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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to walk 34 miles to work

84 replies

madasa · 22/04/2015 14:59

Instead of ever driving again.
Today I have narrowly avoided being crushed by a lorry.
Thanks go to the person in front of me who thought it was a good idea to join a motorway a literally 30 miles and hour. Extra thanks to the lorry driver on the inside lane who could see what was happening but wouldn't pull over to the middle lane so I could join.

OP posts:
pbromum2 · 22/04/2015 15:14

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Original poster
madasa · 22/04/2015 15:17

It drives me mad. I drive miles in a week and am a fairly confident driver but that really shook me up.

OP posts:
ptumbi · 22/04/2015 15:21

34 miles to work? I drive 5 miles and that's enough!

londonrach · 22/04/2015 15:23

Agree. We going on the train now. Less stressful mostly!

NerrSnerr · 22/04/2015 15:23

It really pisses me off too. It is so dangerous to join the motorway so slow.

Original poster
madasa · 22/04/2015 15:25

ptumbi I know it's insane. I then drive more in the community during the day. I used to live in the same town as my job but then I moved to be in the country but I love my job so I tolerate it.

My company is very good...they let me work a full weeks hours over 4 days so at least that's one day less I have to dodge lorries etc.

OP posts:
Chunkymonkey79 · 22/04/2015 15:50

Some people are so fucking dangerous, you must be so shook up.

The last straw for me driving to work on the motorway for a while was an idiot right in front if me, who missed an exit, so did no more than pop the indicator on, stop dead and fucking wait to go across.

Cars whizzed past all around me, i actually thought i was going to die, if it wasn't for a lorry driver noticing a couple of cars back slowing right down and putting hazards on i could have been shunted forward by christ knows how many cars.

Original poster
madasa · 22/04/2015 16:04

Oh my god chunkymonkey that must have been terrifying

OP posts:
DrDre · 22/04/2015 16:12

I drove 25 miles to work (50 miles round trip) for 12 years. The amount of driving I did used to prey on my mind - fortunately I never had an accident and only a few near misses.
I now get the train to work. Even though my commute is longer in terms of time I much prefer it. I am either walking or reading a book on the train, much more relaxing.
I guess there probably isn't an alternative to driving for you - it was the only option in my old job. Try not to worry about it if you can! Flowers

hellsbellsmelons · 22/04/2015 16:13

This is exactly why I think it should be compulsory after you pass your driving test to have a minimum of 3 motorway lessons before you are allowed on them.
Some people have no idea whatsoever.

RosesareSublime · 22/04/2015 16:26

It is a worry and if you see hats being worn in car in front you know you have very elderly people in car.

Icimoi · 22/04/2015 16:31

So what, Roses? Youth is absolutely no guarantee whatsoever of safe driving. Why do you think insurance premiums for young drivers are so high?

badRoly · 22/04/2015 16:31

I wrote my Mum's car off many years ago when I slammed into the back of a car which had stopped at the end of a slip road to 'give way'

I was accelerating to the speed of the traffic, looked over my shoulder to check for traffic and didn't hit the brakes fast enough.

Entirely my fault but I still stand by my argument that you don't expect to find a car stopped at the end of a slip road...

Homemadeapplepie · 22/04/2015 16:36

How scary, and worse is that if it happened again tomorrow you would not be able to do anything differently so I quite appreciate your desire to walk-34 miles is a bit far though.

IKnowIAmButWhatAreYou · 22/04/2015 16:41

Twice I have had the misfortune to be behind the same elderly gent in his small, silver car who joins the A1 at 15mph.

It's absolutely the scariest thing that has ever happened to me - if I even think I see him in the distance near the slip road now I go round the block to give him time to die get on the motorway....

antimatter · 22/04/2015 16:41

I am commuting 100 mile round trip to work every day.
Every day there's a driver who didn't indicate and expect others to read their mind.

I had my first small accident 2 weeks ago. An elderly driver drove into a roundabout without signaling and giving right of way. He wasn't even looking right when he drove into that roundabout, I slammed my brakes but it was too late!

I am wasting my time talking to the garage and insurance company.
I also had a flat tyre on the side of the crash 2 days after that accident and before car was assessed by the garage and as it happens some parts of suspension needed to be replaced. I am not sure I will be able to claim that Sad

Do you think if there was recording of this accident could anything be done to educate this driver who clearly is unable to drive safely?

