Driving

[old.ignus]

I was going to post this thread the other day but my connection died.
Has anybody noticed recently a sudden drop in the standards of driving in this country? Have driving licenses become as easy to get as A-levels? Its like people have no consideration or have any clue as to the rules of the road.
Today a woman tries to pull out of a junction opposite of the junction I was already pulling out of, (I was turning right she was going straight on down the road I came from) she wasn't looking in my direction she was looking to her left and nearly hit me. What made it worse was the fact that the junction she was pulling out of had a clear stop sine and line across the road but she hadn't stopped at all, she slowed down gave a quick glance left and was ready to pull out.
Most recently though is the headlights thing, so many people have been flashing me at night recently because they think my main beam is on when it isn't, I've checked the alignment and everything and I don't think they're brighter than they should be but people keep on insisting by flashing theirs or worse putting main beam on as they pass you which messes with your eyes. Some idiot yesterday came around a corner suddenly which made me quickly turn off my main beam late because I hadn't seen him coming and still he flashed me even though he'd seen me turn it off.

Anybody else got any horror stories of the road, I've got loads.

 

[Embattle]

TBH they've been dropping for a while now.

 

[SoWat]

Agreed.

It seems that indicators are considered an optional extra too (my pet hate).

 

[Embattle]

I like the way someone can fail their driving test 10 times but if they manage to pass on the 11th one then can now legally drive.

 

[Tom]

I think you'll find that the standard of driving drops on a curve inversely proportional to the number of cars on the road.

The easiest way to check your headlight alignment is get a friend, at night, find a quiet flat road, and see if your headlights illuminate the sunvisors of his car, from behind. If they do, your lights are too high.

If the traffic is oncoming, it might be that your lights aren't being masked correctly, or are pointing too far to the right.

 

[old.ignus]

I used to be a trainee mechanic and my dad rebuilds cars for fun so I have and use the proper equipment.

 

[SoWat]

I'd guess that something must be wrong if you get that many cars flashing you. Might be worth double checking.

 

[pcg79]

Originally posted by old.ignus
Have driving licenses become as easy to get as A-levels?

its really nice to have someone degrade stuff youve worked for

but people DONT seem to know the rules of the road (i havent started to drive yet). like for example, theres a busy crossroads and theres roadworks there now so traffic is really slow moving across (right < left ). i was on a bus coming up to the crossroads and so much traffic incl a bus (fs) stopped in the box. so when the traffic lights changed we had to wait.

no wonder theres road rage :/

 

[Teh Krypt]

Imo they should remove walls in country lanes to stop my dad writing cars off.

Don't get me wrong hes a good driver, but he has a need for speed when the roads are quiet. Ofc its safe for other drivers on country roads, you see them coming a mile off when its dark so he slows down before anyone crys . Hes had idiots pull out at him. Infact only last week he had a piece of wood in the car, he was traveling at about 30/40mph along a road, some woman pulled out in front of him, he breaked heavy ect, the wood went right through the side window.

Im sorry but i'll say again like I did on the other thread, I put this down to instelligence. My mother isnt very bright and isnt a good driver. Im always having to tell her what lane she needs to be in that she can't turn into Mcdonalds from that side of the road and has to go around the roundabout (more lessons ).
She once almost drove into incoming traffic near pc world, I had to grab the stearing wheel and move her away...

 

[CAC]

i drive a small van atm (not thru choice so no van driver jokes pls) and i gotta say that standards are getting worse. i know people complain about van drivers being bad but some days i swear im invisable when on the roads.

it seems to happen on odd days here and there but as soon as 1 person pulls out of the junction as im approaching and continues up the road at 20 mph forcing me to brake shaply most of the time then i can pretty much garrentee that its gonna happen at everyother junction i approach


the thing that i find most annoying is when people insist on driving 15-20 mph under the speed limit, this is just as dangerous as driving 15-20 mph over the limit

the worst thing ive seen though was travelling home on the M6,it was a sunday lunchtime and the M6 was oddly empty so im doing a steady 90mph to get home when i see a transit van in the middle lane which im heading towards very very quickly.....
i moved to the outside lane to overtake the van when i saw a bloke walking round it, not sure if hed broken down or what but he had decided to park up in the middle lane of the M6 (he didnt even have his hazard lights on)

 

[Trem]

Speed cameras everywhere, they make people slam on their brakes even if they are doing the correct speed, the ones on the motorways are the worst. But we dont see slow cameras anywhere, I honestly believe the fuckwits that think that their car will tip over if they go over 20 mph are the biggest danger, they cause anger and frustration and make people take risks just to get past them. Yes, slow-cameras is the way forward!

 

[Embattle]

If they weren't going over the speed limit they wouldn't need to slam on their brakes at speed cameras

I reckon drivers need retraining with regards to what the different colours of traffic lights mean.

 

[Will]

Different cities seem to have different issues when it comes to driving.

In Edinburgh, everyone drives over the speed limit, and seems to like driving way too close to anyone who doesn't. On top of that, they are scared of going into the bus lanes at times when you are allowed to.

In Glasgow, on the other hand, they drive slower, but have a real habit of running the red light just after it has changed.

