Have you experienced more rudeness recently especially when driving?

[Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain]

Was debating whether to post this but thought, sod it, why not?

So was driving up my local high street yesterday, it's a one way system up there with 2-3 lanes. I was in the correct lane, and suddenly a huge door of a white van swung open and I just about saw it in time and swerved (safely!) out of the way to avoid hitting it but also to avoid it hitting me, and the passenger in my left hand seat, it was literally centimetres away from me though and the man opening it just didn't see or didn't care that he'd opened it, as I drove off (heavy traffic) I turned and glared at him and mouthed a few words as it was dangerous. Already, even before I'd done this though, he was mouthing angry words back at me, really getting frothed up.

Second time, further on in the day. I'm driving back from somewhere else and there are temporary traffic lights, as I get to them there's a car in front of me at the green light, the driver turns around and does a U turn (in a main road, so illegal) so I have to brake sharply to avoid hitting her (light was green so I was going behind her) but as I braked, I saw her face and it was set again in a nasty scowl/face full of rage as she did her illegal manoeuvre.

This is in SE London but could happen in any city/town/village I suppose. But I've noticed it happening more and more recently and frequently, even when out walking.

There is another element to this, but I'm not posting it here and it's not particularly relevant to this post, though it could be.

Has anyone else noticed rage with drivers increasing recently or indeed with other pedestrians if you're walking along the street? It seems like all the #bekind etc Covid stuff has gone out of the window and manners and generally just not being a dick has gone straight out of the window. Friends and family have noticed the same and have similar stories. I'd love for CHiPS (retro cop show, American) or Paw Patrol to be out on the streets monitoring motorists to be honest!

You were responding to my post where I said a large number of people do 40mph everywhere.

This is why I rarely drive long distances! Or if I do, I ensure I take precautions so I try not to get wound up. I like to consider myself a decent driver too. I don't speed, drive well and I'm so used to all the Deliveroo/Uber Eats/Just Eat moped drivers (who have me with my heart in my mouth sometimes) now that they're second nature and don't really bother me. Even the idiots on E Scooters I don't mind and I've got remarkably tolerant of cyclists.

I will always hold my hands up and say if I'm in the wrong, none of us are always right, especially when driving. I've also had to adjust from last year to having a Yaris which had fairly high sides/high up, to a 4x4, which is wider and higher than what I'm used to. I always said I'd never get a Chelsea Tractor, but there you go, I got one (good deal, great car, electric).

The other day DM was out with me and the family and she'd decided to drive (against my better judgment!) and I got a lift with her, to the countryside to Chartwell.

She came out of Chartwell and for at least 5-10 mins behind her a car was right up her backside (rudely putting it), tailgating her. I only realised this when I heard her muttering under her breath 'Bloody fuck off, why don't you?!' (but in a middle class/posh accent which is hers!). I almost expected her to give the finger to this car. This is also in narrow, winding lanes and at speed. Don't get me started on how many drivers drove really fast on the way there, down narrow winding lanes, never mind if a person was in the road, we saw at least 2 dead animals and birds in the roads on the way back, past Westerham. The thing is, I don't give a F if they kill themselves, but what if they harm someone else, e.g. my DB and his family who have 2 young children.

Ah, sorry missed that, my fault. Well, I do see lots of people doing 40mph everywhere but that's not me, I always stick to the limits. Like everyone I tend to go over slightly as we all do, but there are so many speed cameras and those electronic smiling/frowning faces to help you to keep track of speed that I don't bother speeding much now, not worth the hassle.

Good on you standing up for yourself. Why should you let yourself be pushed around?

This. Plus delivery drivers who are on such a tight schedule that they simply take no notice of other road users. I’ll include lorry drivers who also can please themselves because they’re large and intimidating.

I agree too, that so many people are engrossed in their phones, that they forget they’re walking on a public street or path and need to be aware of other people. It doesn’t seem to occur to people that you can’t spread yourself in a group across the pavement, without inconveniencing others.

U-turns are legal unless there is a no u-turn sign.

Had someone reverse their great big car into mine last week when I was half in the car/ half out trying to get my dogs out. Jarred my back as the car shunted forwards and the woman didn't even apologise !

Yes. I think people are ruder in general though. There seems to be a lot of entitlement and a lack of thought for others and nowhere is this more evident than when you are driving.

Maybe, but you have to be a bit dim to do one at traffic lights with absolutely no consideration for other road users (as per the OP).

I think so many people are full of their own self importance they don't care about anyone else whether that's driving or in the supermarket. I live in inner London which I actually don't find too bad apart from a few idiots.
I grew up in the North East and driving there was never too bad but whenever I'm visiting I see a lot more aggressive and entitled drivers.

I've noticed selfish behaviour increasing for a while now.
People seem oblivious to anyone but themselves, and a lot of them want to vent their anger on everyone around them.
We were sworn at by 4 idiots on electric scooters for having the sheer audacity to cross the road (the pedestrian lights were green).
I gave them a mouthful back as I'm sick of idiotic behaviour.
Don't even get me started on people who walk into you whilst on their phone. I used to move out of the way, but now I just let them walk into me if they are not looking where they are going.

