Bullied By A Lorry

[jay dh]

If you really needed to undertake, seriously, drop it a few gears and do the manouver in a second or less.

←

of course i dropped down gears, started overtaking in 2nd and went into 3rd, overtaking him would have taken about 3 secs

[Vlad_E]

And as for the bullying thing between a car and a lorry, what do you expect? A lorry driver is hardly going to be shy, if you hit him he wouldn't even feel it! When learning to drive an LGV or HGV we get taught to be on the offensive, we need more room, we dont have the visibility and we dont have the power or braking to change what we are doing in an instance.

[jay dh]

why would he need more room when going straight?

ive never seen a lorry use 2 wide lanes when going up to and round a large roundabout before

[Tegan]

why would he need more room when going straight?

ive never seen a lorry use 2 wide lanes when going up to and round a large roundabout before

←

How was he going straight when going round a roundabout?

You cant have seen many lorries - they do it all the time

[JustJJ]

I have seen them take up 2 lanes... loads of times... a big artic like that will need decent turning space...

coming off a roundabout where i was in a slip road and the lorry came straight across the lorry nearly made a sandwich out of me and the pavement, but i made him aware i was there and he backed off instantly sorry...

Yes you get all types of Lorry drivers, much like you get all types of cars drivers.... but those artics are not easy to drive... (not from personal experience but i know peeps who have)....

Whether you felt bullied or not is your own personal feelings in the matter, he probably thought that you were being an impatient little SOB :P trying to get past and he might not have been sure what you were up to...

Its also very true about the blind spot, they are massive in artics... once saw TV show where they showed the blind spot foriegn lorries have over here (which is the same for a UK lorry if you are undertaking!)...

At the end of the day.. maybe he needed the space.. maybe he didnt.... but you were in the wrong for undertaking even if there was loads of space etc... its bad form and you drove right into his blind spot... he probably thought you were just another plonker in a little car trying to get past by any means....even tho you may drive wonderfully 99% of the time....

*shrugs

[Caz SR]

That was my point too JJ

The driver may have been taking up two lanes to set himself up for the roundabout, as per my first post. By the sounds of it, you were in his blind spot more than once. Not sure if you realised it at the time though. As you were in the mindset that this guy was bullying you and you were both having an exchange of words, any action he took may have been mistaken for provocation.

*But* none of us were there, so to be fair these are assumptions based on personal experiences. I guess you'll be a bit more defensive with the next one you encounter, so everything's a learning experience.

[GIDDLEPIN]

When I drive artic's and I'm making a left turn that needs a wider turning area I always live on the nearside mirror making sure that there is no vehicle especially motorbikes coming down the inside, I've been driving HGV's for over thirty years and I STILL drive this way, but having said that I know PLENTY of other HGV drivers that I wouldn't even let loose on a pram!! It honestly makes me wonder how some of them can talk and breathe at the same time

[Demonic Angel]

It could have been worse.... your car could have tipped over like mine did....

Now I always always always give any large vehicle a wide berth..... I'd much rather be 2 mins late than take one of those on for a second time.... 

←

Your car tipped over Em?? :o

←

Yeah, my old Matiz... I was being overtaken by a lorry who then decided to cut me up so I basically got forced off the road by it and my car mounted a concrete barrier and tipped over.

I now have the utmost respect (and fear) for lorries. I stay away from them if at all possible! Because they're so large, they dont see you - and thats all the happened with me, the guy thought he'd gone past, but I was in his blind spot.

[sotal]

That must have been scary in a Matiz - That has got to be one car I wouldn't like to roll in!

[Demonic Angel]

That must have been scary in a Matiz - That has got to be one car I wouldn't like to roll in!

←

It actually took it very well believe it or not - wasnt a write off amazingly, minor damage to the under-front of the car where it hit concrete and passenger side panels and doors needed replacing....

Doors are heavier than you think when you are trying to open them from undeneath - it took two huge burly blokes to open the door and get me out!

Scary experience, scarier than a head on collision, thats for sure!

[sotal]

yeah I expect it would be scary. I would have thought a head on collision would be scary in the seconds leading up to it though!!

I've only had a woman run in the back of me which was a bit scary as I watched her come all the way through the rear view mirror, then bang and car wrote off, and I came off my motorbike but that wasn't scary I was just confused - didn't know what had happened!

I amazed the Matiz wasn't a write off - must have been pretty expensive to fix though!

[Demonic Angel]

yeah I expect it would be scary. I would have thought a head on collision would be scary in the seconds leading up to it though!!

I've only had a woman run in the back of me which was a bit scary as I watched her come all the way through the rear view mirror, then bang and car wrote off, and I came off my motorbike but that wasn't scary I was just confused - didn't know what had happened!

I amazed the Matiz wasn't a write off - must have been pretty expensive to fix though!

←

It was very almost a write off they told me.... but they fixed him up, but by the time I got him back I'd bought my 1st Yaris, so I just ended up selling him on....

The head on was scary, but it happened so quickly, where as the car mounting the barrier and tipping, it seemed to take ages to happen - I know it sounds weird, but it felt like slow motion, plus with the head on, I could get myself out of the car but I couldnt when it tipped, which is scary when you see what you think is smoke coming out of your bonnet....

Having someone hit you from behind must be awful.... cause you dont see it coming!

[Moffmo]

When i crashed, imagine how the other driver felt when he saw me coming sideways to him

went proper slow motion, made eye contact, slid down his side then BANG

[seveer unaek]

Although I don't have my HGV, I regularly move our artics about the yard so understand just how much room they need..... In fact reversing them is most fun because when looking in the mirrors things do look deceiving especially the near side mirrors....

←

I'll agree with that... iv shifted some in our yard before and they are a pig... unless you've driven one, there can be NO comment... they are a b*tch. When you drive one, you never use your interior mirror again... no point! Everything is in the sides!!

we get taught to be on the offensive, we need more room, we dont have the visibility and we dont have the power or braking to change what we are doing in an instance.

←

In back-up of this... has anyone ever cut a lorry up?? Well... don't! It takes not long to stop if the air brakes are slammed (VERY surprising how quick they can stop in an emergency) but, not only can this jack-knife the wagon, it can cause the drivers coffee and donut to go everywhere! Plus, it then takes about 3 weeks to get back up to speed!!

Simple rule, if you see any vehicle, especially something large like this... just back off... let them have their accident somewhere else... no harm in slowing down... your manhood won't shrink if you do. (Or womanhood (?!?!) if a girly!)