Your bad driving encounters

Another one just now - cutting across a blind bend fully half-way over my side, fortunately I'd slowed right down because I'd come to expect it and had suspicions from the angle of the approach headlights - if I'd have gone around there at the speed many people normally would there would have been no way to avoid a collision. I dunno how people are so utterly stupid it is one of the most avoidable potential accidents there is. Think the person behind me caught on to it from the headlights as well as they backed right off about the same time I had my suspicions.

Earlier today was approaching cars parked on the other side and someone coming the other way initially pulled up, as they should, but then appeared to try and barge their way through, fortunately the car ahead of me just managed to stop to give them enough room to get into a gap and I held back so they could clear - was a little old lady looking absolutely terrified and apologetic and barely able to see over the steering wheel - I have my suspicions they accidentally got on the accelerator and then had to go with it.
 
I dunno how people are so utterly stupid it is one of the most avoidable potential accidents there is.
This is what's crazy to me - I feel like some kind of weirdo just sticking firmly to "don't cross lane markings, if you stay inside white lines no one will touch anyone else". But it works and... Apparently some people don't understand this at all as you've seen.

Mostly I get it in town driving where people get scared and hit the brakes when I approach them close on skinny roads. But ultimately we are either side of a central line so we'll never ****ing touch will we!
 
2 cars at slightly odd angles parked on a corner on double yellow lines 50 yards from AE and where police go through regularly, first one empty, second one looked like there was about 6 people having an orgy in it and a massive hit of weed (probably hot boxing) as we passed... my colleague was not impressed.
 
Think I posted about this one before as I passed it soon after it had happened - driver on drugs drove a cement mixer through red lights at speed and seriously injured two children:


"He received a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, as well as a three-year disqualification from driving." - what does he have on the judge?

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Cement mixer had hardly any damage the Audi was smashed to bits.

EDIT: Dunno if it had any bearing on it but supposedly, though I don't know if true, there was bad driving on the part of the Audi driver as well which may have some effect on the sentence but regardless they still ran a red under influence of drugs.
 
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Last night I was heading out of town when a cab/private hire had pulled up on the oncoming side of the road i.e. facing me but parked on my left side. Full headlights so really dazzling, and then as I moved over a bit to get round them clearly, they drove straight forward without any warning! Really stupid and dangerous. Just a bad decision on top of a bad decision there.

Also saw someone with L plates on a 2024 Audi. Not bad driving per se but I was a bit surprised someone is letting their teenager drive that :eek:
 
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Last night I was heading out of town when a cab/private hire had pulled up on the oncoming side of the road i.e. facing me but parked on my left side. Full headlights so really dazzling, and then as I moved over a bit to get round them clearly, they drove straight forward without any warning! Really stupid and dangerous. Just a bad decision on top of a bad decision there.
I have seen this recently where cars are parked on the wrong side facing oncoming traffic with their headlights on. The least we say about bright new LEDs the better.
 
You are also not supposed to park on the wrong side of the road. Highway Code Rule 239 clearly says:

If you have to stop on the roadside
  • do not park facing against the traffic flow
  • you MUST switch off the engine, headlights and fog lights
Then there's rule 248:
  • You MUST NOT park on a road at night facing against the direction of the traffic flow unless in a recognised parking space.
I actually thought it was a blanket do not park facing traffic rule, but clearly there are two different rules.

There are so many rules that people ignore related to parking, and everything else vehicle related, but as @Uther says, people just don't give a **** and the authorities routinely ignore offenders.
 
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There are so many rules that people ignore related to parking, and everything else vehicle related, but as @Uther says, people just don't give a **** and the authorities routinely ignore offenders.
In one of the instances, it was hard to tell if the car was coming towards me as I needed to go around a car parked to my left. It took about 2-3 seconds for me to realize they were parked facing traffic with headlights on, on my side of the road.
 
I have seen this recently where cars are parked on the wrong side facing oncoming traffic with their headlights on. The least we say about bright new LEDs the better.
I had that the other night, car (probably private hire) parked on my side of the road, headlights on facing me and someone decides to walk from around the back into the road to the passenger side where they can be barely seen. Absolutely crazy.
 
Big arrows painted on the road are apparently not sufficient to allow you to know what lane to be in.

Also has a white van man trying to get as close as physically possible to the back of my car when stopping at lights, junctions, etc. So close I couldn’t see his lights.
 
The other morning on stop start motorway commute traffic. I watched in total horror as a very erratically driven van drove right up the back of an Audi TT. It got on to the roof and then toppled over between the TT and the concrete barrier.

I then watched with bewilderment as car after car drove past without anyone even giving a crap to get out and help.

I genuinely thought the TT occupant could be seriously hurt, so I pulled in to the hard shoulder and got out to see if the occupant was fine (yes it was a girl for those already thinking “girls car”). Thankfully she was fine and just very shaken.

I then assisted two other guys in getting the van driver and his passenger out of the overturned van. They were both clearly drunk and one of them even began directing the traffic. I had to shepherd him away from the single lane of traffic a few times.

I offered the dashcam footage to the TT driver but she already had a front dashcam thankfully.

Honestly had she been in a convertible soft top TT, I think she would have been killed. The roof was well dented, rear window smashed and the drivers side if the car was ruined. A very lucky escape I think and her car will be a total write off.

Credit to the woman in the nurses uniform driving a Tesla for asking if a medic was required. See Tesla owners can be decent people… I assume she was borrowing it ;)

Sorry for the dig at Tesla owners there. :D
 
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I think it's all part of the 'people just don't give a ****' world we live in now unfortunately.
Partly that but I think it's also partly due to modern cars mostly having auto lights and people therefore not even thinking about switching them on or off.

Also last two cars I've had there was no option for having the lights off with the ignition on. Either bright LED DRLs or headlights. The Leon took it a step further where the lights would be on with the ignition off as long as the key was in.
 
Driving this morning and there's a contractors van in front of me and a Tesco lorry in front of him which is doing about 40mph in a single carriageway NSL road. The Tesco lorry driver has given the van driver numerous indications that the road ahead is clear for an overtake, yet the van driver doesn't commit. A few miles ahead the road opens up again for a stretch of empty road, I wait for the van driver to overtake but they're just dawdling - so I make the overtake and right when I'm level with his rear bumper THEN he sticks his indicator on and starts to move out! I brake, he moves back behind the lorry because he's suddenly saw me (the classic manoeuvre - signal - mirror method :rolleyes:) and I then continue to clear the overtake of them and the lorry.

It almost felt intentional but that may be giving the driver more credit than what's due.
 
Big arrows painted on the road are apparently not sufficient to allow you to know what lane to be in.

Also has a white van man trying to get as close as physically possible to the back of my car when stopping at lights, junctions, etc. So close I couldn’t see his lights.
Thats good though, then the lights aren't too bright :cry: .
 
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