Ha ha, some of you lot should take a trip to Dubai if you want to experience bad driving!! We have people from all over the world driving on the same roads as each other as well as the Arab locals. It really does have to be seen to be believed.
You can have a young Arab lad in his brand new Masarati or Ferrari doing 200mph while texting his mates driving alongside a beaten-up old Nissan Micra driven by a labourer from Pakistan with 6 of his buddies jammed in, capable of a top speed of 50mph, who is also texting his mates back in Islamabad. Also on the road will be some Indians (who have an entirely different set of driving habits to the rest of the world, thanks to having to share their roads back home with random cows, elephants, bikes & tuk-tuks), some Russians (who are the rudest & most aggressive drivers I have ever come across), some Germans, some Australians and so on. In total there are in excess of 200 different nationalities living and driving in this very small country. Put that lot onto the road together at the same time and you get mayhem.
It's not unusual to see cars reversing back down motorway slip roads because they have changed their mind. Cars drift from lane to lane as mobile phone calls & texting are just soooo important to everybody. Cars joining a main road will never slow down to look and find a space in the traffic, instead they just pile onto the road at full tilt expecting everybody else to just get out of their way. Cars join the motorway at the same place as other cars leave the motorway, leading to people just driving into one another as they cross, as they are just so impatient. It NEVER rains here, so there are no drains on the roads; so it just takes one spot of rain to fall and all the cars are slipping & sliding all over the place as everybody has forgotten how to drive in wet conditions plus the roads flood very very quickly. Nobody believes in putting on headlights, let alone fog lights, in thick fog. Most drivers think that if they can't see a car in front of them in the fog then there can't possible be anybody there, so they speed up and drive even faster; multiple pile-ups are extremely common.
In 2010 there were 37 deaths on the road for every 100,000 people living here. That compare to 3 deaths per 100,000 of population in the UK for the same period. It is actually the 3rd highest road death rate in the world, marginally behind both Afghanistan & Iraq!
I'd like to make a special mention for the fcuktard who attempted to pull on to the A2 (London Bound) at the Black Prince a couple of weeks ago. As you'll all know, its a wide sweeping layby and then it turns into a bus line alongside the two lanes...like so...
I kid you not, the woman driving the car directly in front of me excelerated away around the bend as you do, got to about 50mph but then slammed on the brakes like she was doing an emergency stop on her test and came to a complete standstill, looking over her shoulder to see if a bus was coming down the bus lane. WTF? Because of that damn woman, my daughter has now learnt a few new choice words. I'm very fortunate that I managed to react in time and didnt hit her or get hit up the rear myself from the car behind. Fcuktards like that shouldnt be on the roads.
Oh and something needs to be done about the 50mph speed limit on the A2 after Bexleyheath London-bound too while we're at it. Ridiculous. I'd love to know how many accidents have been caused by drivers coming on to the A2 at the Dartford Heath turn off and literally pulling straight into the middle lane at 50mph (because of the 50 speed limit sign about another 200 yards down when it goes into two lanes and the Black Prince lay by lane) without looking and those already on the A2 doing much greater speeds (which of course they shouldnt be).
Things that are more important to tackle than people in the middle lane: - Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive at dusk or in low light conditions without their lights on. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive in the rain without their lights on. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to make calls or texts whilst driving. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to tailgate. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to manoeuvre without signaling.
I think people's character changes as soon as they start to drive. They become totally immersed in their little metal cocoons and are invincible, King of the road, aggressive and better than any F1 driver. Some of the manoeuvres I see on a daily basis are pretty scary to say the least. These are not only carried out by boy racers but a whole range of ages. I start to get pretty nervous when I see a 70 + year old 5 foot off my rear end. Really don't think their reflexes are that good to drive that close.
Graham Hill once said that if all drove around in open top cars there wouldn't be so much abuse to one another.
