Was this lorry driver BU?

[Abingdon]

I have just got home and am still a little shaken up so excuse me if I forget some of the details here.

I was driving home from work and on a steep hill, heading downhill. At the bottom of the hill is a set of traffic lights, and a 4-way box junction.

I was waiting quite far back in the queue near the top of the hill, waiting for the traffic lights to go green. They did, and traffic started moving forwards so we all accelerated towards the junction. As I approached the junction the lights started to change. I could probably have made it across just in time before they turned red, but I could see that my exit on the other side of the box junction was not clear so I decided to stop at the lights. Admittedly, I did stop fairly sharpish, but it wasn't overly violent. It's not like it was an emergency stop, just a bit more sudden than I would have liked.

As I stopped I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw a lorry hurtling towards me! There was still a fair bit of space between us but he was still going way too fast, I have no idea whether he had even seen me stop or not by this point.

Anyway, the lorry driver must have slammed hard on the breaks because he did manage to stop RIGHT behind my car. Having seen him coming at me so fast I did also move forward over the lines to try to give him more space.
The lorry did not ever touch my car, but as he came to a stop I heard the most almighty crash, which turned out to be the goods he was carrying. At this point, the driver gets out of the cab approaches my window and starts screaming and swearing at me, calling me names, saying I'm stupid and shouldn't be driving etc etc. It was absolutely terrifying. He is at least twice my age and probably about 4 times my size and he was being extremely intimidating. I did wind down my window a little to try to talk to him but I couldn't get a word in over his tirade.

While he was yelling, the lights turned green and the line of traffic behind us starting honking their horns and getting impatient. So I then carried on driving, went over the box junction and pulled over in the bus lay-by a little up the road. The lorry driver RAN back to his lorry and followed me. I guess he thought I was trying to drive off completely or something?

Once we were both in the lay-by he started demanding my insurance information saying he would "make sure I didn't get away with this". I was so shocked at the whole situation that I gave my details to him, and eventually got his from him. But this whole situation took about 40mins, with him yelling at me the entire time.

So I guess what I'm asking is who was in the wrong here? My understanding is that had he gone into the back of me he would have been at fault anyway, so I'm not sure how he can be so adamant that I am to blame? Also, the fact that our vehicles never even made contact makes me think I was really stupid to exchange details with him. Did I do the right thing?
He kept talking about the expensive cargo he had, and I'm now worried he is going to try to claim that from my insurance somehow? I can't afford for my premiums to go up, especially when I'm almost sure this wasn't my fault.

I haven't called my insurance yet but will do when I've calmed down. In the meantime, can some one please tell me whether I'm in the wrong or not? I want to be fully prepared when I talk to the insurance company.

You did nothing wrong. You’d have been completely within your rights to drive off when the lights changed and not continue the conversation, but since you did pull over, and as he was aggressive, I’d seriously consider calling 101 to report him for road rage.

Sorry for the typos

He's an idiot. As you have his details I would be tempted to report him.

You did the right thing. Even if you did hit the breaks a little sharpish, it was his responsibility to ensure he had enough stopping distance.

Another vote here for calling 101.
He was being a bully and driving dangerously, you were being careful and responsible.
Anticipation is a huge part of safe driving and he was driving aggressively. Nothing to worry about re insurance

Stopping distance? This is the problem truckers face everyday, people believing big rigs can maneuver just like a car. So people in cars dart around them, squeeze in besides when they are making a wide turn, slam on the brakes suddenly when in front of them etc.

Amber light means "stop if it is safe to do so". If a large vehicle behind you is approaching at speed I would question the judgement that it was safe to stop.

Should have mentioned I’m in the U.S. Our Kenworth, when hauling, has 26 wheels.

He should have been aware of the road conditions ahead of him and ensure he had left sufficient space. If you hadn't stopped it sounds like he would have still had to brake hard to stop at the lights himself or he would have run a red light. Either way that isn't good and due to his unsafe driving. I'd call the police and report his behaviour and call your insurance now to warn them and log the incident.

Thank you for the replies everyone. I knew I was right to stop but think I just needed some reassurance after having someone screaming at me about how wrong I was for 40 minutes!!!

