Stupid Drivers

ando

Driving home this evening, seen 3 cars with no lights on at all ??? I mean, WTF.. how stupid can you be when driving in the dark with no lights on. Each time I flashed my headlights at them.. yes you guessed it, women drivers, all 3. Each time I looked in my mirror to see if they had reacted to my lights flashing but I did not see their lights going on.... Grrrr

That really annoys me, them women are 'safer drivers' according to the insurance companies but yet I pay over 2 & half grand for insurance because I'm male. (last yr I payed 4&half)

And then I seen a micra with full headlights on + foglights, blinding everyone.. AGGHHHHHHHHH
How can you miss a big blue interior light on in your dash display ???

I just don't get how some people can miss such obvious error's in their driving

Sparks

I've caught myself doing this once or twice, usually because I've started driving in a well-lit part of the city or town and you just don't notice that the lights are off.

mike65

I see similair every day, I was guilty of full beam the other evening - the light on my dash is abit low and slightly hidden behind the wheel :eek:

Yesterday afternoon at about 4 I nearly got front-ended by a big black Nissan Patrol (the really wide model the army use) he was driving down a hill in the middle of the road towards a 90 degree corner into the setting sun, I had my lights on (I was driving out of the sun all the way home) as I drove towards him but it was still a bit too long before he reacted and yanked his tank left.

Mike.

Sparks

The errors that get me include:

People who go down slip roads slowly and then try to merge into 70mph traffic while doing 30-40 mph - not only do they risk causing an accident, they prevent the rest of us behind them from doing it properly.

People who don't indicate on roundabouts.

People who indicate on roundabouts and then do the opposite to what they've indicated.

People who don't position themselves correctly at junctions and thus block up traffic for half a mile back.

People who don't stay in their lane and sway towards me at 60 mph.

Cops who drive the wrong way up a one-way street at twice the speed limit and nearly hit me while doing so.

mike65

Originally posted by Sparks

Cops who drive the wrong way up a one-way street at twice the speed limit and nearly hit me while doing so.

...sounds like a recent incident!

Today I saw some guy in 4x4 reversing out of a small
estate onto a main street while gabbing on his mobile...
:rolleyes:

Mike.

Quatre Mains

...I'm far from a perfect driver myself but there really are some shams out there today. WRT no lights, I think that might be something to do with the time of year, with it getting darker earlier. When I lived in the US most cars lights switched themselves on, which was great, but I ended up forgetting to pu them on a couple of times after I came home:rolleyes:

Call me a racist or accuse me of sweeping generalisations, if you like but I really think a lot of the African drivers are f*ckin crap. And they leave their fog lights on all the time ha ha.
However, if the govt see fit to allow Irish drivers on the road without a driving test, then it'd be wrong of me to say that immigrants from countries with crap transport systems should be made do a test.

And pplease - don't give me the 'just cos they're black doesn;t mean they're African' crap -of course thats not how I know they're African. Its the ****ty 1980-splash white Jap import with the fog light on that gives it away

Neil

red_ice

dont get me started on stupid drivers. i really get annoyed when people drive 20mph on a main road, it gets to the point that if there is a lane on the inside ill use it to overtake.

I do admit, i can be very impatient when im driving, but thats only because of the stupidity of other drivers - never for traffic reasons.

so on the note of stupid drivers, lets take on irresponcible drivers... so ill start a thread on Taxi drivers

Sparks

Originally posted by mike65
...sounds like a recent incident!

No, happened about six months after I started driving. Years ago now.
Not that garda driving standards have improved any. I mean, that N11 accident... :rolleyes:
I've seen the scene, I know the road. And I cannot think of any circumstances that fit their description and the scene that don't involve a bunch of 18-year-old boy racers in garda uniforms that learnt that that's not how you drive and grow old....

ando

Originally posted by red_ice
dont get me started on stupid drivers. i really get annoyed when people drive 20mph on a main road

I came up against some unbelievable driving on the N2 last week. I was following a big van going about 55, I could not really see past the van... then all of a sudden the van slows sharply, which forces me to brake hard, then the van dives to the left (onto the hard shoulder) and undertakes a Corsa going about 25mph.... I slowed and started to follow this guy thinking he was after just pulling out onto the road, but no, he was staying at 25 ???? on a 60mph limit road....