This is great news as long as it is enforced. Those who hog any lane except lane 1 are a menace. People only undertake if there is an idiot sitting in the wrong lane. If you can be undertaken then you are in the wrong lane and should have moved over. I find there are long stretches of road when you could remain in lane 1 but have to move out to overtake a lane hogger who is totally oblivious to those around them.
I admit that I frequently flash my lights at lane hoggers if I come up behind them and immediately move back to lane 1 in front of them, but unless someone lets them know they will just continue to sit there.
Usually tailgaters do so because of lane hoggers who won't move over when there is plenty of room on the lane to their left.
Trouble is on motorways such as the M25 it is so choka that you can't move into the inside lane especially when it's full of HGV's.
If lane 1 is full of traffic and you are driving faster than they are, then you are overtaking and have every right to be in the middle lane. What is so annoying is when there is NO traffic in lane 1 and someone remains in lane 2.
Middle lane hoggers are a pain no doubt but in my experience there are far worse things going on and most of them are not on the motorways, which in theory and statistically (I think) are our safest roads.
Hopefully the new law will enable the police to do something immediately about the absolutely appaling levels of lane discipline at roadabouts for example, those drivers who cut you up or drive up your backside even in queues...you know the sort of people who drive around followed by a cacophony of car horns wherever they go.
Do they think this is normal and everyone else gets the same treatment or is it just a case of them realising they are selfish, ignorant twunts and not really caring?
BTW how many posts in are we and no one has admitted to being a middle lane hogger yet. Someone on here must be.
Too many apologists by far for this moronic driving curse on the rest of us.
"But I might get stuck behind a lorry"..."I was doing 75mph so that's OK".."bigger problems out there like nasty BMW drivers flashing me".
Pathetic! Just pull over out the bloody way and while you're at it why not try glancing in your rear view mirror more than once per decade.
Things that are more important to tackle than people in the middle lane: - Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive at dusk or in low light conditions without their lights on. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive in the rain without their lights on. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to make calls or texts whilst driving. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to tailgate. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to manoeuvre without signaling.
I think you'll find the new penalties cover these as well as lane hogging, as they are designed to clamp down on careless driving per se.
Things that are more important to tackle than people in the middle lane: - Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive at dusk or in low light conditions without their lights on. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive in the rain without their lights on. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to make calls or texts whilst driving. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to tailgate. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to manoeuvre without signaling.
I think you'll find the new penalties cover these as well as lane hogging, as they are designed to clamp down on careless driving per se.
May be it's me, but I can't see how by raising the penalties on laws they've been unable to enforce properly so far, are going to make any difference. As somebody has suggested a cash cow for the police.
If it is designed to be a money raiser then they will put more effort into catching the culprits and perhaps it will reduce bad driving, or at least make the perpetrators think a bit more about what they are doing.
I tend to overtake them to the right, rather than moan about them possibly!
But why should I have to move from lane 1 to lane 3 to overtake a 'hogger'?
Because you can? Maybe that is where we are different. It mildly annoys me sometimes, but I don't see it as a crime against humanity and feel the need for legislation.
It would be interesting to understand the legal persepective. Say somebody is hogging the middle lane doing 70. Ok, they could be done for staying in the same lane, but they could claim that they couldn’t have held anybody up because they are driving as fast as it is legally allowed. If that is the case- how fast do you have to be driving to be a hogger - I think the answer would be relative to other traffic but then it comes down to the spreed limit again. Maybe the government should increase the speed limit first – which in my opinion is overdue as cars are much better at higher speeds than they were when the initial limit was introduced.
You can either take or undertake in America and it seems to work well. You can also turn right on a red light in America. I've also been to America about dozen times and only ever seen one roundabout.
I can barely think of any traffic jams I've been setting in America too
You've never sat in a traffic jam in America? Wow, you're a lot lot luckier than I've been. When I've been out there for work and had to commute traffic jams are an almost daily occurrence. Highways are a free for all, and busy ones have daily accidents.
Things that are more important to tackle than people in the middle lane: - Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive at dusk or in low light conditions without their lights on. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive in the rain without their lights on. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to make calls or texts whilst driving. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to tailgate. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to manoeuvre without signaling.
