Narrowly avoided being hit by a tipper truck who was weaving in and out of the traffic on the A206 in Charlton this morning. His driving was quite shocking particularly given the size of the truck.
It has felt over the last few years that dangerous driving has got a lot more prevalent particularly with drivers glued to their smartphones and also driving far too fast for the road conditions. There doesn't seem a lot of visible policing.
Weaving in and out of traffic at high speed seems particularly prevalent on the motorways now - I see it regularly on the M11 and M25. This is an incredibly dangerous thing to do and I wonder how well policed it is.
Smartphones seem a far bigger danger than drink driving now? I've been overtaken by a guy using a smartphone and tablet while driving at 70+ recently and witnessed cyclists wearing headphones and using one hand to operate their phone.
Invariably now some motorists can't even keep in the right lane because they're too busy using the phone and I'm amazed there are not more accidents on roundabouts because of this. It's about time manufacturers or technology companies developed software to close phones down.
Cars are undoubtedly safer than they used to be but as for drivers? There needs to be more effort to deal with smartphones in the same way there was with drink driving.
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Even the simply things like lane discipline just doesn't exist anymore
The amount of times I'll go over from the 4th lane into the 1st lane (not in one movement, instead I move lane, check I can come in etc.) overtake everyone in the other three lanes and then slowly move back out again
I find the situation with smartphones very worrying as it seèms to be getting worse. The only accident I've had was someone driving into the back of me in heavy traffic when the only possible explanation seems to be them looking at their phone.
The authorities and police need to act on this as there are a load of selfish twats who don't give a shit. I'm astonished at the sentencing in this area as it sends out the message it doesn't really matter - needs to be a life ban from driving.
If I am in the inside lane on a motorway I don't bother going out and round middle lane hogs anymore, I just undertake them.
I am happy to admit I rarely drive within the speed limits, I tend to do 40 in a 30, 50 in a 40, 70 in a 60 and 80 plus on the motorway.
I know where most speed cameras are on the common routes I drive and I have been caught out a couple of time by pop up mobile units but considering I have been driving for over 40 years I have got away with more than I should have.
I have to use the M25 once a week at 7am in the morning and around 5pm in the evening and some of the things I see on every trip makes you realise how out of control the roads are getting.
"We are spending more money on policing than ever before."
I've lost count the amount of times I decide not to do 70mph down the motorway and drop to about 55 / 60mph to save some fuel on my way too and from work, yet whenever I do that I'm instantly in the first lane
Yes weaving / undertaking cars isn't the best idea yet it reduces traffic congestion and saves all cars having to move into the fast lane to overtake one inconsiderate driver - Yes undertaking can cause an accident as you cant anticipate what the hogger might do, yet that's all the more reason not to sit in the middle lane and be more considerate to other drivers out there
I'd like to see minimum speed limits on motorway lanes - but the outer lane should be 85mph, the middle 70mph and the inner 60 or 65mph. Their should ideally be lorry overtaking zones, but lorries can't move to the 70mph plus lanes.
Same thing happened couple of weeks back on the north circular near the A13, again, everyone doing the 50 limit, just a lot of traffic, another knob weaves in and out of the three lanes in his BMW, nothing to do with undertaking slow middle lane joggers, which I agree is sometimes necessary, just arrogant, idiotic organ donors.