How do YOU deal with Muppetry on the road?

_Kaiser_

So I'm just back from a day with my little lad and, I don't know whether it's just the bank holiday or what, but I'm worn out dealing with idiots on the roads.

- 2 lads trying to race on the motorway. You know the type. You overtake, they speed up and blast past you only to pull in front of you and slow down. Rinse and repeat.

- Guy tailgating in busy traffic on an N route then refusing to overtake when on the dual carriageway

- Idiots who don't dim their lights on the motorway. Not just oncoming traffic but guys on your side as well so you get blinded by the retaliation too

Seriously, I'm knackered. Oh and the only squad car I saw today had a lad pulled in on a straight stretch of motorway at about 11am!

elperello

Do your best to ignore them.
Keep calm and carry on.
Lyric FM works for me.

_Kaiser_

elperello wrote: »

Do your best to ignore them.
Keep calm and carry on.
Lyric FM works for me.

See that's the issue.. It's kinda hard to ignore them when..

- you're almost spending more time watching them and their antics in the mirror than you are the road ahead

- you're being constantly blinded by incoming traffic

I'd happily ignore but it's not easy when you're stuck with the consequences of their crap

elperello

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

See that's the issue.. It's kinda hard to ignore them when..

- you're almost spending more time watching them and their antics in the mirror than you are the road ahead

- you're being constantly blinded by incoming traffic

I'd happily ignore but it's not easy when you're stuck with the consequences of their crap

Just get into a "zen" state of mind.
Your mission is to get yourself and the little lad safely to your destination. Everything else is superfluous.

Hal3000

I had a young girl do a u-turn right in the middle of our road the other day. I let her do it as there was no on-coming traffic and I wasn’t in a mad hurry. I was waiting for a nod from her, but I got absolutely no acknowledgment. I absolutely blasted her out of it with the horn when she looked at me. I can’t stand bad mannered drivers.

bazz26

This helps:

20/20

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

So I'm just back from a day with my little lad and, I don't know whether it's just the bank holiday or what, but I'm worn out dealing with idiots on the roads.

- 2 lads trying to race on the motorway. You know the type. You overtake, they speed up and blast past you only to pull in front of you and slow down. Rinse and repeat.

- Guy tailgating in busy traffic on an N route then refusing to overtake when on the dual carriageway

- Idiots who don't dim their lights on the motorway. Not just oncoming traffic but guys on your side as well so you get blinded by the retaliation too

Seriously, I'm knackered. Oh and the only squad car I saw today had a lad pulled in on a straight stretch of motorway at about 11am!

You are turning into your father.

IndigoStar

I didn't know it was possible to do but I wore out the horn on my last car from over use. I do alot of mileage on country rds and you wouldn't believe half the stuff I've seen.

punisher5112

I'm finding it is getting much worse to be honest....

Many many incidents are men in small vans such as Ford connect, custom, Citroen Berlingo etc...

Women in fake SUV bullies and they come up and sit on your rear bumper.

There is a big thing with while I'm in the middle of overtaking they will shoot up on the left eye ball you if they can't squeeze into the gap.

Then shoot back out again....

Now I'm not a slow driver, I read the road better then most out there and will not pull out if there is someone going faster as I'll let them on, great to have someone ahead going that bit faster and let them get caught...

Anyway I will be stuck behind a car or 2 say and they're passing as I will be too.
Car shoots up behind indicator on, flashing high beams weaving in and out...

I understand there is frustration as say the ones in front can't keep a speed and an over take takes an eternity but I'm not that person..

I seem to attract them a lot..

I found though it happens a lot less when I'm in the Octavia vRS.
I don't know if it's just bad luck, the car or just timing but it definitely is getting a lot worse.

elperello

Hal3000 wrote: »

I had a young girl do a u-turn right in the middle of our road the other day. I let her do it as there was no on-coming traffic and I wasn’t in a mad hurry. I was waiting for a nod from her, but I got absolutely no acknowledgment. I absolutely blasted her out of it with the horn when she looked at me. I can’t stand bad mannered drivers.

