NW: Is it really reasonable to flash a car in front of you to get it to move out of the way? To my mind that is attempting to be a policeman.
In my example, car A (or was it B) was in fact a policecar. He must have been only a second off turning on his blue lights to pull the car over. He was beautifully painted up in blue & yellow, and I'd seen him coming 5 minutes previously. (Which was why I didn't undertake the car. & which led to my complete astonishment when the car pulled back into the middle lane.)
|
" Is it really reasonable to flash a car in front of you to get it to move out of the way?"
From the highway code:
Flashing headlights. Only flash your headlights to let other road users know that you are there. Do not flash your headlights in an attempt to intimidate other road users.
Well, if the purpose of flashing your lights is to alert other road users to your presence, it would seem fine to flash if someone in front is obviously unaware of your presence. However, a long intimidating blast seems to be agin the rules.
V
|
|
|
|
|
That's probably because Americans can drive long distances in straight lines - not used to turning left or right...:-)
|
A lot people complaining about the standard of driving being very bad but i have to disagree yes there are some idiots on the roads but most of time i don't have any problems at all on the roads mentioned as particulary bad, the M6 and someone mentioned the A55 into north Wales. I regulary go from Ellesmere Port to Lancaster and never had much problem on the M6, yes you get the odd idiot but the majority of the time its actually quite a pleasent drive and i've driven on it on all sorts of time from rush in the morning and evening to dead of night and early morning.
I only tend to remember bad driving so since most of my journeys are quite forgettable then this must good thing!
P.S I have not long returned from a holiday to Crete and if you think driving standards are bad here you should see what goes on over there!
|
|
I have to say that I agree with Barney. Even after driving on US freeways once or twice it seems perfectly normal to pass on either side. In fact it seems much more relaxed that way. In the UK when in the overtaking lane, even if you are actually overtaking, you tend to get people sitting on your bumper and flashing their lights. Several times I have found myself pulling into the slow lane very close to the car i have just overtaken just because i dont like being tailgated.
|
One that I always find a little strange and again happened yesterday:
No traffic on a dual carriageway, car pootling along in the outside lane.
I come up behind and they take a long time to move over to lane 1. As soon as I pass them, still no traffic around, they pull back out to the outside lane overtaking nothing?
Can anyone explain? Surely it can't be down to tramlining can it?
|
The worst case I ever heard about was on the M55 (Blackpool - Preston) at about 3am. A colleague was doing about 80mph in the left hand lane. The road was empty apart from one other car. It was doing about 40mph in lane 3. My colleague slowed to the speed of the other car, and pulled out into lane 3. He flashed his lights but it did not pull over. He then pulled back into lane 1 and passed on the inside. The other car receeded into the distance in his mirror, still doing 40mph in the outside lane.
|
|
|
One that I always find a little strange and again happened yesterday: No traffic on a dual carriageway, car pootling along in the outside lane. I come up behind and they take a long time to move over to lane 1. As soon as I pass them, still no traffic around, they pull back out to the outside lane overtaking nothing? Can anyone explain? Surely it can't be down to tramlining can it?
>>What lane were you in?
If you approaced from way back and then stayed, in the outside lane on a deserted road, he may have been trying to make a point.
|
I happen to think that people who habitually sit in lane 2 when lane 1 is empty for some way ahead should be given 3 points and a fine. These people are dangerous in that they force slow lane 2 traffic into lane 3, and a small number of the lane 3 mob are dangerous nutters. Even those that are not dangerous (most) do not have patience to let a lane 2 car in. And they tend to drive close to the car in front. So the options are 1) drop a gear or two and nip in to lane 3, risking being too close to other cars, and reducing safety and possibly having an aggressive moron behind flash, hoot, gesticulate etc or 2) undertake.
I tend to undertake. I could be nicked as it is against the highway code, but when lane 3 is busy with very fast traffic it is IMO the safer option.
|
Like much of the postal service, cheap foreign labour working for agencies?