I'm really frustrated at myself for not asking what company he works for. The lorry didn't have any obvious brands. It was just a shabby grey-that-used-to-be-white all over. He wrote down his details on a piece of paper and handed them to me through my window. There was no way I was getting out of my car! On it he's put his reg plate, his name and an address in a city a long way from me. Thinking about it now the lack of company details strikes me as being a bit off. I would have thought it would be his employers who provide the insurance, no?

I called 101 (thank you to those who suggested!). They said they couldn't really give much advice as my local station is shut, but that I should let my insurers know the situation. Where I live there is a drop-in style thing where you show up at one of the council buildings, take a number and can speak to a police officer, and I was advised I should try to do this on Monday to report the full details of what happened.

Admittedly, I am a little reluctant to do this. When I saw him coming at me so fast I did pull over the lines and into the box a little so I'm worried asking for CCTV or taking this further will get me in trouble for that? I don't know if the traffic lights are the kind with cameras or not, so it's possible I might have even been flashed for that already. You hear all these stories about people getting points for crossing red lights to make way for ambulances, so I worry something like that could happen to me!

I'm actually considering burying my head in the sand and hoping the lorry driver's insurers tell him off and this all goes away.

Well since he would have been some distance behind you, he should have anticipated the amber light and the queuing at the box junction and been slowing down anyway, even if you did go through the amber light, he would have seen there was no way he'd get through.

... further to my previous post: you are supposed to check your mirror before you change speed or direction.

You poor thing that sounds awful.

He should have been fully aware that the exit of the junction was practically full and his lorry wouldn’t have fit anyway. He should have been preparing to stop before you broke (braked?!) anyway.

There's no grey area here, it was 100% his fault and he will be told much by his employer before receiving a massive bollocking for damaging the goods.

Chrys2017 and others mentioning stopping distance:
There was actually a fair bit of space between me and the lorry, and this is partly why I mentioned the steep hill. Having never been in, let alone driven a lorry I don't know what the stopping distances are, but I do try to leave a good amount of space on motorways etc.
In this situation, I had time to come to stop (even if it was a sharp stop), see the him not slowing down behind me and make the decision to pull forwards. So I think it must have been him not paying attention more than anything.
As others have said, if I (in my VERY small little car), couldn't fit the other side of the box, there is no way he would have been able to anyway regardless of the traffic lights.

The more I think about this, the more angry I am at the situation! How dare he make me think I was in the wrong, and how dare I let him do it in the first place

Absolutely his fault. What was he thinking of

Amber light means "stop if it is safe to do so".

And a box junction means "do not proceed if your way is not clear"

You did nothing wrong at all. You were wrong to hand over your details as this was not required. Him having to brake suddenly was of no concern to you. This idiot should not be on the road. As others have said, had he hit you from behind then he would be at fault. Nothing but a bully.

A lorry travelling down a hill will take even longer to stop.

I'm not saying you're technically in the wrong, but maybe think about doing a course in defensive driving. It teaches you to anticipate what other drivers are going to do and minimise the risk to yourself.

I'd be tempted to report him to the police for aggression and road rage. You have his details, that would be all they would need.

A lorry travelling down a hill will take even longer to stop.

That is the responsibility of the lorry driver. They had ample opportunity to read the road ahead.

@SoupDragon As a driver you should be able to evaluate the path of least risk in a non-ideal situation. In this case entering the box junction would probably have been less risky than abruptly braking in front of a lorry travelling down a hill.
As I said, defensive driving.

Stopping distance is the responsibility of the vehicle behind, I’m sure - so a loaded lorry, going down hill should have left a really big stopping distance and/or ensured their speed was such that they could stop if necessary.

I would hope (and assume) you wouldn’t get into trouble over going into the box junction, as you were in fear of being rear ended by a lorry that sounds to have been going too fast.

Defensive driving is about keeping yourself safe regardless of whether the actions of other drivers are correct or not.

Please don't contact your insurers as this will require effort from your side. Just accept that he was clearly an incompetent driver who shouldn't be on the road. Try to forget about this and please rest assured that I doubt very much his insurers will be contacting you.