Why can't Irish drivers use lanes properly?

cros13 · 22-11-2013 09:47PM #1

It's annoyed the hell out of me for a while, particularly on the N7 and M50.

What's so hard?

Motoring forum gave up complaining on this topic a long time ago. So I'd like to hear from a broader audience like AH.

I made a video to illustrate the problem (only examples I could find on my SD).
Sorry for the video glitches... the SD card was corrupt.

wretcheddomain · 22-11-2013 09:49PM

cros13 wrote: »

Sorry for the video glitches... the SD card was corrupt.

Why can't Irish drivers use SD cards properly?

brandon_flowers · 22-11-2013 09:49PM

Because everyone does their driving test in a housing estate.

No Pants · 22-11-2013 09:50PM

cros13 wrote: »

IMotoring forum gave up complaining on this topic a long time ago.

Seriously?

BMJD · 22-11-2013 09:52PM

I blame the foreigners

Sunnyisland · 22-11-2013 09:55PM

Because we don't have a proper Garda traffic corps just dedicated to traffic, No fault of the Garda I may add.

Nabber · 22-11-2013 09:56PM

There is a lane beside me that lets me skip two traffic light, just got to be careful, it's a one way lane, I'm usually heading in the wrong direction.

But in my defense, I'm Irish.

lucky333 · 22-11-2013 09:57PM

It's just laziness and rudeness

22-11-2013 09:59PM

If only it were lanes that Irish drivers could not use properly! How about roundabouts and traffic lights.

UnhappywithBOI · 22-11-2013 10:00PM

Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'... but it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

Capt'n Midnight · 22-11-2013 10:00PM

Many reasons

Bad road marking , in far too many cases when a lane splits into to the traffic defaults to the overtaking lane

Drivers either don't know or don't care about keeping left.

And the big one is zero enforcement of the keep left rule.

They upgraded the M50 by adding a third lane in either direction. And they could have saved most of that billion euro but enforcing a strict "keep left unless overtaking" rule and allowing the hard shoulder to be used when traffic slows down to 60Kph like they do in parts of the UK.

Again that was a billion euro spent on one road to compensate for Irish drivers having no lane discipline. :mad:

Sam Kade · 22-11-2013 10:05PM

Are you Irish op?

cros13 · 22-11-2013 10:08PM

Sam Kade wrote: »

Are you Irish op?

Yup... but properly trained. My driving instructor used to run the garda driving school and I did my advanced driver training in Germany.

It's not rocket science on a 3+ lane:

Lane 1 - driving lane | Lane 2 - overtaking lane | Lane 3 - 2nd overtaking lane

Mint Sauce · 22-11-2013 10:14PM

In before fast/slow/driving/overtaking lane debate.

Pen.Island · 22-11-2013 10:14PM

What is wrong with the M50 bit?

The car is in the exit lane? Better to be in the exit lane you're exiting than possibly trying to scoot across cars when it comes to your exit.

cros13 · 22-11-2013 10:18PM

Pen.Island wrote: »

What is wrong with the M50 bit?

The car is in the exit lane? Better to be in the exit lane you're exiting than possibly trying to scoot across cars when it comes to your exit.

Not my finest examples, my own driving wasn't faultless. I should have kept more room between me and that focus and in the N7 clip I changed lanes a bit... quick.

On the M50 clip almost all the cars are in the overtaking even when the driving lane is free. They should only be in that lane while there is slower traffic in the driving lane.

It resulted in that idiot crossing the driving lane to reach the N4 exit. But I've seen accidents caused in the past, even by other traffic trying to pass legally.

Pen.Island · 22-11-2013 10:21PM

cros13 wrote: »

Not my finest examples, my own driving wasn't faultless. I should have kept more room between me and that focus and in the N7 clip I changed lanes a bit... quick.

On the M50 clip almost all the cars are in the overtaking even when the driving lane is free. They should only be in that lane while there is slower traffic in the driving lane.

It resulted in that idiot crossing the driving lane to reach the N4 exit.

I know the right hand lane is for overtaking on a motorway, but is it the same for the M50? The speed limit is only 100kph. When I come off the M4 onto the M4 I go into the right furthest lane and go the speed limit as you have to be in the right lane to exit for the M50. Are you saying I'm in the wrong?

cros13 · 22-11-2013 10:22PM

Pen.Island wrote: »

I know the right hand lane is for overtaking on a motorway, but is it the same for the M50? The speed limit is only 100kph. When I come off the M4 onto the M4 I go into the right furthest lane and go the speed limit as you have to be in the right lane to exit for the M50. Are you saying I'm in the wrong?

Lane 1 - driving lane | Lane 2 - overtaking lane | Lane 3 - 2nd overtaking lane

The driving lane is the leftmost lane of the mainline M50

On the N4 towards Dublin, to join the M50 (S) you need to be in the 2nd overtaking before the junction as it is the correct lane for your destination (as indicated by the overhead signs, i.e. don't move into lane 3 until it's signposted as the M50 (South) lane).
But for most of the length of the three-lane N4 the leftmost lane beside the bus lane is the correct driving lane. The speed you are doing doesn't matter, if it's unoccupied you should be in the driving lane.
If you are in lane 3 and someone wants to overtake you they can't legally do that in lane 1 or lane 2. The exception is the inter-junction lanes on the M50, where you can legally undertake traffic on the mainline as shown in the video.
However if you are in that lane you need to be either merging or exiting at the next junction. In that case I was going from the N7 junction to the N4 so I didn't need to join the mainline M50.

Sheldons Brain · 22-11-2013 10:22PM

Irish drivers can drive on lanes, it is roads that confuse them.

Duck's hoop · 22-11-2013 10:31PM

In the main, they're dumb, ignorant, selfish swamp donkeys who could not give a fig for anything or anybody other than themselves.

