Why does the Highway Code instantly go out the window when..

[culpz]

..the traffic gets bad?

Get to a set of traffic lights, traffic queuing all the way down a long, busy road. Lights go green but i cannot proceed as, if i do, i'm blocking the junction. Woman behind in a people-carrier starts beeping and flapping her arms about. I shrug at her and put my arms up and wait patiently. When lights go green again, this time i can proceed and, funnily enough, she turns left straight at that junction, while making more gestures and flashing her lights at me.

Same thing happened last night at the exact same place in the exact same scenario. This time, a woman in a BMW X5 behind me. Lights go green, i cannot proceed. She's starts constantly flashing her lights at me. I sit there patiently. Lights go green again, i can go and, what does she do, turns left at that junction and continues to flash her lights at me in anger.

So, a few examples there of needlessly and unfairly blocking junctions or trying to force you to do so, due to pure impatience. Couple that with incorrect use of roundabouts, which i have way too many examples of to specifically highlight, at the exact same places on my daily commute, day-in-day-out, i feel like i'm losing the will to live.

Please tell me it's not just me?

[legless]

I thought that the thread title was going to end with:

'... you visit Birmingham?'

On a serious note, most of the drivers in the road have forgotten about the existence of the HC, let alone read it, since their driving test. This, combined with everyone believing that they're more important than everyone else leads to the situations that you describe.

[Conscript]

Because people.

[Hoofy]

... people get in their car?



In answer to your question, just stick your hand out the window and wag a finger at them like they're 6. They should calm down after that.

[silverfoxcc]

It isn't a left turn only lane is it?

[culpz]

silverfoxcc said:

It isn't a left turn only lane is it?

Nope. The left turn is into a retail park. Most are going straight over towards the motorway.

Edited by culpz on Friday 20th October 13:29

[Scimitarinjection]

My great frustration is those who think it is normal and safe to reverse out into a main road. I drive in to work down a few different road types and it is clear that 80% plus have driven straight in to their driveway, rather than reversing in. I believe that the widely unknown "Highway Code" has some sensible advice on the matter, not that they would take any notice.

[akirk]

maybe an online HC test taken every year - without it your driving licence lapses
- easy to put together
- cheap to set up
- would make the government money
- would within 5 years ensure that everyone knew the HC

of course you could have issues such as people taking the test for others - but sort that out and it might be a good idea!

[jamei303]

Or people who leave their headlights on while parked, or don't give way to pedestrians crossing the road into which they are turning, or who have a rear fog light on when visibility is 101 metres. They all should be hanged, drawn and quartered.

[GTIAlex]

Try driving through Wolverhampton everyday.

[Wobbegong]

Probably because people are hacked off with having to wait hours to get home due to the congestion on U.K. roads.

I can see why they do it, the examiner on my HGV test advised me to just block a yellow box junction during my test as playing by the rules would have meant we’d never get out. We’d waited for ten minutes but were getting nowhere (middle of Worcester Just before rush hour).

[anonymous-user]

Since we moved over to machine justice, and have no actual real policemen and women on our streets, funnily enough driving stds have fallen dramatically. Add in much more traffic and many more people driving from mixed backgrounds, and the ye-olde-english "no, no, you first sir" has fallen by the wayside, sometimes literally.......

[ch108]

Scimitarinjection said:

My great frustration is those who think it is normal and safe to reverse out into a main road. I drive in to work down a few different road types and it is clear that 80% plus have driven straight in to their driveway, rather than reversing in. I believe that the widely unknown "Highway Code" has some sensible advice on the matter, not that they would take any notice.

So do you then hold traffic up behind whilst trying to reverse into the drive off the main road?

I don't live on a main road, but a fairly narrow through road built in the 50's. I always try to reverse into the driveway, but if there are cars behind when I approach my drive, and no available nearby street parking to pull into, I have no choice but to drive into the driveway nose first. Sometimes later on in the evening I might even move the car and reverse in, so it's easier for the morning when the road is busier, but at some point I am going to have to reverse from my drive to the road.

A thing that annoys me, is people who ignore left turn only lanes at roundabouts to go straight on. There are quite a few roundabouts like that in my area. Only last night I seen a car approach behind at such a roundabout as I moved off onto the roundabout. Next thing I know he is beside me having used the left turn only lane to try and beat me to the straight ahead exit. I had to brake to ensure we didn't collide trying to take the same exit. He then proceeded to drive like a loon, a few aborted overtakes then he overtook a car who in turn was overtaking a broken down car he hadn't noticed nearly colliding with them, and forcing an oncoming truck to brake. It was a busy road and this guy just didn't seem to think he should have to wait behind other traffic.

[Megaflow]

Max_Torque said:

Since we moved over to machine justice, and have no actual real policemen and women on our streets, funnily enough driving stds have fallen dramatically. Add in much more traffic and many more people driving from mixed backgrounds, and the ye-olde-english "no, no, you first sir" has fallen by the wayside, sometimes literally.......

This.

You can now do just about what you like on the road and, providing you are below the speed limit, the likelihood of being caught is so remote it is not worth speaking about.

[anonymous-user]

jamei303 said:

Or people who leave their headlights on while parked.

Especially when parked on the wrong side of the road, nearly as bad as having the lights on main beam. Idiots.

