Shite driver

[Bren]

Has anybody noticed how SLOW the british motoring public seem to be driving?

 

We all know about tosspots in A3's trying to go for the land speed record on the M6, I am more concerned with the bell ends who amble along at 30-40mph on roads that have the national speed limit.

 

Bends? WTF are they? Slow right down because my modern car with all it's gizmos may actually fall off the face of the earth if I go too fast over the curves.

 

For the second consecutive day I have driven up the A49 into Warrington - some lovely sweeping bends and plenty of view up ahead (why bikers like it). Queues of sheeple plodding along, no one even trying to overtake.

 

If you saw a silver car going past you on the otherside of the road with it's signal on it was me. In a diesel vectra.

 

If that does'nt make you feel ashamed then nothing will.

[dollywobbler]

Nope. The main problem around here is people falling off the road because they're driving too quickly. The '40mph everywhere' brigade do piss me off, but more and more of them seem to be finding themselves on speed awareness courses around here...

[MarvinsMom]

this isnt a problem that i've noticed around home either.

 

the road to the home of SWMBO are the moor roads between whitby and guisborough and also over the top off the moors from castleton. in both cases they are part of the tt circuit, or you would think so given the way some people drive on them. the addition of sheep on the road from castleton is another minor inconvenience. and as for the road warriors on the A1M and M1 the less said the better.....

[mrcitroen]

It's the ones that 'comfort brake' going round corners at walking speed, and those that stop at roundabouts with very open views for a look when you can see for a good distance if there is traffic, or adjusting your speed to slip in.

[cobblers]

Practically every other morning on the way to work this last few months I have had to overtake the same bloke in a Hilux doing 25/30 mph in a 50 limit. Nowadays he usually blares his horn at me as I overtake. It's a perfectly safe overtake, something I would do whether driving a fast car or even my flipping old t25.

 

Occasionally he eventually catches up with me in traffic about a mile down the road, and he will tailgate me like mad and put his full beam on. I've no idea what his problem is but it really amuses me how angry it is making him, I reckon he'll just disappear off the road behind me one day because he's had a heart attack, although I do worry a bit that he'll try and ram me off the road or something one day.

[davidfowler2000]

It's a major thing in Scotlandland. 50mph along the M8 with perfect visibility and dry roads is pretty much the agreed upon way of doing that road these days. Usually accompanied with fog lights front and rear and double speed wipers. Just front fogs though if you're a Park's of Hamilton coach driver.

 

Then there's are the utter knob jockeys that sit at 45mph along a single carriageway then do 45 through a 30 zone. Surely even if they don't look at their speedo they must notice the difference and at least slow down somewhat.

 

My biggest personal gripe though, as a coachist, are the ones who can't keep a steady speed or don't know what speed they should be doing.

The ones you overtake then speed up to sit behind you for miles and miles. The slowest I have went (on a CLEAR dual cabbageway) is 25mph in order for one of these fuckwits to finally overtake me only for me to go past them about a mile down the road and the whole charade to happen again.

Or the ones who overtake, pull in and throw the anchor out the window because they see a speed camera meanwhile all you can do is a similar maneouver 'cos there were people passing that period stain that just made himself become very good friends with your front bumper.

The ones who go to overtake you as you yourself are approaching an overtake scenario only to slow down half way along your bus or sit right on your back corner then slam on the broms when you do 'cos they think you'll slow down and pull out anyways.

Or the ones you go to pass, speed up, then pull away from you meanwhile the kind person who let you out to do said overtake instantly thinks you're the planet's biggest cunt cloth for pulling out, slowing them down and simply pulling back in.

[fordperv]

i have noticed this on the country roads which i travel on to go to work, there is usually some idiot doing 30 mph on a clear dry road

[Grundig]

I've noticed this too over the last few years  -  I had put it down to the high cost of fuel, but that has reduced in price of late ??

[hairnet]

two wheels and front facing av and speed cams - NAE PRABLEM

[martybabes]

It's a major thing in Scotlandland. 50mph along the M8 with perfect visibility and dry roads is pretty much the agreed upon way of doing that road these days. Usually accompanied with fog lights front and rear and double speed wipers. Just front fogs though if you're a Park's of Hamilton coach driver.

