RichieB

With the missus in her car this morning, me driving. Came down slip road to the A21 near Sevenoaks coming up from Hildenborough.
There was a line of traffic in the inside lane doing 45 - 50mph. The slip road is quite short. There was a tanker alongside me, so I slowed down to pull in behind him onto the dual carriageway, indicating the whole time. The truck behind him had been 4 - 5 car lengths behind him as I had been coming down the ramp, so it looked a reasonable proposition to come in behind the tanker and blend in with the traffic.

Next thing I knew, the truck behind the tanker sped up and left me nowhere to go but up the kerb and over the grass verge. Came to a complete standstill, ....in shock. The wife was pretty shaken up. No damage though except to nerves, and maybe a tyre.

Got going again...5 miles down the road, we caught him up. Pulled alongside and the missus noted down everything she could from the truck cab. She was shocked to see that the driver was laughing!!

Police were just not interested when I called them, due to not having an independent witness. I asked them if they could offer any support. They said no.

I am about to call the company concerned, to whom the truck belonged. It is a major motor company.

Any advice?

Cheers,

Rich

Luke

Rich

Verysorry to hear this. "Thank a God )( Trying to be PC!!) both you and your wife are ok. I have seen this many times... Why dont drivers move into the middle lane as they aproach a slip road. So many just plod along causing cars wanting to join to either run out of road or push in causing other problems..

I always give trucks at least 6 cars distance... They dont stop well!!!

be Lucky

CELL

God damn to$$er [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

Usual helpful police response then?

The company is your best bet i think. What with all this hows my driving call 0800 ******.



[Edited by CELL - 3/22/2002 9:14:42 AM]

Neil Smalley

Tricky,

The traffic on the dual carriageway/motorway is'nt obliged to let you in as the slip road is effectively a give way junction. You are supposed to stop at the dotted line if there is no space to pull in.

In this case it appears as though the guy who speeded up was deliberatley trying to block you. Techinically you were in the wrong for not stopping and giving way, although morally the other guy should not have closed the gap.

I doubt if the police will be interested, and if they were then you might come off worse.

Do as you said, report the guy to the company stating the sequence of events and any damage to the car(check the wheel, wheel alignment, geometry and suspension) .

Ask to speak to the drivers supervisor and then write a letter of complaint to the company. Ask them what action they are going to take over the matter, if they say none. Escalate it upwards to his supervisors, supervisor etc etc


[Edited by Neil Smalley - 3/22/2002 9:18:11 AM]

Goldfinger

The word 'knocker' springs to mind ... at least you and the other half are OK. If there is damage to the trye (and alloy?) it may be a good idea to take a photo of it and to draw a little picture of what happened and where whilst it's fresh in your head just in case you do take it further with his company, police ..etc.

Phil [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

Scotty Boy

Hi,
Sorry to hear this - vans / lorries seem to have this law unto themselves.

not that i condone lying, but how about trying an embelshment of the truth. explain that you were run off the road, you have reported this to the Police and so has the witness from the middle lane, explain the drivers later behaviour and you are calling to to see how the company intends to compensate you / resolve this issue ....

No harm in trying, best of luck mate

Tiggs

what can the police do anyway? no one hurt, no witnesses- the truck driver would say you overtook and tried to dive in a gap that wasnt there, etc, etc.

if you (generic- not suggesting this guy did) wizz down slip roads to get in a single lane you take the risk that someone (and every trucker) will not let you in- particually if you're pushing your luck and should really have got in line further back- so be ready to stop and wait if you have to.

Tiggs

ps- moving out of the inside lane to slip roads in? is that in the highway code? i get more annoyed with people pulling into the outside lane im going down cause they see a slip road ahead- th slip road should join as a nd when they can- its not up to people on the main road to pull over for them is it???

323roy

After contacting the lorry drivers immediate boss or even better his boss ask for his name and contact address<the boss,not the driver>.Write to him or her and explain to him what happened and your wife could now be suffering stress and ask him nicely his thoughts and views.
Ask if this is disrespect for other road users is company policy?
Tell him you wont be taking matters further because you simply dont have a case and you dont want to get the driver in trouble <liar>,but to keep an eye out on his staff from now on. He wil take note of this and have words ,this is the best you can do.

Tiggs

"not that i condone lying, but how about trying an embelshment of the truth. explain that you were run off the road, you have reported this to the Police and so has the witness from the middle lane, explain the drivers later behaviour and you are calling to to see how the company intends to compensate you "

lets pretend shall we!....

im the supervisor of this trucker- i was a trucker myself for 5 years, in those 5 years i had 34 million people dive in front of me in ques of traffic because i had to leave a bigger breaking distance and they assumed that was for them.

