Do you really believe in oncoming traffic?
Poll: Do you really believe in oncoming traffic?
Total Members Polled: 366
Discussion
Hello,
Last night on my 2 mile drive back from the takeaway I saw two really odd bits of driving.
50mph limit B-road on a 90 degree left hand corner with woodland obscuring the veiw through the corner: the car coming the other way was a foot over the centre marking when they saw me, and had to move rapidly back to their side of the road to avoid a crash. I hit the brakes as soon as I saw them, but if they hadn't moved I would have hit them or trees. This is a corner on which there are often crashes, and also where I once found a Golf in a ditch with a lady in it, who had been forced off the road by an on-coming car on the wrong side of the road.
30mph limit residential road with speed bumps, cars parked on RHS the road at a left hand corner: I slowed to walking pace because although there we no cars on my side of the road I couldn't see if the road was clear, and one of my neighbours came the other way at over 20mph, bouncing over the speed bumps in his 500, with absolutely no way to stop or take avoiding action had I been doing the same speed as him.
This made me think. Firstly that I drive like a girl when I have a takeaway in the car, and then secondly that some drivers just don't seem to really believe that on coming traffic really exists.
When there is visibility to be sure it's safe I'll use some of the other side of the road on corners, but never when I can't see that it'll be clear (and not when I think it might alarm oncoming drivers either).
However I've been driven by people who cut blind corners, some of whom just don't think about oncoming traffic, some of whom do but rely on their amazing driving skillz to jink out of the way at the last second and one who used maths to prove that the likelyhood of hitting another car on any given corner is so tiny it can be ignored.
I'm particularly sensitive to this having been crippled by an on-coming driver on my side of the road, so my views are definitely biased and I have absolutely no objectivity about it.
Maybe it's normal to habitually cut blind corners.
Maybe it because the car I was in last evening was green and therefore harder to see in daylight/unlucky.
Maybe statistically having a crash is very unlikely (certainly my neighbour hasn't had one yet despite taking that blind bend too fast to stop four times a day for the last eight years).
Maybe I'm a massive girl (I left that out of the poll for obvious reasons).
Or maybe people just don't really believe on-coming traffic really exists. Certainly I struggle to remember that other people are real, rather than my life being a particularly dull yet scripted version of the Trueman Show.
Or maybe people just don't think, and are basically stupid and lazy. I do tend to laziness and stupidity when not driving.
Obviously everyone on PH is an awesome driver, however it was also a PHer who used statistics to prove he wouldn't crash, so surprise me with your opinions. Go.
Last night on my 2 mile drive back from the takeaway I saw two really odd bits of driving.
50mph limit B-road on a 90 degree left hand corner with woodland obscuring the veiw through the corner: the car coming the other way was a foot over the centre marking when they saw me, and had to move rapidly back to their side of the road to avoid a crash. I hit the brakes as soon as I saw them, but if they hadn't moved I would have hit them or trees. This is a corner on which there are often crashes, and also where I once found a Golf in a ditch with a lady in it, who had been forced off the road by an on-coming car on the wrong side of the road.
30mph limit residential road with speed bumps, cars parked on RHS the road at a left hand corner: I slowed to walking pace because although there we no cars on my side of the road I couldn't see if the road was clear, and one of my neighbours came the other way at over 20mph, bouncing over the speed bumps in his 500, with absolutely no way to stop or take avoiding action had I been doing the same speed as him.
This made me think. Firstly that I drive like a girl when I have a takeaway in the car, and then secondly that some drivers just don't seem to really believe that on coming traffic really exists.
When there is visibility to be sure it's safe I'll use some of the other side of the road on corners, but never when I can't see that it'll be clear (and not when I think it might alarm oncoming drivers either).
However I've been driven by people who cut blind corners, some of whom just don't think about oncoming traffic, some of whom do but rely on their amazing driving skillz to jink out of the way at the last second and one who used maths to prove that the likelyhood of hitting another car on any given corner is so tiny it can be ignored.
I'm particularly sensitive to this having been crippled by an on-coming driver on my side of the road, so my views are definitely biased and I have absolutely no objectivity about it.
Maybe it's normal to habitually cut blind corners.
Maybe it because the car I was in last evening was green and therefore harder to see in daylight/unlucky.