I never use the horn except in an emergency situation.
Seriously, the only time I ever hear it is when I test it for the NCT.

Blowing the horn to chastise other drivers can lead to road rage incidents.

mfceiling

elperello wrote: »

Blowing the horn to chastise other drivers can lead to road rage incidents.

It can but maybe just maybe it might trigger something in the other drivers mind going forward.
Recently I've blared 3 times at a lady who sat at green lights (obvious from behind she was on her phone). By the 4th light she took off fairly lively.
Last Saturday I blared at a man sitting in a yellow box thus blocking me from exiting a side road. Maybe in the future he'll see a yellow box and think "yep, I won't sit in there after what happened the last time".

bazz26

Your average Irish motorist these days has become a special type of asshole.

Atlantic Dawn

I put on the rear fogs if some bellend has his front fogs on behind me in clear weather, perhaps he has been time travelling and knows fog is on the way

The One Doctor

elperello wrote: »

I never use the horn except in an emergency situation.
Seriously, the only time I ever hear it is when I test it for the NCT.

Blowing the horn to chastise other drivers can lead to road rage incidents.

I've seen it happen. It was ugly, too.

Lads, calm down, take your time and get to the destination alive. What's the hurry? Are you all taxis drivers or something? Can never understand why people get annoyed on the road. It's like people drop 40 IQ points as soon as they get into a car.

Yes, there are idiots on the road, but there are idiots in your jobs too and you don't swear and shout at them.

jaxxx

Until proven otherwise, assume everyone is an idiot. Assume the worst. Someone looking to exit onto the main road, assume they'll pull out in front of you. Someone coming onto a roundabout not indicating, assume they're coming your way. You're approaching a crossing with a green light, assume someone with a red will jump it. You're passing someone on a dual carriageway/motorway, assume they won't see you and might pull out. You're going 12 o'clock at a roundabout with someone beside you in the right hand lane, assume they'll go 12 o'clock too. Assume the worst, be prepared for the worst.

Padre_Pio

The One Doctor wrote: »

Yes, there are idiots on the road, but there are idiots in your jobs too and you don't swear and shout at them.

I beep, but only for the stupid dangerous stuff.

Driving though town and some lad broke a light to pull out in front of me. He drove 50 metres, then stopped on a bend, hazards on and blocking traffic, to pick someone up.

Maybe not lethal, but a series of stupid decisions that could cause a crash.

punisher5112

Excessive use of horn can be lethal....

tuxy

Is it ok to come to a complete stop if someone is tailgating you?
I don't mean normal tailgating but situations where they are insanely close, refuse to over take and the situation will continue to be very dangerous for you unless you come to a slow gradual stop.

kirving

tuxy wrote: »

Is it ok to come to a complete stop if someone is tailgating you?
I don't mean normal tailgating but situations where they are insanely close, refuse to over take and the situation will continue to be very dangerous for you unless you come to a slow gradual stop.

Just don't do it on the motorway and you're grand.

One thing I find great for tailgaters (and yes I'm in the correct lane), is to touch the dashcam so the screen comes on and the car behind can see it.

The vast majority of the time they know they're being agressive drivers.

tuxy

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Just don't do it on the motorway and you're grand.

I was thinking of more rural roads with no hard shoulder. I'd use a hard shoulder if available since it is an emergency but R and L roads don't have that option.

lawred2

Hal3000 wrote: »

I had a young girl do a u-turn right in the middle of our road the other day. I let her do it as there was no on-coming traffic and I wasn’t in a mad hurry. I was waiting for a nod from her, but I got absolutely no acknowledgment. I absolutely blasted her out of it with the horn when she looked at me. I can’t stand bad mannered drivers.

Do you really think she knew why you 'blasted her out' with the horn?

That it was because she didn't thank you enough!? You think your display of terrible manners threw light on her own lack of appreciation for your temporary patience (oh great one)!?

You come across like most road users in that post.. self important and ill mannered. Just like the girl you were trying to chastise.

josip

Middle finger.

