How many of us out there drive a horse lorry on a regular basis but find that some cars often have no concept of how to deal with us on the road? If a lorry is slowed down because a car won’t allow it to pull out, that one incident can add an additional 5 minutes onto the lorry’s journey if it happens at a long uphill incline. Imagine that multiplied, maybe 10 times, over a 200-mile journey.
If you’re a horsebox driver, share this with your car-driving friends…
Pulling onto motorways
A car driver is coming down the slip road to pull onto the motorway and there’s a lorry! S/he is keeping pace with the lorry because it might just slow down to let them out? NO!!!
Either:
– go faster and pull out in front of the lorry without slowing it down, or
– slow down and pull out behind the lorry, therefore, not slowing it down, or
– be an idiot, slow it down and pull right in front of it, jolt the horses but for heaven’s sake, at least say thank you!!
Approaching an uphill climb in the inside two lanes?
Go faster and don’t slow the lorry behind you, especially if it is busy and they are unlikely to be able to or are not allowed to pull out into the next lane – they will find it extremely difficult to pick speed back up going up a hill if they lose momentum.
In speed-restricted roadworks
The speed limit is not exact. Remember that a lorry cannot pull out into the 3rd lane on a motorway. If you must do 5 miles below the allowed mph in roadworks, do it in the inside lane so lorries can pass. Do NOT sit in the middle lane at a speed below that which lorries can travel. Remember that a lorry, or indeed any other road user, may be travelling at up to 10% over the restricted speed limit (to allow for variations in calibrated speedometers), so DONT hinder progress! If you want to go slower – use the INSIDE lane.
On the motorway
WATCH for indicators. Don’t drive along in a trance. A lorry will indicate from the inside lane, if it needs to pull out. If the lorry gets too close to the vehicle in front, without the opportunity to pull out, it will have no choice but to slow down. To pick up speed in an HGV, takes time. Have some thought, if the 3rd lane is free, pull out as soon as is safe to allow a lorry to overtake.
A large number of drivers simply don’t watch what’s happening around them!!
