Traffic Controls and HGV's

[think about it]

A question rather than a rant I hope.

 

We've some pretty disruptive roadworks in progress at the moment here, there's notice from a few miles out of a lane closure and then the usual warnings and speed restrictions.

 

Alongside all of these signs are several that instruct people to queue in both lanes and merge at the very head of the queue. This works quite well mostly, the queue moves albeit there's the odd premium german saloon driver that refuses to let anyone in and the disruption, although annoying (taking a 3 minute drive up to a 25/30 minute one) is manageable.

 

Until, a HGV driver takes it upon themselves to act as a rolling roadblock. This forces traffic to queue back through a couple of tunnels and back towards a roundabout. effectively doubling the length of the queue and delaying everyone behind.

 

My question is this; does this constitute causing an obstruction and can it be reported to the police?

[silverfox1961]

I would say yes. I found this on another forum

 

Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980 (as amended by sections 38 and 46 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, Schedule 7) provides an offence of wilful obstruction of the highway.

 

137(1) An offence is committed if a person, without lawful authority or excuse, in any way wilfully obstructs the free passage along a highway.

 

NOTES:

(i) In the case of Hirst & Agu v CC West Yorks Police 1986 (when some animal rights supporters were peacefully handing out leaflets) suggested that proof of this offence could be considered in three stages:

 

* is there an obstruction? Any stopping or slowing of traffic on the highway (more than a trivial hold-up) is an obstruction (traffic could be vehicular, animal or pedestrian in this context).

 

* is the obstruction "wilful" or deliberate (as opposed to accidental). The activity in which the person is engaged must cause an obstruction, but there is no requirement to show there was an intent to cause an obstruction.

 

* is the wilful obstruction without lawful excuse? Lawful excuse may be by way of express permission, such as the licensing of charity collections or the observance of directions from a traffic police. However, ANY LAWFUL ACTIVITY CARRIED OUT IN A REASONABLE MANNER MAY AMOUNT TO LAWFUL EXCUSE. The concept of implied lawful excuse may be relevant to political demonstrators provided their protests are reasonably limited in space and time, mere transitory inconvenience to traffic (including pedestrians) may not amount to an offence.

 

A substantial address to a sizeable crowd on a public highway, which meant that the highway was not completely blocked, but was less convenient and commodious, was unlawful obstruction - Homer v Cadman 1886.

 

(ii) Obstructions of the highway may also be an offence at common law under public nuisance.

 

http://www.police999.com/forum/index.php?topic=4304.0

[mikeymack2002]

That answer is a simple no. Having someone stop/slow the flow of traffic actually helps, as a former driver myself I would be upset that those less considerate barging their way through to the front and then bullying their way in. Good old lorry drivers..... The reason for thing is to allow filtering when drivers realise that they cannot barge in ahead of others in the queue.

 

 

I guess you could be one of the drivers that gets made to wait instead of pushing in and past....

[mikeymack2002]

silverfox1961 the road works are already the obstruction. Filtering traffic is in its self the obstruction. Causing careless driving by failing to filter correctly is also an offence..

[silverfox1961]

silverfox1961 the road works are already the obstruction. Filtering traffic is in its self the obstruction. Causing careless driving by failing to filter correctly is also an offence..

 

what this issue is about though, is that there are instructions to merge at the head of the queue. This lorry driver is deliberately holding things up for others to follow the correct advice on the signs. That suggests to me that he is wilfully causing an obstruction of the highway. The road works causing delays has already been approved so (IMO) that can't be used as an obstruction.

 

Happy to be proved wrong of course.

[mikeymack2002]

There was a story in the press about this sort of thing see here >> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3048673/Moment-driver-deliberately-blocks-sneaky-motorist-trying-beat-traffic-jam-undertaking-manoeuvre-forcing-wait-ten-minutes-like-else.html

 

 

For the video see here >>

[think about it]

That's just it, it doesn't matter which queue I'm in, I'm following the very clearly posted instrctions by being in either lane and merging at the head. By holding traffic back by 800 yards or so this morning by keeping level with his mate he's the one failing to comply, not me. (FWIW I was in front of him but still this is surely unacceptable).

 

Who gives him the mandate to control that flow of traffic? No-one, that's what the signs and cones are for and as a professional driver I'm sure you appreciate the need for people to follow simple instructions, unless perhaps the HGV driver in question today (it'll be a different one tomorrow) is too experienced to read the signs?

 

By not actually thinking, he's holding traffic in far more dangerous areas. As such he's the one failing to filter correctly as you put it, Mikey.

[think about it]

There was a story in the press about this sort of thing see here >> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3048673/Moment-driver-deliberately-blocks-sneaky-motorist-trying-beat-traffic-jam-undertaking-manoeuvre-forcing-wait-ten-minutes-like-else.html

 

 

That's quite different really, no one is using emergency lanes or threatening violence. The instructions are quite clear.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_merge

[mikeymack2002]

Please look at the bigger picture as in the video, by pushing through to the front and being mindset in I must get to the front, it causes anger and road rage those sitting patiently in the queue do often get annoyed and then do as in the video and make you wait your turn. It is called considerate driving.

 

 

Even when the Police start a rolling road block drivers will still try to get past, so there you have it.. Be polite and wait concentrate on the driving and not get frustrated and then have an accident because you was watching the mirrors more and not the vehicle in front.

 

 

By merging at the earliest point actually makes the traffic flow faster through the said road works in the end, the traffic tends to be more bunched up at the front to stop those drivers not filtering at the right place, that is at the earliest point in the flow of the signs...

