A14 driving etiquette

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Tue 3 Dec 2013 19:26
A14 driving etiquette - Trilogy

I have to drive along the A14 from Suffolk to commute to Cambridge. Some days I will come over a crest and find the outside lane has 0.5 to 1.0 mile packed with cars that are overtaking absolutely nothing apart from an HGV 0.5 to 1.0 ahead.

I am wondering if I should continue in the inside lane, until I reach the HGV, then indicate I would like to go past?. Or immediately become an outside lane roadhog, and overtake absolutely nothing, until I reach the HGV in the distance?

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Tue 3 Dec 2013 20:02
A14 driving etiquette - gordonbennet

The situation you describe is one of the most frustrating there is.

Why in the name of all that is holy do these people make such a drama out of overtaking a lorry thats travelling between 50 and 55mph and cruising smoothly in the inside lane.

They pull out to overtake whilst its still a spec on the horizon and then as they near it slow down to just above the speed of the lorry, why please why do they do this?, by the time we get near to the lorry they have accumulated the 1 mile tail you speak of and do a fair impression of the justifiably hated elephant racing themselves.

It wouldn't be the first time on a junction with long enough (up and back down) slip roads and a clear roundabout that i've taken the gamble shot up and over and back on again, not only overtaking the lorry but also the numpty with severe problems in the lead car.

SWMBO thinks its a power thing, the problem driver in the lead car is for a minute or so doing his version of controlling everyone else, before resuming his boring banality...note the response from the type if you overtake them on their weekly road safety display.

Edited by gordonbennet on 03/12/2013 at 20:03

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Tue 3 Dec 2013 20:12
A14 driving etiquette - Ordovices

Unfortunately, if you are the one considerate driver who does return to the nearside lane, you wind up being penned in by the rep mobile cavalcade.

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Tue 3 Dec 2013 21:39
A14 driving etiquette - dimdip

Yes, agreed, if you stay in the nearside lane too long, you end up becoming trapped there and overtaken by everyone else.

On the other side of the coin, I've had people drive right up the inside lane and forcibly push in at the front of the queue, too.

That stretch of the A14 does seem particularly aggressive sometimes.

Edited by dimdip on 03/12/2013 at 21:42

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Tue 3 Dec 2013 22:09
A14 driving etiquette - RT

It's inconsiderate driving - if everyone drove perfectly congestion would be slashed - but this is the real world.

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Tue 3 Dec 2013 22:10
A14 driving etiquette - Sofa Spud

ON 2-lane dual carriageways like this bit of A14, and the 2-lane bit of the M11, when they're busy, the normal rule of pulling over to the left if there's a gap between lorries is counter-productive when there's a continuous stream of faster vehicles in lane 2. If you pull over to the left, you'll soon have to pull out again to overtake the next lorry, or stay behind it for miles. It's difficult to pull out safely, and people who do use 'conventional' lane discipline on these roads often end up barging their way back out into lane 2, causing someone to brake, which concertinas back down the line like a Mexican wave until 200 cars back, 5 minutes later, the traffic comes to a virtual,standstill, for no apparent reason.

What is really dangerous in these situations is when you get one driver who thinks that all the cars ahead should move out of his way, because he wants to go faster, so they drive up very close behind the car in front, and when they pull over they do the same to the next car. These dangerous 'get-out-of-my-way' tailgaters are often to be found driving Mercedes Sprinter vans.

Edited by Sofa Spud on 03/12/2013 at 22:19

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Tue 3 Dec 2013 22:26
A14 driving etiquette - RT

That's only an issue where drivers are too close to each other - "conventional" lane discipline, as you call it, does work when other aspects of driving are done proiperly as well.

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Tue 3 Dec 2013 22:41
A14 driving etiquette - bathtub tom

I was taught that if you could move into a left hand lane for more than ten seconds, you should!

My particular bette noir is the 55MPH brigade in lane three of four who have two empty inside lanes. I'll go up lane one.

I find myself undertaking more and more often and I seem to see more following my action. Perhaps we'll start to see some proper lane discipline.

As for pushing in, I understand they call it zip merging and it's officially encouraged. I was told by a civil servant it was to be included in the highway code, but rejected on the grounds it was a step too far the the average, ignorant, British driver.