Cantona's Collars

Depends on the muppetry. I had a woman yesterday almost cause a smash when she went to pass a loader which at top speed would do 35kph or so. She pulled into the overtaking lane as did the car behind her and myself,she got along side it and for no reason hit the brakes.
On she went oblivious as to why she was being blown off the road.
Just a few miles before that there was a guy in a people carrier with kids who was overtaking a bus without a care in the world for the oncoming traffic. He didn't care about his passengers or anyone else on the road by his actions or the look on his face as myself and other drivers flashed the lights and blew at him.
You'd wonder as to how unfortunate you'd be to come across such Muppets in the space of a few minutes.

kaymin

Had a woman driver come to a complete standstíll on the N4 the morning. Clear road in front of her. Didn't even attempt to pull into the hard shoulder or use her hazard lights. Bizarre. Blasting the horn didn't have any effect on her. Had to re-watch it on my dashcam to be sure I didn't imagine it.

punisher5112

kaymin wrote: »

Had a woman driver come to a complete standstíll on the N4 the morning. Clear road in front of her. Didn't even attempt to pull into the hard shoulder or use her hazard lights. Bizarre. Blasting the horn didn't have any effect on her. Had to re-watch it on my dashcam to be sure I didn't imagine it.

Post up the clip....

That sort of behaviour needs reporting.

Better Than Christ

mfceiling wrote: »

It can but maybe just maybe it might trigger something in the other drivers mind going forward.
Recently I've blared 3 times at a lady who sat at green lights (obvious from behind she was on her phone). By the 4th light she took off fairly lively.

It triggers nothing. It's just one selfish person throwing a tantrum and creating a lot of unnecessary noise because someone has dared to get in their way.

mfceiling wrote: »

Last Saturday I blared at a man sitting in a yellow box thus blocking me from exiting a side road. Maybe in the future he'll see a yellow box and think "yep, I won't sit in there after what happened the last time".

But what "happened" the last time? Some obnoxious driver made a load of unnecessary noise that had no material effect on him whatsoever. misusing the horn as a method of chastising other road users is such a cowardly, passive-aggressive way of behaving. Eye-contact is a far better way of communicating (both positively and negatively) with people on the roads.

Lewis_Benson

I run them off the road....

Stoolbend

I generally don’t interact with any of the muppets. I might beep at stupid stuff but I do it for a really long time to really annoy them. Apart from that I don’t get worked up. I pretty much expect all the stupid stuff people do and just get on with my journey.

It helps when you see them getting worked up at the never ending beep though.

Del2005

kaymin wrote: »

Had a woman driver come to a complete standstíll on the N4 the morning. Clear road in front of her. Didn't even attempt to pull into the hard shoulder or use her hazard lights. Bizarre. Blasting the horn didn't have any effect on her. Had to re-watch it on my dashcam to be sure I didn't imagine it.

I'd an alternator die on me once and car stopped dead in the middle of the road, luckily it was an original Mini and it was very early in the morning so I could push it to the side. Couldn't put hazards on or nothing. That's the reason why your supposed to keep back.

kaymin

Del2005 wrote: »

I'd an alternator die on me once and car stopped dead in the middle of the road, luckily it was an original Mini and it was very early in the morning so I could push it to the side. Couldn't put hazards on or nothing. That's the reason why your supposed to keep back.

Same driver had stopped on the slip road to the N4 a few minutes before and moved off as I approached from behind so it doesn't sound like an alternator dying. And yeah I was well back.

The Bishop Basher

kaymin wrote: »

Had a woman driver come to a complete standstíll on the N4 the morning. Clear road in front of her. Didn't even attempt to pull into the hard shoulder or use her hazard lights. Bizarre. Blasting the horn didn't have any effect on her. Had to re-watch it on my dashcam to be sure I didn't imagine it.

This happened me before. I stopped to check and the driver was having a medical emergency. Did you check that they were ok ?

Agreed that the level of muppetry from all road users is on the increase. It’s like the Celtic tiger days again. Everyone seems to be in a rush and couldn’t give a fluck about anyone else.

