Slow Motorhomes

If I am travelling A to B, then I will normally be travelling with the traffic flow. If traffic is queuing up behind me, then I will usually make it obviously easy to pass me (this might mean pulling into to layby or just pulling over to straddle the hard shoulder or cycle path, signalling and being ready to slow down...the point being that the following driver knows I have seen and will co-operate).

Sometimes I am just ambling, between 40 and 50 mph, in which case the same rules apply with the addition that (especially on country roads) I will pull over earlier.

However, I tend not to do these things if the car following has spurned easy opportunities to pass me.

Driving slowing is a criticism that is often thrown at caravans, but in truth it should be levied at anyone who is driving slowing and holding up traffic. Many is the time I have been held up by a powerful car while towing or in the MH



P
 
Our beloved campervan struggles bless her but once she gets going she can cruise along with the rest of them.... she is 22 years old after all. I have noticed drivers getting impatient with us, but my husband would never ever put anyone in danger or at risk, and would CERTAINLY pull over if he felt we were holding up traffic. He has over 25 years experience as a lorry driver and drives all over europe, so he knows whats he is doing. It annoys me when people look at us when we are in our campervan as if to say 'how dare you even be on the road' tut tut !!!!.....Its in fab condition, its completely road worthy safe and all legal. So as for the snotty so and so who was revving up our backsides on a roundabout the other day this is aimed at you ...:mad2:.... and sticking up two fingers for good measure !!!!!!!!!!
 
"sans permis" car. I trust you all know what these are and what function they fulfil for many French people!
Click to expand...

Indulge an old woman and clarify...I might be able to guess, but.....

I am a road user of many types...walking, jogging, cycling, horse riding, horse box towing, caravan towing, bus driving, motorcyle (only up to 750cc), lorry driving (7.5T)...I have nothing to prove.

Like you, I prefer French drivers to the English. I prefer driving where all I have to worry about is the road, other drivers and other road users. I have more problems with statutory "one size fits all" control and involvement. The former is largely predictable, the latter is too frequently the whim of fashion.


Polly
 
:sleep-040: everybody hates the rear veiw of my motorhome they have to pass and 90% of the time apart from on the motorway they have to be speeding to do so,the words of my instructor while doing my hgv many years ago are still in my head "make progress do the speed limit or they will fail you for holding the traffic up"
 
Kontiki said:
I won't be pushed into to driving any faster than I consider safe, my motorhome is reasonably well powered & I can go fast if I want to. At the same time I appreciate that some people want to maybe go faster so I will occasionally pull over if I see a few cars stuck behind me. What does annoy me is drivers who try to fore me to go faster by tailgating especially if there is a speed limit & I am driving around that speed (the closer they get the more inclined I am to go slower) What some people fail to understand is the speed limits are the MAXIMUM speed (if it says 30 mph this is the fastest you should be travelling not 31....32..etc.) The argument as to if roads don't have a speed limit correct for the road is another argument altogether. I would like to see some speed limits around where we live reduced & others increased but I can't complain if I got a ticket for exceeding them.
Click to expand...

Perfectly understandable but take care if the police observe you deliberetly holding up even speeding traffic they may book you for drving without due care or even dangerous driving .......I know life aint fair but that has already happened to self appointed traffic police
 
Kontiki said:
What does annoy me is drivers who try to fore me to go faster by tailgating especially if there is a speed limit & I am driving around that speed (the closer they get the more inclined I am to go slower) What some people fail to understand is the speed limits are the MAXIMUM speed (if it says 30 mph this is the fastest you should be travelling not 31....32..etc.)
Click to expand...

Exactly. My camper is still registered as a commercial van so I am restricted to 50mph on single carriageways. But I am sick of driving at around 49mph to find some idiot in a lorry aggressively tailgaiting me - when he is restricted to 40mph!! (I drove lorries for 20 years so I know all about the time pressure, but I never drove them like that. I always despised the @ssholes who did drive like that and set timetables the rest of us were expected to keep up to!!)
 
***** said:
My Two pennies.

I have no problem with the slow drivers, it's up to them to drive at their comfort speed, but what bugs me is the vehicle that comes up behind the slow vehicle and then makes no attempt to overtake while not leaving sufficient room for a vehicle to overtake them and slot into the space between them and the first slow vehicle.
Another, particular prevalence in France, but also here is the car that just has to overtake the M/H or truck on a dual carriageway only to slow down immediatley it gets onto a single carriageway.
Very frustrating for the truck driver or m/h driver who can hold a speed.
I also much prefer the french way of driving as it is much smoother than here.
I am sure that a large proportion of drivers have lost the art of overtaking safely.
I usually indicate to the nearside and pull over to let a faster vehicle come past, but I don't stop and I am amased at the number that don't take the opportunity and the number that don't give you a thank you.
Regarding traffic lights, how many cars have to race away burning unnecessary extra fuel, only for you to come up behind them in about half a mile and I have also noticed an increase of vehicles that at traffic lights will come up alongside a M/H or goods vehicle and position themselves in the right turn only lane and then get a quick get away and cut in going straight ahead.
Driving standards are most certainly dropping.
Click to expand...