28 million of these were in flash cars i could never hope to afford and i thought they were all idiots!

now one of my blokes tells me someone tried to dive in front of him and there was no room so he ran onto the verge. we have a laugh and a bacon butty.

next day a letter comes in from that driver- we have anothe laugh and two bacon butties knowing there is sod all the driver can do or prove.


harsh but possible so dont get your hopes up that the company will pay for your lazer alignment!

Tiggs

Neil Smalley

Agreed Tiggs.

That's why I suggested escalating it upwards. At some point in time someone won't laugh it down. It all depends on how desperate RichieB is to get a result.

RichieB

Thanks for the messages guys.

Tiggs... no, I am quite critical of my own driving usually and ready to admit responsibility, BUT this guy deliberately closed the gap and left me with no road whilst I was making a legitimate entry to the dual-carriageway!! There was no hard shoulder. By the time I had realised what he had done, I had a choice of hitting him or going up the kerb and verge. It all happened in a few seconds. I don't think anyone would have been able to do any different.

Just called his company. They seem concerned and I have been referred to their sub-contractor who are in charge of the drivers.
I will be writing to them.

Cheers,

Rich

Rich

juan

can't see you getting anywhere with it again due to no witnesses. Like someone earlier said the truck driver could say there wasn't enough space and you were driving badly/not even looking etc. etc. your word against his like was earlier stated the slip road traffic has to give way in this kinda situation.

RichieB

I'm not interested in "getting anywhere with it" , just in making a complaint about a dangerous moronic pr*ck. This bloke will kill someone one day, and still have a laugh over a bacon f**king butty.

I was lucky today.

Black Cat

Rich
An almost identical incident happened to me a couple of years ago, and the two young lads driving thought it was very funny indeed that they had nearly caused me to have a serious accident.

I managed to write down the company name and the number plate of the van and I did ring the company.

At first there was silence at the end of the phone, and I thought I was going to get 'pee off you stupid c*w!. But then the guy came back in with 'well lets just see how funny he thinks this is when he gets here'. I don't know the result but I should imagine he thought twice about doing it again.

Ring the company - report the guy, when you are driving around in a vehicle which has advertising plastered all over it then you should be aware that you are representing the company, and I am sure they will take a very dim view of this.

Ring them, then post back on here what happens if it isn't good in your favour then post the name of the company.

Glad you are alright and you wife is okay, these things are always unnerving.
Penni

SCOTTSCOOBY

glad your ok, i would complain to the company he drives for, they might pull him up he wont like that, then you have the last laugh then.

good luck

Tiggs

"But then the guy came back in with 'well lets just see how funny he thinks this is when he gets here'"

its wrong and its harsh but he may well have been getting ready to have a bacon butty and a laugh.

i worked for a local council for years when i was younger- we had uniforms, vans, cars, sites all covered with our various logos. i also heard/saw an awful lot of ppl comlain/moan/shout and they were all calmed down and told the person responsible for their prob would be dealt with harshly- also saw a whole stack of butties!

Jolly Green Monster 2

Tiggs - You are not seeing this right are you! yes it is your responsibility to give way but if there is a space to move out into and the lorry deliberately closes the door the the lorry driver is at fault. You are suppose to adjust your speed on the slip road to the traffic speed and merge into the traffic.
If there is no where to go then stop... but there was a gap and the lorry closed it.

Would the lorry driver been having a laugh and a bacon butty if Richies car had not gone over the kerb and bounced back into the path of the lorry, the lorry crushed it kill both occupants, blocking the road for 4hours whilst the Police measured it all and removed the charred remains!

you ****...

I appreciate lots of people jump into the space in front of a lorry when they shouldn't but this doesn't sound like that situation to me. If I was driving along the motorway in the inside lane and someone came down the slip road to merge in and there was 6 car length infront of me there is no harm in letting them in..

What is it with lorry drivers and this "it takes a long time to stop" business that they throw out when it suits them and then sit 2metres from the trailer of the lorry in front on the motorway?

Rant over

Adam M

Neil,

on a dual carriage way or a motorway do you mean?

To my knowledge you should not stop on a slip road when joining a deretricted road.

The road sign on the main road is normally indicative of traffic merging from the right, and from the left to the people on the slip road.

In such cases, the highway code says they have equal priority meaning the main road people have to give way as much as the slip road people.

SimonEvoExtreme

This falls into the same catogory as blocking 2 lanes with a truck 1 mile before roadworks. You know the sort of thing, dual carriage way 1 mile from roadworks, inside lane doing 10-20mph, outside lane clear and a lorry blocking both lanes. These guys think they own the road.

Phone his boss and demand his name. Say you are reporting him for failure to stop after an accident. And you want the insurance details of the company. In that way he will be forced to fill in a report so it cannot be brushed under the carpet.

