Idiot Truck Driver

Slaanesh

I was on the Navan road just after coming off the little chef roundabout heading towards town. There was the cab of a lorry in the bus lane, before I know it he's crossing into my lane and collides straight into the side of the car. Luckily I moved over a tiny bit and he realised what he had done and pulled over into the bus lane. He got out and apoligised. Could have been alot worse, few minor scratches. I didn't want hassle so I just let it go, car is worth about €400 anyway.

You think the stupid idiot would have checked before he crossed over into my lane.

Grrrr,

Slaanesh.

mavedic

probably that blind spot got the better of him...
no excuse really, but its easy to happen if he's not being careful.

lucky you weren't hurt or anything!

Slaanesh

Yeah, very lucky. My mate was in the passenger seat and he got such a shock when he sees the lorry wheel the size of my car coming at him. The driver was Irish but driving a dutch cab so the driving wheel was on the left.

The lorry could easily have driven up and over my small little rover metro if he kept coming at me.

He pulled over and had the cheek to ask me "Did I catch you !?"

Slaanesh.

mike65

Ouch! You're proberly blameless for what happened but if behind the cab of a truck, esp with LHD you have to be sooooo careful
and give it all the time and space in the world, silly question proberly but was it indicating right, or at an attitude to the road which suggested it was going to pull right?

Mike

Victor

Be very careful around larger vehicles - they never loose - you do.

RicardoSmith

Those roundabouts in blanch are a stupid idea. Badly marked, and really a proper crossroad would be better and safer than a roundabout with lights. Theres accidents there constantly. Never mind the one that has 2 lanes that change into 3 then back in to 2 as you drive around it. Some absolute moron designed that layout. Idiot road planners/designers are to blame.

Turner

I really do hate trucks, they are so dangerous. I will never drive side by side with a truck, i will always downshift to third and pass it.

Most of the time they are talking on their phones/radios not thinking about what thay are doing or about the 40tonnes behind them.

Chief.

Silvera

I passed my Truck test a few years ago and I can verify that truck drivers are generally the most alert drivers on our roads.
They are constantly observing what is going on around them.

However, everyone can make a mistake - especially if they are on their mobile :rolleyes:

Dampsquid

It was an accident. He apologised. Your car is worthless anyhow, so just put it down to experience.

No need to call him an idiot!!!

Slaanesh

It was an accident. He apologised. Your car is worthless anyhow, so just put it down to experience.

Haha !

You sound like you were the one driving the truck that could easily have killed myself and my friend ?

Of course he was a ****ing idiot, don't give me that.

slaanesh.

John2002

Originally posted by Dampsquid
It was an accident. He apologised. Your car is worthless anyhow, so just put it down to experience.

No need to call him an idiot!!!

Not quite as simple as that. That truck driver was an idiot and it could have been a lot worse.

A good friend of mine is in ICU in Limerick Regional Hospital since last Friday evening because of an idiot truck driver who told the police "I took my eyes off the road for a second." Slaanesh was lucky, she wasn't.

When you're driving something the size of a truck you can't afford to make mistakes. Same goes for a car but there's a bit more leeway.

flyz

Originally posted by Slaanesh
Haha !

You sound like you were the one driving the truck that could easily have killed myself and my friend ?

Of course he was a ****ing idiot, don't give me that.

slaanesh.

Well you should have swapped insurance details if he nearly killed you then.

No offense Slaan but he was in the wrong and he should be paying for any damage that was done to your car.
But how in one breath you say that you let him off and in the next breath you bitch about him to everyone that can hear I don't understand.

Kalina

Chief is right, trucks are dangerous. I think it's cos they are so big and can intimidate drivers in cars. There are a fair share of idiots driving them (and driving cars) but I think the majority are competant as they drive for a living and can't afford not to be. My family runs a haulage company, we employ experienced drivers and they all have hands free kits in their cabs. We couldn't afford an accident because the insurance costs would put us out of business. From my experience truck drivers seem to get an unfair portion of the blame in road accidents anyway so the odds are often stacked againts them.
However that's a bit off topic. Slaanesh, at least the trucker that almost ran into you got out and apologised and no damage was done.

Slaanesh

Yes, I am happy that the truck driver pulled over and apoligised to me. He seemed genuinely concerned. The reason I didn't bother exchanging insurance details was that the damage done was minimal, no bent panels or anything just scrapes along the side that doesn't really bother me.

I think that the majority of truck drivers are actually great drivers, it's just when changing lanes you would think the most important thing is to check that there is nothing there before you do so. That's why I call this driver an idiot. Sure it could have been a lapse in concentration, but when your in such a big vehicle, one can't afford to have such lapses.

Slaanesh.

Kalina

I've had a similar experience actually, I was a passenger in a car on the New Ross road out of Waterford one evening and there were 2 trucks on the lane beside us. Our car was about level with the back axle of the first trailer and I got the fright of my life when the trailer suddenly veered across towards us with no warning or indicators. The person I was with hit the brakes and swerved out of the way but we were lucky. The muppet in the truck cut into our lane with no sign of recognition that he had almost flattened us! He and the other truck were in a rush to the docks in Rosslare cos we could see them ahead of us swerving all over the place. We should have reported them.

Victor

Originally posted by Kalina
Chief is right, trucks are dangerous. I think it's cos they are so big and can intimidate drivers in cars.

The intimidation is secondary. Trucks kill a disproportionate number of other road users (relatively few truck drivers get killed) simply because of their weight (not size per se) and the consequent amount of energy they transfer to whatever they hit. That is not to say the drivers are bad drivers, but you need to be exceptionally cautious driving or around a HGV (less so for busses / coaches).