M25 dangerous trend
Discussion
Unfortunately I’m finding myself having to venture onto the M25 more nowadays.
This is probably a stupid question, but has anyone else had a murderer-in-waiting stop dead from speed in front of them because they’ve driven to the very front of the particular queue in the exit lane they want to be in? Had one last night and this idiot had left it that late he was literally trying to manoeuvre over the chevrons.
I’m just glad I was concentrating or he’d have had a VW radiator swiftly inserted into his spinal column.
Just such an unbelievably dangerous habit and not the first time I’ve seen it in the 5 months I’ve had the misfortune of having to now venture onto this hell.
Surely people have been killed as a direct result of this very action in the past.
This is probably a stupid question, but has anyone else had a murderer-in-waiting stop dead from speed in front of them because they’ve driven to the very front of the particular queue in the exit lane they want to be in? Had one last night and this idiot had left it that late he was literally trying to manoeuvre over the chevrons.
I’m just glad I was concentrating or he’d have had a VW radiator swiftly inserted into his spinal column.
Just such an unbelievably dangerous habit and not the first time I’ve seen it in the 5 months I’ve had the misfortune of having to now venture onto this hell.
Surely people have been killed as a direct result of this very action in the past.
It's pretty common
I had the misfortune to travel all the way around from Watford to Dartford two nights ago.
I left late in the evening, hoping it would be quiet.
It was fairly quiet but overnight roadworks and the infernal variable speed limits for no reason made it a chore once again.
The amount of people ignoring red crosses marked over their lane mystifies me - don't they realise the enforcement cameras can pick this up aswell as speed??
I had the misfortune to travel all the way around from Watford to Dartford two nights ago.
I left late in the evening, hoping it would be quiet.
It was fairly quiet but overnight roadworks and the infernal variable speed limits for no reason made it a chore once again.
The amount of people ignoring red crosses marked over their lane mystifies me - don't they realise the enforcement cameras can pick this up aswell as speed??
Sicksilinda said:
Unfortunately I m finding myself having to venture onto the M25 more nowadays.
This is probably a stupid question, but has anyone else had a murderer-in-waiting stop dead from speed in front of them because they ve driven to the very front of the particular queue in the exit lane they want to be in? Had one last night and this idiot had left it that late he was literally trying to manoeuvre over the chevrons.
I m just glad I was concentrating or he d have had a VW radiator swiftly inserted into his spinal column.
Just such an unbelievably dangerous habit and not the first time I ve seen it in the 5 months I ve had the misfortune of having to now venture onto this hell.
Surely people have been killed as a direct result of this very action in the past.
All the time, have to be very careful on the M25. This is probably a stupid question, but has anyone else had a murderer-in-waiting stop dead from speed in front of them because they ve driven to the very front of the particular queue in the exit lane they want to be in? Had one last night and this idiot had left it that late he was literally trying to manoeuvre over the chevrons.
I m just glad I was concentrating or he d have had a VW radiator swiftly inserted into his spinal column.
Just such an unbelievably dangerous habit and not the first time I ve seen it in the 5 months I ve had the misfortune of having to now venture onto this hell.
Surely people have been killed as a direct result of this very action in the past.
I find the M25 has it's own culture of driving habits i.e. undertaking is normal and sitting in outer lanes at slow speeds. Weaving traffic. And yes impatient drivers who treat the inside live lane at an exit as the final place to merge when the road was clearly marked half a mile for a merge off the motorway.
Yes it's standard behaviour now.
If there's a stationary or slow moving queue on the left before an exit then there's a good chance someone will try to dive in at the last minute. So it's best to keep your wits about you and look for the signs such as someone driving slower.
Sometimes, the "fast" lane (ie. the rightmost lane) is the only one where traffic speeds don't get impacted by such shenanigans mainly because it causes HGVs to change lanes.
If there's a stationary or slow moving queue on the left before an exit then there's a good chance someone will try to dive in at the last minute. So it's best to keep your wits about you and look for the signs such as someone driving slower.
Sometimes, the "fast" lane (ie. the rightmost lane) is the only one where traffic speeds don't get impacted by such shenanigans mainly because it causes HGVs to change lanes.
