Examples of poor driving you have witnessed!

Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt

Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt

Well-Known Forumite
There are endless examples in this town of drivers who jump the traffic lights at junctions - it is literally everyday. Perhaps it is because there are so many sets of lights in and around Stafford (although this shouldn't be an excuse) that drivers feel the need to run them. Whatever the reason it is stupendously dangerous - I have nearly been knocked down many a time whilst crossing the road (with the green man illuminated) whilst a driver carries on through on red. The pedestrian crossing from Gaolgate end of town by Plumbits and the double crossing by ASDA over towards Council Towers seem particularly bad.
 
Toble

Toble

Well-Known Forumite
shoes said:
Because I genuinely believe they won't give a monkey's about it, and I only have YG08 of the numberplate which I clocked as they were overtaking me on a roundabout. They were so close to me before I couldn't see the numberplate.
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Wanna bet?
 
MarkyD

MarkyD

Marcus
TBH people who drive just under the limit cause a lot of the problems (depending on the road conditions that is). I sure as hell get annoyed at drivers who drive 25mph in a 30mph when it's late at night and the roads are dead. Or they brake for EVERYTHING instead of just lifting their foot off the gas.

It's easier just to slow down and let people overtake you instead of further delaying the inevatbale I.E a bad overtake which ends up with you getting cut up, forced off the road, OR they crash into some one. I've seen people purposely drive slower, because some one wants to get past but can't, to prove "a point"... Anyone who does that is just a big of a **** than the person up their bumper because the rest of the traffic behind them have to suffer too.


Ok it's the law to drive 30mph on some roads but **** me people don't be too cautious a driver, that alone causes crashes!! (Yes I've spent the day getting stuck behind slow motorists who can't indicate, brake properly or read sign's, eshpeshially ones that go from 40mph to 60mph)

Rant over :D
 
ATJ

ATJ

Well-Known Forumite
MarkyD said:
It's easier just to slow down and let people overtake you instead of further delaying the inevatbale I.E a bad overtake which ends up with you getting cut up, forced off the road, OR they crash into some one. I've seen people purposely drive slower, because some one wants to get past but can't, to prove "a point"... Anyone who does that is just a big of a **** than the person up their bumper because the rest of the traffic behind them have to suffer too.
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Nonsense. If you're stuck behind someone who is going too slowly for your liking, and there is nowhere safe to overtake them, you should sit back and relax and enjoy the ride not tailgate until you scare the person in front into slowing down so you can dangerously over take them.
Yes, people who drive too slowly are bloody annoying, but you driving like a dick won't make them any faster.
 
shoes

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
MarkyD said:
TBH people who drive just under the limit cause a lot of the problems (depending on the road conditions that is). I sure as hell get annoyed at drivers who drive 25mph in a 30mph when it's late at night and the roads are dead. Or they brake for EVERYTHING instead of just lifting their foot off the gas.

It's easier just to slow down and let people overtake you instead of further delaying the inevatbale I.E a bad overtake which ends up with you getting cut up, forced off the road, OR they crash into some one. I've seen people purposely drive slower, because some one wants to get past but can't, to prove "a point"... Anyone who does that is just a big of a **** than the person up their bumper because the rest of the traffic behind them have to suffer too.


Ok it's the law to drive 30mph on some roads but **** me people don't be too cautious a driver, that alone causes crashes!! (Yes I've spent the day getting stuck behind slow motorists who can't indicate, brake properly or read sign's, eshpeshially ones that go from 40mph to 60mph)

Rant over :D
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Habitual speeder eh?
 
henryscat

henryscat

Well-Known Forumite
MarkyD said:
It's easier just to slow down and let people overtake you instead of further delaying the inevatbale I.E a bad overtake which ends up with you getting cut up, forced off the road, OR they crash into some one.
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If there's an accident, irritating as the slow person may be to you the only person at fault is the one doing the overtaking. If you overtake it is your responsibility, and yours alone, to make sure it is safe to do so.

