M6 Numpty

[Andy the Landy]

In all the years I have been a professional driver I thought I'd just about seen all the stupidity of other road-users. On the M6 Northbound this morning around Preston a Freelander was wandering across the lanes at about 40mph, as I drew alongside the Plonka driving it had a laptop on his knee and his face buried in the screen :shock: . He nearly had 12 tons of coach sat on top of him with a bunch of old bluerinses for company. Maybe he is wanting to try out the new Hearse.
I could write a book on the daft things I've seen on our roads and abroad.
Anyone else got any scary road stories :?:

[Bob696]

teenager in a 'tricked out' nova over took me. I was doing 30, he must have been doing 50. I dont think he saw the speed hump that ol yella was taking with ease.

He left bits of spoiler and engine all over the road  :twisted: took a chunk out of the speed hump as well.

[orlando]

The number of muppets that still use mobile phones, particularly in large German Rep Eurobox company cars...

The only thing the law banning them seemed to to was make people swap from holding the phone in their right hand to their left.

[denviks]

happened to me about a week ago now......2 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic. ambulance is making its way up the lines of traffic with blue lights and sirens going. i move over to the left in my shogun to let it pass by. i went to move back in to lane after he had passed and if it wasnt for my misses's sharp in take of breath i would have hit the mk3 white golf that was following the ambulance through the traffic that had parted for it. missed him by mm. the arctic a few cars forward from me managed to block his passage though  nice one mr arctic driver! :lol:

[George the Disco]

I've seen so many stupid things on the motorway and on back roads over the years that I've almost become imune to it now (and I'm still in my 20's!). Having said that I did see the usual 7 cars in the outside lane doing 80 mph with about 8 feet between them the other day (nothing particulary unusual about that) but then another car indicated and pulled into the group. There must have been inches between them as they all bunched up to prevent anyone else doing the same thing.

Reminded me of the old Saab advert (copied by Vauxhall) where several cars all drive at high speed inches apart. Not quite so same on the M6 in rush hour traffic though....

Chris

[strapping young lad]

on the way home from work i followed a disco from haydock up to standish and on the j27 slip road it veered towards the rhs lane nearly hitting a car

when i pulled up behind to see what was the driver up to

female fiddling with her hair..

and a mobile stuck to her ear  

[keithdixon]

A great one was a HGV recovery flact back driver with a transit on the back of it who collided into the back of me driving at 60mph.

The police asked him at what speed he was doing he said "I had just changed the time on my phone, as it was wrong, and then looked up at the speedo to make sure that i was within the speed limit as i plowed into the car infront"

(i think if i were in his position i would have said something else???)

In fact i was stationary on the sliproad of the a14 at the time in a queue of traffic.

I ended up going nearly 40-50 ft into a very nice merc, vw passat and then into a volvo.

(gone was the S-type Jag 3 months old)


In the end my solicitor found out that the driver was not insured by the company who employed him.

nice.

still got paid out in full through some insurance company set up to insure non insured drivers.

But the daft thing which i really do not get is that the driver ended up with 6 pts & £200 for being non insurred. he was not charged with not paying attention use of the phone and the recovery garage got away with it (bar new bumper, lights and grill for their car)

[Donald the Disco]

For the last 17yrs  I have been a HGV driver,

I have driven all over the UK, most of Europe and driven in Denmark & Sweden.  In all that time I have had only 3  yes 3 accidents.........

All of them in England,

1 at the NEC, I was parked up waiting to tip, idiot in van hit me........wouldn't mind, but the truck was brand new........only had 500 miles on the clock.......and I wasn't even in it........ :!:

2 I ran into the back of a car that stopped to turn right, trouble was she didn't have working brake lights, and left it to the last minute to indicate. like 10ft to the junction.........

3 Stuck in traffic, in Wandsworth, in the 2nd of four lanes, Biffy woman decides to pull out from lane 1 into my front wheel arch,  When I asked her what she was doing, she said "you were indicating to go into the next lane"  I took her round the front of the truck and asked how she could see the indicator from the other side, then asked her to explain why would I be moveing over into lane 3 when it was ocuppied by a double decker?
Luck for me PC Plod turned up and sent me on my way, They booked the woman for driving with out due care & attention.

Which brings me to my point

The standard of driving in this country is VERY VERY low............
The things I see on the road make me want to retire early and take up a nice safe job somewhere..............
Alas, driving is all I know.
apart from farming........

[Range Rover Blues]

Every time I'm out instructiong I seem to be joking with my pupils 'now you see why I drive a Range Rover', then last thursday some T**T ploughs into the back of us whilst we are waiting at the lights.  Ironic really as the subject of the lesson was forward planning when approaching traffic queues!


'And that's not how to do it' I say gesturing backwards.

[hobbit]

Like I say to people, you not only have to think what you are doing, but what the others MAY do around you

That only works for some, others, you takes your chances

Kev

[Wanderer]

Treat every other driver as though they are an idiot and expect the unexpected.

I've only had 2 accidents. Seen hundreds in my rear view mirror though.
 :lol:
Ed

[sogster]

As like many folk here, I too am a truck driver and a quailified driving assessor. I could add to your book an we could make it bigger than Encyclopedia Britanica!!

Soggy.

[Fitz]

In my opinion, everyone should have to do a te test every five years in the vehicle that they use on a daily basis.  Just the practical.

It would be interesting to see how many people would pass their test again.

Also would be interesting to see how many of these people who drive 4x4s and mpvs would cope with some reversing manouvers in a test as some can barely see over the steering wheel never mind out of the back window. :roll:

[V8MoneyPit]

Wasn't there a survey recently where some huge percentage of drivers admitted that they would probably fail a driving test? So if so many admit to it, how many more are there that won't?

