Well, I've seen it all now

R.O.R

I thought I'd seen just about every piece of bad driving possible on Irish Motorways, Undertaking on the hard shoulder, pulling in to the outside lane when there is no space to do so, 80mk/h in the outside lane with nothing else on the motorway, reversing back down the hard shoulder to take a missed exit (I could go on), but last night takes the biscuit.

Coming past the Naul exit, Northbound on the M1 last night at about 18.20 there is a Maroon Berlingo with it's hazards on - 2 wheels on the grass central reservation, 2 wheels on the line marking the outside of the outside lane. My initial thought was that someone had broken down in the outside lane and hadn't been able to get across to the hard shoulder. That is until I noticed the passenger closing the passenger door before running across the central reservation and jumping the wire rope.

Berlingo (minus passenger) then re-starts his journey up the M1, with me passing him on the inside lane with the hand well and truly on the horn incase he decided to swing across to the inside lane without looking.

Beggars belief, but I suppose it keeps things interesting :rolleyes:

[rant/]

Silent Partner

One of the more interesting ones I saw was a woman in a new CLS straddling the line between the hard shoulder and the inside lane. This was on the M7 near Mountmellick. I'd say at most she was doing about 50 km per hour and I doubt there was anything wrong with the car. When I passed her, she was bent over the steering wheel staring out like :eek:
I'd say it's the first time she ever drove on a motorway

Alun

That's incredible! I used to regularly see someone crouched in the central reservation on a dark, drizzly winter's morning, and then running across two lanes of motorway (M11) to get a lift from a van who stopped on the hard shoulder before, almost causing many a crash. Reported the reg no of the van and it stopped (for a while at least), but that really takes the biscuit.

geoff29

last night about 8:30pm on the N11 southbound, this little jerk in an 04 golf insisted on tailgating Every. Single. Car. for mile after mile after mile. I could not believe my eyes - he'd race up in the outside lane to a point of often maybe 1 foot behind them?! It was incredibly dangerous and you could see most cars slowing/looking like they were going to jam on to get rid of the guy - as there was nowhere for them to go themselves.

Speed limit there is very slow, and cops often out, so yeh people drive cautiously at points but, it's not the M50, you want to get by, use the other lane which became empty at points. What took the biscuit was when he kept doing it to a learner driver in a Mitsubishi - that driver was clearly having enough issues - didn't need this.

I sped up to see who was doing this. Little weiner about 20 or less, both hands at 12 on the wheel. His head barely able to see over them. Was going to write down the reg and send it to the cops but why bother. Anyway, 04 Golf, silver-ish. You are a jerk. I'm not at all an angry driver and am very patient - but this really got to me!!

dohda

Saw a good one a few months back. I was walking up to a roundabout in the middle of the day in Limerick and could not understand why there was so much traffic for that ime of day. Then the horns starting blowing. As I reached the roundabout I almost fell over laughing. There was this little old woman in a red banger driving the wrong way around the roundabout! She just kept going and going. Took ages for her to get off it and then kept going as if nothing was amiss.

Vegeta

Driving along the Limerick bypass one morning, on my way to work, I saw 2 silver haired beauties in a maroon micra driving the wrong way down the dual carriageway............in the overtaking lane.

About the worst I saw.

Vain

Vegeta wrote: »

Driving along the Limerick bypass one morning, on my way to work, I saw 2 silver haired beauties in a maroon micra driving the wrong way down the dual carriageway............in the overtaking lane.

About the worst I saw.

Dont think you could get worse than that:eek:

R.O.R

Vegeta wrote: »

Driving along the Limerick bypass one morning, on my way to work, I saw 2 silver haired beauties in a maroon micra driving the wrong way down the dual carriageway............in the overtaking lane.

About the worst I saw.

Vain wrote: »

Dont think you could get worse than that:eek:

How about in a tunnel?

A55 express road through North Wales on the way to Holyhead. Nice quick road that goes through a couple of tunnels. Luckily I was on the inside lane taking my time behind a couple of other cars, spotted headlights coming towards us on the tunnel wall.

Old giffer in a Micra and flat cap - how he got on to the wrong side of the road is still a mystery.

Vegeta

Vain wrote: »

Dont think you could get worse than that:eek:

Yeah it was one of those lost for words moments. Just OH. My. God. while shaking the head.

They had the hazards on though so it was ok.

That stretch is about 9 miles too.

Shudder to think of what might have happened if someone pulled out from behind a truck to overtake or something.

John Mason

Last night on the M50, at around 9.15pm

BMW comes out of the slip road at Tallaght, doing well over the speed limited and verved across 3 threes of traffic with an indication in sight causing the drivers on two of the lanes to hit the brakes (me being on of them)

flipping muppet

jmayo

R.O.R wrote: »

How about in a tunnel?

A55 express road through North Wales on the way to Holyhead. Nice quick road that goes through a couple of tunnels. Luckily I was on the inside lane taking my time behind a couple of other cars, spotted headlights coming towards us on the tunnel wall.

Old giffer in a Micra and flat cap - how he got on to the wrong side of the road is still a mystery.

That has to be the winner ;-))
As for the other things, I have spotted all of them at one point or another.
Indeed did see lady, not old either, drive wrong way around Parkway roundabout in Limerick, back in the days when it was linking to the main Dublin road, pre bypass days.
What was astonishing was that the roundabout was busy at aroudn 4pm on weekday, so any sane person would have thought I'll go the same direction as all the other traffic, but hell no.
Also have three times met traffic going wrong way down dual carriageways.
It is scary because you are not sure what they are going to do next.

