Driving "standards" slipping...

[MichaelW2]

Second car indicates, pulls out and overtakes

I always get more potential danger from the second car behind me. They take their que from the first and don't observe or think for themselves. It is so common we need a name for it; maybe "sloppy thinking seconds".

 

[nickyboy]

Anecdotes about bad driving are all well and good, we can all supply them. But the stats don't back up the assertion that driving standards are falling.

Let's assume that falling driving standards will manifest themselves in some way in increasing accident stats. They don't. The opposite is true. Now of course a lot of work has gone into making cars safer for both occupants and those hit by the cars. But the reality is that cycling deaths due to car collisions fell 35% from 2000 to 2013. At a time when the number of vehicles on the roads increased. I also presume the number of cyclists increased in that period also.

The UK and Sweden have the safest roads in the world when measured in fatalities per billion km travelled

 

[Over The Hill]

Youngest daughter is 17 and driving under my supervision (+ lessons) for a couple of hours per week. Amazing what goes on that is so common that we stop noticing it. Hardly any use of indicators, and just bad driving standards. She is learning and is far better than most on the road.

But then she picks me up on things I should have done when I am driving too!!

 

[Shadow]

I hope you don't mind me jumping into your discussion.

Of course not, all members are entitled to comment on any thread. Your comments carry more weight, for me, due to the experience gained from your work - as do comments from other members of the police on here.

we have all had moments of brilliance behind the wheel scoring ten and we have ALL had moments we would rather forget and scored one.

So true. My first collision was the classic inexperienced driver not paying attention to surroundings. Fortunately it was very low speed and nobody was hurt in the slightest.
I would rate my driving as 9. It would never be 10 as there is no such thing as a perfect drive. By anyone.

I have long considered that all licences should be revoked after 2 years without further testing. And this includes 'advanced drivers'. I discontinued my membership from the IAM because re-testing is not compulsory, only voluntary. (Whereas RoSPA's advanced driving mandates re-testing).

 

[GrumpyGregry]

The only bit I heard clearly this morning on the near deserted streets of Worthing

"Get that ****ing thing on the ****ing cycle path you ****ing loser."

after I'd taken primary before turning right. The cycle path didn't turn right. It goes straight on along the sea front. Delay for knobchops? Less than three seconds. Time lost whilst he drove alongside me shouting abuse... considerably more. And he got caught by the level crossing as a result.

Oh yeah... "Wear a ****ing helmet." was in there too.

 

[spen666]

I think its merely a symptom of a far wider issue.

People these days think they have a RIGHT to whatever they want - whether that comes from the Human Rights Act implementation or whether that is also a symptom of it I do not know.

It is not just motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, motor cyclists etc all act as though everyone else should get out of their way. Want to ride the wrong way down the segregated cycle highway, then its your right and those riding the correct way should move out of your way.

Want to drive on the wrong side of the road to get ahead of the queue, its your right and cars coming the correct way should move out of your way etc.


Its not just on the roads, its in shops, its in business in all aspects of life

 

[tyred]

When I look back to some of the more senior citizens that were on the road when I was young - such as a neighbour of mine who coasted everywhere he could to save petrol even if he was only moving at walking speed at the top of a hill and used to coast through a crossroads where a minor road crossed a pretty busy one or take corners on completely the wrong side of the road as he didn't want to brake and lose momentum, or another woman who used to buy a new Fiesta every year and after a week it would look like it had been used for stockcar racing as she was always catching on things when turning/parking (it was a running joke in the local Ford garage that she'd be in every Saturday morning for new tail lamps - they called her the lady of the lamps), I would say the standard of driving has improved no end.

Manners and consideration for others on the other hand has gone down the toilet...

 

[marknotgeorge]

I always get more potential danger from the second car behind me. They take their que from the first and don't observe or think for themselves. It is so common we need a name for it; maybe "sloppy thinking seconds".

For clarity, it was the car directly behind the lorry that expected me to dematerialise out of his way. The 'second car' was the car behind him. I had no problem with this one.

