Safe Speed Forums

Yes, I'm not looking for numpty-behaviour, but acts that are carried out quite deliberately at the expense of other road users, so looking at the thread so far:

- Overtaking vehicles that have pulled in to let oncoming traffic through
- Parking diagonally across several petrol pumps - thanks Lum (can I also nominate parking in the middle of two or more spaces?)
- "People who toddle along then boot it when you pull out to overtake them" - thanks Squirrel
- "People who hog the centre of the road to block overtakes." - thanks Squirrel
- Driving round a roundabout anticlockwise - thanks Toltec

In my humble opinion, the rest of the acts mentioned above are just stupidity or laziness, but I welcome dissent! Keep them coming....

Never indicating, ever. Like the old bloke I followed, carefull, most of the way into London yesterday. It wasn't even a Bently or a Merc this time!

Also, on the same journey, the chap who passed me on the motorway, and then proceeded to tailgate every single vehicle in a line of traffic until they moved out of his way.

Don't you sometimes wish you had a blue light?

ah yes.. lane cutting at roundabouts.... especially those that actually have lanes marked on them.

fair enough even on marked roundabouts.. if it's quiet enough then cut all you like.
if i'm negogiating a roundabout with more than one lane and other cars alongside i try and keep the lane logic (i.e. if i entered the roundabout with a lane to my right in theory there should be room for a car there as i go round it).
to the extent that its SO predictable i rarely enter some roundabouts alongside people knowing they'll do the inevitable.... if they indicate then i may have more sympathy.

the worst near me has 2x2lanes merging a few hundred metres before.
L1 is marked left only, L2 & 3 go straight & L4 is marked right only (although there is a spare 3rd lane on the straight over exit). on the roundabout L2 is marked to hug the leftmost part of the road with the 3 in the middle & 4 against the roundabout.
more often than not L1 is empty, 3 cars line up and pull out in L2-4 .. the car in L2 straight lines it into L3..... L3 avoid into L4 and the poor sod in L4 gets nowhere to go.
before now i've been in L3 with someone to my right in L4 and had to hold my line to give them room and got all sorts of beeping and gestures from the guy in L2 who couldnt be bothered to actually follow his markings

tut.

PS ah there we are roundabout
its a bit out of date as it doesnt have the lanes on but going left to right.. you can see the unused dirty area at the top where L2 should go... .and how L4 suddenly has nowhere to go.

Depends on the situation. If it's close to the popular part of the car park (eg. by the supermarket entrance or whatever) then go for it, if it's at the far end and the car park is less than 75% full then it's merely an attempt at preserving your property from the actions of people who are too careless to not smack your doors in.

People who wilfully obstruct joining traffic in heavy traffic conditions (IE "stop" across minor roads and private driveways in order to prevent waiting traffic from emerging!)

L1 drivers on dual carrageways/motorways who willfully "close the door" on sliproad traffic in order to prevent them from merging.

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"The road to a police state is paved with public safety legislation"

People who park behind your car in a car park so you can't exit.

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Prepare to be Judged

Drivers who emerge from side roads and driveways and wilfully prevent the lane from moving forward as they straddle the lane and wait to turn right.

Drivers who think the 'give way' markings at the end of slip roads doesn't have to apply to them for some reason.

Fair, but I guess I'm still disapproving of people who are parallel park like this. My little set of terraced houses has room for five cars in front, but one or two people park so selfishly that rarely more than three fit in. Special prize to the couple who park their cars with 0.8 of a car space in between. It gave me great joy to cram my van inbetween the two in an act of medal-winning reverse parking. They misjudged it that day

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Can I add people who straddle two lanes 800 yards before they merge to stop people "jumping the queue"?

No.

They are performing an invaluable service (for us motorcyclists).

Seems most of the things which are most annoying are about possesive and aggressive or pushy behaviour rather than ignorant or inconsiderate driving.

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Driving fast is for a particular time and place, I can do it I just only do it occasionally because I am a gentleman.
- James May

Spot on! These people are often oblivious to the 'merge in turn' sign or the 'use both lanes when queuing' sign or choose to ignore it.

