What are these people thinking!?
Discussion
Out on a driving lesson today travelling along a 50MPH / NSL (cant remember exactly now) when I came to a slight down hill with a petrol station to my left.
There were 2 vehicles waiting to turn into the petrol station coming from the other direction sat in the middle of the road waiting to turn (within road markings for people to stop to wait for a clearing).
Approaching these cars at the speed limit and around 200ft away the first in the queue pulls to turn in. No biggy I think to myself I wouldn't have gone for that but I'll back off a bit to allow him to move out of the way. Then his 10ft trailer loaded with timber appears in view.
Holy f
k
I slam on the brakes and I feel my instructor do the same.
Neither of us could believe what this moron had done. We ended up stopped around 10-15ft from hitting his trailer.
I have no doubt under different circumstances there would have been a much different out come.
But seriously do these morons actually think?
I wouldn't have pulled out to go across someone from that distance let alone if I had 10ft trailer hidden behind the vehicle loaded with bloody timber.
There were 2 vehicles waiting to turn into the petrol station coming from the other direction sat in the middle of the road waiting to turn (within road markings for people to stop to wait for a clearing).
Approaching these cars at the speed limit and around 200ft away the first in the queue pulls to turn in. No biggy I think to myself I wouldn't have gone for that but I'll back off a bit to allow him to move out of the way. Then his 10ft trailer loaded with timber appears in view.
Holy f
kI slam on the brakes and I feel my instructor do the same.
Neither of us could believe what this moron had done. We ended up stopped around 10-15ft from hitting his trailer.
I have no doubt under different circumstances there would have been a much different out come.
But seriously do these morons actually think?
I wouldn't have pulled out to go across someone from that distance let alone if I had 10ft trailer hidden behind the vehicle loaded with bloody timber.
Flintstone said:
MGB Boy said:
I have no doubt under different circumstances there would have been a much different out come.
You mean if things had been different they'd have been different?
I basically wanted to say he easily could have killed someone but without sounding like a drama queen (which I probably do)
You make the assumption that these people "think"!
The number one rule of the road that I have stuck by since I started learning to drive, and now well past my test and getting read to go for IAM testing, is "assume everyone else on the road is a complete moron". Never done me wrong. Assume they haven't seen you, be prepared for them to pull out, be prepared for them to turn suddenly without indicating etc.
Once you get past your test and (hopefully) read Roadcraft and start thinking about defensive and advanced driving, you will get something of a 6th sense for stupid st like this. Most people don't have it, because they don't develop their hazard perception any further than is required for their test, then they slowly let their skills atrophy. Even excellent hazard perception cannot save you from other people causing accidents that you might get involved in, and even with years down the line, with thousands of miles under your belt and even with the absolute highest standard of driver training, you are still capable of mistakes. Employing defensive driving will ensure that you are less likely to come a cropper from those mistakes, or the mistakes of others. I see stuff every day and think "Wtf is he thinking?" every day, and when I'm a passenger with some people I can tell they haven't seen it or even reacted to it, but even my hazard perception skills could be improved, it's one of those things you never stop learning. Never rest on your laurels I suppose, and with a bit of luck, the other morons on the road will never drag you into their mess!
The number one rule of the road that I have stuck by since I started learning to drive, and now well past my test and getting read to go for IAM testing, is "assume everyone else on the road is a complete moron". Never done me wrong. Assume they haven't seen you, be prepared for them to pull out, be prepared for them to turn suddenly without indicating etc.
Once you get past your test and (hopefully) read Roadcraft and start thinking about defensive and advanced driving, you will get something of a 6th sense for stupid s
t like this. Most people don't have it, because they don't develop their hazard perception any further than is required for their test, then they slowly let their skills atrophy. Even excellent hazard perception cannot save you from other people causing accidents that you might get involved in, and even with years down the line, with thousands of miles under your belt and even with the absolute highest standard of driver training, you are still capable of mistakes. Employing defensive driving will ensure that you are less likely to come a cropper from those mistakes, or the mistakes of others. I see stuff every day and think "Wtf is he thinking?" every day, and when I'm a passenger with some people I can tell they haven't seen it or even reacted to it, but even my hazard perception skills could be improved, it's one of those things you never stop learning. Never rest on your laurels I suppose, and with a bit of luck, the other morons on the road will never drag you into their mess!
