1) Speed limiters:
With a few exceptions, the vast majority of artics have speed limiters fitted which are limited to 90kmh (56mph). However, there is a little bit of variance depending on who's set it and some trucks will do perhaps as much as 58mph, some only say 54mph but we're all roughly travelling at the same speed. Inevitably, if you happen to be the driver of one of those which has what's known as a "good limiter" (ie. 57/58mph) then you'll catch up with the truck in front eventually.
Now you've said yourself that it's no fun whatsoever being stuck behind something you can't see round in your car and funnily enough, us truckers feel exactly the same and want to get round whatever is obscuring our view. It's easy for you to say "well what are going to do with the few seconds you save?" but would you sit behind another truck for a considerable length of time that was going slower than your desired speed? I'll answer that for you - no.
Right, so the right indicator goes on and we put out (see later) but because of the limiter it's rare that we'll pull past the other truck at more than 1-2mph. Yes we would like to accelerate up to 70mph, get past and pull back in but unfortunately we can't because of the limiter. Your comments about "after you've pulled back in you accelerate away no problem" or words to that effect is just your imagination I can assure you.
2) Slipstreaming the truck in front:
Okay, get this into your head : If we pulled out to overtake the truck in front once we had reached the "keeping a 2 second minimum gap from the vehicle in front" as dictated by the Highway Code then what it would result in is the overtaking truck hogging the middle lane for roughly 10 times the length of time and distance you see them doing on the motorways today.
Generally speaking, all us truckers drive in the same way and if a hazard appears ahead that the truck behind can't see then the leading truck will give enough warning by using indicators/hazards/dabbing of brake peddle to alert the following trucker to ease off in anticipation of a hazard or follow suit of changing lane etc. If you're following any other vehicle that isn't a truck then you've no idea what they could do or what their intentions are.
3) Pulling out to overtake.
I'm not a driver who does the signal-maneouvre thing at exactly the same time. Depending on how heavy and fast the traffic is, I will indicate when there's a gap and move out when it's safe to do so. There are a number of different opinions of one's interpretation of "safe" and whilst I consider myself to be a good, considerate and safe driver there are times when I know the manouevre I make isn't as safely made as it should be but in my defence I feel that making it when I did actually kept the traffic flow flowing whereas I would have hampered it if I would have performed the maneouvre safely.
I won't pull out into fast moving traffic IF both the middle and outer lanes are both quite heavy. However, a big gripe for us truckers is when the outside lane is empty and the Rover/Pug 106 driver is about to pass you doing 60mph in the middle lane, you indicate and they won't move over. THAT is inconsiderate and bad driving. Fair enough, if the traffic is heavy and there's nowhere for them to go then I don't expect them to slow down/move over JUST to let ME out but I will leave my indicator flashing, indicating my intention/desire to pull out.
What most non-truck drivers don't realise and understand is that if a fully-laden truck on the slightest uphill incline indicates to pull out round the vehicle in front and you don't let it, you are doing yourself no favours at all and shooting yourself in the foot. How do I come to that conclusion you're wondering? Well unfortunately most bosses don't give us a nice V8/12'ed Scania 164 580hp which will have no problems accelerating like a car up a hill and we are given trucks which will perform acceptably at half weight but really need working to keep the speed up at full weight.
Momentum is what it's all about. If you let that truck pull out - who will usually have indicated in good time for you to easily adjust your speed/get out of the way - then the flow of the traffic continues as normal because the trucker has been able to pull out without coming off the gas and losing that precious momentum. It's a very fine art being able to keep the needle at exactly the right position on the rev counter in the right gear to achieve that premium torque and pulling power. If you drop out of that by having to let off the gas and change down because the inconsiderate car driver couldn't be arsed pressing his accelerator pedal a millimetre to get out of the way then before you know what's happened, the truck's now down to 40mph and all the trucks behind him/her are all indicating to pull out round it thus slowing even more people down and hogging more lanes. Now do you understand!?
A lot of truckers are bad drivers - I see it from them too which really lets the side down considering the rigorous class II and class I tests you're put through to ensure we are professional drivers but (no sucking up to the truckers just because I'm trucker) I think the majority car and van drivers really are inconsiderate/dangerous drivers.
Personally I blame the utter ease of the normal driving test which is an absolute joke. You don't get taught to drive; you get taught to pass your test. Roll on when the day comes when the normal driving test is as hard as the class I one is. That would soon sort the country-wide congestion problem!
4) Car/van driver bad habits (where do you begin...?) :
i) Sliproads on :
Okay, let's clear one major point up before we start. The short broken lines at the end of the sliproad on mean "give way to vehicles already on the main carriageway" and "adjust your speed to merge WITHOUT causing anyone already on the main carriageway to adjust THEIR speed to match YOURS".
