I had the journey from Hell on Sunday, going from Sheffield to Heathrow.
The reason ? well there are 3 lanes on the motorways, but plenty of idiots do not move over to the left, so there is always 3 lanes going at 40-60 Mph, and as soon as someone brakes in any lane, everyone brakes and further back, the traffic is down to walking pace.
It was obvious thst the traffic would flow perfectly if people kept to the left.
The journey took 5 hours instead of the usual 2 1/2 and this is a major reason why our motorways are not working as they are intended.
What can be done to shake these idiots into driving properly ?
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Take away their airbags and other safety equipment and put a big spike on the steering wheel ;-)
When you next walk round Tesco, observe other shoppers and their habits. It's those people who then climb in their cars and get in the way. Sadly they seem to form a larger proportion of our society nowadays.
My pet hate is people standing on the brake pedal in stationary traffic. The current vogue for high level brake lights mean I'm blinded by their ignorance. I guess driving schools are not teaching the finer details any more.
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It's the option of choice for the thick, the lazy, the nervous and the ignorant.
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I don't think it's especially a driving thing. People are getting dummer and dummer and lower IQ year in year out.
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Poor lane discipline annoys me, particularly after driving in countries where it's not such an issue, and seeing how much better the traffic flows as a result. I've come to the conclusion that traffic congestion is no better or worse in, say, Germany than it is here. The difference is that even when the roads are busy, they still flow to a degree. Unlike here where you accelerate from 0-60 mph, maintain it for half a mile, and then brake from 60-0 where you sit for 5 minutes. Repeat ad infineum.
My other pet hate was out in force this morning. The muppet who thinks they're called "rain lights", instead of fog lights.
Clarkson is unfortunately right. Get snipers on the bridges and gantries to shoot these people. It's the only way forward.
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dummer and dummer and lower IQ year in year out.
I don't think average IQ has fallen from its former level. It hardly could after all :o}
High cognitive ability is not necessary for the acquisition of what my father used to call 'common courtesy'. What is needed is a parent or teacher, or both, to communicate the simple principles involved. I am afraid that is what is missing in the modern world.
I am 70. The other day I dropped a coin in a crowded shop. A well-brought-up schoolboy of about 12 politely pointed it out to me as I peered around for it. When I was his age I would also have picked it up to spare the old buffer's creaking joints, but he didn't. I thanked him anyway. My wife says children don't stand up in buses to give their seats to quite old people who really do need to sit down, or preganant women or mothers with armfuls of shopping and babies. No one has ever told them it is the thing to do, so naturally they don't know.
Bring back deference you screaming carphounds, or I'll have your legs broken!
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When I was his age I would also have picked it up to spare the old buffer's creaking joints but he didn't.
As would I, but Kids these days are more street wise and wary touching old buffers money especially when they are armed with a walking stick. Old buffers can be just as unpredictable and aggressive on the road as the baseball cap backwards youf.
Edited by Old Navy on 04/12/2008 at 14:58
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wary touching old buffers money especially when they are armed with a walking stick. Old buffers can be just as unpredictable and aggressive
Come, come, ON... I only break their legs with my stout lead-weighted blackthorn cudgel if they make a move to escape when they have picked my 5p up off the floor. Similarly, I only run mimsers off the road at high speed when they really deserve it...
Unpredictable indeed! Snort!
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More power to your elbow Lud, these youngsters need (lane) discipline!
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My wife says children don't stand up in buses to give their seats to quite old people who really do need to sit down or preganant women or mothers with armfuls of shopping and babies. No one has ever told them it is the thing to do so naturally they don't know.
They shouldn't need to be told. If they had any commonsense it would be obvious to them.
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I disagree snail. Courtesy is formalised kindness and consideration, not commonsense. It doesn't necessarily occur to a nipper that e.g. an old person may find it harder to pick a coin off the floor than it is for them; nor, unless it has been explained to him (perhaps more than once) that it improves the social climate and is the decent thing to do, will it occur to him to do a favour for a total stranger. The principles have to be instilled, if necessary through a bit of carefully-metered violence...
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don't think it's especially a driving thing. People are getting dummer and dummer and lower IQ year in year out.
That would be all people other than you would it?
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People are getting dummer and dummer
"dummer"? What is that?
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>> People are getting dummer and dummer "dummer"? What is that?
It's how a dumb person spells dumber,
;-)
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"dummer"? What is that?
Small village just outside Basingstoke ;-)
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People are getting dummer and dummer
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I think spelling is getting worserer and worserer.
;-)
Edited by drbe on 04/12/2008 at 16:49
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There's a lack of discipline generally in the UK, so it's not surprising that there is poor lane discipline on the roads. It's a sign of the times.
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I was to the right of someone negotiating the roundabout in Stoke by the Britannia stadium last night. There are three lanes that are marked out.
