Driver Courtesy

Tony255

is it just me or have drivers become even more selfish in the past year, what i find especially in cork city is that people will refuse to let you pull out even if they have no where to go e.g traffic lights. It completely freaks me out, i will let people out no problem but wouldnt let 5 people go as i think it is just pissing the people off behind me but i would normally let 1 or 2 go on average.

Rant over!!!

Halfdog

Tony255 wrote: »

is it just me or have drivers become even more selfish in the past year, what i find especially in cork city is that people will refuse to let you pull out even if they have no where to go e.g traffic lights. It completely freaks me out, i will let people out no problem but wouldnt let 5 people go as i think it is just pissing the people off behind me but i would normally let 1 or 2 go on average.

Rant over!!!

If you cant beet them Join them. Try living in Dublin,

Chong

I used to have no problem letting people out, but in recent times I am more reluctant. It infuriates me when you let some one out and they dont even acknowledge you.

Tony255

Willstev wrote: »

It infuriates me when you let some one out and they dont even acknowledge you.

i feel my face getting red when that happens :mad:

Chong

Actually one time I waved for someone to come out, so I gave them a wave as you do, then they waved back and gave me the finger. Infuriated was not the word, some people have issues.

Spit62500

Tony255 wrote: »

i feel my face getting red when that happens :mad:

Best thing to do is laugh at them - really annoys them!

Alun

Willstev wrote: »

It infuriates me when you let some one out and they don't even acknowledge you.

Doesn't bother me at all, to be honest. I usually do acknowledge people who let me out, but sometimes I'm concentrating more on the traffic around me and forget. It's no big deal. If I let someone out myself, I do it because it'll help the general traffic flow, not because I crave some kind of warm, fuzzy feeling inside for having done a good deed.

Idleater

I love letting busses pull out, that infuriates car drivers so much.:D

Jimbo

I hate to say it, but I find its mostly the mothers on the school run in their big people carriers. Drives me simple

ninty9er

I generallly prefer not to let people out in front of me due to numerous experiences of getting stuck behind a few Tina ten miles an hour types after doing so. I do very often let people cross me though.

Jimbo

ninty9er wrote: »

I generallly prefer not to let people out in front of me due to numerous experiences of getting stuck behind a few Tina ten miles an hour types after doing so. I do very often let people cross me though.

And do you expect people to let YOU out?

chris85

I usually let a couple of cars out if I can. The worst thing is when i let a few people out and then the driver behind me is pissed off so tailgates me.

I always acknowledge when people let me out as would expect the same.

My pet hate at the moment is when im going down the road (a particular one nearby) and there is a generous hard shoulder and single lane> I stay in the lane and ive got the odd person who tries to undertake on the hard shoulder. Bear in mind i am doing the speed limit of 60k.

Orange69

chris85 wrote: »

I usually let a couple of cars out if I can. The worst thing is when i let a few people out and then the driver behind me is pissed off so tailgates me.

I always acknowledge when people let me out as would expect the same.

My pet hate at the moment is when im going down the road (a particular one nearby) and there is a generous hard shoulder and single lane> I stay in the lane and ive got the odd person who tries to undertake on the hard shoulder. Bear in mind i am doing the speed limit of 60k.

Drive faster and this wont happen..

chris85

Orange69 wrote: »

Drive faster and this wont happen..

Doing the speed limit and to be honest i wont break the speed limit in a spot where the guards are always checking.

Why should i break the limit?

CyberGhost

Orange69 wrote: »

Drive faster and this wont happen..

Are you joking?

The first thing my driving instructor told me when I was getting ready for a test is not give a **** about the tailgaters and never let them control me and influence my speed.

And don't think you'll get a tailgater off with speeding, those ******** chase you, and the faster you go, they go too.


Back to the topic, yes, I was thinking about this couple of days ago, and seeing this thread just proved that I'm not alone in thinking this, nobody lets you out these days, or gives you way, absolute selfishness.

