Driving to the letter of the highway code.....
Discussion
CraigyMc said:
SOL111 said:
My conclusion is that there are a lot of simple (in the head) drivers about
You realise that this includes you, up until you had your NIP?C
I have no qualms in admitting I used to drive like a tw@t. Never in 30mph zones (I'd often do ~20mph outside schools and residential areas) but I used to have a certain disregard for 40/50/60mph zones where there was good visibility etc.
Although I would say that I never drove agressively towards others as I've always been a calm driver. Speeding yes, agressive no.
AJI said:
Things like "only a fool breaks the two second rule", smooth acceleration from junctions/lights, stopping at lights as soon as they turn amber, waiting for the green light and not setting off on the amber, sticking to below the speed limits, keeping a constant speed on motorways, keeping two chevrons from the vehicle in front, waiting until there is sufficient gaps in traffic in order to pass cyclists to give them a car's width..... the list goes on and on.
They all seem to result in creating tension and aggression in other drivers towards oneself.
I always stop on amber lights and I never cross the line before the lights turn green, neither has ever resulted in road rage or bad reaction from other road users. They all seem to result in creating tension and aggression in other drivers towards oneself.
I don't tailgate, though whether I stay the HC recommended distance from the car ahead I don't know but I certainly leave a substantial gap, it has never caused any reaction from other road users.
I do tend to go a little over the speed limit but generally set the cruise to around 73 on the satnav so not excessively over, that never seems to cause a reaction either.
My conclusion is that either the drivers I have shared the road with are more laid back those those you encountered, or maybe you were doing other things which pissed people off so much.
GreatGranny said:
We will see what happens next week when I tow the caravan from Lincolnshire to Brighton :-) Cruise set to 60 so I'm creeping past the artics on the M1/M25 :-)
You won't be very popular if you do that. You'll force the 80 mph middlelane owners club into lane 3, mixing it with the 90 mph "they shall
not pass" lane 3 hoggers.
The pace of life is much faster down South. Suggest if there is only
2-3 mph difference between your caravan and the artic in front,
then don't change lanes and do slipstream the artic.
You'll save even more fuel and avoid creating even more congestion on
an already badly congested road network.
I had a similar situation the other week, I was on an IAM advanced driving course and waited until the double white lines had finished and I had good visibility before overtaking 2 cyclists (I was doing 15mph keeping a constant gap to them), so no over taking over double white lines.
At the next set of lights a chav in a Fiesta who had been following me shouted that I should "Learn to drive"...
At the next set of lights a chav in a Fiesta who had been following me shouted that I should "Learn to drive"...
Discounting both motorway speeds, and my guesses at real speed rather than indicated, I generally try and drive to the letter of the HC. I don't really get any grief for it either. I also overtake far more than I'm overtaken.
SG Esq. has a good point about it being unexpected, though. You see this most at 30/NSL transitions, which is my main point of conflict. If I do 30 until the sign, noone expects me to go flat out as I reach it, so if they're willing to overtake (rare) then often they'll try it before or as I accelerate. There are less compliant ways to mitigate this or you can just let it go.
I also upset someone the other day by passing their 50 in a NSL, then slowing to comply with 30 shortly afterwards, meaning they caught me up sharpish. Whilst I wouldn't choose to create that scenario, it's their problem, to be honest - I'm compliant, and it's their opportunity to overtake me again if they really want to do something about it.
SG Esq. has a good point about it being unexpected, though. You see this most at 30/NSL transitions, which is my main point of conflict. If I do 30 until the sign, noone expects me to go flat out as I reach it, so if they're willing to overtake (rare) then often they'll try it before or as I accelerate. There are less compliant ways to mitigate this or you can just let it go.
I also upset someone the other day by passing their 50 in a NSL, then slowing to comply with 30 shortly afterwards, meaning they caught me up sharpish. Whilst I wouldn't choose to create that scenario, it's their problem, to be honest - I'm compliant, and it's their opportunity to overtake me again if they really want to do something about it.
mmm-five said:
Craikeybaby said:
At the next set of lights a chav in a Fiesta who had been following me shouted that I should "Learn to drive"...
