66mpg today

[benchmark]

Speaking as a lorry driver, cars doing 50 to 56 mph on a duel carraigeway or motorway are a right pain in the arse as HGVs have a speed limiter set to a max of 56 but can be as low as 52 depending on how much fuel the boss wants to save. This makes it almost impossible to overtake at times due to the low speed differential. Bear in mind that a car doing an indicated 56 will probably equate to 53 on a calibrated tachograph in the lorry.

If you are pootling along saving fuel and with all the time in world and an HGV with a timed delivery schedule creeps up behind you I would suggest either tapping it up or down a couple of mph to either maintain a good gap or let him pass at a decent speed without blocking lane 2 for too long.

Tin hat is on for all the abuse from the anti lorry brigade ...................................and don't get me going about the caravaners who lose speed going up hill only to then speed up going down leaving the lorry stranded in the outside lane .

I will you what hacks me off big time.
One lorry overtaking another on a wee hill or whatever and taking forever to pass, hogging the lane for ages.
I have seen this many times, sometime the lorry will eventually give up and pull in the back.
Crap driving or what!

I agree and yet this is what he's complaining about if he was to try and overtake a car doing exactly the same speed to save fuel

[Deleted User 3871]

Im a caravaner and try to do 55mph on the motorway, dual carriage way to try conserve fuel. Even at this speed i'm only getting 30 mpg. I usually get overtaken by lorries that mostly go past quick enough, If I do get one only just creeping past I will tap the cruse control down a couple mph to let him past quicker and then bring the speed back up. Its not hard to do & keeps most people happy enough.

My experiences are the opposite, lorry tries to overtake going uphill and then has to drop back because he's so heavy. But going over the top he speeds up because he's so fat & heavy. I think this works both ways.

If you are pootling along saving fuel and with all the time in world and an HGV with a timed delivery schedule creeps up behind you I would suggest either tapping it up or down a couple of mph to either maintain a good gap or let him pass at a decent speed without blocking lane 2 for too long.

and don't get me going about the caravaners who lose speed going up hill only to then speed up going down leaving the lorry stranded in the outside lane

[switchback]

I will you what hacks me off big time.
One lorry overtaking another on a wee hill or whatever and taking forever to pass, hogging the lane for ages.
I have seen this many times, sometime the lorry will eventually give up and pull in the back.
Crap driving or what!

Yes, this is crap driving. In the trucking world it's called an "elephant race" and is hated by truck drivers as much as anyone else. The trouble is that delivery schedules and timed deliveries means that drivers are sometimes pushed to make up time, with 1 mph extra over the driving period putting you 4.5 miles further down the road and possibly to you destination. If not, you need another break which then puts you another 45 minutes behind. It can take miles to plan a proper overtake due to the fact that the 2 vehicles will have different performance due to engine power and load. A less powerful but heavily loaded truck will be slower up the hill but faster down it than a powerful truck with a light load. If someone has mis-judged an overtake, I tend to knock it down a notch until he's passed then resume the original speed. Speed limiters will not hold a laden truck below 56 mph down a hill..........................that's where the brakes or exhaust brakes are used. The max legal speed on DC's and motorways is 60 mph even though the limiter is set t 56.

[switchback]

Im a caravaner and try to do 55mph on the motorway, dual carriage way to try conserve fuel. Even at this speed i'm only getting 30 mpg. I usually get overtaken by lorries that mostly go past quick enough, If I do get one only just creeping past I will tap the cruse control down a couple mph to let him past quicker and then bring the speed back up. Its not hard to do & keeps most people happy enough.

Thats exactly the point I was trying to make. If ALL road users did this (including HGVs) the traffic would flow much better.

[rod9669]

56 on a motorway and 50 on a dual carriageway is dangerous driving as far as I'm concerned. Sorry

Please enlighten me on your statement?

So, a lorry doing 56mph is dangerous too, tell me the difference please?

I would think that you driving and I will quote what said on another thread at 80ish is far and away more dangerous than driving at 56mph.

