Motorway driving standards ……

How bad has it got to get before something is done? What will ‘something’ be?

Having driven down to Somerset from Suffolk and back again on Friday and Saturday as we do three or four times a year, it is noticeable that more and more ‘drivers’ have no clue of what they should be doing. Lane hogging (including in convoy!!), slicing through heavy traffic like it’s some video game, tailgating, horrific speeding (given the volume of traffic) and a total lack of awareness of what is going on around them regardless of glaring clues! (ie, lots of brake lights coming on ahead but they still barrel on).

It’s getting scary, or rather scarier!

It’s on every road, not just motorways.
I can’t believe the cranks who are so desperate to get to work at 06.15 on a morning that they’ll take all kinds of risks. The overtaking by some drivers is scary.

Figuratively cannot wait for self driving cars on the motorway.

Agree with what you are saying. Was pleased to hear a DVSA advert on radio suggesting people keep left. Driving is the hardest thing lots of people do. Some are keen and strive to do it well others are anywhere on a scale down from that to couldn’t Care or be bothered about anyone else. Plus this time of year lots of additional motorway drivers who may not drive Long distances often and hardly ever with a fully loaded car with a stressed out family on board.

Bring back the driving test every 5 years.

I’ll be happy to see dangerous crap drivers on a bus.

Agree Frank, like the CPC for lgv drivers. Would take a few of the less good road users off the road.

Bring back the driving test every 5 years.

All that does is inconvenience people for an hour every 5 years. All the driving test does prove that you are able to drive well and responsibly when required to  demonstrate you can – it doesn’t make you want to drive well the rest of the time.

Given that the worst offending and accident rates are amongst young drivers.. they’ve all taken their test recently (and a more detailed and more exacting test than old duffers like most of us on here and for less driving entitlement)  so they know how they >should< be driving better than most of us. But that doesn’t matter.

Nothing about a driving test makes you care about others.

Saw a van driver and a truck driver cradling their smartphones in their steering wheels on the m40 yesterday on a short stretch.

Not really much you can do about that

No extrenuating circumstances

**** up you go back to a moped for an indeterminate amount of time depending on what you did.

Tonight was driving home. Left work turned onto dualer. Indicated to over take a bus on the dual caridgeway , mid manuver woman barrels up behind me welds her self to my bumper.

I’m passed the bus and pulled in ,having given it a safe braking distance.and said manic woman has occupied thatgap and is trying to come up my inside at speed.

Then pulls out and gives me the finger and mouths at me- then comes Infront and hammers her brakes on.

To which I just pull out and pass her.

What did she achieve, she got her self all riled over nothing by simply being in a rush then tried to get agressive and provoke a reaction /crash.

Bring back the driving test every 5 years.

What good will that do when licences are considered optional by many these days?

that’s scary. I used to enjoy driving. I enjoy it less and less.

WE had the ‘pleasure’ of some old duffer in his 68 plate 4×4 driving at 35mph (it’s mainly 60) along the old A30 from Salisbury this afternoon – I was driving my camper which just rolls along nicely at 50, but we also had an old Sprinter van towing a trailer in front, behind ‘grandad’. People taking unnecessary risks to get past with oncoming traffic. Finally managed to get past outside of Stockbridge – the queue behind was horrendous and grandad was totally oblivious to the chaos he was causing.

I’m just sick of the self entitlement of some drivers. Those who literally just pull out and think **** you. Had one today coming from an oblique junction from a country type road on to a main road, he literally just drove out on to the main road in front of me. I got on the horn like any well respected van driver and he just shook his head as if it was my fault. **** wanted a slap to be fair, and no, not a young driver just some mid 50s idiot!

Plus this time of year lots of additional motorway drivers who may not drive Long distances often and hardly ever with a fully loaded car with a stressed out family on board.

This is very true – noticed it at Christmas too. I commute on the M4 a couple of days a week, and might be driving 90-120 mins once or twice a week during the day (I’m a posh travelling salesman). Generally standards aren’t bad but there was some jaw droppingly bad driving the weekends before and after Christmas.

It does take practice – I’m much better at reading traffic and anticipating other vehicles than I was when I first started doing regular motorway miles.

I’m just sick of the self entitlement of some drivers.

Me too, including those that complain about drivers who drive with due care and attention and choose not to break the speed limit and drive at an acceptable speed for them.

Dont like driving behind them?

Go somewhere else.

My son did his first big drive in his new car this weekend – 3.5 hours each way down M6 and M1 to Watford. He’s actually a good driver, passed his test a year ago, but only just got a car – a nice 65 plate Fabia Monte Carlo 109 bhp. He fitted cameras straight away.

He plays racing games all the time and it has helped him look for idiots. He was cut up quite a few times this weekend and reacted correctly. Impressed with the Fabia, as I drove the first hour home as he was knackered. Can’t half shift for a 1.2 (turbo) with four adults and luggage.

