[Closed] More driving idiocy

sounds like my street.
except it's a one way street with cars parked both sides. but it's OK to "just quickly nip down the wrong way to save driving round 3.5 sides of the block" 🙄
of course, I'm blocking them, and I only have to reverse 2 car lengths to give them access to the driveway entrance, and I must be in the wrong for not letting them correct their driving error. sod that.
🙄 👿
I wait until there are cars behind me. And then I wait until they all start hooting horns.

I had a similar stand off with a guy in a white Audi (may not be a totally relevant detail) a while back. I was 90% though the restriction when he raced towards me head on and stopped me exiting the narrow section. Obviously trying to make a point as they had priority on the signs. He wasn't even visiable to me when I entered the narrow section and if he hadn't sped towards me to make a point I'd have cleared it anyway. As I was in the camper van I popped in the back and got the kettle out and asked he he wanted a cup of tea while he was waiting 🙂

Today, driving into work... There's a road that used to be 2-way but is now one-way with a barrier. Sitting on the other side of the barrier, facing the wrong way, is a car. I drive in, up to the barrier, it opens, they instantly start trying to squeeze through so they can drive the wrong way up a one way road, which only goes one place- a really iffy blind t-junction onto an NSL road, which nobody will expect anyone to be exiting from because it's bloomin one way. And no possibility they didn't know all this.

asked he he wanted a cup of tea while he was waiting

😆 good work.

Yesterday on the road of my sons school with cars parked on both sides a car came hammering towards me leaping over the speed bumps. At lower speeds I'd have tutted but as he got alongside I beeped, he slammed on and threw his door open and said WHAT. So I leaned out of the car and asked him why he felt the need to speed on a road with two schools inbetween double-parked cars etc etc. His reply 'stop crying'.

My reply 'go now'. No swearing.

I was livid. I told mrshora and expected the 'one day you'll get shot or stabbed' (that she normally says) but this time she said GOOD, I'm glad you did that. That road is known for idiots and our local council has just sacked all the lollipop ladies.

If we meet again I hope hes driving slow because I wont put up with that. My other main fear is my cars distinctive and if I park it there again he'll probably damage it.

OP did you go and have a chat with her? It may have broken the ice? I suspect some of this bad driving is from people who really have no idea what they're doing and are in some kind of panic... and may benefit from a bit of face to face conversation...

I had an interesting guy try to drive into the side of me pushing himself onto the main road. He then tailgated me through a 20mph limit, overtook at speed, jammed his brakes on as he spotted the speed camera and then tailgated the next car ahead. 5 mins later after trundling along at 20mph I rolled up behind him in the queue of traffic I knew would be round the next corner - there always is a queue there at rush hour. The whole style of his driving was totally irrational/emotional...

The only outcome of all of this is that he's now a few days closer to his inevitable heart attack before he's 50...

OP did you go and have a chat with her?

I had a lovely calm drive to work this morning. Nice views over the moors, not too much traffic.

I walked towards her car but she sat there clearly not wanting to open the window so I decided against looking like I was being confrontational or trying to intimidate her so sat at the other side by my car.

Kind of feel sorry for people like that... not able to say 'sorry, I'm being an idiot'.

I recall being stuck at a roundabout with traffic light on them. Theres a yellow box as well and Im at the front of the queue with traffic across the yellow box.
So the lights change to green I wait where I am as I cant get through the yellow box and then the lights change to red again. Guy behind me roars up the inside lane and start hollering at me as to why I didnt move when the lights changed. Explain to him you dont enter the yellow box unless your exit is clear. "But Im late for my ferry". Sorry but you should have left earlier then you wouldn't have to drive like a ****.

brooess - Member

I walked towards her car but she sat there clearly not wanting to open the window so I decided against looking like I was being confrontational or trying to intimidate her so sat at the other side by my car.

Kind of feel sorry for people like that... not able to say 'sorry, I'm being an idiot'.

She got her own back on me though - when she had moved and I got back into car and drove through (waving a cheery thank you) she flicked two fingers at me 😀

Sadly not an uncommon experience, had a typical one recently where someone coming the other way moves more towards my side of the narrow road and visibly accelerates ("sending a message") trying to get past the obvious place on their side of the street to pull in.