I'm not surprised if you were sticking to 15mph whilst overtaking!dcb said:
You won't be very popular if you do that. You'll force the 80 mph middle
lane owners club into lane 3, mixing it with the 90 mph "they shall
not pass" lane 3 hoggers.
The pace of life is much faster down South. Suggest if there is only
2-3 mph difference between your caravan and the artic in front,
then don't change lanes and do slipstream the artic.
You'll save even more fuel and avoid creating even more congestion on
an already badly congested road network.
hence the smiley :-)lane owners club into lane 3, mixing it with the 90 mph "they shall
not pass" lane 3 hoggers.
The pace of life is much faster down South. Suggest if there is only
2-3 mph difference between your caravan and the artic in front,
then don't change lanes and do slipstream the artic.
You'll save even more fuel and avoid creating even more congestion on
an already badly congested road network.
I see myself as a responsible caravan owner who tries to reduce any potential hold up and keeps up with the general flow of traffic (hence why I received 3 points for "keeping up" with traffic travelling at 57-ish mph on a single carriageway with NSL).
Good point about keeping the speed equal to the HGVs, slipstreaming and saving fuel, the journey time will noy be affected a huge amount.
My sensible driving in my commuter has improved mpg from 53 to 58, soon adds up doing 80 miles per day.
perhaps its what I am driving, but I very rarely see road rage. Admittedly my commute is not too long and is on A roads and dual carriageway.
My current banger is a 1984 trafic van that tops out at 55 mph, does 0-45 in an age, slows down up hills, pulls very slowly away from lights, in otherwords, all those things that should annoy other drivers, but does not.
In moving from an MR2 to this my perception of lifes speed has taken quite a turn
. Although I should note that my commute only takes 4 minutes longer in a super slow van than it used to hooning it about in the toyo.
My current banger is a 1984 trafic van that tops out at 55 mph, does 0-45 in an age, slows down up hills, pulls very slowly away from lights, in otherwords, all those things that should annoy other drivers, but does not.
In moving from an MR2 to this my perception of lifes speed has taken quite a turn
. Although I should note that my commute only takes 4 minutes longer in a super slow van than it used to hooning it about in the toyo.GreatGranny said:
dcb said:
Suggest if there is only 2-3 mph difference between your caravan and the artic in front,
then don't change lanes and do slipstream the artic.
You'll save even more fuel and avoid creating even more congestion on
an already badly congested road network.
Good point about keeping the speed equal to the HGVs, slipstreaming and saving fuel, the journey time will noy be affected a huge amount.then don't change lanes and do slipstream the artic.
You'll save even more fuel and avoid creating even more congestion on
an already badly congested road network.
Anybody who tries it with me has their windscreen peppered with the debris from the hard-shoulder. They then get the message and overtake.
mp3manager said:
No it's not. It's extremely stupid and dangerous to slipstream a truck.
Anybody who tries it with me has their windscreen peppered with the debris from the hard-shoulder. They then get the message and overtake.
I am sure a copper would say that was driving with undue care and attention!Anybody who tries it with me has their windscreen peppered with the debris from the hard-shoulder. They then get the message and overtake.
mikal83 said:
I am sure a copper would say that was driving with undue care and attention!
I'd just tell the copper that a suspicious vehicle has been following me at 52mph for mile after mile and as I was carrying a high-value load, I had reason to believe that a hi-jacking was highly probable. mp3manager said:
I'd just tell the copper that a suspicious vehicle has been following me at 52mph for mile after mile and as I was carrying a high-value load, I had reason to believe that a hi-jacking was highly probable.
Wouldn't you get on your hands free phone and report it if you suspected a hi-jack ?Going back to your white van example... I suspect what sent him over the edge was that his interpretation of you pulling back into lane 1 (for your own logical reasons) was that you never intended overtaking in the first place. His judgement on this would be compounded by the gap you maintained when you were in lane 2 trying to safely overtake. I am not saying he was behaving reasonably, but I can sort of understand his (possible) thought process.
And I have no idea what he would have made of the hazard warning lights and further slowing down, but it certainly would not have been assumed you were doing it for safety's sake!
Our driving behaviour has clearly evolved since the Highway code was first produced - and not necessarily in a good way. The roads are more crowded, cars are more capable and we all seem to be in more of a hurry. So there is a new 'norm', rightly or wrongly, and anyone who doesn't fit this will attract attention - usually expressed in an unpleasant way.
