Lorries in the wrong lane on motorways

[Ry_B]

A few times over my relatively short driving career I've seen 3 way elephant races on the motorway. Why do they enter the 3rd lane..as if a 2 elephant race wasn't bad enough! What is the punishment for entering the 3rd lane in a lorry and have any traffic cops out there ever caught lorries doing this? Any similar stories?

[jamoor]

Ry_B said:

A few times over my relatively short driving career I've seen 3 way elephant races on the motorway. Why do they enter the 3rd lane..as if a 2 elephant race wasn't bad enough! What is the punishment for entering the 3rd lane in a lorry and have any traffic cops out there ever caught lorries doing this? Any similar stories?

That's illegal, I hate it when they do it on the M42 though where overtaking is banned for trucks.

[heebeegeetee]

Ry_B said:

A few times over my relatively short driving career I've seen 3 way elephant races on the motorway. Why do they enter the 3rd lane..as if a 2 elephant race wasn't bad enough! What is the punishment for entering the 3rd lane in a lorry and have any traffic cops out there ever caught lorries doing this? Any similar stories?

You must mean on a 4 lane+ road surely? I've been driving for 30 years and i've never seen 3 trucks abreast on a 3 laner. (Not sure i've ever seen it at all, but deffo not on a 3 laner. I have seen foreign trucks in lane 3 but they operate on a different legal system to us and have little to fear, especially at night.

[James_N]

heebeegeetee said:

You must mean on a 4 lane+ road surely? I've been driving for 30 years and i've never seen 3 trucks abreast on a 3 laner. (Not sure i've ever seen it at all, but deffo not on a 3 laner. I have seen foreign trucks in lane 3 but they operate on a different legal system to us and have little to fear, especially at night.

Same here, ive never seen 3 artics all alongside each other.

7.5t on the other hand are allowed in lane 3.

[mp3manager]

Ry_B said:

A few times over my relatively short driving career I've seen 3 way elephant races on the motorway. Why do they enter the 3rd lane..as if a 2 elephant race wasn't bad enough! What is the punishment for entering the 3rd lane in a lorry and have any traffic cops out there ever caught lorries doing this? Any similar stories?

I take it you've never seen cars pulling trailers in the outside lane then??

[mechsympathy]

mp3manager said:

Ry_B said:

A few times over my relatively short driving career I've seen 3 way elephant races on the motorway. Why do they enter the 3rd lane..as if a 2 elephant race wasn't bad enough! What is the punishment for entering the 3rd lane in a lorry and have any traffic cops out there ever caught lorries doing this? Any similar stories?

I take it you've never seen cars pulling trailers in the outside lane then??

All too often. I've never seen a lorry <7.5t in the outside lane though. It's not like they'd be hard to spot out there for 10 minutes at a time

[Howitzer]

I've been overtaken by a Breakdown truck towing an articulated lorry which had all its axles down before

On the same night a Range Rover went past me at about 90mph, with a trailer carrying 2 ford KAs on the back.

Never seen lorries 3 abreast though.

Dave!

[BMWBen]

mp3manager said:

Ry_B said:

A few times over my relatively short driving career I've seen 3 way elephant races on the motorway. Why do they enter the 3rd lane..as if a 2 elephant race wasn't bad enough! What is the punishment for entering the 3rd lane in a lorry and have any traffic cops out there ever caught lorries doing this? Any similar stories?

I take it you've never seen cars pulling trailers in the outside lane then??

I have, and I've done it - not at 60pmh though, as my trailer is "euro spec" with extra large wheels and upgraded suspension and I'm usually very late

(I won't have been holding you up)

[Luke85]

Howitzer said:

I've been overtaken by a Breakdown truck towing an articulated lorry which had all its axles down before

Dave!

That must be a killer for male pride! How slow were you going!?

[clanger]

Happens regularly where M1 joins M18 - 2 lanes into 3 - followed an HGV in 3rd lane for a good mile only this week, as he struggled to pass HGVs in the inner lanes...

[mp3manager]

BMWBen said:

mp3manager said:

Ry_B said:

A few times over my relatively short driving career I've seen 3 way elephant races on the motorway. Why do they enter the 3rd lane..as if a 2 elephant race wasn't bad enough! What is the punishment for entering the 3rd lane in a lorry and have any traffic cops out there ever caught lorries doing this? Any similar stories?

I take it you've never seen cars pulling trailers in the outside lane then??

I have, and I've done it - not at 60pmh though, as my trailer is "euro spec" with extra large wheels and upgraded suspension and I'm usually very late

(I won't have been holding you up)

Whatever.

Doesn't matter how you dress it up, it's still illegal.

