Who are the worst drivers on Irish Roads?

Sam Kade

andrewh5 wrote: »

Which explains why driving standards here are so appalling.

Except for andrewh5 of course as he has done both tasks and is a perfect driver as a result.

CrowdedHouse

Dunno who they are but the biggest knobs on the road all seem to drive newish Passat TDI's

jaycen

Not sure, there really are so many :mad:

Only this morning I saw a BMW X3 driver hold traffic for ages until they could get across the road and park in a bus stop (Ratoath) :eek:

cormie

smokingman wrote: »

Easy, white van drivers....

Every bloody one thinks it's ok to tailgate at motorway speeds. :mad:

Excuse me! Would I have more respect from you if I changed the colour of my van? Racist towards van colour or what

Gran Hermano

Nissan Micra drivers are the worst - almost always a boy racer or a coffin dodger behind the wheel. I've noticed that the green Micra drivers are the
worst.

omega man

I have to say foreign nationals. I live close to Balbriggan and regularly drive through the town and almost everytime i come across some spectacular driving from no lights at night, driving in the middle of the road and of course the standard kids standing up in the back of the car. I do appreciate many Irish drivers are guilty of the above but with particular foreign nationals these are highly regular events :mad:

R.O.R

omega man wrote: »

I have to say foreign nationals. I live close to Balbriggan and regularly drive through the town and almost everytime i come across some spectacular driving from no lights at night, driving in the middle of the road and of course the standard kids standing up in the back of the car. I do appreciate many Irish drivers are guilty of the above but with particular foreign nationals these are highly regular events :mad:

All on the way back to Mosnia - luckily you can spot these driver's at quite a distance (beat up 90's Jap import of some sort, usually with L plates) and know to give a very wide berth.

seamus

The only time I've ever been in a vehicle that's been stopped by the Gardai for a traffic offence is in a taxi.

More specifically, we were in the taxi heading down Harrington St/South Circular towards Leonard's corner, and there's a Garda having pulled over a black taxi driver on the opposite side of the road near the lights. The taxi driver tells us, "Ah he's broken a red light - I saw him do it two minutes ago." Then he gives out about "the blacks" - "He probably doesn't even have a licence, just uses his mate's".

He's in the right-hand lane to go straight, the lights are red. Then he decides he wants to go left (to Harold's X), and just goes, through the red light.

So we get over the bridge, and there are blue lights flying up behind us - pull us in. The Garda was professional as they come. Gave him a bit of a lecture for acting the prick with four passengers in his car. The driver was trying to avoid the ticket, "Ah yeah, do you know so-and-so, he's my cousin, and inspector Joe, he's my brother in law". The Garda was having none of it, sorted him out very quickly (no more than 2 minutes to stop him and ticket him). When the Garda walked off, the taxi driver still decided to call him a ****. :rolleyes:

Bandara

The amount of foreign drivers who come into me and buy TWO bottles of wine go out to the car, sit there, drink BOTH of them and drive away is shocking, I'd say at least 2 a week. Mornings and nighttimes. I've lost count of the number of Vodka bottles I've found in the public toilet we provide, bear in mind this is in a Service Station so everyone is driving away....

About 8 months ago 2 foreign guys came into one of the garages half pissed, bought 3 bottles of wine, staff refused to serve them, the guys got very agressive with the staff (all female) who then got frightened and sold the wine to them, they then tried to get my staff toopen the wine for them, the staff refused obviously. They got a screwdriver in their car and pushed the corks into the wine and necked them in about 10 mins before driving away, I got a phonecall from the supervisor on duty, I rang the guards to tip them off, as I was speaking to the garda and giving the reg etc he stopped me and completed the rest of the Reg without my telling him, the car had been involved in a head on collision less than 3 miles from the garage.

True story.

bazz26

Gregor Samsa

Edit: Sorry, Hammertime, you answered my question in the second part of your post.

It's funny. Everyone has an opinion on who the worst drivers on the road are, and can neatly categorise them into a discrete group. Can the same be said for the best drivers on the road?

Cionád

Hammertime wrote: »

The amount of foreign drivers who come into me and buy TWO bottles of wine go out to the car, sit there, drink BOTH of them and drive away is shocking, I'd say at least 2 a week. Mornings and nighttimes. I've lost count of the number of Vodka bottles I've found in the public toilet we provide, bear in mind this is in a Service Station so everyone is driving away....

