Poor Professional Drivers

[superskib]

Why is the standard of driving so poor among professionals? Tailgating; ignoring speed limits; lane discipline; lack of consideration for other drivers, cyclists etc; all woefully poor. WHY?

[martine]

Because they can get away with it (like many non-professional drivers)?

Or perhaps because the testing regime is wrong/irrelevant (like it is for L-drivers as well)?

I think it just reflects the deterioating standard of driving in general...but that makes me sound like a boring old fart.

[ROG]

Why is the standard of driving so poor among professionals? Tailgating; ignoring speed limits; lane discipline; lack of consideration for other drivers, cyclists etc; all woefully poor. WHY?

Any specific area of professional drivers - LGV, PCV etc ?

A point to note - I was tailgated by a UK coach last time I went down the M1 - I remember that coach but do I recall all the other coaches that were driving safely........ no !!

[jont]

I'm not so sure all professionals are equally bad. I'm currently cycling a lot more than I used to (ie now commuting daily by pushbike), and I have to say, in general the HGV drivers are fairly courteous and considerate (although the prat driving a delivery lorry for one of the major supermarket chains yakking on his hand held mobile while negotiating a roundabout on the ringroad could do with a lesson). At the risk of winding up miniclubman, Bus drivers and white van drivers are by far the worst. Although there won't be any surprises about who the main bus operator around here is

I wonder if this is due to 3.5 (and for some, 7.5tonners) not requiring a separate test, while larger lorries do. Still doesn't explain the buses though.

[daz6215]

What you see on the roads is a relection of society, dog eat dog, move outa my way, rushing around from a to b , no manners and little courtesy , infact the sort of behaviour you see in the supermarkets at christmas
ok I'll get off my box now, I wonder if driver cpc will improve things any?

[jasonh]

It's definitely true that you remember the bad ones and not the rest. I think I'm more minded to note a bad professional driver as an IAM member/trainee observer because we have a few local companies that insist on their drivers doing our course, and that makes bad driving from lorries, coaches, etc. stand out more for me.

When I experience bad driving from professionals, usually when articulated lorries pull into lane 2 on the d/c after one flash of yellow light while I am approaching much faster in that lane, I tend to put it down to the likelihood that some idiot in a suit is expecting them to get from A to B in a time made nearly impossible by the heavy traffic conditions.

[ROG]

I wonder if driver cpc will improve things any?

No - the driver cpc does NOT cover the actual driving of the trucks - stupid aint it as that is the main function that a truck driver does !!!!

How this basically works - for more in depth stuff just ask me
Driver cpc (INITIAL) for those doing their first LGV test has a bit more stuff in it along with 2 new tests
Driver cpc (PERIODIC) for those who have passed their test is mainly ATTENDING a classroom session on this or that for 7 hours at a time but there are NO tests to determine whether a driver has taken it in or not !!!!!!

[fungus]

I think daz6215 just about sums bit up. It is a reflection of society in general.

Whilst on the subject of bus drivers. Yesterday I was out on a lesson, and my pupil was driving in a quiet residential area. There was a single decker bus stopped at a bus stop ahead, no indicator, no brake lights showing. Pupil checkes mirrors and pulls out in good time to pass the bus. As we were about to pass it, the driver pulls out without indicating, forcing my pupil to brake and pull in behind it. I don't think the driver checked the mirrors thoroughly as we were positioned off side well back, and not in a blind spot as far as I could tell.

[jcochrane]

Happens all the time in London. Even when mid way or about to complete overtake.

[TripleS]

What you see on the roads is a reflection of society, dog eat dog, move outa my way, rushing around from a to b , no manners and little courtesy....

It doesn't feel like that to me. Obviously I now do most of my driving in an unusually civilised part of the country - North Yorkshire. Clearly I need to get out more and venture further afield.

Best wishes all,
Dave - tolerant to a fault, maybe.

[Renny]

I wonder if driver cpc will improve things any?

No - the driver cpc does NOT cover the actual driving of the trucks - stupid aint it as that is the main function that a truck driver does !!!!

How this basically works - for more in depth stuff just ask me
Driver cpc (INITIAL) for those doing their first LGV test has a bit more stuff in it along with 2 new tests
Driver cpc (PERIODIC) for those who have passed their test is mainly ATTENDING a classroom session on this or that for 7 hours at a time but there are NO tests to determine whether a driver has taken it in or not !!!!!!

Another opportunity missed, the Driver CPC

Especially if you look closely at what the classroom session can be about. As long as it can be related to the "Competencies" it can count. This means it could be about driving, using technology on the vehicles, updates on legislation, customer care, basket weaving, yoga, meditation (sorry, stress relief)... You can also repeat the same module each of the 5 years

Hmm

[Horse]

When I experience bad driving from professionals, usually when articulated lorries pull into lane 2 on the d/c after one flash of yellow light while I am approaching much faster in that lane

Umm . . . so you know - or should be able to guess - that a lorry is likely to move out, but you still approach much faster?

Perhaps you need to re-think your driving . . .


That said, two HGV drivers playing chariot racing - even past M-way junctions - annoys me; why won't the one being overtaken just ease off for a moment or two to let the other trucker complete their pass and continue on slightly faster?

[Gareth]

That said, two HGV drivers playing chariot racing - even past M-way junctions - annoys me; why won't the one being overtaken just ease off for a moment or two to let the other trucker complete their pass and continue on slightly faster?

I imagine it's mainly because of the pain of having to change gears, given the narrow power band, and the loss of momentum.

[ROG]

I imagine it's mainly because of the pain of having to change gears, given the narrow power band, and the loss of momentum.

More likely - the driver cannot be arsed to knock off the cruise control for a few seconds - going uphill would be the only reasonable momentum excuse

This issue ia discussed a lot on www.trucknetuk.com

[jasonh]

When I experience bad driving from professionals, usually when articulated lorries pull into lane 2 on the d/c after one flash of yellow light while I am approaching much faster in that lane

Umm . . . so you know - or should be able to guess - that a lorry is likely to move out, but you still approach much faster?

Perhaps you need to re-think your driving . . .

Oh yes, of course it's my fault when I am passing a HGV and fail to anticipate that he intends to pull out with only a single indicator flash warning. I must remember to renew my Mind Reading training again....

I'm not talking about flying along at 90 with a roundabout approaching where heavies need to change lanes or some other situation where you can expect that HGVs may be changing lanes - you seem to assume I'm some sort of muppet.