General Poor Driving

[CE230]

Just last week I heard sirens and noticed an ambulance with all the lights and music behind me so I slow and indicate that I'm pulling over as it is quite a wide road and is the best option to let the ambulance by. Idiot behind then pulls out to over take me and into the path of the ambulance who had realised what the **** was going to do and had slowed to accommodate him. Another case of tunnel vision that's is all to prevalent these days I'm afraid.

 

[st13phil]

And it's not up to any bigotted motorist to expect another to speed up over the posted limit just so they can get somewhere faster.

Agreed - but surely what we are talking about is when the lane to the left of the lane-hogger is free so they should be in that lane not the one they are in?

 

[Deadhead]

I drive in France quite a lot and lane hogging is very rare there. Of course their roads are generally a lot quieter; but even round the big cities it doesn't happen much. I think it's because the French are much more ready to undertake lane hogs than drivers in Britain.

Of course, their road death rate is a lot higher than ours...

 

[verytalldave]

Quality of driving in the UK is generally very good. Much better than many other countries, specially those in and around India, Africa and South America. I think we tend to forget that on our little island.

 

[hitenhirani]

Agreed - but surely what we are talking about is when the lane to the left of the lane-hogger is free so they should be in that lane not the one they are in?

Indeed!

If the lane to the left of the lane hogger is free, if they are at the speed limit, then why aren't they able to move over to the left lane?
If they were doing a driving test, they wouldve marked down, if not failed, as to not allowing progression of traffic.

There are of course times, where moving to the middle lane when there are no cars in fornt of you, is, and should only be, when there is taffic merging from the left, when a road is joining a dual carriageway/motorway.
This allows the 'merging' vehicles to safely join the flow of traffic.

That is a fundamental in the IAM course.

The problem is not the speed limit being reached, but lane hogging.

 

[Sp!ke]

Quality of driving in the UK is generally very good. Much better than many other countries, specially those in and around India, Africa and South America. I think we tend to forget that on our little island.

The standard of driving in the UK compared to the civilised world however is awful.

 

[215m3]

The huge road warning signs on the sides of the motorways show instructions for motorists to return to left lane after overtaking, but because they are concentrating so hard on the end of the bonnet, their vision does not extend to the height of the sign.

I have witnessed so many folk pass these signs and very very few actually move over.

If i approach a middle lane hogger from the left i do sometimes, indicate move out and then indicate and move back across, but quite close to them to grab their attention. Some do move over.

Driving is the only area that no on going training is given. You pass your test and then that's it. I would welcome resits every 5 years, or 2 years after the test and then every 5 years. Not a test as such, but to check general awareness.

Everyone should be trained in advanced Roadcraft. I don't mean IAM, but the next level. Anticipation is such an important part of driving and i would say only 10% actually use this.

 

[hitenhirani]

IPSGA - Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration

is probably the core of IAM, thats what you are taught first.
and should be used at all times.

 

[Swiss Toni]

There is a law in the highway stating that you must drive in the left lane

Just to be clear, The Highway Code is not law - it is a code for good practice and reflects many aspects of motoring law, but is not law per se.

 

[st13phil]

In common with other posters on this thread, I think the root of the problem lies in the woeful lack of ongoing driver education / training / testing in the UK.

The problem starts with the novice driver who has probably amassed zero experience of driving on multi-lane divided highways prior to passing their driving test. They certainly have no experience of motorway driving before passing their test. They're then let loose, generally with no guidance, on the motorway network with nothing more than hope and good fortune to stop them being part of a very unpleasant incident. Is it any wonder that they don't get it right?

The fact is that there are a large number of drivers who think that lane 1 on a motorway is for slow traffic (especially lorries), lane two for medium speed traffic and lane 3 for fast traffic. I have had the misfortune of being a passenger with more than one driver who was quite happy to cruise along in lane 2 for mile after mile at 60-65mph while lane 1 was perfectly usable. When I questioned one of them what their rationale was they told me, "I don't like using the slow lane (sic) because I feel unsafe pulling into the middle lane to overtake slower traffic". What???? So why, if you lack the skills and judgment to use it safely, are you on a motorway then????