[Killer2005]

Megaflow said:

Max_Torque said:

Since we moved over to machine justice, and have no actual real policemen and women on our streets, funnily enough driving stds have fallen dramatically. Add in much more traffic and many more people driving from mixed backgrounds, and the ye-olde-english "no, no, you first sir" has fallen by the wayside, sometimes literally.......

This.

You can now do just about what you like on the road and, providing you are below the speed limit, the likelihood of being caught is so remote it is not worth speaking about.

I agree. Driving standards have just got worse and worse and it looks like a lot people really just don't care about their driving.

To add to that there's countless cars with headlights out, fog lights on, dodgy plates, VAG group cars with mysteriously bad number plate fitting, and increasingly Ive seen a few cars with very heavily tinted front windows suggests there a little to no traffic police so these people can do as they please.

[Pica-Pica]

jamei303 said:

Or people who leave their headlights on while parked, or don't give way to pedestrians crossing the road into which they are turning, or who have a rear fog light on when visibility is 101 metres. They all should be hanged, drawn and quartered.

I don't know of many cars that do not go to parking lights when ignition is off. If the headlamps are still on, so is the ignition, so that is 'waiting' rather than parked. Now waiting with ignition on and engine running is another story.
Most modern cars have quite bright rear lights, and yes, rear fog lights are only needed on country lanes in thick fog, which is quite rare.
My pet gripe is people sounding the horn while stationary (except to prevent an accident, of course). In fact around here you can tell in-comers by any use of the horn, for most people its use is an indication of poor observation and lack of consideration.

[ging84]

culpz said:

..the traffic gets bad?

Get to a set of traffic lights, traffic queuing all the way down a long, busy road. Lights go green but i cannot proceed as, if i do, i'm blocking the junction. Woman behind in a people-carrier starts beeping and flapping her arms about. I shrug at her and put my arms up and wait patiently. When lights go green again, this time i can proceed and, funnily enough, she turns left straight at that junction, while making more gestures and flashing her lights at me.

Same thing happened last night at the exact same place in the exact same scenario. This time, a woman in a BMW X5 behind me. Lights go green, i cannot proceed. She's starts constantly flashing her lights at me. I sit there patiently. Lights go green again, i can go and, what does she do, turns left at that junction and continues to flash her lights at me in anger.

So, a few examples there of needlessly and unfairly blocking junctions or trying to force you to do so, due to pure impatience. Couple that with incorrect use of roundabouts, which i have way too many examples of to specifically highlight, at the exact same places on my daily commute, day-in-day-out, i feel like i'm losing the will to live.

Please tell me it's not just me?

Let me get this right

You are sat in a queue and sensibly you leave a gap because there is a junction on your left and someone might want to pull out. But presumably no one has pulled out, or that gap would be filled, and when you've got someone behind you who could turn left if you moved forward you refuse on the principle that your guide book says you should leave a gap (not that you must) and wonder why people get annoyed at you.

[captain_cynic]

For a certain percentage of steering wheel attendants (I cant call them drivers) the highway code does not exist, they dont even know there's a highway code, acceptable standards for driving or even the concept of common courtesy, they think its acceptable, nay, their right to drive like utter knobs.

And they don't wait for traffic to be bad to drive like this, they do it all the time. It just becomes more noticeable when traffic is bad. Most drivers will follow the HC (well for the most part) with a modicum of patience.

I had a set of throbbers (all in Audi's) on a drive to get some lunch today. First Audi, stereotypical A3 2.0 TDI decides to change lanes without indicating or even looking. I had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. 2nd knob jockey in a TT believes that he should not give way to vehicles already on a roundabout and tries to push in. Final knob in a saloon (not sure what type) unfamiliar with the concept of waiting for a gap in traffic, pulls out onto a busy A road from a side street, I hit the anchors and he fortunately stopped when I gave him a blast of the horn but then does the exact same thing to the vehicle behind me.

[Pica-Pica]

ging84 said:

culpz said:

..the traffic gets bad?

Get to a set of traffic lights, traffic queuing all the way down a long, busy road. Lights go green but i cannot proceed as, if i do, i'm blocking the junction. Woman behind in a people-carrier starts beeping and flapping her arms about. I shrug at her and put my arms up and wait patiently. When lights go green again, this time i can proceed and, funnily enough, she turns left straight at that junction, while making more gestures and flashing her lights at me.

Same thing happened last night at the exact same place in the exact same scenario. This time, a woman in a BMW X5 behind me. Lights go green, i cannot proceed. She's starts constantly flashing her lights at me. I sit there patiently. Lights go green again, i can go and, what does she do, turns left at that junction and continues to flash her lights at me in anger.

So, a few examples there of needlessly and unfairly blocking junctions or trying to force you to do so, due to pure impatience. Couple that with incorrect use of roundabouts, which i have way too many examples of to specifically highlight, at the exact same places on my daily commute, day-in-day-out, i feel like i'm losing the will to live.

Please tell me it's not just me?

Let me get this right

You are sat in a queue and sensibly you leave a gap because there is a junction on your left and someone might want to pull out. But presumably no one has pulled out, or that gap would be filled, and when you've got someone behind you who could turn left if you moved forward you refuse on the principle that your guide book says you should leave a gap (not that you must) and wonder why people get annoyed at you.

This is all a matter of judgement about what the traffic is likely to do next, who will be least inconvenienced, among other factors. Neither I no others were there, so I presume the poster made his best judgement call.