Dealing With Large Vehicles
Large vehicles are a regular feature on UK roads. For many learners dealing with them can often seem quite intimidating and indeed there are certain situations where extra care is needed.
Roundabouts
When using a roundabout, a long vehicle may struggle to keep in the correct lane and can, therefore, infringe on a second lane. If you see such a vehicle on a roundabout, then it is best not to pull alongside it, or you may get squashed.
Left Turns
A long vehicle may need to pull onto the right side of the road to be able to make a sharp left turn without cutting the corner. Don’t overtake the vehicle until it has completed the turn.
Low Bridges
Overtaking a large vehicle can be especially dangerous. Firstly, it can be difficult to see past a large vehicle to assess how clear the road ahead is. To increase your view past, you should pull back from the vehicle and remember to look past both the near and offside of the vehicle before making your move. Of course, you will need extra room to pass the vehicle safely.
Avoid overtaking a large vehicle at the top of a hill, as you may find the vehicle picking up speed quickly as gravity kicks in.
Blind Spots
Large vehicles have large blind spots, which can easily hide a car. When driving past such a vehicle, the golden rule is – if you can’t see the driver in the offside mirror, then they cannot see you.
To counter this, when travelling on multilane roads such as motorways, you should always pass a larger vehicle as quickly as you can. This blind spot is made worse when the vehicle is left-hand drive, and there are many such vehicles on UK roads. Often a sign on the back of the vehicle will alert you to this fact.
A second blind spot to beware of is where a car will be hidden from view when travelling too closely behind a large vehicle. The rule here is that if you can’t see the vehicle’s side mirrors, then the driver can’t see you.
Bad Weather
When the roads are wet, large vehicles can throw up large amounts of surface water known as spray. This spray can cover a windscreen and create a moment of blindness. To counter this, when about to pass a large vehicle in such weather conditions, turn your wipers on.
High sides vehicles are vulnerable in high wind conditions as the wind can force the vehicle to veer off course and into the path of oncoming traffic.
Key Signs
No vehicles or combination of vehicles over the length shown
No vehicles over the height shown
No vehicles over the width shown
Risk of grounding
No goods vehicles over maximum gross weight shown, in tonnes, except for loading and unloading.