 

Then there's are the utter knob jockeys that sit at 45mph along a single carriageway then do 45 through a 30 zone. Surely even if they don't look at their speedo they must notice the difference and at least slow down somewhat.

 

My biggest personal gripe though, as a coachist, are the ones who can't keep a steady speed or don't know what speed they should be doing.

The ones you overtake then speed up to sit behind you for miles and miles. The slowest I have went (on a CLEAR dual cabbageway) is 25mph in order for one of these fuckwits to finally overtake me only for me to go past them about a mile down the road and the whole charade to happen again.

Or the ones who overtake, pull in and throw the anchor out the window because they see a speed camera meanwhile all you can do is a similar maneouver 'cos there were people passing that period stain that just made himself become very good friends with your front bumper.

The ones who go to overtake you as you yourself are approaching an overtake scenario only to slow down half way along your bus or sit right on your back corner then slam on the broms when you do 'cos they think you'll slow down and pull out anyways.

Or the ones you go to pass, speed up, then pull away from you meanwhile the kind person who let you out to do said overtake instantly thinks you're the planet's biggest cunt cloth for pulling out, slowing them down and simply pulling back in.

And breathe...

[I_am_Diesel]

I've noticed it too, nearly every day my short drive to work is ruined by some twunt doing 35/40mph. It's bad enough in East Anglia with tractors but people in cars, no way. Usually the culprit is a mature person who will continue at their 40mph pace even through the 30mph zones. I can forgive lorry drivers because they don't have a choice but car drivers do.

A real pet hate of mine at the moment!!!

[wuvvum]

It does seem to be particularly bad at the moment, and it is winding me up, much as I wish it didn't.  Anyone doing less than 40mph on a NSL A-road gets an angry blast of the horn as I go past them.  It's part of the reason I upgraded the horn on the Rover if I'm honest, childish though that may sound - the combination of quadruple air horns and an L-series at 5,000rpm is enough to make even the most oblivious Fusion driver wake up, and maybe even notice the half mile queue of pissed-off drivers behind them.  I do genuinely think that if you're not competent / confident enough behind the wheel to do a suitable speed for the conditions, you shouldn't be on the road.

 

There is the odd exception to the rule though.  The other day I was following an old dear in a 307 down a local back road which really wasn't suitable for overtaking.  He was doing about 30-35, and I was getting annoyed.  He then reached a field entrance, pulled over and waved me past, before pulling back out behind me.  I was so shocked I almost forgot to thank him.

[brickwall]

Yeah, definitely getting worse around here and I have no idea why. Nice wide country roads and doddlers  doing 40mph

[AnthonyG]

It's the ones that 'comfort brake' going round corners at walking speed

This happens a lot near my parents, (rural Herefordshire with high retiree pop.) usually in near new CRV/RAV4s.

 

But generally I agree with DW, people going too fast for a given road conditions are much more of a problem. I guess I'm lucky enough to mainly drive on roads where ditherers can be overtaken safely.

[Cavcraft]

.

 

Then there's are the utter knob jockeys that sit at 45mph along a single carriageway then do 45 through a 30 zone.

 

 

Amen, brother. There's a stretch of road by me (on the way to work, too) where people frequently do this, gets right on my bleeding tits.

[garbaldy]

 

 

Then there's are the utter knob jockeys that sit at 45mph along a single carriageway then do 45 through a 30 zone.

 

 

 

An old mate I grew up with did this /\   

His father told him that in his little yellow mini 45mph was the most economical speed so he stuck to it religiously   some of his other foibles where not to brake it wears out the pads, not to indicate as the bulbs don't last as long,  not to turn on lights as this uses more fuel, not to turn on the heater for same reason,

I only once went for a hurl with him and he coasted the car out the garage and all the way down the street at walking speed before starting it and of we went, as we approached an old double decker which was sitting at 40mph he simply pulled out to over take without accelerating and we ended up on the wrong side of the road for a mile, 

He was car mad though and he drove a lot my cars, one memorable moment was him sitting at the ton in my renno 9 for mile after mile (wasn't his fuel you see)  what a tosser hence the old mate reference

 

This was long before the Mr been character so I wonder if a certain Mr Atkinson saw him driving about

[dollywobbler]

It's the ones that 'comfort brake' going round corners at walking speed, and those that stop at roundabouts with very open views for a look when you can see for a good distance if there is traffic, or adjusting your speed to slip in.

