Road rage; is it getting worse?
Discussion
People in general are just angry, with a "me,me,me" attitude to everything.
Stick them in cars and they have a protective bubble to be angry in without general fear of consequences.
I find people tailgate smaller cars more than normal ones.
When I had to drive my mums mk2 Clio, people would sit on your bumper at all speed limits, to the point of not being able to see the front plate of their car in your mirror.
Quite glad I have a large 4x4, people still tailgate me in 30 limits but I'm in the safer stronger car so I don't worry about them rear ending me.
I'm not sure where I read it but the saying goes along the lines of "you can tell a lot about a person from how they treat a waiter"
OP, I would keep teaching people to drive properly and safely, but make them aware that some drivers are knobs and the best way to deal with them is to let them past. Let them have their fight/smash ahead of you than into you.
Stick them in cars and they have a protective bubble to be angry in without general fear of consequences.
I find people tailgate smaller cars more than normal ones.
When I had to drive my mums mk2 Clio, people would sit on your bumper at all speed limits, to the point of not being able to see the front plate of their car in your mirror.
Quite glad I have a large 4x4, people still tailgate me in 30 limits but I'm in the safer stronger car so I don't worry about them rear ending me.
I'm not sure where I read it but the saying goes along the lines of "you can tell a lot about a person from how they treat a waiter"
OP, I would keep teaching people to drive properly and safely, but make them aware that some drivers are knobs and the best way to deal with them is to let them past. Let them have their fight/smash ahead of you than into you.
razor04 said:
V8 Fettler said:
The current lack of meaningful investment in the UK road network is a nonsense given the tax take from road users and the importance of roads to the economy.
But doesn't everyone see there is no point investing it wouldn't matter the game is up, there are too many people the infrastructure is swamped. No ammount of investment will
fix this problem.
I've thought about this recently too (angry, rude, inconsiderate, dangerous driving on the increase).
I just spent a week in cornwall, driving around visiting places and not once did i have any of the instances that fit the above.
Get back to the daily commute and it starts all over again. I can only assume it is a combination of several things, overcrowding on the road, constant roadworks, endless amounts of "traffic calming" measures, speed limit reductions, new junctions, roundabouts and traffic lights. All of this just bunches traffic up, makes for more queuing, makes people late, people get rushed, frustrated and angry, that spills over to their driving behaviour and people do take on this higher importance and elevated entitlement persona.
Since getting back from my mini break its horrible being back on the daily commute.
I just spent a week in cornwall, driving around visiting places and not once did i have any of the instances that fit the above.
Get back to the daily commute and it starts all over again. I can only assume it is a combination of several things, overcrowding on the road, constant roadworks, endless amounts of "traffic calming" measures, speed limit reductions, new junctions, roundabouts and traffic lights. All of this just bunches traffic up, makes for more queuing, makes people late, people get rushed, frustrated and angry, that spills over to their driving behaviour and people do take on this higher importance and elevated entitlement persona.
Since getting back from my mini break its horrible being back on the daily commute.
V8 Fettler said:
razor04 said:
V8 Fettler said:
The current lack of meaningful investment in the UK road network is a nonsense given the tax take from road users and the importance of roads to the economy.
But doesn't everyone see there is no point investing it wouldn't matter the game is up, there are too many people the infrastructure is swamped. No amount of investment will
fix this problem.
They'll be closing down much of the Railway Infrastructure soon and then see a wholesale move of heavy freight to many thousands of road trains with only six axles on concrete or tarmac. Many of alien origin with massive fuel tanks which means they never fill up here in the UK pounding away 24/7 which explains why so many miles of our roads appear permanently coned off for repairs.
How did the Nation manage to get stuff around prior to Beeching. Quite nicely actually. I was there saw the whole thing.
Today and for over a decade at least, it is swamped being concentrated on far too many key areas and arteries. That swamping high density traffic looks set to spread and extend deeper away from the already saturated southern and midland counties. Too many folks in limited spaces.
Back in the late 1960s through to the 1980s, I travelled far and wide in most of England and Wales for my job. Contrast that experience with the form of madness which most of England's Roads are now.
I used to travel much on the M5 and others when it was only two lane carriageway. Never had any hold ups. Now considerably widened with additional lanes, traffic density is silly high as is vehicle size and loads. A large van back then would be considered a small Transit sized one now many of those now considered small which are becoming bigger still. Individual vehicle sizes have grown and look like continuing to grow. Both private and commercial stuff. There is an active movement to allow even larger and heavier commercial vehicles on our roads. Lord Elpus..
I could give numerous other examples where the form of madness which is now worsening travel on UK's many roads will only get worse.
Get used to it. It will never get better and get out of my way whilst you're about it! Grrrrrhhh!
If you think road rage is a problem when driving, try cycling, especially when the majority of the population seem to consider that cyclists have no right to be on the roads anyway and are more than happy to endanger our lives safe in the knowledge that if they knock us off our bikes the chances of being caught or prosecuted are negligible.
