Town/urban driving in heavy traffic

**Timbuk2**

I have a full licence, and I am fairly competent at driving but driving today in the centre of Dundalk has made me doubt my abilities.

The traffic was awful. Lots of stop starting, people crossing without looking and women pushing prams out onto the road to stop traffic. Queues of cars waiting to turn right etc. Thank God I had my mother with me. Except this town driving presented many situations where I genuinely didn't know what was the correct thing to do. A lot of these had to do with 'Should I let him go?' etc.

For example, there was a queue of start stop traffic on the main street. The car ahead was blocking cars from emerging from a side road (it wasn't a box junction or anything so I think he was entitled). I let a driver out of the side road (I didn't beckon I just didn't move forward to let him make up his own mind). However, after he went through my mother tells me to move forward because if I stay behind they'll all come out. What is the correct course of action here?

Also when reverse parallel parking, how can you stop cars from pulling up right behind you, thus blocking you? Normally, they anticipate what you are going to do and stay behind, but today the car pulled up right behind me, and I had to drive on and find another space. This is what I do. When I see a space up ahead I check mirrors and signal left, going slow so cars realise what I'm trying to do. I drive up past the space and try to get it into reverse as quick as possible, so the lights come up. Then I reverse in. I did this today and a car pulled up behind me, and then nothing could be done as all the cars pulled up behind him.

Trying not to ask a vague question, but how do you know when to let somebody go and when not to. A lot of times I'd be trying to turn right into a carpark when cars coming the opposite direction are trying to pull into a carpark on my left, their right. (Those familiar with Dundalk - the two car parks opposite each other at the Long Walk Shopping centre, near the cinema). My mother was regularly saying that 'You should have let him turn, then you could have turned" etc.

tl;dr - Does anyone have any tips for town driving, in heavy, start-stop traffic, with lots of people randomly crossing roads, especially when should you let somebody go ahead of you and when you shouldn't?

Thanks for reading - sorry for the essay

Midnight_EG

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

I have a full licence, and I am fairly competent at driving but driving today in the centre of Dundalk has made me doubt my abilities.

Hey, just remember you passed your test, and that's an indication that you can drive well. Don't doubt yourself and be confident in your ability, just be aware and be ready to change in due course!

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

The traffic was awful. Lots of stop starting, people crossing without looking and women pushing prams out onto the road to stop traffic. Queues of cars waiting to turn right etc. Thank God I had my mother with me. Except this town driving presented many situations where I genuinely didn't know what was the correct thing to do. A lot of these had to do with 'Should I let him go?' etc.

The joys of driving in a town/village.

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

For example, there was a queue of start stop traffic on the main street. The car ahead was blocking cars from emerging from a side road (it wasn't a box junction or anything so I think he was entitled). I let a driver out of the side road (I didn't beckon I just didn't move forward to let him make up his own mind). However, after he went through my mother tells me to move forward because if I stay behind they'll all come out. What is the correct course of action here?

I'd usually let 1 or 2 cars out then close up the gap, but it generally depends on how nice you're feeling! You have no obligation to let them go if there's no box or sign telling you to heed way, but nicety can occur and it's only an extra couple cars to the queue eh :P

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Also when reverse parallel parking, how can you stop cars from pulling up right behind you, thus blocking you? Normally, they anticipate what you are going to do and stay behind, but today the car pulled up right behind me, and I had to drive on and find another space. This is what I do. When I see a space up ahead I check mirrors and signal left, going slow so cars realise what I'm trying to do. I drive up past the space and try to get it into reverse as quick as possible, so the lights come up. Then I reverse in. I did this today and a car pulled up behind me, and then nothing could be done as all the cars pulled up behind him.

What you're doing is correct, by indicating you're telling people of your intention to turn in or park. Just remember that people in reverse have no right of way, and common sense should dictate the minds of drivers behind you but in this case it clearly didn't.

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Trying not to ask a vague question, but how do you know when to let somebody go and when not to. A lot of times I'd be trying to turn right into a carpark when cars coming the opposite direction are trying to pull into a carpark on my left, their right. (Those familiar with Dundalk - the two car parks opposite each other at the Long Walk Shopping centre, near the cinema). My mother was regularly saying that 'You should have let him turn, then you could have turned" etc.

