Earlier this week i watched in horror the antics of just about the most dangerous driving i've witnessed in some time.
A47 tween Peterboro and Duddington, single carriageway road with numerous bends, artic in front, 18 ton LHD Italian regd truck behind it, ford galaxy mpv behind that and then me in a loaded truck.
The front vehicle is doing around 42/3 mph and the bloke in the LHD truck is desperate to overtake.
He gets right over to the nearside verge to look up the inside of the truck, then when he can see a clear spot swings out onto the blind oncoming road to have a better look, causing several car drivers coming the other way to swerve over, if there had been a truck (or bus!) coming the road is not wide enough to accomodate this.
Trouble is he was jammed up about a cars length from the artic he's trying to get by so has no field of vision, and even if he's leaning over to the right he has to get at least 5 or so feet of vehicle out before he can see properly.
He did this manoeuver probably half a dozen times over the 10 mins or so i was behind, the galaxy carrying three blokes that had tried to overtake realised the danger and dropped back a good distance and gave up trying to overtake.
I backed off to about quarter mile in case the twerp in the truck managed to have a head on smash with a chemical tanker or similar, but stayed in sight.
It was one of those cases where you so desperately want to see a patrol car parked up in a layby who can do something about it, maybe stop some innocent soul from being obliterated but alas nothing.
I desperately wanted him not to be going my way, left onto the A43 and luckily he didn't, they all went straight over towards Uppingham.
I really thought we were going to be witnessing something nasty.
Trouble is, what do you do about it, i suppose i could have taken his number though that was murky and barely readable and i'd have had to get too close for my own survival to read it, if i'd got his number then what?
Whats the form for something like this, not as i want to see anything like this ever again, i bet the police here would have had a field day with him....he was alone by the way he didn't have a second man with him looking for him, i know because he had overtaken me on the dual carriageway previously.
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It would certainly have been worth calling Plod with a description of the LHD truck plus its registration and heading if you were able to get close enough GB. I've heard before of cases where registrations have been logged on the ANPR system after a phone call, and traffic police have tugged the vehicle a while later on to have a word (and an impromptu roadside MoT test).
If there had later been an accident, your phone call (assuming joined-up thinking from the PNC of course) would have shown that the vehicle at least had a very recent history of being driven erratically.
Slightly scary to think about this actually, as I could well have been coming the other way.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Thu 12 Jan 12 at 20:56
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>> It would certainly have been worth calling Plod with a description of the LHD truck
>> plus its registration and heading if you were able to get close enough GB.
Yes maybe i should have with the benefit of hindsight Dave, never thought about them linking it into ANPC, could his plate be read by the cameras.
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>> could his plate be read by the cameras?
I understand so, the strict regulations on UK plates' typefaces are a catch-all but the cameras can pick up a lot more detail than they'd like you to think.
Even if he didn't get the rubber glove treatment from those nice men in the chequered Galaxy he'd certainly trigger some sort of flag when going through a port.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Thu 12 Jan 12 at 21:24
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Nasty stretch of road, GB. I have driven it quite a few times - used to be a stamping ground of mine, thereabouts. From Peterborough, fast dual carriageway nearly to the A1 at Wansford, then a dangerous single carriageway.
It seems to bring out the worst driving - the road is fast enough for people easily to exceed the national speed limit, but is bendy enough to prevent the forward visibility to make it safe.
If he had overtaken, the Italian guy would have been quite likely to encounter at the last minute a car or motorbike "making progress". There have been plenty of serious accidents on that road.
Last edited by: FocalPoint on Thu 12 Jan 12 at 21:20
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I like driving that road to be honest FP, you can keep a good pace up in any vehicle as the bends are long and sweeping, however as you say the time of available visibility might be OK for car overtakes, but not an elephant race.
40 or so mph on such a road is frustrating and does lead to stuff like this, except the usual overtakers are a bit more competent and usually have a more suitable motor.:-)
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Was the lead artic from that company that didn't do very well at the Stock Exchange today by any chance? ;-)
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>> Was the lead artic from that company that didn't do very well at the Stock
>> Exchange today by any chance? ;-)
Must have missed this....link?
White MAN tractor and white trailer, there might have been a name but to be honest i was keeping all eyes on our Italian mate and trying to work out what the hell he would do next.:-)
>>the rubber glove treatment from those nice men in the chequered Galaxy<<
Where do i apply sweety..;)
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Thu 12 Jan 12 at 22:30
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I meant Tesco's GB. As you'll know they stick rigidly to the limits; difficult to criticise them for that I know but it does tend to provoke the sort of stupid behaviour you witnessed today.
Does sound like it was a trolley driver though...... and it sounds like the bloke behind him was OFF his trolley!
Last edited by: Harleyman on Thu 12 Jan 12 at 22:41
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>> I meant Tesco's
Ah, no HM definately not one of them at the head of a long snake...this time.
Oddly enough they don't stick to the limits when an overtaking lane appears, they can suddenly go flat out until the overtaking lane ends and then its 40 again, not just them either that do this...swear filter forbids adequate description of this behaviour..;)
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I believe we should have a national non emergency phone number for police, easily remembered like 999 but for non emergencies.
Could have been useful in this scenario.
In the past I have 999d a similar scenario and explained what was happening and told them I didn't expect anyone to come racing to the scene but just in the off chance someone was local.
Two miles ahead and the guy got pulled by the traffic police!
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>> Two miles ahead and the guy got pulled by the traffic police!
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I'm feeling guilty now, hope i don't see the remains of a certain vehicle in the papers with a tragic story.
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>> I believe we should have a national non emergency phone number for police, easily remembered like 999
www.police.uk/101
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101 is only for England & Wales for some reason?
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>> I believe we should have a national non emergency phone number for police, easily remembered
>> like 999 but for non emergencies.
101. At least, it is in Wales. Been in operation for a couple of years.
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>> In the past I have 999d ... told them I didn't expect anyone to come racing to the scene but just in the
>> off chance someone was local.
One time I had a runner from my cab next to the A1 at Sandy, the lad leapfrogged the central reservation and just walked off up the other side of the dual carriageway.* I called the local constabulary with the same request as you Bobby, but must have spent two or three frustrating minutes giving the operator my details including postcode, home phone number etc before she told me they didn't have any units nearby. Pity, I would have loved to see him get picked up by a police Astra 400 yards away.
*It was only a few yards to run, but a 3-mile detour to drive over to where he stood - he'd have been long gone.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Thu 12 Jan 12 at 23:13
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I'd probably have phoned 101 and reported that but had I have been driving the leading artic I'd have pulled into one of the three layby's along that stretch of road and let him pass me safely.
I prefer idiots in front of me!
Pat
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>> had I have been driving the
>> leading artic I'd have pulled into one of the three layby's along that stretch of
>> road
I would have forced him off the road into Mick Georges yard, he would fit in well there, just the type of driver they like.
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Seriously bad driving, whats the form - Dave_