About 8 months ago 2 foreign guys came into one of the garages half pissed, bought 3 bottles of wine, staff refused to serve them, the guys got very agressive with the staff (all female) who then got frightened and sold the wine to them, they then tried to get my staff toopen the wine for them, the staff refused obviously. They got a screwdriver in their car and pushed the corks into the wine and necked them in about 10 mins before driving away, I got a phonecall from the supervisor on duty, I rang the guards to tip them off, as I was speaking to the garda and giving the reg etc he stopped me and completed the rest of the Reg without my telling him, the car had been involved in a head on collision less than 3 miles from the garage.

True story.

I know a cab driver who was in a head-on collision with a foreign national with drink on him just this weekend. The foreigner was drunk, came around a bend on the wrong side of the road and ploughed straight into the cab. The cab driver is in hospital, the size of his taxi saved him. The foreigner died instantly.

Drunk drivers are the worst, I think foreigners are more likely to drive with drink on them, although some country-folk are just as bad.

Boom_Bap

The gobsh*te in the silver Alfa 147 this morning getting onto the M50 from Finglas.
He doesnt bother using the filter lane, drives up the lane for going straight out the ashbourne direction past a long queue of cars that are waiting patiently to turn onto the M50 and then tries to cut in at the top next to me. He ended up blocking traffic behind him going straight. And because i dont let him into the lane ahead of me he gives me filthy looks like i have done something wrong.
Then heading southbound, hit the section where the new lanes are opens after Blanch and he goes straight into the overtaking lane with no traffic in the other lanes, and canters along there at about 80kph.

Lumen

"Foreign national" is such a ridiculous expression.

What's wrong with "foreigner"?

Davidth88

The amount of foreign drivers who come into me and buy TWO bottles of wine go out to the car, sit there, drink BOTH of them and drive away is shocking, I'd say at least 2 a week. Mornings and nighttimes. I've lost count of the number of Vodka bottles I've found in the public toilet we provide, bear in mind this is in a Service Station so everyone is driving away

You have to report this each and every time ! Thats crazy.

Boom_Bap

Lumen wrote: »

"Foreign national" is such a ridiculous expression.

What's wrong with "foreigner"?

Nearly as bad as African American....does that not infer that all Africans are black?

JimmyCrackCorn!

Batman, Nuns on Crack, School teachers, Ladies with menopause between the ages of 40 and 41.


Has this tired old thread not feel old to anyone else.


Here is a video. It is mild compared to my experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPxinqO3f8o

EDIT:
They do have loads of speed cameras there and that seems to help.

Berty

I have been in Eastern Europe many times and their driving standards are better than here. They do not have the same drinking habits as here.

Its the youth of the countries that come here and live it up on lots of money(compared to home) and cheap wine & spirits from Aldi and Lidl. Its like a party heaven for them.

In a village I spent some time in Latvia called Jelgava its a residential area and their attitude to alcohol is completely different. We asked in the hotel about a bar in the area. She said "but is Thursday, why would you drink on a Thursday?" They do not drink as much, they drive average cars like here and drive them fairly well. Their police are much more strict than here!

Redpunto

Grannies, eastern europeans, SUV drivers, old fellas in their mercs after a couple of pints, africans and the worst.....NISSAN MICRA DRIVERS


I am not making a sweeping generalisation at all:D

Bobo78

Cionád wrote: »

I know a cab driver who was in a head-on collision with a foreign national with drink on him just this weekend. The foreigner was drunk, came around a bend on the wrong side of the road and ploughed straight into the cab. The cab driver is in hospital, the size of his taxi saved him. The foreigner died instantly.

Drunk drivers are the worst, I think foreigners are more likely to drive with drink on them, although some country-folk are just as bad.

Most of these foreigners who drive with bottles of Vodka with them are either Polish, Russian or from countries from Baltic area.

Gary ITR

cormie wrote: »

Excuse me! Would I have more respect from you if I changed the colour of my van? Racist towards van colour or what

Damn cracker ass van dawg

Hanley

From my limited (<2 years) driving experience, the one conclusion I've drawn, and am prepared to stand by, is that people who drive company vans/car vans/trucks etc don't give a sh!t and will just force their way whereever they want to go, because ultimately, they don't have to pay for it.

