Galway drivers, worst in Ireland?

kinetic

I drive over a thousand miles a week all over and can safely say Galway drivers are the most ignorant,dangerous,stupid and careless missinformed users on the roads!

I was in Dublin all day driving all around town, on the M50 and not a problem.

But as soon as i get onto the dual carriage way at Oranmore and head for Salthill,its fxxxing bedlam.They cant use roundabouts, red lights dont seem to count for the first 5 seconds of going red in Galway.Indicators are a luxury must not use item, and general bad behaviour and aggression is the norm.

I would go asfar as to say that they would not last a week in London ,New York or any other town or city.

Why are they so bad here?

galwayguy22

Galway definitely does have a lot of people who don't know how to use a roundabout, how to indicate properly at a roundabout, what lane to use on a multiple lane roundabout.

Study the following animation very carefully all you roundabout idiots.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif

I've only been living up here for 2 months or so but I've nearly crashed twice at roundabouts. When I see someone indicating to take the next exit off the roundabout, I assume I can then enter the roundabout because there's no oncoming traffic.

But assuming is wrong. I should have realized that the idiot was indicating one way but going the other. Evidently I'm the stupid one for placing to much faith in his/her indicating abilities.

JohnCleary

Sometimes I wish I was a cop just so I could pull people over for some of the terrible driving I see - I'm no saint myself, but I do like to use the oul indicators, use roundabouts correctly etc.

cornbb

This goes out to the asshat in the 4x4 that drove behind me yesterday for several miles with full beams on despite the fact that s/he was flashed by pretty much all oncoming traffic.

smackbunnybaby

Galway Drivers = Clueless
Dublin Drivers = Ignorant and Dangerous

i find Dublin drivers more infuriating because they know all the tricks, like tearing up bus lanes and swerving in front of you to get back into lane. they also never thank you for letting them into a lane etc

galwayrush

I dread seeing a MO reg car at one of the roundabouts.:rolleyes:

Blakfingernail

as bad as the driving standards go in galway,the road systems also need to be taken into account,that roundabout at tescos is a disaster,i have heard of,witnessed and been the victim to many a prang while trying to traverse that monster.

BrokenArrows

i agree that far too many people dont know how to use the roundabouts.

On my way to work in parkmore beside the briar hill dunnes the roundabout there only has 3 exits.
because of this people always seem to believe that they can drive the whole way around the roundabout on the outside lane just because there is no exit which would usually cause them to crash.

What they dont realise is that this ****s up people who are already on the roundabout and trying to get off it.

Every morning i have to almost race to get ahead of some guy who fails to take the turn he was lined up for and continues on around on the outside lane.

galwayguy22

Blakfingernail wrote: »

as bad as the driving standards go in galway,the road systems also need to be taken into account,that roundabout at tescos is a disaster,i have heard of,witnessed and been the victim to many a prang while trying to traverse that monster.

The Bodkin roundabout? Yeah three lane roundabouts are hard enough to get your head around but when 2 out of the 4 roads that go onto the roundabout are only 2 lane, with the the other two 3 lane, it actually makes no sense.

Your forced to change lanes mid roundabout, and it doesn't seem to follow the conventions of a normal roundabout.

I actually never know if I'm "doing" that roundabout correctly, I follow the markings/arrows on the road and in the end up on the correct road I want to get on without incident, but it just feels wrong for some reason.

fish fingers

galwayrush wrote: »

I dread seeing a MO reg car at one of the roundabouts.:rolleyes:

RN is another one:mad:

Hotwheels

Galway Roundabout's are a big tourist attraction...Thrill seekers from all over the Globe flock to Galway for a chance to Ride the Tesco Roundabout

Fighting Irish

The more into the country you get the worse the drivers get

Tech3

Yeah people dont seem to indicate going into roundabout around the city. I find driving up the N18 to galway really annoying cause no one seems to do the speed limit or everyone seems to think its 80 kph, same goes for fogy mayo drivers whenever I head to westport or castlebar.

Wishbone Ash

galwayguy22 wrote: »

Evidently I'm the stupid one for placing to much faith in his/her indicating abilities.