I think you'll find the new penalties cover these as well as lane hogging, as they are designed to clamp down on careless driving per se.
May be it's me, but I can't see how by raising the penalties on laws they've been unable to enforce properly so far, are going to make any difference. As somebody has suggested a cash cow for the police.
It's not just raising the fines though.
These are instant on the spot fines so officers and offenders don't have to go to court (although you can still opt to if you want).
So it is quicker and means officer could spend all day on the "road" rather than sitting around in court.
The solution is simple really..... make all motorways 4 lanes, thus eliminating a middle lane. Surprised no one at the transport ministry has thought of it. ;-)
Things that are more important to tackle than people in the middle lane: - Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive at dusk or in low light conditions without their lights on. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive in the rain without their lights on. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to make calls or texts whilst driving. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to tailgate. - Idiots that think it is acceptable to manoeuvre without signaling.
I think you'll find the new penalties cover these as well as lane hogging, as they are designed to clamp down on careless driving per se.
May be it's me, but I can't see how by raising the penalties on laws they've been unable to enforce properly so far, are going to make any difference. As somebody has suggested a cash cow for the police.
It's not just raising the fines though.
These are instant on the spot fines so officers and offenders don't have to go to court (although you can still opt to if you want).
So it is quicker and means officer could spend all day on the "road" rather than sitting around in court.
Fair point, Henry.
Perhaps they could also include the noisy baskets who have to share their boomboxes with the world while waiting at traffic lights. That's a hanging offence if I ever I heard one.
Red Pete, don't the Police drive Lamborginis in Dubai?
Yes, they have recently bought a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, a Mercedes SLS, a Bentley Continental GT & an Aston Martin One (one of only 77 ever made, with a cost equal to 1.5 million of your British Pounds). They are only intended for show though, and to impress all the tourists. They are not planning on using them to chase speeding motorists down the Sheikh Zayed Road.
The solution is simple really..... make all motorways 4 lanes, thus eliminating a middle lane. Surprised no one at the transport ministry has thought of it. ;-)
They've done this on the A2 past Gravesend, the middle lane hoggers have now migrated OUTWARDS to the third lane!
as a coach driver theres nothing more annoying than cars sitting in the middle lane doing 50mph as coaches are not allowed in the 3rd lane but we can do 60
You can either take or undertake in America and it seems to work well. You can also turn right on a red light in America. I've also been to America about dozen times and only ever seen one roundabout.
I can barely think of any traffic jams I've been setting in America too
I like the undertaking and the turn right on red, but it only really works on multi-lane roads or with a filter lane - both of which we'd be pushed for space to implement.
I actually wish there were more roundabouts as my pet hate driving in the US is all the stop/start between signals or 4-way stops (now THERE'S something that would cause road rage in the UK...)
As for traffic jams, I assume you've never driven in any medium sized city on either the East or West coast......
as a coach driver theres nothing more annoying than cars sitting in the middle lane doing 50mph as coaches are not allowed in the 3rd lane but we can do 60
To quote an old Mary Whitehouse Experience:
Instructor: Please move to the outside lane and accelerate to 80mph. What do you see? Learner: A National Express coach right up close behind me flashing it's lights.
You can either take or undertake in America and it seems to work well. You can also turn right on a red light in America. I've also been to America about dozen times and only ever seen one roundabout.
I can barely think of any traffic jams I've been setting in America too
I must agree that those set ups are very convenient. However consider this: In the USA you do nothing other than drive in a straight line or turn right or left (they have precious few roundabouts or narrow roads or bends in roads) yet...in Alabama - population around 5mn: road deaths around 900 per year. UK - population around 65mn; road deaths around 3300 per year..... Those figures tell you there's something not right with US road safety.
I have just been out and encountered the infamous man in the black BMW who thinks that it is okay to get in the left lane on a roundabout, when he wants to turn right.
