Drivers: are trucks holding you up?

JMSE

Do you as drivers using the national routes (i.e. the old main roads linking major towns and cities) find they are sitting behind trucks a lot more lately. The private speed camera vans are most likely the reason for this.

As a truck driver myself I notice longer queues behind me now because I'm limiting myself to 80km/h. The truck can do 90 under European and UK law and are limited to 90 because of this but in Ireland we are still limited to 80.

The gardai have always turned a blind eye to us driving at 90 because I suppose they are giving us maximum leeway on whatever discrepancy % they allow for all motorists (10%?) and they are probably happy to know that the truck limiter is working and not 'out of order'.

The new private camera vans arent showing any leeway though whatsoever according to reports from other motorists, both car and truck. Now when I am on one of the old N routes I have to stick to 80 and theres disadvantages to this:
1. Motorists in cars dont want to drive at 80 where 100 is their limit so they are itching to get by and theres goin to be fools and accidents0
2. Trucks are goin to be on the hard shoulder now most of the time letting traffic pass and thats not good
3. 80 is my max but its slow so I'm goin to drive at the max but I have to watch the speedometer instead of the road because of the lack of leeway.

So, what this thread is about is this; do other motorists, car bus and bike drivers, find this slower trucks thing a problem or do you agree that I should hold you up?

mickdw

I dont think you should have a problem, being a professional driver in keeping your truck below 80km/hr while still keeping sufficient view of the road and your surroundings. I think 80 is a reasonable speed for trucks and I dont have any issue with coming up behind a truck doing this speed as long as the driver makes every effort to allow traffic past at first opportunity. Again, an experienced lorry driver should be able to safely handle using the hard shoulder to allow this however the number of times Ive seen lorry continue to indicate left to allow cars past with a rapidly shrinking hard shoulder ahead is scary with the end result of a low powered car being unable to safely complete the overtake.

challengemaster

TBH, tractors are MUCH more problematic

x in the city

from my experiences only about 5-10% of any SMV* pulled over or let drivers pass out., this includes Slow ass cars also and roads with ample room or hard shoulders/slow lanes.

pretty pathetic..but standard for Irish Driving


Slow
Moving
AsshoVehicles

-Corkie-

Most transport companies are limiting their fleet to 80 KPH anyway as it saves fuel.

I have noticed trucks going slower as well but I have slowed down too. I normally done 120KPH+ on N roads. Truck drivers are not obliged to pull in to the hard shoulder but most do.

Actually Mickdw just reminded me. I have often been behing a truck with small cars in front of me. The truck is pulled in leaving loads of room to pass and before the road narrows the small car passes fcuking everyone up as they must wait for the next oppurtunity.

-Chris-

I'm doing a bit of mileage at the moment, and I'm AMAZED at the number of truck drivers in the overtaking lane (far right) overtaking another truck who's doing 80KMPH.

I thought the rule was that trucks could only be in the RHS lane if there's a "slow moving vehicle" in the driving lane.

As a 80KMPH driver, would you consider yourself a slow moving vehicle?

dirtydiesel

I was driving trucks until the celtic tiger went awol, so I am always watching how a truck driver behaves when I end up behind one, cant say ive been held up behind one any more than usual.
Only truck related thing ive noticed is there seems to be a lot less foreign reg trucks around, seemed to be a lot more of them when I was a trucker.

slimjimmc

I see a lot more vehicles slipstreaming trucks at 80km/h just to save fuel (you probably can't see them from your cab ) , and that can be frustrating on a single carriageway because you need extra overtaking space.

-Corkie-

-Chris- wrote: »

I'm doing a bit of mileage at the moment, and I'm AMAZED at the number of truck drivers in the overtaking lane (far right) overtaking another truck who's doing 80KMPH.

I thought the rule was that trucks could only be in the RHS lane if there's a "slow moving vehicle" in the driving lane.

As a 80KMPH driver, would you consider yourself a slow moving vehicle?

A HGV driver could be prosecuted if he was caught passing out another truck in the second lane.

Whats happening Chris is only a fraction of hauliers have the trucks cut back 80. More trucks are running at 82-85 and then their is the boyos pulling the Norfolkline fridges who are limited to the steel on the floor..:P

furtzy

-Corkie- wrote: »

A HGV driver could be prosecuted if he was caught passing out another truck in the second lane.

Whats happening Chris is only a fraction of hauliers have the trucks cut back 80. More trucks are running at 82-85 and then their is the boyos pulling the Norfolkline fridges who are limited to the steel on the floor..:P

This has become far more common. Most days on the M2 you have a HGV overtaking another by doing 1kph more in the overtaking lane resulting in overtakes taking 2 kilometres or more. Its going to cause a huge pile up some day and the gardai need to start prosecuting for this. HGV drivers used to be amongst the most corteous and professional on the road but this is no longer the case with red light jumping etc common place

slimjimmc

-Chris- wrote: »

I'm doing a bit of mileage at the moment, and I'm AMAZED at the number of truck drivers in the overtaking lane (far right) overtaking another truck who's doing 80KMPH.

