Thread: Got an ear Full!

You did the wrong thing. No other way to look at it. Should have kept your mouth shut. Bob

Reading between the lines imho your judgment was wrong and you maybe should not have attempted the move in the first place .
Had all been done with no problems then I cant see why any truckie would give you a rev , wonder what would have happened if an opposing vehicle had come into view at your put down the hammer point half way along his rig ?.

Maybe you did the wrong thing maybe not. Hard to say, there are times when you will do it easy and other times you struggle to get past. A good truck driver would have maybe backed off a little to let you past as they are holding up traffic, but in my experience most wont. It is good form however if you have a CB and a slow traffic to chat with them and get them to give you a call when you are clear to pass if you are having difficulty seeing. Most will oblige, some wont.
These guys themselves often cause issues by running Prime Movers that are under powered for the task. Yes there are going to times when it is beyond their control, but also others when they should not be hauling the loads they are.
You did mention that he was sitting on 70kmph? Was it in a 100km area? If that speed is correct then he himself is committing a traffic violation himself. At least he was doing 70 I suppose. Wait until you come over a rise in a 110kmph zone to find one doing 40kmph.

Originally Posted by CraigE

Maybe you did the wrong thing maybe not. Hard to say, there are times when you will do it easy and other times you struggle to get past. A good truck driver would have maybe backed off a little to let you past as they are holding up traffic, but in my experience most wont. It is good form however if you have a CB and a slow traffic to chat with them and get them to give you a call when you are clear to pass if you are having difficulty seeing. Most will oblige, some wont.
These guys themselves often cause issues by running Prime Movers that are under powered for the task. Yes there are going to times when it is beyond their control, but also others when they should not be hauling the loads they are.
You did mention that he was sitting on 70kmph? Was it in a 100km area? If that speed is correct then he himself is committing a traffic violation himself. At least he was doing 70 I suppose. Wait until you come over a rise in a 110kmph zone to find one doing 40kmph.

Er.....he mentions it was a triple, he hasn't mention whether it was a road train or A B Triple.....in Queensland triples are speed limited to 90km/hr, probably the case in other states. He also mention hills, hills and triples do not get along. I doubt any triple driver would back of if he didn't have to. I followed plenty just two weeks ago at Mt Isa and didn't expect them to back off considering it takes them a few kilometers to wind up.

Who cares if the truck is under powered, it's either rated to carry the load or not, look at a the grey nomads. I would rather a combination truck to take it easy in hilly area than belt through at the speed limit and not be able to stop.

To the original poster....you said you miss judged the situation, need I say any more, although agree Its near impossible to over take with exceeding the speed limit. Bugged if ican understand why you didn't use your radio when a triple is involved.

Think about it from the truckies point of view, you were probably the sixth person that day miss judging an overtake......

Either way there is always two side of the story and we only have one

Originally Posted by CraigE

You did mention that he was sitting on 70kmph? Was it in a 100km area? If that speed is correct then he himself is committing a traffic violation himself.

You are kidding, right?
The OP was in the wrong in overtaking where there was not sufficient road to get past. Also would have been wise to call up on the UHF and say 'mate do you think I could get past you here please', I've always found them to be helpful when I do that.
No-one likes to be abused verbally even when they know they have made an error, but perhaps a better thing to do would have been to just turn off the UHF when he started.

I am the first to admit that the initial decision to overtake was misjudged & I'm not trying to justify my actions, just surprized by his!
I drive 900k to & from my work so I guess I will make a stuff up occasionally.
I don't think the decision to keep going was a mistake & as I got by him with still plenty of forward visibility (albeit after double white lines had re-started) & as far as I could tell no danger.
I think to back out of the overtake would have been more dangerous to us both.
My main thing was I don't feel I deserved the abuse I coped. Maybe "You were lucky there." or something, not an absolute gob full.
Even while doing the overtake I thought that was a bit dumb but also knew I could complete it safely.
Anyway, I will be a bit more circumspect next time for sure.
Jonesfam

Well it does seem we have a few members here that are perfect and never made any misjudgements while driving.
Road trains can be difficult thing to overtake at the best of times. He has stated that he did still have clear vision ahead. Was not the drivers place to get abusive unless it directly endangered him.
At least not like a lot of clowns that overtake on double lines, rises and bends.
There are too many scenarios to be even thinking about who was right or wrong. He made a bad call that is all, but still had ample room. Sorry to all the people out there that think it is ok for trucks to be travelling slow but 20kmph under the speed limit is an offence without due reason or cause and having an underpowered rig is not a valid excuse, especially when you are not being courteous. Part of my objection for having triple road trains on the road.
Look there are a lot of good truck drivers out there but just as many cowboys.
The real answer is if we are going to have slow trucks on the road through hills etc we need additional lanes, but that would take govts with initiative and that we don't got.

Originally Posted by CraigE

Maybe you did the wrong thing maybe not.
NO maybe about it, he crossed double lines, that's wrong.
Hard to say, there are times when you will do it easy and other times you struggle to get past.
A good truck driver would have maybe backed off a little to let you past as they are holding up traffic, but in my experience most wont.
Are you kidding? Do you really expect a 120 tonne vehicle to slow down in "winding hills" to allow a light vehicle pass? A good driver would wait until it was safe to overtake.
It is good form however if you have a CB and a slow traffic to chat with them and get them to give you a call when you are clear to pass if you are having difficulty seeing. Most will oblige, some wont.
These guys themselves often cause issues by running Prime Movers that are under powered for the task. Yes there are going to times when it is beyond their control, but also others when they should not be hauling the loads they are.
That takes the biscuit! How many horse power do these trucks have and how many should they have?

You did mention that he was sitting on 70kmph? Was it in a 100km area? If that speed is correct then he himself is committing a traffic violation himself. At least he was doing 70 I suppose. Wait until you come over a rise in a 110kmph zone to find one doing 40kmph.
What a load of diatribe, what law is the truck breaking?

An armchair expert Craig? You've obviously got little experience driving heavy vehicles.
Simple physics, trucks don't accelerate as well as motorcycles.
Common sense, truck drivers aren't out to inconvenience other motorists. They're simply providing the most essential service. Are you so self-centred that you feel you have the right to un-interupted progress? Without trucks there'd be no cars, houses, food, fuel, jobs or anything!
A bit of courtesy, consideration and co-operation from ALL motorists is surely not too hard.

Mr. Jones, you were in the wrong but if it's any consolation, I think the truckie has over-reacted. You don't know his circumstances, he may have just gotten a phone call from his wife saying she's leaving him or, he could have lost a friend, who crashed avoiding a car in that very scenario. Of course, he could have simply been a knob.
I know this area well, until a few years ago I regularly drove road trains through there. If this happened just west of Return Creek, the narrow bridge near the make-up pad, why wouldn't you wait for five minutes and pass after that narrow, winding goat track?
On behalf of my colleague, I apologise.