Esel

ninty9er wrote: »

I generallly prefer not to let people out in front of me due to numerous experiences of getting stuck behind a few Tina ten miles an hour types after doing so. I do very often let people cross me though.

Know how you ffeel. I got stuck once behind a Minister for Finance who was double-parked outside a bank for ages. I stayed quiet though, as I heard he doesn't like people who cross him.

Orange69

CyberGhost wrote: »

Are you joking?

Kind of..

When i started driving i used to think like that, stick to the limit and dont take any notice of anyone behind you etc.. But after a couple of years on the road the principles of progress and flow become quite important to you.. There is nothing more annoying than being stuck behind person after person who sticks at or below the limit when the road is clear and they could be safely traveling 20kmph+ their current speed..

I have to admit that i never stick to the speed limit, i base my speed on what i consider safe for the current conditions.. and i have never been in an accident..

CyberGhost

Orange69 wrote: »

There is nothing more annoying than being stuck behind person after person who sticks at or below the limit when the road is clear and they could be safely traveling 20kmph+ their current speed..

Well, if the road is clear, why not overtake him?

Plus, garda started being very tricky nowadays. A friend of mine was doing 80Km/h on Naas, the road was clear....... he got points.

Orange69

CyberGhost wrote: »

Well, if the road is clear, why not overtake him?

I would consider overtaking dangerous so i try to avoid it.. Usually i just stick behind them fuming or take an alternate route when the chance arises...

I knew a guy who was killed when overtaking another car..

Tony255

i was talking to one of my friends from sweden recently as he was over here for a few weeks and he was talking about the irish attitude to hazzard lights they seem to think that by putting them on they can park wherever they want. It is so true and i have noticed it more since he said it, people just put them on wherever they want and jump out of the car and couldnt care less about the line of traffic building up behind them.

as a rule of thumb i never let myself be pressured into speeding up by the driver behind me, if i am doing the max speed limit then he can sit behind me but if there is room i will always move in as my driving instructor used to say its better to have a bad driver in front of you speeding away than behind you trying to pass.

D_murph

ninty9er wrote: »

I generallly prefer not to let people out in front of me due to numerous experiences of getting stuck behind a few Tina ten miles an hour types after doing so.

i know what you mean. it has happened to me a few times when i let out a person that held me up big time by going really slow. some gratitude :rolleyes:.

i usually let people out as much as i can in the city though because they really cant impede my progress much in busy traffic anyway.

most ppl will acknowledge that you did but every now and again you get an ignorant one that doesnt.

ninty9er

jimbo78 wrote: »

And do you expect people to let YOU out?

I don't EXPECT anything of other road users....and usually I get proven right in not expecting anything.

miss enzo

i agree people cant drive these days..... im livin in waterford and lived in limerick and ppl dont seem to be able to use roundabouts, and the amount of time ppl ahev been tailgating me is unreal.....

D_murph

miss enzo wrote: »

ppl dont seem to be able to use roundabouts,

i totally agree. i used to drive through 3 roundabouts while in a previous job and the amount of times people nearly hit me by changing lanes without looking to see if there was anyone beside me was frightening.

even as bad as going from the far left of 3 lanes on the approach to the roundabout to the far right of 3 lanes on the roudabout and back to the left lane of the dual carriageway straight ahead. cut the place to bits.

i even had one a-hole blow the horn at me because he felt i was in the wrong :mad: even though the far right lane must go right but he figured that out too late. then at the last minute he nearly clipped me while changing lanes to go straight on and even though i was in the same lane i started in, somehow it was my fault :rolleyes:. idiot.

i usually try and keep at least neck and neck with cars on the right side on roundabouts now so they will see im there and i have in the past made a few of these idiots go around again by cutting them off when they tried to do this to me. they might figure out which lane is the correct one next time around .

positron

I agree, road manners seems to be degrading here in Dublin.

Yesterday an ignoramus in a Merc SUV honked at me and seconds later flashed and over took me on the narrow Balgriffin/mayne road (R123, just after the cemetery), presumably for staying two car lengths behind the car in front of me!

