to report this idiot council man

[bowlingforsoup]

Hi

I was driving home earlier on. I passed my test a few weeks ago and haven't been out in the car much. I had been to another town and I wasn't too sure on the route because I had never been there before. I have noticed that lots of cars don't have indicators that work or have drivers that don't use them. I was at a roundabout and was unsure of where a driver was going so i didnt pull out until It was too late to realise he was going left not right round (no indicator)

A council van was behind me and the driver was blasting his horn and screaming abuse at me to get a fucking move on. I had sat for 30 seconds if that. I eventually moved away and went straight ahead onto a 30mph residential street. I was going about 25mph (there was a school) and the idiot overtook me still blasting his horn and his work mate shouting obscenities out the window to me. I had my 5 day old DD in the car and i was actually quite scared. I had to slow down to let him back him because there was a lorry coming the other way.

AIBU to phone the council and report him? I pulled over and wrote his registration down.

In my opinion, if you are driving a work vehicle, you are representing your company whether it's the council or not.

I'm still pissed off. There was no need for it at all. I know i will come across this sort of thing all the time it's just annoyed me more because it was a council worker.

Short of seeing someone endangering someone else's life, there is nothing that warrants that kind of abuse. Definitely report him. What a knobber. And extra stupidity points for screaming abuse from a van with clearly visible contact details. Twat.

Ive called and reported it. Spoke to a really nice man on the phone who agreed that it was out of order and apologised on behalf of the council. He said he will pass it on to the relevant manager and someone from that department will be in touch with me soon.

I'm still pissed off but I suppose stuff like this is going to happen.

Well done for reporting. What a complete arsehole. I've been driving 13 years and am still a little hesitant on roundabouts because so many daft bastards just don't use their indicators. Much better to be a little hesitant than have someone smack into the side of you - particularly with a child in the car.

Yes, stuff like this will happen... but probably less so the more confident you get, people aren't patient with new drivers unfortunately.

One day you will be wondering why the person in front is waiting for a 'fucking hand written golden invitation to pull out'

What an arse! Mind you, I was on the A1 earlier watching a police van bombing it up the overtaking lane at about 85mph, get right up the arse of cars in front, brake sharply behind overtaking lorries/coaches etc that could be seen from hundreds of yards away (i.e plenty oftime toadjust Roadspeed accordingly) and completely disregard safe stopping distances. No blue lights or sirens, ergo no excuse. Who on earth would I report that to though?!

Report them unacceptabl behaviour. This is part of te reason why I don want to learn to drive again, too many idiots on the road. Opnwas being cautious, she wanted to wait until everything was safe, shawls 30 seconds not 30 mins fgs

Well done for reporting it.

Do you have a P plate on the car - not legally necessary, but I know I give more space and consideration, mainly because they may do something unexpected to learner/new drivers.

Never mind the correct use, or not, o the horn!

Op has to brake to prevent the idiot having a head-on collision with a lorry! My God, he really shouldn't be on the road!

I'm fully aware as to the purpose of a horn, however if someone is stopped for 30 seconds when its obvious that they could easily pull out I don't think its unreasonable at all. Just making them aware of your presence and basically saying get a move on.

Yeah, that's not reasonable and in situations like this completely counterproductive - an inexperienced driver is more likely to become flustered and confused and either not go anywhere, or possibly cause an irrational reaction leading to an accident - that's not going to help anyone get where they're going any faster.

Even with a more experienced driver, they will very often have a better view of the junction than the vehicle behind (given the propensity of councils/highways agency to put extra road furniture at roundabouts, preventing the very point of roundabouts which is to keep traffic flow up). Even if someone at a higher vantage point behind the first vehicle can see the route better, it is for the driver in front to make their own mind up when it is safe to proceed.

I'm still pissed off but I suppose stuff like this is going to happen.

Yup, unfortunately so.

I've witnessed some aggressive and terrible driving in the past (and made some moves I'm ashamed of, and I admit, some driving I should be ashamed of but still enjoyed) but while currently in the process of trying to improve my driving, have realised that the best thing to do is accept the reality of others' driving and (in the moment) let them get on with it/accommodate it to avoid a collision.

About seven years ago i was crossing the road with some heavy shopping (and i was already halfway across when she turned the corner) some woman in a 4 by 4 yelled out Hurry up you fat cow. I was a size 12 at the time and she had kids in the back Great example to set.
Well done for reporting OP. i would do the same.

The only exception to that I would accept would be at traffic lights where you can clearly see that the person immediately in front of you isn't actually looking at the lights which have been green for quite some time. That's not a judgement call like a junction.

I wouldn't even do it then.

A couple of weeks ago I was second in the queue at some lights which were on red. The car behind me started to slowly roll backwards towards mine. It became clear that the driver didn't realise he was rolling back so I gave the horn a really short burst to warn him.

He obviously thought I was telling him the lights had changed and shot forwards through the red light, narrowly avoiding a vehicle coming across.

I felt terrible that I had nearly caused a nasty accident by using my horn.

I would definitely report him! what I would also suggest is to go to Halfords and buy a 'P' plate...it's like an L plate and just tells other drivers that you are a 'new' driver (recently passed) it may help to let others know you may need a little extra time...you'll always encounter 'bullies' who would probably not shout and harass a man but think it's O.K. to scare the life out of a woman.

Gold there's no need to feel guilty. That driver clearly wasn't paying attention to anything so you were right to draw his attention to the accident he was about to cause. Especially as 99.9% of the time the 2nd car in the 2 car accident is found to be at fault - usually rear end shunts but hard to prove he was rolling back into you. At the very least the insurance company would say 50:50 liability as you hadn't left enough space between you and the car in front (you're supposed to be able to see Tarmac and tyres of the car in front).

Def report.

In NI we have to use R ( restricted) plates for a year and I'm v glad of them. In fact in already slightly anxious about taking them off in October! ( though looking forward to being allowed to do more than 45 mph on the motorway)

Is there not a similar thing in England? Perhaps others will have a bit more patience if they see it?

Yes report - my advice is send your complaint to the HR department as usually "bringing employer into disrepute" is a disciplinary offence. Word it as "you should know how your employees behave in company vehicles". They will know from records who was assigned to that vehicle.