It just gets worse

HydeRoad

Well done to the driver of the silver Audi on the N7 southbound yesterday morning.

He held back the traffic in the outside lane almost the entire way from Naas to the Curragh, at about 90-100kph, with a long, snaking line of queued traffic waiting for him to move over.

Gradually, when there was a gap between lorries, a couple managed to undertake him, while others took the exits.

Eventually, there was just one car between me and him as we passed the Curragh exit. Suddenly, he started slowing down rapidly, in the outside lane.

I guessed he was slowing down angrily because the car behind him was tailgating. But no. He slowed right down, right down, and stopped.

Stopped completely.

In the outside lane.

Now I was goosed, with flying cars coming up behind me, and swerving to undertake. As soon as I got a gap, I pulled to the left, and accelerated away, blasting the horn as I went. As I passed him, he started moving again, but drove to his right, and pulled up on the central reservation grass.

I swear, as I looked in my mirror at the swerving and braking in the distance behind me, that I saw him driving at 45 degrees across the motorway, to the hard shoulder on the left.

So no, I haven't 'seen it all.'

thomas anderson.

Sounds like the driver was in a bit of difficulty

HydeRoad

thomas anderson. wrote: »

Sounds like the driver was in a bit of difficulty

In a bit of difficulty, all the way from Naas to the Curragh? It took him all those miles to realise that he would have to slow down and stop, in the outside lane of a jam packed motorway?

His car didn't suddenly seize. He came to a nice, smooth, rolling stop. More than enough time to indicate left, and move left, to where he should have been for miles back.

CatFromHue

That's something you should report to the Gardai to be honest.

djimi

Sounds like he missed his turn and was planning on reversing back. Id like to say its the first time that I have seen/heard of this, but sadly it very much isnt...

padd b1975

At a guess, I would say he was feeling unwell and became disoriented.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

+1 on reporting to AGS

visual

Ive seen similar and horrified when they stop in overtaking lane.


M50 woman stop here range rover in over taking lane because she got a puncture
she has kids in the car too. Traffic had to brake and divert into left and middle lane. Untill Garda car arrived to warn other drivers of danager.

Nass road half way between nass and newland cross late at night traffic very light guy stops in overtaking lane gets out pops hood checks engine the jumps back in car and continues on merry way in overtaking lane dispite two empty lanes to his left and perfectly good hard shoulder


Reporting it to garda seems a waste of time as they only arrive with a speed gun looking for someone doing a few kph over the limit.

seagull

I had an elderly gent slow to a stop in front of me in the overtaking lane of the M50. There was heavy traffic in the middle lane, so I couldn't move over. He then got out of his car, and came and asked me for directions. His age disqualifies him from a Darwin award, otherwise he'd be a prime candidate.

CatFromHue

I was driving to work one morning when this car pulled in front of me and was driving really erratically and dangerously. He wasn't going that fast, average speed, but crashed into the kerb pretty hard a couple of times and was on the wrong side a few times too. He got very lucky in that no one was on the path or other side of the road when he did these things and also that the schools were out as we past 2.

I remembered the make and reg and felt like I had to ring the Gardai when I got to work as he was that dangerous. They checked the reg and seemed to know who the guy was and wanted to know did I want to make a formal complaint (to which I **** my pants lol) or they said they could have a word about his driving. I went with the informal option and never had any contact with them about it.

Whether they did or didn't do anything I dunno and whether it made any difference to his driving I dunno but it did clear my conscience over it.

ironclaw

I have it on the dash cam from earlier this week (Maybe Sunday?) but there was a truck and a jeep stopped at the end of the merge lane at Dundrum north bound M50 but both cars fully in lane 1. And there were people walking around both. Insanity.

HydeRoad

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

+1 on reporting to AGS

Well and good, but what do I report?

I didn't get the reg number, if I had had a dash camera (which I don't), I still wouldn't have got it, as there was another car between us, and I was more concerned to get the hell away from there before I was rear ended at high speed.

Where, oh where is a Garda car when you need them?

tossy

Either the driver was/is so dim that they are a danger to other road users, or they were in real difficulty health wise. Either way a call to the Gardai is a far better approach than a thread on the internet the next day, do you not agree?

Sure this place would grind to halt if we all posted our rants on the silly driving we see, and rants from others on the silly driving we too do. None of us are perfect and sh!t does happen.

visual

Reporting it to the Gardaí is onething but unless your prepared to follow it up with formal complaint and prepared to appear in court the garda can't proscute the other driver.

The most the garda can do with a report is call to registered address and ask about alleged offence and will have to accept any excuse given including must be a mistake car been sitting on driveway all day or I don't remember doing that.

TimeToShine

How are you supposed to call AGS on the road? Write down his reg no. and pull over to make the call? Call while you're on the motorway? Or wait till he's off the road at which point the damage (or lack there-of) would have already been done? And then of course go through the personal inconvenience and bureaucracy involved of getting this man prosecuted for something that may or may not be his fault or a once off?

Typical armchair advice really. I'm all for contacting the relevant authorities when needs be but in this situation there was nothing OP could have done.

The Dagda

TimeToShine wrote: »

How are you supposed to call AGS on the road? Write down his reg no. and pull over to make the call? Call while you're on the motorway? Or wait till he's off the road at which point the damage (or lack there-of) would have already been done? And then of course go through the personal inconvenience and bureaucracy involved of getting this man prosecuted for something that may or may not be his fault or a once off?

Typical armchair advice really. I'm all for contacting the relevant authorities when needs be but in this situation there was nothing OP could have done.

You're allowed to use your mobile with a handsfree kit while driving. You are also allowed to use your hand held mobile while driving if you are ringing the Gardai, or any emergency service.