Sparklingbrook · 22/04/2015 16:47

It can be terrifying driving on the motorway, due to other people.

When people are trying to join from a slip road and I am already on the motorway I try to move into the middle lane to allow them to do so. When discussing that on MN I am always told that you don't have to and it's the problem of the person joining to find a suitable gap, and there always is one. Confused

No room or time for being nice on the motorway obviously. Sad

YellowTulips · 22/04/2015 16:51

My pet hates (in no specific order):

  • joining a dual carriageway/motorway at speeds far below the prevailing traffic
  • sitting in the overtaking lane even though there is no one to overtake at just shy of 70 enough to be seriously annoying
  • taking half a mile to pull into the inside lane after overtaking as they cant seemingly check to see what they have passed or judge the respective distance
  • on seeing a very slow vehicle ahead failing to merge into the outside lane at a sensible speed - instead pulling up to the tractor for example, slowing to a crawl and then moving into the outside lane at 30mph causing braking for a mile of traffic behind.
  • driving below 55 mph on a dual carriageway forcing all the lorries to overtake (taking a mile to do so at 60mph). This is usually associated with the urban myth that the best fuel economy is achieved at 56mph when it's simply a competitive fuel economy figure between manufacturers
  • not planning your route so when the exit you "think" you want "may" be coming up slow to 30mph whilst you make your fucking mind up - then speeding up again until the next exit
  • overtaking a lorry going 60mph at 62mph so it takes 2 miles to get past
  • driving 1m behind my bumper as you want to get past - but I'm stuck behind the 62mph driver as well - so it's pointless and dangerous
  • putting fog lights on when it's "barely" misty thus dazzling every other driver within a 100m radius

And breathe.....Grin

DrDre · 22/04/2015 16:51

antimatter - you can get a camera in your car to record what happens when you drive. Might be a good idea if you do a lot of driving. If something was to happen, and you had a recording of it, the police could send the offender on a driver education course (similar to a speed awareness course).
So, if you can get a recording of the incident, or a witness, the police may well do something about it.
When another driver pranged our car in a car park we were fortunate enough to have a witness to the incident, and the person in question had to go on a course (because they drove off without leaving any details).

iHAVEtogetoutofhere · 22/04/2015 16:58

I am a person who is nervous at joining a motorway slipway as I do VERY little motorway driving.

I do accelerate to join the speed of traffic (between 55-60mph approx.) but I DO find that people WILL NOT move over into the middle land and make some space.

I have not ever 'frozen' at the end of the slip road but I can well understand how it sometimes happens - also how dangerous it is.

I spend a lot of time driving on country roads and am very good at driving safely on those (which many drivers used to mainly motorways find difficult, oddly).

I agree that 3 'motorway' lessons should be part of a test.

Sparklingbrook · 22/04/2015 16:59

Not moving over to let people join seems the majority view on MN iHAVE. I don't get it.

DrDre · 22/04/2015 17:03

Yeah I don't get it either. If there's space I always move over. Common courtesy.

iHAVEtogetoutofhere · 22/04/2015 17:05

Me neither, sparkling

I was on the recent thread about tailgating and it was amazing how many people said they deliberately slowed down to let the driver behind know they were annoyed, even if they were right up their tail ends on a blind bend.

If I see a car I think is driving dangerously, I want to be well away from it.
I'd rather 'give way' and get away from a dopey driver any day!

Sparklingbrook · 22/04/2015 17:09

This is what I was told about joining a motorway on the pillocky motorway driving thread recently-

Sparkling if there genuinely isn't a gap then absolutely everyone is tailgating. I've never seen that happen.

Confused
MagelanicClouds · 22/04/2015 17:18

iHAVE - I get nervous on motorways too as I don't drive on them often enough to feel used to it.

I might be wrong here and please correct me if I am - but if you reach the end of the slip road and have been unable to join the motorway aren't you supposed to use the hard shoulder? I've never actually done this and it sounds a bit dangerous, but not as much as coming to a dead halt at the end of the slip road!

I did have a close call with a motorway maintenance vehicle - it slowed down very suddenly from 60 to less than 30 with no warning, I just had to slam on the brakes and pray very hard! It pulled into the hard shoulder and I spent the rest of my journey too nervous to pull out and also terrified to stay in lane one!
My driving instructor told me he met someone reversing up a slip road. Why do people do that kind of thing??