Large vehicles, blind areas and the gap you must not fill

Why they swing the wrong way

A long vehicle’s rear wheels follow a much tighter line than its front wheels. To get the trailer round a corner without mounting the kerb, the driver has to start from further out.

So an articulated lorry turning left will often move right first, and signal left while doing it.

The gap that opens on its nearside is not a lane. It is the space the trailer is about to sweep through.

Cyclists and cars are killed in that gap every year. If a long vehicle is signalling and positioning oddly, hold back and let it complete the turn.

Blind areas

Large vehicles have substantial areas the driver cannot see, particularly:

• immediately behind the vehicle;
• along the nearside, especially close to the cab;
• directly in front of a high cab.

The simplest test available to you is the mirrors:

If you cannot see the driver’s mirrors, the driver cannot see you.

Drop back until they reappear. You also gain a far better view of the road ahead past the vehicle, which is exactly what you need if you are thinking about overtaking.

Overtaking one

Three things make it different from overtaking a car.

1. It takes longer. You have to cover the whole length before you can pull back in, and lorries are speed-limited but not slow.
2. Spray. In the wet, expect a burst of it as you draw alongside — enough to blank the windscreen for a second.
3. Turbulence. A large flat side pushes air around. You will feel the car move as you emerge past the trailer, and again in crosswinds.

Plan for a longer, more committed manoeuvre than you would with a car, and do not start one you cannot finish.

Two lorries overtaking each other

Lorries are speed-limited, so one overtaking another may take a full minute at a tiny speed difference. Ease off early, keep your distance, and do not sit alongside the pair.

The frustration this causes leads to some genuinely dangerous lane changes, for a gain measured in seconds.

Other vehicles worth a thought

• Buses: give way to one signalling to pull out from a stop where it is safe, and expect passengers to cross in front of and behind it.
• Trams: they cannot steer. Give way, and never park where you would block the rails.
• Agricultural vehicles: wide, slow, and likely to turn into a field entrance without much warning. Hang back where you can see past.