There was nothing wrong with his car, no hazard lights and it looked like a 02 or 03.

I was following him for about a mile as there was no chance to overtake because we were coming close to the M50 roundabout. I could not believe it, he started braking around 150meters before the turn ..... I started flashing my lights and beeping the horn, nothing came of it.

There's slow and then there's overly cautious/slow, which IMO is just as dangerous as driving at 100mph.

Capt'n Midnight

Those idiots who block both lanes when entering a roundabout .
esp when they are going Right and I am going Left..

Those idiots who stay in the outside lane - IT'S FOR OVERTAKING !
Move in again unless you are turning right..

IMHO driving with main lights on at night in built up areas only makes cars more visible - it renders pedestrians and cyclists invisible, especially if it's raining.. so first and second class road users are less safe than 30 years ago when Halogen lights were less common. Parking lights should be enough in a lit up area.

Idiots who don't keep to the left of the road as per the RULES. The number of times I've been stuck behind someone doing 40mph in the middle of a 6m wide land on a National road when there was also a hard shoulder for them to pull into.

Idiots who don't indicate when passing you out, who just drive up and expect you to let them through (I don't pull into the hard shoulder until someone indicates or starts to pass me out) and as for muppets who flash their headlights - usually I slow down because I have to split my concentration having to worry about what's behind me as well.

People who tailgate with full beams, I pull in, let them pass and then - no I don't beam them - just stick behind them..

And I hate SUV's don't they realise that even on dipped lights that because they are so high they go in your back window - keep back. I'm so tempted to slow down using gears only on the next bad bend (but that would not be nice).

Silvera

'Parking Lights' are for when a vehicle is parked i.e. stationary.
In most EU countries it's ILLEGAL to drive with parking lights only. You would be pulled over and fined.

I have lost count of the number of times I have seen vehicles driving at night on parking lights - it's dangerous. You are just not as visible as when you have dipped lights on.

........not to mention the twits who drive in rain/fog/snow or at dusk/dawn on parking lights !

...or often with no lights at all :mad:


Another thing that bugs me are drivers who take ages to move off when a light turns green. The traffic ahead moves off and they leave a huge gap before they move.
By the time you reach the lights they have turned red again !

......and it's usually women drivers

byte

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
Idiots who don't indicate when passing you out, who just drive up and expect you to let them through (I don't pull into the hard shoulder until someone indicates or starts to pass me out) and as for muppets who flash their headlights - usually I slow down because I have to split my concentration having to worry about what's behind me as well.

People who tailgate with full beams, I pull in, let them pass and then - no I don't beam them - just stick behind them..

And I hate SUV's don't they realise that even on dipped lights that because they are so high they go in your back window - keep back. I'm so tempted to slow down using gears only on the next bad bend (but that would not be nice).

Yeah, I agree on all those points. Here in Donegal, when people pass without indicating, more often than not, it's a NI reged car

BrianD3

RE: the hard shoulder There's no obligation to move into the hard shoulder to allow a following vehicle to overtake. In fact, the primary purpose of the hard shoulder is to cater for cyclists, pedestrians, broken down vehicles and the emergency services. AFAIK, the rules of the road state that it's OK to move into the hard shoulder momentarily to allow a following vehicle to overtake but certainly it's not something that you're obliged to do. And in my opinion it's stupid that it's even allowed at all. It's especially dangerous at night. I have seen many near misses where vehicles using the hard shoulder almost collided with cyclists, pedestrians, parked/broked down vehicles etc.

In other countries, it's unheard of for vehicles to use the hard shoulder as a "slow lane" I know for a fact that it is illegal to drive on the hard shoulder on UK motorways or even to stop on the hard shoulder unless it's emergency. Emergencies would include things like breakdowns or illness. If you're caught stopping for any other reason you can expect a fine and 3 penalty points. I don't know if this stopping rule applies to non motorways - probably not. But I'd imagine that *driving* on any hard shoulder is an offence in the UK. Proper order too.