I find that the older I get the less of a **** I give and I don’t get so wound up any more.

I do make an exception for arseholes who hog the overtaking lane though..

kaymin

The Bishop Basher wrote: »

This happened me before. I stopped to check and the driver was having a medical emergency. Did you check that they were ok ?

Agreed that the level of muppetry from all road users is on the increase. It’s like the Celtic tiger days again. Everyone seems to be in a rush and couldn’t give a fluck about anyone else.

I find that the older I get the less of a **** I give and I don’t get so wound up any more.

I do make an exception for arseholes who hog the overtaking lane though..

She was looking at me in her rear view mirror - she had a blank stare on her. So no medical emergency anyway. I was going to get out of the car to find out what was up but didn't expect any good to come of it so just drove around her. I was on the N4 so not exactly safe.

barneygumble99

There’s a blind T junction near where I live, a view of about 100 metres from the side road to my left, which opens into a long straight. When turning right, you really need to go when u see nothing coming, don’t hesitate. Anyway was pulling out the other day and soon as I got out there was a car up my hole, he must have been speeding. There was nothing coming towards us and he could’ve passed me but he decided to drive up my ass, flashing and beeping. I wasn’t annoyed but I laughed to myself knowing he got so worked up. That’s the other side of road rage.

mfceiling

Better Than Christ wrote: »

It triggers nothing. It's just one selfish person throwing a tantrum and creating a lot of unnecessary noise because someone has dared to get in their way.

Read the post. She was on her phone therefore not concentrating on the road. Not only was she holding up me but every single driver behind me because she was on her phone.



But what "happened" the last time? Some obnoxious driver made a load of unnecessary noise that had no material effect on him whatsoever. misusing the horn as a method of chastising other road users is such a cowardly, passive-aggressive way of behaving. Eye-contact is a far better way of communicating (both positively and negatively) with people on the roads.

Eye contact did nothing to this lad because he stared straight ahead probably safe in the knowledge he was blocking all traffic from exiting the side road that he was blocking by sitting illegally in the yellow box. Fcuk him...Might think twice before such a dick move the next time.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

99% of muppets behind you soon back off rapidly if you point to the dash cam , ( or get a dash cam sticker )

apart from this w*nker:
161-ky-526 in a black toureg i think
a complete speeding taligating t*sser

is_that_so

Distance and anticipation serve me well. I also assume everyone is going to do something stupid. Gets me through 90% of said stupidity. Then add Lyric(Not Marty!) or some jazz and I generally get where I'm going without being too frazzled.

kenmm

Hal3000 wrote: »

I had a young girl do a u-turn right in the middle of our road the other day. I let her do it as there was no on-coming traffic and I wasn’t in a mad hurry. I was waiting for a nod from her, but I got absolutely no acknowledgment. I absolutely blasted her out of it with the horn when she looked at me. I can’t stand bad mannered drivers.

Could also be read as someone nervous not sure about doing the turn and was thankful to have completed it quick enough under the pressure of holding up traffic has now set off in a bad mood and likely to blast some other fecker out of it with the horn..

Because you can't stand perceived bad manners you break the law and piss others off..

This is a minor example and it sounds I am picking on you, but the sense of entitlement people have to "teach" others contributes a lot to a build up of muppetry.

kenmm

tuxy wrote: »

Is it ok to come to a complete stop if someone is tailgating you?
I don't mean normal tailgating but situations where they are insanely close, refuse to over take and the situation will continue to be very dangerous for you unless you come to a slow gradual stop.

Not really - if you jam on the breaks for no reason, knowing that someone is close to you (as you should because you are using the mirrors) then its a bit dangerous. Slow gradually when pricks like this are behind.

Doesn't matter whose fault it is if you are involved in a crash - you still have a damaged car (at least) to deal with.

Others are tempted to brake test, not pull over to the left most lane to allow them to pass etc, but winding up people who are already happy to drive in an aggressive manner isn't ideal either.

Salary Negotiator

Hal3000 wrote: »

I had a young girl do a u-turn right in the middle of our road the other day. I let her do it as there was no on-coming traffic and I wasn’t in a mad hurry. I was waiting for a nod from her, but I got absolutely no acknowledgment. I absolutely blasted her out of it with the horn when she looked at me. I can’t stand bad mannered drivers.

Has to be a piss take.

micar

kaymin wrote: »

Had a woman driver come to a complete standst on the N4 the morning. Clear road in front of her. Didn't even attempt to pull into the hard shoulder or use her hazard lights. Bizarre. Blasting the horn didn't have any effect on her. Had to re-watch it on my dashcam to be sure I didn't imagine it.

punisher5112 wrote: »

Post up the clip....

That sort of behaviour needs reporting.

Wonder if anyone has reported a driver using their dashcam footage to the Gardai.

Saw this today in the Irish Times.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/new-law-to-combat-dangerous-overtaking-of-cyclists-1.4064209

From the article "video footage supplied by cyclists could potentially be used to secure convictions against motorists for dangerous overtaking."

Ubbquittious

Where do people go to find all these muppets? I have driven all over the country and I havn't seen that many of them

kenmm

mfceiling wrote: »

Maybe in the future he'll see a yellow box and think "yep, I won't sit in there after what happened the last time".

bazz26 wrote: »

Your average Irish motorist these days has become a special type of asshole.

These days its more likely they knew exactly what the box is for and said "F*ck it" - this type of mentality is becoming the norm and the sound of a horn aint gonna change it (actually you are making it worse as the sound of a horn becomes more common/normalised, people are more likely to ignore it, even in dangerous situations.

Wouldnt be surprised if this one was unable to complete the turn because some other muppet is blocking the queue further down the road by blocking another box junction!

kenmm

Ubbquittious wrote: »

Where do people go to find all these muppets? I have driven all over the country and I havn't seen that many of them

Near Leixlip apparently

https://goo.gl/maps/BqcMLNFu3eaChp5G9

is_that_so

Ubbquittious wrote: »

Where do people go to find all these muppets? I have driven all over the country and I havn't seen that many of them

Any of the roads around Dublin during rush hours. Tempers are short and frustration is high!:D I would agree they are more of a rarity on the open road.

Dravokivich

The thing I hate most on the road, is sheep. And I don't mean that in an agricultural sense. You see someone going around a stopped bus, without even checking for on coming traffic. Then a group off people just keep following, again without even looking. Way too many sheep on the road. And it's lead to a whole host of bad driving.

tuxy wrote: »

Is it ok to come to a complete stop if someone is tailgating you?
I don't mean normal tailgating but situations where they are insanely close, refuse to over take and the situation will continue to be very dangerous for you unless you come to a slow gradual stop.

I just gradually slow down. If the car stops as a result it stops. If they can't get pass me, they should stop trying to drive through me.

whisky_galore

I deal with muppetry by not adding to it.
I'm not a traffic cop.

italodisco

This thread came at the right time, op i too am fed up. So much so that i ordered a train horn set for the car last wednesday lol
220 euro, when I have it installed I'll post a video.
This baby will definitely get the message across

biko

I have a wooden spoon I wave at them

kenmm

whisky_galore wrote: »

I deal with muppetry by not adding to it.

italodisco wrote: »

This thread came at the right time, op i too am fed up. So much so that i ordered a train horn set for the car last wednesday lol
220 euro, when I have it installed I'll post a video.
This baby will definitely get the message across

(But I do look forward to the videos..!)

italodisco

kenmm wrote: »

(But I do look forward to the videos..!)

I'm not installing it to use regularly , just for those ocassions when tossers break lights or generally put my child at risk

kirving

DaDumTish wrote: »

99% of muppets behind you soon back off rapidly if you point to the dash cam , ( or get a dash cam sticker )

Which actually annoys me even more. They know they're dangerous, but only care about being caught.

I don't mind bad drivers for the most part - we have the testing system to blame for that. But I have zero time for agressive drivers who endanger me.