Aggressive/bullying driver

[AtHomeDadGlos]

So, I popped to the shops this morning and behind me was a very impatient/angry driver who was frustrated at my driving a touch under/on the speed limit of 30mph.

Lights flashing, fist pumping, watch tapping away as the lights turned from green to red - he wanted me to speed to catch them.

Just wondering how other people deal with these bell ends (invariably they’re blokes). I just slow down even more as needing to check my mirrors more intently means I can’t give as much attention as to what’s in front of me. also it pisses them off

Driving at the speed limit and cautiously is driving well.

Agree 100%. I said incapable of driving at or close to the limit.

@PandorasXbox

If they can’t drive even close to the speed limit, they shouldn’t be on the road because they aren’t safe drivers.

Prime example is my village - there’s a garden centre and it’s surrounded by NSL roads.

90% of my daytime driving is spent behind a car doing 20-30mph —in fact 30 is a distant memory— in a 60 when it’s clear and light and completely unnecessary.

At the garden centre entrance I have to slow down to a maximum of 30mph due to the amount of pensioners that either don’t look before pulling out or completely misjudge the speed of cars on the road and cause them to brake. Sometimes they even look you in the face and pull out anyway, making you brake to avoid hitting them.

It’s infuriating that these idiots are still allowed to drive!

Oh and my friend was left paralysed by a 70 something year old who fell asleep at the wheel.

Elderly drivers need regular retests.

Driver slower, then blow them a kiss in the mirror.....always pisses them off.

As a 70 year old driver, I might just say that I don't necessarily think we ALL need retests. However, we and indeed the rest of the driving population should have mandatory regular eye tests.

When I did an Advanced Driving Course yonks ago there was a clever simulation machine which tested reflex and reaction times - 10 minutes on one of those could quickly identify concerns that need taking further.

Put both those in place for all drivers from the age of 40 (when eyesight in particular starts to deteriorate) - and much stricter monitoring of mobile phone use, a major cause of erratic driving especially on motorways.

I was as ever bemused this morning when going past a primary school. Since when has it been legal to park/drop off on single or double yellow lines and over zebra/pelican hatchings?

I didn’t say that driving not near to the speed limit was safe.

I absolutely hate tailgaters. It’s so scary as if anything were to go wrong, they wouldn’t have any time to take evasive action. I never drive too slowly, and yet I’ve had drivers come right behind me pressurising me to break the speed limit, even when there are speed cameras. They don’t seem bothered about getting points on their license.

I do wonder whether my hero(ine) on the day was using her rear view mirror. If so, she would have become aware of the tailback she was causing and adjusted her driving appropriately. On the other hand, if she was nervous or cautious, the sight of all the cars behind may have caused her to dig her heels in even more. She could have pulled into a farm gate entrance or driveway to let other vehicles pass but she didn't. Anyway, these are explanations, not excuses. Would this sort of inappropriate driving be reason for a test failure, I wonder ?

FWIW, I was keeping a safe distance from the one in front and stayed calm, although frustrated. She was driving a fairly new Mini as well, so a powerful and capable car.

Clearly if people like asdad find themselves in such a horrific position then they need to do what they need to do. However, we all know this isn’t the norm. The chap behind me didn’t have his blinkers on, wasn’t distraught or trying to overtake me, wasn’t runninor trying to run red lights. He was just impatient, as are the majority of dickheads who sit so close you can see the whites of their bulging eyes but not their headlights or numberplate.

And yes, it is frustrating to be behind someone doing 40 in a 60 zone but the only way to overcome it is to back off and look for a sensible opportunity to overtake. Unlike another bellend who tried to overtake both me and a peloton of 10 cyclists one day on windy roads with blind corners.

To the pp who mentioned that for a 30 limit you will mainly be driving below 30 - if that applies to you, take the bus. Most 30mph roads are safe to drive at 30mph. No one should be driving up your rear end to force you to go faster - that's dangerous and wrong. It is also true that often you will need to drive slower than the posted limit. But mainly? No.

It serves no purpose for the driver behind to burst a blood vessel. They can't control the speed of the car in front - why get worked up about something you can't change?

Most 30mph roads are safe to drive at 30mph.

Quite a few 30 mph roads were until recently 40 or even 50 roads.

That said the evidence is unambiguous. Lower limits reduce accidents. Which is why they were reduced, and why they will continue to be reduced.

I don't agree with driving aggressively, however I live in the country. Into the next town, It's one road. It's not a particularly bendy road, however there are bends. I Find the slow drivers incredibly frustrating. It's national speed limit and you've got people going 30, even on the straights. I don't let it show but it drives me wild. Rightly or wrongly, people take risks over taking that they wouldn't take if people could at least drive at 40/45

Tailgating happens whatever your speed anyway. That idiot behind when you are doing 25 in a 30 zone will most likely still be tailgating when you are doing 40 in a 30 zone. Or 80 in a 70 zone etc. People who just want to drive at the speed limit are few and far between round here. They should crush your car the first time you are caught speeding - that would soon solve the problem

And while over taking is a bit of a grey area, I find the attitude of "I want to drive at this speed so you all have to' equally ignorant.

