general standard of driving today ...

paulyoung666

paulyoung666

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... is it just me or is it a case of survival of the maddest now !!! , everyday i see some really bad driving , such as stopping after a roundabout and then trying to go against traffic to reach the turnoff they wanted ( what is wrong with carrying on ) , using the outside lane of an urban dual carriageway at 30 mph when the posted limit is 40 mph when there is no right turn for at least a mile , no use of indicators whatsoever , turning left or right in any lane they choose regardless of the road markings , driving along hatched areas of roads to gain a couple of seconds with no regard for any other road users , going through red lights and not stopping for zebra crossings , and a few more i could think of as well :bang: :bang: :bang:
 
Last week as I joined the M11 from the M25 I was confronted by a few cars on the hard shoulder. Two of those at the front started to reverse and pulled out into the slow lane to get past those stopped on the hard shoulder and pull up behind them.
Today I saw two cars driving along the hard shoulder on the M25 to avoid the slow moving traffic on the motorway itself.
There are far too many motorists who fail to realise there are other motorists behind them being hindered by their inconsiderate actions, they only see the cars heading towards them.
 
Come to where I live for a week or two, then all the drivers in the UK will seem like good drivers :) Obviously, this is a generalisation, and I'm sure that somewhere in Canada they do have good drivers, but:

Things I have observed on a REGULAR basis are...
Reversing back down the slip road of the highway (seen 4 times now in a few months)
No indication - you have to guess when someone is suddenly gonna stop and make a turn
Overtaking on the hard shoulder
Running red lights
No-one sticks to the speed limits - ever
Driving whilst talking on a phone/eating a bowl of cereal/reading
Dogs sat on drivers laps (not talking miniature dogs either - labrador sized dogs)
Stationary vehicles suddenly pulling out on you with no warning
People not having a clue how to use a roundabout - they usually stop on the roundabout to give way to you!
Leaving you no stopping distance at all when they cut in front of you
Tailgating
No forethought for which lane they need to be in - someone will be in the fast lane then suddenly decide they want to be off at the junction they are just passing so just cut everyone up to get off at the junction
Pedestrians have the right of way - they just walk out on you and expect you to stop

The thing that bugs me the most is that we had to sit a driving test to be able to drive here :lol: Now if only all the bad drivers had sat the test too! There's no wonder car insurance is so bloody expensive!! 15 years with full no claims and driving an extremely basic 5yr old Honda Civic costs us approx £1000!!!
 
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I agree, most drivers are fine, but its the minority that stand out. overtaking on blind corners or overtaking a stream of cars then forcing a gap are the ones most frequently observed while driving to and from work. The other main one being people using the right hand lane at the round about and trying to force a gap to take one of the junctions that require you to be in the left hand lane!

It's no surprise that programs like "Police, Camera Action" and "Traffic Cops" are so popular. There is so much material to be filmed.


I do remember a couple of years ago driving down the M1 near sheffield and approaching an accident that had been moved to the hard shoulder and had a fully branded Police Volvo estate with full blue lights on, parked behind the damaged vehicles. Somehow another driver had "Failed" to see what had gone on and had planted their mondeo into the back of the police volvo.

I'd like to have stayed to find out what his excuse was, and how he was going to explain it to the insurance.
 
What scares me is when I have to go on the road with my wheelchair.

Now legally, the wheelchair that I have, can go on the road, lights, indicatiors etc etc, or I can play with the pedestrian rules (facing oncoming traffic as near to the kerb as possible, etc etc) depending on how the road is.

It's very seldom that I don't get abuse when I have to go on the road because the pavements are unsafe for the wheelchair or don't have lowered kerbs. I hate it!
 
Yeah, there some poor drivers out there but I aint no angel!

The annoying thing is that if you beep at them they go ****ing ballistic! Well learn to drive properly then grrrrrr.

Also, people pulling out on you. Why? There is nothing behind me. THere is no need for you to go now. Just wait 10 more bloody seconds :bang:

People who sit on there brakes at night at traffic lights. That really gets on my wick.

And drivers who think that lights are only for the night, not bad rain conditions with loads of spray etc so you cant see them until the last minute.

And the cocks that travel at 40 on 60 straight road. It is not difficult to do 60 in a straight line.

And people who get right up your chuff. There is no need. It is only going to make me go slower.

Speeders dont generally annoy me unless they are doing it in a 30/40/really built up area or in shocking weather.

Manners is the main one that gets me though. I try to be a polite driver and let people through/out whenever I can (unless I am in a rush and dont want to be stuck behind someone :lol:) but why cant you just put your hand up or flash your lights to say thanks? It aint hard. Doesnt take a lot of effort. Does it? Really?
 
