GRRrrrrrrrARGH!!!

[ferny]

One of the many things which **** me off is idiots who drive along at 40mph when it's safe to do 60+ (or just 60 is there are some blue lights around ) and then continue to drive at 40mph when you get into a village with 30mph signs.

I just had to follow one who braked at every bend and when we got into another 30 zone started to slow down making me think he was actually dropping to the legal limit. Except no, he slowed and slowed and slowed and then shot left without using his indicators.

Seriously, these people should be shot.

 

[LaFoto]

I hear you, ferny.
I don't agree with the "shot" part, but I know that those drivers drive ... me crazy!

There's so many examples of "all other drivers are mad" around here, I could write BOOKS about them. At this time of the year, with early night fall and loads of rain, you find those that go at 65 km/h on the broad main road that is free for 100 km/h. Grrr!

I do see why poor vision conditions can force you to adapt your driving to the situation. And deer is ALWAYS a risk, so you have to be CAREFUL, mostly so at dusk. No doubt.

But no reason to crawl on at a slower speed than the many trucks would go at ... my only explanation for that usually is that the driver must be ancient and half blind.

No kidding. I really believe that that is the reason!
I wonder how many drivers there are out and about who see way too little, mostly so at night and in the rain!?!?

Silly as it may sound (me being a female driver, and her kids' chauffeur herself), I also find that many ... yes, listen: female drivers, often so young mothers, drive at such incredibly low speeds, timidly, overly cautious and careful, as if their load were ... OK: their load probably is... the most precious they have.

But my personal pet peeve is this: that main road where you may speed along at 100 km/h passes the town but doesn't go through, so there are exits and entries, the first with an extra lane for you to slow down before you take the bend off that road, the latter with an extra lane to accelerate before you enter into the fast going traffic. Now for some silly, silly reasons drivers of that very town have adopted a (so they might thing) "friendly" behaviour to speed along that road, see someone come onto the access lane (who has to give way, OF COURSE!), and BRAKE for them to let them enter before them! :shock:

What good is that?
Why do they think there are traffic regulations such as Right of Way and Give Way in the first place?
To shuffle it all and create not only utter confusion but really dangerous situations? That road is not only used by drivers who "know the score" (what score, I ask you?) and who might be totally unprepared to that car driver in front of them suddenly apply his brakes to let someone who has to give way enter first!

Worst is when I am the one to enter, I see in my back mirror that there is traffic, so I don't speed up right away but amble along to let it pass because that traffic has the right of way (!) --- and that car simply won't and won't and won't PASS me! :shock:

That is my biggest pet peeve and I am so often inclined to write a letter to the editor of our local paper at last to speak my mind in public. But so far I have never done this. My anger has usually dissipated by the time I arrive back home.

But I still remember the situation when I did NOT brake for entering traffic, it was a very big, elderly lady in an ancient Mercedes who came onto the access lane, I was right by her side, and she'd just get into my path as if I didn't even exist so I had to move over to the middle of the road, into oncoming traffic, forcing them to further move out of MY way into the verge :shock: ... Seems like that lady SO relied on the "new rules round Pool Town" to apply she would not even LOOK. She was CONVINCED I'd GIVE her the way ... that she had to give ME.

Sorry for the rant.
Like I said: pet peeve of mine.

 

[ferny]

Driving is a sure wy to get people grumpy. There are a couple of threads on the forum of one of my car clubs and these are what I've said lately.

Entering a round-a-bout at speed with my right indicator flashing as I'm turning right a silly old tart in a Micra pulls out from the left turning with her right indicator flashing forcing me to slow right down or go up her arse. So me being a grumpy git gives her (rightly or wrongly) a nice beep of my horn which then gets stuck on. Which makes her slow down a little more. From hitting it a bit I managed to get it off just as I was pulling off the round-a-bout. I think she got a bit of a shock.

Serves her right though. I have nothing against cutting it close when driving as long as it doesn't force someone else to take evasive action. And I include having to slow down or dab the brakes in that. If another road user has to alter their speed or direction because of you then you've made a driving error and sometimes they can be dangerous. I could see she had a slight glance my way as I was approaching her but then she looked straight ahead and pulled out without looking to see where I was.

And why do people in modern cars get right up your arse when you have to slow down for speed bumps?

*grumbles some more*

Quoted Text
do you also notice the more modern the car the less use of indicators?

Yup. And have you noticed how it's almost impossible to see the indicators when the far too bright headlights are on? And it's even worse with the ones who have the indicators on the wrong side of the headlight (Polo's?). I'm not so sure if the headlight are too bright or just angled up too high.
There seems to be a huge number of one-headlight cars as well at the moment.

There are lots and lots of police in cars around our way all of a sudden. I will pass at least two in a 10 mile journey. It's never been like that before.

Quoted from C Mallock, posted January 8th, 2007, 23:22 at here ”

Also does anyone find there classic is a giant magnet sucking cars out of junctions or into the lane your in?