All you have to do is stay in lane and stay safe. The bloke driving a Galaxy hadn't got a clue; He was changing lanes all the way around the roundabout and had no idea what was going on around him. I don't think that he realised that the lines are there for a reason! If I hadn't got my wits about me he would have rammed me twice he was so close to my front passenger side wing.
It's sometimes so hard to stay calm and responsible when such imbeciles are on the road.
If they can't drive get them off the road before someone gets hurt.
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he would have rammed me twice he was so close to myfront passenger side wing.
Why stay so close to him? I try to give idiots plenty of room, its called self preservation.
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I know the roundabout Halmer mentions.
It has three lanes for a reason: lots of traffic and high speed interchange.. Driving side by side is normal - well , apart from people not knowing where to go.
I drive defensively as I recognise people do get dummer and dumber as well. So I tend to take care at roundabouts like that.
Anyone who drives a 4x4 or People Carrier is my view is a menace so I give them a wide berth.
(They may well not be.. BUT...)
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I was to the left of someone negotiating the roundabout in Stoke by the Britannia stadium last night. There are three lanes that are marked out.
All you have to do is stay in lane and stay safe. The bloke driving a Fiat (?) hadn't got a clue; He was changing lanes all the way around the roundabout and had no idea what was going on around him. I don't think that he realised that the lines are there for a reason! If I hadn't got my wits about me he would have rammed me twice he was so close to my drivers side.
It's sometimes so hard to stay calm and responsible when such imbeciles are on the road.
If they can't drive get them off the road before someone gets hurt.
Two sides to a story .......
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"All you have to do is stay in lane and stay safe. "
"Two sides to a story ......."
I agree with you in principle ..... but it often helps if you are a "local" ands know the correct lane in advance.
I have had to drive in both Aberdeen and Glasgow today during morning and evening rush hours (and twice past the Britannia Stadium!!). I have to confess that I have been "in the wrong lane" about half a dozen times.
Reason in every case was that the lane markings only appeared (on the road) about 100 yards before the roundabout but you may be in a queue for 400 yards before the roundabout. An example - in a queue of about half a mile this morning (Aberdeen) my satnav said "take the third exit from the roundabout" and I took the right hand lane. However, their were 4 exits from the roundabout and the right hand lane was for 4th exit. Third exit was in fact "straight on" and right hand lane was for fourth exit only - left hand lane was for two very minor "left" exits and straight on - had to change lanes late on - thanks to the kind person who let me in. In Glasgow I queued at traffic lights - left hand lane for straight on? No, left only when I wanted to go straight on. In every case I looked a right tit, yet I was concentrating, thought I was in the correct lane but was caught out by late road markings.
Sorry if it was you I annoyed!!
By the way, on that Britannia roundabout, aren't there 3 lanes leading in (left hand lane for left only?) two lanes for going Right but four lanes to choose from on the roundabout itself towards the A500?
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Reason in every case was that the lane markings only appeared (on the road) about 100 yards before the roundabout but you may be in a queue for 400 yards before the roundabout.
Aren't they just the most useless idea ever? If the traffic is light enough for you to see the road markings well in advance, it's light enough that you can probably change lanes relatively easily. If it's heavy enough that being in the correct lane is really important, then by the time you see them it's too late.
Edited by GJD on 05/12/2008 at 14:04
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Lots of drivers hog the 2nd and 3rd lane and cause frustration, they will never be cured. we have to take the bold step of allowing overtaking on the inside. This would aid the flow of traffic though of course initially cause problems but in the longrun would be of benefit. As for the next generations morals and manners I read an article bemoaning the lack of respect and low intelligence of our young people. the guy thought the country would go to rack and ruin......it was written about 1740............seems the oldies have never trusted the young ones!
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J11 of the M4 (Reading / A33). The roundabout:
a) has its lane markings worn off completely in several places leading to a "free for all" on those sections
b) has a lane structure between entry slips and roundabout that bear no relationship to each other.
c) has a lane structure that, should you "stay in lane" according to the instructions placed on signs as you enter the roundabout, would have you lapping the roundabout until you ran out of fuel, or disappearing off at an exit you didn't want.
While I agree that some people's driving skills are lamentable, sometimes, just sometimes, it's not the motorist's fault. The road designers need to step up.
Edited by DP on 05/12/2008 at 11:20
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Taking 5 hours on a Sunday afternoon from Sheffield to Heathrow has very little to do with lane discipline. It has far more to do with a volume of traffic well in excess of what the motorway can handle.
It was the same 20 years ago when Sheffield-Dunstable was a regular trip for me. The M1 on a Sunday afternoon was a nightmare.
2.5 hours Sheffield to Heathrow? When was this achieved, Christmas Day?
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