You should never proceed on the strength of another's indicator!

leninbenjamin

i take it no one here has driven in Donegal then.

RandomAccess

galwayguy22 wrote: »

Galway definitely does have a lot of people who don't know how to use a roundabout, how to indicate properly at a roundabout, what lane to use on a multiple lane roundabout.

Study the following animation very carefully all you roundabout idiots.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif

I've only been living up here for 2 months or so but I've nearly crashed twice at roundabouts. When I see someone indicating to take the next exit off the roundabout, I assume I can then enter the roundabout because there's no oncoming traffic.

But assuming is wrong. I should have realized that the idiot was indicating one way but going the other. Evidently I'm the stupid one for placing to much faith in his/her indicating abilities.

I don't trust indicators on a roundabout.
In the animation you supplied I winced when I saw the yellow car moving off as the red car signals.. watch it yourself and see why.

ScumLord

kinetic wrote: »

I drive over a thousand miles a week all over and can safely say Galway drivers are the most ignorant,dangerous,stupid and careless missinformed users on the roads!

I was in Dublin all day driving all around town, on the M50 and not a problem.

But as soon as i get onto the dual carriage way at Oranmore and head for Salthill,its fxxxing bedlam.They cant use roundabouts, red lights dont seem to count for the first 5 seconds of going red in Galway.Indicators are a luxury must not use item, and general bad behaviour and aggression is the norm.

I would go asfar as to say that they would not last a week in London ,New York or any other town or city.

Why are they so bad here?

Muhahahahahahahah!!!

No clue?!!

Blakfingernail

another thing that annoys me about galway traffic is when the traffic is heaviest,say between 4 to 6 on any given weekday,people never leave gaps so others can accesses turn offs,(sugar!,thunder and hail stones outside)which then compounds the problem.

hello by the way,im new around these parts.

galwaygirleen

NO NO NO Clare drivers are so bad... Particularly Ennis my gawd... grrr

kippy

Id have to agree with a lot of what is being said here.
I've seen a larger number of small accidents on countless roundabouts around the city, a large number of people believe its okay not to use indicators at all and have absolutely no concept of what lanes to be in on roundabouts and en even larger amount of people pay absolutely no regard to signage on roads (no turning left/right etc).
I have no issues with people driving slow (within reason) or leaving gaps to let others out (this is part of why I like Galway, less rushing around the place and a more relaxed, friendlier atmosphere).
There should possibly be a few campaigns run to educate the populace about proper roundabout technique and a bit more enforcement of the laws governing roundabouts by the powers that be, apart from that there isnt a whole lot that can be done to improve the situation.

In fairness, to quantify the situation, there may and probably are just as many bad drivers in other cities, its just that I have opportunity to go on the roundabouts around Galway on a daily basis, there were far less roundabouts I passed through in Dublin (only on the way out of the place really) so I didnt see as much bad driving on them....
Kippy

mrsdewinter

Aw, it's not just roundabouts. There's just no courtesy to fellow drivers. There's no concept of letting people out of side roads or waving people on or thanking other motorists for rare gestures of sanity.
It always makes me laugh when Dubs tell me how relaxed the buzz is in Galway. It is - until you have to drive somewhere. Simply sit into a car in the city of the tribes and watch your blood pressure soar.

poolfan

I agree,
I do a good bit of cycling and also drive around a bit. sometimes it feels like its a national day for no indicators. and some people then look at ya as if to say what the f**k are ya doing!! when you didnt know which way they were turning!

cacio

I'm just wondering, when you're soming out of town and reach the roundabout at Bohermore (beside the graveyard) and you want to go out the Tuam road, which lane to you take? The inside or the outside?
The reason I'm asking is because I've had arguments where people use the inside (left) lane because they are going straight on. They use the 'clock' system. And others use the outside (right) lane because it's the 3rd exit.

Back on topic, I've had so many near accidents at that roundabout. I head into work around 4pm and traffic is so bad coming out of town. That roundabout is usually blocked because the roads are all jammed. When I head in from the tuam rd and want to go onto the Sean Mulvoy rd, I've had to brake hard and stop dead on the roundabout so many times because people coming from Bohermore think it's ok to pull out when you're about to turn off. Twice a BUS has done this to me. The road is blocked and they still pull out when they see us coming!! And they then proceed to block up the exit because they're so f-ing long.

