Driving Standards.

[CyberCynth]

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed how poor the standard of driving has become in recent years? Every time I go on a trip, particularly on motorways, I become increasingly frustrated by bad and ill-mannered driving. The worse offence seems to be failure to indicate. Drivers seem to wander aimlessly from one lane to another, without giving any clues to the rest of us as to which lane they intend using. My car is four years old, but I'm sure newer models still have those little twiggy sticks; they're quite easy to locate as a rule, being one side or other of the steering wheel, and you just flick them up or down depending on which signal you wish to make. Easy peazy. Now, if it's too much trouble for folk to flick a little twiggy stick, does that mean they can't be bothered to use their rear view mirror either??

Just don't get me started on tailgaters and centre-lane hoggers! I thought the latter was now illegal? Doesn't seem to stop some people, who manoeuvre straight into the centre lane on joining the motorway (not always worrying whether there's already someone in their path) and sit there studiously ignoring anyone who needs to change lanes, for the entirety of their journey.

Is there no such thing as Road Craft these days? Or is there a competition which has somehow passed me by, to see who can be the most ignorant git behind the wheel?

- Or am I just becoming the archetypal Grumpy Old Woman???

 

[ProfJohnL]

Welcome to the Grumpies club. Perhaps we can rival the Woosies

Incidentally the popints you make always have bee offences, but it was usually covered by driving without due care and attention or dangerous driving, but now there are more specific offences for
Hogging the centre lane or more precisely not moving back to the nearside lane
and tailgating
and undertaking,
and failing to use your mirrors
and indicators

 

[DeliDave_]

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[RogerL]

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Seeing that picture prompted me to dig my copy out - I noticed in the front is reference to "Towing Roadcraft - The Essential Towing Handbook" with TSO reference 011 552 0228 - I must get one, for the "set".

I certainly find all Cynth's points quite common - if I had my way the driving would be tough enough to get rid of the worst 50% of drivers - so I guess the GRUMPY OLD bit applies to me too.

 

[chrisbee1]

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You wouldn't like to donate your copy to Kent's finest would you? They seem to have misplaced their copy.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

aye. and while your at it send a copy to the west yorkshire police, they have only two driving styles .
1. follow a vehicle at close range [less than 6 feet] and wait for them to do something .
2. stick on their der, der, and ignore every rule ever written in that dam book.
definitely need to start a grumpy club grrrrrr.
I'm with Cynth, nobody seems to know what a roundabout is for anymore, you join it whenever there is room to sneak in just in front of the car approaching from the right. then stay in the inside lane untill your exit. making sure no one on the outside can exit in front of you, oh and pap your horn in disgust if someone dares to block your way.

 

[Gabsgrandad]

Certainly see all the things Cynth talks about. But have you ever met one of these people? They must be around us, I haven't, in all my years of driving never met a culprit, not knowingly. Who are all these thoughtless morons? (Have you ever met one that confesses as to how bad they are?) Or is there a little bit of it in all of us,or are we are all better than the average? (Of course we are.)

 

[CyberCynth]

Certainly see all the things Cynth talks about. But have you ever met one of these people? They must be around us, I haven't, in all my years of driving never met a culprit, not knowingly. Who are all these thoughtless morons? (Have you ever met one that confesses as to how bad they are?) Or is there a little bit of it in all of us,or are we are all better than the average? (Of course we are.)

As aliens, in an old T.V. series years ago, used to be identified by having a forked tongue, there must be some distinguishing feature by which we can identify bad drivers when not actually in their cars! Are there any psychologists amongst us? I've heard previously on T.V. programmes etc that the bad driver may be quite a 'normal' citizen in other areas of life, but that driving somehow tends to bring out the worst in people! Anyone got any other theories?

 

[CyberCynth]

Welcome to the Grumpies club. Perhaps we can rival the Woosies

Incidentally the popints you make always have bee offences, but it was usually covered by driving without due care and attention or dangerous driving, but now there are more specific offences for
Hogging the centre lane or more precisely not moving back to the nearside lane
and tailgating
and undertaking,
and failing to use your mirrors
and indicators

Like your posting, Prof! Especially the idea of a Grumpies Club!

