"Professional" drivers......

[My Old Landy]

I pootle along at 60 on the motorway in my old landy. It will do 70 and above but I usually enjoy the journey and leave plenty of time to get where I am going. Give us a toot the next time you blast past in a hurry to get somewhere

 

[dobbslc]

60's OK as the lorrys shouldn't be trying to pass.....

 

[Munkul]

Awareness? They don't actually know what speed they want to do or what lane they want to do it in. Driving on cruise control really highlights others' total inability to maintain speed.

That's the main thing that annoys me on motorways too. People speeding up, slowing down, continually alongside either you or someone else. The longer someone spends alongside someone else at speed, the more likely they are to have an accident. Part of that is to blame for phantom traffic jams etc too.

I wished there had been a smart motorway all the way up the M5 last week. Speeding up to 70, slowing down to 20, speeding up again... I do believe that they work well, I just don't agree with the use of the hard shoulder as a 4th lane. That was a really stupid decision made by political numpties.

Most of the time, 4 lanes aren't used properly anyways! You get lorries and slow people in lanes 1 and 2, middle lane hoggers in lane 3 taking up space, and lane 4 chocked up as a result!

 

[sako243]

Towing a trailer up to Milton Keynes the other week, between J2 and J8 i overtook the same car 4 times, all while i couldn't go over 60. One time, she overtook me, indicated, moved in front and immediately braked. I indicated, moved out, overtook her. What the hell???

That's a real bugbear of mine - for some reason people seem to take real offence being overtaken up a hill by a 25 year old Defender towing a trailer so the next opportunity they go past and then slow down. Wait until the next hill and I pootle on past again for some reason - I don't think they've heard of gears.

I remember a pedestrian crossing in a village near me, I stopped at the red, a cyclist shot past on my left....straight into a cyclist on the crossing on his bike. SMACK, heads cracked together, bicycles all over the road.....
I drove on, but I would have loved to have stopped and heard the discussion that went on after that.

Had something similar walking into college one day. Big traffic light junction next to the Natural History Museum on Queens Gate and Cromwell Road. Traffic lights red, cyclist blases through and cycles into the side of a car. Gets up and starts hurling abuse at the car driver, police car waiting to cross puts lights and siren on and blocks the junction, cyclist starts saying things along the lines of prosecute the car driver. Boy did he look surprised when the policewoman starts arresting him .

 

[RWD3M]

Well this is still missing the point.
You don't have to be slower than the hgv's, or the same speed, just a little faster puts you in the danger zone, even for a short time, and it just isn't right.
Dashcam fitting time I think, not that it will save anyones life..

Mate, I was joking!

 

[bricol]

That's a couple of people now that have called them militant!
Why are they like this? Are they being told things in cycling magazines or reading it online that make them arrogant and aggressive to cars, think they are always in the right?
Maybe I need another dash cam to prove it wasn't my fault one has ended up smashed under my van because he jumped the red light!

It was the only word I could think of to describe the attitude that came to the fore when cyclists on the road was mentioned - they were otherwise quite sensible human beings

Just didn't seem to understand that they weren't exactly the easiest to see on the road, especially early morning, late evening, in rain, etc - and dodging between lanes, up the inside of vehicles, up the other side of the road, down the pavement and into road as they got around traffic etc - and when somebody behind a steering wheel lost where they had gone this time, they were unlikely to win in the collision . . .

One of them, just before he retired, bust his collarbone for the second time while assaulting the side of a car - they were in the right . . . and I guess there was a claim . . . but for the sake of slowing down, cursing, aloud or under their breath, a an ambulance trip, a stay in hospital, pain and hassle could have been avoided . . . but the car driver was taught a lesson . . .

there was another lad who I used to describe in the same way - thought nothing of cycling from Bradford area to Scarborough . . and back . . . to see how long it took . . . but once he realised I knew his trigger words and only said them to see the effect, he stopped rising to the bait . . .

I did start telling one tale involving a car, me and a cyclist - it triggered the other two early in my telling . . . they got the wrong idea (I might have been telling it to trigger them though ) - after the tour de yorkshire passed through my town lots of cyclists starting to follow the route - there was a single cyclist pedalling up the hill, with a car coming up behind him, me coming towards down them on the car and a bit wide road . . . clown in car coming up decided to overtake cyclist - head on to me . . . cue me emergency stopping . . . pillock in car chopped up the cyclist to miss me . . . I assume he was so determined to overtake the cyclist he completely ignored me . .

 

[m_c]

Militant is probably the right description.
I suspect their attitude stems from the fact they've always got to be right, and not just about cycling, and they have nothing better to worry about or do with their time. A bit like most NIBMYs.
I personally compare them to bible bashing types, as they only pick the bits of the highway code they want to be 'right' about, and ignore the bit about being courteous to other road users, just like those who hide behind the bible like to ignore the bit about being kind to all men.