I hate driving during the day.

Sponge Bob

cacio wrote: »

Back on topic, I've had so many near accidents at that roundabout.

Formerly called Cemetary Cross it is best known in Galway as the "Suicide Cross" roundabout .

Zzippy

leninbenjamin wrote: »

i take it no one here has driven in Donegal then.

I lived there for several years and its not half as bad as Galway. Fewer cars + quieter roads + no rush hour traffic jams + v. few roundabouts = much more pleasant driving experience. Granted there are a lot of boy racers, but unless you want a race you can ignore them...

The one place I really hate in Galway is the Dock Road - those fcukers who drive up the RH lane and skip past all the traffic then barge their way back in just before the traffic lights - I'd love to have a rocket launcher on my car to take them out. Grrrr!

Blakfingernail

Zzippy wrote: »

The one place I really hate in Galway is the Dock Road - those fcukers who drive up the RH lane and skip past all the traffic then barge their way back in just before the traffic lights - I'd love to have a rocket launcher on my car to take them out. Grrrr!

people do that at the roundabouts at oranmore,pisses me off too!!

Bass Cadet

kinetic wrote: »

I drive over a thousand miles a week all over and can safely say Galway drivers are the most ignorant,dangerous,stupid and careless missinformed users on the roads!

I was in Dublin all day driving all around town, on the M50 and not a problem.

But as soon as i get onto the dual carriage way at Oranmore and head for Salthill,its fxxxing bedlam.They cant use roundabouts, red lights dont seem to count for the first 5 seconds of going red in Galway.Indicators are a luxury must not use item, and general bad behaviour and aggression is the norm.

I would go asfar as to say that they would not last a week in London ,New York or any other town or city.

Why are they so bad here?

Agreed. I have driven alot with work over the last few years and can safely say I've driven extensively in almost all counties. Galway drivers are shocking and probably the worst as regards urban areas that I've encountered. I almost feel like a geek for using an indicator when entering a roundabout and feel like I should get a round of applause for actually using a dual carriageway correctly...driving lane - left lane...PASSING OUT lane - right lane. Alot of galway drivers seem to think you can drive 60km/h in the fast/passing out lane of a dual carriageway. It's f**king lethal

ZorbaTehZ

cacio wrote: »

I'm just wondering, when you're soming out of town and reach the roundabout at Bohermore (beside the graveyard) and you want to go out the Tuam road, which lane to you take? The inside or the outside?
The reason I'm asking is because I've had arguments where people use the inside (left) lane because they are going straight on. They use the 'clock' system. And others use the outside (right) lane because it's the 3rd exit.

You take the left lane/outside lane. Numbering the exits doesn't even logically make sense anyways since it doesnt take into account where the exits are actually located around the roundabout, unlike the 'clock' system.

Wompa1

People not using their indicators really grinds my gears

rain on

I've been driving in Galway for just over a month now and I'm finding it a mixture of good and bad. On the bad side there's roundabout behaviour -- lanes and indicating seem to be foreign concepts around here. On the plus side I find people to be very courteous when it comes to letting other people in and out of junctions. My drive to work every day involves turning right onto the major road at two T-junctions -- i.e. crossing two lanes of heavy traffic -- and I never get held up at all; as soon as I get to the junction someone stops and lets me across. I try to repay the favour as much as possible.

big b

mrsdewinter wrote: »

Aw, it's not just roundabouts. There's just no courtesy to fellow drivers. There's no concept of letting people out of side roads or waving people on or thanking other motorists for rare gestures of sanity.

poolfan wrote: »

I agree,

I disagree.
I actually think letting people out at junctions/boreens etc is one of the few things Galway drivers are reasonably good at. Fecking annoying when they stop on a roundabout to do it though.
But erratic use of indicators, no maintenance of head, tail & brake light bulbs, going where you want to oblivious of others, forcing in to lanes rather than waiting to be allowed in, lack of knowledge of rules of the road etc etc. It's really surprising that there aren't a lot more road rage incidents.