By comparison I feel positively safe in my car, despite it being 22 years old and lacking any kind of airbags or modern safety systems...
By comparison I feel positively safe in my car, despite it being 22 years old and lacking any kind of airbags or modern safety systems...
BGarside said:
If you think road rage is a problem when driving, try cycling, especially when the majority of the population seem to consider that cyclists have no right to be on the roads anyway and are more than happy to endanger our lives safe in the knowledge that if they knock us off our bikes the chances of being caught or prosecuted are negligible.
By comparison I feel positively safe in my car, despite it being 22 years old and lacking any kind of airbags or modern safety systems...
Can I ask, I encounter a few cyclists, both solo and in pairs on my commutes.By comparison I feel positively safe in my car, despite it being 22 years old and lacking any kind of airbags or modern safety systems...
On local 30mph roads, they're usually doing around 15-20mph, so don't really impede traffic flow too much when we hang back until it's safe to pass.
However as soon as I'm on the NSL single carriageway that runs a mile or so from the 'burbs to the motorway junction, any cyclist(s) encountered seem to ride at walking pace, causing us to slow down to 1st gear before passing when safe.
Is there a reason for this? It seems far more dangerous as on the NSL, people tend to take bigger risks with their overtakes, and combining 60mph traffic with an unpassable cyclist barely doing 3mph, seems a recipe for disaster.
MGJohn said:
V8 Fettler said:
razor04 said:
V8 Fettler said:
The current lack of meaningful investment in the UK road network is a nonsense given the tax take from road users and the importance of roads to the economy.
But doesn't everyone see there is no point investing it wouldn't matter the game is up, there are too many people the infrastructure is swamped. No amount of investment will
fix this problem.
They'll be closing down much of the Railway Infrastructure soon and then see a wholesale move of heavy freight to many thousands of road trains with only six axles on concrete or tarmac. Many of alien origin with massive fuel tanks which means they never fill up here in the UK pounding away 24/7 which explains why so many miles of our roads appear permanently coned off for repairs.
How did the Nation manage to get stuff around prior to Beeching. Quite nicely actually. I was there saw the whole thing.
Today and for over a decade at least, it is swamped being concentrated on far too many key areas and arteries. That swamping high density traffic looks set to spread and extend deeper away from the already saturated southern and midland counties. Too many folks in limited spaces.
Back in the late 1960s through to the 1980s, I travelled far and wide in most of England and Wales for my job. Contrast that experience with the form of madness which most of England's Roads are now.
I used to travel much on the M5 and others when it was only two lane carriageway. Never had any hold ups. Now considerably widened with additional lanes, traffic density is silly high as is vehicle size and loads. A large van back then would be considered a small Transit sized one now many of those now considered small which are becoming bigger still. Individual vehicle sizes have grown and look like continuing to grow. Both private and commercial stuff. There is an active movement to allow even larger and heavier commercial vehicles on our roads. Lord Elpus..
I could give numerous other examples where the form of madness which is now worsening travel on UK's many roads will only get worse.
Get used to it. It will never get better and get out of my way whilst you're about it! Grrrrrhhh!
The early concept designs for the London orbital would have provided enough capacity until the middle of this century, but again the bean counters did their usual undermining.
MajorProblem said:
I think it's more people causing the road rage that's the issue, people don't give a f
k nowadays, they'll cut in, brake test, move out with no signal etc etc and they know that it's only a one in a million chance that the person they ps off will do something about it.
Spot on, that is what I said its people many just do not care.k nowadays, they'll cut in, brake test, move out with no signal etc etc and they know that it's only a one in a million chance that the person they ps off will do something about it. SEE YA said:
MajorProblem said:
I think it's more people causing the road rage that's the issue, people don't give a fk nowadays, they'll cut in, brake test, move out with no signal etc etc and they know that it's only a one in a million chance that the person they ps off will do something about it.
Spot on, that is what I said its people many just do not care.k nowadays, they'll cut in, brake test, move out with no signal etc etc and they know that it's only a one in a million chance that the person they ps off will do something about it. 9mm said:
If they've no idea where the following car is, it doesn't sound like my definition of brake testing.
Well perhaps not brake testing then, how about braking / blocking to piss you off. Eg me and the wife went out following a Jag XKR out of our village (30mph) into the NSL the Jag did not speed up from 30mph as this was a Nissan Juke v XKS I was wary of overtaking so hung back a bit, when fed up I went for the overtake to which the Jag decided to slam all on in front of me.
Caught me a bit off guard if I'm honest and I decided to hang back until we parted ways.
He could have been baiting thinking his XKR is the best thing since sliced bread or just a complete dick.
I used to tootle around in small, economical cars. While they're great for nipping round town and easy on the wallet, on the motorway you just get bullied by knobbers because of your small size.
So I bought a large, wafty barge, which is a nice comfortable place to spend many miles in. But more importantly, it has more presence on the road, so above knobbers think twice about trying to bully you off the road.
