EXTREME WEATHER; ADVICE FOR CAR DRIVERS

Hello peeps. As many of you will know some really bad weather is about to hit us and last over the festive period. Reading about it on BBC news the line 'give high sided vehicles plenty of room' gave me an idea for a blog post. So here it is! Many people who have very little motorway experience take to the road at this time of year. Im not claiming to be the best driver in the world, I just know that many car drivers follow my blog and lets face it the car test is inadequate at best. So all I want to do is give you some advice I learned from driving everything from cars to minibuses to double deck coaches and vans to artics in 22 different countries over the past 18 years!

IN HIGH WINDS-

1. DO NOT DITHER! On motorways often if a problem occurs most car drivers first reaction is to brake. In many cases this can be the worst option! If you see a high sided struggling with wind as you overtake ACCELERATE! The best place to be is in front of it, not behind, and most certainly not beside. So many car drivers slow and match your speed if they see you struggling, while alongside! DON'T! Get out of the way as quickly as possible. Trust me, it is no fun driving a truck on a busy motorway in high winds and when big gusts hit it can be hard to keep the truck in a straight line so get yourself clear of danger.

2. USE LIGHTS I actually advise people to use their lights all the time. But should you not have enough money for the meter (joke) in bad conditions they are a must. Even if its not raining if the road is wet the huge amounts of spray a truck kicks up can make you almost invisible, even more so in a strong side wind blowing the spray straight out.

3. DO NOT STOP So far today I have seen three cars stop on hard shoulders to go to the toilet. At any time this is madness, even more so when trucks can make unpredictable movements because of the wind. The hard shoulder is one of the most dangerous places you can be. It is a stopping place of absolute last resort. If you are that desperate you cannot make it to the services come off at the next junction and stop OFF the motorway. Safety should be your priority and motorways should be treated with respect.

SOME GENERAL MOTORWAY ADVICE-

1. ACCELERATE ON THE ON SLIP, BRAKE ON THE OFF SLIP! Slip roads are there for a reason, they are there so you have to do minimal braking on the motorway coming off, and to give you time to accelerate and merge with the traffic coming on. IT IS UP TO YOU TO MERGE WITH TRAFFIC ON THE MOTORWAY, they do not have to give way to you. Accelerate up to the speed of the traffic around you and you will merge easily and safely. So many people keep slowing down, causing all the traffic to slow down causing more problems. Likewise coming off, get into lane early and use the sliproad to brake, not the motorway.

2. FIND A SPEED YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH AND STICK TO IT Makes for a more comfortable drive, better fuel consumption and dont speed up if a truck is overtaking, its annoying and stupid!

3. EXERCISE PROPER LANE DISCIPLINE. Lane one isn't the 'truck lane'

4. LIKE ABOVE, TREAT THE MOTORWAY WITH RESPECT. Don't make stupid last minute dashes, if you've missed a junction go to the next one, it isn't far. Don't dive across 3 lanes of traffic and don't, and you'll be surprised how often I see this, reverse down the hard shoulder. 

5. STAY CALM, DON'T STRESS, DRIVE SAFELY Don't let the journey stress you. You will get there when you get there. People get so stressed by traffic, there is no point whatsoever. And remember if the traffic is due to an accident then someone up front is clearly having a much worse day than you. Any journey that gets you to your destination safely is a successful one, no matter how long it takes. Families are left devastated every day by fatal road accidents, don't make your family be one. Also DON'T RUBBERNECK! Its an accident, you don't need to slow right down to examine it, drive on, and certainly don't take pictures. Show some respect.

AND FINALLY......

RESPECT US, WE ARE THERE FOR YOU

Next time you get annoyed at being 'held up' by trucks remember- we are there for you, not on a jolly day out. Your Christmas is delivered by us, and trust me, transport is a thankless and hard task. We don't want a medal or a pat on the back, just a bit of respect from you as we go about delivering YOUR stuff.

MERRY CHRISTMASTIDE ONE AND ALL