As well as the almost total disregard for lane etiquette, I'm sure if you took the mirrors off cars, many of these dolts wouldn't notice.

This evening on the M50 south, turning off for the N7, in an effort to save 5 minutes and get one over on all the 'suckers' waiting their turn, dozens of these fūckers were driving to the head of the queue and stopping dead at the exit in the driving lane.

Who gives a shìt about anybody else? Or pile ups? Just as long as they're getting one over on the idiots following the rules.

cros13 · 22-11-2013 10:50PM

Duck's hoop wrote: »

This evening on the M50 south, turning off for the N7, in an effort to save 5 minutes and get one over on all the 'suckers' waiting their turn, dozens of these fūckers were driving to the head of the queue and stopping dead at the exit in the driving lane.

I've seen that fairly often, particularly at the N7 and N4 exits on the northbound M50 at rush hour.

I think it's both lack of training and lack of forethought more than malice. But it is definitely dangerous.

The reason I used clips from this screwed up SD was that I had recorded an entire 1500km+ driving trip from Dublin to Berlin and I would have liked to have included some clips from the Autobahn.
Unfortunately all I ended up with was 20 minutes of real footage from Ireland and the UK and 30 minutes of the inter-carriage door on the chunnel.
I can safely do 240km/h on sections of the Autobahn in large part because the lane discipline is so good. They treat the rules of the road like they were handed down from the driving gods and are better off for it.

Muckit · 22-11-2013 11:04PM

If you think Irish drivers are bad, try driving in Italy!

NuckingFacker · 22-11-2013 11:07PM

Happily, my car has both a steering wheel and an accelerator. I drive around the fcukers and carry on my way.

Elmer Blooker · 22-11-2013 11:08PM

why can't Irish drivers use lanes properly?
Have you ever been in Italy? Wait a minute, have you ever been in Sicily?

Pen.Island · 22-11-2013 11:09PM

Oh yeah it grinds my gears cars skipping the queues for the exit for the N4 >:(

MadYaker · 22-11-2013 11:14PM

Its only the muck savages that have never seen a 4 lane road before that cause these problems.

22-11-2013 11:17PM

cros13 wrote: »

Yup... but properly trained. My driving instructor used to run the garda driving school and I did my advanced driver training in Germany.

It's not rocket science on a 3+ lane:

Lane 1 - driving lane | Lane 2 - overtaking lane | Lane 3 - 2nd overtaking lane

Must confess to not knowing that, for some reason I thought the middle lane was to be used the same as Lane 1.

Oh well, God bless the internet where I can learn from more enlightened people such as your good self (not being sarcastic).

Would be good to know seeing as I'm now living in the UK!

darkpagandeath · 22-11-2013 11:23PM

I love when your on a slip road going to merge with the m50 for example people in the driving lane speed up to not let you out. People in the overtaking lane move to the driving lane to not let you merge . People seem really not to like someone getting onto the motorway in front of them they never slow down to let you merge ... or my personal favourite people in the driving lane speeding up just enough so your side by side. you cant merge so you have to slow down to let them pass (as you would brake the speed limit to get in front of them) and so do the other people in the merging lane. Pretty sure dangerous driving is illegal does not seem to be enforced though.

mfceiling · 22-11-2013 11:24PM

Duck's hoop wrote: »

In the main, they're dumb, ignorant, selfish swamp donkeys who could not give a fig for anything or anybody other than themselves.

As well as the almost total disregard for lane etiquette, I'm sure if you took the mirrors off cars, many of these dolts wouldn't notice.

This evening on the M50 south, turning off for the N7, in an effort to save 5 minutes and get one over on all the 'suckers' waiting their turn, dozens of these fūckers were driving to the head of the queue and stopping dead at the exit in the driving lane.

Who gives a shìt about anybody else? Or pile ups? Just as long as they're getting one over on the idiots following the rules.

While i hate these c*nts, the bigger idiots are the f*ckwits who let them in. I've blocked c*nts like that before from getting in...one c*nt gets the window down to roar....too late...i'd the window down and told him to get to the back of the f*cking queue and if he wanted i'd kick him back there personally. Nice red face on the prick then.

cros13 · 22-11-2013 11:26PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Must confess to not knowing that, for some reason I thought the middle lane was to be used the same as Lane 1.

Oh well, God bless the internet where I can learn from more enlightened people such as your good self (not being sarcastic).

Would be good to know seeing as I'm now living in the UK!

You can stay in lane 2 on a three lane in Ireland when there is slower traffic in the driving lane. In practice you need to look ahead on the road, judge the speed of the next vehicle in the driving lane, and if they are going a good bit slower stay in lane 2 to pass them.

The main differences (AFAIR) between Ireland and the UK are the specifics of the yellow box rule (In the UK you can't enter a yellow box at all unless there is space on the other side and you can cross it without stopping or your exit of the junction is clear. In Ireland you can enter the yellow box at a junction if you are turning right (into the road with the yellow box) AND you will not block the intervening driving lane by doing so) and indicating on the motorway (in Ireland you must indicate all lane changes and in the UK *I think* you don't have to indicate when returning to the driving lane)

There are all sorts of little differences. Like in Germany you are allowed undertake in traffic if the person in the overtaking lane is doing 60km/h or less and you are passing them at equal to or less than 20 km/h more than their speed.
In Ireland the law says undertaking is allowed "in slow-moving queues" without a legal definition of "slow-moving" or "queues". That kind of legal wooliness is common in Irish law.

GreeBo · 22-11-2013 11:29PM

Muckit wrote: »

If you think Irish drivers are bad, try driving in Italy!

At least they know what lane to be in.
If you had a bad experience it's probably because you were in the wrong lane...

Why can't Irish drivers use lanes properly?

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