Driving standards

[njee20]

My former next door neighbour was clearly a bit of a drinker (and a complete psycho). On one occasion she had clearly reversed her car at some pace off her drive into the lamppost opposite. Glass everywhere from the rear windscreen, totally smashed bumper, tailgate stove in, paint all over the lamppost.

 

She stood there, swaying gently, and said "I don't believe it, someone hit my car..."

 

Mildly terrifying really.

[kevinlms]

My former next door neighbour was clearly a bit of a drinker (and a complete psycho). On one occasion she had clearly reversed her car at some pace off her drive into the lamppost opposite. Glass everywhere from the rear windscreen, totally smashed bumper, tailgate stove in, paint all over the lamppost.

 

She stood there, swaying gently, and said "I don't believe it, someone hit my car..."

 

Mildly terrifying really.

A former neighbour once had his wife, proudly tell us that her husband, often took 1/2 hour or more to stagger from his van to the front door, after driving home!

[PhilJ W]

I once lived in a cul-de-sac. The cul-de-sac formed the base of a triangle of about 100 yards each side with the road giving access forming one side of the triangle and a footpath the other with a pub at the apex of the triangle. A chap who lived at the end of the cul-de-sac instead of walking the 100 yards to the pub used to get in his car and drive the 200 yards to the same pub. After he'd had quite a few drinks he used to drive back and leave his car across the turning area at the end of the cul-de-sac preventing other vehicles from turning. Eventually though he was reported to the police who were waiting for him and a few others outside the pub.

[coachmann]

A slightly different take on driving standards in pre M.O.T. days. My old man drove all sorts of bangers and I mean bangers. We had a pre-war Wolseley like the old police cars but it broke in half although it was still drivable. "Don't step on the running boards" always pre-dated anyone climbing in the back or sliding across the driver's seat if sitting in the front. One summer Saturday evening we all set off for the cinema but the cop on point duty at the Starr Inn, Oldham, seemed resistant to waving us through from Union Street. Even more resistant when dad asked him if he was blind!  After lots of revving and white smoke, the policeman's hand finally beckoned us across the junction, but the car stalled!

 

Re-starting the engine attracted some attention because dad had fitted a solenoid out of a WW2 tank awaiting scrapping near his works and the action and the sparks from bringing two wires together fired it off like an artillery gun. The poor battery gave up before anything else and so mum, dressed up to the eyeballs, was told to get out and push. To do this she had to clamber over the driver's seat in full view of byestanders  becasue her door was held shut by a large backdoor bolt together with a surviving hinge. My sister and I sat quietly on the backseat as we sedately passed the grinning policemen into King Street, our mother looking like a dishevelled Gracie Fields. So we caught a bus home while dad buggered off to the Prince Albert!

Edited August 13, 2016 by coachmann

[Guest]

Another well planned overtaking manoeuvre

 

 

Lighting is wrong to see numberplates from the front, but the rear camera picked up a lovely view.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Guest

[Horsetan]

Another well planned overtaking manoeuvre....

 

Hell, that fella doesn't want to live long, does he? 

[alastairq]

Why is it that drivers think they have an absolute priority over oncoming traffic, when they are 'overtaking' bicycles?  

 

They push & shove out into traffic...one 'compelled' me to come to a complete standstill....whilst they overtook the cyclist.

 

Luckily it wasn't 'inconvenient' for me to do so.....but my driver's window was open...

 

However, when the same drivers come across a parked car, they studiously 'give way' to oncoming traffic.  [i know, I have observed them over a period of time...]

[alastairq]

With the current timescale announcement by Ford that they will have driverless cars available in but a few years time.......I have a profound belief a lot of manufacturers.....mostly BMW, it seems, have already been secretly road testing their driverless car technologies........around these parts.

 

I sincerely hope that...one day...they will 'get it right!!!'

 

[Quarryscapes]

Another well planned overtaking manoeuvre

 

 

Lighting is wrong to see numberplates from the front, but the rear camera picked up a lovely view.

CA51FXP.jpg

 

I hope that footage has crossed the desk of your nearest police station. 

[newbryford]

I hope that footage has crossed the desk of your nearest police station. 

