Things you love about Irish drivers...

seamus

Because every thread needs its opposite, maybe we should declare some of the things we like about Irish drivers.....Me first:

Every morning I come down the canal to go to work. It's always busy enough, but now that the schools are back, it's getting really bad. So I arrive at the section of canal, heading eastwards, that brings you to Harold's cross. Traffic is jammed, both directions.

From behind me, I hear a siren, quick check in the mirror, it's a fire engine. Then the best thing. Moving traffic pulls in. Stopped traffic moves to the side of the road. It's like Moses parting the red sea. In less than 30 seconds, there's ample room for a forty-footer to get through, never mind a fire engine. It drives through with ease, and the traffic returns to its position. Naturally, seeing as I was going to filter anyway, I took advantage of the space, and drove up behind the fire engine

It's great to see that respect though. It's very rare in other countries. I was in Rome before, where there are ambulances roaring through the streets every 2 minutes (presumably because they're such awful drivers, there are constant crashes ), and people would only move slightly out of the way - mostly to avoid being hit!

mike65

Bah! I thought the topic line was sarcastic!

Mike.

eth0_

mike65 wrote:

Bah! I thought the topic line was sarcastic!

Mike.

Me too! And I think if anything, people have less respect for emergency service vehicles nowadays, it's hardly the parting of the red sea

sceptre

seamus wrote:

It's great to see that respect though. It's very rare in other countries. I was in Rome before, where there are ambulances roaring through the streets every 2 minutes (presumably because they're such awful drivers, there are constant crashes ), and people would only move slightly out of the way - mostly to avoid being hit!

The Japanese don't move an inch. Not a blasted inch.

Seth Brundle

I have often seen people waiting in their cars at a set of lights, with a fire engine or (more commonly) an ambulance right behind them with sirens blaring. They don't do a thing as if they can't move because there is a red light. Then when green comes they move over.

fjon

I think people here are a lot more likely to thank you if you let them pull in. In other countries I've driven in (France and Italy), they just barge in and don't acknowlege you.
I was walking through somewhere in downtown LA recently, through an area where there were roadworks going on. One car knocked over a traffic cone, which was kind of blocking the road. There was a woman in a large SUV behind, and she stopped in front of the cone, not sure what to do. I, being the nice person that I am, walked onto the road and picked up the cone. Not only did people beep at me, but the stupid cow in her SUV drove straight past without even thanking me. :mad:

unkel

Agree that people generally acknowledge when you let them pull in, probably more than in many other countries. A lot of people don't though...

Danook

eth0_ wrote:

And I think if anything, people have less respect for emergency service vehicles nowadays

Why do they have less respect? Did I miss something?

mike65

Some ppl seem to "freeze" when they see an emergency vehicle looming behind them but 99% of folk seem to understand whats required of them.

Mike.

Victor

seamus wrote:

From behind me, I hear a siren, quick check in the mirror, it's a fire engine. Then the best thing. Moving traffic pulls in. Stopped traffic moves to the side of the road. It's like Moses parting the red sea. In less than 30 seconds, there's ample room for a forty-footer to get through, never mind a fire engine. It drives through with ease, and the traffic returns to its position.

Surely you are joking? This never happens in Dublin. Well unless it's the bomb squad.

seamus

Victor wrote:

Surely you are joking? This never happens in Dublin. Well unless it's the bomb squad.

I'm deadly serious. This always happen in Dublin, I don't know why people think Irish people are bad at this. The only time I've seen someone block an ambulance, it was a very old woman (you know the type that can barely see over the steering wheel), and one of the cars coming the opposite way made a very special effort (i.e. up onto a tiny path) to allow the ambulance to overtake.

Protocol is different in other countries though. American protocol is to maintain road position. I saw interviews once with American emergency service drivers who said that more often than not, when an American heard the siren, they wouldn't bother with mirrors, they'd just panic and change lane, either hitting another vehicle, or getting in the way of the emergency services and panicking even more.

Interceptor

This thread should be renamed "What do you think of what Irish drivers do when they hear a siren?" The only thing to love about Irish drivers is that there aren't too many of them and sometimes they aren't in front of you when you are in a hurry to get somewhere.
Oh, and oncoming cars which flash to tell you there is a speed-trap ahead ~(thanks to the black Celica with the Veilside kit outside Ballinasloe last weekend I still have my license in one piece and not shoved up my h**e by the cop in the red mondeo...)

'ceptr

Stark

When in France a few weeks ago we were pushed off the road by an ambulance coming through with sirens blazing, it then drove along casually in front of us at the speed limit which was 50kph, **** weren't in a hurry at all!!

French drivers are **** in general by the way. We were just pulling off at a roundabout when the car behind us decided to pull off more quickly and smacked right into the back of us. Loads of other cars beeped at us and rode our asses for simply obeying speed limits (and yes we did get the mph/kph thing right ).