I've trained my kids to point and pull sad faces at drivers that are ragging it down side streets. 🙂

End of my road I have a give way sign [ at a crossroads] driver coming from a side street has a STOP sign as a house block view. Arrive same time and i go and so does he. I slam on he gets outs and screams its a ****ing give way sign stupid
I point out that his is a STOP sign and asked him if he stopped

Brief pause screaming even louder - its a ****ing give way sign stupid. i just laughed at him and he got quite irrate.

I never understand the dive into a gap thing tbh.
i once had one like the OP on a single lane where someone in a 4x4 refused to go on the grass verge as it was "slippy" and advised me to take my Mini metro on to the verge.

I've trained my kids to point and pull sad faces at drivers that are ragging it down side streets

THATS why I keep seeing sad faces near Longford Park. I did wonder....

😉

Talking of which- that road parallel to yours- its ripe for some idiotic driving but no one seems to speed or 'race to beat' me on it- past the school and park entrance. If you know which one I mean.

Junkyard - lazarus

i once had one like the OP on a single lane where someone in a 4x4 refused to go on the grass verge as it was "slippy" and advised me to take my Mini metro on to the verge.

I've got pics somewhere where I drove my uber-offroad mondeo through a snow-filled ditch, in order to get round a mitsubishi L200 which wasn't just refusing to go on the verge- she was sat right on the centre crown, refusing to go near the edge of the tarmac because there was too much snow on it. (it's not quite a 2-lane road, we'd probably both have had a wheel on the grass to pass if she'd moved over)

But that was one of those situations where the other person's having such a meltdown, you really want to just get them off the road and somewhere safe, more than feeling pissed off about it.

[i]So I just got out of the car and sat on the side of the road and waited until she gave up and reversed back.[/i]

Ok, but how come you had right of way, and not her?

The 4X4 thing and them not wanting to go on the grass verge is funny. Happened to me at the weekend driving up the singletrack road to Thrunton Woods - bloke in a lovely new X5 seemed to think my saloon was better equipped for off-roading.

I'm guessing if the kerb was on his side of the road then the car/obstruction was on hers. Therefor he has right of way

but I guess he could have decided to reverse himself even though he had the ROW? or is there some missing information about him driving a road train with 3 trailers on the back?

I remember my grandmother being in a similar stand-off. She told the other driver (in sweet little old lady voice) "I'm retired, I can wait here all day" and he decided to back down.

Ok, but how come you had right of way, and not her?

If there is a line of parked cars and one driver is halfway along them before the other driver starts to pass them then I'd agree the OP has ROW. All the other driver has to do is stop briefly. Instead her actions mean one of them has to reverse.

or is there some missing information about him driving a road train with 3 trailers on the back?

I once offered the keys of the LWB transit with a 15ft trailer on the back to the person who as refusing to back up.

b r - Member

So I just got out of the car and sat on the side of the road and waited until she gave up and reversed back.

Ok, but how come you had right of way, and not her?

bloke in a lovely new X5 seemed to think my saloon was better equipped for off-roading.

I once offered the keys of the LWB transit with a 15ft trailer on the back to the person who as refusing to back up.

bloke in a lovely new X5 seemed to think my saloon was better equipped for off-roading.

After witnessing an almost new X5 trying to get up the ice cream run at Rivington I think I'd agree. I'd have laughed but I was wincing/cringing and hating the thought of the damage to his car 🙁

Not as bad as the car I saw that tried to go down the ICR

You do need a proper proper 4x4 to get up
Done it once up and down in a mates...very very bumpy

Ok, but how come you had right of way, and not her?

I'm guessing if the kerb was on his side of the road then the car/obstruction was on hers. Therefor he has right of way

Basically ^

All the other driver has to do is stop briefly. Instead her actions mean one of them has to reverse.

And this - I had already stopped to allow three cars to come through (as they had already started their manoeuvres) and she was some way behind them (and hadn't reached the line of parked cars). So instead of her letting me go, she decided it was only fair that I waited even longer for her to firstly reach the obstruction and then pass it.

In fact, she wouldn't have even had to stop, just slow a bit to let me past, but she decided to accelerate into the gap that wasn't there.

