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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to expect lorry drivers to respect speed limits and distance?

134 replies

pinotnow · 04/04/2026 06:22

At least three or four times over the last few months I have had the unpleasant experience of driving through 50 mph zones on the motorway where works are taking place and there is an average speed check in operation only to have massive lorries coming up way too close and me having to change lanes to get out of their way. On all occasions I have been driving to the speed limit the same speed as everyone else and have been in the left lane and forced to move over to the overtaking lane - not sure why the lorries can't do that.

This morning I gave ds a lift into town to catch a train at 5am. Going home on the 30mph ring road with speed cameras, which does have 2 lanes going each way, the same thing happened. I was in the left lane doing 30 (maybe more like 28 as I know the speedometer isn't 100%) and suddenly a massive lorry is behind me way too close. I changed into the righthand lane and it went off in front - must have been doing at least 35mph, which is his problem.

I get that on fast roads if the speed limit goes down suddenly they can take a while to adjust their speed (I think) but on 30mph road in a built up area surely this shouldn't be happening. I'm sick of having the choice to be rear-ended by a massive lorry, change lanes when it's not necessarily safe, or get a speeding fine and points (which I have never had).

I've been driving 20 years and I'm sure this is happening more and more now. AIBU to think if your job is driving you should be better at it?

OP posts:
Belleends · 04/04/2026 06:24

You’re being thoroughly unreasonable
obviously

on a serious note, speeding lorries are one of the few things in life that genuinely truly piss me off. The drivers know they’d be fine in pretty much any crash whereas it would be certain death of any one else

ExtraOnions · 04/04/2026 06:50

We had the same on the M6 this week, going 50 through the roadwork, and a lorry was right on our tail. The limit was 50, we were doing 50, so why they felt the need to be right behind us I don’t know, had there been any sort of an incident we would have been killed.

Can also add to that having two different lorry drivers signal once and move into the lane we were in, and just expecting us to move…. Plus the general chaos of two lanes being used as one lorry tries to overtake the other, despite only going 1mph faster

Tsundokuer · 04/04/2026 06:54

Yanbu. We have a 50 limit dual carriageway nearby which is widely ignored by the lorries and it is scary.

After a lorry went into the back of my car last year on a 20 limit road when I had to brake to avoid a child cycling to school, I am very wary. It was entirely the lorry’s fault that he was far too close to me, he was probably driving at or below 20mph but he still stove on the whole of the back of my car - obviously written off.

PersephoneParlormaid · 04/04/2026 06:57

Can I add in tractor drivers who speed through our village, often with a trailer on the back. They really will kill sometime one day 😡
A friend of mine drove onto the motorway and ended up sideways on being pushed along by a lorry who didn’t see her. The police who attended told her to get a white car, which would be easier to see than the black one she was driving.
She was traumatised by the whole thing and can’t drive on the motorway anymore, and she hates being driven on there too.

Morepositivemum · 04/04/2026 07:00

I was tailgated by a truck the other day, was driving at 95 in a hundred zone and he was stuck to me the whole time. At one stage he flashed but I was going to be turning ahead so I put on my indicator and he backed off. When I turned right he flew on up the road. Scary

JumpLeadsForTwo · 04/04/2026 07:02

This really winds me up. I’m not easily scared when driving, but I really hate a massive great lorry on my tail in the left lane when I’m at the speeding limit and there’s another lorry in the middle lane so there’s nowhere I can go. Also think it’s really dangerous generally when there’s 2 lorries in the left and middle lane neck and neck for miles when the middle lane one is trying to overtake by doing 1mph faster

Original poster
pinotnow · 04/04/2026 07:05

Gosh, they're a bloody menace aren't they? The overtaking oh-so-slowly is definitely another issue. It's just aggressive and inconsiderate men isn't it?

OP posts:
Meadowfinch · 04/04/2026 07:06

Commercial drivers are under a lot of pressure to hit deadlines. Also to keep costs down. Their ideal drive is at a steady speed in one gear, without braking and at, or as close to the speed limit as possible.

If a lorry is heavily laden it uses a lot of fuel accelerating so they try not to slow down and speed up, rather to "encourage" the driver in the left lane to drive at the speed limit.

In some cases lorries are not allowed in the right hand lane so cannot overtake.

I'm not saying they are right, but that's often the motivation.

Then you get the idiots who drive with their phone in hand or a copy of the Sun spread across the steering wheel. They are truly scary.

Dermatologically · 04/04/2026 07:09

Oh yes, I had the same experience on the M6 a couple of weeks ago. Heavy traffic so I couldn't get out of the way either. I was in the left lane and this HGV was right on top of me. It's terrifying. What are they thinking? I know most of us probably don't leave enough of a stopping distance but to drive so ridiculously close when you're in a vehicle like that? It's terrible driving.

Original poster
pinotnow · 04/04/2026 07:13

I thought there was something like that at play @Meadowfinch but certainly in my case they are not encouraging me to do the speed limit but to exceed it, which is not on at all. That's without anything catastrophic happening. The one this morning will definitely have got a speeding ticket too so don't know if they get penalised for that.

OP posts:
WinterBlues26 · 04/04/2026 07:40

The overtaking oh-so-slowly is definitely another issue
They have speed limiters on the vehicles so they can't do that extra oomph to get past quickly. But they also are only allowed to drive for so long before having a long rest break so being stuck behind another vehicle that's doing a couple of mph less can be the difference between them making a delivery in time (or catching a ferry). They also only have the option of 2 lanes, you have 3 sometimes 4.