I've seen people purposely drive slower, because some one wants to get past but can't, to prove "a point"... Anyone who does that is just a big of a **** than the person up their bumper because the rest of the traffic behind them have to suffer too.
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Nope the tailgater is at fault. The person doing the tailgating does not have a safe braking distance available to them. If you are being tailgated it makes sense to slow down for your own safety, so if you do have to brake suddenly then any collision because the tailgater is following at an unsafe distance is less severe.

Ok it's the law to drive 30mph on some roads but **** me people don't be too cautious a driver, that alone causes crashes!!
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No it doesn't cause crashes. People taking risks and coming unstuck causes crashes.
 
proactive

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
MarkyD said:
TBH people who drive just under the limit cause a lot of the problems (depending on the road conditions that is). I sure as hell get annoyed at drivers who drive 25mph in a 30mph when it's late at night and the roads are dead. Or they brake for EVERYTHING instead of just lifting their foot off the gas.

It's easier just to slow down and let people overtake you instead of further delaying the inevatbale I.E a bad overtake which ends up with you getting cut up, forced off the road, OR they crash into some one. I've seen people purposely drive slower, because some one wants to get past but can't, to prove "a point"... Anyone who does that is just a big of a **** than the person up their bumper because the rest of the traffic behind them have to suffer too.


Ok it's the law to drive 30mph on some roads but **** me people don't be too cautious a driver, that alone causes crashes!! (Yes I've spent the day getting stuck behind slow motorists who can't indicate, brake properly or read sign's, eshpeshially ones that go from 40mph to 60mph)

Rant over :D
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And therein encapsulates the attitude that causes many of the problems on our roads today.
 
MarkyD

MarkyD

Marcus
Love how people instantly think my post warrents me a speeding driver going about my business at 100mph.. I'll have you know I'm a very good driver that's never had a bump and avoided some real nasty accidents due using common sense and spotting the bad drivers / cyclists .

Nope the tailgater is at fault. The person doing the tailgating does not have a safe braking distance available to them. If you are being tailgated it makes sense to slow down for your own safety, so if you do have to brake suddenly then any collision because the tailgater is following at an unsafe distance is less severe.
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I never said the driver was at fault. But when people start reacting badly by suddenly braking or going down to 10mph instead of just ignoring the twonk and just DRIVE concentrating on what's in front, normally results in less road rage from drivers and business men overtaking in a silly place.

But when you're talking about dick head drivers in fast cars.. It dosent matter what speed you're at they're already set on doing something stupid... Best thing you can do is avoid em.


Nonsense. If you're stuck behind someone who is going too slowly for your liking, and there is nowhere safe to overtake them, you should sit back and relax and enjoy the ride not tailgate until you scare the person in front into slowing down so you can dangerously over take them.
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I'm not suggesting you overtake everyone willy nilly when they drive slower than you in, the extreme sense, 1 way streets or built up areas... that's just bad driving. But there's 2 kinds of situation.

1) being you're driving at the limit or slightly over (fine) then you get some jumped up dick behind you trying to overtake into oncoming traffic... You can either a) slow down a little and let em pass while they overtake and continue on their reckless way or b) speed up, make them sweat and have a head on resulting in you going A & E also C) react by suddenly speeding up so they can't overtake then slowing down on purpose to wind them up. hmmm not sure which sounds best...

2) you're driving at the limit (or just over) and you meet some one in front driving 20 - 15mph slower than what they should be. Are you going to sit behind them for the duration of you're long journey? Lets be frank, NO you're not if you have somewhere to be. So you check the coast is clear, indicate and overtake. Most people would normally overtake in this situation safely might I add and you do get idiots who try challenge this by speeding up trying to prove some kind of "point" because they don't like people over taking them even when it probably was the correct thing to do.

Don't know what others have experienced but I find people driving really really slow often are not paying attention to the road and make lost of silly mistakes. Which is why I'd rather be in front of them than up the back of them.


No it doesn't cause crashes. People taking risks and coming unstuck causes crashes
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When I said "that alone" you do realise I wasn't generalising in the sense that IT IS the worse part about driving causing 100% off all crashes?? Not sure I have idiot across my forehead or maybe I do?
 
age'd parent

age'd parent

50,000th poster!
"Don't know what others have experienced but I find people driving really really slow often are not paying attention to the road and make lost of silly mistakes. Which is why I'd rather be in front of them than up the back of them."

