Your bad driving encounters

Noticing a lot more dead headlights in people's cars recently. The DRL bit normally works, but the main bulb/LED does not. Are DRLs so bright in some cases people don't realise their headlight is out?
 
Shadowness said:
Noticing a lot more dead headlights in people's cars recently. The DRL bit normally works, but the main bulb/LED does not. Are DRLs so bright in some cases people don't realise their headlight is out?
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The DRLs on my Qashqai are probably similar to halogens on the weaker end of the scale though there is no proper beam to them so it should be obvious. (Equivalent to 35-40 watt halogen).

When parked say 10 feet from a wall someone used to much older cars might mistake them for headlights but when driving it should be much more obvious.
 
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Shadowness said:
Noticing a lot more dead headlights in people's cars recently. The DRL bit normally works, but the main bulb/LED does not. Are DRLs so bright in some cases people don't realise their headlight is out?
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Almost definitely - that's how the thiefs who took my mum's Fiesta were caught lol. Default behaviour is the dash is lit up (whether lights on or not) and DRLs. I had been caught out a few times pulling away --- they are so bright, and the dash is lit up, so it took a second or two to notice. The thieves didn't notice at all and stood out like a sore thumb.
 
On the M602 this evening, was trundling in the middle lane, flicked right indicator with a decent room to move on to 3rd lane. Cue Merc EQC driver goes into "You shall not pass" mode. Anyway, got behind his car only to see the number plate covered in grime, and to be honest have seen several cars in past few days in similar fashion. In stop start traffic checks the first two letters of his reg to be "DK".

Made more sense after this little encounter lol. Overtook him later anyway on M62 after 2 miles. People are weird.
 
Witnessed a bizarre one on a traffic light controlled roundabout this evening. There are two lanes that go around the roundabout and two that go straight on. There are two cars in front of me at the lights waiting to go either straight on or around the roundabout. The first car goes onto the roundabout left hand lane to take the first exit, but has to stop because the next set of lights are red. An Audi driver seems to try and beat him by accelerating hard in the straight on lane and then trying to cut in front of the other car onto the roundabout, when there obviously is no room to do so. Audi driver then starts repeatedly blasting his horn like a loon as we all sit there until the next set of lights change and we get to move on.
 
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Is this just a local phenomenon or is it elsewhere?

People stopping about 10ft away from the control line at traffic lights, crucially ones where there's ground loop which by stopping that far back they're not activating.
 
Resident said:
Is this just a local phenomenon or is it elsewhere?

People stopping about 10ft away from the control line at traffic lights, crucially ones where there's ground loop which by stopping that far back they're not activating.
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I haven't seen it around where I live or workplace. One of my colleagues has said he has seen it around Blackburn, and people posting on local FB Groups on why the lights aren't going Green. :p
 
I went to visit a friend who had just come out of hospital and parked around the back of his where there is a gated, private driveway. I came back to my car to find someone had parked partly blocking the exit so I couldn't get out.

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I then called the police number 101 and explained the situation. They searched the registration and had a number attached to the details. The operator said they would call me back after trying the number. A few minutes later the operative said they had contacted a family member, who would then contact the person who was at work and inform them that if they didn't move the car then it would be moved at their expense.

10 min later a sheepish woman came and reversed so I could get out. I thanked her and she apologised. In her defense there was no sign on the gate stating "No parking", though I'm not sure she would have paid any attention to it if she didn't see the dropped kerb or the gate in the first place. ;)
 
There doesn't need to be a sign as I'm sure I read somewhere it is an offence to block a driveway if there is a vehicle parked on it. However, if there is no car on the drive then you are fair game though at that point it just becomes a **** move.

Edit - this sums it up.
 
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should have a UK's worst roads tv programme .. but in Cambs driving down my fens-subsidence prone NSL candidate in the dark astride white line about 45,
the most you could tolerate if you have any mechanical empathy (those electronic brain cells jonny) red van pushes past .
just surprised his shocks didn't bounce him off the road.

I need an accelerometer app on phone to measure road surface unevenness and collect some objective data.
 
One person in a car with L plates on indicating left in the left lane of a two lane roundabout off a motorway exit but going right. Very lucky they weren't taken out.
 
Dont know if its because so many people are skint and trying to hypermile everywhere but so many people are driving dangerously slow. Ive seen so many people drive 45mph on dual carraigeways and motorways and 30mph on 50mph limits its ridiculous.

Also, since when was it ok to try and join a motorway from a slip road driving at 40mph, especially the morons that seemingly dont understand there is a give way on the slip road and proceed to pull out at 40mph in front of lorries forcing them to stand on the brakes
 
I feel like pedestrians although having priority don't seem to take care of their own safety. This morning I was approaching a local roundabout with Sun in my eyes. As usual being very careful and leaving space for cars to turn on to my left into a minor road that is just before the Yellow flashing lights pedestrian crossing.