 

Or the people (sadly it always seems to be women) who can't focus on one than more entrance to a roundabout. You know, they sit there with a huge queue of traffic behind them because they're only watching the next junction to their right. If there's someone there, even if they can't enter the roundabout due to traffic, they refuse to move. Great for causing totally unnecessary traffic jams. 

[320touring]

It's a major thing in Scotlandland. 50mph along the M8 with perfect visibility and dry roads is pretty much the agreed upon way of doing that road these days. Usually accompanied with fog lights front and rear and double speed wipers. Just front fogs though if you're a Park's of Hamilton coach driver.

 

Then there's are the utter knob jockeys that sit at 45mph along a single carriageway then do 45 through a 30 zone. Surely even if they don't look at their speedo they must notice the difference and at least slow down somewhat.

 

My biggest personal gripe though, as a coachist, are the ones who can't keep a steady speed or don't know what speed they should be doing.

The ones you overtake then speed up to sit behind you for miles and miles. The slowest I have went (on a CLEAR dual cabbageway) is 25mph in order for one of these fuckwits to finally overtake me only for me to go past them about a mile down the road and the whole charade to happen again.

Or the ones who overtake, pull in and throw the anchor out the window because they see a speed camera meanwhile all you can do is a similar maneouver 'cos there were people passing that period stain that just made himself become very good friends with your front bumper.

The ones who go to overtake you as you yourself are approaching an overtake scenario only to slow down half way along your bus or sit right on your back corner then slam on the broms when you do 'cos they think you'll slow down and pull out anyways.

Or the ones you go to pass, speed up, then pull away from you meanwhile the kind person who let you out to do said overtake instantly thinks you're the planet's biggest cunt cloth for pulling out, slowing them down and simply pulling back in.

I did 3 yrs commuting on m8 from kirky to livingston..bloody hell!

 

I ended up just defensive driving-minimal liability and max protetction from other idiots.

 

From march to october i used to use backroads out past airdrie-used to take the same time, less variable (nae tailbacks due to crashes etc) and if the old aaz golf was wound up, you could claim 4/5 scalps each day.

 

Now I dont drive to commute driving is much more pleasant:)

[twosmoke300]

I wonder if any of these Dawdlers are actually modern diesels in limp home ?

[jakebullet]

My current driving hate is when you're in a 50 average speed check, and you get some lorryist re-enacting duel.

 

Yes, I'm travelling at an indicated 50 mph. Sitting 0.7mm from my bumper with your truck is not going to make me speed up for the simple fact that there is 4 miles of traffic in front of me that is all travelling at 50* mph. Maybe you would get away with 56, or 'cos your foreign registered, but that doesn't work when there's hundreds in your way.

[MrDuke]

The thing that seriously wound me up last time I had to do a long motorway stint, was lane discipline. I always expect there to be manic lane jumpers (usually in large German coupes/saloons) and tbh they don't bother me that much as they're gone in a few seconds, to annoy someone else.

The two types that really got me, especially the second type, were 1) the middle-lane hoggers, and 2) the drivers who happily did 75 down the inside lane until they approached a car doing 60 in the middle, then slowed to match their speed while sitting level with their rear bumper, because apparently carrying on at the same speed past them would be illegal and dangerous and people would die. That didn't only happen a couple of times, either.

Seriously, if you can't get your head around motorway driving, find another fecking route.

[overrun]

This is yet another reason why I'm jacking in the taxi's.

[dugong]

this isnt a problem that i've noticed around home either.

 

the road to the home of SWMBO are the moor roads between whitby and guisborough and also over the top off the moors from castleton. in both cases they are part of the tt circuit, or you would think so given the way some people drive on them. the addition of sheep on the road from castleton is another minor inconvenience. and as for the road warriors on the A1M and M1 the less said the better.....

 

Sure they weren't trying to escape Yorkshire Coast Radio? I'd be pedalling pretty hard.

[MarvinsMom]

yorkshire coast radio is one "pleasure" that i've not come acoss!!

 

all except the 75 have cd players in, that one still has an 8 track stereo fitted that it got from the factory so if i'm listening to anything then its usually a cd (or cassette) the only time the radio is on its usually tuned to radio 2.... the mini and the metro i tend not to bother much with anything except enjoy that a-series music, and idler gear whine....