I thought the rule was that trucks could only be in the RHS lane if there's a "slow moving vehicle" in the driving lane.

As a 80KMPH driver, would you consider yourself a slow moving vehicle?

Nah, trucks are only allowed in the rightmost overtaking lane if the speed limit is 80km/h or less, or if there is an obstruction* in the driving lane.

* 'obstruction' means blockage, not an inconvenience such as slower moving traffic.

Where To

x in the city wrote: »

from my experiences only about 5-10% of any SMV* pulled over or let drivers pass out., this includes Slow ass cars also and roads with ample room or hard shoulders/slow lanes.

pretty pathetic..but standard for Irish Driving


Slow
Moving
AsshoVehicles

Hard shoulders are not for driving on!!

Antiquo

furtzy wrote: »

This has become far more common. Most days on the M2 you have a HGV overtaking another by doing 1kph more in the overtaking lane resulting in overtakes taking 2 kilometres or more. Its going to cause a huge pile up some day and the gardai need to start prosecuting for this. HGV drivers used to be amongst the most corteous and professional on the road but this is no longer the case with red light jumping etc common place

I do a lot of mileage here and abroad and this is one of the biggest issues now that Irish trucks in the most part are properly limited.

As for the old national routes I try to avoid them like the plague there seems to be a lot more trucks using them and they are tearing the ar$e out of the already pot hole ridden roads.:)

Our man in Havana

where do i go from here wrote: »

Hard shoulders are not for driving on!!

Read your rules of the road then.

bbam

I think all (90%) traffic has noticeably slowed down and I've been marking it down to fuel savings attempts.. It can be quite frustrating but understanding at the same time...

_Kaiser_

Have to agree with a comment above - truck drivers used to be among the most courteous on the roads and aware of their vehicle and traffic behind them and would make every reasonable effort to let cars progress when possible.

Seems to have changed in the last while.. I've put it down to an influx of less-skilled, cheaper drivers into the business myself (and before someone pulls the PC card :rolleyes:, I'm talking Irish drivers too!)

Even the Army are at it though.. I was on the M3 the other morning and came up behind an army truck doing about 100 with a wildly swinging mini-trailer behind it... lethal! Half expected it to break off in front of me. :eek:

_Kaiser_

where do i go from here wrote: »

Hard shoulders are not for driving on!!

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Read your rules of the road then.

Wasting your time...

This point has been done to death here - as you and I know, it's not illegal to move into the hard shoulder briefly to allow a vehicle to pass... as opposed to driving along in it continuously.

But considering the recent roundabout thread, I'm not surprised to see it crop up yet again!

corktina

i think its only Motorways that trucks arent permitted in the outer lane. Dual carriageways and lanes with slow lanes its quite OK (and its OK by me on the Motorway too.)

-Chris-

corktina wrote: »

i think its only Motorways that trucks arent permitted in the outer lane. Dual carriageways and lanes with slow lanes its quite OK (and its OK by me on the Motorway too.)

Not for me. If I'm doing 120KMPH and a truck not too far ahead of me pulls into the overtaking lane, I suddenly find myself in the overtaking lane with a closing speed of 30KMPH+.

This makes me brake, and I HATE braking on the motorway.

JMSE

corktina wrote: »

i think its only Motorways that trucks arent permitted in the outer lane. Dual carriageways and lanes with slow lanes its quite OK (and its OK by me on the Motorway too.)

thanks corktina for that because although its not permitted apparently on a motorway, I do pass if theres a reasonable difference in our speeds, and I havent seen the gardai pull anybody for doing that. The 1kmh faster drivers - thats a joke alright, I've no bother hangin behind someone doin more or less the same speed as me.

Back to the main issue, it seems that theres a lot of patience out there alright with boards drivers but I'm not so sure with what I see out there. I also dont think theres any difference at all in the amount of truckers who move over to let you by as opposed to 20 years ago. Some do some dont.

charlemont

where do i go from here wrote: »

Hard shoulders are not for driving on!!

:rolleyes:

Where To

charlemont wrote: »

:rolleyes:

sorry i forgot this is a country where people drive irresponsibly and endanger lives because there is no specific rotr preventing it:rolleyes:

:pac:

charlemont

where do i go from here wrote: »

sorry i forgot this is a country where people drive irresponsibly and endanger lives because there is no specific rotr preventing it:rolleyes:

:pac:

Driving with such a forgetful memory could also be considered highly dangerous.. :cool:

langdang

TBH, I often drive one of the worst cattletracks masquerading as an intercity route (Cork - Limerick) and I pity any truck driver trying to earn his wage and get his goods to the destination on time. There is ALWAYS a yaris/focus/corolla at the top of the queue doing 60kph. But it is piss poor drivers and roads are the problem not any specific vehicles...

x in the city

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Wasting your time...