Vain

Vegeta wrote: »

Driving along the Limerick bypass one morning, on my way to work, I saw 2 silver haired beauties in a maroon micra driving the wrong way down the dual carriageway............in the overtaking lane.

About the worst I saw.

R.O.R wrote: »

How about in a tunnel?

A55 express road through North Wales on the way to Holyhead. Nice quick road that goes through a couple of tunnels. Luckily I was on the inside lane taking my time behind a couple of other cars, spotted headlights coming towards us on the tunnel wall.

Old giffer in a Micra and flat cap - how he got on to the wrong side of the road is still a mystery.

How funny both drivers were driving micras:D
Dont get me started on micra drivers:rolleyes:

Biro

Vegeta wrote: »

Driving along the Limerick bypass one morning, on my way to work, I saw 2 silver haired beauties in a maroon micra driving the wrong way down the dual carriageway............in the overtaking lane.

About the worst I saw.

Funny, I was coming home from work one evening, traffic was quiet, on the dual carrigeway also in Limerick. Some pleb was on the overtaking lane, kind of over towards the hard shoulder on the right (central isle). Then I realise that he's facing me, indicating right. After I slow down out of fear and disbelief, and pass him wondering to myself am I imagining things, he proceeds to turn right onto the slipway to exit the DC. He obviously passed his exit, swung her round on the DC and proceeded along the hard shoulder on the overtaking lane back to his exit. Thing is he was in his early 20's by the look of him.
I hadn't the wherewithall to take his reg unfortunately, as I was too busy trying to sus out what was happening first then wondering what the hell he might do next as I approcahed!

L1011

My mother once got on AA Roadwatch for going down the wrong slip of the N3 (wrong side of the dualler) and taking ten minutes to get back off it...

dade

R.O.R wrote: »

How about in a tunnel?

.

didn't some gob****e do that in the port tunnel recently? she drove into it realized she was suppose to come off the Whitehall exit and not enter the tunnel and she just did a u turn and drove back out.

cjt156

dade wrote: »

didn't some gob****e do that in the port tunnel recently? she drove into it realized she was suppose to come off the Whitehall exit and not enter the tunnel and she just did a u turn and drove back out.

I actually witnessed this about a month after the tunnel opened. Tourist coming from the airport in a rental I'd imagine, pulled a U-turn just inside the tunnel & went merrily back up the M1. Lucky it was a Sunday morning & practically no traffic.

Tunnel shut for about 10 mins, then off we go again!

Capital Slow

geoff29 wrote: »

last night about 8:30pm on the N11 southbound, this little jerk in an 04 golf insisted on tailgating Every. Single. Car. for mile after mile after mile. I could not believe my eyes - he'd race up in the outside lane to a point of often maybe 1 foot behind them?!
...........................................................................................
I sped up to see who was doing this. Little weiner about 20 or less, both hands at 12 on the wheel. His head barely able to see over them. Was going to write down the reg and send it to the cops but why bother. Anyway, 04 Golf, silver-ish. You are a jerk. I'm not at all an angry driver and am very patient - but this really got to me!!

Break test him!!! Why not?;)

Sully

Was on a dual carriage way yesterday leaving Waterford. I was in the right lane and another car was slightly ahead of me in the left lane. Out of nowhere a van drives right up to my bumper I assume to get me to speed up. When I slowed down in defense, he tried to move lanes and cut out in front of me but was unable to do so despite his best efforts. I made sure he got a full blast of the horn until I made my exit of the carriageway to get a "Up Yours" finger in return.

Always see people using wrong lanes on roundabouts for going straight even with traffic right beside the car.

Boom_Bap

The thing that disturbs me the most is people cutting lanes on the roundabout.

For example, me in the right lane, car beside me in the left lane waiting to the join the roundabout.
I'm turning right, other cars is assumed to be going left or straight.
When safe, both me and the other chump drive on.
Chump in other car decides to cross over to my lane on the roundabout and then takes the second exit. Me has to brake on the roundabout so said chump can continue driving without knowledge of them being a danger to the road....all cars on roundabout behind me have to also brake, affecting all other traffic joining the roundabout.

dade

Boom_Bap wrote: »

Chump in other car decides to cross over to my lane on the roundabout and then takes the second exit. Me has to brake on the roundabout so said chump can continue driving without knowledge of them being a danger to the road.....

that just ****s me off. I'm living in swords and travel along the Drinan interchange and every bloody day some idiot cuts from the left lane on the road to the right lane on the roundabout to the left lane on the road.

Fozzie Bear

Vegeta wrote: »

Driving along the Limerick bypass one morning, on my way to work, I saw 2 silver haired beauties in a maroon micra driving the wrong way down the dual carriageway............in the overtaking lane.

About the worst I saw.

Had that last week also. Was driving a truck along the dual carriage way heading out from Galway city to Oranmore. Noticed the cars ahead of me breaking and pulling over to the left lane and then seen why! A Micra facing towards me with its hazards on parked on the grass verge in the central reservation just across from the Galway clinic. Three old dears inside looking very confused and unsure of what to do. How they managed to get there is beyond me.

Also seen something similiar at Tom Hogans in Ballybrit last year. Another old chap and his wife exited the petrol station and turned right on a dual carriage way! Did not take him long to figure out he was going the wrong way when he ended up face to face with a lorry coming the other way.

slimjimmc

Once met an idiot on the N7 driving wrong way on the hard shoulder so that he could take a shortcut to a house. Peak evening traffic going west, him going east :eek:. Must have been trying to stay unnoticed 'cause he had no hazards or headlights to warn people. He obviously decided to nip down an exit 1km away rather than do the correct thing which was to take the eastbound side a few km, cross at the next flyover and drive back up the westbound side to the house. Lazy fecker.