Driving is a team sport with a lot of non-team players

[J4CKO]

john41901 said:

Non team players ? There is one car brand that predominantly falls into this category, who will try to block you from changing lanes, merging, who will never let you out of a junction, or who will speed up as you overtake them has to be BMW. What is it about this brand that makes them drive like complete s ?

I drive a BMW (at the moment) but I would say the worst are premium SUV's of any brand.

I make an effort, dont get it right all the time but do let people out, let pedestrians cross etc.

[AC43]

xjay1337 said:

AC43 said:

God I experienced this last week. I had to drop my boy and his mate at a climbing wall about three miles away then go back later on to pick them up. On the way down I got stuck in no less than three random sets of temporary traffic lights and a fourth on the way back home. On the way back I managed to figure out a route to circumnavigate all but one sets of lights and was leaving the climbing centre via a side road. The traffic was massively backed up to my left (because of temporary lights) so I indicated right as I drove up to the junction. There was a driver approaching from my right who looked right at me and proceeded to pull up to the car ahead and totally blocked the junction. I flashed and waved and suggested she reversed back a few feet whilst there was still time but no, she refused. Then cars 10, 11 and 12 arrived behind her and that was that. Meanwhile I'm now totally stuck along with three other cars all because of this one person.

I mean what WAS she trying to do? Make us stuck just because she was stuck? What's the fking point????

Could have gotten out and said something, especially if she ignored you. I would have just sat on the horn ;-D

I did use a bit of main beam and horn then realised I was looking like a right kn*b.

TBH if it had been the only think to have happened to me on the journey I would have rolled my eyes and sucked it up. But I'd already been stuck in evening commuter traffic in temporary traffic lights five times and was about to hit my sixth. Her dumb action meant I had to endure a seventh delay even though I was specifcally going the opposite direction to bloody avoid the lights!.

I guess her thought process was either (a) none at all or (b) I'm not letting someone "push in" and (c) she may not have been the kind of person to use or observe indicators in which case putting the orange flashing thing on on my car was pointless.

People above have talked about how drivers of commercial vehicles communicate with each other and of course had it been a van approaching that junction they'd have seen the RH indicator and left a gap for me and the others to get out.

[DickyC]

A route home years ago through North London included a staggered crossroads, where the staggered roads were minor roads joining a main road. Almost every night a queue would develop on the main road behind someone waiting to turn right. If, as usually happened, no one let them across, someone would then want to turn right into the other minor road but there was no gap and the whole junction would seize up.

Come along, chaps. Let's work together on this.

[Pica-Pica]

DickyC said:

A route home years ago through North London included a staggered crossroads, where the staggered roads were minor roads joining a main road. Almost every night a queue would develop on the main road behind someone waiting to turn right. If, as usually happened, no one let them across, someone would then want to turn right into the other minor road but there was no gap and the whole junction would seize up.

Come along, chaps. Let's work together on this.

There is similar here, but people here are sensible enough to recognise that altruism generally serves self-interest too.

[miken2k8]

I had a scenario earlier which happens all to often doing around 90 on a dc in the right hand lane (bla bla speeding) bmw 135i in front of me leave a big gap for him to pull in to the left lane which he did. Then as im going to go past he boots it. I am in a 140hp laguna so i have no chance of goping past neither do i want to i just want to do the speed i was doing.

this happens a` lot with german cars not sure if it's a superiority complex or if they trhink i want a race. if your not wanting to go the same speed as me don't create an awkward cun**** situation and impeded my journey you know if you engage theyll go as fast as possible sometimes hitting stupid speed i top out at 95 anywhere

[Otispunkmeyer]

I’m convinced most people do not see more than about 3 feet beyond the grill of their car. And mirrors? What are those?

Why else do you get people stabbing away at the brakes on the motorway all the time. They literally drive until another car encroaches on that 2-3ft zone and oh, st, brake! Repeat ad nauseum until there is a crash or they leave the motorway.

[talksthetorque]

Otispunkmeyer said:

I’m convinced most people do not see more than about 3 feet beyond the grill of their car. And mirrors? What are those?

Why else do you get people stabbing away at the brakes on the motorway all the time. They literally drive until another car encroaches on that 2-3ft zone and oh, st, brake! Repeat ad nauseum until there is a crash or they leave the motorway.

Was in a taxi with the driver doing this. He was interested in the holiday destination we were going to, and kept turning round to talk to us in the back. So that he didn't crash while he was looking behind talking to us, he would slow down, occasionally using the brakes. On the M62.

We asked for another driver on the way back from the airport.

[DickyC]

Just remembered an example of non-team play that was one of the most stupid bits of driving I've ever witnessed. Twenty years ago, working in Sheffield and living in Newbury, I used the M1 twice a week; North on Monday, South on Friday. Coming home one Friday I was approaching Junction 21 where the M69 departs for Coventry and Birmingham and the road becomes four lanes and then five with very long off lanes. At this point there has been warning of the Junction for probably a mile and a half. I'm in the left lane of the M1 continuing South. Up ahead in the outside lane is an elderly Fiesta going slower and slower. Cars behind it are slowing down and cars in the middle and slow lanes are easing up as a precaution. Then it stops, just shy of the gantry signs and everyone is braking hard not knowing what the hell is happening. Luckily, because we had a bit of warning, there were no collisions. The occupants of the Fiesta, necks craning to read the gantry sign above, conclude they are in the wrong lane, notice all the stationary and slow moving traffic around them and set off, from stationary, at forty five degrees for the M69.

No one hooted; I think we were all too shocked. How did they get away with it? Where's the Old Bill when you want them?