Anti-Social Drivers

[Pennyless]

As of today theres new £100 spot fines AND 3 points on your licence coming into force for anti-social drivers (tailgaters/hogging middle lane and cutting up other drivers).

As an HGV driver I have also recently seen a spate of fellow drivers receiving £60 fine notices for not wearing seat belts.......the drivers were not stopped at the time or knew they had been caught until a letter dropped on their mat.....so you never know whose watching and it doesnt just include marked/un-marked police cars.

Also, a quick call on your mobile whilst driving will now cost £100. If you dont have a Parrot Hands-Free system I can strongly recommend Supertooth Crystal or Buddy for just such occasions.

Be careful out there!

[Shining]

Do they provide a photograph showing that you weren't wearing a seat belt as in a print of a speeding offence

[Pennyless]

I would imagine so Lesley but next time I see one of the lads that was caught not wearing it I'll ask him.

[Shining]

Interesting, not that I never wear mine as I always do but hadn't heard of this. I don't do motorway driving either, I've passed my test and we'll leave it at that with my driving skills. Wish I was more confident.

[Pennyless]

I do most of my driving on motorways and A roads and much prefer the motorways. As I work nights theres not a lot of traffic on the roads so its something i enjoy, although it can be tiring at times, except of course in the winter months lol.

[Skippy]

This might be a silly question but how do they judge if I'm hogging the middle lane? If I overtake a car and there's another one a bit further up the road (I'm not talking miles!) I will usually stay in the middle late rather than weaving in and out.

I don't understand why they didn't change the laws so it's the same as in the USA - you can drive in all lanes on the motorway. A much more civilised way of doing things and traffic flows so much better.

But the cynic in me says they couldn't get as much money out of us then!

[Pennyless]

Skippy I very much agree and as a lorry driver I have no doubt that more and more revenue will be taken from us in particular.....unfortunately we cant just drop a gear and sweep past a car or lorry even on a motorway and if we tried to do the vehicle lengths apart/stopping distances as in the highway code we'd end up never getting anywhere.

On that note, I wonder when the Highway Code will change in regards to stopping distances, particularly now ABS, lane departure and other technology in our vehicles, practically means they drive themselves lol.

[MerlinL14]

Most states in the USA are pushing through legislation so they drive on their freeways the same as we drive on our motorways Skippy. They find 'our' system far safer and civilised. In Indiana they are building roundabouts, almost daily, where there were 4 way give way junctions so as to keep vehicles moving and not causing a bottleneck when 4 vehicles get to the junction and all stop to see who makes the first move. I think they draw the line at driving on the correct side of the road though!

[Skippy]

How ridiculous! When we were in Florida the system worked perfectly and I thought not having roundabouts was a great idea! I did have a problem with turning right on a red though - very unnerving when you're crossing the road!

[Shining]

I'm so glad I'm too scared to drive on motorways, I can count on one hand how many times I have.

[Shining]

mind you I can't go very far can I which is a disadvantage. x

[Julie]

I drive on motorways a lot and get annoyed with middle lane hoggers, but who is going to spot these drivers and fine them?

My biggest moan is drivers who are in the wrong lanes at roundabouts and think its ok to cut across!

[Shining]

I've been known to go around a roundabout several times shall we say, won't cut up someone.

[plasticdaft]

I spend 80% of my working week on the roads and on a daily basis see 20-30 people on phones, at least 30 people without seatbelts on, numerous unsecured children/animals and hundreds of other errors in driving skills (especially when passing with blue lights on).

I also see what happens when somebody fails to wear a seatbelt and has an accident!

I would give hgv drivers caught on their mobiles 6 points so if they dont learn the 1st time the second time caught they join the dole queue.

Paul

[Shining]

Fair comment Paul as I'm sure you've seen sights we never want to see and some that could have been avoided. x