 

From past experience, because there was no accident/incident/people hurt, they'll just ignore it.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Baby Deltic]

From past experience, because there was no accident/incident/people hurt, they'll just ignore it.

 

Cheers,

Mick

Unless a solid white line has been contravened and they can get three points and some dough for the county coffers out of it. It's obvious the offending vehicle is in the wrong because it's not using the grass verge to overtake which would have been a lot safer and not led to the dangerous situation we see in the clip.

[alastairq]

Unless a solid white line has been contravened and they can get three points and some dough for the county coffers out of it. It's obvious the offending vehicle is in the wrong because it's not using the grass verge to overtake which would have been a lot safer and not led to the dangerous situation we see in the clip.

 Experience has led me to believe an awfully large minority of drivers....especially new, or recently tested drivers....actually have no idea what the real meaning of the various road signs and markings actually is. They have crossed solid double white lines, have not suffered any issues, or never ever been brought to account...therefore they are under the impression it is 'ok' to do so....and actually believe that.

 

All of which contrives to be contrary to the conditions of issue of a driving licence?

 

So we cannot blame the driver...we have to blame ourselves...for not repeatedly insisting that our paid-for Authorities actually enforce all these Laws & Regulations.

 

For my part, I am all in favour of the Authorities, in whatever shape or form, filling their coffers with the fines [which are nowhere near big enough, IMHO]....extracted from drivers & riders who either cannot be bothered to educate themselves, or haven't a clue, or simply, could not care less,about contravention of the Law...regardless of whether that driver has the opinion that it is 'safe' enough, or that they, quite simply, think they know better.

Edited August 18, 2016 by alastairq

[njee20]

Actually I imagine recently passed drivers' awareness of road signs is higher than any other group. They've had to pass a test on them after all. Whether they heed them is something else.

 

You may cross white lines to overtake vehicles doing less than 15mph, again as a cyclist I see hundreds of drivers breaking that rule, and not just young ones! Still, preferable to overtaking without crossing the white lines at all, which one also sees a lot of.

[jonny777]

I was stuck in a long queue of traffic on the M5 a few days ago; from the M42 almost to the M50.

 

For the benefit of any potential "lane weavers" who see one lane moving whilst they are stationary and immediately swerve into it dangerously; and with virtually no warning (and there were quite a number doing this at the time), I arrived at the back of the queue almost at the same time as a foreign registered HGV with a large "T" logo on the trailer (so easily recognisable).

 

After almost 20 miles of stop/start which took over 90 minutes, the lorry and myself (neither of us had changed lanes) were less than 100 yards apart.

[njee20]

Whilst I agree with the sentiment all that tells you is that at a net level over the 20 miles your two lanes moved a similar speed (which isn't surprising). As you correctly identify the 'weavers' will chase the moving lane, and will thus potentially benefit whilst the lane you were in, or that which the lorry was in, are stationary.

 

What really annoys me is our insistence on queuing. If there's a 2 lane road merging into 1 lane we all insist on making sure we're in the continuing lane a mile out, and identify that it's a certain type of driver who goes screaming up the now empty lane to the point of the merge. However, by far the most efficient way to deal with this is to merge in turn, like a zip, at the point of merging, not create a wholly unnecessary queue before that point. I will always join that queue though, as you get a few heroes who think they're being awesome by stopping anyone merging at the point a lane closes, and are thus perpetuating the problem for everyone. I don't really get how so many people can have such a fundamental misunderstanding of how it should work. Seems to be an innate knowledge among British drivers. Rage.

[Guest]

Unless a solid white line has been contravened and they can get three points and some dough for the county coffers out of it.

You mean like this?

[Horsetan]

I hope that footage has crossed the desk of your nearest police station. 

 

Even if it has, what's the betting they've misfiled it already?

[JDW]

njee, your post reminded me of driving home last week, in a similar situation where traffic was queuing and I was in lane 2, lane three was closed ahead. The two cars in front were gradually moving out to straddle both lanes to "stop" anyone from going past and merging like a zip (as you say, the best way, in Germany signs encourage it). They were both quite far out in to lane three, and the front of those two got really annoyed when without going out of lane two, I nipped up the inside and in to the gap he'd left in front of him :-D A little naughty, maybe, but I couldn't help myself - he was driving a BMW coupé with the top down. No further comment needed I suspect! He looked rather annoyed - at least I think that's what his hand gestures were saying...