BrianD3

NeRb666

What pisses me off about people who "forget" to turn on their lights is not only are they virtually invisible, but they obviously aren't looking at their speedometer (because I'm sure by then they'd figure out that their lights aren't on), just shows how attentive they are.

seamus

Originally posted by ando
Each time I flashed my headlights at them.. yes you guessed it, women drivers, all 3. Each time I looked in my mirror to see if they had reacted to my lights flashing but I did not see their lights going on.... Grrrr

My gf drives her sisters car when she can, and being a learner refuses to go out on the road without a fully licenced driver - usually me. Every second time we get into the car and switch the lights on, there's a big blue light on the dash. :rolleyes: Of course I pointed this out straight away to my gf and told her I'd disown her if I ever caught her driving in the city with headlights on

gurramok

Puegeot cars are guilty I find of having super beam lights when driving in built up areas.
Its very distracting when driving to have one of those driving either behind you or coming opposite, they blind you.

Micra/Punto drivers, please dim those stupid fog lights !!

With regard to people turning without indicating, my rule since day 1 is always beep at them for their wrongdoing, if you did this as a habit you better watch out

Ando, be very careful on the N2, in my opinion its the most dangerous national route within striking distance of Dublin, a fair few have died on it in last few years.
The road is full of bumps and potholes and every driver thinks its open season to speed and do stupid manouevres.

ando

Originally posted by gurramok
Ando, be very careful on the N2, in my opinion its the most dangerous national route within striking distance of Dublin

agreed m8, but unfortunally I have to go on that road quite often for getting to and from work

Jip

Originally posted by ando
I was following a big van going about 55, I could not really see past the van... then all of a sudden the van slows sharply, which forces me to brake hard, then the van dives to the left (onto the hard shoulder)

You were obviously driving much too close to the van (tail-gating perhaps?) and didn't give yourself much space or time to react to situations such as the one you put yourself and the van driver in, methinks your driving was as bad as the Corsas

ando

Originally posted by Jip
You were obviously driving much too close to the van (tail-gating perhaps?) and didn't give yourself much space or time to react to situations such as the one you put yourself and the van driver in, methinks your driving was as bad as the Corsas

na na na, If I had'nt given myself enough time to react, I would of slaimed into the car? I did the ignition course, I know all about 'only a fool brakes the 2 second rule' thing. The car was going 25.... I was going 55 following a big van on a straight road

Doctor J

Stupid?

Fog lights, front or back, when there is no fog.

People who drive up your ass.

People who drive up your ass to try to encourage you to pull into the hard shoulder so they can get past 'cos their 1 litre shytemobile with all the stupid plastic spoilers, wings etc hasn't got the power to overtake you when you're driving at the designated speed limit. The hard shoulder is for emergency use only, it isn't suitable for driving in at 60mph.

People who overtake you when you're driving at the designated speed limit.

People who feel the need to overtake long lines of traffic, six or seven cars at a time.

Nordie drivers on the N2 - are these morons trying to kill us all?

Irish drivers at roundabouts. The roundabout is a fairly simple concept, yet most of us can't get it right.

You need just look around next time you're stuck in traffic to see all the frustrated, anxious, angry faces who are too stressed out to be driving safely. Just chill out. You will get to where you want to go and driving like an asshole isn't going to help. Calm down, back off and slow down and the roads will be a safer, more pleasant place for all of us.

seamus

Originally posted by Jip
You were obviously driving much too close to the van (tail-gating perhaps?) and didn't give yourself much space or time to react to situations such as the one you put yourself and the van driver in, methinks your driving was as bad as the Corsas

There are times when you're driving the correct distance away and still have to brake sharply to avoid slower traffic. Anyone who's ever been on the m50 at peak times will know what that's about.

BrianD3

People who feel the need to overtake long lines of traffic, six or seven cars at a time.