"Sadly, at least on the M6 and other North West motorways, some of the worst offenders for pulling out without warning are now the heavy truck drivers. I used to regard them as the Kings of the Road."
|
Another aspect of this subject is that Cheshire police reported earlier this year that it attends, on average, an incident a day involving a foreign registered, left hand drive lorry pulling out unexpectedly into the path of a car already alongside it.
The reason is that the lorry driver has a blind spot because of his/her driving position and, obviously, is unaware of a vehicle or vehicles being alongside in the second lane.
As you will realise this has caused some quite serious accidents on occasions, as overtaking vehicles have either been pushed into the path of other cars or been trapped under the lorry itself after being spun round.
|
The reason is that the lorry driver has a blind spot because of his/her driving position and, obviously, is unaware of a vehicle or vehicles being alongside in the second lane.
I would personally say that the reason is the driver of the lorry failing to take account of that blind-spot. Continuous observation of the rear view mirror would mean that the driver had knowledge of what was coming up behind, so he would know whether a car was likely to be there, rather than a single glance which could miss a vehicle travelling through the blind-spot.
Indicating before the manoevre might help them out too.
|
|
Did anyone else see the 5th gear episode where Tiff, in a LHD lorry, side swiped Vikki, who was in a car alongside? The result is that the car is somehow pushed infront of the lorry.
|
That happened to my parents, they were spun round in front of a lorry and shunted along sideways until the lorry stopped. This was on the upslope of the QE11 bridge.
At the risk of controversy, I might suggest that the way to avoid being side-swiped is not to hang around in the middle or outer lanes alongside HGVs, but to overtake them swiftly.
|
At the risk of controversy, I might suggest that the way to avoid being side-swiped is not to hang around in the middle or outer lanes alongside HGVs, but to overtake them swiftly.
Exactly what I do. On occasions where I've earlier seen the lorry wandering a bit (tired driver?) I will sometimes leave a lane spare between us too.
|
As a relatively inexperienced driver I am constantly shocked at some of the lane changing manoeuvres performed by lorries. I always had it down to them being too lazy to check their mirrors and blind spot and/or that they knew the car was there but the 'I'm bigger than you' mentallity kicks in and they just throw their weight around.
Large lorries changing lanes on top of cars at ~ 1 a day per UK county seems scarily high. Surely this has to be controlled - isn't there some sort of wing mirror add-on that'll cover the blind spot?
|
isn't there some sort of wing mirror add-on that'll cover the blind spot?
Yes. Usually referred to as a MkI eyeball. Sadly, it's only operative when connected to a MkI neural processing unit.
|
Spotted yesterday - and last week IIRC on the M4 over the border into Wales - On the large matrix signs displaying alternatively "Don't hog outside lane" and "do not overtake on the inside". Every matrix sign until past Cardiff had these displayed. Not 100% convinced it was making any difference but at least the signs were being used for something useful, whilst not displaying congestion or accident info. Perhaps other forces could use this ploy.
Better signage could be "move over to the left / inside lane after overtaking". What do other BRs think would be a good message - awaits amusing replies..... as well as serious ones....
|
It would probably be vastly expensive, but more direct signs like "Hey you, you there in ,the Ford Galaxy, stop tailgating"
or "You are now entering Glasgow, please lock your doors"
|
anything would be more useful than the 'Keep Cardiff tidy' they constantly have on the A48M. Do they assume I have a boot full of rubbish and have just crossed the severn bridge so i can dump it in the welsh capitial?
On a more serious note, I was driving through Nottinghamshire the other day and was being constantly reminded that X number of people were killed etc on this stretch of road in the last year. made me think a bit. I wonder if this has much of an effect upon driving standards. maybe more specific signs like 'Tailgating killed X people last year' might make people think.
|
|
|
|
|
This scenario drives us all mad: the solution is simple, we adopt the American system of overtaking either side. If the Yanks are bright enough to cope with this method surely the British are!
I support overtaking on the left. Unfortunately, even if it was made law tomorrow, it would take at least 10 years for the British motoring public to learn how to perform the manoeuvre safely.
Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
|
|
|
|
