What the hell has happened to people this morning?
Discussion
Up until this morning I couldn't remember the last time I had a real fright on the road (on four wheels), but it seems to be some kind of silly season out there today.
First off, I was the last in a line of cars going past some temporary road works on the opposite side of the road, where there are about half a dozen signs stating that the side I was on had priority. I was a couple of car lengths behind the next car, but given there was a huge empty space behind me I thought I'd carry on along my right of way. Some idiot in a Polo blundered out forcing me to put two wheels on a very slippery grass verge to avoid him.
Next I was approaching a crossroads, again on the main road with right of way. There was a Jag up ahead that had been waiting to get out the junction ever since I first caught sight of it, so I thought I'd wave him out. A little way behind him was a woman in a people carrier who didn't appear to be slowing down for the junction.
There is a tendency round here for people to go steaming right up to the stop line and then slam the brakes on at the last minute so I assumed that was what she was doing, but I moved out to the right a little just in case. To my horror she just kept driving into the road. I was so close by the time she passed the give way line that stopping wasn't an option. Fortunately there was no one coming in the opposite direction (something of a miracle on a busy road at 8:45) so I was able to swerve off the main road and into the other side turning. I couldn't quite believe it as she then started gesticulating at me as if I was to blame.
I've gone years without so much as an unplanned stop and now had to narrowly avoid two accidents - one of them potentially quite serious - in one morning. What the hell is happening to people?
First off, I was the last in a line of cars going past some temporary road works on the opposite side of the road, where there are about half a dozen signs stating that the side I was on had priority. I was a couple of car lengths behind the next car, but given there was a huge empty space behind me I thought I'd carry on along my right of way. Some idiot in a Polo blundered out forcing me to put two wheels on a very slippery grass verge to avoid him.
Next I was approaching a crossroads, again on the main road with right of way. There was a Jag up ahead that had been waiting to get out the junction ever since I first caught sight of it, so I thought I'd wave him out. A little way behind him was a woman in a people carrier who didn't appear to be slowing down for the junction.
There is a tendency round here for people to go steaming right up to the stop line and then slam the brakes on at the last minute so I assumed that was what she was doing, but I moved out to the right a little just in case. To my horror she just kept driving into the road. I was so close by the time she passed the give way line that stopping wasn't an option. Fortunately there was no one coming in the opposite direction (something of a miracle on a busy road at 8:45) so I was able to swerve off the main road and into the other side turning. I couldn't quite believe it as she then started gesticulating at me as if I was to blame.
I've gone years without so much as an unplanned stop and now had to narrowly avoid two accidents - one of them potentially quite serious - in one morning. What the hell is happening to people?
I had something similar yesterday. Well, ok, not similar in the sense that it involved pedestrians rather than cars, but an avoided accident nonetheless.
Proceeding down a quiet 30mph road with school kids and parked cars everywhere, and I could see the kids were messing about. So reduced speed and covered the brake with my left foot. Sure enough a kid shot out from between the parked cars heading towards the playing fields on the other side of the road, looking back over his shoulder at his friends and gesturing for them to follow him rather than looking for traffic, and I was able to brake in plenty of time to avoid hitting him.
As a child we had the Green Cross Code drilled into us, especially to be extra careful when crossing between parked cars. It would do no harm for kids today to be similarly educated rather than brought up to externalise blame.
Proceeding down a quiet 30mph road with school kids and parked cars everywhere, and I could see the kids were messing about. So reduced speed and covered the brake with my left foot. Sure enough a kid shot out from between the parked cars heading towards the playing fields on the other side of the road, looking back over his shoulder at his friends and gesturing for them to follow him rather than looking for traffic, and I was able to brake in plenty of time to avoid hitting him.
As a child we had the Green Cross Code drilled into us, especially to be extra careful when crossing between parked cars. It would do no harm for kids today to be similarly educated rather than brought up to externalise blame.
It is funny how some days it feels like something is in the air on the roads. I remember one journey that seemed to be full of incidents and terrible driving, topped off by seeing a rear-end shunt about two car lengths behind me in lane 3 of the motorway. Should've checked what the moon was doing that day!
It is funny how some days it feels like something is in the air on the roads. I remember one journey that seemed to be full of incidents and terrible driving, topped off by seeing a rear-end shunt about two car lengths behind me in lane 3 of the motorway. Should've checked what the moon was doing that day!
I do get the odd day when I really think I'm invisible out on the roads.
Days where people walk out in front of me, almost drive into me, don't give way to me, etc. This invisibility thing only happens once in a blue moon, then it reverts back to normal. Must be a glitch/bug in the universe or something.
Days where people walk out in front of me, almost drive into me, don't give way to me, etc. This invisibility thing only happens once in a blue moon, then it reverts back to normal. Must be a glitch/bug in the universe or something.
jmorgan said:
The stupid gene is dominant in the morning. I usually find that once all the commuters get off the roads life eases a tad.
Nothing abnormal I can assure you.
For me, it's not the commuters who are a problem as they do it every day. It's the people who only venture out once a week that struggle to fit into the "normal" driving of the morning rush hour.Nothing abnormal I can assure you.
simer553 said:
School Run time????
There are a couple of schools in that area and the idiotic wench was driving a people carrier of some description. I suspect she was busy yelling at her offspring in the back. But the fact she had kids in the back only makes it worse that she was driving her car right into a potential side impact.