Actually there's nothing wrong with this once it's done safely Overtaking is a major problem on Irish roads. Some drivers overtake dangerously, others are too afraid to overtake even when it's perfectly safe. If you get stuck behind a queue of the latter to make any progress you'll have to pass a few of them in one go. If you see a long clear straight then why not overtake 6 or 7 of them at once? Problem with this is that most of them will be tailgating each other so you'll have very little room to pull into the queue. But that's their fault - they're supposed to leave enough space in front of their vehicle for an overtaking vehicle to move into. People get very pissed off when you do this, and will often speed up and deliberately tailgate the car in front if they think you're going to overtake a few cars at once. It's a case of "i'm too chicken to overtake so I'm going to make it impossible for everyone else as well" Idiots. Irish people are very begrudging anyway - if someone's overtaking six cars at once they'll usually have a fairly powerful car. Other people don't like to see this, they get jealous and think the person is a flash bastard or whatever. I believe there was an incident involving Michael O'Leary in his Merc a few months back. He was done for having the audacity to overtake a few cars in one go after some silly woman reported him for it :rolleyes:

Mostly agree with your other points anyway.

BrianD3

seamus

Originally posted by BrianD3
Problem with this is that most of them will be tailgating each other so you'll have very little room to pull into the queue. But that's their fault - they're supposed to leave enough space in front of their vehicle for an overtaking vehicle to move into.

Only if teh car behind you has indcated that they wish to overtake. If you're in a big line of traffic, and nobody is visibly trying to overtake, you don't have to leave room. Common sense dictates that you would. As usual, it's only a serving suggestion - drivers not leaving enough room won't be stopped or prosecuted

Doctor J

It's dangerous because someone further up the queue might have overtaking in mind too and won't see you in their mirrors until you've pulled out, no matter whether you indicate or not (and vice versa).

I don't know how many times I've seen near crashes or cars running three abreast on national roads cos some doofus decides to take a long line of cars without considering what people further up the queue (perhaps in cars not as powerful and, therefore, slower to accellerate) are going to do. It's not a matter of being a chicken, it's a matter of judgement, on the space available, on the conditions and the time it will take for you to overtake, given the power of your car. Smaller engine cars need longer to overtake, therefore won't jump at small windows of opportunity, that's just the way it is. Seems to be Nordie reg's which do it the most but it's not exclusive to them. It's stupid and very, very dangerous.

BrianD3

It's dangerous because someone further up the queue might have overtaking in mind too and won't see you in their mirrors until you've pulled out, no matter whether you indicate or not (and vice versa).

You've actually just proved my point. If a person has "overtaking in mind" they are an indecisive dawdler. If you want to overtake and it's safe, then do it. Don't wait around for half an hour wondering "will I won't I" and then get pissed off when someone behind you in the queue takes the initiative instead. Also, you're supposed to know what's happening around you i.e checking your mirrors constantly. Before you pull out to overtake, check that nobody behind has already started to overtake you. Simple as that. You'd do this (hopefully) on a motorway if you were in the inside lane and wanted to move into the overtaking lane to pass the car in front. Same thing applies on a normal road.

BrianD3

Doctor J

And you've proved mine. All a driver can see (fully) is the car directly in front and the car directly behind. If a person has "overtaking in mind" it means they have considered their circumstances and are looking to overtake at the next safe opportunity. It doesn't make them a chicken or an indecisive dawdler, it means they aren't frustrated, stressed or aggressive and don't want to die in a car accident. Does stupid overtaking mean one is courageous? The law reflects this by the forthcoming introduction of points for this act. If someone hasn't got the patience to accomodate other drivers on the road they shouldn't be on the road themselves.

Capt'n Midnight

Originally posted by BrianD3
RE: the hard shoulder There's no obligation to move into the hard shoulder to allow a following vehicle to overtake..

In other countries, it's unheard of for vehicles to use the hard shoulder as a "slow lane" I know for a fact that it is illegal to drive on the hard shoulder on UK motorways or even to stop on the hard shoulder unless it's emergency.
BrianD3

The Irish rules of the road suggest you pull into the Hard Shoulder to let others past.