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Tue 3 Dec 2013 22:50
A14 driving etiquette - jamie745

I know the road well. The main problem is the road is 30 years out of date.

The second problem is lorries overtaking each other needlessly, which I am getting really sick of. Whether you do 54mph or 55.00025mph makes no difference you pathetic oafs!

As for whether to pull in or not. Look, it depends where you're going. If you wish to take an exit within 30 miles of your current location at rush hour, stay on the inside because you'll never get back in otherwise.

If you're on the outside and don't need to exit for a while. Stay there, because nobody will let you back out again if you come up behind a truck.

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Wed 4 Dec 2013 09:32
A14 driving etiquette - veryoldbear

We have exactly the same problem here in Oxfordshire / Berkshire on the A34 ... happy days ...

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Wed 4 Dec 2013 10:18
A14 driving etiquette - Ordovices

Came up the A34 on Monday. I see they still have the curfew on LGV overtaking around the Ridgeway. At least that's a positive move (but not for LGVs). It's a common sight on German trunk roads.

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Wed 4 Dec 2013 12:43
A14 driving etiquette - 72 dudes

The A14 is home turf for me too.

I tend to use the inside lane in the circumstances Trilogy describes, but I avoid rushing past the traffic in the outside lane, which is bound to p*** people off.

Instead, I adjust my speed so that I am driving at a steady speed just a little faster than the outside lane and keep well back from the HGV. I also avoid cutting in, and if the outside lane traffic starts to overtake me again, and I "lose a few places", so be it. I wait for a decent gap and move out to overtake.

Whichever lane you choose, you will not get there any quicker, so use the inside lane where possible.

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Wed 4 Dec 2013 17:08
A14 driving etiquette - Sulphur Man

Talking of which..... www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/consumer-news/84773...d

Edit: sorry, just seen the other thread on this

Edited by Sulphur Man on 04/12/2013 at 17:10

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Thu 5 Dec 2013 20:03
A14 driving etiquette - Trilogy

The A14 is home turf for me too.

I tend to use the inside lane in the circumstances Trilogy describes, but I avoid rushing past the traffic in the outside lane, which is bound to p*** people off.

Instead, I adjust my speed so that I am driving at a steady speed just a little faster than the outside lane and keep well back from the HGV. I also avoid cutting in, and if the outside lane traffic starts to overtake me again, and I "lose a few places", so be it. I wait for a decent gap and move out to overtake.

Mentioned the above to a policeman. He was fine with it.

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Wed 4 Dec 2013 16:37
A14 driving etiquette - veryoldbear

Came up the A34 on Monday. I see they still have the curfew on LGV overtaking around the Ridgeway. At least that's a positive move (but not for LGVs). It's a common sight on German trunk roads.

HGV's over 7.5 tonnes. It does some good Northbound, but they don't half come downhill Southbound at an interesting speed ...

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Wed 4 Dec 2013 17:03
A14 driving etiquette - RT

The speed limit for LGVs over 7.5 tonnes is 50 mph on UK dual-carriageways (60 on motorways) but I don't think it's enforced.

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Wed 4 Dec 2013 18:18
A14 driving etiquette - veryoldbear

The speed limit for LGVs over 7.5 tonnes is 50 mph on UK dual-carriageways (60 on motorways) but I don't think it's enforced.

Is that maximum or minimum?

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Wed 4 Dec 2013 20:34
A14 driving etiquette - Wackyracer

The speed limit for LGVs over 7.5 tonnes is 50 mph on UK dual-carriageways (60 on motorways) but I don't think it's enforced.

Is that maximum or minimum?

Maximum of course. But, There are companies with 'Company policy' limits that are less. I remember having an arguement with a traffic clerk at one firm I worked for as he was trying to tell me (a holder of a HGV and PCV license) that the speed limit for HGV's was 56mph as that is what the limiters are set to. At this point I just got my copy of the highway code out of my kit bag and showed him the relative page to which he still argued that it was wrong!

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Wed 4 Dec 2013 20:50
A14 driving etiquette - RT

It amazes me how many people on speed awareness courses don't know the limits applicable to non-cars.

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