The fact is, I am just back in the country after three weeks of holidays in India, where I drove nearly 2000 kms playing chicken and Russian roulette with trucks, interstate buses doing 100kph on what I can only describe as 'virtual' roads, most of the trucks by suicidal maniacs who have been driving for days non-stop, dodging hoards of slow three wheelers, cows, cyclists, elephants, pedestrians, little 50cc mopeds with dozens of hens tied its handlebars, motorbikes with entire family of five on it....

Good thing the other half was in the car to remind me that I am now back in Dublin..!!

pow wow

Anyone driven around Mahon Point in Cork on a weekend?! NEVER again. There are two lanes leading up to the centre, one goes left into the B&Q and one goes right into the main shopping centre. People think they'll be 'smart' and go into the left hand lane that moves far quicker, get almost to the lights, then just veer into the right hand lane as people are starting to move around the corner, no indicators, no regard for anyone, nothing.

A woman with lots of children in the back did it yesterday - she put her car horizontally across the left hand lane until someone let her in (even though she'd done it on purpose to beat the queue because she'd been behind me in the right lane and shot off up the left one). As a car was coming along she just plonked her front bumper in front of it so they had to let her in.

I have to say it seems most people here (I live in NI) drive on the assumption that you think hitting them would be worse so they can pretty much do what they like, including weaving in and out of lanes and popping their hazards on and stopping in flowing traffic.

craichoe

Tony255 wrote: »

i was talking to one of my friends from sweden recently as he was over here for a few weeks and he was talking about the irish attitude to hazzard lights they seem to think that by putting them on they can park wherever they want. It is so true and i have noticed it more since he said it, people just put them on wherever they want and jump out of the car and couldnt care less about the line of traffic building up behind them.

as a rule of thumb i never let myself be pressured into speeding up by the driver behind me, if i am doing the max speed limit then he can sit behind me but if there is room i will always move in as my driving instructor used to say its better to have a bad driver in front of you speeding away than behind you trying to pass.

Your Swedish buddy is taking the mick, this happens all over Europe, especially with Taxis and people with cars dropping stuff off to local businesses or waiting for friends outside their house.

The amount of times i've been stuck behind a langer with his hazards on blocking a one way street !

Have seen this in Lille (France) Dusseldorf (Germany) Den Haag (Netherlands) Antwerp (Belgium) ... the list goes on!

Its not an Irish attitude at all, it happens everywhere.

Mahon point is a total balls, its very badly setup and you can see where the frustration comes from, you stick a massive shopping center with an inadeqate system to get into it and your looking for trouble!!

To the OP:
You didn't have a D reg did you ? Alot of Cork people tend to be less likely to leave out a Dublin langer ... Although i'm not one of these, i believe Courtesy benefits the flow of traffic.

Captain Slow IRL

Anybody from Galway?! I was living down there early last year and was surprised at the courtesy displayed down there - the traffic goes so slow, that other road users seem to comprehend that it won't kill them to let you out.
I had to drive from terryland over to gmit every morning and never found trouble crossing at junctions - even bmw drivers let me out!

Now that I'm back home, every day is a battle to get over town - I wish I was in peaceful, serene Galway!

Tony255

craichoe wrote: »

To the OP:
You didn't have a D reg did you ? Alot of Cork people tend to be less likely to leave out a Dublin langer ... Although i'm not one of these, i believe Courtesy benefits the flow of traffic.

no its a C reg but it is a BMW and i definately find that people leave you out less depending on the car you drive, i seem to be tainted unfairly with the bmw sterotype

miss enzo

Tony255 wrote: »

no its a C reg but it is a BMW and i definately find that people leave you out less depending on the car you drive, i seem to be tainted unfairly with the bmw sterotype

in fairness tho alot of ppl conform to the stereotype of their car............ i mean look at merc drivers they never seem to use indicators.... its funy my dad bought a merc recently and i was behind him drivin one day, normally he'd always indicate, but in the merc he never does... its weird its like sort of merc curse or summit!!

