Bad driving in the UK - What is the solution?

[Fuzz]

If you have an accident you should be forced to have front and rear and internal facing dashcams installed with data-logging functionality so that it can be displayed when you indicate/brake and then your driving should be observed for the year before removal is allowed..
Those that fail the observational criteria need to resit a test!

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Clearly you have some issues/agenda so please don't complain if I knock you over when you don't have any lights on why do you not want to be seen? You're not superman!

Where did I say I don't have lights? Go on where?
I have used lights from day 1 on a cycle and I've just bought a Smart 700 front light so drivers really can see me now and I've been flashed several times because they think I have full beam on.
I also have a reflective helmet and bright green jacket and I also said that Ninja cyclists are my big hate so apologize anytime.

HOWEVER, the point was that somebody had turned a bad driving thread into a bad cyclist thread ONCE AGAIN.

 

[[TW]Fox]

One thing I think that ALL drivers should be tested on is when driving on country lanes and they meet farm machinery! It drives me nuts when they just stop dead thinking I'm going to back up when I have a 16 tonne silage trailer on behind

Are you not a skilled professional driver then? Most professionals can handle reversing with a trailer on. Perhaps we need to revist the competency levels required before you can drive farm machinery on the road - HGV drivers must pass a series of complex tests first.

 

[Conscript]

Are you not a skilled professional driver then? Most professionals can handle reversing with a trailer on. Perhaps we need to revist the competency levels required before you can drive farm machinery on the road - HGV drivers must pass a series of complex tests first.

Part of being a skilled driver (indeed, any driver) includes being courteous and accommodating to other road users. I'm sure he's able to reverse a 16 tonne silage trailer along a single track country lane, but it's far easier for someone in a hatchback coming the other way to do so instead, and probably much quicker to boot.

 

[Fuzz]

It's not that it's difficult fox, it's the fact it isn't safe for starters as you can't see directly behind you without a banksman..
Then there is the fact the gateways a car might fit in, the tractor trailer combo has no chance and then on top of that there is the possibility of sinking into the verge if you try to move over too far.

Reverse a 16 tonne tractor and trailer or a Fiat 500... I think we can all see what makes most sense here and it isn't the tractor, no matter whose "right of way" it is.....

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Part of being a skilled driver (indeed, any driver) includes being courteous and accommodating to other road users. I'm sure he's able to reverse a 16 tonne silage trailer along a single track country lane, but it's far easier for someone in a hatchback coming the other way to do so instead, and probably much quicker to boot.

Nah, if it's some boy racer they won't have the skillz or even think what is easier.

 

[snowdog]

Highway cops not enforcing speed limits any more, but actually fining people who don't keep to the left.

Also people who brake check others, should have their license shredded immediately when caught and banned from driving for 10 years.

Overall tbh, the driving in generally whole western Europe isn't that bad, people are relatively forgiving and you can make a mistake and someone else will brake, unlike in eastern Europe...

Driving is annoying though by people who don't move back to the left ( or right on het continent) after overtaking. Or generally fearful driving, a bit of rain and people start failing, missing complete kerbs ( and hitting them), odd cornering or driving half the speed limit. But bad/dangerous, nah. Growing amount of smartphone use has its effects yeah, but aside from that, just annoying drivers really.


Solution:

Stricter driving tests. Perhaps a mandatory vehicle control course/advanced driving course ( skid) about half a year after drivers license.
Mandatory driving tests for old 65+ers every 5 years.
Police enforcing the rules, just the actually dangerous things or things that cause aggression, not the speed limit.
Ban speed checks on motorways, increase speed checks in built up areas or dangerous B roads.

 

[Gaming4Life]

Are you not a skilled professional driver then? Most professionals can handle reversing with a trailer on. Perhaps we need to revist the competency levels required before you can drive farm machinery on the road - HGV drivers must pass a series of complex tests first.