God yes, so much so DP has turned into a total knob he gets so stressed with being tailgated, cut off, people with no indicators etc.I have to say its normally women with kids in the car doing the tailgating!

Yes, absolutely.

The state of someone’s driving is a good indicator to their mental health. Think more people in society are struggling with the world and taking out their aggression on others.

Funnily enough I’ve been thinking absolutely the same recently. I’m starting to hate driving. I’ve driven for 20 years plus with limited hassle - but have had two non fault accidents in the past 6 months (1st car drove into the back of me when I was stationary waiting at a junction and 2nd car reversed into me again whilst I was stationary). Both have involved garages / Insurers and quite frankly it’s hassle I don’t need !!!

I’d love to know what other factors you think are at play - because I have lots of theories of my own !!!!

I live in south London and it’s the absolute worse when driving. People are so angry and self serving. And I think it is different in other places. I grew up in north Hampshire and it’s deffo way calmer there x

I agree with the pp who said the increase in car horns! Use of the car horn definitely used to be reserved for actual dangerous situations (ie as they are supposed to be) and I could generally live with a polite pip if someone clearly hasn't noticed the lights have changed and are holding up a queue of traffic.

But now they are endless and seem to be used the second there is a hold up in the traffic, often by cars miles back in the queue that have no idea what is causing the, often legitimate, hold up. Exactly that happened to me today - car in front of me was waiting to turn right into the petrol station, but the queue of traffic the other way hadn't left a gap. Fine, I knew that the moment the lights changed then the car would be able to turn - no problem. But the horns from behind me - at least 3 or 4 just leaning on them. Impatient idiots.

I think it's something we've imported from abroad. I remember going on holidays 30+ years ago to places like Paris, Barcelona, Rome, and a couple of more exotic holidays to Cairo and Mombassa, and the roads were full of people using their horns out of frustration of queues/congestion, rather than "AT" anyone.

I don't know if we've now got it here because our road network is so congested so it's brought out the frustration or whether it's a concentration of immigrants who are simply used to blasting the horn everywhere.

Personally I think there's a huge gender divide going on on media platforms. If I open an account as a man I get suggested content that is very misogynistic. As a woman I get the odd feminist post but it is much more open and obvious. The misogynistic ones are subtle but seem to be more pervasive. Yes it's a patriarchy but I think it's generally fuelling the anger and ego in regular short bursts of content that has people's attention spans going haywire with an undercurrent of combativeness.

I was always told it's illegal to do a u-turn where it's dangerous and you have to give the other driver due warning...

I mean, I wouldn't, in a main road as this user was doing, she'd just stopped suddenly at a temporary traffic light, I was behind her, at normal distance and looked up, but when I saw her, she appeared to be going through the temp traffic light, suddenly she stopped and did the u-turn, therefore, I had to brake (softly not hard) to avoid hitting her, it literally did seem to be a last minute decision of hers, to suddenly do a u-turn.

The van driver, he knew he was in the wrong. I know that road well.

Today, whilst driving in a single row of cars, suddenly a car whips down on the right hand side into a right hand road, narrowing avoiding hitting a car coming the other way. In what world is that safe, or even legal?

And, finally, saw a friend in her clothes shop yesterday, she was a bit upset because her 12 year old cat had just been killed by a car driver, speeding, a vet rang her and told her, driver didn't stop, someone else picked the cat up. She's recently moved (but kept cats in for first month or two) and now says the second cat she has (not related to the first) will be kept in from now on as too dangerous to allow him out. If it's not a cat people kill (or foxes or birds) it's people, with cars or other vehicles.

Oh, there are always tailgaters near me, it's quite a big area with a 20 limit and some puffed up tosser / tosserette will come steaming up and try to intimidate me into speeding up.

I just posted a couple of days ago about being on my bike. I pulled into an advance cycle box, on a red light and the bloke behind revved his engine several times. The light turned amber and he shouted, "It's fucking green!" Well, it was by then, but several cars had run red from the right. I set off and he stalled.

That said, I have noticed that far more cars won't pass, even if I get as close to the kerb as possible. And waiting to cross when a car is about to turn, loads seem to wait and wave me across now.

Lots of Entitlement and the don’t give a shit attitude around
Lots more delivery mopeds on L plates cutting people up and generally treating the roads like a game of grand theft auto
More people just pulling out of side roads and cutting you up in traffic because they know it’s more likely you’re going to stop so as not to damage your car
More Uber drivers who might as well have got their licences out of a corn flake packet
just a general lack of patience and manners and knowledge

I applaud you for being on your bike. I actually quite like bike riders now, but have seen some horrific crashes on them where I used to work, near Bishopsgate/Liverpool Street - presumably where we used to get twats (white van drivers) deliberately try to knock them down. One poor woman who was hit, I do hope she's ok, just saw that one, years ago.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain

I walk, cycle, ride a motorbike and drive a car. I am trying to cycle more to keep fit and get less chubby. I'm just outside Newcastle and the cyclists here (the lycra ones) don't seem near as bad as in London!

Yes. A lot less letting people in or giving way