Your bad driving encounters

Rroff said:
Guess they went in for an eye op :s

Hospital car parks in my experience are pretty bad at the best of times, really something which should be sorted.
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I'm lumping Dr surgery's in with that too, they seem to think having 50 spaces for 100 employees will work out fine. Then the drs complain someone has taken Thier reserved spot :rolleyes:. Don't know why it's just not factored in more when these places are built, surely the car park is the cheapest part of a new building.
 
Had a very close encounter with a suicidal cyclist on the way into Elgin this morning. I was in a flow of traffic stuck behind a highways lorry doing 40mph (50mph was the limit where we were) and was 6 cars back from the lorry with 3-4 car lengths between me and the car in front. I saw a cyclist bombing along on the opposite side of the road coming towards us but he was hugging the kerb with no indication he was going to do anything but carry on his way. Just as I was about to pass a small engineering firm on my left he shot across from the inside of his lane, between me and the car ahead without even looking behind him or if I had room to stop. The car behind him blew his horn at him and my cars anti collision system slammed the brakes on and the idiot behind me nearly ploughed into the back of me because he was far too close!! The guy on the bike was a very lucky chap. If I was a truck or there was a motorcycle coming behind him to pass he would be dead or seriously injured. Absolute madness!!

Just to add another near miss in for good measure, on the way home I was just leaving a 40 zone and building up to the NSL when a mobile phone zombie walked out into the road without looking, head down staring at his phone and looked as if he had headphones on. I saw him so was ready for it. He didn't even recognise that he had just had a near miss or even that there was a car there!! What is wrong with people these days?
 
pastymuncher said:
Just to add another near miss in for good measure, on the way home I was just leaving a 40 zone and building up to the NSL when a mobile phone zombie walked out into the road without looking, head down staring at his phone and looked as if he had headphones on. I saw him so was ready for it. He didn't even recognise that he had just had a near miss or even that there was a car there!! What is wrong with people these days?
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Far too common these days. Like everyone barring the elderly have their heads buried into their mobiles. School kids are little attentive when they are in groups but when alone they will be peering into their phones all the time, even when crossing a street. It is as if everyone will stop for them until that one day when an idiot doesn't. You can claim insurance and compensation and ban the driver etc but a life lost or life changing event will forever stay with that person and family.
 
Had it today while parking at the shops, was reversing to straighten up, moved 1-2 feet and someone walked across behind me so I had to stop, then as I was about to move forward, at which point another car had turned up and was waiting for me to get out the way, someone stepped off the path and took their time walking diagonally across the front of me as it was a straighter line to their car, wasn't like they were oblivious or contemptuous it was just normal to them.
 
Brun said:
What makes you think you should have priority over these people?
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In general not about priority just being considerate, in this case I didn't move myself to block their progression, there is no world where I would walk behind someone, who was already in the middle of manoeuvring especially in a situation like that were there were so many angles to watch, etc. and while the second person may have mistakenly thought I was departing I doubt it.

3 spaces up from me there was a crossing and the path for pedestrians went from that across the front of me - no actual need for them to be where they were other than it was a very slightly shorter path from where they were going to and from.

EDIT: Without video probably a bit hard to demonstrate the situation but I didn't cut off either of them and was already in the middle of moving before the guy behind me encountered me.

On another note this one from Ashley is pretty bad:


I'd have really struggled not to see red if he'd started to speak to me in that silly little belittling voice, I suspect the RR driver was one of the types who just go about their day wanting something to be miserable about.
 
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tom_e said:
It's not about priority it's about people lacking the self awareness not to put themselves in a position where they might end up run over. Being "right" is irrelevant when you're in an ambulance.
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I could see Brun's point if they were already walking down but they stepped out after I'd already started moving, to me that is just ignorant and rude regardless of priority not to mention your point that they intentionally put themselves in a position a driver might not see them.
 
A bad encounter the missus had to experience. She was on the A50 (60 mph) road where on that section there is a temporary roadworks traffic light. Being Friday evening around 5 pm it was pretty busy and the cars queueing on the opposite lane was very long. Cue in elderly lady who thinks it's not worth her time to wait in the line and proceeds to overtake the line in the opposite lane in which my missus was. Why you say? She wanted to turn right to another street where she wanted to go. This was so dangerous, what if there was another car who wanted to merge on the A50 and find this car in front of them? What if there was an HGV minding their business and have a head on collision? There have been similar incidents on that stretch in the past year. Again highlights the fact that some people should not drive at all, especially when they get past the age of common sense and awareness.