Some right idiots on the roads though.

Everyone should have to do a week long course driving on French motorways/autoroutes, they know how to do it properly.

Summer holidays.
Roads are full of the people who only ever drive long distances 4 times a year: start/end of Christmas and start/end of the summer holidays. Rest of the time the car sits there trundling 3 miles between home and work and the school run.

So they get onto unfamiliar roads blindly following the satnav, car is loaded to the rafters so visibility and handling are limited, there’s screaming kids on board…

Throw in the “regular” drivers – people who are used to the motorways, still have 4 deliveries left to do before 5pm and consider themselves good drivers and it’s chaos.

In no other area of human endeavour would we tolerate this. If there were 5 deaths a day on the railways, the network would be shut down, there’d be investigations, corporate manslaugter charges. Drive a forklift truck in the relatively safe confines of a warehouse and you’re tested on it every year.
But a car? Oh there you go, and maybe try getting it serviced every once in a while (but we won’t really check that) and there’s really not much enforcement out there so sort of try to avoid drinking or using a mobile phone at the wheel but if you do, we probably won’t notice…

Tailgating gets on me nerves when I speed up to create a gap they speed up to reduce the gap.

Tailgating gets on me nerves when I speed up to create a gap they speed up to reduce the gap.

You’re doing it wrong. If someone tailgates you then slow down. If they’re still there then slow down some more.

WE had the ‘pleasure’ of some old duffer in his 68 plate 4×4 driving at 35mph (it’s mainly 60) along the old A30 from Salisbury this afternoon

I’d rather he was on the road than you.

Tailgating – slow down a bit to increase the gap to car in front. Then if the cars in front stop quickly you can slow down nicely giving tailgating man/person a chance not to rear end you.
Generally I would say worse driving around at weekends and holiday times. Also at about 3pm on a Friday when every tradesperson is driving faster than Lewis Hamilton. Lorries – drive too close to vehicle in front almost without fail. Some driving seems to be worse between certain junctions for who knows what reason. Junction 10 to 9 of m25 Lane discipline is a total joke!

My favourite (well, most memorable) quote from one of the more terrifying drivers at work…

‘****s sake, sorry I’m late, I got stuck behind some **** who insisted on going the ****ing speed limit, all the way up from town!’

@moe

We were going the same way on Saturday. M25 was an absolute shambles may as well only have two lanes. There’s a long strip through Surrey of variable speed limit with no functioning cameras. Holding it at 50 ” Pedestrians in road” and watching 3 lanes bombing past at 80 was not pleasant.

The A12 is always a bit special too.

It was just as awful on Wednesday afternoon if it’s any consolation.

Hope you avoided the jam eastbound.

Was pleased to hear a DVSA advert on radio suggesting people keep left

On the M25 last week the electronic signs were saying that.
I didnt see any real improvement.

It’s those drivers that are oblivious that annoy me, sitting in the middle lane of the motorway doing 50, people undertaking them, people going all the way round them. Accident waiting to happen and they just trundle along without noticing.

aye, i was THIS close to being taken out by a prat on the M4 yesterday. He just wanted to settle into the middle lane for the long haul – didn’t indicate, wasn’t overtaking, just started sailing across to his spiritual home.

Some genius on the M5 this afternoon had stopped his van on the hard shoulder – he got going again as I approached and pulled straight onto the carriageway as he started accelerating. It wasn’t close but I did have to get on the brakes – he had miles of hard shoulder to accelerate to cruising speed on, I was gobsmacked, I think that’s one of the most dangerous demonstrations of lack of awareness I’ve seen.

My commute involves the final section of the M4, J49, Pont Abraham. Coming home on a Friday I avoid it, the congestion is really bad. At the weekend the driving shown by some individuals is noticeably worse. It’s easy enough to spot tourists- a lot of locals here have ‘C’ (Cymru, Wales) plates, loads of luggage, car with adults and kids.

The signposting at the end of the M4 and again in Carmarthen is spot on, really, really good; if only drivers would pay heed to it. So it is a total disaster of weaving traffic whenever someone needs to actually make a decision about which lane they need to be in as opposed to driving on shut-down ‘cos I’m tired and I want to get there so I’ll just follow the SatNav/ car in front/ my nose…

And don’t get me started on when they get onto the minor roads… FFS, if you can’t drive it, don’t drive it. The number of eejits who I get to pass the time of day with because they can’t/ won’t reverse their ‘kin pride and joy in case a leaf from a hedge or whatever damages their ego-boosting SUV used to really annoy me. Now I just accept it as a seasonal thing but Oh My Word, as above- if you can’t drive it, don’t drive it.

Starting to get a bit wound up here, so that’s that. Gone, time to relax.

Exhale…..