Muzzer79 said:
It's pretty common
I had the misfortune to travel all the way around from Watford to Dartford two nights ago.
I left late in the evening, hoping it would be quiet.
It was fairly quiet but overnight roadworks and the infernal variable speed limits for no reason made it a chore once again.
The amount of people ignoring red crosses marked over their lane mystifies me - don't they realise the enforcement cameras can pick this up aswell as speed??
I think that a significant number of drivers are now, for various reasons (stolen cars, illegal immigrants etc. etc.), effectively anonymous. I had the misfortune to travel all the way around from Watford to Dartford two nights ago.
I left late in the evening, hoping it would be quiet.
It was fairly quiet but overnight roadworks and the infernal variable speed limits for no reason made it a chore once again.
The amount of people ignoring red crosses marked over their lane mystifies me - don't they realise the enforcement cameras can pick this up aswell as speed??
Very recently I watched an equivalent of the Blackpool illuminations as a more or less constant stream of traffic went through a red crossed lane that had been telegraphed long beforehand. It is also common on many variable speed motorways (or other temporary speed limits) for a proportion of drivers to not even pay lip service to the limits, and continue at whatever speed they were previously doing. Ordinary mortals would lose their licences within days doing this.
hidetheelephants said:
If you've got dashcam footage sending it to Operation Snap would be a good idea.
If it was a horrendously dangerous as you say, agreed. https://www.met.police.uk/ro/report/rti/rti-beta-2...
Yes it's depressingly common, especially within commuting distance of London, and yes it's extremely dangerous. It's always happened to some degree, but I think people across the country have become increasingly impatient and self-entitled which is a dangerous combination on busy roads. In my experience, it generally gets worse the closer you get to major centres of population, of which London is obviously our most major.
Having said that, I've driven in places abroad which are much, much worse than London. It doesn't take much driving across a decent variety of other countries to give you a slightly less negative view of British drivers; or at least an attitude of "it could be a lot worse"!
My driving instructor always told me to be in the exit lane at least a mile before any exit I'm going to take and I've stuck to that ever since. I've no idea if that's routinely taught and ignored by most people as soon as they pass their test, or was unique to his teaching style.
Having said that, I've driven in places abroad which are much, much worse than London. It doesn't take much driving across a decent variety of other countries to give you a slightly less negative view of British drivers; or at least an attitude of "it could be a lot worse"!
My driving instructor always told me to be in the exit lane at least a mile before any exit I'm going to take and I've stuck to that ever since. I've no idea if that's routinely taught and ignored by most people as soon as they pass their test, or was unique to his teaching style.
Edited by kambites on Friday 10th July 11:44
I have to admit (this is not M25 specific) if ever I am passing an exit/entry slip I am always at least 1 lane away from it whenever possible unless there are clear lanes to my right.
It is precisely for this reason that there are "hazard lane markers" on the approaches to/from exits/entries, although many don't realise they are even there.
It is precisely for this reason that there are "hazard lane markers" on the approaches to/from exits/entries, although many don't realise they are even there.
All of the above. Red X lane closures seem not to apply to many, and moving back to the left hand lane is treated as optional even for HGVs these days.
It’s all infuriating.
I do J5-J22 (almost exactly 180degrees around London) 2-3times a week leaving at about 5:30am. The standard of driving is usually pretty good until it gets busy at J2, then the defensive and aggressive driving starts. Most of the time when it’s busy but flowing just sitting in the right hand lane is the fastest way from A to B, so I can see why people do it!
It’s all infuriating.
I do J5-J22 (almost exactly 180degrees around London) 2-3times a week leaving at about 5:30am. The standard of driving is usually pretty good until it gets busy at J2, then the defensive and aggressive driving starts. Most of the time when it’s busy but flowing just sitting in the right hand lane is the fastest way from A to B, so I can see why people do it!
People who do this feel anonymity in their case. In general no-one will fine them and no-one will berate them. If one vehicle doesn't give way to them, they will bully the one behind until someone lets them in. We have not effective Police/Traffic force to do anything about it so such antisocial behaviour can only escalate.
Maybe we could give specific powers to Traffic Wombles?
Maybe we could give specific powers to Traffic Wombles?
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