I was turning right so was in the right lane and indicating right. I indicated left after the turning before the one I wanted and started to move over and of course he was in my way and would not give way. I flashed and hooted and all he did was give me the 'w' sign and would not let me turn into my exit until had done so first.
Roundabouts are another driving action where people aren't taught to negotiate them properly.
The best way to avoid jams when their is a high volume of traffic is for cars to all drive at a certain speed (say 50mph) and leave a decent gap. It's mathematics - if a car has to brake, then over hundreds/thousands of cars it can have a compound effect resulting in an eventual standstill. So the best driving for busy roads is to avoid the need for cars to brake! Human nature would never allow this to happen though!
Couldn't agree more - mentioned it earlier in the thread. It's called a 'traffic shockwave' or 'stopwave', and it doesn't just happen on motorways. The shock moves upstream at around 25kmh and are why motorway traffic often comes to a standstill even when there's no accident. Each car has to slow down more than the one in front even if the first guy only taps his brakes - unless of course you leave enough room in front of you. If people just drove with a headway equivalent to the stopping distance of their speed then we'd have a lot less congestion due to less frequent braking.
Middle lane hoggers causing congestion are a myth.
I'm told that in the US the motorway lanes are designated according to where you are going. For example what we call the 'fast' lane would be the lane for going to the next state, the middle lane for the next city, and the 'slow' lane for local journeys. I've read conflicting reports on this thread as to the roads in the US so I don't know if this works or not.
I'm still recovering from Red Pete's description of Dubai. I'm considering my Czech fellow drivers in a kinder light.
Well, if you drive in Germany, you'll see lane discipline. But autobahn driving is a big part of the driving test. Surprising % of German autobahns are only two lane. Recently I have noticed that you get short stretches of newly enlarged three lane, but they slap a 120km (about 75) limit on that stretch. Seems counter intuitive, but they must know what they are doing.
The Germans also teach themselves that if, say for roadworks, two lanes are reduced to one, it is not rude or aggressive to stay on the outside until the last moment. It is sensible because it is maximising the use of the available space. Was a lesson for me, that.
Comments
You can have a young Arab lad in his brand new Masarati or Ferrari doing 200mph while texting his mates driving alongside a beaten-up old Nissan Micra driven by a labourer from Pakistan with 6 of his buddies jammed in, capable of a top speed of 50mph, who is also texting his mates back in Islamabad. Also on the road will be some Indians (who have an entirely different set of driving habits to the rest of the world, thanks to having to share their roads back home with random cows, elephants, bikes & tuk-tuks), some Russians (who are the rudest & most aggressive drivers I have ever come across), some Germans, some Australians and so on. In total there are in excess of 200 different nationalities living and driving in this very small country. Put that lot onto the road together at the same time and you get mayhem.
It's not unusual to see cars reversing back down motorway slip roads because they have changed their mind. Cars drift from lane to lane as mobile phone calls & texting are just soooo important to everybody. Cars joining a main road will never slow down to look and find a space in the traffic, instead they just pile onto the road at full tilt expecting everybody else to just get out of their way. Cars join the motorway at the same place as other cars leave the motorway, leading to people just driving into one another as they cross, as they are just so impatient. It NEVER rains here, so there are no drains on the roads; so it just takes one spot of rain to fall and all the cars are slipping & sliding all over the place as everybody has forgotten how to drive in wet conditions plus the roads flood very very quickly. Nobody believes in putting on headlights, let alone fog lights, in thick fog. Most drivers think that if they can't see a car in front of them in the fog then there can't possible be anybody there, so they speed up and drive even faster; multiple pile-ups are extremely common.
In 2010 there were 37 deaths on the road for every 100,000 people living here. That compare to 3 deaths per 100,000 of population in the UK for the same period. It is actually the 3rd highest road death rate in the world, marginally behind both Afghanistan & Iraq!
