A risky undertake on the A11. Any opinions?

[9mm]

Phil303 said:

Pit Pony said:

Dash cam man, was in "the fast lane" too fking long. That don't excuse the very late undertake of the focus, but fk me, I bet focus man must have been pissed off for miles before that.

Utter dribble.

From the start of the video it's approx just 8 seconds before he starts to gain on the car in the left lane and would be in a position to carry on at his current speed and overtake or hang back and let the driver pull out. Why not write to the EDP with the times you'd allow for all road manoeuvres, and maybe a graph showing the penalties you'd apply for every extra second that someone exceeds your suggested limits by?

As he's spotted the tractor and knows that other drivers will be wanting to pull out PLUS is probably aware of potential traffic entering from the services slip, he slows slightly and lets everyone pass the tractor. Absolutely the right thing to do.

IF the Focus driver was on this guy's tail 'for miles' then his reaction time is glacial. He waited until he was in a really, really stupid place to undertake. There would have been ample chances to get past (on the inside if he felt that strongly about it) prior to choosing a spot level with a services slip road exit and a slow moving tractor. Fact is Focus driver is a speeding, impatient fool.

When I drive down this stretch I'm usually doing my best to try and get somewhere near the NSL and if there is nothing that I will hold up behind me, I will often move into the outside lane pretty much where the chap on the video is as there is nearly always something coming off the services exit. I'm not hogging the road, I'm pre-empting the road ahead. Rather drive in the outside lane for a few seconds than pull blindly across at the last minute, or brake heavily in the inside lane.

Not sure that tractor is in view at the start of the clip.

We'll never know the full story.

[lbc]

Phil303 said:

I will often move into the outside lane pretty much where the chap on the video is as there is nearly always something coming off the services exit. I'm not hogging the road, I'm pre-empting the road ahead. Rather drive in the outside lane for a few seconds than pull blindly across at the last minute, or brake heavily in the inside lane.

This is where you are wrong.
If someone is on the slip road, they have to give way to traffic on the main carriageway. Also, you are supposed to keep left unless overtaking.

You are going to look an idiot when a police vehicle doing 150mph comes up behind you and has to brake because you are in the wrong lane.

[GrumpyTwig]

Can someone explain why they couldnt use the footage just because the time was wrong? Surely it still shows the event and the car and reg. Who's dash cam is accurately calibrated to an atomic clock?(yes exaggeration, sue me)

[the_lone_wolf]

GrumpyTwig said:

Who's dash cam is accurately calibrated to an atomic clock?(yes exaggeration, sue me)

Any with GPS...

Calibrates itself each time the GPS signal is found...

[heebeegeetee]

mybrainhurts said:

Well, I do. There was no need to be in lane 2 for so long. See this every day.

So do I, but its sheer conjecture that this is one. You don't even know if the Focus is going to travel faster than the camera car or not when the traffic clears.

lbc said:

This is where you are wrong.
If someone is on the slip road, they have to give way to traffic on the main carriageway. Also, you are supposed to keep left unless overtaking.

You are going to look an idiot when a police vehicle doing 150mph comes up behind you and has to brake because you are in the wrong lane.

Be honest, you don't even drive do you?

[supermono]

Definitely hard to tell anything except focus makes a rash and unsafe move.

It does lightly (and only lightly) support my belief that serial poor drivers, lane hogging, bloody minded and self richeous types are the ones getting dash cams. A bit like millitant cyclists.

I drive loads and virtually never see road rage/aggressive driving/tailgating targetting me so for me a dashcam doesn't seem very necessary. However I do move left after passing and signal reasonably on roundabouts and drive courteously too so maybe I don't smoke out the nuts.

Maybe this fellow is a Norfolk slowster if the type that infests the roads there, never moves left, drives at a speed that leaves tailbacks of people in his mirrors without pulling into a layby occasionally to let them past, flashes at overtakers, brakes hard at 30 limits.

All these behaviours perhaps leads him to require a dashcam on account of the hostility he draws.

However, the video doesn't show this just suggests it may be true.

[heebeegeetee]

supermono said:

Definitely hard to tell anything except focus makes a rash and unsafe move.

It does lightly (and only lightly) support my belief that serial poor drivers, lane hogging, bloody minded and self richeous types are the ones getting dash cams. A bit like millitant cyclists.

I do agree with that. Its been imo for quite some time that the people who buy and fit dashcams are the ones who would do better spending the money on advanced driving lessons instead and then they'd find they have much less to record.

[otolith]

There are an awful lot of dashcams in HGVs these days.

[g3org3y]

s p a c e m a n said:

I'll happily admit that I drive like bit of a knobber sometimes, I'll push people out of the way if they're lane hogging for too long or just undertake them to make a point, it's how most people drive around here (East London/A13/M25)

There's no defence for the driving of that Focus, it's the driving style of an teenage chav who thinks that they're indestructible. Too close, too forceful and little to no planning. In a word, dangerous.