Silvera

Having seen how Australians behave on their roads (must get in front at all costs!) and even how kiwis behave here in NZ (never acknowledge you when you let them in/pass), I'd say the Irish drivers are a very polite bunch overall.

sceptre

seamus wrote:

Protocol is different in other countries though. American protocol is to maintain road position. I saw interviews once with American emergency service drivers who said that more often than not, when an American heard the siren, they wouldn't bother with mirrors, they'd just panic and change lane, either hitting another vehicle, or getting in the way of the emergency services and panicking even more.

Bah, everyone who's seen Die Hard 3 knows that when an ambulance is behind you, you should carefully get out of the way and slot in behind it for a nice road rage free day

robbie1876

It drives me mad when I see people who think they are doing the right thing by slamming on the brakes as soon as there is a siren nearby. Sometimes the worst thing you can do is stop, because then the ambulance etc can't get by. I've often been on a stretch of road with an ambulance behind me for a couple of hundred yards before there was somewhere I could pull in to let the ambulance pass by. One time I did this and almost immediately the next car just stopped on the road and blocked the ambulance for about a minute before they copped on that it couldn't get by.

So yes, what I love about Irish drivers is they have the best intentions in the world when it comes to these things, but as usual in Ireland, the actual driving skills required to do what they intend are absent. Bad driving is the root of all evil.

Robbie

Seth Brundle

people who won't give an inch when you are merging in traffic and especially those who decide to speed up like the prick in the clapped out starlet did to me this morning on the N4 @ the start of the Chapelizod by-pass.

Blitzkrieger

interceptor wrote:

Oh, and oncoming cars which flash to tell you there is a speed-trap ahead

I completly ignore anybody who flashes their lights at me. 99% of the time they're an idiot. The amount of people who flash their lights at you after you overtake them with a textbook maneouvre is unbelievable. Ditto the guys coming the other way who flash even when you're miles away. Between people saying hello to their friends, acknowledging a thank you when they move over to let someone pass and accidental flashes when they're at the indicators it means nothing anymore.

Personally I like to stick to a short flash for "go ahead" when I'm leaving someone out of junction and a long flash for "switch off your high beams you twit/that gap really was too small/get the **** out of the fast lane you muppet". If you want to say hello, wave, saying "your welcome" is excessivly polite and there's other ways of knowing there's a speed trap ahead.

Fabritzo

kbannon wrote:

people who won't give an inch when you are merging in traffic and especially those who decide to speed up like the prick in the clapped out starlet did to me this morning on the N4 @ the start of the Chapelizod by-pass.

Have you noticed this happens more since you started driving BMWs? Or have you always driven them is which case you may think everyone's out to get ya :P

Most Irish drivers are a timid bunch in my opinion, I've been on a bike 3 years plus, they're very curtious.

Seth Brundle

Fabritzo - it should make no difference what I drive - anyway, it also happens when I drive my wife's pug 206.
It is mainly down to the fact that most Irish people cannot drive properly, i.e. with due care and attention and considering all others around them and the current state of their vehicle.

Victor

robbie1876 wrote:

I've often been on a stretch of road with an ambulance behind me for a couple of hundred yards before there was somewhere I could pull in to let the ambulance pass by. One time I did this and almost immediately the next car just stopped on the road and blocked the ambulance for about a minute before they copped on that it couldn't get by.

Saw this with a Micra the other night, blocking a fire truck. Then her engine stalled, in the yellow box .....

unkel

Victor wrote:

Saw this with a Micra the other night, blocking a fire truck. Then her engine stalled, in the yellow box .....

Yep this is common as muck - only in Ireland :rolleyes:

Why don't we only allow competent drivers on our roads?

Tommy Vercetti

unkel wrote:

Why don't we only allow competent drivers on our roads?

Cuz it'd be a ghost town with only me and you around :cool:

unkel

LOL, I'm confident there'd be about 3 or 4 others as well

Seth Brundle

would you get as many as 3 or 4?
ps - like the sig unkel!

unkel

kbannon wrote:

like the sig unkel!

Ta

Someone posted something about the new 535d. When looking for some info about it on the interweb last Friday, I came across a review of the old model (E38) 740d. My sig is just the title of the review

Seth Brundle

pity its in Deutsch - translating via google (I know there are others but Im lazy!) makes it very unclear:-
"Time lot elegantly works the 7er BMW with its long stretched body (4.98 m long, 1.86 m broad, 1.44 cm highly) and the schnoerkellosen Design, which do not afterwards-run a mode current."

unkel

kbannon wrote:

schnoerkellosen Design

LOL, they got the second word right. Not too difficult as the original was "Design" as well. First word means something like "no frills" typically used in a positive way