Who are the worst drivers on Irish Roads?

Zascar · 23-10-2008 08:24AM #1

If you were to put all drivers on Irish roads into a group, who would you think are the worst group of drivers out there?

Women? BMW Drivers? Old People? Boy Racers? Foreign Nationals?

My vote has to go to one of the few groups who drive as their profession - yes, the Taxi Drivers. I spend a lot of time on the roads in both a car and on a motorbike, and I take taxi's quite regularly too. It really amazes me how when I see some bad driving on the roads, a massively disproportionate amount of time it is a taxi driver. You'd expect them to be far better than the average...

The things that I see them doing most have to be:

- Even though they have the bus lane as their own lane most of the time, they choose to straddle both lanes so traffic in the inside lane cannot get past.
- They think hazard lights are 'stop anywhere lights' and think nothing of blocking traffic behind to pick up a fair, instead of finding an appropriate place to pull in.
- Edging forward at a red light, going over the line and often breaking the light in advance of the green, only to travel at 15-20mph for 500 metres. Just wait until the light goes green and accelerate as normal for Gods sake!
- Not being courteous, not indicating, bad roundabout procedure.... the list goes on.

So rant over. Do you agree, or what other group do you think are the worse drives on the roads?

eden_my_ass · 23-10-2008 08:30AM

Albanian women drivers, aged between 35 and 45, under 5 foot, particularly from the town of Kerchuk in the southwest province of Shamalam, every time I see them they're tearing up the roads with no respect for the rest of us....for shame!

Slig · 23-10-2008 08:31AM

Yeah!!! more generalisations!! I think that the worst drivers are people that use their front fog lights, pople that stay in the overtaking lane on a motorway and SUV drivers. Did I forget anybody?

Zube · 23-10-2008 08:44AM

The two worst groups are MO reg. diesel Jetta drivers wearing flat caps and nuns in Micras.

That is all.

Lumen · 23-10-2008 08:45AM

Definitely spiders and visigoths.

SEPT 23 1989 · 23-10-2008 08:48AM

IRISH DRIVERS ON ROUNDABOUTS + NEVER INDICATING :mad::mad::mad:

Dolph Starbeam · 23-10-2008 08:48AM

Oh don't start on taxi drivers, its stupid how crap at driving a lot of them are...

Berty · 23-10-2008 08:50AM

Make the thread a poll instead.

Lumen · 23-10-2008 08:51AM

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

IRISH DRIVERS ON ROUNDABOUTS + NEVER INDICATING :mad::mad::mad:

I prefer the non-indicators to the wrong-indicators.

People who indicate left but turn right are bloody dangerous.

Pigeon Reaper · 23-10-2008 08:51AM

Damn those visigoths and their crazy road antics. They're almost as bad as the vandals.

T-Maxx · 23-10-2008 08:53AM

I have to agree with the OP here. Surely you'd expect someone who's business it is to drive to be better than the average. Unfortunatedly it seems to be the other way around...

I can also think of a few other groups such as the aforementioned BMW drivers, but first prize has to go to:

black women

Wishbone Ash · 23-10-2008 08:54AM

Lumen · 23-10-2008 08:55AM

T-Maxx wrote: »

first prize has to go to black women

Berty · 23-10-2008 08:57AM

The old woman last night. Waiting to access rounadbout with no lights on and couldnt decide when to go. Kept inching forward, so did I. She then decided she was too far out and wanted to come back so tried to reverse. I was going nowehere, there was a pelican crossing behind me.

I thought she was going to burst. She was actually jumping up and down in the drivers seat pulling at her hair. I gave her a toot of the horn and my GF had to stop me because she felt the poor dear was going to slump over the wheel.

LOL @ Stupid Old Women who cannot drive.

Oh yeah, who are the worst drivers?

Weekend Drivers on National Routes

Berty · 23-10-2008 08:58AM

T-Maxx wrote: »

black women

oh no you didnt!!

Victor_M · 23-10-2008 09:04AM

Oh yes he did, imagine that in this crazy PC world, I have to say from my experience he's not a million miles off the mark.

Peasant clearly hasn't logged on yet this morning.

Berty · 23-10-2008 09:12AM

Wrong thread.

Vanbis · 23-10-2008 09:18AM

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

IRISH DRIVERS ON ROUNDABOUTS + NEVER INDICATING :mad::mad::mad:

Agreed, also Women/Foreign Drivers/ Over 50's .

craichoe · 23-10-2008 09:31AM

I think everyone needs to chill and realise half the problem with bad driving is a lack of patience and the other half is a lack of courtesy to other drivers.

smokingman · 23-10-2008 09:35AM

Easy, white van drivers....

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

Sam Kade · 23-10-2008 09:45AM

Drivers who complain about other drivers :rolleyes:

mike65 · 23-10-2008 09:46AM

I spend years at the wheel of a white van and was courtesy itself!

The worst drivers are found in the wesht and tend to be of the flat cap wearing fraternity - you can never quite be sure if they have even seen you, never mind stuff like lane disipline. indicators, lights, and the ability to park a car.

Mike

ergonomics · 23-10-2008 09:52AM

Tipperary Drivers, particularly those between Tipperary Town and Limerick. They generally don't drive faster than 60km/h and at night they never use their main beams.

andrewh5 · 23-10-2008 09:55AM

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

Berty · 23-10-2008 09:59AM

On the way back to the office I braked before indicating because I was concentrating on remembering to get something from the office cabinet.

That would make me a bad driver by most standards on this forum.

Good & Bad Drivers are:

As good as your last manouver.

Max_Damage · 23-10-2008 10:01AM

I'm a FAR superior driver to all you peasant's on the road...

Alun · 23-10-2008 10:01AM

andrewh5 wrote: »

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

Which covers pretty much 90% of the driving population, I guess.

andrewh5 · 23-10-2008 10:02AM

Alun wrote: »

Which covers pretty much 90% of the driving population, I guess.

Which explains why driving standards here are so appalling.

regedit · 23-10-2008 10:12AM

eden_my_ass wrote: »

Albanian women drivers, aged between 35 and 45, under 5 foot, particularly from the town of Kerchuk in the southwest province of Shamalam, every time I see them they're tearing up the roads with no respect for the rest of us....for shame!

Are you daft or just pretending

regedit · 23-10-2008 10:13AM

craichoe wrote: »

I think everyone needs to chill and realise half the problem with bad driving is a lack of patience and the other half is a lack of courtesy to other drivers.

+1 +the ones using fog lights by default

eden_my_ass · 23-10-2008 10:13AM

:rolleyes: @ regedit

Sam Kade · 23-10-2008 10:16AM

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 · 23-10-2008 10:27AM

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

jaycen · 23-10-2008 10:31AM

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 · 23-10-2008 10:51AM

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 · 23-10-2008 10:58AM

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 · 23-10-2008 10:58AM

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 · 23-10-2008 11:08AM

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 · 23-10-2008 11:11AM

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 · 23-10-2008 11:12AM

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 · 23-10-2008 11:26AM

Gregor Samsa · 23-10-2008 11:30AM

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 · 23-10-2008 11:30AM

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 · 23-10-2008 11:31AM

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 · 23-10-2008 11:35AM

"Foreign national" is such a ridiculous expression.

What's wrong with "foreigner"?

Davidth88 · 23-10-2008 11:40AM

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 · 23-10-2008 11:42AM

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! · 23-10-2008 12:08PM

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 · 23-10-2008 06:31PM

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 · 23-10-2008 06:39PM

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 · 23-10-2008 09:06PM

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.

Who are the worst drivers on Irish Roads?

Comments