[Howitzer]

Luke85 said:

Howitzer said:

I've been overtaken by a Breakdown truck towing an articulated lorry which had all its axles down before

Dave!

That must be a killer for male pride! How slow were you going!?

That's the thing, I was doing 70/75 at the time and could hear what sounded like a turbine in the background, looked in the mirrors and realised it was the truck, then realised it closing on me. He never even indicated so must have expected he was officially the king of the road that night

I think if he had honked his horn I would have had a little weep of joy

Dave!

[heebeegeetee]

mechsympathy said:

mp3manager said:

Ry_B said:

A few times over my relatively short driving career I've seen 3 way elephant races on the motorway. Why do they enter the 3rd lane..as if a 2 elephant race wasn't bad enough! What is the punishment for entering the 3rd lane in a lorry and have any traffic cops out there ever caught lorries doing this? Any similar stories?

I take it you've never seen cars pulling trailers in the outside lane then??

All too often. I've never seen a lorry <7.5t in the outside lane though. It's not like they'd be hard to spot out there for 10 minutes at a time

Aren't they still allowed to do 70, the 7.5 tonners? they always come barreling past me, so i don't know see how anyone has seen one in lane 3 for 10 mins.

For my sins i'm possibly on the roads for more than anyone here, and again, i'm not seeing anything like the problems so many here reckon they're seeing. I'm seeing lanes that are full of traffic, so others must be seeing this too but are coming to a different conclusion.

i think it's the usual case of 'Pistonhead: Exaggeration matters'.

[wildoliver]

Towing a trailer is different to a lorry though.

I try to be sensible when towing sticking to around 60, although the trailers I tow will tow nicely at speeds far in excess. I will say thought that on some (foreign) motorways I have had to use the outside lane due to the idiot wagons doing 40 side by side up hills. However it was done at 65-70 miles an hour and not holding people up. Illegal yes. Annoying to other road users probably not.

[mechsympathy]

heebeegeetee said:

mechsympathy said:

All too often. I've never seen a lorry <7.5t in the outside lane though. It's not like they'd be hard to spot out there for 10 minutes at a time

Aren't they still allowed to do 70, the 7.5 tonners? they always come barreling past me, so i don't know see how anyone has seen one in lane 3 for 10 mins.

Oops Arrow going the wrong way. As you rightly say 7.5 tonners can do 70 (although are they being linited soon??) and use the outside lane. I meant >7.5t, so limited to 56.

[Vron]

clanger said:

Happens regularly where M1 joins M18 - 2 lanes into 3 - followed an HGV in 3rd lane for a good mile only this week, as he struggled to pass HGVs in the inner lanes...

I was stuck behind a FEd Ex lorry trying to overtake a DFDS transport lorry for 9 minutes (they were actually exactly side by side for 9 minutes) on the M18 last Wednesday evening on the 2 lane section. Eventually the Fed Ex lorry gave up (it was never going to get past anyway)and slowly pulled back in.

[anonymous-user]

mechsympathy said:

heebeegeetee said:

mechsympathy said:

All too often. I've never seen a lorry <7.5t in the outside lane though. It's not like they'd be hard to spot out there for 10 minutes at a time

Aren't they still allowed to do 70, the 7.5 tonners? they always come barreling past me, so i don't know see how anyone has seen one in lane 3 for 10 mins.

Oops Arrow going the wrong way. As you rightly say 7.5 tonners can do 70 (although are they being linited soon??) and use the outside lane. I meant >7.5t, so limited to 56.

Looks like from the link below more recent stuff up to 7.5 tonne is required to be speed limited now
http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosacorp/newsandevents/pres...

[heebeegeetee]

Vron said:

(it was never going to get past anyway)

How did he catch the other lorry up then?

[jmorgan]

Ry_B said:

A few times over my relatively short driving career I've seen 3 way elephant races on the motorway. Why do they enter the 3rd lane..as if a 2 elephant race wasn't bad enough! What is the punishment for entering the 3rd lane in a lorry and have any traffic cops out there ever caught lorries doing this? Any similar stories?

Loads and loads ands loads of examples, mostly cars though. So cannot directly answer you question. Life ain't fair is it?

[Vron]

heebeegeetee said:

Vron said:

(it was never going to get past anyway)

How did he catch the other lorry up then?

I don't know - I can only presume the DFDS lorry must have slowed down for some reason prior but during the 9 minutes I spent behind the two of them neither made any ground at all on the other. It looked like both lorries were matched in size, presumably weight and power that is why they were alongside each other for so long. Thus after causing a massive tailback the FedEx lorry had to concede, brake and pull in.