[mercrocker]

Part of my short drive to work is along an urban dual carriageway.   Quite surprisingly for the generally asinine council attitude towards motorists there is a 50mph limit on this even though it is between two busy roundabouts/flyovers and partly residential.    Predictably there are speed cameras halfway along.   Now, it quite clearly states 50 on several occasions along this bit, yet every morning I have to watch these twunts (who presumably have seen this road before) braking from 45 to 30 as soon as they see the camera.   Does anybody look at bloody road signs any more?   

[HH-R]

I don't think the dawdlers are trying to save fuel, I think they're just incompetent, and some of them dangerously under confident. I do sometimes wonder if they care about the queue of motorists they're annoying by braking like hell to 20 MPH on every NSL single lane road corner, then accelerating to the heady heights of 40 MPH on the straights, or if they're just oblivious. (I'm guessing the latter)

 

Amazing how they usually find the accelerator if you try and pass them though.

 

What annoys me more though is when people drive right up my arse, as if I'm the one dawdling. Look further ahead than the car in front of you FFS!

[forddeliveryboy]

I'm convinced people are driving slower, off the motorway, than they were 15 years ago. I think there are several factors involved, in no particular order:

 

 

They're not deriving any interest out of driving a car anymore - the car has become an unpleasant (though easy-to-use), ubiquitous and boring way to work. Little input is required, there's no reward for skill - most cars go well now however low your abilities.

 

Roads are so clogged that the fun of zooming past five slower-moving cars only to be caught as you approach the next roundabout/slow lorry has worn off for good, for many.

 

The economy differential between steady driving and 'active' driving is much greater than it used to be, 60mpg is possible from a family saloon when driven sensibly but this can halve when the right foot is lively. Added to which, fuel has been very expensive recently, incomes have been squeezed and there's the steady trickle of Green argument on all media.

 

Heavy cars and much more power than there was not long ago means cars wear tyres and parts more rapidly than they once did. There are lots more parts than there were not long ago and they are a lot more expensive than they were. Add higher repair bills and squeezed incomes - result=steadier driving.

 

More women drivers - although some of the worst driving I see is young females who are cash-rich and wanting to be as good* as any male, lots more are on the phone, talking to passengers or checking their hair in the mirror. Not so long ago, women prided themselves on being better drivers than men.

 

Fear of points on licence, fear of being captured on dashcam by some holier-than-thou type who sticks it on youtube, higher insurance premiums.

 

 

I've also noticed how speeds drop hugely when roads are wet. With old fashioned tyres and sensible suspension which worked well under 80mph rather than over it, grip levels were maintained. With today's tyres giving about 3mm of tread in contact with the road from front to back, but hundreds of mm from side to side, cornering on a bumpy road in the wet can be scary for many with lots of grip having vanished. Add to this cheap tyres meant for warm climates which make the difference even bigger.

 

 

It's a joy to drive on Scotland's emptier roads - in the unlikely situation where it's impossible to pass a slower moving car, the chances are he'll pull over and let you overtake. Courtesy abounds, even to the extent headlamps are often switched to side lights if someone is waiting for you in a passing place as you make your way up a mountain pass. Which makes life so much safer and easier.

[twosmoke300]

 

 

My rule is to pass them as quickly as possible with my larger and superior German car and then try to drive over them when I pull back in ... But before I do this I have to see if I can make the front park sensors constant beep from their rear bumper for around 3 miles haha

 

2) Check your fucking mirrors as their is usually going to be a Bmw, Mercedes or Audi filling them, angry because you are costing them fuel ... Then Speed up

 

Standard BMW driver attitude and driving procedure then !

[barefoot]

I drive to perfection in all situations.

Every fucker else goes either too fast or too slow.

[JohnK]

My biggest bugbear is motorways.

 

Driving in the middle lane, overtaking lorries etc on the inside lane. Some prat sits right off your back bumper whilst doing it. Obviously wants to pass you, but don't go into the empty, perfectly suitable outside lane to do so. One of two things happen:

 

1) you pull into the inside lane (once you have finished overtaking) and then they sail past.

 

2) you pull into the inside lane and they pull in behind you! - this one annoys me the most ...