And having driven a Beetle on the motorway, I can say that slow cameras would be a bad idea. I'd have to have been on an A road instead. Especially going uphill.

 

[Trem]

Originally posted by Embattle
If they weren't going over the speed limit they wouldn't need to slam on their brakes at speed cameras

I said that they are doing the correct speed and STILL slam on their brakes.

 

[Any]

Originally posted by SoWat
It seems that indicators are considered an optional extra too (my pet hate).

I hate that. Im normally nice when driving and let people in all the time. But if i see someone wanting to turn or change lanes without indicating then i make sure they dont get infront of me.

Driving too slow is really annoying. I often follow people who think its ok to do 40 in a 60 but then continue to do 40 when it turns into a 30.
If you dont feel confident driving at the speed limit then get off the road. There is no reason for it(in normall conditions).

 

[Will]

Originally posted by Any
If you dont feel confident driving at the speed limit then get off the road. There is no reason for it(in normall conditions).

30 on a quiet residential street with parked cars isn't safe. There are a lot of reasons why people wouldn't do the speed limit. Just because it annoys you (not just talking to Any here) doesn't mean it shouldn't be allowed.

 

[Any]

I was really talking about roads 40+ where there are going to be less reasons for driving slowly.
30 on a straight 60 road on a sunny day with no obstacles is not acceptable and in some situations dangerous.

 

[Embattle]

Originally posted by Trem
I said that they are doing the correct speed and STILL slam on their brakes.

I've not seen that too much....I have seen lots of drivers, and been in cars, where they are often even just a few mph over the limit slam on their brakes etc.

Car drivers are just morons.....there are just greater numbers now. I no doubt a number people here are thinking that they are a good driver when in reality I reckon a number of you are not, or at least you've done something that breaks the law such as 33 in a 30 zone, going through an Amber light and worse going througha red or going down the wrong lane to get ahead, etc, etc

A number of cyclists and pedestrians are morons too.

 

[Nylex]

Originally posted by Embattle
or at least you've done something that breaks the law such as 33 in a 30 zone

If you've just come of a dual carriageway and been driving at 40 or 50 MPH, it's a bit hard not to do that as 30 seems very slow.

 

[old.ignus]

Originally posted by CAC
the thing that i find most annoying is when people insist on driving 15-20 mph under the speed limit, this is just as dangerous as driving 15-20 mph over the limit

You think you've got it bad around here on my way to work we have the idiotic farmers that insist on going out on the main road during the rush hours. Now I'm not sure on the law but I think they're supposed to pull over whenever there are 9+ vehicles behind them but I know for a fact they hold competitions as to how many they can get at once. Often I'll find myself running late for work and having to speed up to make up for lost time, and at this point I'm also very angry so now I'm likely to cause an accident all because of some bumpkin who thinks hes clever.

And don't get me started on pedestrians and cyclists.

 

[Will]

Originally posted by Any
I was really talking about roads 40+ where there are going to be less reasons for driving slowly.
30 on a straight 60 road on a sunny day with no obstacles is not acceptable and in some situations dangerous.

The only situations where I can see it as dangerous are where either some idiot is breaking the speed limit or driving too fast for what he can see ahead of him, and slams into the back of you. Who is to blame there?

Remember kids, when you do your advanced driving test, the most often given piece of advice is to slow down where you either see danger or are unsure as to what is happening.

 

[mank!]

What always frightens me, whether I'm driving or not is people who overtake more than two cars in one go on a busy main road then have to cut in really quickly when something comes round the corner at high speed.

The majority of people on the roads over 25 if re-tested now would probably fail.

 

[CAC]

with regards to the speeding/to slow debate,when i was having driving lessons my instructor advised me that you are actually expected to drive on the sped limit.i.e if the limit is 30 then drive at 30 not 20

i also dropped 5 points on my driving test all for driving to slow and as far as i can recall i was never more than 5 or 6 mph under the limit

 

[Will]

Is that not due to lack of confidence, rather than actually being in breach of the highway code?

 

[CAC]

i think im my case it was more like .oO(ffs dont speed and fail ya test) however as said on previous post there are people out there who disregard the speed limit both ways round and imo they are as dangerous as each other.

how many times have you been blocked into the 1st lane on a motorway because of heavy traffic and ended up behind the old boy/dear in thier mini metro doing 40 mph?

 

[Teh Krypt]

My grandad and his Mini Coopers own you! muahahha

 

[Xtro 2.0]

Cars are total wank and boring as fk to drive. Motorbike > car.

 

[vofflujarnid]

Tbh, women shouldn't be allowed to drive

 

[Xtro 2.0]

How do you expect them to get round to your house and talk about PC hardware then?

Oh...wait...

 

[SoWat]

Ah bikes

In my biking days I used to whizz down the M6/M5 every other weekend to see mates in Bristol.

I was in the outside lane, coming up very rapidly on a knackered old datsun, with what looked like 8 people in it, when all of the suitcases tied to the roof fell off!

Some of them bounced right over my head, whilst the others slid down the motorway only slightly slower than I could brake. I ended up in the middle of a pile of clothes and plastic bags.

The weird thing was, the occupants of the car didn't seem to notice at all