When it's safe to do so, complete your turn. Check for cars coming up either behind you or behind them and make a decision as to whether it's safe or not to turn/let them turn.

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

tl;dr - Does anyone have any tips for town driving, in heavy, start-stop traffic, with lots of people randomly crossing roads, especially when should you let somebody go ahead of you and when you shouldn't?

Thanks for reading - sorry for the essay

Done, all according to my opinion :P

af_thefragile

Driving around Dublin city center has taught me pretty well how to handle heavy traffic.
I remember the first time I drove in the city center during rush hour, I was absolutely terrified and was constantly praying I wouldn't get involved in any accident or anything.

But now I don't find it any more difficult than driving anywhere else. Its just boring and tires out your left leg from all that clutch control in the slow moving traffic. Really wish I had an automatic when in they city center...

Anyway, to answer your questions:

If a driver is stuck in a side road, its really upto you if you wanna let him in or not. You have the right of way here. The only reason you'ld let someone in is out of pure courtesy. If i'm relaxed and in no rush, I'ld usually let someone in and then move on. Not more then 1-2 cars or else you're holding traffic behind you. Just move back up after you've let 1-2 cars in and close the gap. I usually flash my head lights to let someone know I'm allowing them in. It just quickens the process and won't leave the driver guessing if you're gonna allow him or not.

If I'm in a hurry, I usually just move on and leave it to the someone behind to do the courteous thing. Or the driver will just have to wait till he finds a gap in the traffic to move in.

I still haven't learnt how to parallel park so I just avoid parallel parking for now. But I guess in your situation if someone pulls up behind you while you're trying to park, the best you can do is to shake your fist at them and move on to find another space.

And about that car park issue, I was in a similar situation during my pretest on wednesday, it wasn't a car park but a traffic junction where I wanted to turn into the right lane and a person coming from the opposite direction was turning to his right (my left). Over here I guess you just have to wait and see if the other driver is gonna make the turn first or if he's allowing you to make the turn first. I waited for the other guy to make his turn and then when there was no one coming I made my turn.



To sum it up, driving in heavy traffic is pretty simple. You just need to have patience and just do what feels right. Everyone is moving pretty slow so if you're careful there shouldn't be any accidents. Just follow the car in front of you. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you've been there a few times, its nothing difficult. Just keep an eye out for the cyclists and bikers. If you just follow the car in front without making any abrupt turns, the cyclists and bikers will negotiate their way around you and so you don't need to worry too much about them either. And also about pedestrians, just keep an eye out for them as well. Nothing to get nervous about. As you're moving pretty slowly, if anyone suddenly jumps in front of you, you'll still have plenty of time to brake and even if you do hit them, it shouldn't be anything serious, unless its an OAP probably...

Midnight_EG

On the topic of parallel parking, the other day I was pulling into SuperValu in Rathfarnham, across from RJ's.


I spotted a spot where I could parallel park, so I moved ahead, and went to swing in, I'm halfway in and this numpty in a micra, in the spot directly behind where I was going decides she's jump forward 5 yards and stop. So I got out of my car, stood beside her and asked does she realise what angle my car was at right now?



She then says....oh....you were going in.....YES YOU NUMPTY!


5 seconds later and I'm in, straight as a whistle and 2 cm from the kerb, job done




Moral of the story: Watch those grannies :pac:

tenchi-fan

I'm from Dundalk too. I don't even try to reverse parallel park because I'm so bad at it (I learned in a little dinky car so can't park a saloon). If you indicate people are meant to give you space to reverse parallel park, but some people are just too ignorant or unobservant to realise you were parking.

Best thing you can do is keep your foot on the break until the car behind stops.. if they go to move again, break again and give them a dirty look in the mirror. Then drive forward and get the reverse light on as soon as possible. If they blocked you from parking and there isn't a lot of traffic, stay where you are and let them attempt to go around you.

As for letting people go, I generally let one person go, then go myself.. a sort of filter system. You're not in any hurry after all, and it shows courtesy but it stops everyone from driving out in front of you.