This point has been done to death here - as you and I know, it's not illegal to move into the hard shoulder briefly to allow a vehicle to pass... as opposed to driving along in it continuously.

But considering the recent roundabout thread, I'm not surprised to see it crop up yet again!

even 'veterans' here dont know the rules of the road, no wonder the roads are a joke.

I was driving up in the scottish highlands in february, with hardly no visibility storm force winds, hail and snow.. the works, and there was a car in front with fog lights on...

no big deal huh, so i was amazed to see the driver turn off the light when i got behind them.

compare that to carry on here with idiots using fog lights at 9am in the morning

x in the city

x in the city wrote: »

compare that to carry on here with idiots using fog lights at 9am in the morning

Fog is independent of time, can have serious fog here at 9am :rolleyes:

-Corkie-

x in the city wrote: »

even 'veterans' here dont know the rules of the road, no wonder the roads are a joke.

I was driving up in the scottish highlands in february, with hardly no visibility storm force winds, hail and snow.. the works, and there was a car in front with fog lights on...

no big deal huh, so i was amazed to see the driver turn off the light when i got behind them.

compare that to carry on here with idiots using fog lights at 9am in the morning

Good point. Thats because UK drivers have a better road sence than us. Did you ever merge of a slip road over there and the car in lane 1 will move to lane 2 to allow you join the traffic. In this country they will do there best not to let you out.

x in the city

RoverJames wrote: »

Fog is independent of time, can have serious fog here at 9am :rolleyes:

yes, for moronic drivers in Ireland.

and to answer your question, there is nothing unusual about morning fog...

-Corkie-

RoverJames wrote: »

Fog is independent of time, can have serious fog here at 9am :rolleyes:

I think his point was when the fog is long gone people still have the incorrect lights on. Anyway thats way way off a unspoken topic...:pac:

x in the city

x in the city wrote: »

yes, for moronic drivers in Ireland.

and to answer your question, there is nothing unusual about morning fog...

I wasn't asking a question

O.A.P

compare that to carry on here with idiots using fog lights at 9am in the morning[/QUOTE]
Have you made a mistake in your post?
As far as I know its not a problem using the fog lights when its foggy regardless of the time.

x in the city

O.A.P wrote: »

compare that to carry on here with idiots using fog lights at 9am in the morning

Have you made a mistake in your post?
As far as I know its not a problem using the fog lights when its foggy regardless of the time.[/QUOTE]

ughh, well of course not, but more often than most it so happens they are used when there is like no fog. :rolleyes:

combine that with our thinking that side lights or dims (or no front lights at all) are perfect for driving in hazardour driving conditions (like fog and etc...:rolleyes::rolleyes:)

O.A.P

x in the city wrote: »

Have you made a mistake in your post?
As far as I know its not a problem using the fog lights when its foggy regardless of the time.

ughh, well of course not, but more often than most it so happens they are used when there is like no fog. :rolleyes:

combine that with our thinking that side lights or dims (or no front lights at all) are perfect for driving in hazardour driving conditions (like fog and etc...:rolleyes::rolleyes:)[/QUOTE]
Right so you have made a mistake then, I think.
You remind me of the sarcastic priest on Father Ted.

Our man in Havana

-Corkie- wrote: »

Good point. Thats because UK drivers have a better road sence than us. Did you ever merge of a slip road over there and the car in lane 1 will move to lane 2 to allow you join the traffic. In this country they will do there best not to let you out.

+1

Irish drivers are amongst the most ignorant in the world.

-Chris-

NO FOG LIGHT THREADS!

corktina

Our man in Havana wrote: »

+1

Irish drivers are amongst the most ignorant in the world.

thats my opinion too..in fact Id have left out the "amongst" bit only I havent driven EVERYWHERE in the world.

x in the city

Our man in Havana wrote: »

+1

Irish drivers are amongst the most ignorant in the world.

thank god I am well away from Ireland's roads now.

good riddance to SMVs and Fog Light loonys.

-Chris-

-Chris- wrote: »

NO FOG LIGHT THREADS!

x in the city wrote: »

thank god I am well away from Ireland's roads now.

good riddance to SMVs and Fog Light loonys.

Mention the words "fog" and "light" in same post in this thread again and you'll be well away from Ireland's boards.ie Motoring forum too... :):mad:

650Ginge

-Chris- wrote: »

Mention the words "fog" and "light" in same post in this thread again and you'll be well away from Ireland's boards.ie Motoring forum too... :):mad:

Why cant we mention those words?