I kid you not, the woman driving the car directly in front of me excelerated away around the bend as you do, got to about 50mph but then slammed on the brakes like she was doing an emergency stop on her test and came to a complete standstill, looking over her shoulder to see if a bus was coming down the bus lane. WTF? Because of that damn woman, my daughter has now learnt a few new choice words. I'm very fortunate that I managed to react in time and didnt hit her or get hit up the rear myself from the car behind. Fcuktards like that shouldnt be on the roads.
Oh and something needs to be done about the 50mph speed limit on the A2 after Bexleyheath London-bound too while we're at it. Ridiculous. I'd love to know how many accidents have been caused by drivers coming on to the A2 at the Dartford Heath turn off and literally pulling straight into the middle lane at 50mph (because of the 50 speed limit sign about another 200 yards down when it goes into two lanes and the Black Prince lay by lane) without looking and those already on the A2 doing much greater speeds (which of course they shouldnt be).
- Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive at dusk or in low light conditions without their lights on.
- Idiots that think it is acceptable to drive in the rain without their lights on.
- Idiots that think it is acceptable to make calls or texts whilst driving.
- Idiots that think it is acceptable to tailgate.
- Idiots that think it is acceptable to manoeuvre without signaling.
(probably a bit more fisticuffs)
"But I might get stuck behind a lorry"..."I was doing 75mph so that's OK".."bigger problems out there like nasty BMW drivers flashing me".
Pathetic! Just pull over out the bloody way and while you're at it why not try glancing in your rear view mirror more than once per decade.
It would be interesting to understand the legal persepective. Say somebody is hogging the middle lane doing 70. Ok, they could be done for staying in the same lane, but they could claim that they couldn’t have held anybody up because they are driving as fast as it is legally allowed. If that is the case- how fast do you have to be driving to be a hogger - I think the answer would be relative to other traffic but then it comes down to the spreed limit again. Maybe the government should increase the speed limit first – which in my opinion is overdue as cars are much better at higher speeds than they were when the initial limit was introduced.
You can also turn right on a red light in America.
I've also been to America about dozen times and only ever seen one roundabout.
I can barely think of any traffic jams I've been setting in America too
I agree turn on red is a great idea though.
These are instant on the spot fines so officers and offenders don't have to go to court (although you can still opt to if you want).
So it is quicker and means officer could spend all day on the "road" rather than sitting around in court.
Perhaps they could also include the noisy baskets who have to share their boomboxes with the world while waiting at traffic lights. That's a hanging offence if I ever I heard one.
I actually wish there were more roundabouts as my pet hate driving in the US is all the stop/start between signals or 4-way stops (now THERE'S something that would cause road rage in the UK...)
As for traffic jams, I assume you've never driven in any medium sized city on either the East or West coast......
Instructor: Please move to the outside lane and accelerate to 80mph. What do you see?
Learner: A National Express coach right up close behind me flashing it's lights.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22784983
I was turning right so was in the right lane and indicating right. I indicated left after the turning before the one I wanted and started to move over and of course he was in my way and would not give way. I flashed and hooted and all he did was give me the 'w' sign and would not let me turn into my exit until had done so first.
Roundabouts are another driving action where people aren't taught to negotiate them properly.
Grrrrrrr!
Middle lane hoggers causing congestion are a myth.
I'm told that in the US the motorway lanes are designated according to where you are going. For example what we call the 'fast' lane would be the lane for going to the next state, the middle lane for the next city, and the 'slow' lane for local journeys. I've read conflicting reports on this thread as to the roads in the US so I don't know if this works or not.
Well, if you drive in Germany, you'll see lane discipline. But autobahn driving is a big part of the driving test. Surprising % of German autobahns are only two lane. Recently I have noticed that you get short stretches of newly enlarged three lane, but they slap a 120km (about 75) limit on that stretch. Seems counter intuitive, but they must know what they are doing.
The Germans also teach themselves that if, say for roadworks, two lanes are reduced to one, it is not rude or aggressive to stay on the outside until the last moment. It is sensible because it is maximising the use of the available space. Was a lesson for me, that.
Mostly the east-west autobahns. During the Cold War there was the fear that three lane autobahns would make it easier if the Russians invaded.