I had to take a car over to Cribbs Causeway last week to have a screen changed and system recalibrated, which involves coming down towards Bath via Bradford-on-Avon, and joining the A4 at the Batheaston bypass, which you can do without stopping as there’s a feeder lane. I had a slower vehicle in front, so checked behind, clear, indicated and started to accelerate and pull across to my right, as I did I checked behind again, to see a white BMW come steaming up behind me from the junction, who then started flashing his lights at me! Clearly, having a vehicle well ahead signal and manoeuvre and then not pull back in to allow him to ‘make progress’ breaks some law that applies to BMW drivers.
I was wryly amused to see said driver, having overtaken the same slower vehicle I had, then sit in front of it to turn off into Bath!
Clot.

WE had the ‘pleasure’ of some old duffer in his 68 plate 4×4 driving at 35mph (it’s mainly 60) along the old A30 from Salisbury this afternoon

I’d rather he was on the road than you.

Impeding the flow of traffic is something the police would be entitled to stop him and have a quiet word about.
Or are you the sort of driver who goes everywhere at half the posted limit, just to prove a point?

When I rule the world… I won’t give a shit really, apart from those motorway drivers in this country (uk) who:
– Routinely and consistently fail to acknowledge that giving way to the right is the rule, which applies to those on the left and right.
And
– Routinely and consistently do not keep left unless overtaking.

Offenders will be stopped and decapitated, their heads skewered onto stakes set along the central reservation as a warning / advice to other road users.

I reckon that’ll eventually give us the road manners we all desire.

Peace out. 😁

I thought that by indicating it gives you right of way no matter what or is this not the case as many seem to believe that?

Impeding the flow of traffic is something the police would be entitled to stop him and have a quiet word about.
Or are you the sort of driver who goes everywhere at half the posted limit, just to prove a point?

35mph isn’t impeding the movement of traffic.

It might be slow to you, or others, but it’s not impeding the flow.

So, highly suspect that any police force would be concerned about someone driving at 35mph anywhere other than in a 30mph limited area. Granted on a motorway that could be seen as driving without due care and attention, however you see plenty of ice-cream vans and military vehicles doing similar speeds..

I appreciate you drive for a living, and see far more than most on here, yet that comment seems to err towards berating the driver of the vehicle.

You don’t know their capabilities, nor the situation they find themselves in. There could be any manner of reasons why they were driving a vehicle at 35mph, none of which you nor anyone knows.

So this suggests you just want to berate them for driving slower that you want them to drive.

Thats your problem, not theirs.

I think there might be a TV show in there somewhere, could entertain and educate at the same time? …. but I think also maybe folk will not accept criticism of their driving, for instance, I’ve tried to explain to my dear wife that the clutch pedal should not be used like an on/off switch (somehow she’s developed a technique of stabbing it and releasing it like it’s some sort of reaction test!) . I tried a couple of times but now the subject is taboo and she will never drive with me in the car. I let my daughter drive part of the way down to Somerset on Friday which elicited some ‘remarks’ from my wife after we got home …….

Bad?

Clearly not seen the videos on Youtube then that show the driving standard in Russia. British motorway driving is exemplary in comparison. Belgians have the best skills though for tailgating – they drive so close they can hold a fag paper between their bumper and yours.

Although it seems half of Brits couldn’t use a roundabout to save their lives.

hate to think what CZ would think if he came up behind a couple of cyclists or a tractor.

999 whats your emergency ?

“motability NEEEEEEDS their car back NOOOOOOOWWWWW “

Best thing I ever did for driving was a fuel efficiency course. I say course, it was a 30 minute drive with a guy giving advice on how to save fuel. Which basically means leaving loads of space, not racing to the next red light / junction / queue of traffic and trying not to brake (braking means wasted energy). I thought I was good at this before but just a few wee insights and now it’s like driving in the matrix, watching the madness go off around me. And it is everywhere, but I’ll happily take my time and let dicks be dicks.

Apart from the subgroup of people trundling along at 60mph in the middle lane, the rest of the crap drivers know exactly what they’re doing and in particular, that they won’t get stopped by the police. So a re-test would make no sense whatsoever.

I suppose it might result in a slap across the face from an instructor at the drivers who do 73 mph and then stamp on the brakes at every single gantry on the M1. The speed cameras obviously aren’t turned on when the variable speed limits aren’t in force.

The A1(M) is just as bad but with more enthusiastic speeding and the occasional supercar race in the late evening.

35mph isn’t impeding the movement of traffic.

It might be slow to you, or others, but it’s not impeding the flow.

True but my experience is when someone is going much slower than the limit (and prevailing conditions) allow it’s usually they’re old people likely with reactions (and possibly eye sight) that mean they’re not safe to drive in the first place

I’d hazard the opinion that most if you don’t know what bad motorway driving actually looks like.UK motorways are pretty good by comparison.

I think I drive more than most on here, CZ excepted  (about 40k last year) and Tbh I breath a sigh of relief when I get onto a m-way. The folks that are really bad are IMO locals using a rat run, drivers who are distracted, and drivers who are lost/confused.