Ever noticed how you need to avoid an accident on Motorways

[911hope]

Interesting experiment, for regular motorway drivers.

Count the number of times you take an action to avoid a potential collision on motorways.

I find that I make allowances or avoiding actions for things that may happen. The scenarios are well known, such as

A HVG just changing lane into my path. (indicate and go)
A L2 driver overtaking without accelerating to the speed L3 traffic
A joining car not joining to the correct speed or looking properly.

Lots more cases exist, as we know.

No doubt, most make similar allowances to avoid the accident.

A few days ago, I counted the number of times that these allowances actually prevented the accident and was shocked to find it was at least once every 20 minutes on a busy motorway.

Interesting to see if anyone else has the same observations.

[Milkyway]

When I as learning to drive, forty plus years ago, my Dad’s golden rule was... “ Drive for two cars in front & treat everybody as an idiot”.
He was a Bus / Coach driver for many years, & it’s worked quite well.

Now... I tend to drive about five cars ahead.

Got a nice drive to Devon at the Weekend ( 140mls each way).
No motorway driving involved , just plain old A Road’s / Dual carriageways
Enough to keep me alert though.

Edited by Milkyway on Tuesday 11th October 19:57

[whimsical ninja]

Is that a motorway thing though? "Emerging from a junction causing another car to have to brake" might be something to fail you a driving test (or is it a minor?) but it's a pretty standard occurrence to the point that it barely registers on most people's radars, at least in urban/suburban environments. I daresay in most 20 minute journeys around town or on country roads there'd be a bus, or a cyclist, or a pedestrian would do something that would cause you to take evasive action. Not necessarily an "OMG we nearly died" moment but something where you needed to take some sort of action (probably brake). Put it this way, in a 20 minute journey how many times do you use your brakes for a hazard that isn't a traffic light, bend or junction? Probably a fair few.

[Louis Balfour]

911hope said:

Interesting experiment, for regular motorway drivers.

Count the number of times you take an action to avoid a potential collision on motorways.

I find that I make allowances or avoiding actions for things that may happen. The scenarios are well known, such as

A HVG just changing lane into my path. (indicate and go)
A L2 driver overtaking without accelerating to the speed L3 traffic
A joining car not joining to the correct speed or looking properly.

Lots more cases exist, as we know.

No doubt, most make similar allowances to avoid the accident.

A few days ago, I counted the number of times that these allowances actually prevented the accident and was shocked to find it was at least once every 20 minutes on a busy motorway.

Interesting to see if anyone else has the same observations.

I am not sure whether it's my ageing memory, but I don't recall motorways being so dangerous before about 2000. On every motorway journey now I have to take evasive action several times.

Usually, it is drivers pulling out to overtake without assessing the speed of the lane they are entering. Or pulling out and filling the space between me and the car in front, thus making me brake to maintain a safe distance.

[Milkyway]

A lot of drivers seem to be unaware that there is actually somebody behind or beside them... just sitting there staring straight ahead like a Zombie.

NB: Easing off / braking for the ‘gap filler’... just hoping that the following traffic reacts accordingly.

Edited by Milkyway on Tuesday 11th October 21:39

[Veryoldbear]

Nope. The best thing to do on motorways is to relax, hang back, leave a big bubble and watch out for brake lights half a mile ahead. If people want to lurch into your bubble, so what? It's only tarmac.

[Dingu]

I feel like our definitions of interesting differ

[waremark]

Louis Balfour said:

I am not sure whether it's my ageing memory, but I don't recall motorways being so dangerous before about 2000. On every motorway journey now I have to take evasive action several times.

Usually, it is drivers pulling out to overtake without assessing the speed of the lane they are entering. Or pulling out and filling the space between me and the car in front, thus making me brake to maintain a safe distance.

Dangerous and evasive action? Surely, to be anticipated and dealt with calmly by a subtle adjustment of speed to make space. This is the advanced driving forum after all.

[7mike]

Louis Balfour said:

I am not sure whether it's my ageing memory, but I don't recall motorways being so dangerous before about 2000. On every motorway journey now I have to take evasive action several times.

Usually, it is drivers pulling out to overtake without assessing the speed of the lane they are entering. Or pulling out and filling the space between me and the car in front, thus making me brake to maintain a safe distance.

Strange how roads were so much safer but twice as many people died on them

[bigandclever]

7mike said:

Strange how roads were so much safer but twice as many people died on them

Fewer incidents (less traffic in general) but with more serious outcomes (worse crash protection in general), innit.