I'm a perfectly competent driver, i passed my test with flying colours, its just that on a country lane its impossible to reverse with trailers on behind. But when its just the tractor then im happy to back up and give way

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Was thinking about this earlier today. Strikes me that maybe we should try to drum the following into drivers, not only during their test, but also during the lifespan of their driving:
1. Make effective progress within the speed limits
- The official justification for the speed limit comment being for safety. The unofficial part is that drivers who regularly and commonly break the speed limit and get caught are the people who FUND the building of safety cameras, which screws over the fun for the rest of us who have a little restraint.
- Make effective progress is all about maintaining a reasonable speed, but whilst taking into account safety. Clearly a driver should slow in complex/busy scenarios and/or poor weather. For all that, it is NOT polite to the drivers behind you to drive at 30mph in a 40mph limit, unless there is a GOOD reason to do so
2. Have a sensible gap to the car infront.
- This is NOT just about stopping distance in the event of the car infront stopping. If you have a little more gap, you can also reduce the amount of breaking you need to do and be far smoother, which is good for comfort and economy. Lastly, for those with an interested in the mathematics of queue theory, it can significantly reduce the amount of times that a motorway will just grind to a halt, for no obvious reason
3. Be aware and be polite to your fellow motorist.
- This includes making space for people, letting cars out of side roads (they might have been there for minutes on a busy day), NOT driving in front of a road junction thus preventing people pulling out when the road ahead is jammed etc. In short, try to treat others as you'd like to be.
- Linked to the point about making effective progress, you may find yourself uncomfortable on the road you're driving, finding yourself with potentially a number of cars stacked up behind you. Be nice, pull in and let them go. You wouldn't want to be stuck behind a milk float for 15 miles, just as I didn't want to be stuck behind a Nissan Micra in Cornwall for 15 miles whilst driving a substantially more capable car.

My belief is that if you could hammer the above three points into people, the roads would be a FAR more pleasant place.

 

[dholdi]

If there are two open checkouts in a supermarket do you expect everyone to use checkout 1 and just ignore the fact the checkout 2 exists?

Wasn't this explained last night or don't you read before posting ?

 

[jamoor]

Reeducation is a good idea when my dad did his test there was no theory test or hazard perception, they should make these into modules so when they are introduced to new drivers all licence holders must pass them to keep their licence valid

 

[asim18]

All bicycles need to be banned for starters, that alone will halve all road accidents. Or all cyclists need to take a driving theory test to be allowed on roads.

The amount of cyclists I encounter who have no idea of rules of the road is unbelievable.

I mean the other day a cyclist ran his red light when mine was ****ing green. I had to slam the anchors in the middle of a junction just to avoid killing the imbecile.

Then on the same day another ****ing cyclist cut me up on a roundabout again I had to take emergency avoidance action, then the real annoying thing is I had to ****ing wait to overtake the ********. The amazing thing is it was as if he was blind. He wasn't looking anywhere at all.

If he had passed a driving theory test he'd at least know you're supposed to look right.

 

[Antony101]

Wasn't this explained last night or don't you read before posting ?

Yeah, it was explained that he meant something completely different to what he posted originally. I didn't read the second page of posts as I didn't notice there was another page.

 

[snowdog]

All bicycles need to be banned for starters, that alone will halve all road accidents. Or all cyclists need to take a driving theory test to be allowed on roads.

The amount of cyclists I encounter who have no idea of rules of the road is unbelievable.

I mean the other day a cyclist ran his red light when mine was ****ing green. I had to slam the anchors in the middle of a junction just to avoid killing the imbecile.

Then on the same day another ****ing cyclist cut me up on a roundabout again I had to take emergency avoidance action, then the real annoying thing is I had to ****ing wait to overtake the ********. The amazing thing is it was as if he was blind. He wasn't looking anywhere at all.

If he had passed a driving theory test he'd at least know you're supposed to look right.

Yeah, ban them all, let's increase traffic in cities by 25%, I'm sure the roads can take that extra traffic .

