A good drive ruined.

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jeff

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
6
Car
1994 C220
After reading about other drivers incidents with road idiots I thought I'd vent my frustration.

On Christmas day, about 6PM, I was driving from my parents house on the West Cumbrian coast thru' the Lakes to Kendal where I live. This is a brilliant drive, and I was especially looking forward to it when it would be at it's quietest.

As I got to the dual carriageway section of the A66 next to Bassenthwaite Lake, an old (M or N reg) Honda Civic Coupe was in the overtaking lane (with nothing to overtake!!) doing about 50mph, I presumed it was an older driver or someone not that used to driving etc, etc so I moved behind it, flashed the Hi' Beams... and it moved over to let me by, eveything fine, I thought no more of it...Until just as the dual carrigeway came to an end it overtook me, it's tired engine howling in protest, then slowed right down to 40 mph.

I'm thinking, "why did you do that?" but still didn't think it was anything more than a poor driver, so I waited 'til it was safe then overtook it again... Only to have it overtake me again and, once again, slow right down again. I now realised it was someone playing the idiot with me.

Rather than carry on this stupid game I just sat behind it, at sometimes down to 20 or 30 mph until Keswick and the next section of dual carriageway.This section of dual carriageway is up-hill and my plan was to hang back, and then overtake it quickly and hopefully leave it behind enough for it to stop clowning around. As I went past I heard it drop a gear and begin it's attempt to carry on pestering me. I realised now that this was just gonna go on and on, and to outrun it I was going to have drive really fast. If you remember Christmas night was freezing cold, after rain, black ice was very probable.

If I had floored it, my C220 would probably have outrun it but I reckoned the outcome could possibly have had 2 negative outcomes,

1. I put my car off the road, 2. I get caught by the police, even if neither of these happened, best case scenario would be that I give my 14 year old car a drive that would do it no good, (she's an old lady now!!). So I decided to just drive into Keswick and towards the police station, as I stopped outside it, the Honda decided to carry on driving, the two baseball capped occupants obviously having had enough fun. I gave it 10 minutes then drove home in a bad mood, my drive ruined.

In looking back I know I did the right thing, but I wished, not for the first time, that I'd had a big V8 under the bonnet, and just been able to power past them with such ferocity that they would know it wasn't even worth trying to mess about.

Isn't it annoying when a good drive is ruined? Anyway, this has been very theraputic venting my anger!!! Thanks for reading, and take care out there people, Best Regards, Jeff.
 
I think that your restrained attitude was the best course of action ;) .

Very much OT but is the hotel at the top end of Derwent Water, (from Keswick), Lodore Falls?, still open and still as good as it used to be?

Cheers.

Portzy
 
Shame, this must have bugged you as you are still thinking about it,, even with shear power there is often no escape, you did the right thing
 
It is one of those times when you wish that that star emblem actually was a gun sight.
 
Yes the Lodore is still open, and very good by all accounts. however the Inn on the Lake, at Glenridding on the shore of Ullswater, (which is owned by the same people I believe) is also very good, I was at a wedding there last summer.. Highly recommended!!!! (The hotel that is, not marriage)
 
When im in the W123 i dont even bother trying to entertain clowns like this.. i just hang back and take it easy..

In the SEC.. i have to admit to "making use" of all three hundred horses...
 
You did the right thing

See the thread ona similar line:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=48237



Agreed. I slow down to a near stop if neccessary..it really p**ses off Lorry drivers who have to go down through 16 gears and you can just pull away. However if you stop and they do I would then drive straight away to the nearest Police station if practicable, especially in town!Carjacking is always a possibility in some areas!
crazy.gif


Calm down now and rest assured that they were Pl*nkers or they will have won..and theyre realy just losers!:)
 
Its a shame there are so many clowns out there. I think you handled the situation very calmly, not sure there are many of us on this forum that would have done the same!

Personally i wouldn't have let him pull in front, seen to many jokers that pull in front and lock their emergency brakes to cheese you off. Some people don't like the fact that you flash them out of the way and provoke childish actions from them.

I'm normally in a 6cyl as minimum so out powering people isn't normally an issue ;)
 
If you knew the number of a Police Station ahead, a call explaining what was going on might have helped. Getting them stopped and listening to their lies and driffle about you harassing the poor innocent perfect drivers would have been enjoyable.
 
Yes the Lodore is still open, and very good by all accounts. however the Inn on the Lake, at Glenridding on the shore of Ullswater, (which is owned by the same people I believe) is also very good, I was at a wedding there last summer.. Highly recommended!!!! (The hotel that is, not marriage)

Cheers.

I have sentimental reasons regarding the soft spot for the Lodore ;) and I was hoping to re-aquaint myself with its, shall we say facilities?, some time soon so I might give them a call.

Portzy.
 
I would've speeded up everytime he tried to overtake me, so i remained in front... and he wouldn't be able to bug me. but thats probably not the safest thing to do.
 
Reading this reminds of the Speilberg classic "Duel" - definately worth a watch, if you haven't seen it, btw!

You certainly did do the right thing, and in my earlier driving career, I wouldn't have been so calm!
Morons like that aren't even worth the time of day! :rolleyes:

Darren
 
Discretion is the better part of valour.

And just remember you were in the Merc - they were in the Honda. 'Nuff said!!
 
Sounds like you did the right thing, these things are sent to test us...;)

Welcome BTW :)
 
accounts. however the Inn on the Lake, at Glenridding on the shore of Ullswater, (which is owned by the same people I believe) is also very good,)

I'll second that, stayed over for a meeting. Walked the few yards down to the edge of Ullswater to read the Donald Campbell information at 6:00 in the morning. Was very peaceful.

Was actually looking forward to a fast drive back up Kirkstone pass but got stuck behind a Mazda2 going slowly.
My car was just loping along but he was giving his full beans and still struggling, but the bends are too frequent to risk and overtake..:devil:
 
I get many people doing the same to me when even when I am in the CL500 (but it is de-badged) BUT I just boot it and they then know not to mess.
 
I know the feeling all too well mate trust me as you can see from carnut's linky.
 
Flashing your lights is to be used like your horn - to warn other road users of your presence and prevent accidents. It's not to be used to "force" other (bad) drivers out of your way.

I'd have undertook him on the dual carriageway and I think it's perfectly legal to do so (but I'm prepared to be corrected here)...

If you're in lane one and there's nothing blocking your lane then you didn't need to change lanes. This happens every day on every busy motorway when lane 2 is moving faster than lane 3 etc. In my opinion if the police were actually watching you they wouldn't pull you unless you were "lane hopping" - deliberately moving from lane two to "undertake" then back to lane one to overtake then back undertaking etc.

I once watched a "police stop" type tv programme where a guy moved from lane two to lane one to undertake someone. The police were actually "willing this guy on" to move back to lane two after underetaking. They didn't act at all until he switched back to lane two. In other words you're not undertaking unless you're doing it to specifically gain a few yards dangerously.
 
I'd have undertook him on the dual carriageway and I think it's perfectly legal to do so (but I'm prepared to be corrected here)...

You are hereby corrected: :rolleyes:

268Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake.

But as most of us know, this does not apply in congested traffic - for obvious reasons:

In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.
 
Not a strong enough argument I'm afraid. I'll quote this from a website..

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Overtaking on the left is not an offence in the United Kingdom. However, all drivers are bound by our road traffic laws, and liable to prosecution for offences such as careless or dangerous driving. Enforcement of the law is, of course, a matter for the police who will make their decisions on whether to prosecute in the circumstances of each individual case.[/FONT]

Here's the website...

http://www.middlelanemorons.com/script/middle_lane_morons_prob.php
 

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