If you're waving someone on, just make sure it's safe for them to go and they won't end up blocking the other side of the road.

daveharnett

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

The traffic was awful. Lots of stop starting, people crossing without looking and women pushing prams out onto the road to stop traffic. Queues of cars waiting to turn right etc.

I find busy urban streets hard work too. It can be difficult to process all of the potential hazards if you are travelling at any kind of pace, particularly with a line of parked vehicles on the nearside.

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

For example, there was a queue of start stop traffic on the main street. The car ahead was blocking cars from emerging from a side road (it wasn't a box junction or anything so I think he was entitled). I let a driver out of the side road (I didn't beckon I just didn't move forward to let him make up his own mind). However, after he went through my mother tells me to move forward because if I stay behind they'll all come out. What is the correct course of action here?

I'd agree with your course of action. If you are stopped before a junction, it costs nothing at all to allow one or two people to enter the road in front of you, and makes life a tiny bit more pleasant for everyone.

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Also when reverse parallel parking, how can you stop cars from pulling up right behind you, thus blocking you? Normally, they anticipate what you are going to do and stay behind, but today the car pulled up right behind me, and I had to drive on and find another space.

Again, no problems with your approach. Indicating and slowing in good time is about as much as you can do. If you are experiencing the nagging sensation (you know the one ) that the driver behind you is a moron, a couple of flashes of the hazards (after you start to indicate) improves your chances a little too.

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Does anyone have any tips for town driving, in heavy, start-stop traffic, with lots of people randomly crossing roads, especially when should you let somebody go ahead of you and when you shouldn't?

It's a tough question to answer in general terms. All I would say is that it's important to be decisive. Your positioning, acceleration and speed are all important in communicating your intentions to other motorists. If you haven't made up your mind in good time, you will have to hesitate, which is when things get unpredictable.

challengemaster

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

For example, there was a queue of start stop traffic on the main street. The car ahead was blocking cars from emerging from a side road (it wasn't a box junction or anything so I think he was entitled). I let a driver out of the side road (I didn't beckon I just didn't move forward to let him make up his own mind). However, after he went through my mother tells me to move forward because if I stay behind they'll all come out. What is the correct course of action here?

You have no obligation to let anyone out - poor feckers could be sitting there all day in fairness, hence, let 1-2 out and move up is the usual. Otherwise, the entire line of traffic held up there usually attempts a cheeky one and YOU will never get moving again.

Also when reverse parallel parking, how can you stop cars from pulling up right behind you, thus blocking you? Normally, they anticipate what you are going to do and stay behind, but today the car pulled up right behind me, and I had to drive on and find another space. This is what I do. When I see a space up ahead I check mirrors and signal left, going slow so cars realise what I'm trying to do. I drive up past the space and try to get it into reverse as quick as possible, so the lights come up. Then I reverse in. I did this today and a car pulled up behind me, and then nothing could be done as all the cars pulled up behind him.

You can't really stop them from doing it - cos you can't stop them from not observing and being shít drivers. Unless you get a pop-up sign saying "STAY BACK, I AM PARKING HERE" or something...

As Midnight_EG already said, anyone in reverse has no right of way. If you really feel like its the only place you will get parking, and there's just the one numpty up yer arse - leave the indicator on, put down your window and tell him to go around you. The person behind may have more patience/cop on and let you park. While not technically correct, it may be essential at times... Other option would be; get out of the car, walk back to theirs, ask where they learned to drive and can they not see you're trying to park here. Moving on is always a last resort

Trying not to ask a vague question, but how do you know when to let somebody go and when not to. A lot of times I'd be trying to turn right into a carpark when cars coming the opposite direction are trying to pull into a carpark on my left, their right. (Those familiar with Dundalk - the two car parks opposite each other at the Long Walk Shopping centre, near the cinema). My mother was regularly saying that 'You should have let him turn, then you could have turned" etc.

Funnily enough, this is actually covered in the rules of the road. IIRC, it advises a synchronized turn. Basically, neither one has right of way in this situation - so both going together (without crashing into eachother) is the best solution. The only problems are, does the other driver have the cop on to do that, and is he going to be overtaken on the left while you're moving?