This very very rarely happens. Car and van drivers come hell for leather down the sliproad and either speed up and use every millimetre of the sliproad and just manage to squeeze out in front of us as the sliproad ends or do 1mph more than us alongside us on the sliproad and expect us to move over to let you out. Err no. I used to do this, being the considerate and courtious driver that I am but 9 times out of 10 either 1 of 2 things will happen. 1) The driver who I've moved over for sits alongside me in the inside lane and I'm now in the middle lane having being nice and moved over to let you out and matches my speed wondering why I'm not accelerating past you and pulling back in. Obviously I can't because of the limiter. 2) The driver I've moved over for accelerates up my nearside giving me no acknowledgement of thanks for moving over and thus leaving me stranded in the middle lane trying to see in my nearside blind-spot looking for any other fools that have pulled out before I move back over again.
The courtious thing to do if another vehicle moves over to let you out is to pull out and keep your speed down to approx 5mph less than the vehicle that's moved over and allow them to move back over. Is it too much to ask? I've got so sick of seeing it now that I don't move over. I get horns blasted at me because cars and vans come to the end of the sliproad alongside me expecting ME to adjust my speed to let them out. No no no. Your giveway : You wait.
Sadly, this also applies to a lot of truckers whom I will move over for EXPECTING them to know how the courtesy thing works and do same, allowing you to move back over. Most truckers do in all fairness.
ii) Sliproads off :
DO NOT TRY TO BARGE YOUR WAY INTO A NON-EXISTANT GAP IN FRONT OF US WHEN YOU'RE AT <300YDS. This will result in us getting very road-rage like and if the traffic was at a stand-still, getting out of cabs and having a few choice words. Also expect plenty of truck horn noise and much dazzling of full beam. If you had to brake hard for some reason after pulling into our stopping space and we were fully loaded or the road was damp/wet you would be killed when we hit you as your car would be reduced in length to the thickness of a sheet of A4. And I'm not joking. I just hope for your sake it never happens. You're dicing with death every time you do it. Point made I hope.
iii) Two lanes; tight left hand corners :
We need both lanes okay, just face it and let us get on with it and stay behind until we're fully back in the inside lane. If we're overhanging the outside lane we're not slack and unable to see the white lines, there's a reason for it. Work it out and give us space. Same applies to narrow lanes on roundabouts when turning right. To keep the trailer either in the lane or off the kerb on the centre of the roundabout we need the front end to be half in the next nearside lane. Don't ever come up the inside when we're turning right on a roundabout. The position of the cab and trailer in such a maneouvre totally obscures ANY nearside vision.
If you do insist on being alongside on tight left hand bends on dual carriageways, then use your head and keep as far over to the right of your lane as possible.
5) Setting off from junctions :
Don't think we're taking the piss if it takes us a lightyear to get up to 30mph from standstill. Going up through the gears takes time and much right foot when you're fully loaded. Pulling out in impatience and cutting back in is just unnecessary and inconsiderate. A good indication if a truck is empty is by looking to see if any of the tag axles on the tractor unit or trailer are raised. If it's empty then if the driver wishes, could probably out-accelerate you away from a junction or traffic lights; very much so if it's just the tractor unit.
6) Downhills :
Yes we're limited to 56mph but if you get a steep enough hill the weight of the vehicle (and load) pushes you along and "through" your limiter. Don't be surprised to see trucks doing 60-70mph down an incline on a motorway.
7) Motorway congestion :
When will you people learn that driving up the arse of the vehicle in front gets you nowhere and causes even more queues? Changing lanes slows the traffic down just as bad too. Next time you're in rush hour traffic on a busy motorway and the traffic is all stop-start, look to see which lane is moving fastest. It's the inside lane. Why? Because us truckers keep a big gap from the vehicle in front and can see what the lane up ahead is doing thus leaving plennnnnnnnnnty of time to ease of the gas without the need for ever braking. You look at the outside lane and they're all 2ft from the vehicle in front, accelerating harshly, stopping that guy in the middle lane from leaping into that gap if they leave one and then when the vehicle in front brakes, they brake harshly themselves because they're so close to it they've left themselves no thinking time to see if the vehicle is lightly braking or doing an emergency stop. And so it follows back down the queue...
With the exception of a sliproad off that is queueing back onto the inside lane of a motorway, the inside lane always moves the fastest. Fact. [But car and van drivers, please disregard this and stay in the middle and outer lanes
] I Could go on (and on and on and on)
The above is most certainly aplicable to the U.K., I doubt many other countrys are different.....
Paul.
Oops 
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