I do agree it was a pity they stopped sending goods via trains and took to the roads instead though. That's made a huge impact.

Buscobel · 04/04/2026 09:16

I think we understand that lorry and van drivers are under pressure to make deadlines, but not, surely, at the expense of frightening other road users, driving inconsiderately at best and dangerously at worst. They know that the size and weight of their vehicle means that a car driver is always going to come off worse in an accident, so they take chances.

You just know, on roundabouts where you have the right of way, that the lorry approaching on your left is not going to stop, thus forcing you to brake.

Dermatologically · 04/04/2026 10:08

Buscobel · 04/04/2026 09:16

I think we understand that lorry and van drivers are under pressure to make deadlines, but not, surely, at the expense of frightening other road users, driving inconsiderately at best and dangerously at worst. They know that the size and weight of their vehicle means that a car driver is always going to come off worse in an accident, so they take chances.

You just know, on roundabouts where you have the right of way, that the lorry approaching on your left is not going to stop, thus forcing you to brake.

I agree completely. I don't care if they take ages to overtake personally. There's no excuse for dangerous driving though, and driving so close that they'd cause a pile up if the car in front needs to brake suddenly is extremely dangerous

Youcancallmeirrelevant · 04/04/2026 10:10

Our speedometers in cars are a few mph slower than we are actually travelling, lory drivers usually have their sat navs running which shows a more accurate my mph so they aren't necessarily speeding.

SerendipityJane · 04/04/2026 11:07

I do agree it was a pity they stopped sending goods via trains and took to the roads instead though. That's made a huge impact.

The problem is you can't make money out of freight on rail. And the UK railway network is meant to make money. If by some mistake it actually moves people around in a vaguely useful way ... well it's your lucky day.

Even then the only way to make money from the railways is to not pay for the actual track, signalling, trains and stations. Luckily the UK taxpayer was happy to pick up that tab so the "rail" companies could make lots of lovely lolly.

(See also: water, telecomms, energy).

Of course roads are built with taxpayers money too, so we get to subsidise road freight.

I was once in a queue of traffic that ran for 10 miles along the A34 because one lorry had decided to overtake a row of about 4 or 5 HGVs on the left hand lane of a two lane stretch.

Dogmum74 · 04/04/2026 11:32

I guarantee you are one of the ones doing about 35 mph in the 50 zone annoying the crap out of everyone

LlynTegid · 04/04/2026 11:34

Agree with the OP.

Just as long as all drivers on the road are being judged the same. For every lorry driver whose conduct on the road is unacceptable there are hundreds of car drivers. I think around 25% of all those with a car licence should not have one, I'd guess for lorry drivers it is probably under 5%.

Imlyingandthatsthetruth · 04/04/2026 11:34

I remember when HGV drivers used to be the best out there. "Knights of the road" if anyone remembers that. Post Office drivers used to win awards for their exemplary driving. What happened?

Driving behaviour has become the exemplar of the "I can do what I want and sod everybody else" mentality that prevails now.

LilyBunch25 · 04/04/2026 11:40

I love these people who like having a moan about lorry drivers but still expect all their crap to be next day delivered and supermarket shelves full. This is one of the worst countries to be a lorry driver. Crap facilities, barely any toilets, frozen out of services, sleeping in lay bys. Try it yourself and see how much you'll complain in the future.

SerendipityJane · 04/04/2026 11:46

Imlyingandthatsthetruth · 04/04/2026 11:34

I remember when HGV drivers used to be the best out there. "Knights of the road" if anyone remembers that. Post Office drivers used to win awards for their exemplary driving. What happened?

Driving behaviour has become the exemplar of the "I can do what I want and sod everybody else" mentality that prevails now.

When caravanning, HGVs were great at flashing to let you now it was safe to pull back in after an overtake. I always used to return the favour.

FKAT · 04/04/2026 11:52

If you're on a motorway you can avoid this lorry behaviour by being in the overtaking lanes all the way.

SerendipityJane · 04/04/2026 11:55

FKAT · 04/04/2026 11:52

If you're on a motorway you can avoid this lorry behaviour by being in the overtaking lanes all the way.

Very droll.

Sorry to be that poster but there are of course 2 lane roads.

FKAT · 04/04/2026 11:58

It's not droll. If you insist on tootling along at 60mph in the left hand lane of course you are going to get sandwiched between lorries. I just accept that the left hand lanes are for HGVs and try to drive as much as I can at the right speed in the overtaking lanes. If the left hand lane is clear of course I drop back into it.

UniquePinkSwan · 04/04/2026 12:10

You were probably going slower than 50. If it says 50 then your probably only going 46

Tillow4ever · 04/04/2026 12:22

pinotnow · 04/04/2026 07:05

Gosh, they're a bloody menace aren't they? The overtaking oh-so-slowly is definitely another issue. It's just aggressive and inconsiderate men isn't it?

I remember my husband saying to me years ago (neither of us are lorry drivers) that they do the slow overtake because the distances they are driving, what 1-5mph faster they are doing will have a significant impact on their driving time - and when they’re on a taco (? Not sure what the spelling is) they have to stop driving after a certain length of time. So it’s worth them overtaking even though it takes forever and pisses everyone else off. They usually have governors on so they can’t go any faster just to get past a bit quicker either.