As a cyclist myself, I've got mixed feelings about the proposed highway code changes.
The passing distance makes sense on wider roads, but on narrower roads, 99% of cyclists and drivers will quite happily pass without issue with far less clearance. What fascinates me are drivers who just won't use the full width of the road to overtake. It could be a straight road with no other traffic for 1/2 mile, and they'll bumble past only 2 feet away despite still having another 4 foot to the opposite side of the road. Or the other favourite, pull out to overtake you, then change gear once they're level with you, and you can hear the engine labouring and them then struggling to accelerate to get past you. I'm guessing these are the same drivers who'll sit blindly behind a tractor for miles, because they just don't have the ability to overtake anything.

I know one narrow road I regularly cycle and drive, I'll keep towards the centre to avoid potholes and know nobody can pass, but will move tight to the verge over as soon as I get to a smooth section at which point vehicles can pass. Those who want to get past at any cost, I just smile as they inevitably batter their vehicle through the potholes/verge on the opposite side of the road. As a driver, I'll happily wait behind cyclists on the same road, as I know the rough sections aren't that long, and it'll only be another couple hundred yards until I know a suitable overtaking section will be coming up. It's all about being courteous to other road users.


The whole pedestrians having priority at junctions, I think is a recipe for disaster and gridlock.

 

[bricol]

Took some getting used to in Germany - your light is green to turn, but having to look up the pavements,. complete with cycle lanes, for pedestrians and cyclists who have right of way . . . including the national team wanna-bee doing 30mph who when you first look is some distance away . . . but closing fast . . .

 

[Melvyn Best]

Watched About Anglia this evening, they did an article about cycling, one woman cyclist admitted she is not a driver and so has never read the Highway Code! No wonder they ignore red lights?

 

[dobbslc]

That's mental ^ but pretty much what we now have in London. Even just crossing the road on foot is now bloody dangerous as the cyclists are coming from all directions!
Often you'll have a bus lane, cycle lane then the actual road to check. Obviously the cyclists will be coming from anywhere they feel like so beware

 

[RichardM]

The whole pedestrians having priority at junctions, I think is a recipe for disaster and gridlock.

From what I read it's only re-enforcing the current rules and rights of way regarding pedestrians.

 

[redlig]

I pootle along at 60 on the motorway in my old landy. It will do 70 and above but I usually enjoy the journey and leave plenty of time to get where I am going. Give us a toot the next time you blast past in a hurry to get somewhere

Having had company cars for 30 years the thing that slowed me down was having to pay for the fuel and tyres.

 

[redlig]

That's a real bugbear of mine - for some reason people seem to take real offence being overtaken up a hill by a 25 year old Defender towing a trailer so the next opportunity they go past and then slow down. Wait until the next hill and I pootle on past again for some reason - I don't think they've heard of gears.

Had something similar walking into college one day. Big traffic light junction next to the Natural History Museum on Queens Gate and Cromwell Road. Traffic lights red, cyclist blases through and cycles into the side of a car. Gets up and starts hurling abuse at the car driver, police car waiting to cross puts lights and siren on and blocks the junction, cyclist starts saying things along the lines of prosecute the car driver. Boy did he look surprised when the policewoman starts arresting him .

I'm afraid you underestimate the breadth of knowledge the numpties have . They have heard of gears just not what to do with them.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

that would be the last place I'd take it

What's wrong with Shetland, not to mention the lovely people there?

 

[Morrisman]

From what I read it's only re-enforcing the current rules and rights of way regarding pedestrians.

Apparently pedestrians have as much right of way on the road as cars do, legally.

 

[My Old Landy]

Apparently pedestrians have as much right of way on the road as cars do, legally.

Yeah, it's really bad form to run them over

 

[JMS1972]

Yeah, it's really bad form to run them over

Now you tell me?

 

[bricol]

Apparently pedestrians have as much right of way on the road as cars do, legally.

We're back to "I'll tell 'em at the funeral you were in the right . . "

They do - once on the road,oher than motorways - but the suggestion is don't just step out . . . which they do with their wireless ear phones in, having suspended any sense of spatial awareness . . .

 

[Robotstar5]

Which was why for many years, if you wanted a heated front screen you had to buy one of the cars from that group. Ford had a patent on it. Expired now I believe.

I often wonder about the Ford patent as Classic Range Rovers (1971 onwards) series Land Rovers (pre 1983) and some Austin models were offered with heated front screens, well before the PAG era

 

[Bullet2012]

I beleive fords patent was the heating elements in the laminate and clearing the whole screen at once. unlike some that were fixed to the glass and only gradually cleared the screen.