Irish drivers are the worst I have come across. Most aggressive, most ignorant and worst trained.

As for driving in a hard shoulder, it might be legal but it is so so dangerous, encouraging three abreast and what if someone does the same thing coming the other way 4 abreast.....madness....

-Chris-

650Ginge wrote: »

Why cant we mention those words?

Because it's against the Charter. There's a history behind it and bloody good reason for it.

Questioning moderator instruction on-thread is also against the Charter.

Please read the Charter before posting again.

slimjimmc

650Ginge wrote: »

Why cant we mention those words?

Irish drivers are the worst I have come across. Most aggressive, most ignorant and worst trained.

As for driving in a hard shoulder, it might be legal but it is so so dangerous, encouraging three abreast and what if someone does the same thing coming the other way 4 abreast.....madness....

Who's encourage anyone to drive 3 abreast? It's an exaggeration to say the least.

Driving (as in continually) in the hard shoulder is not legal but you are permitted to move into it briefly when safe to allow faster traffic past when they wouldn't otherwise be able to overtake you safely. The "when safe" rule doesn't make it any more dangerous than any other traffic manoeuvre. Since you mention what-ifs, what if someone coming the other way ploughs into you because he pulled out from behind a slow moving vehicle that stuck doggedly to the main carriageway. But sure, as you say, it's much safer for him not to move over and to continue aggravating other motorists' frustrations. :rolleyes:


And on the thread topic, the only trucks that hold me up are the ones who creep past other trucks in the outer overtaking lane. I'm not bothered by them on single lane roads, many of them move quick enough anyway.

Stinicker

Nah, I find truck drivers to be fine and about the same, and will realise if they are causing a blockage and very often use the hard shoulder (as a courtesy).

However in recent times I have come across alot of people slowing their cars right down and the amount of SUV doing about 80kmh I have seen is mind boggling, add in the normal road blockers like Micras, Yaris's etc. and speeds are down all over the shop.

I stick at a common 110km/h on N routes and 140km/h on the Motorway, just because fuel is more expensive won't have an effect on my driving habits as you really can't squeeze blood from a turnip in terms of MPG. Reduce your mileage and not your speed if you want to dodge fuel costs.

x in the city

One of the saddest things about Ireland are the moronic drivers who dont have balls or intelligence to pass out trucks/tractors or the like on roads, thus ensuing massive tail backs and leading to aggressive driving.

Again, a feature of driving on the Irish roads., in some cases it is largely unavoidable as the cars they are driving probably cant go any faster to pass out said slow moving vehicle.

Stinicker

x in the city wrote: »

One of the saddest things about Ireland are the moronic drivers who dont have balls or intelligence to pass out trucks/tractors or the like on roads, thus ensuing massive tail backs and leading to aggressive driving.

Again, a feature of driving on the Irish roads., in some cases it is largely unavoidable as the cars they are driving probably cant go any faster to pass out said slow moving vehicle.

Downhill with a good tailwind maybe, If I ever become supreme dictator of Ireland my first move will be to ban all <2.0l cars from the roads and free fuel for all! And have a national day of Mr. Bean like fun where we can all drive a tank over a nissan micra of your choice.

650Ginge

slimjimmc wrote: »

Who's encourage anyone to drive 3 abreast? It's an exaggeration to say the least.

Driving (as in continually) in the hard shoulder is not legal but you are permitted to move into it briefly when safe to allow faster traffic past when they wouldn't otherwise be able to overtake you safely. The "when safe" rule doesn't make it any more dangerous than any other traffic manoeuvre. Since you mention what-ifs, what if someone coming the other way ploughs into you because he pulled out from behind a slow moving vehicle that stuck doggedly to the main carriageway. But sure, as you say, it's much safer for him not to move over and to continue aggravating other motorists' frustrations. :rolleyes:


And on the thread topic, the only trucks that hold me up are the ones who creep past other trucks in the outer overtaking lane. I'm not bothered by them on single lane roads, many of them move quick enough anyway.

If there is nothing coming in the opposite direction then surely you can just overtake as normal. No-one needs to get outta the way so you can get past. Otherwise it would be three abreast.

Agree with trucks overtaking on the motorway to get past a vehicle doing 1kmh less. A lot of inconvience for everyone behind them.

lau1247

I don't mind being stuck behind a truck at 80kph, they are typically nice enough to let you pass when possible..

The only thing I hate is the stones that comes off the back of them.. destroy the paint of the car.. if you stay too far, it's difficult to catch up to overtake, if you stay too close, you'll have to take the hit..

giant_midget

Never noticed it to be honest, I travel on the M1 every day what annoys me most about the M1 is those poxy "matthews" busses...These goons seem to weave in and out of lanes quite often..I have seen them pulling out in front of cars quite ignorantly :mad: 9all this at 80kph)