In fact, she wouldn't have even had to stop, just slow a bit to let me past, but she decided to accelerate into the gap that wasn't there.

This is where a basic ability to assess risk, anticipate eventualities and an ability to do more than react to base emotions needs to be tested for in the driving test (and failed if not a high enough standard). It's more than manners or intelligence, it's more about ability to understand the bigger picture - some people simply lack it.

People make basic assessment errors all the time in life but the consequences of these errors when driving are that much bigger...

Yeah you are probably correct - she'll have seen the other drivers go through and just decided to follow.

Like the person that did something similar to me yesterday - overtook a bike on another narrow road (again following others that had already done so) and caused me to emergency stop. Fortunately I had already started to slow in anticipation of what the drivers were doing on my side of the road (my view was partially obscured by roadside hedgerows).

I guess it must be my huge estate car that is so difficult to spot .

I think if the public knew just how incompetent, how blind, how ill-informed and how ill-prepared most drivers were, there would be a national outcry. Many people are only just holding their lives together and their incompetence extends into their driving. Right now I'm struggling to think of anybody I know who I consider a really fully competent driver.

I think if the public knew just how incompetent, how blind, how ill-informed and how ill-prepared most drivers were, there would be a national outcry.

It's been known ever since cars were invented...

Best advice I was given about driving in public was to assume everyone else on the road is an idiot. Except that advice wasn't given to me, it was given to my Mum by her Dad - in the 1950s...

Wind in the Willows - Toad of Toad Hall and all his manic driving - was first published in 1908.

One day I was in my bottom of the range Ford Focus doing 20mph in a 50 limit and someone in a white Audi A6 (SE spec with Lex Leasing plates) tried to overtake me. I 'waved' at them as they went past and they took exception and slammed all on and jumped out. I wound my window down (fitness windows), popped a cap in his mid-management ass, threw him in my boot and buried his body under my patio.

I think if the public knew just how incompetent, how blind, how ill-informed and how ill-prepared most drivers were, there would be a national outcry

But 'the public' and 'drivers' are pretty much one and the same. Anything that deals with the bad drivers deals with a big chunk of 'the public' and so 'the public' will never want bad driving to be properly dealt with.

[quote=jam bo ]I once offered the keys of the LWB transit with a 15ft trailer on the back to the person who as refusing to back up.

I've got out and offered to reverse the car for the other driver in a similar situation, because I assumed they had a problem with that.

I guess that wasn't exactly defusing the situation 😈

The last time I had this, I think the other driver would have liked to wind the windows up and ignore me when I got out of my car to have a friendly chat, but they were in a convertible with the top down 😆

Hora - that road next to mine is quite the rat run but people tend to show some sense near the school. The only bellends that fly down my road live at the bottom of the road (what ever happened to dont shit where you live eh?)

I love it* when drivers try and force you over/to stop when you're on a bike and have right of way. they wouldnt do it to a car so why to a bike. I've sat wheel to bumper until they backup more that once.

*by love I mean boils my pish

I love it* when drivers try and force you over/to stop when you're on a bike and have right of way. [b]they wouldnt do it to a car so why to a bike[/b]. I've sat wheel to bumper until they backup more that once

Personal pet peeve of mine too, helps when I have the trailer attached and can genuinely reply with [i]"this one doesn't have a reverse gear, yours does"[/i]

Going back to the transit and trailer story earlier in the thread. This happened to me one day: I was driving up a singletrack road in the arse end of nowhere, car coming towards me sails straight past a passing place and proceeds to stop in front of me and refuse to move. Thing is I was driving a minibus with poor rear visibility and towing a huge trailer full of canoes, kayaks and kit. I tried to explain to the man that I had no chance of reversing it and the he only needed to reverse 20m at most, but no, he wouldnt move. So this is what I did - unloaded the trailer, walked all the kit back to the nearest passing place, pushed the trailer back to the passing place, reversed the minibus back to the passing place but left it so that he couldn't get past - i then hitched the trailer up and reloaded it before moving slightly to allow them to squeaze past in the ditch. Took around 50 minutes to resolve - it was a lovely day and a nice part of the world. 😀

/highfives wanman

Driving in my car today I had a situation where I was in the right and the other driver was in the wrong.
Needless to say I had the last laugh.