And I have no idea what he would have made of the hazard warning lights and further slowing down, but it certainly would not have been assumed you were doing it for safety's sake!
Our driving behaviour has clearly evolved since the Highway code was first produced - and not necessarily in a good way. The roads are more crowded, cars are more capable and we all seem to be in more of a hurry. So there is a new 'norm', rightly or wrongly, and anyone who doesn't fit this will attract attention - usually expressed in an unpleasant way.
Interesting OP and some equally interesting replies; I shall get out my copy of the HC and 'Roadcraft' and have a re-read, as I've not read either all the way through for several years and could do with a refresh. I notice I haved tended to drive slower(well less in excess of the limit anyway
and never in a 30) and smoother as I age; journey times haven't gone up much and I get there more relaxed. If I do press on it will be because I'm enjoying it and the road is clear rather than not leaving soon enough.
and never in a 30) and smoother as I age; journey times haven't gone up much and I get there more relaxed. If I do press on it will be because I'm enjoying it and the road is clear rather than not leaving soon enough.I was driving up one of the local residential roads in a 20mph zone at 20.
I spotted a bloke pushing someone on a wheel chair about 30 yards ahead. He was on my side of the road, heading towards me and was moving right out into my lane to skirt past some parked cars. I slowed right down. Don't ask me why he was pushing someone down the road in a wheelchair but he was.
The "lady" behind me had already been driven apoplectic by my sticking to the 20mph limit ans was in full tailgate mode, swerving from side to side as if she was warming her tyres up for Monaco.
When I slowed down she did a full bore flyby, swerverd right back in front of me and very narrowly missed the wheelchair.
She then took the next left all of 100yds up the road.
WTF?
I spotted a bloke pushing someone on a wheel chair about 30 yards ahead. He was on my side of the road, heading towards me and was moving right out into my lane to skirt past some parked cars. I slowed right down. Don't ask me why he was pushing someone down the road in a wheelchair but he was.
The "lady" behind me had already been driven apoplectic by my sticking to the 20mph limit ans was in full tailgate mode, swerving from side to side as if she was warming her tyres up for Monaco.
When I slowed down she did a full bore flyby, swerverd right back in front of me and very narrowly missed the wheelchair.
She then took the next left all of 100yds up the road.
WTF?
Just to keep this discussion rolling along for a little longer...
It is a normal thing to do to check your passenger side wing mirror before taking a motorway exit if you are in lane 1? (ie. checking the hard shoulder even though you do not have an intention of moving in to it on an exit?)
A second occurance of a road rage incident I had was again when sticking to the speed limit and maintaining a 2 second gap was at a motorway exit.
The traffic on the motorway was heavy but moving along at 'reasonable' pace, but lane 1 traffic was only doing 50mph max. (Rush hour).
I was in lane 1 and a car approached from behind at above 50mph (I saw that he had found a gap in the road behind and used this space to accelerate and then brake as he approached).....he pulled out in to lane 2 and got alongside me and then decided that he did not want to pass so he slowed down and pulled in behind me (rather close as per usual). He then did a similar thing on two further occurances, ie. pulling out and alongside me then back in behind.
The vehicle in front of me required the approaching exit and started to indicate at the 300yrd marker countdown, I also required the exit and started to indicate at this point. The car behind did not indicate.
As we passed the 100yrd marker countdown the car infront started to slow down. I also slowed down to maintain the 2 second gap. (Both probably doing about 40mph at this point).
Then as we started to encounter the exit markings on the road and the start of the slip road the car infront of me was already crossing over them, but the car behind me had dissapeared from my rear view mirror. I was in the process of starting to turn off the motorway when I get a loud horn blast from the car that was now attempting to pass me on the hard-shoulder in order he could get past and take the exit before I could.
I had to hit the brakes and let him pull from the hardshoulder and back on to the road in order that he could take the exit. (He didn't indicate this maneouvre but forcibly placed his car back towards the road).
The motorway exit had traffic lights on it and I'm guessing this guy was a local and had attempted to calculate the green light phase and didn't want anything infront of him stopping him making that green.