As has been said, you are travelling slower than lorries - people expect lorries to do 56 and can pre-judge it. You doing 56 (really 54 if your speedo is as accurate as mine) causes a lorry to pull out into the overtaking lane, causing problems for everybody on 2 lane roads

Yes, I might be considered a "fast" driver by loads of you on here, but like the lorry drivers I drive for a living. Slow car drivers frustrate "normal" speed drivers on single and dual carriageway roads, and in my opinion cause just as many accidents

Inappropriate speed, whether too fast or too slow, is dangerous

That's all I'm going to say on the matter or we'll be up to page 96!!!

[Bros]

56 on a motorway and 50 on a dual carriageway is dangerous driving as far as I'm concerned. Sorry

Please enlighten me on your statement?

So, a lorry doing 56mph is dangerous too, tell me the difference please?

I would think that you driving and I will quote what said on another thread at 80ish is far and away more dangerous than driving at 56mph.

As has been said, you are travelling slower than lorries - people expect lorries to do 56 and can pre-judge it. You doing 56 (really 54 if your speedo is as accurate as mine) causes a lorry to pull out into the overtaking lane, causing problems for everybody on 2 lane roads

Yes, I might be considered a "fast" driver by loads of you on here, but like the lorry drivers I drive for a living. Slow car drivers frustrate "normal" speed drivers on single and dual carriageway roads, and in my opinion cause just as many accidents

Inappropriate speed, whether too fast or too slow, is dangerous

That's all I'm going to say on the matter or we'll be up to page 96!!!

Speeding for a living has no justification whatsoever, it is downright dangerous end of.
Your argument is very weak indeed, I will say no more!

[RVW]

56 on a motorway and 50 on a dual carriageway is dangerous driving as far as I'm concerned. Sorry

I tend to agree with statement.
If you were taking your driving test in a car, you would probably FAIL because you are not what they say is,
" not making due progress". In other words your driving to slow!
It is however all dependant on the prevailing conditions on the road.

[rod9669]

As has been said, you are travelling slower than lorries - people expect lorries to do 56 and can pre-judge it. You doing 56 (really 54 if your speedo is as accurate as mine) causes a lorry to pull out into the overtaking lane, causing problems for everybody on 2 lane roads

Yes, I might be considered a "fast" driver by loads of you on here, but like the lorry drivers I drive for a living. Slow car drivers frustrate "normal" speed drivers on single and dual carriageway roads, and in my opinion cause just as many accidents

Inappropriate speed, whether too fast or too slow, is dangerous

That's all I'm going to say on the matter or we'll be up to page 96!!![/quote]

Speeding for a living has no justification whatsoever, it is downright dangerous end of.
Your argument is very weak indeed, I will say no more![/quote]

One final question - could you stop in a shorter distance in

a - Nissan QQ at 80mph

or

b - Austin Maxi at 56mph, without ABS, with crossply tires etc?

The speed limit on motorways has been 70 since year dot, even though cars are now safer than they've ever been. Most crashes do not occur on motorways

[Bros]

[quote][/One final question - could you stop in a shorter distance in

a - Nissan QQ at 80mph

or

b - Austin Maxi at 56mph, without ABS, with crossply tires etc?

The speed limit on motorways has been 70 since year dot, even though cars are now safer than they've ever been. Most crashes do not occur on motorways ]

I don't know the answer.

The fact is your are breaking the law driving at 80, what do you not get about that?
Back in the year dot when 70 was set there were far less cars on the motorways etc.

I think we need to agree to disagree on this issue you will certainly not convince moi that you are right.

Ps for the record my normal driving speed (allowing for road conditions) is usually about 70mph

Regards
Bobby

[Bros]

56 on a motorway and 50 on a dual carriageway is dangerous driving as far as I'm concerned. Sorry

I tend to agree with statement.
If you were taking your driving test in a car, you would probably FAIL because you are not what they say is,
" not making due progress". In other words your driving to slow!
It is however all dependant on the prevailing conditions on the road.

I do not agree, firstly you would not be on a motorway during your test so that's bollocks.
10mph under the speed limit on a dual carriage would also not fail you, maybe 20mph under would.