I honestly cannot stand them and have wanted to get out of the car on more than one occassion.

Taxi driver's are a nightmare too. Just stick on the hazards and they can pull in and stop wherever they want. They might be turning left, they might be turning right, it might be in 10 meters, it might be in 200, but it's ok, cos they got the flashy lights on.


And taxi drivers who pull into left turn only lanes and treat it like a buslane and go straight thru. And taxi drivers who inch forward so that by the time the light turns green they're entire car is over the line. Makes my blood boil.

Berty

Hanley wrote: »

From my limited (<2 years) driving experience, the one conclusion I've drawn, and am prepared to stand by, is that people who drive company vans/car vans/trucks etc don't give a sh!t and will just force their way whereever they want to go, because ultimately, they don't have to pay for it.

I have a company car and by god do I pay for it.

Somebody with fake plates crashed into my car. My boss wont pay for it. I have to pay for it.

I pay for parking tickets which hasnt been for two years so fa. I tend to park legally.

I dont speed anymore because I grew up. I realised that overtaking 3 or 4 cars and the lights go red. They catch up anyway. Passing 100 cars on the M7/N7 makes no difference because we all hit newlands cross around the same time and 120kph is fast enough.

I pay benefit in kind which is crippling. I pay more through BIK than If I owned the car privately.

I unlike many other company drivers have more experience than most. I have Tactial Urban Emergency response drivers training from the Eastern Healthboard driving ambulanes(only place you can learn other than UK) and licensed to drive an Irish red Cross Ambulance. I have also been trained by a UK drivers training company through Hibernian for the ignition test and have more hours behind the wheel than people twice my age.

Dont paint us all with the same brush.

Like I said earlier, your only as good as the last manouveur you made on the road.

sam_mom1

08 drivers.... "oooh dont crash into my new car"... "oooh i must keep a half mile from ditch in case the bushes scratch my paintwork"

Gary ITR

Hanley wrote: »

From my limited (<2 years) driving experience, the one conclusion I've drawn, and am prepared to stand by, is that people who drive company vans/car vans/trucks etc don't give a sh!t and will just force their way whereever they want to go, because ultimately, they don't have to pay for it.

I wouldn't agree with this. Any company I worked for had a 3 strike rule, 3 incidents in the car=no job.

bennyc

andrewh5 wrote: »

Anyone who has not driven outside of Ireland and/or never had professional driving lessons.

This is so true

but also new overcautious drivers bug the f$%k out of me always in the canteen with a big story about how someone cut them off , parked to close , didnt indicate and how they blew them out of it. I have been driving since 17 (well 14 but anyway) and am 32 now and for the past 15 years have tried to keep a straight face with all the war storys from someone who just got a car within the last couple of years.

Turbury

Without a doubt - drivers from Co.Clare. Anybody who drives from Galway to Limerick on a regular basis will verify this. You drive up behind a CE reg car, its tipping along at about 40kph, driven by old or young person - doesnt matter, 10 mins later there is a back log behind them several mile long, (because there are very few chances to overtake on that road) even when they get onto the dual carriageway they can't drive properly. Mentioned this to someone else recently who agreed with me - his theory was that the driving tests in Shannon are much easier to pass that most other locations around the country.

Of course I could be wrong - maybe its all CE registered cars - not Clare drivers!

Berty

His theory about the Shannon test centre is wrong.

1. Because I failed my test there. I was very cocky and thought myself to drive.

2. Because I did my second test(passed) in Limerick and it was the same guy. He said they rotate them between Co Clare and Limerick City test centres every two months.

itarumaa

The good thing with the traffic in Ireland is that nothing suprizes you anymore.

If I see a tractor in motorway, completely normal, well for Ireland it is.

If I see a horse coming at opposite of me in country road, that is completely normal as well.

If you see car reversing out of the motorway, well that is just Irish way of driving.

I used to use horn, but not anymore, because driving standards are so crap anyway and if you use horn you only get mad yourself.

So now I just enjoy this craziness every day, and I really start to believe that there are no rules in the traffic at all, enything goes, just don´t crash.

Lumen

itarumaa wrote: »

I used to use horn, but not any more, because driving standards are so crap anyway and if you use horn you only get mad yourself.

Proper use of the horn is to alert another road user to your presence.

This is not common knowledge, apparently.