Out of character dangerous driving - anyone else suffered?
Discussion
99.9% of the time I drive in a very safe and controlled manner. I do plenty of commuting miles up and down the A34. Set the cruise to 70, listen to a podcast, chill out. I think of myself as a safe competent driver. This morning, for no good reason I can think of, I carried out a really stupid maneouvre to save a couple of minutes waiting time. I immediately regretted it. Did I really want that much to get to my desk two minutes earlier?
I wasn't in a bad mood - in a rush - fired up etc. So slightly worried.
Anyone ever had this experience?
I wasn't in a bad mood - in a rush - fired up etc. So slightly worried.
Anyone ever had this experience?
I think we are all guilty of that - I certainly am.
I try to be as sensable and considerate as possible, driving at a sensable speed, leavig plenty of room between me and other cars, checking my mirrors frequently, but I do slip up occasionally.
I managed to pull out on a motorbike once, for some reason I just didn't see him coming up behind me (granted he was gunning it, but still) and I pulled out to overtake a learner! Unbelievably stupid and I felt really bad about it.
I cut someone up horribly on a roundabout once too, no idea why but before I knew it I had horns blaring at me and people flashing. Not smart at all.
We all make mistakes, and I think it does make you a better driver in the long run if you can accept them and learn from them
I try to be as sensable and considerate as possible, driving at a sensable speed, leavig plenty of room between me and other cars, checking my mirrors frequently, but I do slip up occasionally.
I managed to pull out on a motorbike once, for some reason I just didn't see him coming up behind me (granted he was gunning it, but still) and I pulled out to overtake a learner! Unbelievably stupid and I felt really bad about it.
I cut someone up horribly on a roundabout once too, no idea why but before I knew it I had horns blaring at me and people flashing. Not smart at all.
We all make mistakes, and I think it does make you a better driver in the long run if you can accept them and learn from them

BorkFactor said:
I think we are all guilty of that - I certainly am.
I try to be as sensable and considerate as possible, driving at a sensable speed, leavig plenty of room between me and other cars, checking my mirrors frequently, but I do slip up occasionally.
I managed to pull out on a motorbike once, for some reason I just didn't see him coming up behind me (granted he was gunning it, but still) and I pulled out to overtake a learner! Unbelievably stupid and I felt really bad about it.
I cut someone up horribly on a roundabout once too, no idea why but before I knew it I had horns blaring at me and people flashing. Not smart at all.
We all make mistakes, and I think it does make you a better driver in the long run if you can accept them and learn from them
I hate to do this but it is bugging me. It's "sensible"! Otherwise great post! I try to be as sensable and considerate as possible, driving at a sensable speed, leavig plenty of room between me and other cars, checking my mirrors frequently, but I do slip up occasionally.
I managed to pull out on a motorbike once, for some reason I just didn't see him coming up behind me (granted he was gunning it, but still) and I pulled out to overtake a learner! Unbelievably stupid and I felt really bad about it.
I cut someone up horribly on a roundabout once too, no idea why but before I knew it I had horns blaring at me and people flashing. Not smart at all.
We all make mistakes, and I think it does make you a better driver in the long run if you can accept them and learn from them

We all slip up from time to time without making our observations properly and end up cutting somebody up, the mark of a good driver is recognising you've made the mistake and aim to not recreate the same!
freecar said:
BorkFactor said:
I think we are all guilty of that - I certainly am.
I try to be as sensable and considerate as possible, driving at a sensable speed, leavig plenty of room between me and other cars, checking my mirrors frequently, but I do slip up occasionally.
I managed to pull out on a motorbike once, for some reason I just didn't see him coming up behind me (granted he was gunning it, but still) and I pulled out to overtake a learner! Unbelievably stupid and I felt really bad about it.
I cut someone up horribly on a roundabout once too, no idea why but before I knew it I had horns blaring at me and people flashing. Not smart at all.
We all make mistakes, and I think it does make you a better driver in the long run if you can accept them and learn from them
I hate to do this but it is bugging me. It's "sensible"! Otherwise great post! I try to be as sensable and considerate as possible, driving at a sensable speed, leavig plenty of room between me and other cars, checking my mirrors frequently, but I do slip up occasionally.
I managed to pull out on a motorbike once, for some reason I just didn't see him coming up behind me (granted he was gunning it, but still) and I pulled out to overtake a learner! Unbelievably stupid and I felt really bad about it.
I cut someone up horribly on a roundabout once too, no idea why but before I knew it I had horns blaring at me and people flashing. Not smart at all.
We all make mistakes, and I think it does make you a better driver in the long run if you can accept them and learn from them