*****, that is spot on and could of been written by me ... Only I'm to lazy to sit here and type it all out! lol. The only part I didn't agree with was actually not your thoughts but your wife's ... the whole "sitting in with a truck driver" thing, well certainly not the modern 'truck driver' any way...They seem to think they are some sort of elite driving Gods when in actual fact the total opposite applies and in alot of cases (not 'ALL' ) they are just the Big Bullies of the road (or like to think they are!) with the mind set of 'don't mess with me or you'll come off worse!' ... I see evidence of this every day as I have to trawl up and down the A11, A47, A17, and so on, which are all notorious roads for the 'I must stick to 35 (yes 35 MPH!) brigade' and wobitide anybody who dares or have the audacity to overtake me!


Anyway rant over!... there are still some good truck driver's out there but there is also an ever increasing amount of bad one's too...

Martyn
 
Last edited:
interesting thread.

im used to driving in Germany in my BMW (er a cheapo mid 90's touring, 500quid jobbie) so often done 130mph plus, or a usual steady drive at 110mph where its legal and safe. yet over here seen idiots in fog here doing 70 when even 50 was too fast....

also been a delivery driver, and first thing in the morning had to do drops before 9am and report them in, otherwise it cost the co. money...i wouldnt speed or do risks. and when i refused to drive a van i said was dangerous i was given the spanish archer.

driven in france, hate it.

my LT 35 diesel is slow as hell on any slight hill. i guess as someone else said, it could be more dangerous to stop and let things pass at certain points.

was some other things i wanted to comment on, but forgot :)
 
***** said:
Martyn, I also see evidence of the newer breed of LGV drivers behaving badly,
:(:(:(
Click to expand...

I believe the have all had their lorries governed at 56 mph. But even thats a mixed blessing as some of them can't bear to drop a whisker below that, and pull out to overtake anyone doing 55mph - or more downhill where they can go faster.

I did see another side to it though. Car drivers who would park where they shouldn't so you couldn't get past, then if you accidentally put a little scrape in the side of their battered old banger they would try to claim for a full respray etc etc. Compensation culture. It got so nobody would admit responsibility for anything.
 
I'm not a fast driver but 50-60 in the van is a good speed to get where you want to go, my problem I'd sundy drivers at 30/35 in the middle of the road that you can't pass : also those to--ers who are so close you can't see them in the mirrors and those who pull out in front and you have to break not to hit them then they slow you down .


Dunk
 
hi . you may know colin and jenny ,they used to live near mael pestivian.were selling properties last time i saw them.
keep thinking about a week on the bike but get carried away here . may drive through this winter as i dont think i,m going maroc so may just follow the old way down through france. cant say for sure never actually make plans just one day say lets go. take it you are near the d69. may knock your door never know. nice area nice n quiet. cheers alan.
 
There are good & bad drivers where ever you are, one of my worst experiences I had was in Germany following behind someone in a newish merc convertible. He was driving really slowly but erratically, I couldn't chance passing him as he would sometimes swerve out over the white line for no reason. I suspect he was drunk or completely incompetent, after about 5 miles of this I managed to find a place to pull over & have a brew (it just wasn't worth my getting frustrated having to sit behind waiting for a possible accident).

I will always try to allow anybody past if safe to do so, I like to keep space in front of me (ideally behind as well but can't do much about tailgaters) I find I can drive more relaxed & enjoy the view a bit after all who wants to be staring at the back of another vehicle for miles on end.
 
I had a nasty experience 2 weeks ago in the south lakes.

Traffic was backed up on the A590 west lane (due to roadworks I believe). I had pulled out onto a clear east lane from a lay by at Rush Pool as traffic had obviously been held up on it further back. I was going at normal speed about 45ish (bearing in mind my speed limit on that road is 50 max) as I approached the next road junction a car passed me on the hatching, pulled in suddenly and then braked to a halt in front of me in the middle of the junction. He had been blowing his horn behind me. He was obviously annoyed that he had been held up, he then shot away again. Fortunately I had just had by brakes repaired and was able to stop otherwise he would have had my 6.5 tones into the back of his Mondeo. TOTAL IDIOCY. There was no place I could have pulled into.

This bad driving could have easily led to the whole road being closed as the other lane was blocked by standing traffic and traffic out in the junction waiting to turn into the road to our left.

I always make a point of keeping an eye on my rear view mirrors and if traffic is building up and I can I pull over to let the road clear. On hill the Hymer is quite slow pulling a full load.
 
There always have been idiots and there always will be idiots. I's just up to us to allow for them in our daily lives.

I'm not saying accept their behavior as normal, but to take into consideration the consequence of others. bike riders learn this lesson, some the hard way.

I started this thread, not through frustration of being stuck behind a MH, but as a comment that the actions of some may cause a reaction by others.

The particular MH was as vintage as it's driver, slowing to 10 mph on a clear roundabout, then sloooowly accelerating up to 30-40 variable speed on a relatively straight single carriage way, apparently totally oblivious to the mood of the line behind me.

This instance was a MH, we get tourists who feel that because they are on holiday they are invincible. Walking in the road in front of traffic, driving like lunatics to get to their destination, see previous post re speeding trailers and caravans etc.

I'm probably talking to the converted on this forum, as many have through their working and leisure life driven a huge number of miles and seen it all, but if any newcommers to the hobby read this, please take on board the lessons learned by others, it's less painful.
 
If the vehicle in front is slow chill & enjoy the scenery:drive:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top