I begin to move as the traffic clears ahead to approach the roundabout. Clocked a 60+ year old going diagonally stepping on the road before the zebra crossing. At this point I was already more than halfway on the crossing. I raised my had apologetically straightaway even though it wasn't my fault. Old man gets angry waving arms and muttering expletives. I couldn't hear a thing what he said anyway.

I don't have the sixth sense that someone is going to step on the street before the crossing and expect me to stop and slam my brakes.
I have always been careful when I am waiting to cross over flashing yellow or Traffic light controlled crossing. In fact I saved my life by waiting a couple of seconds at a traffic light controlled pedestrian crossing when I saw a car was too fast and wasn't going to stop even at Red light. Honestly, I have seen school kids be more vigilant.

Will leave it to Monday Blues. :)
 
Highlight of the weekend for me has to be this box junction on Saturday evening:

www.google.co.uk

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.co.uk www.google.co.uk

There were roadworks on Bromford Lane to the south of the junction, and quite heavy traffic, I'm in Bromford Road, waiting to turn right to head north on Bromford Lane. Was sitting for literally 20+ mins, through multiple cycles of the lights, as people were just completely ignoring the box junction and blocking the road (the northbound side of the road was relatively free flowing). :mad:

I don't get it, why are people so desperate to sit up the **** of the car in front, even though it's not going to get them to their destination any quicker?

LowEndTorque said:
I feel like pedestrians although having priority don't seem to take care of their own safety. This morning I was approaching a local roundabout with Sun in my eyes. As usual being very careful and leaving space for cars to turn on to my left into a minor road that is just before the Yellow flashing lights pedestrian crossing.

I begin to move as the traffic clears ahead to approach the roundabout. Clocked a 60+ year old going diagonally stepping on the road before the zebra crossing. At this point I was already more than halfway on the crossing. I raised my had apologetically straightaway even though it wasn't my fault. Old man gets angry waving arms and muttering expletives. I couldn't hear a thing what he said anyway.

I don't have the sixth sense that someone is going to step on the street before the crossing and expect me to stop and slam my brakes.
I have always been careful when I am waiting to cross over flashing yellow or Traffic light controlled crossing. In fact I saved my life by waiting a couple of seconds at a traffic light controlled pedestrian crossing when I saw a car was too fast and wasn't going to stop even at Red light. Honestly, I have seen school kids be more vigilant.

Will leave it to Monday Blues. :)
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To be fair, if someone looks like they may be approaching the crossing you should be prepared for them to do so and be ready to stop.

However, I do totally agree. For pedestrians who assume traffic car is going to stop when they have priority and just step out, it's a matter of "when" rather than "if" they get taken out.
 
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Bear said:
Dont know if its because so many people are skint and trying to hypermile everywhere but so many people are driving dangerously slow. Ive seen so many people drive 45mph on dual carraigeways and motorways and 30mph on 50mph limits its ridiculous.

Also, since when was it ok to try and join a motorway from a slip road driving at 40mph, especially the morons that seemingly dont understand there is a give way on the slip road and proceed to pull out at 40mph in front of lorries forcing them to stand on the brakes
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Cant say I’ve noticed this on the M74/M6/M1, maybe the opposite with more people driving over the speed limit or middle lane hogging.
 
... not everyone too slow - in cambs report on the a14 dual on friday - people driving too quickly and inattentively causing regular accidents and economic impact on felixstow transport
(playing with phones big culprit) so plan to reduce to 60


jpaul said:
I need an accelerometer app on phone to measure road surface unevenness and collect some objective data.
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will give some of these a try, for my local max 45 roller-coaster road
There are several vibration meter apps available on the market. Here are some of the best ones:

  1. Vibration Sensor: This app is available on Google Play Store and can be used to measure vibrations in your surroundings. It provides real-time feedback on vibration levels, interactive graphs, and data insights. The app is free to download and use, but it contains ads 1.
  2. Vibration Meter: This app is available on Google Play Store and can be used to measure the strength of vibration, quakes, earthquakes, vibrations of the human body, or any other objects around you. It allows for detecting and recording of seismic waves generated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, and other sources of vibration and shocks 2.
  3. Vibration Meter - Vibrometer: This app is available on Google Play Store and can be used to measure and analyze vibrations in machines and structures. It can detect and quantify the magnitude, check frequency, and direction of vibrations, and can provide real-time feedback on vibration levels 3.
  4. The Best Vibration Meter: This app is available on the App Store and can be used to measure the vibration (seismograph, body tremor, seismometer). It uses the phone sensors to measure vibrations and is free to download and use 4.
Please note that these apps are not intended for critical applications, and results should be used as reference data for general monitoring purposes 1423.
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e: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gz3n8175mo
"If there are areas where you need to have a reduced speed limit well then let's look at it seriously, let's get the evidence and see if it works."

Passmore highlighted the 60mph limit on the Orwell Bridge between junction 56 and 57 which he said had "drastically reduced" the number of collisions in that area.

"A couple, three or four minutes extra in a journey time without being delayed is surely worth considering," he said.
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