We all slip up from time to time without making our observations properly and end up cutting somebody up, the mark of a good driver is recognising you've made the mistake and aim to not recreate the same!
I've experienced pure red mist once.. and it was quite scary.
I do generally make observations about bad driving whenever I see it and do think to myself "idiot" quite a lot of the time, but never do anything about it. I'm not powerfully built and wouldn't want to get into a fracas with anyone.
However several years ago, on my morning crawl into work, I approached the same roundabout that I always have to go round. Like a good little motorist I joined the long queue and watched as the same people skip to the front of the queue and cut in front. For some reason, when I got to the front that morning and some complete arse tried (successfully) to cut in front of me, I just lost it. I dropped it down a gear and proceeded to sit an inch from his bumper shouting obscenities and generally being very unpleasant. It took about 30 seconds before I "woke up" and slowed down and then realised what I'd just done. It was very strange and not something I have done before or since... feck knows what happened to me.
I do generally make observations about bad driving whenever I see it and do think to myself "idiot" quite a lot of the time, but never do anything about it. I'm not powerfully built and wouldn't want to get into a fracas with anyone.
However several years ago, on my morning crawl into work, I approached the same roundabout that I always have to go round. Like a good little motorist I joined the long queue and watched as the same people skip to the front of the queue and cut in front. For some reason, when I got to the front that morning and some complete arse tried (successfully) to cut in front of me, I just lost it. I dropped it down a gear and proceeded to sit an inch from his bumper shouting obscenities and generally being very unpleasant. It took about 30 seconds before I "woke up" and slowed down and then realised what I'd just done. It was very strange and not something I have done before or since... feck knows what happened to me.
Lane discipline and dual carriageways bring this out in me. The single carriageway road I normally take to work is shut for railway bridge replacement, so it's mostly motorway and DC now. Awful awful awful. It just makes me unnecessarily impatient where normally I'm very courteous. I'm not even sure the people that annoy me have even done anything wrong yet; it's just so likely that they're going to sit in the outside lane at 60 mph.
Read some stuff on road safety a while ago and the research at the time indicated that something like one in every 20,000 decisions is a wrong one. Some things force this up or down, such as drink / drugs and tiredness, but in general the figure is pretty uniform.
So expect to make a mistake but ensure that there is sufficient margin for error so that it isnt a big one. That way its not a problem and nothing is dented. Unfortunately its often the case that a lot of people dont leave the margin and hence end up in ditches etc....
So expect to make a mistake but ensure that there is sufficient margin for error so that it isnt a big one. That way its not a problem and nothing is dented. Unfortunately its often the case that a lot of people dont leave the margin and hence end up in ditches etc....
Amateurish said:
freecar said:
BorkFactor said:
I think we are all guilty of that - I certainly am.
I try to be as sensable and considerate as possible, driving at a sensable speed, leavig plenty of room between me and other cars, checking my mirrors frequently, but I do slip up occasionally.
I managed to pull out on a motorbike once, for some reason I just didn't see him coming up behind me (granted he was gunning it, but still) and I pulled out to overtake a learner! Unbelievably stupid and I felt really bad about it.
I cut someone up horribly on a roundabout once too, no idea why but before I knew it I had horns blaring at me and people flashing. Not smart at all.
We all make mistakes, and I think it does make you a better driver in the long run if you can accept them and learn from them
I hate to do this but it is bugging me. It's "sensible"! Otherwise great post! I try to be as sensable and considerate as possible, driving at a sensable speed, leavig plenty of room between me and other cars, checking my mirrors frequently, but I do slip up occasionally.
I managed to pull out on a motorbike once, for some reason I just didn't see him coming up behind me (granted he was gunning it, but still) and I pulled out to overtake a learner! Unbelievably stupid and I felt really bad about it.
I cut someone up horribly on a roundabout once too, no idea why but before I knew it I had horns blaring at me and people flashing. Not smart at all.
We all make mistakes, and I think it does make you a better driver in the long run if you can accept them and learn from them

We all slip up from time to time without making our observations properly and end up cutting somebody up, the mark of a good driver is recognising you've made the mistake and aim to not recreate the same!
If you mean you get the uncontrollable urge to drive like a d
head and can't fight it I'd suggest hanging up the keys, it's akin to getting urges to do bad things to people, especially if you can't stop yourself from doing it.I thought that the thread marked the incident out as a mistake that you couldn't put your finger on why you'd made it.
freecar said:
But surely the purpose of this thread marks it out as a driving mistake?
If you mean you get the uncontrollable urge to drive like a d
head and can't fight it I'd suggest hanging up the keys, it's akin to getting urges to do bad things to people, especially if you can't stop yourself from doing it.
I thought that the thread marked the incident out as a mistake that you couldn't put your finger on why you'd made it.
Yes, deinfitely a mistake in the sense that it was a bad decision. But no so much in the sense of "unintended". If you mean you get the uncontrollable urge to drive like a d
head and can't fight it I'd suggest hanging up the keys, it's akin to getting urges to do bad things to people, especially if you can't stop yourself from doing it.I thought that the thread marked the incident out as a mistake that you couldn't put your finger on why you'd made it.
Good to hear that I'm not the only one.
Amateurish said:
freecar said:
But surely the purpose of this thread marks it out as a driving mistake?
If you mean you get the uncontrollable urge to drive like a d
head and can't fight it I'd suggest hanging up the keys, it's akin to getting urges to do bad things to people, especially if you can't stop yourself from doing it.
I thought that the thread marked the incident out as a mistake that you couldn't put your finger on why you'd made it.
Yes, deinfitely a mistake in the sense that it was a bad decision. But no so much in the sense of "unintended". If you mean you get the uncontrollable urge to drive like a d
head and can't fight it I'd suggest hanging up the keys, it's akin to getting urges to do bad things to people, especially if you can't stop yourself from doing it.I thought that the thread marked the incident out as a mistake that you couldn't put your finger on why you'd made it.
Good to hear that I'm not the only one.
Kind of.
I always drive quickly, always have.
The difference being that over 20 years I'm going similar speeds but in vastly faster cars and am taking less risks.
However sometimes I still do things I realise I shouldn't - perhaps it's because I've never had a crash which sooner or later is inevitable.
I always drive quickly, always have.
The difference being that over 20 years I'm going similar speeds but in vastly faster cars and am taking less risks.
However sometimes I still do things I realise I shouldn't - perhaps it's because I've never had a crash which sooner or later is inevitable.
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