I’m a regular commuter, inasmuch as that my ‘day to day’ ‘door to door’ tends to involve a trip from across the border (yes, I am one of THEM, coming across the line and taking your job), so am fairly fluent in the 1st gear, 2nd gear, 1st gear, 2nd gear interplay.
But you know what grinds my gears...that which has me swearing more than a drunken sailor?
HGVs overtaking (and busses/coaches for that matter).
Especially ones that do so with little to no prior indication that they are going to do so.
Sure, you can kinda guess it’s gonna happen, there’s the tell-tale outward mini-swerve and then the ‘Will I? Won’t I?’ no-mirror, no-signal manoeuvre.
Yes, to some extent, a little patience is required when driving on Luxembourg’s motorways, with increased diversity comes a decrease in civility (on the roads at least) and there are infinite grumblings surrounding certain style adopted by drivers of certain cars (we’d be loathe to upset some peeps unnecessarily) already aired.
But, when the roads are clear(ish) it is almost guaranteed that you’ll see a truck slowly pull out to overtake a slightly slower truck. It will be when you’re about to pass the lorry and when there are no other vehicles around that this occurs.
It will be when you think it’s NOT going to happen. You’ll assume the driver has seen you, as the inward swing will make it clear that you can overtake in peace.
But no, this is merely a tease, as, just as you are nosing into the clear, the lorry will pull out.
even though there’s no other vehicle behind you.
It will happen when travelling uphill.
Every time.
As the traffic behind you, which magically appears at that very moment, then starts to build up, the collective feeling is that it was your fault. It was YOU that allowed this to happen. If you had just gone that little bit quicker, then none of this would have happened.
It’s as if, in some twisted fantasy, snail racing has gone 18-Wheels. Millimetre by millimetre the trucks swap places, the drivers can see the (red bull hue) yellow of each other’s eyes.
Yes I do appreciate that some vehicles travel faster than others. And, no, I am not suggesting that a lorry driver must ride in the slipstream forever. I just would like for the opportunity to overtake be optimal. That, perhaps, just maybe, the mirrors and the indicators be used BEFORE erratically changing tact and gunning it in the outside lane.
In the grand scheme of things, this delay lasts mere minutes, but it takes a lot longer than that to get over it.
All I ask is that whatever the time of day and whatever the state of play, that people observe the basics of the highway code. Roundabout navigation is a whole other kettle of fish.
If you don’t like being on the roads when HGV’s are, check this site out for the days when they are banned from the routes.
*some of my best friends are HGV drivers (shifty eyed glance).
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Have a gripe of your own? Need to let off some steam? Feel free to e-mail audience@rtltoday.lu.
