Professional driver?????

[PXW]

The scene: driving home after a few days away solo in Mrs PXW's IS250. On the M3, last stretch, nearly home. At around 70mph I get a blow-out on the rear offside tyre. Ouch! Pull over, remnants of tyre smoking but miraculously still on the rim, which appears to be undamaged (subject to a proper check tomorrow). Pull over as far onto the hard shoulder as possible, bearing in mind I am on an elevated urban stretch of motorway with a nice armco barrier to keep you relatively near the traffic.

I then proceed to change the wheel for the spacesaver spare. Where oh where are those traffic wombles when you need one? Changing the wheel took me 20-25 minutes, mostly because I was hampered by the proximity of the road and the need to stop work and retreat to (relative) safety whenever a truck or coach was passing and partly because I was doing the job from a slightly awkward angle so that I kept visibility of the oncoming traffic (imagine changing the wheel whilst standing by the offside rear passenger door - you get the idea). Nevertheless, I was eventually able to move off again, up to the heady speeds of 50mph which is the speed restriction on the spacesaver spare. So, just the inside lane for me - no heroics, thank you.

After a few miles, a lorry came tanking up behind me to within about 6 feet of my rear bumper, flashing his (many) headlights and blasting his horn. What exactly was he expecting me to do? I gave him a couple of flashes of the hazard warning lights, after which he seemed to get the hint that I wasn't going to go any faster and he pulled out to pass me.

Professional driver? What an utter tosser. Sadly he didn't even have one of those 'how is my driving' stickers

 

[moonloops]

They are not professional drivers. They are drivers who drive for a living

 

[davidjpowell]

Had exactly the same thing last year on the M180. Some drivers take King of the Road a bit too far.

Not sure if OP was brave or foolish changing an offside wheel without protection. I've waited for AA before now rather than try this.

 

[PXW]

Not sure if OP was brave or foolish changing an offside wheel without protection. I've waited for AA before now rather than try this.

I had the same thought at the time and it was not ideal. Took a balanced risk - very watchful doing the work as outlined, and traffic was frequent but not heavy - but I decided personal safety was not going to be enhanced by an extended wait for assistance. The place where the tyre went didn't leave anywhere safe to retreat to.

One or two drivers were very awake and aware and actually moved into the centre lane to keep well clear. I liked them a lot

 

[oldcro]

Why didn't you put your hazard lights on when you drove off, knowing you would be travelling slower than the rest of the traffic? The poor truck driver would not have known you were driving on a space saver tyre.

 

[moonloops]

Why didn't you put your hazard lights on when you drove off, knowing you would be travelling slower than the rest of the traffic? The poor truck driver would not have known you were driving on a space saver tyre.

If it was a lorry >7.5 tonnes then there would be only a 10MPH speed difference - no excuse really, given that the OP said it was a while after he pulled back onto the motorway..

 

[PXW]

Why didn't you put your hazard lights on when you drove off, knowing you would be travelling slower than the rest of the traffic? The poor truck driver would not have known you were driving on a space saver tyre.

Generally not required to show hazard flashers when travelling on the motorway at 50mph (in fact this would contravene the highway code). I used appropriate indication to rejoin the motorway, but this was a little while later.

The poor truck driver (HGV) could have told at a glance when he was an appropriate distance back. Approaching me at a closing speed of 5-8mph, he could have observed a) that I was travelling slower than him and b) the two rear tyres were vastly different. Not likely perhaps, but possible. But the reason for my slow travel is irrelevant - there is no law against driving at 50mph in the inside lane of a motorway, and there is really no excuse imho for the kind of aggressive bullying driving I had to experience.

 

[ajs37]

Why didn't you put your hazard lights on when you drove off, knowing you would be travelling slower than the rest of the traffic? The poor truck driver would not have known you were driving on a space saver tyre.

I think you need to read the original post again - the lorry driver appeared after a few miles - you can't drive along a motorway with your hazards on!

 

[oldcro]

I think you need to read the original post again - the lorry driver appeared after a few miles - you can't drive along a motorway with your hazards on!

From the Highway Code.

116
Hazard warning lights. These may be used when your vehicle is stationary, to warn that it is temporarily obstructing traffic. Never use them as an excuse for dangerous or illegal parking. You MUST NOT use hazard warning lights while driving or being towed unless you are on a motorway or unrestricted dual carriageway and you need to warn drivers behind you of a hazard or obstruction ahead. Only use them for long enough to ensure that your warning has been observed.
[Law RVLR reg 27]

 

[MOCAŠ]

From the Highway Code.

...unless you are on a motorway or unrestricted dual carriageway and you need to warn drivers behind you of a hazard or obstruction ahead. Only use them for long enough to ensure that your warning has been observed.
[Law RVLR reg 27]

The key phrase here is "to warn drivers behind you of a hazard or obstruction ahead". Ahead means ahead of you, not ahead of them. This is a fairly recent innovation, and is intended to allow drivers to to warn following drivers of an obstruction that they might not otherwise see until it was too late to slow down or stop. This started as an unofficial practice in the days when it was still illegal under C&U regs for private cars to use any kind of flashing lights while moving, and was subsequently adopted as a sensible contribution to road safety if used sparingly. I think a similar accommodation has been made to allow for flashing brake lights to be used to indicate heavy/emergency braking.

 

[Cabe]

I keep a high vis vest in the boot for this occasion, I have had far too many near misses (I've been clipped once, no damage, just a kiss), especially in the dark.

 

[kth286]

would it have been beneficial to have placed the warning triangle up the road ?

 

[prprandall51]

would it have been beneficial to have placed the warning triangle up the road ?

No, as the OP was travelling at 50mph, the triangle would have been quickly left behind.

 

[kth286]

No, as the OP was travelling at 50mph, the triangle would have been quickly left behind.

lol whilst changing the wheel - perhaps the car did not have one, unlike the Merc.

 

[neilrr]

Does the space saver disintegrate if it goes an indicated 55 or even 60 mph on your speed for a few miles?

 

[trainer]

It seems the professional driver could not read the road ahead of him and has forgotten that there is no minimum speed limit on the motorway. If you were going slower he should have anticipated that checked for a clear middle lane and moved out in good time. But then again we know that and he did what he did because he had forgotten or was asleep!

 

[neilrr]

there is no minimum speed limit on the motorway`.

Really?

 

[trainer]

I posted that as having gone through the highway code to check there is no minimum speed limit on a motorway or any road unless specifically signed. I am not advocating driving slowly I just wanted to be clear on my answer.

If you can find the minimum speed limit I would be interested.

 

[PXW]

Does the space saver disintegrate if it goes an indicated 55 or even 60 mph on your speed for a few miles?

Probably not - I'm sure there is a safety margin built in - but I think there probably is an issue with vehicle stability at higher speeds. If anything untoward did happen and I was exceeding the recommended max speed for the wheel, then the consequences don't bear thinking about.

 

[Druk]

HGV driver was probably...texting his mate/reading the Star/watching telly/eating sandwich/all of the above, and had the cruise set at 60mph.

Then looked up and saw your rearend approaching at frightening speed and panicked.

BLOW HORN, FLASH LIGHTS, GETOUTOFMYROAD!!