Sully

miss enzo wrote: »

i agree people cant drive these days..... im livin in waterford and lived in limerick and ppl dont seem to be able to use roundabouts, and the amount of time ppl ahev been tailgating me is unreal.....

Im a Waterford driver. Iv been stuck behind slow drivers who have a top speed of less then 50km/hr. Frustrating on a road with a limit of 80km/hr. Plenty of room to move in and let me over take, but drivers prefer to stick to the edge of the broken white line on the road then move in and let someone pass them out.

Waterford City & County have good roads, so plenty of room for you to move in if your being talgated. I always make it my business to move in - if someone wants to go faster then me, I will move in and let them. Iv seen the odd few who dont overtake, so iv just stopped the car and let them pass.

Back to the topic.. 9/10 ill let a driver move out in front of me and most them acknowledge. Iv seen drivers force there way out, and then drive really slow. That annoys me, and is a hazzard - the horn normally makes them move in or get to the speed limit.

miss enzo

Sully wrote: »

Waterford City & County have good roads, so plenty of room for you to move in if your being talgated. I always make it my business to move in - if someone wants to go faster then me, I will move in and let them. Iv seen the odd few who dont overtake, so iv just stopped the car and let them pass.

why sold i have to move over if someone is performin an illegal maneover??? i drive at the speed limit on all roads (unless its my first time ont he road obv!) so if someone wants to sit on my h0le why shud let them but i sure as hell aint movin for em......... i brake for tailgaters!

carbsy

Lots of stressed people posting in this thread.Ever thought about doing a driving anger management course? I rarely get stressed behind the wheel - life's too short.

Anan1

miss enzo wrote: »

why sold i have to move over if someone is performin an illegal maneover??? i drive at the speed limit on all roads (unless its my first time ont he road obv!) so if someone wants to sit on my h0le why shud let them but i sure as hell aint movin for em......... i brake for tailgaters!

Have you ever heard of whiplash, miss enzo?

Random

SOmeone said that it infuriates them when people refuse to thank them for letting them out. It annoys me when people start flashing hazards, waving and what not thanking me for letting them out. Just move out, and drive on. There's no need to spend the whole day waving and thanking each other. The roads will be smoother if the guy who's just pulled out moves into second gear rather than flashing hazards.

I also dislike people who go out of their way to let people out when there's just no need to. Where the person letting someone out actually disrupts the whole flow of traffic when it's obvious the other person will get out in about 30 seconds anyway.

Dam you all! I'll drive how I want to

ninty9er

miss enzo wrote: »

why sold i have to move over if someone is performin an illegal maneover??? i drive at the speed limit on all roads (unless its my first time ont he road obv!) so if someone wants to sit on my h0le why shud let them but i sure as hell aint movin for em......... i brake for tailgaters!

As in you'll do the speed limit and not pull over, but you will pullover if you're doing below the limit (where safe to pull in a bit)??

that's ridiculous. I do the limit, but I'd prefer to come across the gom in a ditch 20 mins later than have him in my driver's seat trying to overtake and having to pull in to avoid someone else.

Their licence, my life, I know which I'd prefer lost!!

Sully

miss enzo wrote: »

why sold i have to move over if someone is performin an illegal maneover??? i drive at the speed limit on all roads (unless its my first time ont he road obv!) so if someone wants to sit on my h0le why shud let them but i sure as hell aint movin for em......... i brake for tailgaters!

Now im questioning your driving ability! Honestly, let tailgaters pass you out. Its not that big of a deal to check your mirrors and move over so there is sufficent and safe room for the car behind to overtake. Its called courtesy - **** em if they want to go faster, just move in and let them be. Your making things worse by putting increasing stress on the driver behind who will not think rationaly and may overtake causing harm to him/herself and yourself.