I definitly agree with that, drop back and leave a space between, and overtake soon as I can, and leave the "dick head" behind me to have his accident without me.
 
henryscat

henryscat

Well-Known Forumite
MarkyD said:
Love how people instantly think my post warrents me a speeding driver going about my business at 100mph..
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Nobody other than Shoes impued you were speeding.

I'll have you know I'm a very good driver that's never had a bump and avoided some real nasty accidents due using common sense and spotting the bad drivers / cyclists .
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The majority of drivers think they're very good... Never a good thing to convince yourself you're a good driver as that's when you lull yourself into a false sense of security.... Doesn't matter how long you've been driving, there's always something to learn.



I never said the driver was at fault. But when people start reacting badly by suddenly braking or going down to 10mph instead of just ignoring the twonk and just DRIVE concentrating on what's in front, normally results in less road rage from drivers and business men overtaking in a silly place.
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Good driving isn't about concentrating on what's in front, although obviously that is a pretty vital component. It is also about being aware of what is going on behind you and reacting appropriately to that. If you are only concentrating on what is happening in front then you are a bad driver. You are still linking someone going slower than you would like with causing "overtaking in a silly place". It doesn't. The only thing that causes overtaking in a silly place is the person doing the overtaking making a bad decision. Nothing else.


2) you're driving at the limit (or just over) and you meet some one in front driving 20 - 15mph slower than what they should be. Are you going to sit behind them for the duration of you're long journey? Lets be frank, NO you're not if you have somewhere to be.
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I take it we're talking about single carriageway roads, where the average speed you actually achieve is far below the speed limit (if you have an average speed read out on a trip computer in your car, take a look). The chances are once you've overtaken the driver going 15mph slower than you'd like (HGVs haven't been mentioned, they legally can only do 40 on a derestricted single carriageway), within a few minutes you're going to catch up something else and not be able to overtake and find the "slow" driver catching you up in any case.

Don't know what others have experienced but I find people driving really really slow often are not paying attention to the road and make lost of silly mistakes. Which is why I'd rather be in front of them than up the back of them.
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While you're getting wound up with the other driver, your full concentration is not on driving and you could end up being the one making a silly mistake... It isn't always easy to remain calm with other people's driving as there are more than enough numpties on the road, but its best to take a step back.
 
MarkyD

MarkyD

Marcus
The majority of drivers think they're very good... Never a good thing to convince yourself you're a good driver as that's when you lull yourself into a false sense of security.... Doesn't matter how long you've been driving, there's always something to learn.
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Well lets say I have a lot of experience due to driving many miles every week around the country on all kinds of road with all kinds of drivers. It's true you're always learning, but if you've learnt to spot things early and the types of driver you meet you're pretty much good to go It's common sense. Not all cars are quick and you do have to allow for some people to reach the road limit (same with lorry's going through the gears) I don't mind them at all. IT's just BAD drivers I can't stand who think they're the only person on the road...

There's only some things you can't predict, like tyre blow outs on a motorway... most things you can pre-pair for and deal with like " they look twitchy, definitely going to pull out " - "he keeps going over the lane lines. not concentrating" -"she's too busy on the phone"...etc.. but generally if you're paying attention you can avoid a lot be keeping your distance from suspected bad drivers then getting past them when safe.

Good driving isn't about concentrating on what's in front, although obviously that is a pretty vital component. It is also about being aware of what is going on behind you and reacting appropriately to that. If you are only concentrating on what is happening in front then you are a bad driver. You are still linking someone going slower than you would like with causing "overtaking in a silly place". It doesn't. The only thing that causes overtaking in a silly place is the person doing the overtaking making a bad decision. Nothing else
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I agree, but I'm talking about that specific type of scenario when people start freaking out that some one is driving like a loon behind them. They loose concentration of whats in-front and plow into a another motorist on a red light from looking in the mirror too much. I've seen it happen time over. People will overtake you in a silly space given you've been going slow enough long enough. I've been behind people that have been driving really well on a long journey only to overtake some one driving badly, after being stuck behind them for half hour, in a dumb place. It's a double edged sword, bad drivers cause bad driving and stupid drivers just cause accidents.