The ones who appreciate that their standards have slipped are probably not the danger. It's all the ones who think they are gods gift to roads.

My wife and I were driving up to Glasgow a few weeks back. Well up the M74 with very little traffic. I was cruising along at around 80 (I know, but it was clear). We were slowly catching a couple of cars in front. One on the LH lane and one about 10 car lengths behind it in the RH lane (only 2 lanes at this point). The car in the outside lane was not gaining on the other one, just sitting on the outside. I pulled out nice and early and gave a brief flash of the lights. No reaction. Another brief flash and I indicated right. No reaction, but then the driver leaned across the passenger and the car started swerving all over the road. I couldn't even see the drivers head because it was below the dash (no rude thoughts now!). He then sat up and swerved into the LH lane and slowed down a little. As I went passed he looked at us (without any glances forward for at least 100 yds at 70mph!) and held up his Warrant card to the window!!!!

I was sorely tempted to pull over and as he stopped, call the police quickly. Not only is he in his own car, unmarked, but driving like a lunatic. When the Police drive like this, what hope is there?

We carried on our way in total amazement.

[V8MoneyPit]

Actually, just remembered another one!

There is a section of road in Norwich that leads to a roundabout. The outside lane is marked for straight ahead and the inside lane for turning left only. You can guess that with most people patiently waiting in the outside traffic queue, you do get some who insist on jumping the line down the inside.

One day, before I had side windows in the 110, I was going straight over at this roundabout when I caught a glimpse of a white car bonnet up the inside as I went round. I signalled left and moved over (aggressive, I know, but satisfying  :twisted: ). The nose of this car dipped and dissappeared behind me. I looked in the rear view mirror to see the blue light bar across it's roof!! It followed me along the next stretch of road until the traffic stopped again. He then pulled out over the white line with traffic approaching in the other direction and went past. When I glared down at them, the WPC in the passenger seat was looking most sheepish and refused to look my way!

If that wasn't bad enough, the reason for their rush was that they then turned into Burger King...... Arghhh!

One of my customers is a traffic cop. I told him and he was horrified. He said I should have approached them and got their numbers to report them. Or at least got the car registration. Yeah right! With a highly visible LR 110, I can't help thinking my life might not be quite so easy if had done that.

[muddyweb]

In my opinion, everyone should have to do a te test every five years in the vehicle that they use on a daily basis.  Just the practical.

I agree completely... troube is, we would need a test which actually bore some resemblance to driving properly for that to be useful  

[Range Rover Blues]

In my opinion, everyone should have to do a te test every five years in the vehicle that they use on a daily basis.  Just the practical.

It would be interesting to see how many people would pass their test again.

Also would be interesting to see how many of these people who drive 4x4s and mpvs would cope with some reversing manouvers in a test as some can barely see over the steering wheel never mind out of the back window. :roll:

I don't think you'd be that surprised how many driving instructors agree with you there, not only would we be snowed under with work  :D  but then other road users would get a taste of what it's like to be a learner again every once in a while and perhaps they'd stop being so bloody rude.  Above all though it would help to ensure new drivers continued to drive they way they were tought rather than trying to impress their mates with who can drive the worst.
And yes, take the test in a 4WD if you own one  :shock:

[Range Rover Blues]

And as for the police!......
Sat at traffic lights, my light goes green but the stream of cars from my right shows no sign of stopping.  'Where are the police when you need them' I thought, last car through, a Panda car.

Would have made a nice bonnet ornament if I'd decided to set off.

Another of those little car pictures with a cross through it (I like trucking......)

[strapping young lad]

that happens a lot on haydock island

truckers are the most notorious and also they drive on the keep clear so merging traffic can't go in other lanes..  

[hobbit]

No so much a retest, but an advanced drivers test, that would be interesting

Kev

[strapping young lad]

possibly

thing is,these people wont learn till they get whacked in an rta

and even then will they learn?

[denviks]

once in a while i ( now this might sound daft ) revert back to how i was taught!  just for an hour or so. it makes you realise how much your style has changed over the years and how many bad habits you have actully picked up over the years!. it does knock the bad habbits on the head for a while!
i also go down to see my sister who owns a horse! i borrow her horse box for a while and ( as i dont tow regular) rehearse the movements. practice makes perfect and all that! i have never had a problem with reversing a large trailor but it just keeps ya sharp......

[dracula]

I drive for the N.H.S. delivering blood, as such I have to take a driving
appraisal by independent company ,every two years.
Believe me, it's amazing what you see, but also what you forget and what bad habits you have until taken to task by ex-police instructors.
Cheers,
Paul.

[strapping young lad]

aha dracula

your alias on here makes sense now

 

[Andy the Landy]

Heres a thought, If so many people on this forum drive for a living and then drive in their spare time a hobby - What do Gynaecologists do for a pastime :shock:

[Wanderer]

What about the gyni gynai gynaeckol  women's problems doctor that gave up medicine and took up a job as a painter and decorator.
He didn't make a lot of money.
He just had to wallpaper the hall walls through the letterbox!

 :lol:

Ed

[strapping young lad]

as long as he remembered to leave the roller and brush at home on monday morning

ouch!

[Range Rover Blues]

Heres a thought, If so many people on this forum drive for a living and then drive in their spare time a hobby - What do Gynaecologists do for a pastime :shock:

The sensible ones drive Land Rovers of course.

[George]

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :twisted:

[Bush Tucker Man]

What do Gynaecologists do for a pastime :shock:

One of Gynae Conlsultants (now retired) went shooting (Pheasant), fly-fishing.
That's when he wasn't driving his 110Tdi CSW, or his Morgan Plus8

There's a Urology Consultant who has a Daimler SP250 (Dart) & a gorgeous late '60's Lotus Elite.