Unfortunately for him the lights went to red and two lanes of traffic had already stopped before he got there.
I pulled up behind him and again I was unusually restrained and did not react. But for some reason he had put his reverse lights on and edged his car backwards twice in a manner that suggested he was going to ram my car!
At the same time giving the usual hand signals that us british seemingly like to do.
Again, would you guys think that with me sticking to this 2 second rule had forced tension/aggression on to other motorists?
The replies so far seem to be split on this 2 second rule. But I do find it strange that some motorist react this way when they see an amount of space in front of your car and think that this space should be filled with another vehicle.
On this second occurance of road rage I did start to think there may be something wrong with the car, so I did a full check of the brake lights and indicators assuming there must be a fault... but no, everything was working.
It is a normal thing to do to check your passenger side wing mirror before taking a motorway exit if you are in lane 1? (ie. checking the hard shoulder even though you do not have an intention of moving in to it on an exit?)
A second occurance of a road rage incident I had was again when sticking to the speed limit and maintaining a 2 second gap was at a motorway exit.
The traffic on the motorway was heavy but moving along at 'reasonable' pace, but lane 1 traffic was only doing 50mph max. (Rush hour).
I was in lane 1 and a car approached from behind at above 50mph (I saw that he had found a gap in the road behind and used this space to accelerate and then brake as he approached).....he pulled out in to lane 2 and got alongside me and then decided that he did not want to pass so he slowed down and pulled in behind me (rather close as per usual). He then did a similar thing on two further occurances, ie. pulling out and alongside me then back in behind.
The vehicle in front of me required the approaching exit and started to indicate at the 300yrd marker countdown, I also required the exit and started to indicate at this point. The car behind did not indicate.
As we passed the 100yrd marker countdown the car infront started to slow down. I also slowed down to maintain the 2 second gap. (Both probably doing about 40mph at this point).
Then as we started to encounter the exit markings on the road and the start of the slip road the car infront of me was already crossing over them, but the car behind me had dissapeared from my rear view mirror. I was in the process of starting to turn off the motorway when I get a loud horn blast from the car that was now attempting to pass me on the hard-shoulder in order he could get past and take the exit before I could.
I had to hit the brakes and let him pull from the hardshoulder and back on to the road in order that he could take the exit. (He didn't indicate this maneouvre but forcibly placed his car back towards the road).
The motorway exit had traffic lights on it and I'm guessing this guy was a local and had attempted to calculate the green light phase and didn't want anything infront of him stopping him making that green.
Unfortunately for him the lights went to red and two lanes of traffic had already stopped before he got there.
I pulled up behind him and again I was unusually restrained and did not react. But for some reason he had put his reverse lights on and edged his car backwards twice in a manner that suggested he was going to ram my car!
At the same time giving the usual hand signals that us british seemingly like to do.
Again, would you guys think that with me sticking to this 2 second rule had forced tension/aggression on to other motorists?
The replies so far seem to be split on this 2 second rule. But I do find it strange that some motorist react this way when they see an amount of space in front of your car and think that this space should be filled with another vehicle.
On this second occurance of road rage I did start to think there may be something wrong with the car, so I did a full check of the brake lights and indicators assuming there must be a fault... but no, everything was working.
AJI said:
Just to keep this discussion rolling along for a little longer...
It is a normal thing to do to check your passenger side wing mirror before taking a motorway exit if you are in lane 1? (ie. checking the hard shoulder even though you do not have an intention of moving in to it on an exit?)
What does the highway code say you should do before "signal"? Mirror isn't it?It is a normal thing to do to check your passenger side wing mirror before taking a motorway exit if you are in lane 1? (ie. checking the hard shoulder even though you do not have an intention of moving in to it on an exit?)
So do that.
Edited by Captain Muppet on Wednesday 31st July 11:54
You should be checking the left wing mirror (and ideally blind spot) whenever you turn the steering wheel to the left.
In your situation there shouldn't have been a car there, but you can't assume there won't be when you turn in.
I do agree though, a lot of drivers see a 2s gap as a gap to fill/waste of road.
In your situation there shouldn't have been a car there, but you can't assume there won't be when you turn in.
I do agree though, a lot of drivers see a 2s gap as a gap to fill/waste of road.
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