Dangerous Overtaking

Mo60

Do some drivers have a death wish?

Earlier this evening I was driving down from the North on the N52. On some parts there are numerous bends and the speed limit drops down to 80kph. I was keeping to this speed limit and there was a driver behind me tailgaiting - nothing new there! But every time there was a straight stretch of road they attempted to overtake, even with traffic coming the opposite way. They finally overtook - at a crossroads with turning lanes and chevron road markings.

Even if they have no regard for their own safety do they ever think of others?

corktina

are you suggesting that Irish Drivers only think of themselves? surely not!

mathepac

Are you suggesting that Irish drivers think? Surely not!

sh1tstirrer

Are posters 2 and 3 referring to themselves or every other driver?

Markcheese

Are you suggesting that the irish can drive....
Surely not

mathepac

Are you suggesting Irish tinkers can drive? Surely not!

dar83

I'm suggesting less After Hours replies from here on...

Op if he tried numerous times and you were aware of it, why didn't you pull in and let him pass on one of the occasions it was safest to do so?

Mo60

dar83 wrote: »

I'm suggesting less After Hours replies from here on...

Op if he tried numerous times and you were aware of it, why didn't you pull in and let him pass on one of the occasions it was safest to do so?

There was nowhere safe to do so. Its single lane in both directions with no hard shoulder.

Anyway, are you supposed to pull in just because someone is trying to bully you into pulling in by driving dangerously by tailgaiting?

road_high

dar83 wrote: »

Op if he tried numerous times and you were aware of it, why didn't you pull in and let him pass on one of the occasions it was safest to do so?

Exactly. Too many "safe" slow coaches on Irish N roads dictating what speed everyone else should go at. "I'm driving at the speed limit therefore I am entitled to hog the white line and hold everyone else up" :rolleyes:

Mo60

mfitzy wrote: »

Exactly. Too many "safe" slow coaches on Irish N roads dictating what speed everyone else should go at. "I'm driving at the speed limit therefore I am entitled to hog the white line and hold everyone else up" :rolleyes:

As I posted originally there were numerous bends which is why the speed limit drops to 80kph.

I can assure you I am not a 'slow coach', as anyone I've had as a passenger would verify. But I do like to drive at a safe speed according to conditions.

dar83

Mo60 wrote: »

Anyway, are you supposed to pull in just because someone is trying to bully you into pulling in by driving dangerously by tailgaiting?

For your safety and the the safety of others then, yes! Does that not make sense? Let them go and endanger themselves and hopefully not anyone else.

Mo60

dar83 wrote: »

For your safety and the the safety of others then, yes! Does that not make sense? Let them go and endanger themselves and hopefully not anyone else.

So eveytime someone tailgates you should pull in?

Seeing the amount of tailgating that goes on, not just to me, there would be more people at the side of the letting the bullies pass than on the road itself.

S28382

I was driving the M6 on friday and some woman was driving in the overtaking lane at 100km i hate fu**ers that do that, if you dont feel like sticking to the speed limit fair enough do it in the proper lane, some folks dont have a clue how to drive on a motorway, the joys of driving in ireland eh:P

rich.d.berry

mfitzy wrote: »

Exactly. Too many "safe" slow coaches on Irish N roads dictating what speed everyone else should go at. "I'm driving at the speed limit therefore I am entitled to hog the white line and hold everyone else up" :rolleyes:

That ranks amongst the most idiotic replies I have ever seen posted on Boards.ie

dar83 wrote: »

For your safety and the the safety of others then, yes! Does that not make sense? Let them go and endanger themselves and hopefully not anyone else.

It doesn't make sense to me. If an aggressive driver is bullying the OP then he/she will do it to others too. The OP made it quite clear that there were no passing opportunities. Why make the OP responsible for the aggressive, tailgating moron's behaviour?

OP, in such cases it is worth noting the number plate and reporting to TrafficWatch. If a few complaints come in for the same vehicle then action is taken against the registered keeper.

hoodie6029

Mo60 wrote: »

There was nowhere safe to do so. Its single lane in both directions with no hard shoulder.

Anyway, are you supposed to pull in just because someone is trying to bully you into pulling in by driving dangerously by tailgaiting?

That's fair enough. I'd just leave him/her behind me and concentrate on the road ahead.

I was in a similar position a few weeks back. Guy was so desperate to overtake me and the car in front of me he was about to go at a junction. Only the car in front was turning right. I was watching the road so I hit the horn. The guy in front didn't turn right and the gent in the audi pulled back in behind.

I shudder to think of what could have happened....

dar83

rich.d.berry wrote: »

It doesn't make sense to me. If an aggressive driver is bullying the OP then he/she will do it to others too. The OP made it quite clear that there were no passing opportunities. Why make the OP responsible for the aggressive, tailgating moron's behaviour?