[mikeymack2002]

what this issue is about though, is that there are instructions to merge at the head of the queue. This lorry driver is deliberately holding things up for others to follow the correct advice on the signs. That suggests to me that he is wilfully causing an obstruction of the highway. The road works causing delays has already been approved so (IMO) that can't be used as an obstruction.

 

Happy to be proved wrong of course. :

 

 

You could also take from that the lorry driver is filtering and awaiting his turn to filter in the front of the queue, his mate in the other lane is keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front therefore driving with due care and attention... This will always be contentious, just look at the M25 and near a junction that is clear but the carriageway is blocked, drivers use the hard shoulder to filter incorrectly, (offence) so again the same thing different rules....

[mikeymack2002]

Anyway both drivers in the clip are guilty of careless driving, could border on dangerous driving, best advice is filter earlier and then be safer...

[think about it]

But, no one is pushing. They're following the very clear instructions on the road, they've been put there for a reason and consideration is that for all involved. If people followed these simple instructions then they'd have no need to get frustrated.

 

Those signs have been placed to STOP people merging as early as possible to keep them out of the hazardous areas of the road. Interestingly it matters not where you merge, there's still a fixed level of possible throughput on a road, the only thing that changes is the physical length of the queue, spread it across two lanes and it's half as long. Mindful of the hazards further up the road the planners have specified that the queues ought to occupy both lanes and the drivers merge in turn; theoretically if people did so, no one would wait any longer than anyone else. So instead of being a force for good, the guy in the HGV is actually failing to, as you put it "Be polite and wait concentrate on the driving and not get frustrated" although perhaps that wasn't aimed at the HGV driver. If he got his head up and out of his dashboard he could see the impact of his actions and perhaps by looking in the mirrors as is part of 'concentrating on the driving' helped lessen the chance of an accident as the hundreds of cars behind him are needlessly held in a tunnel with no other route of escape besides either end. But, as you rightly say "It is called considerate driving"

[scaniaman]

I think there is confusion here as far as circumstances are concerned.

If both lanes are filled and everyone is just edging along in turn then the HGV man is wrong.

If, however, as I have seen on many occasions, one lane has far fewer vehicles than the other, you get the "Jack the lads" who zoom up to the end of the short queue therebye making it much longer for vehicles to get a fair turn in merging.

I will put my hand up to blocking lanes if there are too many "Jacks" around---not only when driving HGV's.

[Conniff]

The HGV man is wrong and committing a traffic offence. This happened to me on a road in Cornwall where the traffic was qued for several miles mainly because of heavy holiday traffic.

There is a duel carriageway and at the very bottom of this carriageway is a tunnel and a roundabout. I wanted to turn right at the roundabout, but the outer lane was blocked by a lorry

holding station with another lorry on the inside lane who was obviously going to let him in at the bottom.

 

I sat behind this lorry in the outer lane for almost ten mins sounding my horn and he took no notice so I called the police. A traffic car arrive and booked the driver.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

The start of the roadwork's is the merge. Blocking the road before the merge is a traffic offence. The traffic should queue in BOTH lanes.

The ignorance of some "professional" hgv drivers is staggering.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Highway code. Should always merge in turn unless at high speed.

 

Rule 134

 

You should follow the signs and road markings and get into the lane as directed. In congested road conditions do not change lanes unnecessarily. Merging in turn is recommended but only if safe and appropriate when vehicles are travelling at a very low speed, e.g. when approaching road works or a road traffic incident. It is not recommended at high speed

[Guest]

The HGV man is wrong and committing a traffic offence. ....called the police. A traffic car arrive and booked the driver.

 

took awhile for a police response in this one

('The lorry driver, who lives in Bedfordshire, was employed by Wincanton hauliers through an agency. A spokesman confirmed he is "no longer conducting deliveries".')

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-34933345

[kregrs]

took awhile for a police response in this one

('The lorry driver, who lives in Bedfordshire, was employed by Wincanton hauliers through an agency. A spokesman confirmed he is "no longer conducting deliveries".')

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-34933345

 

Ah, Mr Stockdale and his staged video... All the while acting as an advertisement for his company selling dash cams. Perhaps you should watch the full length video a few times and spot the mistakes...

[kregrs]

The start of the roadwork's is the merge. Blocking the road before the merge is a traffic offence. The traffic should queue in BOTH lanes.

The ignorance of some "professional" hgv drivers is staggering.

 

The ignorance of some professional drivers?

Maybe that should read the ignorance of the majority of car drivers.

 

 

Don't know the whereabouts of these roadworks,

but when approaching other works, if the traffic is moving you can guarantee that someone will jump into the gap we leave between us and the vehicle in front.

You know the gap I mean, the gap that means we can stop safely without hitting the vehicle in front.

 

Or when it's stop start traffic, that extra time it takes us to get moving,

so the gap in front of us increases and guess what, some impatient car driver just has to barge their way in.

 

 

Terribly sorry if you're inconvenienced by a lorry straddling the lanes,

if the average motorist followed the signs then there would be no need to do it.

[kregrs]

The HGV man is wrong and committing a traffic offence. This happened to me on a road in Cornwall where the traffic was qued for several miles mainly because of heavy holiday traffic.

There is a duel carriageway and at the very bottom of this carriageway is a tunnel and a roundabout. I wanted to turn right at the roundabout, but the outer lane was blocked by a lorry

holding station with another lorry on the inside lane who was obviously going to let him in at the bottom.

 

I sat behind this lorry in the outer lane for almost ten mins sounding my horn and he took no notice so I called the police. A traffic car arrive and booked the driver.

 

Well that was a waste of police resources. Your journey was obviously that much more important that you absolutely had to get past, despite there being heavy holiday traffic. You could obviously see past the lorry to see the situation ahead?

[borisbeaver]

In cornwall, we do things dreckly!