In my view we need to have a concerted publicity campaign (think: Clunk-Click) to encourage people to use motorway and dual carriageway lanes more effectively, a serious look at how new drivers can be encouraged to be effectively trained to use motorways (perhaps a post-driving test certificate or diploma that entitles them to an insurance discount?) and also some non camera-based enforcement for those who still don't get it right. The payback would be less congestion, less frustration and and less motorway shunts.

 

[raymont]

This annoys. You’re driving along the motorway and you’re catching up with a vehicle in Lane 3. You arrive behind the vehicle with L2 free of traffic so said vehicle can pull over. As a careful driver you maintain a good gap to the L3 vehicle who then appears to take this as an indication that you don’t want to pass. You wait a while and nothing happens, so you drive up close behind the vehicle which then moves over to let you past. Once you’re past it moves back into L3 despite the lack of anything in L2 to overtake.

Sometimes putting the right indicator on as a polite indication that you want to pass works.

I drive in Germany quite frequently and recognise description from an earlier post of the driver with left indicator and headlights on closing at great speed. It seems to me that these characters quite often then sit a few mm, possibly at 100 + mph, from your rear bumper weaving from side to side despite the fact that you are overtaking a string of traffic. This irresponsible driving, by a sizeable minority, is frequently discussed in the local media and the solution frequently proposed is an overall speed limit of 130kph. I’m perfectly happy to get out of the way asap of someone who wants to go faster than me, but when subject to this treatment it can take me quite a long time to complete my overtaking.

Your treatment on German motorways depends on your vehicle. If you drive a small engined / slow car you stand to be bullied as described. If you car does not have German plates ditto. If your car fulfils both criteria life can be quite stressful.

 

[robert.saunders]

I note, from my experiences with Traffic plod, when making significant progress along a motorway for example, when they catch up with traffic in the same lane, they will ease up and sit extremely close to the vehicle in front, at some staggering speeds of approach it has to be said, quite unnerving at first, but I assume that’s what they’re trained to do; perhaps their training is a continental driving standard

 

[kwakdonut]

Just to be clear, The Highway Code is not law - it is a code for good practice and reflects many aspects of motoring law, but is not law per se.

But it does encompass the Road Traffic Act which is law and will get you a ticket (normally) if you break it!!

 

[raymont]

and sit extremely close to the vehicle in front, at some staggering speeds of approach it has to be said, )

If the car in front suddenly brakes hard that's it, you rear end them.

This is the behaviour the German authorities are trying to stamp out.

 

[robert.saunders]

If the car in front suddenly brakes hard that's it, you rear end them

That's what I thought; it's how they drove though. Equally staggering was the fact the Volvo was on headlight flash, blue 360 degree strobes, blue LED strobes, siren wailing, and still the vehicle in front is oblivious

 

[hitenhirani]

(perhaps a post-driving test certificate or diploma that entitles them to an insurance discount?)

There is already something out there, "Pass-Plus" I think its called, which you can take within a year of passing your test, and you get insurance discounts.

 

[TheGrocer]

If it aint managed it wont improve

Mobile phones, poor driving, lack of insurance etc etc....If its not policed and people think they will get away with it then they will continue to try an get away with it.
FACT - Most Sunday nights in Kent there are 3 police patrol cars patrolling the whole of Kent. And all the toe rags know it
The chances of being stopped for any of the above ilegal acts are almost zero.

 

[215m3]

if you come up to a vehicle and they are in lane 3 or 4, by flashing you can adgitate or enrage them.

To avoid this i just use the other free lanes and i can continue on my journey. I pay my road tax, which allows me you use any lane, but if i can use other lanes to pass them, then they should be using these lanes too! Problem is they are nieve and are unaware of how to drive on the motorway and therefore should not be allowed to use such road.

I don't drive around looking at my bonnet star. My eyes are looking in not only all 3 frontal zones, but my rear view mirror very often too. I am aware off all that's around me.

 

[dino645]

There is too many drivers who can't drive. But saying that I've had just as many problems sticking to the limit in an average speed check area with trucks almost nudging me to speed up.

Middle laners are just frustrating, but because they don't observe other road users, I would never undertake.

That lane should be reserved for avoiding accidents caused by middle lane drivers.