The OPs concern was about themselves and the aggressive driver, I gave them a solution to ease their own anxiety in said situation. Would you rather they maintain their road position and be more concerned with the aggressive driver behind them than other potential dangers etc... ?
The bully probably will do it to other people, but should that be the OPs concern?

rich.d.berry

dar83 wrote: »

For your safety and the the safety of others then, yes! Does that not make sense? Let them go and endanger themselves and hopefully not anyone else.

dar83 wrote: »

The OPs concern was about themselves and the aggressive driver, I gave them a solution to ease their own anxiety in said situation. Would you rather they maintain their road position and be more concerned with the aggressive driver behind them than other potential dangers etc... ?
The bully probably will do it to other people, but should that be the OPs concern?

You're the one who made the statement that letting him past would make it safer for others. Then you ask for opinions on whether it makes sense or not.

You then go on to say that "The bully probably will do it to other people" which agrees with what I said.

The only remaining point of departure is the "letting him past" bit. Even where there is a hard shoulder, pulling into it to let other vehicles past is a hazardous manoeuvre because of the bad surface and the potential puncture causing debris and because it is often difficult to rejoin the traffic lane with other following drivers attempting to bully their way through as well. I would only consider doing so on a straight road where I can see hundreds of yards ahead that it is clear and safe for me to move over. To suggest doing so on a twisty road, even with a hard shoulder, is bad advice in my opinion. Without a hard shoulder it is unthinkable. All that has to happen is for the offside drive wheel to lose traction in the mud and you're stuck and an even greater hazard to yourself and others, or even worse, you lose control and crash.

dar83

It would make it safer for others, as there would be no situation of one car trying potentially dangerous manoeuvres to get around another that was preoccupied with the car behind...
And that was rhetoric, not asking for opinion.

Point 2, a bully will do that to everyone they meet, so of course I'm agreeing there's no reason not to.

I don't know the road in question exactly, but the OP stated that only parts of it were bendy and an 80 limit (which is where this driver became most apparent). I find it hard to believe there are no parts of a National road in between these section(s) that wouldn't have given the opportunity to at least pull in to the left slightly and let someone by. I wasn't directly suggesting pulling in on a bend to let someone passed, that's just common sense not to do.

My reason for replying in the first place was to suggest something to try and help the OP not be so bothered by a similar situation in future, not get into an argument about the exact right thing to do for everyone in the same situation. Each to their own and all that.

tommyombomb

Agree I am travelling on the limerick to Mitchelstown road and fairly bendy with only a few places to pass out. I have been obeying the speed limit as roads wet and tires bald. I find that there is some crazy overtaking.

What kills me is when I am going quicker(tires not bald and dry road) you will get a plonker in front of you going 60-70 and speeding up in the straights to 80-100 and also going over the White line. These c*nts are what can cause an accident.

Also don't worry about people tailgating as long as you don't speed up on the straights.

Monty Burnz

Mo60 wrote: »

As I posted originally there were numerous bends which is why the speed limit drops to 80kph.

I can assure you I am not a 'slow coach', as anyone I've had as a passenger would verify. But I do like to drive at a safe speed according to conditions.

On the other hand, why should someone who is in a hurry but travelling at the speed limit slow themselves down to let a tailgating clown past them?

Mo60

dar83 wrote: »

It would make it safer for others, as there would be no situation of one car trying potentially dangerous manoeuvres to get around another that was preoccupied with the car behind...
And that was rhetoric, not asking for opinion.

Point 2, a bully will do that to everyone they meet, so of course I'm agreeing there's no reason not to.

I don't know the road in question exactly, but the OP stated that only parts of it were bendy and an 80 limit (which is where this driver became most apparent). I find it hard to believe there are no parts of a National road in between these section(s) that wouldn't have given the opportunity to at least pull in to the left slightly and let someone by.

The 80kph limit goes on for a long part of the area in question and there is no place to safely pull in. It does increase to 100kph but only when it becomes a wider straight road and therefore safer to overtake. So why would the driver behind me not wait until then to safely overtake?

My original post had nothing to do with anxiety, I have driven all over Ireland and the UK so nothing suprises me anymore.

Dont ask me to find a link but was there not a big thing a few years ago about it being against the law to drive on the hard shoulder and that includes driving on it to allow other cars to pass you.
I set my speed limiter on the car to the speed limit and ignore anyone behind me. If some one drives up my arse I stick the fog lights on for a few seconds and they tend to pull back sharpish.

dar83

Thanks for the clarification, I obviously got the wrong end of the stick for the reasons for topic, my bad.

In that case, a55holes be a55holes, obviously just didn't want to slow down for the 80 zone, hence the tailgating.

Wetbench4

The people who get to me are the ones who plod along at 80 in a 100 zone, and then when you get a village or town, the speed limit drops to 60 or 50 and they just continue on at the same speed of 80 ish. They are both driving too fast and too slow in the same journey. They have no clue of how to drive.Wrecks my head.

christmas2012

See any dangerous driving call the Garda Trafficwatch on 1890205805

Mo60

Mo60 wrote: »

Anyway, are you supposed to pull in just because someone is trying to bully you into pulling in by driving dangerously by tailgaiting?

Yes.

opti0nal

salonfire wrote: »

Yes.

...and then call the Gardai..