 

[Gafferbill]

........my theory is that we are all evolutionary closer to being Hunter / Gatherers than we realise.
We did not develop to travel at any speed over that of fast running or being on horseback for millennia.
Only relatively recently have we found ourselves in charge of a much faster means of getting from A to B.
Some drivers are better at adapting to an unnatural human skill than others and always will be.

I have heard it said that the best way of spotting a driver that needs to improve is to look in a vanity mirror :lol:

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

In another area there has been evolution and we have gone a complete circle - that of communications. It started off with locations being physically joined together with cable (viz telegraph over copper cable). We then went 'wire less'. Guess what - back to cables again joining places together (viz internet via fibreoptic cable).

 

[Gozza]

I've got Towing Roadcraft - I bought it when I was planning to do the Advanced Driving Test (Towing). To be honest there's little in there that isn't already in Roadcraft or in the most basic towing manuals.

 

[emmerson]

This thread is absolutely pointless, as you are all moronic drivers, except for Cyber Cynth and me! We, of course are perfect drivers, as we are in all other walks of life. Its just that no-one else has realised this yet.
Can I just add two of my personal hates?
1) The twonk who only today entered a roundabout with left indicator on, so I pulled (slowly,fortunately) out from his first exit, which I presumed he was going to take, only to have him continue round the roundabout to his third exit, still with l/h indicator on.
2) Lorry drivers who block the outside lane approaching roadworks half a mile or more before the cones, thereby doubling the length of the queue.
Oh, and a new one I've noted recently, that of entering a roundabout with r/h indicator on, then going straight across?

 

[Gagakev]

Welcome to the Grumpies club. Perhaps we can rival the Woosies

Like your posting, Prof! Especially the idea of a Grumpies Club!

Wont be joining the Grumpies Club ...toooooooo young and still earning a living :lol: :lol:

 

[RogerL]

Welcome to the Grumpies club. Perhaps we can rival the Woosies

Like your posting, Prof! Especially the idea of a Grumpies Club!

Wont be joining the Grumpies Club ...toooooooo young and still earning a living :lol: :lol:

It's not an "Old" grumpies" club, it's for "Grumpies" of any age.

I'm in !

 

[CyberCynth]

This thread is absolutely pointless, as you are all moronic drivers, except for Cyber Cynth and me! We, of course are perfect drivers, as we are in all other walks of life. Its just that no-one else has realised this yet.
Can I just add two of my personal hates?
1) The twonk who only today entered a roundabout with left indicator on, so I pulled (slowly,fortunately) out from his first exit, which I presumed he was going to take, only to have him continue round the roundabout to his third exit, still with l/h indicator on.
2) Lorry drivers who block the outside lane approaching roadworks half a mile or more before the cones, thereby doubling the length of the queue.
Oh, and a new one I've noted recently, that of entering a roundabout with r/h indicator on, then going straight across?

Thank you emmerson! Except I'm going to quickly remove the 'Little Miss Perfect' hat you've perched upon my head, as I am in no position to be wearing it, even with tongue in cheek! hmy:

Ok, roundabouts. They seem to have become a bit of a minefield in terms of lane discipline and indication. In your last paragraph you mention people indicating right when 'going straight across'. (I assume you mean taking 2nd exit?) Now, when I was learning to drive (over 40 years ago) I was told, on negotiating a roundabout, to keep indicating right until I'd reached the exit I required, then indicate left. This is hardly worthwhile these days with the tiny 'pudding plate' roundabouts, but on some bigger ones, I find that if I am in the left hand lane, the traffic approaching the roundabout at the next exit for some reason assumes I am going to exit left straight away, and pulls out in front of me. So a right indicator tells them I am still negotiating the roundabout.