I take it we're talking about single carriageway roads, where the average speed you actually achieve is far below the speed limit (if you have an average speed read out on a trip computer in your car, take a look). The chances are once you've overtaken the driver going 15mph slower than you'd like (HGVs haven't been mentioned, they legally can only do 40 on a derestricted single carriageway), within a few minutes you're going to catch up something else and not be able to overtake and find the "slow" driver catching you up in any case.
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Single and double carriageways. I think a lot of people tend to forget HGV drivers need time to get up to speed and when they do, they have a limit. I don't mind being behind a lorry as I know there's not much they can do about it so I'll overtake when I can. But it is annoying if you get stuck behind them for a long period of time or they overtake another lorry because they need to keep going forwards... towards Norfolk and Peterborough are good places for this.

What you mentioned only really happens (I find) if there's a fair amount of traffic on the road to start with or you end up meeting another driver that's restricting the natural flow of traffic (guess that's where motorway jam's come from when there's no crash?) Most of the time it doesn't really happen otherwise... Normally the really slow driver has being going slow, for x-amount of time, because a) they're very old and cautious b) too busy looking at their phone or in the glove box c) they don't want to miss a turning they're after and decide just to turn in without indication.

While you're getting wound up with the other driver, your full concentration is not on driving and you could end up being the one making a silly mistake... It isn't always easy to remain calm with other people's driving as there are more than enough numpties on the road, but its best to take a step back.
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Normally the people who get really wound up are the one's driving like loons to start with... but having said that everyone gets slightly annoyed in this situation but not to the point where they start making bad mistakes. Although there are people who do...
 
Jonah

Jonah

Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
Today just after 1.00pm on Baswich Lane near St. Thomas' Mill. Stupid Belgium articulated lorry driver got himself stuck.

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Jonah

Jonah

Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
stoofer34 said:
Baswich Lane near St. Thomas' Mill.

It is used as a by-pass
S
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Actually it's not. It's just used as the road that it is.

Artics are not allowed down there due to weak bridges and narrow roads but this idiot decided to ignore all the road signs and probably followed his sat-nav without even thinking about it.
 
MarkyD

MarkyD

Marcus
Other thing interesting about that road is if you come from the opposite direction it goes from being a 40mph to a 60mph zone as there's a sign on the hill.. Always thought that was silly seeing as it's such a narrow winding road especially if you don't know the area. Remember having a scary taxi ride home going that way, almost went into the wall and once again down the embankment over the 2nd bridge.
 
Chick

Chick

Well-Known Forumite
A bloomin' idiot in a grey mini cooper has just teared down Brunswick Terrace at what must have been close to 50 or 60 mph and had to come to a loud screeching halt in order to narrowly miss a red car coming out of Horton Drive. The skid mark he's left is a good 25 meters long!

According to my husband it's not the first time he's seen that grey mini speeding down there either
 
shoes

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
My car seems to attract idiots who want to drive on my bumper. It's happened twice since the last time I posted in here. The last one was last night. I thought feck it, stood on the brakes and stopped. I have very, very good brakes in my car and from 30mph can stop in about 10 metres.

I'm amazed, but glad, the driver of the grey citroen C3 managed to stop, but only about an inch from my bumper - literally. I got out to have a go at her and noticed how close she was - I made the stupid bitch get out of her car and have a look. I think I might have lost my temper a bit because she cried.

Hopefully she learned something.

I did notice her wheels were curbed to buggery too - not a particularly good drive methinks.

Anyway - next person who sits on my bumper gets the same treatment - Staffordians, you have been warned.
 
PeterD

PeterD

ST16 Represent.
As a cyclist I love how the lights on the island near the masons hall are merely a guideline and I dont cycle across until the traffic comes to a standstill.
 
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