[Kickstart]

For the benefit of any potential "lane weavers" who see one lane moving whilst they are stationary and immediately swerve into it dangerously; and with virtually no warning (and there were quite a number doing this at the time)

It is so easy to know which is the faster moving lane. Just check which one I am in as it is certain I am in the slower one.

 

 

What really annoys me is our insistence on queuing. If there's a 2 lane road merging into 1 lane we all insist on making sure we're in the continuing lane a mile out

Nothing wrong with merging in turn, but that doesn't have to mean overtaking an existing queue to merge at the front. That is just making the queue longer. And getting to the front to merge in means performing a manoevre which is likely causing the car that was queing to have to alter its course or speed; something that should not be done when changing lane.

 

All the best

 

Katy

[peanuts]

It is so easy to know which is the faster moving lane. Just check which one I am in as it is certain I am in the slower one.

 

 

 

Nothing wrong with merging in turn, but that doesn't have to mean overtaking an existing queue to merge at the front. That is just making the queue longer. And getting to the front to merge in means performing a manoevre which is likely causing the car that was queing to have to alter its course or speed; something that should not be done when changing lane.

 

All the best

 

Katy

but surely if those in the existing queue them selves formed two lanes to merge in turn the the queue would be shorter and the delay less ? so rather than joining the already long queue drivers when they can should go strait to the front and merge not force thier way in but merge if those with the mentality of " ive been queueing for 15 mins and your jumping the queue "  are that stupid that they cant see they are in the wrong then so be it more fool them 

[Kickstart]

but surely if those in the existing queue them selves formed two lanes to merge in turn the the queue would be shorter and the delay less ?

Shorter maybe but not always. The delay will probably be far longer though for most, as it will disrupt the flow at the front, causing people to brake and hence slow down. This will ripple back causing the traffic behind to slow, progressively upsetting the flow even more (making the queue longer, and hence more overtaking to the front of it). Once it is already the number of lanes that the road is reduced to that is flowing as well as it can manage through the reduced section, adding any cars into that flow will disrupt it. Just as with normal traffic someone braking can easily ripple back causing progressively heavier braking.

 

if those with the mentality of " ive been queueing for 15 mins and your jumping the queue "  are that stupid that they cant see they are in the wrong then so be it more fool them

Or maybe they just have a bit of due consideration for other road users.

 

All the best

 

Katy

[Titan]

Shorter maybe but not always. The delay will probably be far longer though for most, as it will disrupt the flow at the front, causing people to brake and hence slow down. This will ripple back causing the traffic behind to slow, progressively upsetting the flow even more (making the queue longer, and hence more overtaking to the front of it). Once it is already the number of lanes that the road is reduced to that is flowing as well as it can manage through the reduced section, adding any cars into that flow will disrupt it. Just as with normal traffic someone braking can easily ripple back causing progressively heavier braking.

 

 

Or maybe they just have a bit of due consideration for other road users.

 

All the best

 

Katy

 

 

How do they slow down when they are already stationary? It is more a case of not moving forward when the car in front does, in order that someone can merge. It's the "I am going to stop with my bumper six inches from the car in front so they can't barge in" mentality that causes all the problems. It is very rare that cars are ever moving at much more than walking speed at the merge in point - if indeed they are moving at all. If the cars are moving at any kind of speed there usually is not much of a queue, and hence plenty of space to change lanes as required anyway.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Titan

[Captain Kernow]

Saw this thread and thought it was for retired BR drivers who preferred B.R. locomotives from the 1950s with Walschaerts valve gear.

[newbryford]

Saw this thread and thought it was for retired BR drivers who preferred B.R. locomotives from the 1950s with Walschaerts valve gear.

 

Being pedantic, don't forget Caprotti gear.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[newbryford]

Why do car drivers emerging from side roads seem to think that the cycle lane is an imaginary give way line? Despite the view from the side road being unobstructed at the proper give way line, they still block the cycle lane?

 

Cockwombles.

 

Cheers,

Mick