Motorway Madness

Eee another driving thread.

Its a dangerous driving offence the driver has done here = compulsory ban + retest req If you please....

which driver and which action, Andy?

Hi John,

Long time no speak.

I'm referring to tailgating in the middle or any lane of the motorway so as to intimidate the driver in front to get out of the way. Driving too close per se is a due care, doing more i.e. flashing headlights and weaving from side to side etc goes beyond that IMPV.

If I have missed the point on this thread I apologise...

Having re-read then there is a due care on the driver staying in the middle lane also BTW.

Practically lane discipline on motorways has reduced dramatically recently. IMV alot of the time this can be down to volume of traffic...

abc

1) I didn't tailgate him.

2) I didn't overtake him on the inside lane.

3) I didn't weave, or cut him upon moving promptly to the inside lane after I'd passed him.

4) He was doing less than 70 not 70.

5) Those in the outside lane were travelling faster than me - else I'd have been able to pass him in the outside lane (lane 3) sooner than I did, thus obviating the need to flash my main beams into his rear view mirror.

6) He doesn't have the right to force others to drive at his speed and he can travel at any speeed he likes above 29.999999 mph in the inside lane.

7) There was an empty inside lane for him to move into.

What crime have I committed?

What about all those in lane 3 travelling faster than me, should they all get six lashes, or perhaps seven?

Some idiots need to read more carefully before they post with red mist before their eyes.

Mick,

I thought the guy in front of me hogging the middle lane and causing an needless obstruction could have been you.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Toy:
Mick,

I thought the guy in front of me hogging the middle lane and causing an needless obstruction could have been you.

Nice one Steve!

He'll get back on your case once he's sobered up!

EW

quote:

Some idiots need to read more carefully before they post with red mist before their eyes.

Steve,

evening!

You drove up behind the car, flashed at him etc? How close to the car infront were you when you flashed etc??? Where does it say you can use your headlights in this manner?

You then waited for space to overtake him and then pulled bakc in sharpish to 'let him know'?

are these facts correct?

quote:

Middle lane hogs driving at 70mph are only a menace to law-breakers. (and very rarely emergency vehicles)

Middle lane hoggers are breaking the law.

"Steve,

evening!"

Hi Andy.

"You drove up behind the car, flashed at him etc? How close to the car infront were you when you flashed etc???"

More than 2 secs.

"Where does it say you can use your headlights in this manner?"

Where does it say I can't? What forms of communication to other road users am I permitted to use?

"You then waited for space to overtake him and then pulled bakc in sharpish to 'let him know'?"

I was well infront him before moving promptly back into lane 1.

"are these facts correct?"

Yes but put whatever spin on them you want.

quote:

Yes but put whatever spin on them you want.

Unfortunately it seems that everyone seems to have swallowed the government line that you are perfectly safe driving in any manner that you want as long as you don't exceed the speed limit. I'd love to set up speed monitoring devices in the cars of the 'holier-than-thou' types like Nime and Mick to see just how often they creep over the limit without even realising it. Naturally a good flogging would be in order for every infringement.

Mick has been stopped for doing 85 on a number of occasions. He got away with it using funny hanshakes etc.

Allegedly......

quote:

Yes but put whatever spin on them you want.

I did mention earlier that the 'middle lane hogger' was guilty of a due care as well.

Where does it say you can use your main beam headlight to attract another motorists attention?

quote:

Where does it say you can use your main beam headlight to attract another motorists attention?

same place it says you should flash people to get them to turn/pull-out in front of you and that you should put your hazard lights on to thank people...

quote:

same place it says you should flash people to get them to turn/pull-out in front of you and that you should put your hazard lights on to thank people...

Ah!

Nowhere then!

andy c!

quote:

Originally posted by andy c:
Nowhere then!

Well either it's an unofficially accepted way of doing things or you should be nicking people for doing so. Which is it?

I have dealt with several due care's after crashes, whereby the offending party claimed they were 'flashed out' - so to speak. They did nothing else other than accept the flashing, and as such were found culpable of due care as they did not check anhting else the other vehicle was doing etc.

As such, tho, the liability for the crash was theirs, but I didn't 'nick' anybody, if you get my drift.

Two wrongs don't make a right. If someone won't get out of your way on the middle lane, it doesn't make it right to flash, tailgate or whatever else IMV.

quote:

Originally posted by andy c:
If someone won't get out of your way on the middle lane, it doesn't make it right to flash, tailgate or whatever else IMV.

Most of the time they don't even realise you're there. If a single flash wakes them up what harm is done exactly?

What's wrong with flashing your headlights "to let another road user know you're there".

