Driving too close on motorway

[zipdip]

Blame the people who tell the driving instructors that their pupils do not have to indicate every time if nobody is there,this change in instruction was at least 6 years ago now,and so you get people pulling out into another lane without indication,it seems that if you are 20feet behind them you are not there.

 

[markjay]

Blame the people who tell the driving instructors that their pupils do not have to indicate every time if nobody is there,this change in instruction was at least 6 years ago now,and so you get people pulling out into another lane without indication,it seems that if you are 20feet behind them you are not there.

Some years ago I was mocked by colleagues for indicating when driving out of a parallel parking bay in the company car park.

I tried to explain that it was an instinct, mirror-signal-manoeuvre, I don't even realise I'm doing it, and I definitely don't want to lose this learnt automatic behaviour by selectively not doing it from time to time.

My argument fell on deaf ears....

 

[geraldrobins]

Blame the people who tell the driving instructors that their pupils do not have to indicate every time if nobody is there,this change in instruction was at least 6 years ago now,and so you get people pulling out into another lane without indication,it seems that if you are 20feet behind them you are not there.

I agree that is bad advice and also vehicles, cyclists etc come into view very quickly and not just from behind but in front as well.

 

[m80]

Blame the people who tell the driving instructors that their pupils do not have to indicate every time if nobody is there,this change in instruction was at least 6 years ago now,and so you get people pulling out into another lane without indication,it seems that if you are 20feet behind them you are not there.

The spawn of lazy selfish driving.

 

[Petrol Pete]

I remember being asked 'Why the F are you using your indicators , idiot !?'....I was in the middle of the Negev desert in a hire car at the time (fastest cars in the world ) with a bunch of inebriated Israeli IDF personnel..still 'tooled up' on our way to a party somewhere....

It's the only time I have been told off for actually USING my indicators !!

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Not to forget the growing number of idiots who do not realise that, believe it or not, all cars have indicators. I find the worse offenders to be the younger generation, especially, dare l say it, young girls.

I was going to say "too complicated for them" but then I'd be called a mysoginist

 

[Alex225]

Funnily enough I had a bit of a debate with an IAM instructor when I was doing some observed drivers.

I pulled up to a junction and he asked me why I was indicating and said that if there's no one there then there's no need to indicate. My argument was that I put my indicator on, in advance of the junction and who's to say there's not a pedestrian who'll appear as I get to the give way marker. He still argued his point but speaking with another IAM driver, he said he'd had the same argument and sided with my point.

As for the original point of people driving too closely. Yes on the motorways they do and in turn it causes braking and everyone bunching up, then someone stops and you end up with a traffic jam.

Two fundamental rules on the motorway that would help keep them running smoothly. Keep left unless overtaking and maintain safe distances between vehicles. Would make the motorways so much better!

 

[brucemillar]

I was taught to indicate regardless of the presence of other motorists or not.

Likewise: I was taught that when coming to a stop in stationary queuing traffic. Leave a gap large enough, that you can see the car in fronts rear tyres where they touch the tarmac/ground.

Both sensible both ignored by many.





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[GeordieN]

EDUCATION that is it. There to many bad drivers on the road and quite a few that share a licence between a family that obviously cant drive in a straight line. People crawl down slip-roads and try to enter a motorway at 35mph, people stay in lane two but dont move back to lane one after an overtake so basically hold everyone up at there speed. if you leave a proper gap to the vehicle in front of you someone will pull into it, people also think the end of the road is 6 foot in front of their bonnet so you get knee jerk reactions to something as basic as some nervous sole who is taping his brake pedal like he is sending an SOS who really in uncomfortable driving on a certain road and next thing you know everyone is hitting the brakes. and lastly not driving correctly to conditions, driving at 40mph is as bad as driving at 90 mph in light rain.
Instead of some of the crap they are taught to pass now, we should have compulsory motorway/dual carriageway training and also skid pan training. there is enough bad weather to justify doing this and teaching people what happens among a lot of traffic and also if your in a slide what to do and more importantly what not to do.

 

[Merc89]

Couldn’t agree more with Geordie. These days folk are tought how to the how to pass the driving test and not necessarily how to drive. I believe that the lack of police to educate these people is a big factor.

