HGV drivers?

Why do many artic drivers insist on tailgating to the point of stupidity?
I am a hgv driver and I am apauled at what I see for proffesional drivers, bear in mind they can have 20-30tons on the back pushing them, I see trucks travelling at maximum speed and you couldnt fit a mini in the gap they create...if the truck in front stops you can bet the guy who hits him is going to kill himself..
I think these idiots should be treated like criminals and be given an automatic 6 points...does anybody agree, and before somebody says they have to keep the revs up, what is a few revs compared to death.
Additional Details
Musonic, I can not agree, as I said I am a HGV driver , as for saving fuel it is not the driver who pays, as for killing yourself then the driver and his family pays, I disagree with a 56 mph speed limit, as I feel this is part of the problem, but if you were to drive at nights with no headlights this would be deemed as crazy, so tailgating no matter what excuse is equally as bad, as profesional drivers we are taught to drive ahead, you can not do this when you are stuck up somebodies rear......

shayney boy

yes i agree but you know that they will survive and some poor family will die in a car travelling close by!

hakuna matata

I agree with you that H.G.V's travel too close to other vehicles in front. The standard and professionalism of heavy goods driving has gone downhill in this last decade. The East european drivers and the Irish drivers in particular seem to be the worst. I also think that the heavy truck accidents have increased enormously at the same time. Virtually everyday now you get an overturned lorry on our roads. A lot of the problems is that the truck owners are wanting too many deliveries to be done in too short a time. I was pleased to leave the industry a couple of years ago and certainly don't miss it.

p508501

im a professional hgv driver (,on nights )and i totally aggree there"s too many tailgaters on the road car drivers included, ive reverted to dropping ur speed to around 83km theres always that gap for me to see whats happening ahead , and the time i lose getting to my destination is only 10-20 minutes depending the distance, my one pet hate especially on nights. is fog lights,all fog lights shud be banned from all vehiclesthey are there to let other people see u , so why dont ppl turn them off after overtaking u or when visibillity improves. also when ppl see a fog light in distance ahead they always speed up to follow it , no fog light ppl will drive slower

MIKE D

They are so regular and evident on motorways - the police should surely be able to pick up on it. I might also mention the reguar use of mobile phones whilst driving - it is now seemingly worse than ever - and yes, articulaed vehicle drivers do it notwithstanding their size , momentum and ability to kill and maim.

ANSAG

Despite its dangers the big trucks use a technique that racers call drafting, the truck in the front of the group "plows" throught the air and the following trucks dont have to because the air has not filled in the space between the two vehicles, this essentially makes the two trucks aerodynamically one. This technique saves gas for the latter trucks. Many of them travel in some ad-hoc convoy where they leap-frog eachother to equalize the cost and speed evenly. I do agree that something should be done, but from their prospective it is a way of performing their job better, many of them pay for their own fuel and try to conserve as much as possible. Its dangerous but I think there is very little we can do other than stay out of their way. They dont make much so every penny counts for them.

Pit Bull

IMHO the standard of professional driving has definitely plummeted in recent years. I think that too much pressure is being put on the drivers to meet unrealistic deadlines, but the speed at which most Commercial vehicles are driven at is as frightening as it is illegal. The drivers are doing themselves no favours. They're just stacking up health problems in years to come, and perhaps should learn that the trick is to maintain a decent average speed over the entire journey.
Better 5 minutes late in this world than 20 years to early in the next.

dogbob

I agree, i drive for a living too i see it all the time but if the punishment doesn't fit the crime they wont stop. its not just artics ALL types of vehicles do!

Roy S

Trucks take a lot of fuel to push their way through the air. Companies have bonus schemes to encourage drivers to save fuel.
What better way to do this than travelling as close as possible to the truck in front and using his 'hole in the air'? They are encouraging dangerous driving.
As car driver I hate and as far as possible avoid getting between two trucks.
RoyS

wullie l

Yes, im a pro driver myself and seen it so many times. One touch of the brake and its carnage. Scary !!! Don't do it !

Wendylou

I see this all the time, and why is it that lorry drivers also seem to treat car drivers with complete disregard? The amount of times a lorry has just pulled out into my lane at the same time as indicating and either forced me to swerve or take other drastic action is just unbelievable. I think it would be a good idea on routes such as to ports etc that they had a dedicated road for HGV's

modeller_db

Many years ago, I drove artics. The lorry driver was considered the gentleman of the road. Always ready to assist, always polite and careful, a true professional. Now, I am sorry to say, they are the biggest a******les on the road, even beating taxi drivers. They drive down motorways either two feet apart, or trying to overtake one another with a speed difference of about Â½ mph, with their foot flat to the floor. Leave the motorway and they forget where the accelerator is and crawl along at 35 to 40 mph. I think it is done just to annoy other road users. Sorry, I'll climb off my high horse and go back to my Astra.

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