Safe Speed Forums

Edit: This is a bit of a rant I think...

This has happened me a LOT recently... I'm starting to anticipate it anyway, and it's not causing me to brake harshly, but I'd rather not have to slow down... And I probably shouldn't be doing 60 (the road is NSL) with my R plates, but about 85% of drivers on the road do 60, and in my opinion it is a safe NSL at this point - good visibility and wide...

This particular junction is really bad for people pulling out... And then tootling along at 40/45... They're not right infront of me, I'd say they're giving me about 150 yards... Why do people do this? The annoying bit is, there's usually a really big gap behind me (it's not a very busy road), so to me there's no reason why they should pull out infront of me...

I wouldn't even mind it if they would floor it and get away from the junction at a reasonable speed... Even my car would accelerate away faster from the junction than most of these people do...

As I said at the top, I'm beginning to anticipate every time I pass this junction, and any junction, that someone will pull out infront of me... I always did this to a certain extent, but I didn't really notice it bothering me until I started going a bit faster on the NSLs - I feel more comfortable at this speed, and it means I don't hold people up... I should probably slow down and do 45, but then I'd probably still catch up with them and they'd be doing 35 instead...

Mike

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Mike

welcome to the world of numptie where people don't bother judging your closing speed but just think "ooh, he's a long way away" and pull out. If you think it's bad in a car get onto a bike where every second idiot seems to thinks you're doing 5mph when the reality is more like 20mph.

At least I'm not the only one!

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Mike

I take it that you have to display the R plate front and rear? You might well find that the numpties are seeing the R plate and assuming that you'll only be doing 45mph rather than actually taking the time to judge your speed.

Its good that you're learning to anticipate this behaviour - as you get more experienced you'll develop what seems like a 6th sense for these things and be able to tell which morons will pull out and which won't.

Like johnsher said, welcome to motoring! Keep in mind that everyone else on the road is an idiot with no idea and drive defensively and you'll be fine!

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

This drives me absolutely nuts. It's almost like having realised you were going "too fast", they have to "teach you a lesson"...

Couple of years ago on a good A road someone pulled out in front of me to go in the opposite direction, and a car going the other way from me at about 60-70mph slammed right into her. Oddly she drove on for a couple of hundred yards before stopping.

My gf and I offered ourselves as witnesses, as we feared otherwise the chap that went into the back of her would be presumed to be in the wrong.

I spoke to the officer dealing with this later and he said the woman who pulled out said in her defence that the other driver had been going "far too fast". The policeman responded that if that had been the case, why did she pull out on him?

You are learning.

Happened to me again today.

A school run mum sat and watched me approach, THEN pulled out.

When she realised she'd cut it a bit fine (I had to brake quite sharply), she braked sharply too

I get the opposite. I slow down to let someone out of a side road, leaving a big gap, but nothing.

So I flash my lights, still nothing.

Slow down as much as I can without inconvenienceing anyone behind me and flash again... STILL nothing.

Then just as I give up and start speeding up again they begin to move off!

I'm sorry but if you can't make a move within 10 seconds, you don't deserve the break.

I don't think you should slow down to let people out, when traffic is free flowing.

I am at a T-junction and turning right I have to look left and right.

So when pulling out I will judge the speed of the traffic travelling in both directions. If the traffic is travelling at a constant speed, it is easier to judge when to pull out.

I may have decided the best time for me to go is in the gap behind you. As this may also nicely overlap with a gap in the other lane

If you change speed, you are then out of time with the traffic coming in the opposite direction. I then have to reassess your speed, check the traffic in the opposite direction.

I may still decided to go in the gap you have formed, but you have changed your speed again.

Once again check both directions of traffic

The gap I was originally going for has gone.

So do I wait or chance it?

How long till the next gap?

He is close now, F@£K it! I’ll go!

If you had stayed at a constant speed, I would have never had these problems.

Clearly turning left at a T-juction is different, but a constant speed makes the "is it safe to go"choice easier.Because there might have been a bigger gap behind you, which may have been more comfortable to pull into. If you slow down you have just closed that gap for them.

you have right of way on a main road, let the people pulling out make thier decision when to pull out.

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

As others have said - this happens all the time and there is pretty much nothing can be done about it besides making sure you make up for their ineptness.