On a side note, I had another crazy women go nuts at me today for pulling over for an ambulance. Instead of stopping behind me, she blared her horn, then tried to force her way past on the wrong side of the road, nearly clipping my rear quarter. She even had the cheek to call me a stupid wker as she drove past.
So I bought a large, wafty barge, which is a nice comfortable place to spend many miles in. But more importantly, it has more presence on the road, so above knobbers think twice about trying to bully you off the road.
On a side note, I had another crazy women go nuts at me today for pulling over for an ambulance. Instead of stopping behind me, she blared her horn, then tried to force her way past on the wrong side of the road, nearly clipping my rear quarter. She even had the cheek to call me a stupid w
ker as she drove past.smithyithy said:
Can I ask, I encounter a few cyclists, both solo and in pairs on my commutes.
On local 30mph roads, they're usually doing around 15-20mph, so don't really impede traffic flow too much when we hang back until it's safe to pass.
However as soon as I'm on the NSL single carriageway that runs a mile or so from the 'burbs to the motorway junction, any cyclist(s) encountered seem to ride at walking pace, causing us to slow down to 1st gear before passing when safe.
Is there a reason for this? It seems far more dangerous as on the NSL, people tend to take bigger risks with their overtakes, and combining 60mph traffic with an unpassable cyclist barely doing 3mph, seems a recipe for disaster.
No idea chum. I tend to cycle at the same speed on all roads, usually 15-20mph on the flat, but any hills or headwinds will knock the speed down. There's also a whole spectrum of fitness levels and so average speeds out there.On local 30mph roads, they're usually doing around 15-20mph, so don't really impede traffic flow too much when we hang back until it's safe to pass.
However as soon as I'm on the NSL single carriageway that runs a mile or so from the 'burbs to the motorway junction, any cyclist(s) encountered seem to ride at walking pace, causing us to slow down to 1st gear before passing when safe.
Is there a reason for this? It seems far more dangerous as on the NSL, people tend to take bigger risks with their overtakes, and combining 60mph traffic with an unpassable cyclist barely doing 3mph, seems a recipe for disaster.
Surely it's easier to pass a slow cyclist than a fast one?
MajorProblem said:
I think it's more people causing the road rage that's the issue, people don't give a fk nowadays, they'll cut in, brake test, move out with no signal etc etc and they know that it's only a one in a million chance that the person they ps off will do something about it.
And should the worst happens, they proclaim to the media that it was random and they have no idea why it happened. k nowadays, they'll cut in, brake test, move out with no signal etc etc and they know that it's only a one in a million chance that the person they ps off will do something about it. BGarside said:
If you think road rage is a problem when driving, try cycling, especially when the majority of the population seem to consider that cyclists have no right to be on the roads anyway and are more than happy to endanger our lives safe in the knowledge that if they knock us off our bikes the chances of being caught or prosecuted are negligible.
By comparison I feel positively safe in my car, despite it being 22 years old and lacking any kind of airbags or modern safety systems...
Yep. I had some knob on a 50cc scooter beeping his horn and pointing at me on Monday because, I assume, he was annoyed that I was in the road cycling at 15-20mph rather than on the sBy comparison I feel positively safe in my car, despite it being 22 years old and lacking any kind of airbags or modern safety systems...
tty shared use cycle path with the pedestrians. A guy, with L plates, ridding along side me, beeping he's horn and pointing wildly towards the pavement. At least pass your fking test befor trying to (wrongly) tell people they are doing something wrong.SteveSteveson said:
Yep. I had some knob on a 50cc scooter beeping his horn and pointing at me on Monday because, I assume, he was annoyed that I was in the road cycling at 15-20mph rather than on the stty shared use cycle path with the pedestrians. A guy, with L plates, ridding along side me, beeping he's horn and pointing wildly towards the pavement. At least pass your fking test befor trying to (wrongly) tell people they are doing something wrong.
I hate those shared use footpaths, there is one near me that I never use. The footpath is just wide enough for two adults to walk side by side comfortably and the council decided to paint a white line on it and decree half of it a cycle lane tty shared use cycle path with the pedestrians. A guy, with L plates, ridding along side me, beeping he's horn and pointing wildly towards the pavement. At least pass your fking test befor trying to (wrongly) tell people they are doing something wrong.
I am sure a number of the drivers that have passed me very close when I have been on my push bike have done it to try and re-enforce that I should be using a "cycle path".
BGarside said:
Surely it's easier to pass a slow cyclist than a fast one?
Depends on the road really. As I say the NSL I use it a bit of a twisty one with a few straights but tighter corners, so cars that are tanking it around (quite a few during commuting hours) might be caught by surprise by a very slow moving cyclist. Also means we have to tootle along at 5mph, then when safe pull out and accelerate quite strongly to reach a safe speed to pass when the chance arises.The road occasionally has horse riders too, but that's a whole different story
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