Maybe statistically having a crash is very unlikely (certainly my neighbour hasn't had one yet despite taking that blind bend too fast to stop four times a day for the last eight years).
Maybe I'm a massive girl (I left that out of the poll for obvious reasons).
Or maybe people just don't really believe on-coming traffic really exists. Certainly I struggle to remember that other people are real, rather than my life being a particularly dull yet scripted version of the Trueman Show.
Or maybe people just don't think, and are basically stupid and lazy. I do tend to laziness and stupidity when not driving.
Obviously everyone on PH is an awesome driver, however it was also a PHer who used statistics to prove he wouldn't crash, so surprise me with your opinions. Go.
In the dim and distant past I did wonder if I had some sort of sixth sense that meant I could detect oncoming traffic around blind bends etc. A particularly scary incident over a blind crest in the rain put paid to that, and I grew up.
Most people are stupid and/or lazy. And inconsiderate.
Most people are stupid and/or lazy. And inconsiderate.
It seems to be happening more and more and I'm getting ever so familiar with having a much muddier nearside than offside after compensating for these idiots. I'll happily cut corners, but only if I can see that there's nothing coming the other way, otherwise I'll presume that there's a large HGV bearing down on me in the opposite direction.
That there's not more accidents is largely down to the actions of others getting out of their way imho. The trouble there is that it only reinforces the belief for the culprit that cutting the corner is without risk.
That there's not more accidents is largely down to the actions of others getting out of their way imho. The trouble there is that it only reinforces the belief for the culprit that cutting the corner is without risk.
I used to get a lift with a guy who was an advanced motorist (he had the certificate or whatever it was they get).
He used to enter blind bends over the white line, and when questioned about this, said that it was advanced driving, so he could see what was coming...
So now, every time I see this driving technique (which is frequent on the 'B' roads around these parts), I think "advanced driver" - wants to see what he is going to hit.
He used to enter blind bends over the white line, and when questioned about this, said that it was advanced driving, so he could see what was coming...
So now, every time I see this driving technique (which is frequent on the 'B' roads around these parts), I think "advanced driver" - wants to see what he is going to hit.
Often I find myself driving past a line of vehicles on the other side of the road (so I have right of way) and yet the oncoming vehicle continues towards me with no hope in the world that we can pass, or perhaps by me taking evasive action they can get through.
I wonder how many so called accidents are caused because people fail to react to the presence of another vehicle in their path, only to brake as the resulting collision actually occurs
I wonder how many so called accidents are caused because people fail to react to the presence of another vehicle in their path, only to brake as the resulting collision actually occurs
I feel your pain.
Near my building there is a 90 degree right hand bend. Without cars it's easily 2 cars wide but there's generall both cars parked along the left on the road and cars on the pavement on the right so there's basically naff all visibility.
People generally drive round it like they find the notion of other cars on the road to be foolish.
edit
And the cyclist thing. The road past the Clwyd Gate is awful for this.
Near my building there is a 90 degree right hand bend. Without cars it's easily 2 cars wide but there's generall both cars parked along the left on the road and cars on the pavement on the right so there's basically naff all visibility.
People generally drive round it like they find the notion of other cars on the road to be foolish.
edit
And the cyclist thing. The road past the Clwyd Gate is awful for this.
Edited by Horse Pop on Thursday 12th July 10:21
ts who are unable to turn right into a road without making a 45deg turn and cutting your lane off as you approach the junction.
I have a 45 mile each way rural A and B road commute and in the last two years instances of people coming around blind bends on the wrond side of the road has increased. Whether it's laziness, hypermiling or just an expectation that there won't be anything coming at 5.45am I don't know, but each time I could have been wiped up if I hadn't taken evasive maneuvers.
I treat everyone else on the road as an idiot trying to kill me and/or impede me. I'm rarely disappointed.
I treat everyone else on the road as an idiot trying to kill me and/or impede me. I'm rarely disappointed.
Prof Prolapse said:
That was a long story. What kind of take away was it?
What I really wanted was chips, but the chip shop shuts at 7ish, and they were shut when I got there at five to. It's a rubbish chip shop, but next to an excellent Chinese. Sadly the Chinese (25, 42, 47 and a 72 with king prawns) was £12 more than the fish'n'chips would have been.Normally I would cook my own food, but Mrs Muppet was using the entire kitchen to bake her own birthday cake (happy BB MM).