Brendan Hughes

Very impressed with and support second half of SimonEE's answer. Sounds like two good ways of really dropping the guy in it and getting some compensation. Doesn't matter if you get it through legal means or moral pressure, just get it. Suggest you get your car looked at (wheel, tracking etc) ASAP and send them the bill too. A story is one thing, money is another.

What Tiggs says is bloody unpleasant but a fact in the real world. I worked in trucking for some time and can reluctantly concur with him. But the lads on the floor have a laugh - management won't. Hence taking it further.

Good luck.

Oh, I was run off the road on a Honda Melody (borrowed from Mum when I had less than no money) by an earth-tipping truck, curiously also on the A21 (Lamberhurst). Can agree it's terrifying. The wheels came up to the height of my head.

BJH

Neil Smalley

Adam

"Rule 233

When you join the motorway you will normally approach it from a road on the left (a slip road) or from an adjoining motorway. You should give priority to traffic already on the motorway
check the traffic on the motorway and adjust your speed to fit safely into the traffic flow in the left-hand lane
not cross solid white lines that separate lanes
stay on the slip road if it continues as an extra lane on the motorway remain in the left-hand lane long enough to adjust to the speed of traffic before considering overtaking. "

Giving priority means, be prepared to stop. You'll notice that on a slip road there are the double dashed lines which mean give way to traffic on a major road..

Mind you knowing, the roads in this country I would'nt put it past some roads to be inconsistant in their markings.

jon hill

interesting - i've recently taken to towing a track car around, and now get to experience this kind of thing from the "other" side. Tootling along at 30 or so in the inside lane in a queue of traffic - loaded A4 avant with trailer & a 205. Queue speeds up, so as the gap opens I begin to accelerate. Next thing I know some guy comes flying down the slip road at 70 - 80 and is trying to merge - gets in front of me and stands on his brakes.

I carrying maybe 1200kg behind me - wtf does he think i can do ? i cant stop in the same distance as he can. Does he really want an A4 parked in his boot ?

Ok -i've no idea what the story is in this particular situation, but it's made me appreciate how different the whole driving thing is from something heavy with lots of intertia. The way some of the cars behave is shocking - the view seems to be that if I get half a car length in front of you, then avoiding a collision is your responsability.

Markus

Richie,
sorry to hear about this.

I know the sliproad well.

You have the number, phone the company and complain about the driver, ask them what they are going to do. Would suggest you might also want to mention you HAVE reported it to the police, don't say the police were not interested, just say you have reported it. If they get ****ty with you then you might like to phone the local rag and ask if they are interested in the story.

Oh, and from the sounds of things you might be a local, so come down to the Scoobysnacks meet tonight in Ide hill and I'll by you a nice comforting pint (of coke of course ).

Dr Lurve

I doubt that the company will do anything, might be just as well to let it drop (no real harm done), relax and dont let it stress you out any more than it already has done. I sympathise. I have been run off the road a couple of times by vans on my side of the raod. Jen.

Jolly Green Monster 2

I agree with what you are saying Jon Hill... but we can only go on what Richie has said. I too tow a trailer (not as heavy) but experiance the same thing. But if as Richie said I was doing 40mph and someone came down the slip road and there was at least 3 cars length or more between me and the car in front, I would not speed up and close the gap.
Besides if Richie had been doing 80 or 90 then the lorry would not have time to close the gap. Also I think he might not be typing his post...

GSti

Exactly the same thing happened to my old man a couple of years ago, but the lorry actually clipped him and spun the car, when
the police actually turned up they were going to press charges againest my old man for driving without due care and attention based on the tanker drivers side of the story. Bearing in mind my old man had been driving tankers himself for 40 odd years without a blemish on his record. Me and me bruv actually found out that the tanker driver lived locally and also that he had done the same thing before, the police soon dropped the charges after that.

I honestly think the tanker driver thought it was some sort of game.... lucky they dropped the charges really as we knew where he lived, and at the end of the day it was OUR mum & dad in the car, they were shook up about it for weeks, as I'm sure anyone who's been a car thats spun can vouch for....

jon hill

JGM2 - fare point, i wasnt trying to say that was the case in this particular situation

unless....

ritchie - you're not typing this from a hospital bed, or from beyond the grave ???

RichieB

Thanks for the helpful advice and views guys and gals.

Rich

323roy

Im sure we all find it a bit disturbing that an employee reports a road incident to his supervisor <tiggs> ,and his responce is to laugh . then when it comes in writing he laughs again.
I have driven lorries for the last 10 years and i know people try it on ,but he should act properly and take precautions to avoid this happening again. maybe the ministry of transport would like to see his post after all he needs an operators licence to trade .

Markus

roy,
to quote from tiggs' post

lets pretend shall we!....

not being rude here mate, but tiggs was just citing an example, he's not actually a supervisor in a lorry firm.

just thought i'd chip in before all hell is let loose

[Edited by Markus - 3/22/2002 1:40:22 PM]