My favourite ones are people not anticipating you doing a u-turn at a roundabout. Even today - I positioned myself in the correct lane, indicated early, went round fairly slowly to ensure I wouldn't end up with some bewildered bint's engine in my passenger seat... yet some woman still pulled out just as I'd passed the halfway point of the road she was pulling out from (3 o'clock from where I joined the roundabout). Glad I had decent brakes as I ended up about a foot away from where she was, having gone to straightline the roundabout. She was a bit perplexed at first but when the penny dropped she was rather apologetic.
MGB Boy, good luck with the rest of your lessons and hopefully only one test (failed my first, passed second 11 years ago... fk!).
Currently living in the middle east, you want to see some utter ste driving come over here and hire a car! 2 mins on the road here and you'll be lost for words!!!
Although sometimes i'm impressed by their stupidity!!
k!).Currently living in the middle east, you want to see some utter s
te driving come over here and hire a car! 2 mins on the road here and you'll be lost for words!!!Although sometimes i'm impressed by their stupidity!!
Talking about roundabouts- I had a ridiculous one today.
Bursledon A27 roundabout- it connects the A27 to a short road to the M27 and various local access roads. It's a fairly large roundabout- a good 100ft I would expect.
I was travelling 3/4 of the way round it where the two lanes on the roundabout split with one lane going off into two for the road towards the motorway, and the second lane splitting into two round the roundabout.
There's a white van at one of the entrances to the roundabout waiting to pull out round the roundabout, I'm in lane 2 ready to continue straight into what is now lane 1 ready to turn off at the next exit, the van driver looks round, actually looks at my car coming round the roundabout (at this point I sensed that he looked like he was actually going to try it...), and then he does! He pulls straight out infront of me at speed, luckily I had seen it coming and tpull into lane 2, lean on the horn to which he gives the usual white van drivers gesture, so I mash the throttle and manage to skirt round him and back into lane 1 to exit the roundabout, to which he decides rather than acknowledging that it was his fault he's going to try and cruise with his front bumper about half an inch from me.
Total tosser, I really do think that some people get their driving licenses out of a packet of corn flakes... Although the advantage of driving a convertible meant I could actually ask him if he knew how to drive, and if he could spell "highway code" let alone have read it. He was not best pleased, and I sincerely think he was trying to hit me with his bumper after that. All I could think of was my new £500 backbox and so decided it was best not to tempt fate.
Bursledon A27 roundabout- it connects the A27 to a short road to the M27 and various local access roads. It's a fairly large roundabout- a good 100ft I would expect.
I was travelling 3/4 of the way round it where the two lanes on the roundabout split with one lane going off into two for the road towards the motorway, and the second lane splitting into two round the roundabout.
There's a white van at one of the entrances to the roundabout waiting to pull out round the roundabout, I'm in lane 2 ready to continue straight into what is now lane 1 ready to turn off at the next exit, the van driver looks round, actually looks at my car coming round the roundabout (at this point I sensed that he looked like he was actually going to try it...), and then he does! He pulls straight out infront of me at speed, luckily I had seen it coming and tpull into lane 2, lean on the horn to which he gives the usual white van drivers gesture, so I mash the throttle and manage to skirt round him and back into lane 1 to exit the roundabout, to which he decides rather than acknowledging that it was his fault he's going to try and cruise with his front bumper about half an inch from me.
Total tosser, I really do think that some people get their driving licenses out of a packet of corn flakes... Although the advantage of driving a convertible meant I could actually ask him if he knew how to drive, and if he could spell "highway code" let alone have read it. He was not best pleased, and I sincerely think he was trying to hit me with his bumper after that. All I could think of was my new £500 backbox and so decided it was best not to tempt fate.
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