I once offered the keys of the LWB transit with a 15ft trailer on the back to the person who as refusing to back up.

The record at my old outdoor centre, 8 miles up single track road, with passing places full of snow, was reversing a mile to the nearest farm to allow passing - in 17 seat transit and 20' canoe trailer.... Man up 😉

On that same road our staff were trained well how to avoid being forced to try and pass at inappropriate places by tourists not wanting to reverse. I once had a chap kick off that the minibus would not reverse, so he got out to get all shouty at the female driver. The five minibuses behind (that he has not seen) were all driven by tall, fit male staff, two of whom were 6' 4”+... You should have seen how quickly he headed back to his car and reversed.. 😆

jam bo » I once offered the keys of the LWB transit with a 15ft trailer on the back to the person who as refusing to back up.

I've got out and offered to reverse the car for the other driver in a similar situation, because I assumed they had a problem with that.

I've had this problem several time while towing cars down narrow lanes.
I have had to reverse the other car three times now as the driver is unable to reverse it themselves.
On another occasion the other driver managed to reverse into a ditch, so I had to unload the car I was towing, tow them out of the ditch and the load up my car again. Needless to say, it was my fault that they were unable to drive properly...

I just remembered driving along the road below Stanage (just past the plantation car park).

Car appears coming the other way. I can see the tarmac is not wide enough to pass at speed and there's no way I'm putting my wheels on the very sunken verge so I slam on the brakes. The other car obviously thinks he's got enough ground clearance and goes to swerve round me. Cue god awful scraping sound and a rapid halt. I felt bad for him but I'd stopped already well short and was nothing I could have done. 🙁

I used to live in a rural area where all the roads were those pretty little singletrack lanes with a bit of grass growing along the middle. One of the locals refused, and I mean refused point blank, to reverse. More of a stop than a stand off, after a while it became normal that whenever you met this guy, you reversed (cars, tractors, tractors with trailers- I learnt to reverse a trailer myself) and it wasn't an issue.
I'd love to have seen you guys pull up and sit down on the side of the road with this guy. 😀

Cue god awful scraping sound and a rapid halt. I felt bad for him but I'd stopped already well short and was nothing I could have done.

I had one of those a couple of years ago, I'd stopped and a Range Rover dragged itself down the side of my car. Then, sodded off! Swine.

Just spent 200 miles riding mostly single track roads in Sutherland.

2 incidents of young men revving furiously behind me, trying to overtake, not liking it when I take primary, all within 20 metres of a passing space.

The vast majority of drivers were great, if some (pimped Land Rovers) were driving way too fast and had to emergency stop on seeing me after a blind summit/corner.

I love it* when drivers try and force you over/to stop when you're on a bike and have right of way. they wouldnt do it to a car so why to a bike. I've sat wheel to bumper until they backup more that once.

My road's a bit of a mare for this. A couple of time I've rightly stopped my car to give way to an oncoming bike only to be overtaken by the car behind which then forces the bike onto the pavement. Both times at the traffic lights at the end of the road I've got out and asked the driver if they know why I'm annoyed?

The mum with the kids in the car started with 'there was plenty of room', which when I pointed out that if he hadn't mounted the kerb she'd have hit him became 'well he should have been on the pavement anyway' which ultimately became 'fxxx off' (in front of her kids) as the lights changed.

The scruffy builder type on the other occasion was conversely 'yes, my mistake, not paying attention, sorry'

It is true what was said, some people have become so self obsessed they'll refuse to admit an error and argue the indefensible rather than say sorry.

[quote=captainsasquatch ]I'd love to have seen you guys pull up and sit down on the side of the road with this guy.

Sounds like a challenge - where can I find him?

Had a similar one in Duddingston Village in Edinburgh.
Bit of a rat run through Holyrood Park/Arthur's Seat leading to a tiny wee village street with various cars parked down one side. If you're heading east you can be stuck for ages waiting for a chance to go.

Well, a guy heading east couldn't wait any longer and took his chance, except I was already abreast of some parked cars, heading west.

Stand off!

He beeped the horn a lot and waved at me to go back.

