libby Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 I talked today to a well established big vehicle trucker from Ireland who has been over most of Europe and is now going to Canada for a similar experience. My informant says that UK drivers (that's all of us) are the most liked by all the truckers including those from other countries. UK drivers are by far the most polite and considerate when it comes to allowing space and movement for the big vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Just a pity then that so many, but not all, truckers feel unable to reciprocate the gesture - specially the foreign ones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapido-lass Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 I might be cynical and these are my personal thoughts on the subject (so please don't shoot me) In the UK if I drive the motorhome, I am more respected, given space etc, but driving the same route in a car I'm not (I drive in the same way and am the same person). I personally think that it's not that people are necessarily more considerate, but more to the point they see larger vehicles especially foreign trucks as being perhaps more of a potential danger/problem and hence give more space which is interpretted as being considerate. I drive down the motorway daily and have seen foreign truck drivers watching dvd's whilst driving to enable them to keep awake, as well as those who weave due to sleepiness. (It is a known fact that some foreign truckers phone the police to be stopped so they are forced to have a break). I am a considerate person and driver, but my primary reason for giving a wide berth is for my own safety and self preservation. Considerate = careful not to harm or inconvenience others self-preservation = the protection of oneself from harm or death What do you guys think? I'd love to think that we were genuinely the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 I think it's a subject better discussed on Chatterbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooks Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Derek Uzzell - 2008-12-02 9:46 AM I think it's a subject better discussed on Chatterbox. ;-) ;-) :D :D true, but before then, I've come to the conclusion that the campervan is invisible - cars constantly pull out in front of me, cut me up when overtaking and generally behave like total plonkers - well - about 40% at any rate. It doesn't look like a camper at first sight - so they must behave like that with any van. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Usinmyknaus Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Twooks, you are spot on. My van is 7 metres long, 2.3 metres wide and 3 metres high but has been invisible to car drivers since it first hit the road 18 months ago. It would seem it has a "cloaking device" as standard but I have no idea how to turn it off. :-S Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 twooks - 2008-12-02 9:50 AM I've come to the conclusion that the campervan is invisible - cars constantly pull out in front of me, cut me up when overtaking and generally behave like total plonkers - well - about 40% at any rate. It doesn't look like a camper at first sight - so they must behave like that with any van. B-) Very true........... the reason, I believe, is that most think they will be driven by dottery OAPs that dont know how to drive, as they have lost their marbles a long time ago (and as proof of going a bit mental, spent 40K on a caravan on wheels) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaleg Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 If You think the van is invisible, try rideing a motorcycle, Hence the user name. every night i went home from work i had a near death experiance pete 8-) 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 The UK accident rate is virtually the lowest in the world so collectivly we must be better than average drivers. Good road manner probably play a part and it is hardly suprising if foreign drivers notice. My worst experinces have been in Spain and Italy. I had the ultimate tailgating truck in Spain. 12 ton less than a couple of feet off your back bumper is a tad worrying at 70 Kph. I can usually without winding them up, gently vary speed so they back off up but this one was a total nutter so I just pulled off and let his bash on at well over his and the roads speed limit. The other incident was on mountain road in Tuscany where two cars travelling together overtook us around a blind right hander. I k further on they were both stopped at a bar. The other Italian game is how how soon they can get back to the nearside lane after overtaking on a dual carriageway. Presumably there are brownie points for collecting layer of paint on rear bumpers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 One of the reasons for this may be our "protestant" attitudes. Not a religious point, but just that we are, by and large, brought up in a tradition that teaches we must accept the consequences of our own actions. Thus, we drive on the assumption that we, and we alone, have to extract ourselves from the messes we make, and tend to be embarrassed if we cause others to take avoiding action in the process.I have noticed that drivers from other, more forgiving, cultures depend less on their own resources, and rely more on others to help them out. Thus, it is not unusual to have to pull onto a marked cycle ways at the side of the carriageway to make space for a rash overtaker, to have to brake a bit to let someone else pull in, to brake for the "last across" driver at traffic lights, to be overtaken by a truck driver down a narrow street near lunch time. There just seems to be a universal expectation that you will help them out, and will understand their rush, and not hold your line and speed until the last minute, as we tend to do in UK. To this extent, I think UK drivers abroad can often look as though they are being road hogs, calculatingly inconsiderate, or aggressively spiteful. Problem is, the person they are relying on for assistance, may not be paying full attention at the time - with predictable results!My main unease outside the UK is, for some reason, Spanish trucks, which seem to have a habit of pulling out abruptly into the overtaking lane right under our nose. