And we wonder why there are crashes?

Message

T.C. · #1 Post by **T.C.** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 10:58 am

I hope both drivers get reported, not just the truck driver

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvid ... hicle.html

BikerGran · #2 Post by **BikerGran** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 3:55 pm

Yes, saw that on Facebook and thought exactly the same!

wayno · #3 Post by **wayno** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 10:13 am

I totally disagree with the pair of you. That lorry driver should be given a medal for raising the awareness off middle lane scum, if the police refuse to do anything about it I say let the lorries drive over them.

I've had it up to hear with them, last week I even saw a police panda car sat in the third lane with nobody on the inside of him for miles.

T.C. · #4 Post by **T.C.** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 1:18 pm

wayno wrote:I totally disagree with the pair of you. That lorry driver should be given a medal for raising the awareness off middle lane scum, if the police refuse to do anything about it I say let the lorries drive over them.

I've had it up to hear with them, last week I even saw a police panda car sat in the third lane with nobody on the inside of him for miles.

Excuse me? The truck could have used lane 1 and gone past in the nearside lane. He has side swiped the idiot in the car, and whilst I have no sympathy for the car driver, the truck driver has gone into lane 3 whoich is illegal, he has then failed to stop after an accident as well as fail to report.

He could have gone past in lane 1 and remained legal.

Panda car drivers no longer get the training anymore. It used to be a requirement that a 3 week course had to e completed before anyone was allowed to drive even a low powered vehicle and they are nt allowed to be involved in pursuits.

Only specialist crews with the appropriate vehicles and training can be used to A) go onto the Motorway operationally, and B) be involved in pursuits.

At the time the Police did say that their traffic crews were involved in a pursuit, and given that numbers and budgets have been cut big time, I can well believe it.

But to suggest that the truck driver should be commended or given a medal ?

No way.......Prosecution for both of them? Absolutely 100%

wayno · #5 Post by **wayno** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 3:48 pm

I agree with prosecution for both of them, but this has got such a massive profile now that hopefully somebody will finally do something about middle lane drivers (if it was me I'd string up 5 a month on the gantry above the lane they were sat in, to send a message. The message from the police is currently "feel free, we don't care"

And as for panda drivers not getting training, there's a thing called the highway code, that is all the training they need to know how a motorway works. The guy in this incident was an ex policeman, he should know better.

I'm not saying what the lorry driver did was right (it was f'ing terrible), I'm saying I'm glad this has got some spotlight and hopefully someone will take notice (I'm sure they won't until it appears on the x factor though)

Aladinsaneuk · #6 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 4:13 pm

Why didn't the car driver remove himself from harm by not antagonising the situation?

fatboy · #7 Post by **fatboy** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 4:44 pm

I can fully understand the lorry driver's frustration but can't condone his actions.
As for the prick hogging the middle lane, dawdling at such a low speed that an HGV ,restricted to 56 mph can easily overtake.....
Sort your fucking life out and get an understanding of cause and affect.

T.C. · #8 Post by **T.C.** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 5:52 pm

wayno wrote:
The guy in this incident was an ex policeman, he should know better.

Ex Special Constable, Hobby Bobby big difference, but yes he should know better.

When it comes to Policing the Motorway, it is a completely different ball game to any other type of policing. And if you believe that the Highway Code is all the trainig that is needed to police the Motorway, then sorry but my respect for you has just gone straight out of the window along with your copy of the Highway Code

I was booking centre lane hoggers back in the late 70's, up until it was decided that traffic police were not front line coppers, it was one of the core offences that drivers got booked for, bearing in mind that we had to spend 12 months working full time on the Motorway before we were allowed to specialise.

Now, most traffic cops have no understanding of traffic law, we have very few professional traffic cops because of tenure of service, numbers have been seriously depleted because traffic is not considered important or front line, despite the fact that we used to make more crime arrests and deal wth more dead bodies than any other department (other than the Coroners officer).