I had to 'mount' the verge in a bit of a hurry to avoid a diesel, (I could tell from the plume of exhaust smoke), Discovery which evidently didn't have the minerals to pass the bus he was overtaking nor the sense to back off before the corner that I was coming round!!
No contact and no harm done, but I had to take a minute to compose myself.
There're usually a plethora of muppets on the road in the morning but that was exceptional.
No contact and no harm done, but I had to take a minute to compose myself.
There're usually a plethora of muppets on the road in the morning but that was exceptional.
ewenm said:
For me, it's not the commuters who are a problem as they do it every day. It's the people who only venture out once a week that struggle to fit into the "normal" driving of the morning rush hour.
This is an issue too. People who don't take opportunities at roundabouts etc are also an issue.ewenm said:
jmorgan said:
The stupid gene is dominant in the morning. I usually find that once all the commuters get off the roads life eases a tad.
Nothing abnormal I can assure you.
For me, it's not the commuters who are a problem as they do it every day. It's the people who only venture out once a week that struggle to fit into the "normal" driving of the morning rush hour.Nothing abnormal I can assure you.
It's the blatantness of both of these that really gets me. Visibility was not an issue at either location and both were the sort of clear-cut rights of way that you'd find in a road safety text book.
But more so than general driving standards I think it's symptomatic of manners inside the M25. Rights of way seem to mean a lot less to people round here. The aggression of London driving is such that people tend to barge their way out, breaking the rules and sometimes knowingly endangering people, rather than wait for a safe, legal opportunity.
A while back in Leicester Square I watched a load of cars (mostly taxis) running a red light, while the pedestrians were supposed to be crossing. The traffic light then went green and the cars kept coming until one of the pedestrians stepped into the road and forced the traffic to stop! The pedestrians then crossed when it was the red man for them and green light for the cars ... it was utterly arse about tit, like some weird parallel universe.
But more so than general driving standards I think it's symptomatic of manners inside the M25. Rights of way seem to mean a lot less to people round here. The aggression of London driving is such that people tend to barge their way out, breaking the rules and sometimes knowingly endangering people, rather than wait for a safe, legal opportunity.
A while back in Leicester Square I watched a load of cars (mostly taxis) running a red light, while the pedestrians were supposed to be crossing. The traffic light then went green and the cars kept coming until one of the pedestrians stepped into the road and forced the traffic to stop! The pedestrians then crossed when it was the red man for them and green light for the cars ... it was utterly arse about tit, like some weird parallel universe.
Chris71 said:
simer553 said:
School Run time????
There are a couple of schools in that area and the idiotic wench was driving a people carrier of some description. I suspect she was busy yelling at her offspring in the back. But the fact she had kids in the back only makes it worse that she was driving her car right into a potential side impact.
I think that's true in towns, but I actually find commuter times are better on the motorways. Weekends and evenings you get all the people who don't normally exceed 40mph trundling off to visit Aunty Flo.
Going back to the original comment, I am actually quite relieved at the way the second incident played out. I wasn't travelling very quickly, but so minimal was the distance between us that I reckon I'd have gone into her if I'd just hit the brakes. Quite chuffed that it occured to me to steer round instead.
Going back to the original comment, I am actually quite relieved at the way the second incident played out. I wasn't travelling very quickly, but so minimal was the distance between us that I reckon I'd have gone into her if I'd just hit the brakes. Quite chuffed that it occured to me to steer round instead.
The past two months have seen 2 near-crashes for me - both because of no lane discipline on two-lane roundabouts.
Last Saturday I was in the outside lane of a local roundabout, with a VW polo crawling along in the inner lane, both of us going straight ahead, and the Polo just completely cut into my lane, missing my front bumper by a couple of inches max, I gave a parp on the horn just to say 'Hello, I'm driving next to you', and for the next mile I got flashed headlights, the nescafe sign repeatedly, and then the woman driving the car screeched to a halt next to me at the lights and wound her window down to give me both barrels! I have to say, I was fairly cross.
If you're in a lane, and drive up to a two-lane roundabout, and wish to continue straight ahead YOU HAVE TO STAY IN YOUR LANE, RATHER THAN VEER INTO THE OTHER ONE.
It's becoming a genuine problem this - never noticed it until recently.
Last Saturday I was in the outside lane of a local roundabout, with a VW polo crawling along in the inner lane, both of us going straight ahead, and the Polo just completely cut into my lane, missing my front bumper by a couple of inches max, I gave a parp on the horn just to say 'Hello, I'm driving next to you', and for the next mile I got flashed headlights, the nescafe sign repeatedly, and then the woman driving the car screeched to a halt next to me at the lights and wound her window down to give me both barrels! I have to say, I was fairly cross.
If you're in a lane, and drive up to a two-lane roundabout, and wish to continue straight ahead YOU HAVE TO STAY IN YOUR LANE, RATHER THAN VEER INTO THE OTHER ONE.
It's becoming a genuine problem this - never noticed it until recently.
bqf said:
If you're in a lane, and drive up to a two-lane roundabout, and wish to continue straight ahead YOU HAVE TO STAY IN YOUR LANE, RATHER THAN VEER INTO THE OTHER ONE.
This is true. But, if you're going "straight ahead" at a roundabout, you shouldn't be in the right hand lane in the first place. There is an argument that it would be OK if there are two exit lanes at your exit, but the Highway Code doesn't state this specifically. Best practice is to be in the left lane for straight ahead, as per the Highway Code. So I'd say you were in the wrong lane to start with (possible exemption if there are two exit lanes), but she was wrong to straight line the roundabout as you say.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff