What’s happened to the standard of driving in the UK?

[thelakes0310]

Every day on my commute I feel like it’s getting worse and worse. My main gripe is cars sitting on a dual carriageway and not moving back once overtaking, and in turn a huge queue of cars in the outside lane all because a HGV is a third of a mile ahead. No lane discipline, absolutely zero awareness of what is going on other than straight ahead and genuine bad manners when it comes to being on the road. Merge in turn and becoming paper mache traffic police and blocking cars from entering!

Is this a countrywide thing or just local to the A19?! I regularly drive the A66 and it’s the same there, except a lot more HGV’s obviously.

It's hard to believe the nerve of some people - not only uninsured but then ready to try to aggressively pass the buck.

I agree with you about those 'won't merge-in-turn' morons. They cause so many delays with their pointless blocking antics. I'm used to driving in Germany where merge-in-turn works like a fast zip zipping up. It's normal there.

I wish the police would fine the middle lane hoggers and the merge-in-turn lane blockers, get them off the road if they won't abide by the highway code or even commonsense.

Most people don't know how to use a box junction. They enter it even when they can't get out.
I'm particularly looking at those drivers who use the Hicks Gate roundabout just outside Bristol where the A4174 ring road intersects the A4 (main road between Bristol and Bath).

Yes, that's true. I think they're optimistic that by getting onto the box junction they will have some sort of right of way to get off it again because they're blocking traffic.

I remember that advert on TV way back when with a large cartoon hand coming down to remove a car, with the driver still in it, that was sitting in a box junction.

I think people are just really impatient and quite unaware of what's going on around them outside their own little orbit?

Too many vehicles on the roads, people are stressed and aggressive in general because modern life is so unhealthy, far more big cars with bright headlights distracting drivers and making them feel less confident. It seems to be a mixture of overly confident, dangerous drivers and overly nervous drivers.

I was on the M4 last week and two cars were racing. One went past me so close and so fast it made my car shake. Lord knows what his speed was.

It's roundabouts here. Those with more than 4 exits and multiple lanes and cars just cutting across lanes rather than staying in their clearly-marked ones. I even got beeped the other day because I was driving in my lane, the other car was cutting across mine and nearly drove into me.
So many times cars just cutting across lanes because they have missed their exits, too. I get it can be confusing sometimes, but that doesn't mean you can just cut across.

The percentage of people who thank you for letting them out has gone massively down too. It really annoys me.

Yes. It annoys me that you get fined £100 for popping to a pub car park before 12 to see if they are open yet someone can drive for miles like an aggressive asshat and do it on the daily with zero consequence.

I've just been on Chiswick roundabout and it's difficult. The lanes are marked but only as they're about to end. I know this roundabout but if I didn't, I'd probably be sweating conkers. I don't mind going around again if I miss my turn but I can also see the appeal of seeing your exit, making a run for it and hoping that other drivers will see what you're doing.

Hangar Lane in North London gives me the heebie jeebies. Ugh.

We have a particularly good roundabout in Caerphilly, Wales - the lane you need to be in is marked well before the roundabout itself and the markings are solid white lane (for each) all the way around to the exit you want. The rest of our roundabouts are rubbish but that one is great.

People do not seem to understand roundabouts either. I don't know why🤷‍♀️

That was to Haruka.

Yep. Today I went to town, my GP's and the supermarket. I saw all these, including a giant Waitrose lorry with flashers on, partially parked over a Keep Clear section. (But littler cars also doing this.)

Anyone want to comment on everyone who doesn't back into a parking space?

I cycle in Birmingham and am really looking forward to the A38/Moseley cycle lane being completed - it's carnage by the cricket ground and I walk that junction. I'm also a supporter of Better Streets for Brum and sometimes go out to their demo's

Waving to @GrowAndGreen . You're braver than I am - I've thought about buying a bike - I could use it to go to library, shopping etc. But I'm really put off by the way the roads are round this part of Birmingham and the way some motorists are with cyclists.

The cycling is chicken and egg, isn't it @MissMarplesNiece ? I stay away from the ring road and there's some great paks/canal routes that I use when I can. The great thing about cycling everywhere is that I know how long it takes, when I have to drive, moving equipment about etc, then I'm constantly stressed with the traffic. There's far too many cars in Brum.

Get a dash cam and have a YouTube channel.

You can report poor driving to the police using good dash cam footage.