Your bad driving encounters

Had one of those people today sitting at 50mph on a 60 mph dual carraigeway. Obviously no issue with that but as I was doing 60 I indicated to overtake them and when I got level with them they decided to speed up. I just slowed down and safely moved behind them again. Once again they slowed down to 50 mph and I indicated to overtake but yep, they sped up again but this time they waited unti I had already got past them and was already moving in front of them with plenty of space to spare. They accelerated and blared their horn at me then tailgated me, I slowly let my speed go down to 50 mph but not out of spite (that comes later), I did it to get them to stop tailgating.

It did not work and they persisted to tailgate for the next few miles at 60 mph and eventually we reached my exit. Being a dual carriagway my exit was one of those perpenducular roads with no slip road that you need to slow down quite a bit for. Now here is the slightyl spiteful bit. I began slowly reducing speed a fair bit before I normally would by coasting and then began braking slowly but safely. All the while this tailgating muppet was unable to go around because the other lane was occupied.

Slower and slower until finally I reached my exit at about 10 mph (or less). He was flashing his lights and leaning on his horn by the time I eventually got off the road. Petty I know.
 
Dis86 said:
The other one is going around a roundabout to avoid a queue. I can't tell if it's acceptable or douchey
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Depends - if skipping a queue in a left only turning lane by going around the roundabout I wouldn't do that personally, if a left and straight ahead lane is queued up due to congestion straight on I'll sometimes go around the roundabout to go left - I actually don't do it that often though as often there is chaos and people road raging at the roundabout straight over exit and I'm usually in no rush.
 
Jelly4mybelly said:
What on earth goes on in peoples heads to do this?

Do they never consider the possibility that the M25 might have various junctions at which they can come back the other direction?

I honestly think if people are seen doing this they need an immediate and lengthy ban. And no exceptions, including if you have a job that serves the community.
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It amazes me that they've not installed cameras to catch offenders.
 
cheesefest said:
Why do drivers go straight ahead on right turn only lanes?
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Had this happen to me today the van right hand turn only lane and me going straight, he starts on the horn as if I have done something wrong pulls in behind me so clearly wanted to go straight also, couldnt be patient enough to wait in the 2 car queue behind me. why are some people so incapable of reading lane layouts.
 
adwol48 said:
why are some people so incapable of reading lane layouts.
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Something I will say is that far too many places have unintuitive lane layouts which if you aren't familiar with them are often poorly signed and/or markings have deteriorated. Our roads could be done so much better in many places - more and more places seem to have overly complicated layouts now, in the name of traffic flow I suspect, which might make sense once you've driven it end to end once to understand it but is prohibitive to interpret on approach for the first time.

Additionally some people more naturally can analyse what they are looking at than others and it isn't a skill, at least when I learnt to drive, which much time was spent on imparting. For me it isn't something which comes naturally and I have to remind myself to think "what am I looking at?" on approach to a roundabout I don't know even after 20 years of driving.

End of the day though more often than not it comes down to people not bothering to/too lazy to read the layout and/or don't care.

EDIT: Something I think Ashley Neal's videos are useful for, though it isn't something he covers specifically - they give you the information to see the puzzle pieces not just looking blankly at the whole picture.
 
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Resident said:
It's impatience/selfishness more than inability.

In my experience it's almost always someone in a German marque...
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It is the Range Rovers, the newer squatted back style Evoque, etc., I see it from the most. Usually someone with the most basic spec but a vanity plate :s

I'm actually seeing it less and less from BMW drivers these days.

EDIT: Shame I don't have the rear dashcam hooked up - could share a few things from the past few days including a self-important RR driver trying to argue with a coach which was definitely there first but even if it hadn't have been would only have made sense to let it through (though it would have been a non-issue if not for the stupid pavement parking along the road there).
 
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Rroff said:
EDIT: Shame I don't have the rear dashcam hooked up - could share a few things from the past few days including a self-important RR driver trying to argue with a coach which was definitely there first but even if it hadn't have been would only have made sense to let it through (though it would have been a non-issue if not for the stupid pavement parking along the road there).
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As a bus driver I get it all the time. 'Gotta beat the bus' syndrome.
 
yes saw a poor pheasant yesterday on my bike - those Range Rovers should pick on something their own size - local tractor drivers must be 30-40mph unloaded in their new john deere's
unfortunately pheasant didn't look salvageable.

not sure if they detail their tractors regularly but usually look cleaner than the cars, and plates aren't (intentionally?) covered in mudblood
 
Driving home last night saw a farm vehicle coming the other way with a car behind them flashing their main beams - the impression I got was they were trying to get the farm vehicle to pull over to let them pass rather than trying to alert them to a problem - couldn't see any obvious issue either.

Though I do have some sympathy as it is a long section to sit behind a vehicle doing ~20-25MPH if they'd been following it the whole length of the road with only one chance to overtake and there was traffic ahead of me that denied them that.
 
It's honestly getting to the point now that I wish public transport was so good than private vehicle ownership is just banned, I just don't like driving anymore, the road is full of idiots just not paying enough attention.

My girlfriend and I went to John Lewis today, only a mere two miles away. Less than 200 metres from the flat, I get cut up at a roundabout by a bus who was approaching far too fast, the guy driving it and I were making eye contact - he just carried on because he knew braking to a stop would leave his passengers being thrown forward.

Start driving up a steep hill with two lanes and a car I'm overtaking almost side swipes me because they're not paying attention. Get to John Lewis and we're crossing a pedestrian crossing, when a Tesla fails to give way, in fairness he put his hand up to apologise but there was absolutely nothing blocking his view of said crossing.
 
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