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OK, So I have read enough to make a reply but not all, but only want to clear up a few points as most has pretty much been said.
But, the attitude of some of you stink. We keep this country going, without trucks being on the road you would have nothing, the shops would be empty, the petrol stations would be closed ( remember the tanker strike ), the emergency services ( ambulance, police and fire services ) could not run at all, the hospitals would close, you would have no electric or gas in your homes/businesses, and no public transport. In fact it was TRUCKS that delivered the raw materials that allowed your home and car to be built in the first place, so yes in this regard our time is more important then yours because the generally public ( that is you, and us ) will benefit from us making our deliveries.
Time.
It is not that our time is "more important, even though it is" but unlike cars we do not have all day, and our driving time is limited to only 9 hours so we do not have the time to slow down behind a slower truck, we are also limited to a 15 hour working day if we do not exceed the 9 hour driving rule, so again it is not that time is money, we just do not have it to waste by letting every single car driver with no patience through.
Driving
As trucks are slow to accelerate ( but a lot quicker then the old trucks ) it is quicker for us to maintain our speed ( see time in first paragraph ) then to keep slowing down and speeding up, with diesel being 20p a litre more expensive it is also more economical on fuel, when the average truck does only 10 mpg fuel is a big factor when it takes £300+ pounds to fill the tank, and the companies get that money from all car drivers because that cost is passed onto the customers, in transport charges.
Hills
Although trucks are better at hills then the old ones, there is still a big difference in most vehicles, and often the road might go uphill halfway through an overtake, also there is usually a car hugging the bumper, as a professional driver you cannot do half a move and once you have started to overtake you have to try and finish it, and yes the vehicle inside should let you back in, but car drivers are not the only ones allowed an ego. Even if the speed difference is 1 mph you are still going faster and that means a truck has as much right to use the outside lane as anyone else.
Going down has the opposite affect, I was once on the same stretch of road as another vehicle, and to car drivers it prob looked like we where playing silly b*****s because we would swap places quite often, but what was really happening was the other vehicle was heavy and I was light, so on the downhill bits he was quicker, on the uphill bits he was slower. See ps bit at bottom.
Wind
Yes this is also a factor, with the angled bit on top of the cab the wind is passed over the top ( well mostly ) but it is still a flat fronted vehicle, when you are behind another truck then just like f1 the wind resistance is low, but as soon as you pull out it can slow you down and the truck can struggle to maintain its speed.
Weight
Already mentioned by others but yes a fully loaded truck will move different to an empty one, we also have to consider the load inside and drive in a way they do not fall over.
Roads.
I hope you all know that an A ( duel carriageway ) road is green background on direction signage, and motorways are blue. The law states that we are not allows on the outside lane of a motorway ( blue ) but are allowed to use all lanes on a duel carriageway ( green), there are very good reasons for this,
1
To allow us to overtake cars doing less then 50 mph, and do not tell me we do not get them.
2
As everyone is allowed on a duel carriageway we have too use the outside lane to get past Bicycles, buses, any other slow road users. If as suggested we are not allowed to use it should we crawl along behind a bicycle until they turn off.
3
Like cars some trucks are slower then others, as such we have to be given a lane to get past them considering the diff in speed between a fully loaded one and an empty one, or an old vehicle and a newer one.
4
Thankfully sometimes ( only sometimes ) the gov have more common sense then a lot of car drivers, a car can legally do 70 mph on a duel carriageway ( green ) but we have all seen them ignore the national speed limit sign ( increasing it to 70 ), and stick to 60, or in some cases even 50, if trucks are not allowed to use the outside lane then this person may have to pass more then 10 trucks before there is space for them to get back into lane 1 so you are only increasing the chance of being "stuck" behind a slower moving vehicle, the only difference being that it is a car in front of you and not a truck. Some people ( esp the old ) are scared to get alongside despite the obvious speed advantage.
5
Turning off means slowing down, esp on 2 lane duel carriageways as you are often turning into a country lane with little or no slip road, so as a truck driver you immediately move over the 2nd lane ( outside ) because you do not know how slow they are going to be both on the approach and how long it will take them to turn off. It falls under the remit of planning ahead, something they should be teaching car drivers but do not.
Ps The speed limiter only limits the speed when the vehicle is going under its own steam, it DOES NOT limit the speed on the downhill bits where the gradient increases you speed depending on the load you are carrying.
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