Women are particularly bad for arriving at junctions and taking forever to decide what they're doing (they make it look like they're just waiting for someone to come along so they can annoy them) whereas men tend to be bad for arriving at junctions and just carrying on without really giving a toss whether anything's coming or not.

When the situation permits (eg straight road, big speed differential, nothing else in sight) I usually just go round them with a few flashes of headlights then hazards once I've pulled back in.

More often than not though, the scenerio is one whereby an overtake cannot be done safely or without planting the foot and taking an inflamatory approach so you end up behind them. I know it's naughty but usually in this case I'd usually enlighten them (literally) with a full spread of everything I have which lights up

A big light up sign saying "You F****** W*****" would allow my displeasure to be signalled in a more direct manner.

I'm considering getting some huge speakers, an amplifier and a microphone so I can yell "Well at least get a move on if you're going to pull out in front of me, A*******" or "Switch your fog lights off you f****** muppet" and handy hints like that

Hmmmm maybe I'm getting carried away now too

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In the days just before the legalising of CB a bloke at work had a CB with an audio output - that was his delight.could call them something rotten.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Dad used to know a guy that worked in the police radio workshop over here and he wired himself up one of the horn speakers they used in the riots and stuff over here... He was also a radio HAM and used to wire the output from the radio into the speaker, so you'd be driving down the road, and hear yourself coming from his car...

Would love one of those!

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Mike

If the traffic is as you describe then I agree, but free flowing doesn't always equate to there being nice big gaps which will allow someone to pull out unaided. If I'm on the main road and I see someone sitting waiting to join/cross, I'll check my mirrors to see if there's an obvious gap somewhere behind me (not necessarily immediately behind, but at least visible a bit further down the road) and if so then I carry on. If there's no obvious gap, and if the traffic density is such that the chances of there being one just out of sight are slim to non-existent, then I'll make a judgment call based on my distance from the junction, my speed, how close the vehicle is behind me, whether the vehicle at the junction is wanting to join ahead of me or cross my lane, and in the latter case what the traffic approaching me is doing.

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Chris

ALWAYS fancied a police style siren ,myself ( ) but thats not legal --however the way BIB things are being passed out ( dodgie scopes etc) to pensioners ( and i'm almost there) ----can but hope - be nice to slide up to a chav and give them a heart attack - ( Calm down BIB - it's only a fantasy)

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

I see your point, and there are times when the traffic is like that.
Then there is logic in increasing the gap in front of you by slowing down. But once you have changed your speed, you should keep that speed constant until you pass the car.

If think there is a difference between being helpful driver and tiring to make decisions for other drivers.

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

The ones I hate are the drivers who travel down slip roads at the same speed as L1 traffic "Next" to a vehicle in L1.

They dont accelerate to pull out infront of L1 vehicle nor brake to pull in behind it. If L1 vehcle brakes to make space they brake aswell to recreate the dangerous situation!

What, In Gods name, is going on in their heads??

(And yes, whilst I have no intention to make unfair generalisations, I would have to say that 70-80% of the offenders are Ladys!)

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

And, have you noticed they don't have muscles in their necks to enable them to to look over their shoulders or even take their eyes off the road ahead to look in their wing mirrors.
Sorry but grey haired blokes (which I am fast becoming) also fit the id.

Slip roads on Motorways ---- my pet hate - people doing 40 ---in the middle of the road - how the f****k do you either get past them . or join into a lane at 56 --and then accelerate up to 70 in a bog standard car????---dodging the traffic in l2 ---HGV can only do so much (most are great - others well members of th "i wont move over club)--mind you - i don't blame them either

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

I think half the problem is that 50% of drivers now think they are being sensibly safe by driving at 40/50 anywhere on motorway/duals and the rest of us are driving to fit around them with the danger caused being fairly obvious to everyone but themselves.

SIRWIN --- my pet device would be a rocket launcher -


1) to blast caravans/ mobile homes of the road , ANYWHERE
2) - to blast the 40/50 mupets on slip roads.

And to blast 40/50 muppets anywhere else
but then im a GOS WHO WANTS TO DRIVE at a sensible speed.(When age determines that you cannot drive at a sensible speed , safely - it's time to consider parting with your licence)

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on