Are there many more aggressive drivers on the roads these days or do I attract these knob heads

[MellowAfternoon]

I'm not sure if there are more aggressive arseholes on the road or the fact I'm menopausal and everyone pisses me off atm but I am finding people are more angry on the roads these days (I have been driving for 35 years), this is just a small example of the kind encounters I seem to come upon on an almost daily basis,

1. Driving on a local dual carriage way. There have been roadworks for the last two years and one particular stretch of this road has a max speed of 40 mph on both outside and inside lane. I am driving on the outside lane, it is very busy with cars driving at 40 mph and almost nose to tail. I notice the van behind me flashing, I can't go anywhere because there are cars in front of me and cars to the side in the inside lane but he continues to flash me repeatedly. Even if I were able to I wouldn't have broken the speed limit for him because I was with a disabled client driving her mobility car and there are speed cameras everywhere. Eventually he pulls over to the inside lane where there is a gap, then levels up with me, when I look over it's a man around 60 and he is aggressively demonstrating a slit of throat action at me, he looks so angry that he may burst a blood vessel.

2. In the summer I was driving my mum back from a nice afternoon at a local cafe. The road is a 60 mph wide country road. No other cars about and I am driving around 58 mph. I look in my rear view mirror and a large white van is racing up behind me, there are no other cars about at all but he doesn't overtake however, he continues to drive so close up to my car that I can not see the front grill of the van. I continue with the speed I am doing (in fact I actually slow down a little) but he still tries to intimidate me, I am not going to go any faster as my mum is elderly with dementia and fuck him, why should I?

3. This morning. I am driving dd to college. I cut through a country lane which is heavily used by local traffic. It has been raining non stop overnight and the lanes are full of deep puddles and as the road is a bit precarious in places and it's pouring of rain I am driving at approx 40 mph which in all honesty isn't slow for a road like that. In my rear view mirror I see an old Mercedes driving right up my arse, with full high beam on. I refuse to put my dd and I at risk so continue to drive as I was but he doesn't let up, eventually on a longer stretch of the road he overtakes me, almost clipping the back of my car as he does, then slows down as he overtakes sticking up his middle finger the whole way then almost clips the wing pulling back onto the road and then proceeds to drive me at 20 mph. He then speeds off. What the hell did I do wrong there? I was simply driving safely to the conditions of the road on a dark and wet morning, ffs?

They are just three examples, I could go on.....

Is it me? I am finding this a common experience more and more and I hate to say it but ime it is always men (I honestly don't recall a woman driver doing this to me ever), around the age of 40-60 and driving either a van or a BMW or Mercedes.

My dh has worked on the roads for over 35 years and says the abuse he and his colleagues receive on a weekly basis is getting ridiculous, they even have to wear body cameras now.

First one was you. You shouldn't be driving in the outside lane unless actively overtaking.

Other two were just impatient wankers and I'd have done the same as you. Better to get rear ended at 30 than 40.

If this sort of thing keeps happening to you it is quite possible that you are the problem, infuriating people by not allowing them to overtake you.

Get a dashcam

The traffic on the dual carriageway was nose to tail because of the roadworks and the traffic was nose to tail. It didn't matter what lane anyone took as they were both 40 miles per hour and chock-a-block. No driver could overtake at that particular time. He was trying to push other drivers along.

Well I think the number of STUPID male drivers making STUPID comments about my driving has increased. But I put that down to increased jealousy over my ever-continued improvement over their awful driving!

How?

First example I was stuck in roadworks doing 40mph along with everyone else.

Second I'm driving at the speed limit along a country lane with no other drivers apart from this one white van driver who, instead of simply overtaking if he was I that much if a hurry wanted to push me along and intimate me

Third example was in poor weather conditions, I am driving at a decent speed and this driver, was again trying to push me along and then being aggressive when he did eventually overtake.

How can I be in the wrong with these examples? How am I not 'allowing' them to overtake me? I drive a mini not some great big bus hogging the road lol. It not as though I have been plodding along at 20mph or driving dangerously.

If you can let them pass you safely it's often the easier option. Otherwise just say to yourself "their hurry is not my worry". I noticed an increase in bad behaviour on the roads after lockdown. I think Covid fried a lot of people's brains.

I only recently passed my driving test and I'm surprised at the amount of drivers either up my arse when I'm going the speed limit or speeding past me. I think people know where the cameras are so they just do as they like. No one has been aggressive as you described but I did stall once going through a tiny traffic calming measure on a hill after a tight corner (everyone says it's really tricky) and I was immediately beeped at, they didn't even just me a second before beeping at me, what is the point, it achieves nothing.

They are not trying to push you along. They want you to move a bit to the side so they can overtake you.

If there’s a breaking distance space to your left, you should be in it. And there must have been because he went from behind you to the left of you.

When you do what your car shows as 58, the other cars’ satnav probably shows as more like 54/5. That’s really annoying when you are stuck in a 50 section on the motorway and the traffic is going just over 44 as a result.

That said, yes. People are really aggressive on the roads. I was overtaken by a motorbike that suddenly appeared on my front right bumper and slowed down. He was bloody lucky I reacted fast. Gave me a nasty turn.