Yup. It's a double edge sword I've found. Some people like to see the old car and let you out, give you space. Others appear to deliberately take extra chances with you.

And there are the other drivers who are a half-way house. They drive properly and don't bother you at all. But they're so interested in your car that they take their eyes off of where they're going and turn their heads to look at it. If anyone steps into the road or the car in front brakes heavily they'll be involved in an accident.

Ferny I may be wrong but it sounds to me like you were going too fast, empty roundabout gofer it, lil old ladies trundlin around - slow down. She probably didn't even see you comming

That's just it, I saw her look at me and then turn away and I had to slow down as well to make sure I didn't go into anyone who was already on it. So I wasn't going that fast. Some people at round-a-bouts confuse me. The amount of times I've stopped because someone is on my right with their right indicator flashing but they've not moved and aren't even looking at the round-a-bout because they're watching the long line of cars on their right with their indicators flashing left and all going left. At which point I go "sod it, it's clear for me" and the only people who have their noses put out are the people still waiting behind her because she still hasn't moved even though I've cleared the road for her (the cars she was waiting for have to give way to me).

I promise to slow down next time, offsifer.

People in silly little Kia's who think they can take a bend faster than me and then up wibbling about on the exit because they've unbalanced their car, which slows me down.

Speed bumps.

They've closed off a road here and started putting them in so I turned right down another road. They have put up NO signs and have NOT marked the bumps themselves on the ones they have just done. So when you're watching a Corsa which looks like it's going to pull out in front of you you notice the bump which is almost the same colour as the road and which wasn't there a couple of days ago at the last minute and hit it at 25mph.

They also parked a big lorry at a junction so you couldn't see the temp. traffic lights they've put up. All ready for an accident as someone pulls out not knowing there are any lights there.

At one point I thought everyone had stopped building speed humps because they were so dangerous. Emergency services had to slow down as well so the repsonse times were a lot slower than was safe. Looks like they don't care any more.

But the worst bit was the complete lack of markings. Luckily it was a round one and not one of those horrible back breaking ones.

I could moan for England.

 

[Mitica100]

Ha ha... Zonies (that's what we call people from Arizona) are well known for their bad driving habits. More so, there is a section of Phoenix which is a huge retirement area called Sun City (I call it an 'age ghetto') where no car drives faster than 15mph, despite the 45mph limits. I try to avoid as much as I can driving through that 'neighborhood'. Yeah, the 'turn left from your right lane' symptom is alive and well and that wouldn't bother me if the person turning would look and establish some sort of eye contact with me. I have driven cars in New York without any incidents and believe me, that is the place where crazy driving happens every moment but also that is an accepted practice and everyone is aware of it. The thing with 'zonies' though that bothers me the most is their lack of willingness to look around before making a move. I see that more so when I ride my motorcycle.

I totally can understand your frustration, bro!

 

[Alex_B]

I wonder why especially driving a car always stirs up emotions so much ...

to get anywhere from my place, I have to go over 4 REALLY nasty speed humps ... wonder who pays for the next repair of my car, since even when you go very slowly it sends a shiver down my spine. I mean what is all the fuzz about having roads when you need an offorad-car anyway to survice the speed humps!

 

[ferny]

That's a thing about the bumps. They aren't actually allowed to force you to go slower than the suggested maximum speed with things like bumps. Yet if you've got a car like mine you can struggle to do 10mph over most if you're in the car on your own as it crashes over them. If the suspension gets damaged then you can claim from them via a court. Which I will be doing if mine fecks up soon.

The reason why people get so irate in a car is because it feels like it's your safe little world and anyone who buggers it up needs to be beaten.

 

[Jeremy Z]

Gawd, I hate that too. But I'll tell you a secret, it bothers you a lot less if you have a slow, crappy car.

I used to feel like that all the time in my car, just a humble Civic hatchback.

Then, I got into motorcycles. I take care of my need for speed on the motorcycle. I don't usually go all that fast, but I don't slow down at all for most bends in the road. Usually, I speed up.

After that, no matter what I do, my car seems slow and unresponsive. We call them "cages" The car has become a transportation appliance, and I don't care if I'm going slow any more. At the end of the winter, I do find myself getting impatient behind the other cagers. Then, spring comes along and sets me free!

Do you have a nice car? If so, drive your crappy one more often. If not, get a motorcycle. Even a cheap one will set you free.

 

[ferny]

Gawd, I hate that too. But I'll tell you a secret, it bothers you a lot less if you have a slow, crappy car.

My car will cruise all day at motorway speeds, but it'll take it 25 seconds to get there.

Few moderns keep up with me on bends though. Which is where all the fun is.

Modern cars I find dangerous. I get in one and all the sounds are deadened, the steering is light, I can't feel the peddles because there's no resistance. I can see why people get into a car after they've past their test and then drive like twats and crash. You feel too safe (or in my case, wrapped in far too much cotton wool).