AFAIK in the UK it's illegal to drive on any hard shoulder motorway or not. (also illegal to go around a roundabout more than three times but that's a different story.)

BrianD3

All a driver can see (fully) is the car directly in front and the car directly behind.

What?! Ever hear of wing mirrors? Ever hear of observation and being aware of the presence of other road users? If what you're saying is true then how would anyone ever overtake on a motorway or for that matter change lanes on any road.

If a person has "overtaking in mind" it means they have considered their circumstances and are looking to overtake at the next safe opportunity. It doesn't make them a chicken or an indecisive dawdler,

And what if they don't overtake when there's a safe opportunity? They may be nervous or have poor judgement. What if they're presented with a perfectly safe opportunity and fail to take it because of their own poor judgement/indecisiveness etc. Is everyone else supposed to queue up behind them?

Does stupid overtaking mean one is courageous

No, but we're not talking about stupid overtaking here. We're talking about perfectly safe overtaking which you have a problem with for some reason.

BrianD3

Doctor J

As I said... "all a driver can see (fully) is the car directly in front or behind". Unless your car has magic wing mirrors I can't figure out how you can see through cars otherwise. On a motorway, you can see the other lane in your mirrors obviously but on a national road, when everyone is in a queue and the overtaking takes place in the lane of oncoming traffic, you can't. The laws of physics dictate you can't. Hence, you can't see a car three or four cars behind until it pulls out from the line. A safe opportunity is in the eye of the beholder, and the view from a small engined car is vastly different to one in a larger engined vehicle. It doesn't hurt to be patient.

Let's just agree to disagree. I think overtaking a number of cars is a rash, aggressive procedure, you don't, you think it's perfectly safe. Try driving to Galway or Cork in a 1 litre car and see if you have the same opinion afterwards.

BrianD3

Let's just agree to disagree.

OK then. I also take the point about the 1 litre car. But if you think a 1 litre car is bad for overtaking, try driving from Dublin to Galway in an articulated truck with a speed limiter. This makes overtaking very tricky indeed. It can take a truck the best part of a mile to overtake another vehicle if that vehicle is going a few mph less than the truck driver wants to go.

BrianD3

mike65

Originally posted by BrianD3
....trydriving from Dublin to Galway in an articulated truck with a speed limiter. This makes overtaking very tricky indeed. It can take a truck the best part of a mile to overtake another vehicle if that vehicle is going a few mph less than the truck driver wants to go.

BrianD3

In Germany that manoveur is known as "Elephant Racing"

Mike.

Silvera

And don't forget about your cars' blind spots !

A guy I once worked with, who had been driving for over 10 years (I had been driving a few years at the time), tried to convince me that there is no such thing as 'blind spots' on a car :rolleyes:


.......and he considered himself to be a good driver

NeRb666

Originally posted by BrianD3
OK then. I also take the point about the 1 litre car. But if you think a 1 litre car is bad for overtaking, try driving from Dublin to Galway in an articulated truck with a speed limiter. This makes overtaking very tricky indeed. It can take a truck the best part of a mile to overtake another vehicle if that vehicle is going a few mph less than the truck driver wants to go.

If a truck driver is trying to do that all for the sake of a few mph then he's not a very good truck driver IMO.

dogs

Originally posted by NeRb666
If a truck driver is trying to do that all for the sake of a few mph then he's not a very good truck driver IMO.

Eh in a word... No.

There are lots of people who seem to struggle through life with an overwhelming fear of velocity.
They'll do 45mph on that big long stretch of open road but when there's a corner in sight, they drop down below 20mph.

Consider a truck driver has to get to someplace before a certain time and most likely has to pull some unholy manouvers to fit his truck into some tight spot in a rural village that happens to be in the way (Thomastown for anyone who's familiar with the N9, Waterford to Dublin).

Overtaking a car thats doing 45mph in a truck thats supposed to be limited to 50mph makes for a very long, drawn out overtaking manouver.

