Foreign Lorry Drivers - Grrrrrrrrrr *rant*

Bl**dy Hell - thought it was all over for me earlier today

Was on the M18 pootling along, pulled out to overtake a lorry, I was doing about 70mph, now I always pull out a fair way behind lorries to give them plenty of chance to see me coming.

Obviously this numpty didn't even look, I was about a third of the way past and he just pulled out I slammed on and clung on, really thought I was going to hit it, he swerved back onto inside lane but his back end was still out, dunno how but I missed it by a hair's breath Thank God for once it wasn't raining or I would probably have skidded into it

Luckily the guy in the car behind me had left a decent gap between us and was alert enough to stop so as not to hit me

I went from 70 - 10 mph in what seemed like a split second, felt like an electric shock go though me, fear I reckon, then started shaking so much I pulled onto the hard shoulder to give myself a minute, the lorry merrily carried on it's way The guy in the car behind pulled onto the shoulder to check I was ok, how nice was that it's was all I could do not too burst into tears Didn't manage to get his number plate it all happened so fast

What is it with these foreigners??? And where's the police when you need them???

I drive about 40k miles per year and I can say that the behaviour you witnessed was

a) not restricted to foreign drivers
b) not restricted to lorry drivers

There are good and bad english drivers, good and bad foreign drivers, good and bad car drivers and good and bad lorry drivers.

Nationality or mode of transport it not the issue.

Leanne, I travel on the auto bahns across Germany on regular basis, all the big 16 wheeler lorries are banned on Sundays and all the German drivers park up on Saturday night, but guess what, I still see loads of lorries from (You'll probably guess) Poland

They travel huge distances without a break and think it normal, there are no maximum hours laws in these East European countries and they consider it a 'macho' thing to drive all day and half the night.

Life is cheap in some countries but it's not funny when it encroaches on your life, in your country, and you are following all the rules, and they are not.

Do you remember that case of a lorry driver from some European country (Can't remember which it was now) who drove into the back of a car on the M6 killing mother, father, and three kids He was doing something on his lap top while cruising at 69mph

worst bit of motorway behaviour i've ever seen came from someone who thought he was the big I-am, using the slip road as a runway, and shooting across to the outside lane without indicating or anything. Bit of a lol when 25 mins later i saw him pulled over on the hard shoulder by the police!

he must have been doing way over 100mph i really hope he lost his licence.

The main issue with foreign vehicles it's that it's quite hard to see their far side though those wing mirrors. or so i've been told ha.

Last Sunday night driving back from Gatwick Airport and stopped at Clacket lane services, I had a lorry in front heading to join the motorway doing 45-50mph, so slowed up to give him space so I could then join quickly and safely, he suddenly decided he wanted to join at 30mph!! At that speed, especially for a lorry is far too dangerous, unless there was an accident or very heavy traffic.... The run off isn't even short, you can easily get up to 50-60mph and join the Motorway!

Further up on the M2 there was 2 lorries hogging 2 lanes which was very dangerous.

Then all the idiot drivers doing over 90mph who think it is ok to fly up your backside, flash you (even though your doing 70mph anyway!), overtake so close behind you and never indicate....

....Then the drivers who cut you up....

Drivers who don't put their lights on even though visibility is poor, or getting dark...

The list is endless.

Outside my house is a railway bridge, at least 5 times a week a lorry ploughs into it- as if not noticing the bridge is a foot lower than their lorry. In all my time living here all the drivers have been foreign aside from 1... They use their sat navs in place of common sense.

they are a pain in the backside,if you saw what some consumed on the boat crossings you'd take a wide berth overtaking them

I once got pushed up on to the central reservation by a Christian salvesten lorry because they failed miserably to look in their mirrors. I definitely wasn't in their blind spot, they didn't stop either. I rang the company and quoted the registration and got told that these things happen! My dad is a lorry driver and I'm pretty sure he hasn't pushed anyone up a bank when driving!! I was 18 at the time and driving a tiny Peugeot 106. It was terrifying.

My hubby does Agency driving and comes into contact with many foreign drivers, mostly Polish I have to say. The tales he comes home with are truly scarey and quite unbelieveable.

I wouldn't single out foreign lorry drivers, I've seen dangerous driving from British drivers too.
Saying that though, it was a foreign lorry that nearly crashed into me. Driving along an A road ( 60 mph) when a lorry coming the opposite way decided he was going to make a right turn across the road directly in front of me I had to swerve round the front of his cab or I'd have gone straight into him, how I missed him i'll never know.
I've also had an unsecured load just miss hitting my car, lorry going in the opposite direction with massive plastic wrapped bales of sawdust, roughly the size of a fridge, one bale slid off and hit the road a few inches in front of my car, luckily it split open on impact and I drove through a giant cloud of sawdust, nearly pooped my pants on that one lol.