Crazy bank Holiday driving

Thumpette

Until about 30 mins ago i always assumed the higher levels of road fatalities on Bank Holiday weekends were due to increased volumes ofdrivers on the road but i have just revised that opinion!

I was actually working today(english company booo) so I did my normal commute home from leixlip, M4, N4, M50 north.... I would consider myself a good driver, and at least a considerate driver, and have, for the most part found my gellow commuters on this daily grind to be the same. I'm not asking for waves and banners here, just the cmall considerations such as allowing to change lanes if nessesary and safe etc.

I was genuinely shocked today at some of the driving on the road. For one thing the traffic was a bit lighhter than usual, flowing pretty freely which normally makes for a nice stress free journey home. Today i (and many other people I observed) were beeped, flashed, overtaken dangerously, undertaken, no indicators were used, people did crazy overtaking as 2 lanes merged into one, causing me to have to break very suddenly. I try not to speed but i certainly was not going slow- and this behaviour was unnessesary!

Even though my drive only took 30 mins today instead of what is often, 45, 60 or even more I feel much more stressed than usual!

What is with the crazy bank Holiday driving? is it irregular drivers, not used to commuting and traffic, is it the fact most are probably nearing the end of a long trip? I dont know what it is- but I certainly have a new insight into the accident figures.

igglou

I agree!

We drove home from Port Laoise yesterday and I now think that County Councils should save money on painting the centre white lines on roads now cause very few notice them anymore. Overtaking coming towards you making you dive into the hard shoulder if there is one, and over taking lines of traffic on bad bends and driving very slowly to get in before on coming traffic.

One woman pulled in to light a cigarette and just pulled back out infront of another car with no indication and not checking mirrors!

Mr Benevolent

I'm firmly of the opinion that most people lose 50 IQ points as soon as the get behind the wheel of a car. I always assume that they'll do the stupidest thing in the stupidest way at the worst time.

Yakult

Thumpette wrote: »

I was genuinely shocked today at some of the driving on the road. For one thing the traffic was a bit lighhter than usual, flowing pretty freely which normally makes for a nice stress free journey home. Today i (and many other people I observed) were beeped, flashed, overtaken dangerously, undertaken, no indicators were used, people did crazy overtaking as 2 lanes merged into one, causing me to have to break very suddenly. I try not to speed but i certainly was not going slow- and this behaviour was unnessesary!

Seems to be the typical driving I've experience each and every time I've been on that road. Not just on the BHW..

ottostreet

i suppose its the fact that traffic IS lighter, that means that the risks people wouldnt normally take, are taken!

L1011

I got flashed for pulling out in to a huge space on the M4 today, does seem to be more twats on the road than normal. Yer man must have assumed that I wasn't going to speed up after pulling out (or wasn't capable, if he assumed I have the normal engine for my car)

Mossy Monk

Idiots drive every day of the week. It isn't confined to Bank Holiday weekends. The drive to work this morning was sublime. No traffic as far as the eye could see. On the way home though :mad:

EPM

Was going to go to ranting and raving with this but i may as well post here...drove back from dublin to cork this morning. On the motorway had the cruise set to 120 and passed a 307 moving slower. Like a rocket he overtook again and went back to his 110 ish pace so i cruised by. This happened for again and again for the next 10km or so. Then the tool overtook me again and slammed on the brakes for no reason down to about 60. After this i resumed my cruise only to be flashed and beeped afterwards.

I did nothing wrong. I didnt tailgate him, moved into the overtaking lane with more than enough room to spare and made no gestures or anything to rile him up. His numbers been noted and am now trying to decide whether to report him or not. Stupid behaviour from a guy with his family onboard

ninty9er

I just got the usual class of incapable tool that Graces the N24 at 70km/h like their 00 Primera hits the road at that speed and can't go above it:mad:

Going down on Saturday however was fine until I got as far as the roadworks at Waterford, where it seemed nobody knew which way to go despite signs for many kilometers before:rolleyes:

geranimojess

EPM wrote: »

Was going to go to ranting and raving with this but i may as well post here...drove back from dublin to cork this morning. On the motorway had the cruise set to 120 and passed a 307 moving slower. Like a rocket he overtook again and went back to his 110 ish pace so i cruised by. This happened for again and again for the next 10km or so. Then the tool overtook me again and slammed on the brakes for no reason down to about 60. After this i resumed my cruise only to be flashed and beeped afterwards.

I did nothing wrong. I didnt tailgate him, moved into the overtaking lane with more than enough room to spare and made no gestures or anything to rile him up. His numbers been noted and am now trying to decide whether to report him or not. Stupid behaviour from a guy with his family onboard

I dont know what decision your trying to come to,report the Dipstick you should have done it there and then.

EPM

geranimojess wrote: »

I dont know what decision your trying to come to,report the Dipstick you should have done it there and then.

The decision is obvious-the result of the complaint is what i'm trying to make a decision on. Its my word against his. I know i didnt do anything dodge but i dont want this obvious dip sh1t saying anything to the contrary. And thats if anything is done about it

galwaytt

...variation on the theme, and this from my SO, so,it has to be true......:D

....last Thursday a.m., just before 9a.m., N6 into Galway, constant high-speed convoy of cars into Galway, all tailgating. Reason ?..........all the SO's of the world were breaking their necks - and most of the RTA - to get in for appointments for hair/nails/tans/etc etc for Ladies Day at the Races.........winner to be picked by 14:30, see.......:rolleyes:

Very much a case of She Drives, He Dies. (where is that thread, btw......?)