I would love to see more drivers booked and disqualified for centre lane hogging (along with many other Motorway specific offences that I see on a daily basis) but now that we have Highways traffic officers and not Police looking after the Motorway network, it aint going to happen unless evidence presents itself.

randomsquid · #9 Post by **randomsquid** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 6:20 pm

Aladinsaneuk wrote:Why didn't the car driver remove himself from harm by not antagonising the situation?

Because he sells dash cams?
Not that I'm cynical or anything.

squadron Nero · #10 Post by **squadron Nero** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 7:56 pm

They're both a pair of idiots and should both be prosecuted.

People drive however they see fit. I believe the solution to the problem is more traffic cops. Rather than take people's licence away though for what are really misdemeanours they should be sent, at their cost, on a refresher / advanced driving course. Improvement through education and training.

blinkey501 · #11 Post by **blinkey501** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 8:11 am

I am driving 35000 miles per annum just for work and I see a lot of middle lane "Wankers" as I like to call them.

I use the M62 M18 and the M180 daily.

The M62 is full of them.

Tc has mentioned in his earlier post that the wagon could have gone up the inside lane?

Under taking is illegal and could result in a fine and points.

The government made it illegal for the middle lane "Wankers" to do what they are doing and was supposed to be sending the police out to combat this problem.

The car driver and wagon driver in the video were both wrong to do what they were doing, both should get fined and points.

But if the driver of the car was not sat in the middle lane, probably mile after mile. Then the wagon driver would have probably not lost his patience?

I am an experienced driver. I like to be fair to other road users, but I do get frustrated with people who think the middle lane belongs to them.....

Watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_u4wbBzdoE

Aladinsaneuk · #12 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 9:02 am

Actually Jay, I am not certain if there is a specific law against undertaking....

I found this:

The specific offence of undertaking (or nearside undertake) was actually removed from the statute books with the introduction of the 1972 Road Traffic Act, and although the Highway Code advises against it, there is no specific law that prevents it.

The reason for this is in part due to the poor lane discipline experienced on Motorways. There are often many oaccisons (which many of you have probably experienced yourself) when lane 3 is stationary but lanes 1 and 2 are clear and so it is often easier to continue in the inside lanes and keep traffic flowing.

On other occasions drivers will catch up a vehicle doing say 50mph but remains in lane 2 whilst lane 1 is empty (late at night for example) and to go from lane 1 acrosss to lane 3 is potentially just as dangerous, whereas remaining in lane 1 allows the vehicle to pass quite safely (I hope I explained that OK?)

However, whilst there is no specific offence of undertaking, we still have careless driving under section 3 of the 1988 Road Traffic Act, and a driver who undertakes dangerously or badly will find themselves before the court for either careless or in the worst cases dangerous (section 2 of the same act)

But, to obtain a conviction, the prosecution has to show that the standard of driving fell well below the standard expected of a reasonably competent driver, and the act of the nearside overtake would not in itself be sufficient to secure a conviction.

D-Rider · #13 Post by **D-Rider** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 9:48 am

.... and TC continually advises us that it is perfectly legal - and he's the best qualified of us to know.

I used to think it wasn't allowed but since TC has corrected that view, I have been doing so - when safe to do so ..... whilst aware that the middle lane or outside lane numptie will not be expecting it as clearly if they don't know what they are doing is wrong, they are unlikely to know that what I'm doing is correct.

MartDude · #14 Post by **MartDude** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 10:59 am

This should be sent out with all vehicle tax reminders

T.C. · #15 Post by **T.C.** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 11:21 am

blinkey501 wrote:
Under taking is illegal and could result in a fine and points.

The government made it illegal for the middle lane "Wankers" to do what they are doing and was supposed to be sending the police out to combat this problem.

On the first point, this ad been covered, so no need for me to say anymore unless you know something different to me, and please do not show your ignorance by quoting the Highway Code which is advice not law (unless the regulation is supported by an act and section or regulation)

On the second point,, the Governement did not make it illegal, t was aready an offence. Te offence of centre lane hogging has been around since 1972, what did change however was that instead of lane hoggers being booked and put before the court, it can now be dealt with by fixed penalty.