Had Something Gone Wrong then LGV Training Would Not Have Helped

As a nationwide school offering HGV and LGV training, one of our big responsibilities is to make sure our students understand all of the safety implications of driving heavy commercial vehicles. For example, the size and weight of the typical articulated lorry make such vehicles much harder to stop compared to passenger cars. Part of the training we provide teaches students how to conduct controlled stops in emergency situations.

A recent incident that occurred in Yorkshire demonstrates why such training is necessary. However, had anything gone wrong during the incident in question, no amount of training would likely have helped the drivers involved. The incident was extremely dangerous to the point that it could have been deadly for four different drivers.

As reported by the Daily Mail and other news outlets, the incident in question involved three lorries and a passenger car travelling along the A1 near Wentbridge. A dash-mounted camera in one of the lorries tells the whole story.

The video shows what appears to be a white Mazda ‘inner-taking’ the first lorry on the shoulder. The surprised lorry driver then watched in horror as the car driver attempted to manoeuvre past two HGVs occupying both lanes ahead. The Mazda driver tried the inner-taking move again but got squeezed out by a guard rail and an exit. He then pulled behind the HGV in the fast lane and followed dangerously close to the bumper of the truck until its driver overtook the other HGV and pulled into the slow lane.

At that point, the Mazda overtook the third HGV before quickly swerving in front of it in a manoeuvre that one driver said appeared to be an attempt to run the HGV off the road. Watching the video for yourself shows just how dangerous the situation was.

Driving Responsibly Applies to All

It is very easy to blame HGV and LGV drivers for all the problems on the road. After all, they are not likely to defend themselves AND necessity means they will keep doing what they do. But the reality is that drivers of all kinds of vehicles drive recklessly. Irresponsible car drivers deserve their share of the blame when things go wrong on the roads.

In the Yorkshire incident, the HGVs in question are at a disadvantage inasmuch as the law limits their speed. This is one of the reasons the logistics industry is constantly calling for the government to equalise speed among all vehicles so as not to force HGVs to create tailbacks by driving slower. That aside, the HGV drivers filmed in this incident were doing nothing wrong. They could have been killed by a car driver who was simply too impatient to wait.

Our HGV and LGV training deals extensively with legal and safety issues pertaining to commercial drivers. Still, we cannot prepare drivers for every possibility. We are just very thankful that no one was injured or killed on the A1 in Yorkshire.

Sources:

Daily Mail – https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3461774/Speeding-motorist-undertakes-44-ton-HGV-hard-shoulder-60mph.html