Agree with both points.

[anonymous-user]

lbc said:

Phil303 said:

I will often move into the outside lane pretty much where the chap on the video is as there is nearly always something coming off the services exit. I'm not hogging the road, I'm pre-empting the road ahead. Rather drive in the outside lane for a few seconds than pull blindly across at the last minute, or brake heavily in the inside lane.

This is where you are wrong.
If someone is on the slip road, they have to give way to traffic on the main carriageway. Also, you are supposed to keep left unless overtaking.

You are going to look an idiot when a police vehicle doing 150mph comes up behind you and has to brake because you are in the wrong lane.

You conveniently missed the previous line where I said "if there is nothing that I will hold up behind me...'. And as I'm doing at least the NSL there shouldn't be any reason why a queue of traffic would suddenly form behind me in this 500 yard stretch. Anyway, enjoy waiting on the slip roads next time traffic doesn't move overt let you out.

Edited by Phil303 on Tuesday 28th October 10:21

[supermono]

Point of order is your speed and whether or not there should be a tailback is irrelevant.
There are cars being held up behind you or there are not. The smart thing to do is move all the way left after overtaking and let people past, no matter what speed anyone is doing

[jmorgan]

Whatever the perceived actions of the dash cam driver, the undertake was not justified. Not sure what the issue is really.

[anonymous-user]

supermono said:

Point of order is your speed and whether or not there should be a tailback is irrelevant.
There are cars being held up behind you or there are not. The smart thing to do is move all the way left after overtaking and let people past, no matter what speed anyone is doing

I don't sit in the outside lane all the time. I'm just stating that on this particular stretch of road shown in the video if I'm able to move right to let traffic out from the services then I will. Then I move left again. That's all.

[heebeegeetee]

otolith said:

There are an awful lot of dashcams in HGVs these days.

Driving hgvs has got nowt to do with driving cars.

[supermono]

Phil303 said:

I don't sit in the outside lane all the time. I'm just stating that on this particular stretch of road shown in the video if I'm able to move right to let traffic out from the services then I will. Then I move left again. That's all.

Indeed, apologies I misunderstood you. Tractor and sliproad would have made it daft to move left, exactly as you say. Regardless of what's behind.

[otolith]

heebeegeetee said:

otolith said:

There are an awful lot of dashcams in HGVs these days.

Driving hgvs has got nowt to do with driving cars.

There is not a class of road user I haven't seen do something stupid, so while I think you have a point about the avoidabity of many of the situations captured, I don't share your generosity to our Yorkie munching brethren.

[knitware]

The Focus driver is a tit, he knows it and so do we.

This is typical.

On Sunday I was driving along the M4, I'm in lane 3 and I've overtaken a car in lane 2 and the road is clear so I move into lane 1. Up ahead is a car in lane 3, he's doing 70 ish but there is no traffic in lane 1 or 2 and nothing in lane 3 apart from him. I catch up in lane 1 and pass him, I undertook him which technically I shouldnt have. In the distance I see a car in lane 2, nothing in 1.

So upon closing on the car in lane 2 I go into lane 2, then 3 and pull into lane 1. I'm seeing an indicated 75 and the lane 3 car, which has sped up at the annoyance of me passing him eventually passes me and carries on his journey in lane 3 with a couple of cars behind him.

The above story is boring but highlights some people's ignorance to correct lane discipline. I swap lanes as it keeps motorway driving interesting, if I find than I’m in lane 3 in a line of cars and its obvious the lane 3 traffic is matching lane 2 flow I pull in.

This can cause a problem if, also on Sunday on the M4, a driver decides to undertake as you’re pulling in. I saw him but decided on the manoeuvre as he was in clear view of my indication and it was safe, it still annoyed him to the extreme though that I hindered his undertake, sorry.

So yes it can be frustrating but the Focus driver lost control of the situation.

[andycaca]

Phil303 said:

I don't sit in the outside lane all the time. I'm just stating that on this particular stretch of road shown in the video if I'm able to move right to let traffic out from the services then I will. Then I move left again. That's all.

that's called courtesy to other road users. you must drive an awesome V8, am i right?

[knitware]

supermono said:

Point of order is your speed and whether or not there should be a tailback is irrelevant.
There are cars being held up behind you or there are not. The smart thing to do is move all the way left after overtaking and let people past, no matter what speed anyone is doing

I agree, don't hold any car up wishing to get passed however justified you feel you are, you don't know if the driver is simply a speeding driver or in an emergency situation.

Pull left, watch the queue go by, pull back over to overtake if necessary.

[anonymous-user]

I know the A11 well. 53mph in L2 along there is ridiculous. If I was doing that, I'd fully expect to be undertaken. IMO, the cammer was MLM-ing.