 

[zoros]

A lot of drivers don't enjoy driving, that's the problem. They simply see it as a means to an end. They have little or no spacial awareness and think about only themselves.
It's hard work, driving long distances these days, trying to second guess some drivers, anticipating, planning a route round them, wondering if they see you.
The good news with 500+hp is that most obstacles become specks of dust within seconds and are no longer a threat

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

One of the most annoying things with motorway driving is that when you do leave an acceptable gap between you and the car in front, some **** that doesn’t know what an ‘acceptable gap’ is will come and slide in front of you. So you drop back. Repeat.

With the amount of brain activity required to do all of this, weaving in and out, it does make me think the journey would be safer and less stressful doing 85 in the outside lane flashing everyone to get out the way like an Audi driver...

 

[E55BOF]

The good news with 500+hp is that most obstacles become specks of dust within seconds and are no longer a threat

Just keep a good lookout for unmarked police cars... My mate Dave's learnt this the hard way.

 

[zoros]

How do you keep an eye out for an unmarked police car, then?

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I was taught to indicate regardless of the presence of other motorists or not.

Likewise: I was taught that when coming to a stop in stationary queuing traffic. Leave a gap large enough, that you can see the car in fronts rear tyres where they touch the tarmac/ground.

Both sensible both ignored by many.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ditto --

Due to my travels around the world and job, I have attended more driver training courses than I can remember including paying for an advanced course I did 2 years ago when I retired.

I don't claim to be the best around but it appals me how little situational awareness and lack of driving skill most drivers seem to exhibit on the roads.

 

[Peter103]

How do you keep an eye out for an unmarked police car, then?

Just before you're nicked,
You see blue lights in your mirror.

 

[renault12ts]

One of the most annoying things with motorway driving is that when you do leave an acceptable gap between you and the car in front, some **** that doesn’t know what an ‘acceptable gap’ is will come and slide in front of you. So you drop back. Repeat.

With the amount of brain activity required to do all of this, weaving in and out, it does make me think the journey would be safer and less stressful doing 85 in the outside lane flashing everyone to get out the way like an Audi driver...

So, tell me...how do you keep left if you cannot slide in in front of you? I hear this all the time so, come on...how?????

It isn't your space. So, maybe if it annoys you stay further back to allow people to legitimately move left once they have overtaken you and whilst they are allowing a faster car to make headway. Not only are they doing nothing wrong they are indeed better drivers than most ****s on the road.

 

[E55BOF]

So, tell me...how do you keep left if you cannot slide in in front of you? I hear this all the time so, come on...how?????

It isn't your space. So, maybe if it annoys you stay further back to allow people to legitimately move left once they have overtaken you and whilst they are allowing a faster car to make headway. Not only are they doing nothing wrong they are indeed better drivers than most ****s on the road.

Er... I think he means that in heavy traffic, some *** will come up on your left and pull into the safe gap you have left. Or on the M25, two (or even three) ***s. It's quite simple, really, and not a case of anybody's space; you leave a safe gap, but others do not. Are you suggesting that drivers who do not leave a safe gap "are indeed better drivers than most ****s on the road"?

 

[renault12ts]

Er... I think he means that in heavy traffic, some *** will come up on your left and pull into the safe gap you have left. Or on the M25, two (or even three) ***s. It's quite simple, really, and not a case of anybody's space; you leave a safe gap, but others do not. Are you suggesting that drivers who do not leave a safe gap "are indeed better drivers than most ****s on the road"?

No, I suggest that the safe gap is not a no go zone for other drivers. How can someone change lane from either side, and not use the gap between cars. The suggestion that a line of cars all with a safe gap in front is an impregnable wall is just stupid. Leave a safe gap...but expect it to be used...and then fall back...simples.
The UK attitude stinks.
People who deny others the ability to change lane are not good drivers. Those that are using the overtaking lane and then pull in to allow faster traffic to pass are indeed good drivers...but very un British.

 

[E55BOF]

How do you keep an eye out for an unmarked police car, then?

Concentration, mostly. There are a few clues, though. Look out for high-performance cars trundling along at no more than 65-70 in the inside lane. Low-performance cars and elderly bangers are very unlikely to be used as unmarked cars. Also, look across at any 'suspect' cars before going past; I would think there will be specialist police kit visible on the dashboard, some sort of blue light rig inside the rear window, and the driver will probably be in black, and often be wearing a high-vis jacket or tabard.

It's not foolproof - ask Dave - and I don't for one moment condone speeding if it is unsafe to do so, but I also don't condemn speeding per se. I suspect that the copper who issued his NIP might well agree to some degree, and thought that he was causing no hazard by speeding in the circumstances.