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There are number of things that other drivers do that I find extremely irritating. Bad Tailgating, poor lane discipline, not indicating and undertaking are just a few of the bad habits that I see frequently and find very annoying. Aside from the inconvenience to myself and other road users, this kind of inconsiderate driving is also very dangerous.
Poor lane discipline – Some drivers are all over the place and they don’t seem to realise that they are supposed to stay in between those white dashed lines. One example of this that I find particularly scary is the old two-lane roundabout scenario. When you move on to the roundabout to turn right, you have a car to your left that is going straight over. Instead of following their lane round the outside of the roundabout, they take the shortest path straight across through your lane causing you to hold back in case they hit you. Absolute madness, you really have to be on your guard against this kind of thing. It’s fair enough if you are a long wheelbase vehicle such as a lorry, but there is no excuse for a car doing this kind of thing.
Tailgating – This is probably the greatest offence as far as I am concerned. Some drivers are extremely impatient and whilst I am clearly overtaking traffic in the inside lane, I guess I am just not going quick enough for that car following six inches from my bumper am I? I understand that some people do it without thinking, just following traffic they get a bit close, but then they back off as you accelerate way.
Some drivers tailgate deliberately though and these are the ones that are the most dangerous. They sit behind you flashing their headlights in an effort to move you, but of course there is nowhere to go as you are in the process of overtaking and there is no room to pull in on the left. To this kind of driver, the two second rule means that they can just about cope with another vehicle in front of them before they decide to intimidate them by driving inches away.
Undertaking – Tailgaters that don’t get their way will often resort to undertaking if they can. Yes, I know that there are also those selfish individuals out there that hog the middle and the outside lane. They have no idea that there is a queue of traffic waiting to get past them, probably because they are in their own little world thinking about what to have for dinner. This causes some individuals to loose patience and undertake. Some drivers don’t even bother with overtaking and just carry on up the inside as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do, but it is a very dangerous manoeuvre for all concerned.
Indicators – Some people have no idea what these pretty orange flashing lights are actually for! They move here and there and go wherever they please without any thought of letting the rest of us know what their intentions are. You’ve got to be psychic to have any hope of sharing the road with these individuals. I wouldn’t like to second-guess the number of accidents that occur each year because people fail to indicate properly.
These are just a few of the things that I find particularly irritating about other drivers and their habits. Below are some other annoyances that I can think of.
- Cutting corners, particularly at junctions
- No headlights in conditions that require them
- Throwing cigarettes out the window
- Leaving main beam on, or dipping only at the last minute
- Inappropriate use of the horn, impatient people
- Pushing in ahead of a queue of traffic
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J. The introduction of personal plates was a godsend to big car owners with limited funds. They could hang on to their status symbol.
I am rationed to three posts now, for god knows what reason? so I am combining them.
I totally agree with that!
Too many cars on the road.
Go for a drive in Scotland, it's a pleasure not a nightmare.
All down to population density but nobody will face up to the facts; too many people equals too many cars and so we go on and on and on until everything will seize up.
I see a time when car use will be resticted either by registration or adding punitive taxes.
Building more roads is not the answer.
Very few people NEED a car, we managed before the car was invented.
We do need lorries, trains, buses.
To return to the topic; on a recent 20 mile journey I was tailgated three times by irate stupid drivers that wanted me to speed up, this was on a "A" road with a 50mph limit and "average speed" cameras and fixed speed cameras.
What the hell is wrong with some drivers? I think a lot of them need retraining.
I have now fitted cameras both front and rear in my car to record the stupid SpeedFreaks. (accidents waiting to happen)
Everyone, not just the ones who know how to drive properly, I mean everyone who is a user of what we call 'propelled vehicles' - that's what Collar is talking about here.
Look around your lane & tell others to be safe (not suggest - be strident)... paying attention to driving properly, not badly paid attention to other road users (remember... you are in a large piece of hurting metal). Non road users have there own special listings. Here we're paying attention to drivers of 'machines'.
You got to understand something,... 3 wheelers and motorbikes have to live on the highway too, well? So can we be mindful of them commercial vehicles have their own issues. Did you know Push bicycles pay no road tax and thus nothing toward road works, they manage quite well on zero road tax revenue?
Get with it people, start driving with better habits! . . . . . . . . . Thank you very much.
Of course the very fact of driving a car contributes to a traffic jam but the given number of cars that will cause a traffic jam and the length of it is down to how closely they can bunch together. As few as two drivers failing to drive up to the car in front can severely exacerbate a traffic jam or even cause one where otherwise there wouldn't have been one. Consider this senario. A driver pulls out of a junction and stops behind the car in front with two car lengths in front with the car in front of that also not moving up preventing the single car behind moving out. By the time that car can move out, three cars have queued behind it. Result a traffic jam formed where if the two drivers in front had been more considerate, no traffic jam would have formed. This is very different to tailgaiting in moving traffic where you need to be at least two seconds behind to allow for sufficient braking and preferably more.
Less dangerous but downright irritating are drivers who leave a car and a half to two cars length of space in front of them in a traffic jam or queue at a junction. Keeping your distance is for when you're moving and is a vital safety issue but doing so in stationary traffic is not providing of course you don't attempt to close the gap so much that you risk going into the car in front. Don't they realise that they're the one's who are actually causing the traffic jam in the first place?
It is ALWAYS A people carrier(taxi),or a four wheel drive that keeps telling you that YOUR INFERIOR and you should be BEHIND THEM......(DOING 60MPH IN THE OVERTAKING LANE).WITH THE NEARSIDE LANE EMPTY........NOW LORRIES,AND WHITE VANS??????
Will need VALIUM to go down that road....
Stalag14
Nice one, never thought of that.