 

[totallyfixed]

Hi Guys, I hope you do not mind me commenting on your thread. I work as a civilian for the Police in the Criminal Justice department, in particular Roads Policing. I deal with offenders all day every day and investigate crashes. As for are standards dropping the answer is yes and no. For the average driver doing ten thousand miles a year the chances of being involved in a bump are 200:1 and this ratio drops significantly as the mileage increases but for drivers who do further training (usually insisted upon by the companies or cpc) the incident rates are declining. For those involved in collisions, the fatality rate rose last year!!!

The field of driver psychology is very interesting, we have bias's that get us into a certain way of thinking and we do not realize or question them until someone points them out. For example, if I was to ask you to score your driving on a scale of one to ten, with one being rubbish and ten excellent, 95% of people would answer 7. But shouldn't most drivers be a 5 as that's the average, are 95% of people above average? And if I am better than other drivers its okay for me to take extra risks because I can handle it! In reality we are not a fixed number as we have all had moments of brilliance behind the wheel scoring ten and we have ALL had moments we would rather forget and scored one.

As for police presence on the roads it is decreasing due to budget cuts which means we are relying more and more on enforcement cameras (speed, traffic lights, vehicle excise duty and ANPR) and the conviction rate is higher than ever because cameras operate 24 hours a day.

I hope you don't mind me jumping into your discussion.

And just imagine what the conviction rate would be if there were more police catching the drivers who speed where there are no cameras, tailgate, don't indicate, don't bother to switch on their lights in poor light conditions, the list goes on.

 

[DaveReading]

For example, if I was to ask you to score your driving on a scale of one to ten, with one being rubbish and ten excellent, 95% of people would answer 7. But shouldn't most drivers be a 5 as that's the average, are 95% of people above average?

There is no reason why an average should necessarily be in the midpoint of a range.

 

[spen666]

Anecdotes about bad driving are all well and good, we can all supply them. But the stats don't back up the assertion that driving standards are falling.

Let's assume that falling driving standards will manifest themselves in some way in increasing accident stats. They don't. The opposite is true. Now of course a lot of work has gone into making cars safer for both occupants and those hit by the cars. But the reality is that cycling deaths due to car collisions fell 35% from 2000 to 2013. At a time when the number of vehicles on the roads increased. I also presume the number of cyclists increased in that period also.

The UK and Sweden have the safest roads in the world when measured in fatalities per billion km travelled

So you make something up then argue against it to prove your point?

 

[Drago]

I'm 11.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I'm Spartacus.

 

[hopless500]

...hereabouts?

Last two days I've been ferrying my big sis around, on her first visit back to SE England in 20 years, using tlh's car.

Stopped in a filter lane at front of queue waiting to turn right from one rural B road to another. Queue of cars waiting to turn left out of the road I'm about to join. Indicators already on, check mirrors, all good, gap in the traffic coming the other way, all good, start to make the turn, the car immediately behind me in the filter lane guns it, and overtakes me whilst I am making my own turn, with his horn blaring. Streaks off down the road like a scalded cat.

In a queue of traffic on a road over a bridge. Single white my side turning to double white. See lemon curd car with blue lights on passing the queue behind me. Oncoming traffic starts pulling over to its left. I indicate left and start pulling over to my left. Long BEEEP! from car behind which then pulls out to overtake, crossing the double whites, cutting up the advancing paramedic in his car who pulls an emergency stop.

Watched six cars go through a red light on rural road works after they had changed. Slowed to a stop. Loud horn from following car and lots of gesticulation from its driver who thinks I'm a serial self-abuser.

Countless people texting in traffic or reading facebook on mobiles.

Many cars no longer have working indicators.

Speed limits are for wimps.

Is it me?
Is it a seasonal thing?

No. It's how people are now. As far as I can tell cars in East Anglia are no longer equipped with indicators, and their pedal seems to be either 'go as fast as you possibly can regardless', or 'drive slower than it's possible for anyone else to keep in gear at'. Some cars also seem to be rolled off the production line with no lights too... particularly silver grey ninja ones.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Definitely. More aggression, more incompetence and many more people who seem to think that cars have autopilots and all they need to do is push the go pedal.