You used to be able to rely on the traditional stereotypes for appallingly bad driving, but now it seems to be every one.
There just doesn't seem to be enough police enforcement any more. It was never like this 15yr ago. Now every one speeds. Every one overtakes dangerously. Nobody signals. Every one is self centred.
Driving has ceased to be joyful.
 
had another one this morning , woman had missed her turn , so she then proceeded to reverse into traffic so she could go where she wanted to , couldnt give a damn about anyone else as long as the satnav was satisfied !! , honestly , you had to see it :bang: :bang: :bang:
 
paulyoung666 said:
... is it just me or is it a case of survival of the maddest now !!! , everyday i see some really bad driving , such as stopping after a roundabout and then trying to go against traffic to reach the turnoff they wanted ( what is wrong with carrying on ) , using the outside lane of an urban dual carriageway at 30 mph when the posted limit is 40 mph when there is no right turn for at least a mile , no use of indicators whatsoever , turning left or right in any lane they choose regardless of the road markings , driving along hatched areas of roads to gain a couple of seconds with no regard for any other road users , going through red lights and not stopping for zebra crossings , and a few more i could think of as well :bang: :bang: :bang:
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You've just described my daily drive to work. Have you been following me? :lol: :lol:
 
The annoying thing is that if you beep at them they go ****ing ballistic! Well learn to drive properly then grrrrrr
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I work on the theory that if you have time to avoid the 'situation' and beep, there was never a situation in the first place.

And the cocks that travel at 40 on 60 straight road. It is not difficult to do 60 in a straight line.
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Its a speed limit, not a speed minimum. It can be annoying, but if a driver feels uncomfortable going that speed down a certain road then thats their choice.

Theres a road near me that I have to go down to pick my sister up, its a 60mph road but I wouldn't dare go over 50 on it. The road is fairly narrow, has pot holes all over the place and always has huge HGV's going down it (next to an Ind estate). Id rather get to my destination 30 seconds later than not at all because Ive ended up in the front grill of a HGV.

Matt, dont think I'm picking on you - they're just the statements that jumped out at me on the thread.

James
 
Gary said:
out of the country :)

keep it nice this time people.. the last one ended up turning the air very blue :eek:
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i wondered about your comment !! , now i know why :thumbs:
 
I see and increasing amount of drivers who just don't care about red lights or the speed limit and I see lots of people using mobiles whilst driving
 
I come across bad driving every day - the bypass I go down has 3 roundabouts along it and every day people pull in to the right hand lane approx 2 miles too early causing havoc for everybody else. It's true that it's a recommend maximum speed, but there has to be some appreciation for other drivers!

Recently I changed the settings on my car so that the headlights are permanently on. seems to have had an effect as people move over (and is also a lot safer on the roads) when they're sat in the wrong lane.

My biggest annoyance has been people driving Toyota Aygos ... got cut up by 5 in one week. I have nothing against people who drive them, but at least pay attention to the road!!

As for middle lane drivers ... nuff said!!
 
I'm now doing about 2,700 miles a month now and although generally I don't really get too stressed on the roads these days, I am seeing more and more patterns in driving, such as middle-lane hogs on the motorway and people using the wrong lane of a two-lane roundabout to take the wrong turn-off. Had one this morning at the A14/M1/M6 Catthorpe interchange where I joined on a roundabout (there's a set of lights on it, you join on the outside) and the guy on the inside cut me up and just blatantly didn't look as he turned across me onto the M1 sliproad. I've had it three times recently and it's always people who just think they have divine right to drive wherever they want.

I used to joke that you can usually spot a bad driver from a mile off.... they'd be in a BMW 3-series :) but unfortunately, it is ringing true a lot!! I can remember when reps all drove Mondeos; now they're all in beemers and they think their 320d is actually an M3 so they race around everywhere.

I'm also fed up of people who either A) slam the brakes on when they see a change of speed sign (say 60 down to 40), or B) drive so slowly that it's just frustrating, especially as their feet can't back off the brake for more than 3 second!

These days it's either too fast or too slow.... jeez, I'm only 30 and I'm already getting crotchety!! :)
 
Jamesbuk said:
Its a speed limit, not a speed minimum. It can be annoying, but if a driver feels uncomfortable going that speed down a certain road then thats their choice.
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Depending on the circumstances it can be classed as driving without due care and attention. Try driving at 20mph in a 30 zone in front of a traffic police car and see what happens - 50p gets you a pound that you'll see blue flashing lights :police:
 
Try driving at 20mph in a 30 zone in front of a traffic police car
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Of course randomers driving at 40 on a 60 for no real obvious reason is silly, but I didn't defend that - I merely stated there are situations in which a driver may not feel safe or comfortable going at the speed limit.
 
