A general rant about driving standards
Posted by: Dungassin on 06 May 2010
I'm feeling a little bit cranky tonight (so SWMBO says)
We drove up to Lancashire today to visit my sister in hospital (getting better, thank you very much)
All the usual problems were in evidence :
Morons who tailgate you when there's no way you can speed up or get out of their way.
Idiots who cut into tiny spaces when you leave something resembling a safe gap between you and the vehicle in front - usually without signalling
Drivers who don't seem to own anything resembling an indicator. This is especially evident on lane-changing or on roundabouts.
Total lack of forethought when coming to an exit leading to cutting in dangerously.
Drivers on approach roads who think they can just slot in, without considering what is already on the motorway. Usually means I have to accelerate or break hard to avoid an "incident". Perhaps they think I can just move out into the (non-existent) gap in the lane to my right?
Drivers who think the left hand lane is for lorries only.
Even the coppers are guilty of these offences. I know - I've seen it far too often.
Then I got irritated by advertisements for devices to enable speeders to cheat. Couldn't they just obey the law?
Elderly drivers who really ought to give up driving (I got stuck behind one old dear doing 15 miles an hour on a non-dual carriageway). SWMBO is under instructions to make me stop driving if I ever get to be like that.
Rant over - back to watching the whole of the original Doctor Who (well, those you can actually get)
We drove up to Lancashire today to visit my sister in hospital (getting better, thank you very much)
All the usual problems were in evidence :
Morons who tailgate you when there's no way you can speed up or get out of their way.
Idiots who cut into tiny spaces when you leave something resembling a safe gap between you and the vehicle in front - usually without signalling
Drivers who don't seem to own anything resembling an indicator. This is especially evident on lane-changing or on roundabouts.
Total lack of forethought when coming to an exit leading to cutting in dangerously.
Drivers on approach roads who think they can just slot in, without considering what is already on the motorway. Usually means I have to accelerate or break hard to avoid an "incident". Perhaps they think I can just move out into the (non-existent) gap in the lane to my right?
Drivers who think the left hand lane is for lorries only.
Even the coppers are guilty of these offences. I know - I've seen it far too often.
Then I got irritated by advertisements for devices to enable speeders to cheat. Couldn't they just obey the law?
Elderly drivers who really ought to give up driving (I got stuck behind one old dear doing 15 miles an hour on a non-dual carriageway). SWMBO is under instructions to make me stop driving if I ever get to be like that.
Rant over - back to watching the whole of the original Doctor Who (well, those you can actually get)
Yeah, I've done a few of those in my time too. Still, at least we all recognise the error(s) of our ways 
Bruce
Bruce
quote:My pet rants are all motorway related.
Centre Lane Owners Club
Crawler Lane Brigade
Fast Lane Only Racing Club
The Society for the Preservation of The Planet at 65mph (affiliated to CLOC & CLB)
Agreed.
I've just remembered some more things which irritate me :
1. Does my car have a magnet attached to it? How many times have you pulled out to pass a slower car only to have them slowly accelerate as you pass them. Usually ends up with me putting my foot down for a few seconds to complete the manoeuvre. The offender then usually promptly slows down as I do likewise while continuing to pull away. It's even more obvious when the road is quiet and my cruise control is on.
2. Drivers who SLOW DOWN when they're overtaking. If anything, they should accelerate temporarily to complete the manoeuvre quickly.
3. Drivers who think foglights should ALWAYS be switched on, regardless of conditions.
4. Idiots who beep their horn when departing from visiting relatives/friends.
5. More on signalling - those who seem to ignore pedestrians - signalling for other cars, but not bothering for pedestrians as they try to run you over when turning into a side road.
6. I have a basic rule when driving. If someone desperately trying to get into a queue of traffic is using their indicators, then I will let them in. If they don't, well they can wait there forever as far as I am concerned.
I love these misanthropic threads ...
quote:Originally posted by Dr John William Martin:
If someone desperately trying to get into a queue of traffic is using their indicators, then I will let them in. If they don't, well they can wait there forever as far as I am concerned.
I do that too John. Childish I know...
I also find the roads are stacked with bad drivers, but IMO it's caused by ignorance, excessive aggression and bad manners.
Personally I'm not vexed by folk who wish to drive slowly, and I'm content to wait for those in the middle lane who don't pull over too promptly, as long as there's something in the slow lane they're catching up with to overtake.
Having spent 10 years on a daily 150-mile commute, plus one day a fortnight a 300 mile round trip to Leeds & home, I quickly learned that getting het up didn't achieve anything and by gently pottering along with the flow I arrived in a similar time but much more relaxed.
People who tailgate are perhaps the most irritating and having been a passenger with a few such drivers, with my left foot buried firmly into the carpet, they all appear to be oblivious to either the danger they put themselves and others in, and the sheer nonsense of having to keep braking. Weird really, and just a habit some folks seem to have gotten into.