As long as it's not done in an aggressive manner - i.e. getting too close and flashing repeatedly, it seems a reasonable course of action IMO.

Waiting patiently for an opportune moment to overtake would have seemed appropriate in this case.

No flashing required


Spock

There is a certain cosy familiarity to threads such as this. It usually goes something like this:

1) Someone starts an innocent driving related thread
2) The Toy posts an example of his dangerous driving (last time I think he nearly rammed someone head-on during a failed overtake), usually as retaliation for someone having the temerity to stick at or close under a speed limit when our pyscho wants to go faster
3) After several folks have a pop he backtracks trying to make himself look like the perfect driver (which he clearly thinks he is) instead of complete cock who'll undoubtedly end his days on the wrong end of a road rage incident.

Add a few comments from our resident traffic filth, a couple of hints about drunk/senile driving (and dodgy handshake related let-offs) from one of our more "mature" poster and Bob's your uncle.

Steve

The only allegations of funny handshakes came from Toy which is also a slur on the integrity of the Police.

I was excused because I used charm and civility.

Toy does seem unfit to be a taxi driver and at best remarkably inconsistent in his version of events.

I would never want to be one of his passengers.

Regards

Mick

quote:

Add a few comments from our resident traffic filth

Do I know you?

Is the above comment directed at me?

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Toy:
......The outside lane wasn't clear for me to pull into (I was doing 85-90)....

Case closed.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve G:
Add a few comments from our resident traffic filth...

Would you care to elaborate on your choice of words, Steve?

quote:

1) Someone starts an innocent driving related thread
2) The Toy posts an example of his dangerous driving (last time I think he nearly rammed someone head-on during a failed overtake), usually as retaliation for someone having the temerity to stick at or close under a speed limit when our pyscho wants to go faster

That's not what happened and what you say amounts to libel.

This is what happened as I remember it:

1) I overtook a guy doing 47 in a 60mph limit. I wanted to do 60.

2) The overtakee decided to match my speed. I looked at my speedo and noticed I was pushing 80. Not wanting to do 80 or be in some kind of race, I attempted to abort the overtake and pull back in behind him.

3) I took my foot off the throttle.

4) So did the overtakee.

5) I put my foot on the brake.

6) So did the overtakee.

7) A car was now coming towards me and I was still in the outside lane with the overtakee still along side me. We were both now only doing about 40 mph (I'm guessing as my attention was on the car coming towards me not the speedo.)

8) Finally I stood on the brakes and having discs all round, I managed to outbrake the overtakee in the Citroen Saxo with blacked-out windows and a large exhaust, and pull in behind him just in time.

This phenomenon, whilst quite rare is known as "speed matching and blocking." It is highly damngerous and leaves at least one of its victims apparently at fault.

Surely the psychopath I'm supposed to be would have just rammed the Saxo in the face of an oncoming vehicle on a collision course. I did not.

quote:

3) After several folks have a pop he backtracks trying to make himself look like the perfect driver (which he clearly thinks he is) instead of complete cock who'll undoubtedly end his days on the wrong end of a road rage incident.

I flashed a guy just once for hogging the middle lane. Once. When that failed to get the desired response I overtook him in the outside lane. Read the first post by me again on the subject and you'll see no backtracking. For the record I often flash people when they appear to be daydreaming. In most cases they either just move over or speed up.

On just one occasion a guy in front was doing 50 in a 70 limit in the outside lane with the inside lane clear on a dual carriageway. I gave him the single flash, but rather than move over or speed up, he did an emergency stop. I didn't rear-end him as he hoped because I was more than 2 secs back from him. He accelerated back up to just 30 mph without moving over. I flashed him again. Once. He did another emergency stop. He then resumed his 30 mph speed before pulling into the inside lane to let me along side him. I locked the doors and selected second gear. As I overtook him his window was down and he yelled out,

"I'm gonna rip yer fookin' 'ed off!"

He then tailgated me to the next roundabout. I stopped at the dotted line, gently and emerged onto the roundabout when it was clear. I managed to lose him by signalling left and not taking the exit. No-one was waiting to emerge onto the roundabout at my indicated exit. Phew! I'd lost him. I didn't want him tailing me to the bloody airport.

These kinds of incidents seem to happen to me approximately two or three times a year. I do approximately 50,000 miles per year. Go figure.

Certain shit stirring wankers should consider all the facts presented without making further suppositions that are entirely a product of their imagination and stereotyping tendencies.

I would not come to this forum to boast about dangerous driving. Only idle spin based on such supposition would reconstitute the version of events presented here to portray me as a dangerous driver.

I guess some people frequent these fora just to make mischief.