I generally move out of the way on fast roads as I don’t want them going into me at speed. N.B. I am not a slow or nervous driver and have been on ‘ that awareness course’. I can’t stand those idiots nearly touching my bumper whilst doing 85mph.
If I’m in town and someone judges I’m too slow pulling out of a junction and starts honking then I have been known to get out, go to their car and ask them to discuss whether it’s quicker to pull out because someone is rude and honking thereby having an accident and causing much more significant delays or whether it’s actually quicker to wait until it’s safe to do so. I don’t always get contrition but generally get a degree of mumbled apology.

Aggressive impatient drivers should ideally be reported to the police, but as there is no photographic evidence, I expect the police would not be willing to deal with this given the cuts in resources.

The question of medical standards is separate.

A large number of my local roads have been changed to 20mph. I apparently outrage other drivers by sticking to this. I am subjected to a barrage of honking and tailgating and they overtake and speed off the minute they can.

It intimidates me to the point where I don’t madly like driving round here.

Tailgating happens whatever your speed anyway. That idiot behind when you are doing 25 in a 30 zone will most likely still be tailgating when you are doing 40 in a 30 zone. Or 80 in a 70 zone etc

This is my experience. No matter what your speed is some drivers try to intimidate you by tailgating. It’s bullying and shows how ignorant they are. It doesn’t prompt people driving at the speed limit to go faster, for some people it just makes them anxious and upset, not great when they’re in charge of a moving vehicle.

For some reason adjusting my mirror makes a lot of them back off.

Advice from the advanced driving course is to drive more slowly if you are being tail gated. It reduces the severity of an accident by reducing the speeds involved. Also to drive wide so they cannot try to squeeze through to overtake.

I used this strategy the other day in similar circs. Gesticulating, beeping, flashing lights and in my bumper because I was waiting to go round a cyclist until it wasn't a blind bend with no room. It was great because it meant he also had to go slowly. Then I took plenty of road space where it was too bendy for him to pass safely but he would surely have tried it.

When there was a layby I tucked in to let him past without endangering me or anyone else. He roared past, gesticulating away, and promptly got stuck behind a tractor for the next two miles. Christ, it was so satisfying to drive along behind him for those two miles.

I LOVE having these people behind me, I get a huge pleasure in applying driving techniques that ensures for maximum frustration and gnashing of teeth

You get two sorts of tailgaters. The 'aggressive' tailgater wants to get past. They're dickheads but usually easy enough to deal with, just let them pass when it's sensible. The exception is those who are sufficient [string of obscenities] that they pass you then slam on their brakes in front of you and weave about. I don't really know what to do about that, other than immediately dial 101 hands-free.

The 'passive' tailgater on the other hand has no intention of getting past and just drives up your arse because they don't know or care what a safe following distance is. There's less you can do about them really, except increase your own distance from the car in front.

I had another good one on Saturday night. I found myself following a people carrier that hardly exceeded 26mph for three miles in a 40mph zone. Ok it was raining heavily and windy so 40mph perhaps unwise but 26 was too slow and causing quite a tailback. No chance of overtaking as single carriageway with multiple speed cameras. Our hero was so far to the left of the lane she (yes) was almost on the pavement. And she also had her rear fog light on. It was dark but not foggy.

I seem to find these drivers...

I one got stuck behind a woman doing (I kid you not) 10 in a 30, and she was driving slap bang in the middle of the road. It wasn't dual carriageway. Luckily it was quiet the whole stretch or I have no idea what would have happened. I have no shame in saying that people like that should be off the roads.

YANBU - I have been driving 20 years or so and it was never this bad when I passed, people were more chilled, you might get the odd one but nowadays there is constant pressure to speed, people tailgating, flashing, tooting but if I speed and there is a policeman with a radar, it will be me not the person behind who gets the points.

30mph is the maximum, not a target and I would set my cruise control around 29mph if conditions were clear.

It's a mass of impatience and rudeness now on the road, it is touch and go if drivers give way at a roundabout and I see plenty jumping lights which is such a danger, particularly if the phasing is quick and the other side are already on green.

However, where possible, I prefer the arsehole to be in front of me rather than behind me and if it is too bad, I'll pull over. I don't need that.

I was on M4 on Friday in a 50 mph zone and had a Tesco lorry feet away from my back when I was doing 50mph, no way would he have been able to stop in and emergency and I was in the inside lane waiting to leave at the nearing junction and had a lorry in front, I'd have been sandwiched and killed in an emergency stop situation. All so stressful. If people left a but earlier it would help alot . And breathe.