[deeen]

Cars are a lot safer now - people survive collisions which would have killed them in 1970.

Also the downward trend from 1970-ish includes the introduction of seat belts, and the success of anti drink-driving campaigns.

[Pica-Pica]

So the OP says that they use observation.
What a novel concept, pro-action rather than reaction!

In reality it’s much, much more often than the ‘once every 20 minutes’ mentioned. Probably much, much more frequent, but more subtle adjustments.

[7mike]

I can’t remember the precise wording but I recall a question in a driver risk assessment test along the lines of ‘do you often find that you have to take avoiding action to avoid the poor driving of others?’ Guess how they identified the high-risk drivers?

[InitialDave]

I do see people do stupid things a fair bit, but I don't often find myself needing to actively avoid them "as an incident is in progress", if you like.

I've usually backed off or otherwise got out their way before the actual idiocy happens, based on how they were driving already.

Sometimes someone will spring something on you, but I find it's less common than that "oh, they're about to do something stupid" feeling being there beforehand.

[Milkyway]

I’m OK with the ‘near miss’ scenarios...it’s part & parcel of general driving.

Edited by Milkyway on Wednesday 12th October 12:32

[ScoobyChris]

Milkyway said:

I’m OK with the near miss’ scenarios...it’s part & parcel of general driving.

For me, having a "near miss" (which are fortunately few and far between) means I've badly misjudged something in my driving plan and/or hazard perception and I'll be looking at what I could do differently next time...

Chris

[911hope]

Milkyway said:

I’m OK with the ‘near miss’ scenarios...it’s part & parcel of general driving.

Edited by Milkyway on Wednesday 12th October 12:32

Always thought the expression "near miss" is odd.

Really it is a "near hit" or and "actual miss"

[this is my username]

911hope said:

A HVG just changing lane into my path. (indicate and go)
A L2 driver overtaking without accelerating to the speed L3 traffic
A joining car not joining to the correct speed or looking properly.

I'd take a different view of this.

If I see an HGV catching up with a vehicle in front I'd expect it to pull out and I plan accordingly. If the HGV has just "changed its lane in to my path" then I would consider that to be a failure of observation on my part. HGVs generally wait until the last moment to pull out; if they become unable to do this due to car drivers' failure to anticipate then they will pull out earlier and "block" lane 2 for longer so faster vehicles will be inconvenienced by them for longer. Anticipating the truck's need to pull out and allowing them to do so is a win-win for both drivers.

If an L2 driver needs to pull out in to lane 3 due to slower traffic ahead of them then anticipate it and let them. Again, if they can't pull out easily when they need to then they will just sit in L3 instead rather than pulling back in to L2. Allowing L2 drivers to easily pull out in to L3 is a win-win for both drivers.

Cars joining at the wrong speed? Yes, I'm with you on that, but we know that it's going to happen so it's hardly a surprise ......

[911hope]

this is my username said:

911hope said:

A HVG just changing lane into my path. (indicate and go)
A L2 driver overtaking without accelerating to the speed L3 traffic
A joining car not joining to the correct speed or looking properly.

I'd take a different view of this.

If I see an HGV catching up with a vehicle in front I'd expect it to pull out and I plan accordingly. If the HGV has just "changed its lane in to my path" then I would consider that to be a failure of observation on my part. HGVs generally wait until the last moment to pull out; if they become unable to do this due to car drivers' failure to anticipate then they will pull out earlier and "block" lane 2 for longer so faster vehicles will be inconvenienced by them for longer. Anticipating the truck's need to pull out and allowing them to do so is a win-win for both drivers.

If an L2 driver needs to pull out in to lane 3 due to slower traffic ahead of them then anticipate it and let them. Again, if they can't pull out easily when they need to then they will just sit in L3 instead rather than pulling back in to L2. Allowing L2 drivers to easily pull out in to L3 is a win-win for both drivers.

Cars joining at the wrong speed? Yes, I'm with you on that, but we know that it's going to happen so it's hardly a surprise ......

I don't think your view is actually different. Your planning for the expected HGV lane change is actually you avoiding the accident, caused by the HGV's move.

They shouldn't do it these dangerous lane changes, but the vast majority do it all the time. We know this and give them a wide berth.

[Evanivitch]

It's okay, we're only 10 years away from such comprehensive driving aids that motorway driving at least should be incredibly safe.

We already have lane assistance for the sleepy, automatic braking for the slow, blind spot sensors for the lazy.