What tends to confuse the issue is when lane markings/traffic signs instructs traffic to use a different lane to that which you'd expect, so for example you'd be instructed to use the right hand lane to take the 2nd exit. The number of times I've done that, and found a vehicle following me round,on my left, also wanting to take the 2nd exit, and there's a nasty moment when you run out of space on exiting the roundabout! And yes, I have sounded my horn to let the driver on the inside lane know of my presence, as they evidently haven't followed the signage instructions, used their mirrors or glanced right.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Age is no barrier to becoming a member of the Grumpy Club. Look at any two year old, whose been told they can't watch the green parties political broadcast! or the teenager who has to be reminded that dinner can be eaten without a phone in their hand. Or the traffic enforcement officer who finds the car they've eye-bold as having been parked illegally has a blue badge

But I think the entrance requirements should quite strict, You should apply by phoning a premium rate number, hmy: which has at least three layers of menu options, hmy: ultimately offering the applications customer service, which tells you, you are tenth in the queue interspersed with advertising from ambulance chasers, PPI claims handlers and double/triple glazing companies :woohoo: .

When you do get through you your told by even phoning the number and hanging on so long your not grumpy enough to join. :huh:

 

[emmerson]

Cynth, you're dead right, roundabouts are a total minefield, but if I remember right the Highway Code (I've lent mine to grandson) says that if you are leaving a roundabout after and including the twelve o'clock exit, you should use the lane nearest the centre, and only indicate immediately after the exit before the one you want, if you see what I mean?
In other words, if you want exit three, stay in the centre lane, then indicate left after junction two.
This does get confusing on some modern roundabouts, such as the one at J33 on the M4 near Cardiff, which tells you to use the outermost lane to go all the way round!
Perhaps the best way would be to do as they do in Paris, and not signal at all, and just barge your way through!

 

[emmerson]

Age is no barrier to becoming a member of the Grumpy Club. Look at any two year old, whose been told they can't watch the green parties political broadcast! or the teenager who has to be reminded that dinner can be eaten without a phone in their hand. Or the traffic enforcement officer who finds the car they've eye-bold as having been parked illegally has a blue badge

But I think the entrance requirements should quite strict, You should apply by phoning a premium rate number, hmy: which has at least three layers of menu options, hmy: ultimately offering the applications customer service, which tells you, you are tenth in the queue interspersed with advertising from ambulance chasers, PPI claims handlers and double/triple glazing companies :woohoo: .

When you do get through you your told by even phoning the number and hanging on so long your not grumpy enough to join. :huh:

Prof, I just love it!
My wife says that I am now a Grumpie's club all by myself!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Thank you emmerson,

Thats one of the nicest things anyone said to me. My kids claim they don't appreciate my sense of humour, yet the number of time they use my jokes or sayings, and it they stop themselves when they realise its what I would have said, then I'm glad i've endowed and trained them to have a healthy sense of scepticism. - Now for the rest of the world.

 

[madmi601]

I totally agree with you. I get so annoyed when other drivers when they think I should know what they are going to do.

 

[CyberCynth]

Age is no barrier to becoming a member of the Grumpy Club. Look at any two year old, whose been told they can't watch the green parties political broadcast! or the teenager who has to be reminded that dinner can be eaten without a phone in their hand. Or the traffic enforcement officer who finds the car they've eye-bold as having been parked illegally has a blue badge

But I think the entrance requirements should quite strict, You should apply by phoning a premium rate number, hmy: which has at least three layers of menu options, hmy: ultimately offering the applications customer service, which tells you, you are tenth in the queue interspersed with advertising from ambulance chasers, PPI claims handlers and double/triple glazing companies :woohoo: .

When you do get through you your told by even phoning the number and hanging on so long your not grumpy enough to join. :huh:

Prof, I just love it!
My wife says that I am now a Grumpie's club all by myself!

Prof, you've forgotten the bit about the really irritating tinned music interspersing the menu options/queue numbering system etc! :lol:

Ok Mods, time for a proper Grumpy category in this Forum!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Who remembers having to pass off side to off side when turning right at junctions?

 

[Dustydog]

Who remembers having to pass off side to off side when turning right at junctions?

And the days of the hand / arm signals which have now denigrated into either movement of the middle finger or two forefingers hmy:

 

[Raywood]

Must admit whenever we go South into England it is noticeable the further South you go the worse the driving gets. There are idiots up here but in general Scottish drivers do seem to be better and are more tollerantl. Getting there first seems to be the order of the day in the South possibly due to the higher density of the trafic there.