He was in the wrong and felt like being a dick so, turned the engine off.

This angered him.

He got more angry when I started reading my book.

Problem was, he had been impatient on a bend and other cars had followed him.

So about 10 cars had to back up, all the way back to Holyrood Park.

Once he eventually backed up, I took my sweet time starting up the MX5, took an extra minute to comb my hair and flounced past him.

Haha - he was very shouty.

Happy to report that my drive to work was incident-free this morning (I did come in early though so the school-run and rushing to work late brigade hadn't appeared yet).

johndoh - Member

Happy to report that my drive to work was incident-free this morning

So was mine but jesus, there was an absolute heap of cock heads on the road last night when I went out for a ride!

I used to live in a rural area where all the roads were those pretty little singletrack lanes with a bit of grass growing along the middle. One of the locals refused, and I mean refused point blank, to reverse. More of a stop than a stand off, after a while it became normal that whenever you met this guy, you reversed (cars, tractors, tractors with trailers- I learnt to reverse a trailer myself) and it wasn't an issue.
I'd love to have seen you guys pull up and sit down on the side of the road with this guy

Was he a big angry bloke? Known for gettign his own way locally? On the ride up the road past Craggs in Hebden a 4x4 drove down the hill and sped up, aimed right at me. I waved my hand in the air as he passed and he slammed on, leaned out said something then slammed it back up in reverse. He then jumped out. He was in his mid 50's- a big bloke. Looked like a farmer or local character who was used to getting his own way. I took my helmet off to talk to him. He was jabbing the air and shouting. Said it was his road/his right/bikes weren't allowed. I asked him to why driving at someone was right? Stayed calm which must have spooked him abit as he suddenly switched to (looking at his watch) 'I dont have time for this'.

He looked like the sort of bloke that'd beat you up in his early years but now would keel over from a heart attack from too much excitement/adrenaline.

The road loops up and over past all the farms then brings you round the reservoirs if you know it? Strictly speaking its a road but isn't for bicycles for some reason.

I hope he bloody calmed down. If I hadn't gotten out of the way he'd have glanced me with his wing.

I had a similar stand-off with a school run mum. I turned the engine off and started to read a book. When she finally backed up, I slowly went past and took a look at her. She was staring dead ahead, refusing eye contact, but I noticed her knuckles were white grasping the steering wheel.

Never mess with a chilled-out driver 😀

Had a couple of stand offs in pinch points where I've had priority and got to the point first on my bike but driver has kept coming, it's tempting to sit/stand and wait them out but as I'm a bit vulnerable I've just stopped long enough to make the point, then squeezed passed or mounted the kerb while making a few choice comments.

IIRC coming back from kentmere down that long singletrack road, old lady coming the opposite way, there was a passing place about a car length behind her but she sat staring straight ahead until we reversed a hundred or so meters back to a gate.

It's not only Britain that idiocy rules on the roads. This video became viral in Germany earlier this year. The car driver would only have to reverse 5 metres and all would be OK. But no. 😕

Is disappointed - was hoping for road rage lorry driver ploughing through the car 🙂

I have no idea what the car driver was hoping to achieve there. I think I'd have turned the truck engine off and started on a book.

Was he making a stand because the lorry had cut the corner?

(That's beyond my German ability, sorry)

[i]Was he making a stand because the lorry had cut the corner?[/i]

No one knows. You can't hear what the car driver is saying but he/she obviously refuses to reverse and is also quite rude to the lorry driver as you can hear him saying repeatedly 'Please stop insulting me'. I would imagine that is the case though. It's fairly typical German stupidity as they are obsessed with who has right. I have seen in the past two drivers risking each others lives when one stupidly tried to overtake where there wasn't a big enough gap in the oncoming traffic and the car coming in other direction refusing to slow down because they were in the right. It very nearly ended in tragedy. 😯

pretty little singletrack lanes with a bit of grass growing along the middle

We call them Landing Strip Lanes down our way 😉

i've got 22 miles of singletrack road to drive on monday apparently. need to survey the delivery route for about 8 x 4-5 tonne bits of kit for a tender we are going for.

Could be fun if the tourists are out n about.

Was he making a stand because the lorry had cut the corner?