Being stuck behind two vans travling so close together that you can't overtake We were traveling like that for 70klm No one could over take safely a few tried and a few near misses.They were friend traveling to gether but come on leave a space so other traffic can pass, they were traveling at about 65 to 70 klms at the most the quee behind us was long
Unfortunately some people have absolutely no idea. First mistake is travelling that slow, second is not using their mirrors to see what traffic is built up behind, third not pulling over when safe to do so to let the build up pass and lastly but most importantly TRAVELLING TOO CLOSE TOGETHER.
You should leave at LEAST three times your length between you and the next bloke to allow that margin for safety.
Had a similiar experience just before Christmas travelling towards Geelong from Ballarat. As they were older vans came to the conclusion ( true or not) that they were not seasoned travellers. Probably just taking their vans down the beach to set up for the holidays and were not aware of caravaning etiquette. Poor buggers!
we have an old van that struggles up hills but if there is someone behind then hubby pulls off the road and stops to let them past... when its safe to do so of course... its just common curtesy
That time there was place that they could pull over to let the traffic go by but no My hubby was so mad when they pulled into a camp spot He was going to stop and have a word with them, but he just let it go , but the next time it happened on an other trip this time with one motor home, and a car they pulled in to a Information centre and so did we and my hubby told the young girls not to travel so close together they could easily cause an accident with folks getting inpatient and taken a chance at over taken,
we have an old van that struggles up hills but if there is someone behind then hubby pulls off the road and stops to let them past... when its safe to do so of course... its just common curtesy
We to stuggle up hills and like you we pull over when we can to let the faster cars, van, get passed like you said its just common curtesy to do so
Its also annoying when cars sit behind caravans and have no inclination to pass them. Even in a car if you do not intend overtaking you should sit back so others can overtake you and then the larger vehicle in front.
The Navigator and I have experienced similiar circumstances when driving on the Bruce Highway in 2010. Two vehicles towing vans travelling at 75kph, leaving no distance between them. I endevoured to establish contact on the UHF (Ch18 and 40) but to no avail. When they got to a passing lane each driver put the foot down therefore limiting the number of vehicles who could pass them within the passing lane distance. To make it more frustrating, when the passing lane finished they went back to 75kph again.
Finally managed to pass them on a passing lane. The Nav expressed discussed by hand signals that I found difficult to compute. My efforts to establish communications weren't necessary, neither vehicles had UHF radios.
We GN have to be more considerate when towing caravans, lead by example, drive safely and consider other road users
Son-in-law is a truckie,,one of the good ones,,and he told me a story along these lines. It went on for km after km, with other truckies and him 'discussing' over the the UHF. This caravan owner would speed up each time the poor truckies, and everyone else in the queue, got a chance to pass. There were around 30 vehicles when a cop heard all the commotion on the UHF and asked what was the story. The cops ended up pulling up that bloke and threw the book at him, then got back on the UHF and told them it's okay fellas, he won't be going anywhere for a while. And it turned out that the caravan bloke knew he was holding everyone up, he wasn't just oblivious. B.a.s.t.a.r.d!
as a retired truckie i can understand why they hate caravanners, on a trip back from Rocky last year i came across a caravanner travelling at 65kph on the Newell Hwy just south of Moree, he had a old 18 footer which was being towed by an old Holden, the line of 15 trucks behind him the CB radio was working overtime. it wasn't until one of the trucks started to overtake the caravanner (some 20 or 30 kms later) woke up too the traffic behind and pulled over
It is just a case of being inconsiderate to other road users. I find it difficult to believe that people who drive like this are unaware of who is behind. With mirrors being compulsory and a lot of people with cameras, it is not difficult to see traffic behind, especially on slight bends. They are either driving with blinkers or have the attitude, 'I pay my taxes, I can do what I want'.
I think we all need to educate ourselves on the unwritten laws of the road. Especially, not speeding up on overtaking lanes so others can't pass, what to do when trucks want to overtake etc. There is heaps of information on sites like this, so there are no excuses.
It is just a case of being inconsiderate to other road users. I find it difficult to believe that people who drive like this are unaware of who is behind. With mirrors being compulsory and a lot of people with cameras, it is not difficult to see traffic behind, especially on slight bends. They are either driving with blinkers or have the attitude, 'I pay my taxes, I can do what I want'.
I think we all need to educate ourselves on the unwritten laws of the road. Especially, not speeding up on overtaking lanes so others can't pass, what to do when trucks want to overtake etc. There is heaps of information on sites like this, so there are no excuses.
Happy travels, Alan
Most just couldn't care less about the build up of traffic behind them.