state of driving

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Threevok

Growing old disgracefully
Location
South Wales
I think by far, the worse trait that seems to be on the increase, is that when male drivers see cyclists in front of them, they will risk life and limb (usually the cyclist's) to get past as quickly as possible - as if having a cyclist in front of them, is a threat to their manhood.

I have affectionately called this "Tiny Willy Syndrome" or TWS for short
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Impatient driving is not exclusive to males; stressed women drivers are just as bad.
 

Threevok

Growing old disgracefully
Location
South Wales
Impatient driving is not exclusive to males; stressed women drivers are just as bad.

True, but I wasn't talking about impatience.

I usually find these TWS sufferers will overtake you (usually at the most dangerous point they can) and then just plod along in front of you for the next mile or so. Hardly the sign of someone in a rush to get to work or school
 

Smokin Joe

Legendary Member
YESS! My mum had an incident not long back when she was driving our van (Mercedes Vito - very nice, not very old either!) around the country lanes and she was following this old piece of crap car, and for no reason he slammed on the brakes and she knocked the back of his car. He then proceeded to drive off!, She was in shock but she still followed him to try and get details and he sped up and she lost him onto the main road! So she got no insurance details from him and the police made a case file - but no action was taken as there were no witnesses! So in that instance, dash cam would be great as that would have counted as a witness had the case been taken further.
Hmmm.

Nobody slams on the brakes for no reason (Insurance scams aside). May I respectfully suggest that your mum was not paying attention and got caught out when the guy ahead had to stop?
 

Tizme

Veteran
Location
Somerset
I think the Police are as frustrated as us! Before I retired I used to have a lot of dealings with A&S Police, accepting drunken sailors back to the establishment - the Police would rather bring a happy drunk sailor back to my "tender" care than put him/her in cells for the night, that sort of thing and they would often have a quick cuppa before they went back to Dodge City (the local town on a Thursday night - especially pay night!). They were usually frustrated at the lack of manpower, the paperwork and bureaucracy involved in an arrest and lack of support from above. There is only one Traffic Section in Somerset, based at Bridgwater (quick access to the motorway) and frequently only one or two units on duty - they frequently single man vehicles to get two out on the road.

New drivers are now taught that indicators should only be used when appropriate (or words to that effect), no longer "Mirror-Signal-Manoeuvre" (showing my age). The end result of that is for a lot of drivers it is not appropriate as they know where they are going (so by telepathy everyone else does:rolleyes:).
 

Drago

Legendary Member
If you threaten someone with a shotgun you'd be excluded for life from ever having a shotgun/FL licence again, or even being allowed to possess an air weapon.

Threaten someone with an equally deadly car, the offender should never be allowed to possess a licence again.

Society is so Car-O-Centric in every way it's painful. The sooner the price of fuel keeps some of these muppets off our roads and forces folk to drive slower to save fuel, the better.
 

Alan O

Über Member
Location
Liverpool
[QUOTE 5254278, member: 9609"]there is often a reason, tailgating or holding someone up are the usual reasons, it happens on a regular basis to HGVs, I guess they are trying to get your load to shift and kill you?

thankfully the courts seem to be taking it more seriously, this driver apparently lost his licience for 12 moths + a suspended prison sentence.

[/QUOTE]
That's almost exactly what happened to someone I knew a few years ago. He was driving a similarly sized HGV on a similar road, but was in the nearside lane and approaching a small roundabout at which he wanted to go straight ahead.

As he entered the roundabout, a small car tried to overtake and turn right, but had to brake when the driver realized that big HGVs don't bend and fit neatly into one lane. Enraged by this, he carried on ahead, overtook the HGV, pulled in ahead, and slammed on the brakes.

Then he learned lesson number 2 about HGVs - they can't stop as quickly as a small hatchback. The result was an even smaller hatchback.

Oh, and I think the HGV's bumper was scratched.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Too many self entitled drivers who rely on the reliability of safer car design to float around the roads enclosed in their own personal bubble without a care in the world for anyone else .Then factor in the all singing and dancing distractions of mobiles, wifi , infotainment etc etc .#
Dont get me even started on car parks now where you basically need to take a car wrapped in bubble wrap if you dont want some turnip dooring your car .
 

Tim Hall

Guest
Location
Crawley
Time for some xkcd:
driving_cars.png
 

alicat

Legendary Member
Location
Staffs
YESS! My mum had an incident not long back when she was driving our van (Mercedes Vito - very nice, not very old either!) around the country lanes and she was following this old piece of crap car, and for no reason he slammed on the brakes and she knocked the back of his car.

I think a dashcam would have just proved that your mum couldn't stop in the space she could see to be clear.
 
Thing is, people are always rushing! They need to wake up ten minutes earlier! It annoys me as well..this is when dashcams should be mandatory in all cars! At least if something stupid happens, which is a genuine safety concern you have back up!

On the contrary, I find people are mostly dawdling. They need to wake up. I ****in hate dawdlers because they tend to force everyone behind them to also dawdle. I dont condone reckless actions to get past or anything like that tho. A bit of give and take would go a long way but that doesnt happen very much unfortunately.
 
On the contrary, I find people are mostly dawdling. They need to wake up. I ****in hate dawdlers because they tend to force everyone behind them to also dawdle. I dont condone reckless actions to get past or anything like that tho. A bit of give and take would go a long way but that doesnt happen very much unfortunately.

I tend to agree, but define 'dawdling'... I am a very 'steady' driver, and always try to match my speed to the conditions at the time. I tend to stick to speed limits. This certainly makes me a dawdler in some drivers' eyes. I certainly p*** people off when I hang back from overtaking cyclists until safe to do so!
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Dawdlers don't force anyone to do anything. Each driver is responsible for their own actions, not the driver of the car in front.

If the car in front is 'dawdling' then chill - pull back, give a little space, and relax as you bimble along behind. The extra 10 seconds on your journey is really not important, no matter how people may try to rationalise it that way. No, it's a psychological failing, a sexual insecurity if you will, that makes people want to 'dominate' each other on the road.
 
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