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to stamp on the anchors to avoid a shunt, while those behind us have been even more excited by the experience! I can't work out whether they just don't look, or look and just assume it'll hurt us more than it hurts them if it happens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passionwagon Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 8-) All the comments so far are related to us and them in vehicles. Unfortunately in the UK the consideration for pedestrians and cyclists from motorists is one of complete blindness on the part of the latter. On the Continent, particularly northern latitudes, motorists will slow and allow pedestrians etc to cross the road even other mororists to make a turn or a manouevre such as parking etc. Our attitude seems to be I was here first and do not get in my way or delay me- no patience or considereration for others . Hardly a protestant ethic! 8o| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Take responsibility for our own actions eh Brian? Time for a rant methinks! Whilst that may be true to a large extent for our generation you only have to visit any town centre late at night at chucking out time to see that it does not seem to apply to a large chunk of the younger generation! Not that all young people are irresponsible - far from it but the loud ones get all the publicity - and very expensive medical care - whilst we considerate types just sit here, say nowt, and pay a hell of a lot of tax towards the cost of it all! A local teenage drunkard fell and banged his head and was given an MRI scan within two hours. When my late wife was seriously ill we were initially given a six month wait for an MRI scan. I am not suggesting that the young drunk should not have proper medical care but I do think that all these folk who seem to know their rights more than their responsibilities should be made aware of the repercussions and costs of their thoughtless and selfish actions and financially penalised accordingly for a second irresponsible set of actions. That might make 'em think twice and act accordingly in the future! If they can afford to get plastered they can afford a fine for so doing! Shame then, but quite expected by most of us outside government, that the government ploy to raise extra taxation by allowing 24/7 boozing has backfired so badly in that the cost of the resulting medical care exceeds the extra tax revenue raised - according to the local BBC news recently. Rant over! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Tracker - 2008-12-03 5:25 PM Take responsibility for our own actions eh Brian? Time for a rant methinks! Whilst that may be true to a large extent for our generation you only have to visit any town centre late at night at chucking out time to see that it does not seem to apply to a large chunk of the younger generation! Not that all young people are irresponsible - far from it but the loud ones get all the publicity - and very expensive medical care - whilst we considerate types just sit here, say nowt, and pay a hell of a lot of tax towards the cost of it all! A local teenage drunkard fell and banged his head and was given an MRI scan within two hours. When my late wife was seriously ill we were initially given a six month wait for an MRI scan. I am not suggesting that the young drunk should not have proper medical care but I do think that all these folk who seem to know their rights more than their responsibilities should be made aware of the repercussions and costs of their thoughtless and selfish actions and financially penalised accordingly for a second irresponsible set of actions. That might make 'em think twice and act accordingly in the future! If they can afford to get plastered they can afford a fine for so doing! Shame then, but quite expected by most of us outside government, that the government ploy to raise extra taxation by allowing 24/7 boozing has backfired so badly in that the cost of the resulting medical care exceeds the extra tax revenue raised - according to the local BBC news recently. Rant over! Agreed, but this was about driving. You're surely not suggesting they all drive home afterwards? :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 No Brian, not all of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 No Brian, not all of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 passionwagon - 2008-12-03 4:57 PM 8-) All the comments so far are related to us and them in vehicles. Unfortunately in the UK the consideration for pedestrians and cyclists from motorists is one of complete blindness on the part of the latter. On the Continent, particularly northern latitudes, motorists will slow and allow pedestrians etc to cross the road even other mororists to make a turn or a manouevre such as parking etc. Our attitude seems to be I was here first and do not get in my way or delay me- no patience or considereration for others . Hardly a protestant ethic! 8o| Not my general experience, I have to say, although I agree in the case of cyclists. Pedestrians seem to me just as much fair game in Europe, though this does vary from country to country. However, down here in gentle Sussex we seem to do things in a much more considerate way, so maybe it is just in ratty Norfolk where the problem lies? :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffers Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I would have thought that pedestrians walked around with a bulls eye on their backs in many european countries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 A couple of years ago we visited a couple of towns in northern Sweden and were amazed at the consideration given to pedestrians by motorists. It seemed to me that we only had to pause near a kerb and everyone stopped, just in case we wanted to cross ! I don't know if this is the norm in Sweden but it certainly left a good impression. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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