Halve the accidents ? Yeah they have a lot of accidents with nobody else involved, I highly doubt they cause half the accidents ( with multiple parties) though.

I'm not a fan of a lot of cyclists myself, but you exaggerate with the nonsense. The more cyclists, the more space for car drivers...

 

[krisboats]

Retest every ten years up until 50 years old and retest every 5 years from then. More emphasis to motorway driving should be given during the tests.

Too many people driving badly who've clearly passed their test 50 years ago and their driving style isnt up to standard for todays driving.

As to minimum hours driving, i passed with 14 hours of lessons. Been driving for 18months now and no crashes at all, if anything i spot other peoples mistakes and get annoyed by them on a daily basis. Driving isnt difficult so long as you understand what you're doing and be mindful of other drivers.

Also making sure people check their cars before setting off should be more advertised. The amount of people driving around with bulbs missing or their lights off recently is staggering. Saw one person last week reversing with no working reverse lights!!!

 

[SexyGreyFox]

All bicycles need to be banned for starters, that alone will halve all road accidents. Or all cyclists need to take a driving theory test to be allowed on roads.

The amount of cyclists I encounter who have no idea of rules of the road is unbelievable.

I mean the other day a cyclist ran his red light when mine was ****ing green. I had to slam the anchors in the middle of a junction just to avoid killing the imbecile.

Then on the same day another ****ing cyclist cut me up on a roundabout again I had to take emergency avoidance action, then the real annoying thing is I had to ****ing wait to overtake the ********. The amazing thing is it was as if he was blind. He wasn't looking anywhere at all.

If he had passed a driving theory test he'd at least know you're supposed to look right.

Why have you also turned a bad drivers thread into a bad cycling thread?
Can you do anything about this Mods?

FYI the vast majority of cyclists also own cars. I personally don't know one cyclist who doesn't own a car.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

R
Too many people driving badly who've clearly passed their test 50 years ago and their driving style isnt up to standard for todays driving.

You must be young to come out with this garbage.
Easily the worst drivers on the road are young men - no argument.
If I'm going to have an incident on the road it will nearly always be young men aged up to around 30 and after that it will be males up to around 50.
Thank God for white van drivers, lorry drivers, women and older drivers who I have had virtually no incidents with.

R

As to minimum hours driving, i passed with 14 hours of lessons.

14 hours
Do you think that's good?

 

[[TW]Fox]

Why have you also turned a bad drivers thread into a bad cycling thread?

Presumably because other road users are an inherent part of road use in the UK.

Can you do anything about this Mods?

Why?

14 hours
Do you think that's good?

Yes, with adequate practice outside of lessons, which I accept isn't an option for anyone, there is no reason why learning to drive should require hours and hours of professional tuition. It just isn't that difficult.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Why?
.

Because unchecked it will turn into the usual children having a go at cyclists and the thread will get closed.

Yes, with adequate practice outside of lessons, which I accept isn't an option for anyone, there is no reason why learning to drive should require hours and hours of professional tuition. It just isn't that difficult.

14 hours, what a joke.
I passed in 1975 with around the same amount of hours and have 40 years of accident free driving (touch wood) but I still class myself as a learner.
I love how young people think they are the dogs nuts when they pass.

 

[asim18]

Why have you also turned a bad drivers thread into a bad cycling thread?
Can you do anything about this Mods?

FYI the vast majority of cyclists also own cars. I personally don't know one cyclist who doesn't own a car.

I'm sorry. I'll post a story about a bad driver now.

A few weeks ago a senile looking guy parked his car slap bang in the middle of FOUR petrol pumps. At first I assumed he'd simply forgotten if his filler is on the left or right, but then I realised he'd also forgotten if his fuel tank was under the engine bay or under the boot!

Then about 2 minutes after he went to pay, the chap came back and was looking at all four pumps trying to figure out which one he used.

Luckily I wasn't in a rush to be anywhere, so I exited my vehicle and stood to watch the entertainment with one elbow on my roof and the other elbow on my door.