So many slow dawdlers on the roads

wasabi · 08-05-2006 12:25pm

Well here's what happened to me yesterday on the way up from Sligo to Dublin. I'm on the dual carriageway that leads onto the M4. I'm in the overtaking lane, passing a car doing about 80K. As I complete the maneuver, I see traffic merging in to the left just ahead and nothing behind me, so obviously I stay in the right hand lane to give space to those merging. I'm doing 105-110K at this point, in a small 1L car with 2 surfboards on the roof.

I pass those who have just merged in and indicate left to get in. At which point the car behind me to the left speeds up until his nose is just past the back of my car. There's not enough of a gap between that car and the car ahead, and I don't want to speed up any more to get past that car. Then a SUV driver comes rocketing out of the distance in the right hand lane and sits right behind me flashing his high beams for the next 2K until the people I'd let merge in leave the road and I can get into the left lane.

That's what I get for being nice, eh? What do ye reckon I could have done in that situation?

Mayshine · 08-05-2006 12:49pm

wasabi wrote:

Well here's what happened to me yesterday on the way up from Sligo to Dublin. I'm on the dual carriageway that leads onto the M4. I'm in the overtaking lane, passing a car doing about 80K. As I complete the maneuver, I see traffic merging in to the left just ahead and nothing behind me, so obviously I stay in the right hand lane to give space to those merging. I'm doing 105-110K at this point, in a small 1L car with 2 surfboards on the roof.

I pass those who have just merged in and indicate left to get in. At which point the car behind me to the left speeds up until his nose is just past the back of my car. There's not enough of a gap between that car and the car ahead, and I don't want to speed up any more to get past that car. Then a SUV driver comes rocketing out of the distance in the right hand lane and sits right behind me flashing his high beams for the next 2K until the people I'd let merge in leave the road and I can get into the left lane.

That's what I get for being nice, eh? What do ye reckon I could have done in that situation?

The guy on the inside that sped up is a twat, but you should have eased off and pulled in behind him rather than drive along side him for over 2km

Since you no longer can complete your overtaking manouver, then thats the best thing for you.

wasabi · 08-05-2006 1:01pm

Problem was there was another car close behind him and SUV man tailgating me. Believe me, I didn't want to be where I was

Mc-BigE · 08-05-2006 1:32pm

I think its time for technology to take over, surely with GPS technology it should be possible to pin point location,speed,direction of every car and in turn the speed limit were the car is located.
So fit a big fog horn in the car and when the car goes 5 Mph below (or above ,must be balanced, sorry) the speed limit, it should go off!!! That will wake up the Sunday drivers, or maybe give them a heart attack, which is a nasty side effect!:eek:

Seriously though, a number of car companies , Volvo, Mercedes are developing adaptive cruise control were the car will follow the speed of the car ahead automatically, and sensors all round the car can detect if the car goes off coarse it will steer it out of trouble for the driver! Or even take evasive action if the sensors detect a crash is about to happen.

Sounds science fiction, but maybe in 10 or 20 years time, you should be able to drive to the pub and your car will drive you home! And all cars will do the speed limit in convoy! sounds boring.:(

AM · 08-05-2006 3:58pm

Another dawdler story...

Last week I was behind 3 cars on the Cavan by-pass late in the evening.
Front car was crawling along at about 60kph on a 100kph road. As we
reached the point where there is a climbing lane, the 2 cars in front of me
used the right-hand lane to overtake slow guy. Just as I enter this lane
Mr Slow decides to drift into it, still doing 60. Before he could enter the
lane fully I gave him a good blast of the horn (oh how I love righteous
horn blasts

). He pulled in quite quickly and that was that. The road
ahead of him was empty so he had no reason whatsoever to change lane.

What gets me about guys like this is that he hasn't got a clue about the
rules of the road and is oblivious to nearby traffic. I see a lot of arrogance
while driving, which is annoying, but it's ignorance that actually scares me.

unkel · 08-05-2006 4:10pm

AM wrote:

I see a lot of arrogance
while driving, which is annoying, but it's ignorance that actually scares me.

Well said!

ianobrien · 08-05-2006 5:51pm

One thing that should be brought in here is min speed limits. They have them in Finland and I was done there last year for driving at 15kph under the speed limit!

Friends of mine were fined in Germany for not pulling over and leaving faster cars pass on a two lane road (much the same road as most of the main roads here)

If the same thing was brought in here,, would it work and would it actually be inforced?

Has anybody noticed that most of the "Safe 40mph" brigade do their 40mph past schools and other area where there are going to be kids?

The best cure for tailgaters, wait for them to be accelerating, and then tip the brake pedal enough to light the brake lights, but not use the brakes. Watch the panic behind. This three or four times works wonders. Ya, I know that it is not right, and can cause a ripple effect down the traffic, but the look on the tailgater's face as he panics is worth it.

So many slow dawdlers on the roads

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