Other drivers' reactions, or keeping up with the Joneses

[mk2_craig]

HGV's, as in vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, are already restricted from using the outside lane. Not sure on the law with regard to coaches though as i regulary see National Depress coaches overtaking two abreast HGV's.

Coaches are banned from the outside lane and limited to 100km/h nowadays. Trucks are limited to 90km/h I think, would certainly make sense if they were banned from the third and fourth lane on wider motorways. I've never seen three-abreast though, can't happen too regularly except for in a motorways-merge situation?

[pogweasel]

Has anyone told that to national express? I see some amazingly aggressive & dangerous driving by them at well above 60mph. Of course on every occasion the driver was simultaneously gobbling amphetamine sulphates, cracking open another stella, smoking a fag, chopsing on the phone (non hands free), reading the paper and going for a piss......

[Pete-M]

I propose that every coach should be fitted with "Speed" type bombs for when they're on the motorway, with the added bonus that the bomb will explode if they go into the 'fast' lane at any point.Minimum speed 85 mph.Trucks should be fitted with something similar for if they leave the left hand lane for more than 30 seconds on an overtaking manouver. It's trucks doing that ridiculous 5 minute 55.9 vs 55.7 mph overtaking stunt they pull. Double barrelled shotgun in the dash, connected to the tacho, 31 seconds passing another truck and 'BOOM!'. Ok, we'd have to train more truck drivers, but eventually they'd realise that either letting one another past, waiting for a good place to pass, or being executed are the only options.55 mph motorway mimbling shouldn't be allowed, if you don't want to get a move on, use the A roads.

[mk2_craig]

Has anyone told that to national express? I see some amazingly aggressive & dangerous driving by them at well above 60mph. Of course on every occasion the driver was simultaneously gobbling amphetamine sulphates, cracking open another stella, smoking a fag, chopsing on the phone (non hands free), reading the paper and going for a piss......

I doubt National Distress care much, I don't think they actually operate any coaches themselves, just franchise routes out to various outfits some of whom are probably pretty shonky behind the shiny white paint. As long as the vehicle's reasonably on time, they're probably satisfied.I like the on board bomb idea, can we add to the list please anybody driving with fog lamps in clearer than pea-souper conditions? Especially since most new cars have switches that automatically turn the fogs off when the lights are switched off...

[M'coli]

HGV's, as in vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, are already restricted from using the outside lane.

For extra anorak points, can anyone tell me where on the UK's motorway network they are allowed to use the outside lane?

[Mr Lobster]

I like the on board bomb idea, can we add to the list please anybody driving with fog lamps in clearer than pea-souper conditions? Especially since most new cars have switches that automatically turn the fogs off when the lights are switched off...

Now that is a good idea. I'm sick of the number of people driving in the dark with front fogs on. Why FFS? Had some cockgobbler in a newish Kia 4x4 thing behind me on the M6 on my way home last night with bloody great front fogs switched on. Why do they do it, it doesn't improve visiblility unless its foggy (which it wasn't) and just makes them look like selfish, stupid pillocks.

[Ross_K]

HGV's, as in vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, are already restricted from using the outside lane.

For extra anorak points, can anyone tell me where on the UK's motorway network they are allowed to use the outside lane?

Junction 17 on the M8 through Glasgow city centre. The slip road drops you into the outside lane heading east.

 

[mk2_craig]

I remember seeing this elsewhere too; possibly the M1/M6 interchange or somewhere on the Preston Bypass?

 

Or to be pedantic, on one of the single carriageway M-ways

 

No doubt Pathetic Motorways will have more...

[Volksy]

HGV's, as in vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, are already restricted from using the outside lane.

For extra anorak points, can anyone tell me where on the UK's motorway network they are allowed to use the outside lane?

[geekmode]M1 entering Leeds, it states clearly HGV's may use any lane..[/geekmode]

[M'coli]

HGV's, as in vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, are already restricted from using the outside lane.

For extra anorak points, can anyone tell me where on the UK's motorway network they are allowed to use the outside lane?

Junction 17 on the M8 through Glasgow city centre. The slip road drops you into the outside lane heading east.

 

That's one of them. There are a few more, not counting splits of motorways like the end of the M18 or the M898 where you can only go one lane or the other.

 

That's not a Mini in the picture is it?

[andrew e]

M25 JUNCTION 27/M11

[ayd]

ahh growing up in Cheshire I was surrounded by the affluent who owned Porsches and the likes.Now my little g plate Renna 5 turbo was in fine fettle and pushing over 200bhp but looks like a std 5 turbo....the amusement from traffic light grand prix with 'Mr Shades and his Blonde piece in their Bright Yellow Boxter S' was fun for a while, especially when pulling up to the next set of lights they'd hang back and avoid trying to pull along side for me to laugh at them...But after a while it gets boring......more fun to not take them up on their goading and ignore them

[Mr Average]

Junction 5 M25/A21 ?

[M'coli]

Junction 5 M25/A21 ?

M25 JUNCTION 27/M11

That's 2 I didn't know of, great! Any more? (This also allows us to know when to expect the damn things to be there!)

[155V6]

HGV's, as in vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, are already restricted from using the outside lane. Not sure on the law with regard to coaches though as i regulary see National Depress coaches overtaking two abreast HGV's.

Not just HGVs,but anything that's restricted to 56mph,eg,new 7.5 tonners & even some 3.5 tonners(twin rear wheel Transits & Sprinters etc).I drive a 7.5 & the problem is that not all 56 mph's are the same,some do 55,some do about 58,it depends how accurately they were set.This is where you get the overtaking delays,if I'm doing 56 & come across an artic doing 54,I'm obviously going to try & overtake him.The problem comes when you get a bit of a hill,as I've only got about 150 bhp I start to lose speed,but as he's got about 500 & loads more torque,he keeps his. (prepares to get shot down in flames by people saying I should just stay behind him & slow up everyone behind me )

[wuvvum]

I had a 1990 Dodge 50-series recovery truck with a four-pot non-turbo Perkins Phaser. It had been restricted by a friend of the chap I bought it off (to prevent said chap, who had zero mechanical sympathy, blowing the thing up) simply by virtue of the accelerator cable being slackened off to decrease the engine's maximum revs - being a donkey engine designed to run at constant speeds in boats, generators, tractors and the like, the Phaser's terminal revs are very sensitive to throttle position but acceleration is relatively unaffected. The problem was that this is a rather crude method of restricting the speed, and it ended up limiting the truck to 54mph. This was GR8 4 fuel economy on a run, and also very relaxing as I could just put my foot to the floor and hum along in the slow lane not having to worry about overtaking anything, but it did mean that on busy dual carriageways there was a stream of 56mph artics easing past me, which tended to reduce the average speed of traffic on whatever road I was on quite substantially. I eventually tightened the throttle cable right up (a two-minute job) to raise the top speed to a heady 65mph, which was fast enough for me to get past the heavies without taking ten minutes over it. Hills were another matter - the Phaser only had 90bhp so my chances of keeping up with the 500bhp Scanias up hills (especially with a car on the back) were zilch.