Few people take a pride in their driving. A bit of courtesy works wonders too.
quote:I do that too John. Childish I know...
I also find the roads are stacked with bad drivers, but IMO it's caused by ignorance, excessive aggression and bad manners.
Personally I'm not vexed by folk who wish to drive slowly, and I'm content to wait for those in the middle lane who don't pull over too promptly, as long as there's something in the slow lane they're catching up with to overtake.
Having spent 10 years on a daily 150-mile commute, plus one day a fortnight a 300 mile round trip to Leeds & home, I quickly learned that getting het up didn't achieve anything and by gently pottering along with the flow I arrived in a similar time but much more relaxed.
People who tailgate are perhaps the most irritating and having been a passenger with a few such drivers, with my left foot buried firmly into the carpet, they all appear to be oblivious to either the danger they put themselves and others in, and the sheer nonsense of having to keep braking. Weird really, and just a habit some folks seem to have gotten into.
Few people take a pride in their driving. A bit of courtesy works wonders too.
Me too. I don't really mind slow drivers most of the time, but some of them obviously shouldn't be on the road.
Lack of courtesy/manners/common sense seems to be increasing.
I have ceased to be in a hurry now I'm retired, and I find I don't take that much longer to get there, and certainly arrive a lot less worked up.
About 10 years ago I went down to an Association of Anaesthetists meeting in Brighton (SWMBO accompanied me for the social events). Driving back I couldn't persuade her that we should wait until after 8pm and miss the traffic on the M25, so we got stuck in bumper to bumper/stop go traffic all the way round to the M40. A young lad in the usual Ford Fiesta with big spoiler and go-faster stripes etc came onto the M25 just after I did, passed me, and proceeded to accelerate, tailgate, break hard, multiple lane changes until we got round to the M40, at which time he was a grand total of 4 cars in front of me! Me? I stayed in the middle lane, as it was easier than cope with all the on/off traffic in the nearside, and all the lanes were going at about the same speed anyway. I was bored, but otherwise unflustered. I wonder what he was feeling?
quote:Lancashire has for too long been ignored.
Well, I was born in London, but raised in Lancashire (Padiham, Nr Burnley). I like to bait Yorkshiremen by telling them that a Yorkshireman are failed Lancastrians, as their ancestors didn't have the gumption to go any further west.
Of course all bad drivers are other people....
A good cure for your own poor and thoughtless driving needs a little forward planning.
Step 1: Have a child.
Step 2: Wait 17 years.
Step 3: Teach child to drive.
Bear in mind that insurance for new drivers is ruinously expensive, and will skyrocket further after any convictions or claims. Naturally, you will drum home the need to avoid any possibility of this, which means driving in full compliance with the highway code, and being fully aware of, and considerate to, all other road users.
You will then, if the 17-year-old is remotely intelligent, have to either justify or change your own bad habits. And if your children are like mine, you'll find it easier to change.
A good cure for your own poor and thoughtless driving needs a little forward planning.
Step 1: Have a child.
Step 2: Wait 17 years.
Step 3: Teach child to drive.
Bear in mind that insurance for new drivers is ruinously expensive, and will skyrocket further after any convictions or claims. Naturally, you will drum home the need to avoid any possibility of this, which means driving in full compliance with the highway code, and being fully aware of, and considerate to, all other road users.
You will then, if the 17-year-old is remotely intelligent, have to either justify or change your own bad habits. And if your children are like mine, you'll find it easier to change.
quote:Of course all bad drivers are other people....
Exactly!
Seriously, I don't claim perfection - although I do try to achieve it.
Next personal hate - idiots who use mobiles whilst driving, especially those who text.
Last week I was in Sainsburys car park and a young woman came out, loaded her shopping, set off and promptly started making a phone call as she was driving off. What was so bloody important that she couldn't have made the call before driving off? Personally if my mobile goes off while driving I don't answer it, but find somewhere to safely stop and see what it is, and I would NEVER make a call while driving.
I've noticed on motorways especially that if someone is having trouble keeping in their lane (I always pass idiots like that as soon as possible - sooner have them behind me than in front) when I do go past SWMBO usually promptly informs me that "he/she is on his/her mobile".
quote:Originally posted by Dr John William Martin:quote:Lancashire has for too long been ignored.
Well, I was born in London, but raised in Lancashire (Padiham, Nr Burnley). I like to bait Yorkshiremen by telling them that a Yorkshireman are failed Lancastrians, as their ancestors didn't have the gumption to go any further west.
Oi - that's the wrong way round I reckon!
quote:I like to bait Yorkshiremen by telling them that a Yorkshireman are failed Lancastrians, as their ancestors didn't have the gumption to go any further west.
Oi - that's the wrong way round I reckon!
I beg to differ.