Also: civillian road users who consider themselves to be traffic police. I find this group particularly annoying

I've just thought of another, very similar to the one in the OP, but even worse.

Driving into Ystrad Mynach town centre from Maesycwmmer, there is a little chicaine thingy one car wide (with cycle bypasses) and a huge "Give way to oncoming vehicles" sign, a give way line with triangle symbol and a pictorial two arrows sign indicating that oncoming vehicles have priority.

There is an old person coming the other way, so the car in front moves from the middle of the road to the left once the parked cars on our side had ended. I do likewise and move in behind said car.

The tw@t behind us then floors it (complete with comedy FWD+cheap skinny tyres wheelspin) overtakes us both and barges through, causing the oncoming vehicle to have to make a dive to his left and nearly crash into the island that forms part of the chicaine thingy.


I'd also like to nominate "Kroozers" who choose to do what they do in populated areas. If you want to go to Halfords car park in the middle of a deserted retail park to do your burnouts and show off your 10000W (peak) subwoofers then that's fine with me, but instead they choose Blackwood highstreet which people live very close too (and they also delay my trips for curry)

I see the opposite practically weekly on the big roundabouts my route to work uses. 2 approach lanes - left one marked left only, right marked straight on and right. Car in left lane decides that they are going to turn right, ignoring all the people who are wanting to go straight on.

That one is ridiculously common these days. Whatever the correct lane is for any given action at any given roundabout, people will queue in lane N-1 and then cut across once they are 1/4 the way around the roundabout.

It's why Paul advocates never entering the roundabout alongside another car.

Forgetful drivers

Drivers who forget to use indicators.
Drivers who forget that a red light means stop.
Drivers who forget that a Zebra crossing is not only for decoration.
Drivers who forget how to use a roundabout.

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A few of things spring to mind:

The Obvious - Tailgating - I cannot see the purpose of driving a few feet from my arse obv with no regard for what happens (unless their BHP is totally awesome) e.g, because as soon as I have to brake and there not paying attention bang he/she has no chance.

This point has been escalated recently when I encountered an a******e of a Transporter driver who wouldn't let me in from the sliproad and then continued to tailgate me down the Dual carridgeway in a freaking Transporter (luckily it was empty).

Also when oncoming drivers have full beam on and don't realise everytime it stuns you and you end up braking to like 40MPH just to see where you are!

My last bad driving habit has be when drivers who know they shouldn't stop in the yellow boxes just sit there as I'm waiting to pull out looking like they don't have a care in the world but are sitting right in my path, by the time they move I'm waiting for another 5mins to get out!

HMMMMMMMMMM Fustrating!

my road has room for parking on one side only. there are constantly cars parked all on one side regardless of the time of day. why do some morons insist on parking on the other side of the road which is effectively taking up 3 or 4 spaces on the correct side?

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Richie

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I'm driving past some roadworks on a lane at the mo. Normally there are two or three cars parked on the other side of the road. The roadworks consist of a trench dug across the road about 60% of the way.

Obviously you'd think the residents would park on the other side of the road for the duration, but no. They've parked as close as possible to the roadworks on both sides without actually blocking the road, creating a narrow double chicane in which no one knows who's priority it is.



Well done. You've richly deserved my 0730 blast on the horn for that one.

When I'm on my cycle, people that stick their nose out at junctions.

Other people on cycles and motocycles do it, but people in cars seem to be the worst offenders, its like "I'm in a hurry and I'm going to get there quicker if I aim for a metre past the give way line".

Means I've either got to slam my anchors on and wait until they can continue pulling out, or look behind me to see if I can go around them, at a time when I'm moving toward said car.

For the worst offenders I do look behind me, and leave it a bit late before I look back, silly I know, but worth letting the idiot think I'm going to be going over their bonnet for a few seconds, maybe next time they'll think.

When I'm in the car: -

Aggressive "get out of my way" tailgating on the motoway. I always follow the highway code advice of slowing down so I've got more room in front of me just in case something happens.

The thing that really gets my goat is when you pull over for an emergency vehicle, and when it passes its dragging behind it about six cars who are taking advantage of everybody who's pulled over, trying to pull back out into the road.