Another pedestrian related one. I was in Altrincham yesterday and I see this young lad with headphones over his head just emerge from this estate, on the pavement on my left and I had to slow down rapidly. Guy was surprised to find a car on the road. I swear he was full zoned in on whatever he was listening to and had no attention to his surroundings and walked straight.
 
Had the driving equivalent of one of those annoying people who stop in the door of a shop they've just entered today. Visited a busy farm shop on Sheppey, where the entrance is just off a busy A-road...you're pretty much in the car park immediately as you enter. A woman in the car in front of me turns in, and then stops pretty much immediately to assess the situation. It's busy and there's cars manoeuvring on their way out, but there's plenty of room for her to push up and make room for anyone following. Instead, I'm left sitting behind her with my arse hanging over the main road. Another case of someone who thinks they only have to worry about what's going on ahead of them :/
 
Not really a bad driving encounter but thought I would ask this anyway (as someone didnt stop)

With the new HWC rule about stopping to allow pedestrians to cross the road when you are entering/exiting a minor road, does this also apply to roundabout entrances/exits? So, if I was going round a roundabout and a pedestrian is showing that they are crossing the road at my exit, should I stop to allow them to cross before carrying on?


EDIT: a helpful example here (go to 2:13-2:16) - If I was the camera car and exiting with the red Mazda and a pedestrian was waiting to cross over that exit - should I stop, allow them to cross and then carry on or does that new rule not apply on roundabouts?? (it does have a drop kerb as well to highlight it even more)

 
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100 mile round trip today, all I saw was lane 2/3 hoggers. My Sunday drive down to Kent usually has a at least one moment where I need to slam the breaks on to save some idiot from themselves
 
Richie said:
With the new HWC rule about stopping to allow pedestrians to cross the road when you are entering/exiting a minor road, does this also apply to roundabout entrances/exits? So, if I was going round a roundabout and a pedestrian is showing that they are crossing the road at my exit, should I stop to allow them to cross before carrying on?
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Something which has never properly been clarified - the best we got from the DVSA was you should stop for them if it is safe to do so. Usually it causes more issues and risk than anything so I don't - especially if driving a large vehicle which might block the view of why I'm stopping in lane 1 which might result in pedestrians emerging from in front of me into the path of traffic in lane 2.
 
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The Highway Code rule about giving way to pedestrians (170) is in the section 'Juctions 170-183'. Roundabouts is completely separate, 184-190.

www.gov.uk

The Highway Code - Using the road (159 to 203) - Guidance - GOV.UK

Rules for using the road, including general rules, overtaking, road junctions, roundabouts, pedestrian crossings and reversing.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
 
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Brun said:
The Highway Code rule about giving way to pedestrians (170) is in the section 'Juctions 170-183'. Roundabouts is completely separate, 184-190.

www.gov.uk

The Highway Code - Using the road (159 to 203) - Guidance - GOV.UK

Rules for using the road, including general rules, overtaking, road junctions, roundabouts, pedestrian crossings and reversing.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
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give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning. If they have started to cross they have priority, so give way
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To be fair I've always done this as I've never thought mowing down pedestrians as being particularly friendly.
 
adidan said:
To be fair I've always done this as I've never thought mowing down pedestrians as being particularly friendly.
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Even though most drivers draw the line at running people down, many will still rebuke pedestrians with the horn.
 
I had a feeling the difference in dashed lines at junctions was significant, but have searched before and not found anything.

A regular juction has a dashed line all the way across - indicating the boundary between major/minor road. The exit from the minor road is a double-dashed line, the second meaning 'give way'.

Roundabouts on the other hand only have a single dash on entry (give way), and nothing on exit. Don't think they're considered as junctions.
 
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The highway code may be a bit wishy-washy but I seem to remember reading that the most vulnerable road user always has right of way, and as pedestrians are the most squishy that pretty much always means them.
 
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