Chips would have been a less spillable meal to carry, and pizzas can take huge lateral G's no problem.
jagnet said:
It seems to be happening more and more and I'm getting ever so familiar with having a much muddier nearside than offside after compensating for these idiots. I'll happily cut corners, but only if I can see that there's nothing coming the other way, otherwise I'll presume that there's a large HGV bearing down on me in the opposite direction.
That there's not more accidents is largely down to the actions of others getting out of their way imho. The trouble there is that it only reinforces the belief for the culprit that cutting the corner is without risk.
This, many times over - whenever I can't see where I'm going the assumption is there's a wall of death waiting for me. That there's not more accidents is largely down to the actions of others getting out of their way imho. The trouble there is that it only reinforces the belief for the culprit that cutting the corner is without risk.
There's a perfect stretch of road near me that's exactly like this - a series of 70°+ bends that are totally blind thanks to the hedgerows either side, yet many folks cut them by a couple of ft at 50+mph with no regard for other traffic - if something came the other way there's nowhere to go but a very high, wheel-breaking kerb, 3ft of pavement and then stone wall. It'd just be a massacre.
I can sympathise with this. I had a trip out with an acquaintance at my photographic club a couple of years ago (who drives a BMW, but that's merely a coincidence), and the driving was, erm, interesting.
It was fast, but speed doesn't scare me. What scared me was the speed he shot round left hand blind corners on narrow country lanes with only the slightest drop in speed, at such speeds that he'd have been totally unable to accomodate anything on the other side of the corner. Right hand bends were taken straddling the white line, whether visibility was there or not. I can't remember being more relieved when a car journey has ended, and haven't been back in the car since.
I always try to keep in mind the mantra of "always be prepared to meet yourself coming the other way". I don't tend to encounter much problem with oncoming traffic in urban areas, but as I drive a small car that would probably get annihilated in a head-on with even a modern Focus, I find I can rarely enjoy driving on winding B-roads for the feeling in the back of my mind that something might come round the next corner on the wrong side and remove me from the planet. In fact on rural roads I would probably get more driving pleasure from the likes of a Range Rover or an X5, despite the excess weight and size, due the security and visibility over any oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road.
It was fast, but speed doesn't scare me. What scared me was the speed he shot round left hand blind corners on narrow country lanes with only the slightest drop in speed, at such speeds that he'd have been totally unable to accomodate anything on the other side of the corner. Right hand bends were taken straddling the white line, whether visibility was there or not. I can't remember being more relieved when a car journey has ended, and haven't been back in the car since.
I always try to keep in mind the mantra of "always be prepared to meet yourself coming the other way". I don't tend to encounter much problem with oncoming traffic in urban areas, but as I drive a small car that would probably get annihilated in a head-on with even a modern Focus, I find I can rarely enjoy driving on winding B-roads for the feeling in the back of my mind that something might come round the next corner on the wrong side and remove me from the planet. In fact on rural roads I would probably get more driving pleasure from the likes of a Range Rover or an X5, despite the excess weight and size, due the security and visibility over any oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road.
TonyRPH said:
I used to get a lift with a guy who was an advanced motorist (he had the certificate or whatever it was they get).
He used to enter blind bends over the white line, and when questioned about this, said that it was advanced driving, so he could see what was coming...
So now, every time I see this driving technique (which is frequent on the 'B' roads around these parts), I think "advanced driver" - wants to see what he is going to hit.
On a left hand bend this makes sense as being further right allows you to see further around the corner. Not on a right hand bend though (then you should be positioned further to the left of your lane for a better view ahead.)He used to enter blind bends over the white line, and when questioned about this, said that it was advanced driving, so he could see what was coming...
So now, every time I see this driving technique (which is frequent on the 'B' roads around these parts), I think "advanced driver" - wants to see what he is going to hit.
It makes sense because if you hug tight to the hedgerow on a left hand bend then you've very little view up the road by comparison, and the hazard may be on the near side too (like a pedestrian or cyclist) so being further out and seeing further makes sense; just be prepared to move left again and slow down more when you need to.
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