Or should that be She Tans, He Dies ??

AugustusMaximus

Thumpette wrote: »

undertaken

Just wondering but what were you doing which meant that other drivers undertook you or even left them able to undertake you ?

paddydriver

EPM wrote: »

Was going to go to ranting and raving with this but i may as well post here...drove back from dublin to cork this morning. On the motorway had the cruise set to 120 and passed a 307 moving slower. Like a rocket he overtook again and went back to his 110 ish pace so i cruised by. This happened for again and again for the next 10km or so. Then the tool overtook me again and slammed on the brakes for no reason down to about 60. After this i resumed my cruise only to be flashed and beeped afterwards.

I did nothing wrong. I didnt tailgate him, moved into the overtaking lane with more than enough room to spare and made no gestures or anything to rile him up. His numbers been noted and am now trying to decide whether to report him or not. Stupid behaviour from a guy with his family onboard

This kinda thing is so common - not to the same extent as what happened with you - but it is so annoying when you are cruising a distance and you are sitting on a speed you are happy at, generally the limit for that motorway (with or without cruise control) and tools pull in and then slow down... you then cruise past and later they do it again... When using cruise control its so bloody obvious cause you are not changing your speed.

We have dual carriageways and motorways for a few years now:o But yet some drivers still do not grasp how they work.

_Kaiser_

I had a fairly quiet weekend so wasn't out much, but took to the roads yesterday afternoon and not 5 minutes later was stuck behind this oul bat in a Micra doing about 60 in a 100 and holding up a line of traffic when there was plenty of hard shoulder for her to move over into (N-road... and before people start coming on saying "you can't pull into a hard shoulder!" - you CAN move into a hard shoulder on a National road ONLY to allow following/faster traffic to pass).

Anyway, gets past her and a mile down the same road... same thing! :mad:

Then on the way home later a guy in a white Peugeot Partner van decided he'd hold up a mile of traffic while dawdling at 70! I stopped, got cigarettes and milk, and STILL ended up back behind him before he finally turned off.

These idiots shouldn't be let behind the controls of a shopping trolley, never mind a car!

Davidth88

You know , it's what me and my brother used to call the ' Dick Head Factor ' DHF

We used to figure it took longer to drive anywhere on a Sunday ( In London ) because of the ' DHF '. This consisted of people doing the following

Stopping to look at any shop , esp garden centres. ( for some reason they seem to attact a real class act of DHF driver )

Not knowing where they are going , therefore in the wrong lanes etc.

If someone is coming in the other direction , the DHF drivers have to JAM THOSE BRAKES ON !

What we figured , if a drive took you say 30 min on a working day ( non rush hr ) , then it would be 40 mins on a BH/SUnday because of the DHF.

voxpop

betafrog wrote: »

There's a good stretch of the M50 that's 3 lanes and it's quite easy to get stuck in the middle lane as idiots use both lanes either side of you to fly by.

How does one get stuck in the middle lane ? There are quite a few fools who insist on driving in the middle lane when the left most is free. The left most lane is probably the least used lane on the motorway.

Mr. Presentable

voxpop wrote: »

How does one get stuck in the middle lane ? There are quite a few fools who insist on driving in the middle lane when the left most is free. The left most lane is probably the least used lane on the motorway.

There are a couple of stretches where the lanes are marked clearly: left lane N3, centre and right M50, for example.

voxpop

nipplenuts wrote: »

There are a couple of stretches where the lanes are marked clearly: left lane N3, centre and right M50, for example.

And your point is ? Obviously if you dont want to go on the N3 you dont drive in the lane for the N3.

betafrog wrote:

By the fools who use the left most lane to undertake people because of the fools who sit in the outside lane trundling along without overtaking...

I dont understand how you'd get stuck in the middle lane - if you are being undertaken alot, then I suggest that you should drive in the left most lane. Everyone will then be forced to overtake you and you will be helping to make the world a safer place.

Mr. Presentable

voxpop wrote: »

And your point is ? Obviously if you dont want to go on the N3 you dont drive in the lane for the N3.




.

So you end up driving in the middle lane..............

CreepingDeath

Well here's a feel-good story to warm your hearts up...

Was driving eastbound on the N4 into Dublin city centre... got stopped at the main crossroads traffic lights at Palmerstown just at the pedestrian footbridge.

Anyways, a guy decides to risk a late red light drives across the N4 (from Palmerstown village across to Upper Kennelsfort Road).
The lights for the N4 turn green and the traffic is slowly edging forward.
Yore man gets a few beeps from the cars on the westbound side.

Straightaway there's a Garda biker a couple of cars behind me that I didn't notice, who sticks on the siren and chases after him.
Was sorry I didn't see the rest... but had a good laugh.

Thumpette

Well I dont know why this has turned from concern about the crazy dangerous driving on the Bank Holiday to another thread on this 'overtaking lane' ranting.

As some of the other posters kindly explained there is actually 3 lanes on the m50 near the toll, one going to (i think) the N2, and the other 2, m50. I was going on the m50, and not on the N2 so I went in the left m50 lane. Cars were swinging out from every direction (even in slow moving traffic) to get one car forward...