My own personal pet hate is drivers who only have one speed. Coming back from Dublin the other day and driving through Carlow was a car that passed me doing about 45mph in a 30mph zone. Got out on to the main road and I caught up with it .. still doing 45mph in a NSL zone. Obviously he just felt the karma was "right" at this speed and didnt want to change it.

seamus

Originally posted by dogs
My own personal pet hate is drivers who only have one speed. Coming back from Dublin the other day and driving through Carlow was a car that passed me doing about 45mph in a 30mph zone. Got out on to the main road and I caught up with it .. still doing 45mph in a NSL zone. Obviously he just felt the karma was "right" at this speed and didnt want to change it.

lmao, driving up and down the N81 every day, it was the inconsistent ones who used to really piss me off. Hit a corner, slow to 20mph, out of the corner, very slowly, and very carefully accelerate up to 60mph on the next straight, and as soon as the next corner came into view, remove foot from accelerator, and spend the next 500 metres slowing gradually to 20mph again, and so on and so on, on long straights, ping-ponging between 40 and 60 mph for no apparent reason whatsover. Any attempts to overtake are met with acceleration, and a refusal to move over. ****s.

It's even more annoying because between Baltinglass and Tallaght, there's no need for any kind of braking on the N81.

NeRb666

Originally posted by dogs
Eh in a word... No.

There are lots of people who seem to struggle through life with an overwhelming fear of velocity.
They'll do 45mph on that big long stretch of open road but when there's a corner in sight, they drop down below 20mph.

Consider a truck driver has to get to someplace before a certain time and most likely has to pull some unholy manouvers to fit his truck into some tight spot in a rural village that happens to be in the way (Thomastown for anyone who's familiar with the N9, Waterford to Dublin).

Overtaking a car thats doing 45mph in a truck thats supposed to be limited to 50mph makes for a very long, drawn out overtaking manouver.

My own personal pet hate is drivers who only have one speed. Coming back from Dublin the other day and driving through Carlow was a car that passed me doing about 45mph in a 30mph zone. Got out on to the main road and I caught up with it .. still doing 45mph in a NSL zone. Obviously he just felt the karma was "right" at this speed and didnt want to change it.

I have an overwhelming fear of a truck driving on the wrong side of the road for over a mile. Especially if I'm driving towards one.
If someone is driving at 45mph it's of no concern to me. Neither is a truck drivers' deadline.

Victor

Re: lights

Saw a muppet pull out of a driveway without his lights this evening as I walked passed - I pointed to his lights and got a thumbs up. Others would give you the finger.

Atomic Pineapple

Originally posted by Doctor J
It's dangerous because someone further up the queue might have overtaking in mind too and won't see you in their mirrors until you've pulled out, no matter whether you indicate or not (and vice versa).

If your going to overtake or if your turning right your supposed to check your wing mirrors to make sure no one is overtaking before you pull across, its perfectly easy to see a car overtaking before you pull out in your wing mirror.

so if someone has a more powerfull car or see an opportunity to overtake before you then you have to let them by before overtaking yourself.

Dont know how many times i've seen a car overtaking and some idiot pulls out in front of him/her without checking there mirrors!

Anyway was coming up the naas road last week and just after the lights at the red cow roundabout theres a slip road off to the left for goin north on the m50, well some women had seen the sign, completely stopped on the furthest lane away and then pulled across all the lanes and stopped in the left lane and waited to be let into the flow of traffic goin down the slip road! couldnt believe it!
if she had to just go straight she still could have just taken the first exit off the roundabout!

mike65

Originally posted by draffodx
so if someone has a more powerfull car or see an opportunity to overtake before you then you have to let them by before overtaking yourself.

Dont know how many times i've seen a car overtaking and some idiot pulls out in front of him/her without checking there mirrors!

That thought occured to me last night on the way home, caught up with 3 cars trailing a BIG YELLOW BLOB which as we all know can do no more than 35-40 mph, as I was further back I looked ahead into the dark, saw nothing comming, indicated and hit the loud pedal hoping everyone else had seen me...

Mike.