Just pull in and let him slide past. Stress free for both. Its dangerous driving to tailgate and equaly dangerous to break suddenly just to scare the driver behind - he might swerve, hit a ditch and die. How would you like the family to find out you caused that? Alternatively, he could hit you a smack causing you to dart forward, hit a wall and die. All because you were to ignorant to move in and let him pass you out.

Most decent driving instructors will teach you this basic rule. Do what you do in a driving test, and I think you will see a fail.

Andrewf20

I have to say that I am impressed which the amount of people that allow me out at junctions, so I do the same and 98% of the time I get a wave of appreciation or the hazard lights. In the USA they are very defiant and would rarely let anyone out or show appreciation if you let them out.

miss enzo

Sully wrote: »

Most decent driving instructors will teach you this basic rule. Do what you do in a driving test, and I think you will see a fail.

well good job i passed my test 4 yrs ago and have a nice clean licence then isnt it!:p


i just dont like ignorant ppl sittin on my tail if they wanna overtake then let them but im not gonna pull in.....


not everyone will agree with me but if i had to pull in every time i was tail gated id spend more time in the hard shoulder than on the road.


i reckon its the car a drive tho cause it never seems to happen me in other cars just in the FTO.

Sully

miss enzo wrote: »

well good job i passed my test 4 yrs ago and have a nice clean licence then isnt it!:p

Thats because you have yet to be reported. I'm sure if a guard observed what you do, you wouldn't have a clean license. And if you did it on my observation, id let the guards know people like you shouldn't be allowed have a license! No offence enzo, but that is very dangerous driving!

i just dont like ignorant ppl sittin on my tail if they wanna overtake then let them but im not gonna pull in.....

Why not though? What difference does it make? Your clearly hogging the road and going to slow for most drivers, so if you cant stick to their pace - move in and let them carry on.

not everyone will agree with me but if i had to pull in every time i was tail gated id spend more time in the hard shoulder than on the road.

Further proves my point above.

i reckon its the car a drive tho cause it never seems to happen me in other cars just in the FTO.

FTO?

ninty9er

Sully wrote: »

Thats because you have yet to be reported. I'm sure if a guard observed what you do, you wouldn't have a clean license. And if you did it on my observation, id let the guards know people like you shouldn't be allowed have a license! No offence enzo, but that is very dangerous driving!

Enzo has already stated she does the limit, so if that's not enough for most drivers, I think you'll find the Garda will be more interested in those people than her.

Sully wrote: »

Why not though? What difference does it make? Your clearly hogging the road and going to slow for most drivers, so if you cant stick to their pace - move in and let them carry on.

Any decent instructor will also tell you that when doing the limit you should not adjust your own driving for t1ts who drive up your ass. I have a friend who's likely to fail his test next week because he gets pushed up to 70 in 50 zones by some no good wan|<ers. I stick to about 55 on these roads.

Sully wrote: »

Further proves my point above.

???

Sully wrote: »

FTO?

What are you doing here!!;)

Sully

ninty9er wrote: »

Enzo has already stated she does the limit, so if that's not enough for most drivers, I think you'll find the Garda will be more interested in those people than her.

I drive around Waterford & County a fair bit and tailgating isn't that common. If its happening to the OP in Waterford a lot, I have this feeling that she's not sticking to the speed limit.

My point, if she decided to break suddenly to piss the driver off - that would be dangerous driving. There both in the wrong. I think the guards will agree that she should have moved in and reported him/her for tailgating. Best be safe then sorry.

Any decent instructor will also tell you that when doing the limit you should not adjust your own driving for t1ts who drive up your ass. I have a friend who's likely to fail his test next week because he gets pushed up to 70 in 50 zones by some no good wan|<ers. I stick to about 55 on these roads.

They sure will say that along with "move in if safe to do so". I dont think they encourage this kind of driving: "Drive to the speed limit, **** the drivers behind you. Dont move in and if they tailgate you just break suddenly. That'll show em."

