This is why you should not
 

drive next to an artic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtEd5oGnr18

The car comes from behind and then drives along side the lorry.
I have seen similar.

macafee2

I've seen it happen; the car edges into the "blind spot" then when that lorry driver glimpses he doesn't see the car, then the car is spun round by the force into the outer position.

so many drivers on the road that literally have no common sense what so ever.

I never sit on the nearside of any artic, either pass it so I'm sitting in view of the driver, or sit back behind the back of the artic. You just know at some point it's going to want to move back into lane 1 (same goes for if you're in lane 2 and the artic's in lane 3 of a 4 lane stretch of motorway).

Never sit next to one on the offside either unless I really have to in roadwork sections and if that's the case I make sure I can see the driver in his mirror.

If it's a left hooker forget it not sitting next to that on the right side.

Rather an unwise manoeuvre by the car driver but there are normally three nearside mirrors on the truck so he probably could have checked a little better. He should have picked the car up when it first entered his nearside.
It's also extremely annoying when cruising at the trucks maximum 56mph & cars overtake you also on cruise but only a mile or two an hour faster. Just put your foot down a bit & get past, you never know what could happen. :shrug:

The car driver wasn't the only one who didn't follow the rules of the road.

The HGV remained for half a minute in what became lane 2 when the motorway became four lanes. The motorway rules say that the HGV should have moved into lane 1 at the earliest opportunity (i.e. drive on the left unless overtaking). We can see that lane 1 ahead of the HGV was clear for this purpose throughout the video (except for the car alongside him of which the HGV was clearly unaware). The HGV contributed to the collision as well. I'd say it was not being driven with due care and attention.

I heard it said that successful police driving is on the basis that the other driver is going to do something stupid. If both the car and HGV in the video had followed this principle, the collision would not have occurred.

I'm not claiming to be perfect by the way. I admit that I make mistakes too, we all do, but the important thing is to learn from each situation which is what we're doing by examining and discussing this incident here. :}

Simon

I have always advised that one must consider every driver an idiot; when another drives in a manner you disagree with, use it as a lesson and don't waste brain cells ranting about it.

I can confidently state I have not made any driving mistakes for eleven weeks.

Simon, I do not disagree with you but in the event of lorry v car who comes off worse? The car driver put is safety and those of his passengers if there were any in the hands of the lorry driver.
Youtube has many clips of lorries side swiping cars yet it still happens.
I was just trying to show why one should not drive along side a lorry.
If any of us were to have our pride and joys written off in such an incident or a passenger killed being "right" or the other driver being wrong is of little consolation, because upon reflection, most of us may come to the conclusion, we could have avoided the incident.

It would be an easy bit of defensive driving to hang back from the lorry.
I accept lorry driver should have seen the car.

macafee2

My driving instructor (1972) also advised breaking the speed limit if it made an overtake safer. I cannot abide the blind spot creeper who overtakes one's vehicle a few inches every second and the vehicle in front gets closer and closer with other traffic catching. Make for a dangerous situation.
Agreed on all the above. Perhaps the numbers of drivers who undertake a driving test on another's behalf is part of the issue. Also driving lessons on motorways has only just become legal so it will probably be 10 years before a reasonable assessment can be done.

Kev

Totally agree (and as a motorcyclist I'd never be very long at all beside an HGV - you've got air flow issues to deal with as well) but which part of the Law allows you to break the speed limit? Yes, I'm being pedantic but......

As for the "creeper" isn't that what happens through every 50mph (or whatever speed eduction is applied) road works etc. Every lane running at virtually the same speed and inevitably the "safe space" vanishes.

Be careful out there.