was coming up, I'm not sure what I would have done.

maddening · 01/10/2013 22:44

but I thought the minimum speed for a motorway in a non congestion situation (where speed limit is restricted temporarily) was 50mph - so even slowing to match the caravan till her upcoming junction the op was still legally correct.

both the caravan and lorry drivers wbu

maddening · 01/10/2013 22:48

and the op wash't stopping anyone from overtaking

SelectAUserName · 01/10/2013 22:56

The OP says the caravan was already there in the second lane as she joined the motorway and that she was on the motorway for a little less than four miles. At 55mph that's about 4.5 minutes to take in the situation, realise the caravan is maintaining its speed and making no attempt to pull in to the inside lane, assess the traffic behind, pop indicator on, move out accelerating smoothly when gap appears (as it almost certainly would have), repeat manouevre from lane two to three and return calmly to inside lane with plenty of time / space before her junction.

That would have been the actions of a calm, confident, competent experienced motorway driver. No 'weaving' across lanes - just one smooth, controlled, entirely legal overtaking manouevre. No brakes-tapping with all the risks inherent in that course of action. No more worrying about or trying to second-guess the caravan tower's actions. No last-second swerving in just before the junction. Just a controlled, measured way of removing oneself from a less-than-ideal situation and putting a safe distance between oneself and the drivers originally causing it - the caravan and the HGV.

ExcuseTypos · 01/10/2013 23:02

As the OP was only on th emotoer way for 1 junction, the lorry must have been just behind her. So I would presume the lorry would have had exactly the same amount of time to assess the situation and overtake the caravan.

Unless he was breaking the speed limit of course.

FirstVix · 01/10/2013 23:10

Except, as another thread a while ago stated, many people see an indicator on a motorway as an intention to move now not a request to 'let me in'. So many people (eg me) will only use the indicator when we can in fact move soon after. And freak if some fool indicates that they're 'moving now' (by indicating) as I come up alongside them.

OP, I don't think YWBU.

And anyway, as you've stated that the HGV left at the same junction as you he could have eased off the accelerator himself as he was leaving the motorway soon.

Those saying that cars with a max 60mph limit shouldn't be on a motorway - things limited to 56mph have already been mentioned and yet are prevelent on them so what, precisely, is the difference??

SelectAUserName · 01/10/2013 23:12

Except if the caravan was, as claimed, maintaing speed alongside the OP, who has estimated her speed at around 55mph, then the caravan was also travelling at around 55mph and therefore the speed-limited HGV would have been overtaking at approximately 1mph faster than the caravan and so would have taken substantially longer to do so, unlike the OP who could easily, quickly and safely have accelerated to a speed closer to 70mph and completed the manouevre in a much shorter time and with much less inconvenience to other road users.

neunundneunzigluftballons · 01/10/2013 23:20

I think the main person at fault was the driver towing the caravan followed by you then the HGV driver. Caravan should have been in lane 1, you in lane 2 overtaking and tbh if you were closer to the 55 mark you were going too slow and causing a hazard given the circumstances. By the way your neighbour sounds very nice and the sort of neighbour we would all like for keeping her mouth closed when you told her the story.

ArgyMargy · 01/10/2013 23:47

Yesterday I was tailgated by a lorry on the M6. We were driving through roadworks with 50mph limit and I was doing 50. He got fed up with me and moved out to lane 2 to tailgate another driver who was also driving at 50mph but slightly further ahead. Then to my astonishment he moved out into lane 3 and overtook, then stayed in lane 3, presumably doing 56mph. Lorry drivers are frequently arseholes, dangerous and utter tossers. YANBU, OP.

MidniteScribbler · 01/10/2013 23:49

FFS THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "SLOW" LANE!

::breathes::