What are you doing here!!;)

I'm not big into cars, but I like to talk about general driving and other car stuff. :P I'm probably one of the very few fellas that are not big into cars!

ninty9er

Sully wrote: »

They sure will say that along with "move in if safe to do so". I dont think they encourage this kind of driving: "Drive to the speed limit, **** the drivers behind you. Dont move in and if they tailgate you just break suddenly. That'll show em."

Not in resedential areas!!

E. Fudd

My pet hate was before they changed the layout of the red cow roundabout......
When you were travelling inbound and wanted to take the M50 southbound, road markings, and signosts clearly stated that the only lane for the m50 south was the far right, yet everytime I used it, w****rs in the centre lane used to decide thay wanted to take the M50 south too, therfore pushing in on top of the cars that were in the correct lane, usually beeping at them because as far as thay were concerned, they were in the right, and then also blocking city bound traffic.

Everyone just seems so aggressive on the roads today, especially in Dublin. As the OP said, driver coutesy has almost all but dissapeared.

I know I know, the above makes absolutely no sense to most people, but I've been dying to get it off my chest for sooooo long!

My other major, major pet hate is football mommy's parking in disabled parking spaces. It should be legal to slash their tyres in this case.

RANT OVER.

Sully

ninty9er wrote: »

Not in resedential areas!!

Most of those areas dont have room. Besides, its not that common in estates cause traffic is always gonna be low there.

miss enzo

Sully an FTO is a make of car... a mitsubishi 2L v6 Mivec...... proven 197bhp and 147ft/lb torque..... im more than capable of drivin the speed limits and i do.

i dont "slam" on the breaks when im tailgated i usually left foot break so that im not actually slowin down but my breaklights are on, therefore the driver behind knows to stay back...


ALSO if i was to break suddenly and was to get rearended i would win in the case as the driver behind is at fault for not keepin to the 2 second rule!

Biro

miss enzo wrote: »

ALSO if i was to break suddenly and was to get rearended i would win in the case as the driver behind is at fault for not keepin to the 2 second rule!

Well... I wouldn't be so sure... brake testing is illegal, and a second witness in the following car could possibly be the cause of you to loose a case in a situation like that.
(And I'm not accusing you or anyone and not trying to feed the arguement, just making a general observation)

250882

Great, you won in court, but you contributed to an accident involving at least 2 cars at 60mph, I love your attitude. I have been in 2 crashes so far, neither were my fault and I have learned that 30mph hurts, alot, and then you have to report the accident to the gardai, fill in paperwork, get your car fixed, chase after insurance companies and generally a whole lot of trouble. If somebody hits me while they are overtaking a car and I am on my own side of the road, I will have been in the right but I'll also probably be dead. It just seems to me that when people get into cars they become angry at everybody else on the road.

MuffinsDa

Orange69 wrote: »

I would consider overtaking dangerous so i try to avoid it.. Usually i just stick behind them fuming or take an alternate route when the chance arises...

I knew a guy who was killed when overtaking another car..

Did he have the same attitude to speeding as you do?!

GreeBo

Sully wrote: »

T Your clearly hogging the road and going to slow for most drivers,

Please explain.

v., hogged, hog·ging, hogs.

v.tr.

1. Informal. To take more than one's share of:

miss enzo

250882 wrote: »

Great, you won in court, but you contributed to an accident involving at least 2 cars at 60mph, I love your attitude. I have been in 2 crashes so far, neither were my fault and I have learned that 30mph hurts, alot, and then you have to report the accident to the gardai, fill in paperwork, get your car fixed, chase after insurance companies and generally a whole lot of trouble. If somebody hits me while they are overtaking a car and I am on my own side of the road, I will have been in the right but I'll also probably be dead. It just seems to me that when people get into cars they become angry at everybody else on the road.

was a passenger in a crash myself and yes i know it hurts..... i dont go round lookin to cause a crash.... hence why i left foot break and dont actually slow down..... all im sayin way IF i needed to stop and the guy behind crashed into me he wud be at fault for bein too close!