I recently got nabbed for not wearing my seat belt by the old bill, then b****r me the very next day the very same copper is driving his police van talking into what looked like a mobile phone with no seat belt on.
 
minimeeze said:
Running red lights

People not having a clue how to use a roundabout - they usually stop on the roundabout to give way to you!
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I don't know how to break this to you, but in most of Canada (& USA) you can run a red light if you are turning right - as long as you're not in Quebec.

And, in most of the World, traffic ON the roundabout has to give way to traffic entering the roundabout - UNLESS the local signs show otherwise. If there are no signposts to say you, joining the roundabout, have to give way then you don't. In the UK we suffer a mass of roadsigns to tell us exactly what to do at every type of junction. In Germany, where you must give way to traffic from the right at unsigned junctions, they have both types of roundabout - some unsigned and some with a forest of signs. Not that they have many roundabouts - I lived there for eleven years and I only saw three in that time - plus a recently built one on a subsequent trip there.
 
I almost had two head on collisions within 15 minutes of each other this morning.
First I was driving down a road cars parked half on the kerb in various places but other than that a clear road. A man of around 70 yrs of age is travelling in the opposite direction and moves over to pass the parked cars on his side of the road. He has more than enough room that he doesn't even need to cross the white lines, yet he drove his car right over onto my side of the white line and straight at me and just kept coming. I had to break that hard my ABS kicked in. He moved slowly back onto his own side of the road at the last minute, totally unfazed, no recognition or acknowledgement on his face of what he had just done.
2nd one, I had just pulled off a main road onto a short road, leading to our car park at work. This road is one way and some stupid idiot was travelling in the wrong direction.
 
just a gentle reminder.
if your coming onto a motorway.
RHE PEOPLE ON THE MOTORWAY HAVE RIGHT OF WAY.
YOUR SUPPOSED TO MERGE WITH THEM, NOT TRY AND RAM YOUR WAY IN.
nearly took the side out of a ford focus today.
coming up on my left, up the slip, and treid to push his way infront.
despite the fact i had nowhere to go, and he'd come up the slip with no intention of dropping into the HUGE gap behind me.
i think he may have soiled himself.
 
I'm unfortunate enough to be a student in East London for the time being.... I have a fair bit of travelling under my belt and have yet to see such a poor standard of respect for rules/other road users in a developed country! It's insane how people drive around here.
 
inaneredstripe said:
babaw, i sympathise.
i used to spend the occasional trip into london cursing the bad/inconsiderate/bloody dangerous driviers .
i was tootling round in a 40 fo0t long. 25 tonne lorry too.
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I used to find black cab drivers the worst when driving in London. They thought they owned the road and would not give way to anyone. I used to have an old beat up Mk1 Fiesta which although only 957cc was pretty lively and pefectly at home on Londons streets. Black Cab drivers more than found their match and soon realised they didn't own the road then.
 
nilagin said:
I used to find black cab drivers the worst when driving in London.
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My first driving experience in London was about three days after I passed my test and I hated it. The next time I took a truck there and loved it. Even had taxi drivers giving way to me.


Steve.
 
Has anyone else noticed thats its mostly Volvo drivers who dont seem to know where they wanna go?

You all wanna take a drive through Malaysia.. Do it just once and you will learn to appreciate the idiots on our roads.
 
The most annoying people are the ones who will sit at 30 in a 60 zone (when you cant overtake safely) and then do 40 in a 30 and pull away from you

so annoying that is
 
I do 35K miles a year and some of the things I see are horrendous from middle lane hoggers to bikes weaving across lanes and my pet hate those doing 70+ on a motorway and slamming everything on to rubberneck the accident in the opposite carriageway
 
thought i was going to see a monster smash today , i was at the back of a line of cars following a slow hgv going down a slip road , all of a sudden the car at the front decides he couldnt wait any longer , so he swerved around the hgv across the hatched marks on the road and straight into the outside lane of dual carriageway , of course he didnt see the other hgv that was there , how everything missed everyone else was indeed a miracle to behold :eek:
 
nilagin said:
I used to find black cab drivers the worst when driving in London. They thought they owned the road and would not give way to anyone. I used to have an old beat up Mk1 Fiesta which although only 957cc was pretty lively and pefectly at home on Londons streets. Black Cab drivers more than found their match and soon realised they didn't own the road then.
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they call it a company van, if someone wants to push in you just hit them :p
 
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