Handbags   (The sad, the bad and the ugly. Non-productive stuff here.)

PeterP - I was passing, southbound, yesterday when the M6 had just been closed Northbound. The HGV involved actually had its cab perched on the central reservation barrier with the trailer slewed across the lanes! I drive around 3000 miles a month and I’m sick of people praising HGV/Lorry drivers as “professional” and “knights of the road” etc, with the implication that they’re all good, courteous drivers. I’m sure some are top class drivers and professional they may be as they make their living from it but some of them are inconsiderate bullies - an example yesterday was a HGV tailgating a young female driver. The 3 lanes were busy but moving and the girl was alongside me in the middle lane. As you said - cars either side of her and to the front - absolutely nowhere for her to go. The HGV driver was within a couple of feet of her flashing his headlights, but not content with that, he put them on full beam and left them like that for a hundred yards or so. Really nice behaviour from a knight of the road. I won’t get into the ones who, on dual carriageways, particularly the A1M, pull out to overtake another HGV, knowing they can’t because most are limited to the same speed, thus blocking the way for those behind travelling faster than 52 or 56 or whatever they’re limited to. If I’d been the young girl I’d have gradually slowed to a crawl, knowing how long it takes the HGV to get some momentum up again and every flash of the lights would have slowed me even more til HGV boy got the message. That works best on the approach to the tops over the M62, though, even harder to get momentum back. If I’m genuinely in a HGV’s way I’ll shift. Pity they don’t think that way. To me, my journey is just as important as theirs.
Steve Mac, News at Ten, Rant over!