To wish other motorists would stop trying to hit my sodding car?!?

[Jamboree05]

I have had four near crashes in two bloody days. None of these were even remotely my fault and were caused either by drivers pulling out at junctions without enough time or cutting up lanes on roundabouts because they haven't got a clue which lane they should be in!!

I'm so wound up by it! I'm a decent driver and try to be really careful but am finding it difficult to continually have to pre-empt others bad driving.

So... AIBU to think that drivers should be required to retest every, say, 10 years (or less?) to ensure they are up to date on changes to road laws and remain competent drivers?

I think the retest wouldn't work. I believe that majority of rude and dangerous drivers are doing it on purpose. So during the test, they would just do their best and then, they would continue to behave the way they do. Unfortunately, the only way to stay safe is to expect the worst.

@myfriendbob
I see about two near misses a day (usually not affecting me). Am I the common denominator too?

if they are near misses with you, then yes. I've been driving for 25 years, I haven't had 4 near misses over 2 years, let alone 2 days!

myfriendbob it’s like everyone has different experiences or something🤔

Out of interest, do you think the people I see not stopping, or even slowing down at a roundabout, when it’s not their right of way is also down to me?

Quite a lot of people have mentioned about it being about certain cars and I have to say I agree.. It's so weird, but I have a big SUV type car and when driving it nothing really happens. My husband has a small bright coloured Fiat 500 (to and from train station car) and if I drive that people start pulling out in front of me, taking risks etc. It's really noticeable. It's almost like they think, "small car, going slow no doubt, I've got time to pull out in front of it".

A police office who had set up a speed gun on my street told me that larger cars look as if they’re going faster. We had a good game of guess the speed that day and obviously he won!

It’s lorrydrivers here who seem to be the problem. Suddenly deciding they want to be in the outside lane where at the time our tiny car was. Doesn’t happen now we have a much bigger car but I’m still edgy when ever I’m in a car next to a lorry.

It's a long standing joke in my family that people are constantly testing my brakes.

I get stealth cyclists (dressed all in black, no lights riding in the dark), junction lemmings (the person in front had space so surely they can go to) and those that have me convinced my car actually has an invisibility cloaking device when I'm behind the wheel just leaping out in front of me, cutting me up, pulling out in front of me with inches to spare.

It's so common my mother bought me a dash cam for Christmas. It hasn't prevent people making me test my brakes, but at least now if someone overtakes me whilst I'm turning right (yep that's happened - my indicators were working perfectly as confirmed by several witnesses) I can provide video evidence of the idiot in action. However I do have sound recording on mine so have had to stop singing tunelessly with the radio!

Another vote for a dashcam. I had a courtesy car the other day and left my dashcam in my car. I felt naked driving without it! It's definitely peace of mind, in the event something does happen. And if nothing else, you end up with a fair few videos of numpties to forward on to the dashcam compilers on YouTube!

I used to have a silver car... I swear that thing came with its own invisibility cloak, the amount of times people drove in front of me. Now I have a bright blue one, so am much more noticeable, and it doesn't happen quite as much. Though it's a BMW, so I now have to wait AGES for people to let me out at a junction. In my Peugeot I was always let out quickly. Just 'cos I drive a BMW, doesn't mean I'm a BMW driver IFKWIM!

That’s interesting @tittygolightly - so is that the third from left or right?

I’m also still not sure where I suggested that the speed limit was variable.

I’m clearly not in a good mood today.

I said to DD yesterday I wondered if I was suddenly invisible; must be the weather.

Saw a near miss this morning while we were walking. Car came through first junction then stopped, indicating right, to turn into a shop. Car behind was so close that almost didn't stop, then went round car waiting to turn right as it turned. Luckily they missed each-other. Impatient person behind was a young woman in a topless black sports car.

We've got a really busy roundabout near us with 3 lanes. First is for left into a retail park or straight on, second for straight on, third for right. It is incredible how many drivers in the middle lane try to turn across the first lane into the retail park then act all shocked that the person in that lane is going straight on.

It's a general lack of awareness and seems to be rife.

@bob- as someone else had so aptly put it, you're experiences are not mine.

Perhaps you're one of the incredibly unobservant drivers that cuts people up and suchlike and just doesn't notice.

Clearly I'm not in a good mood today either...

To be honest, I'm not sure whether drivers seem to be unobservant or whether they just don't care about other people on the road.

Seems to be more and more the latter...

That’s interesting @tittygolightly - so is that the third from left or right?

We drive on the left, and join on the left do you count from the left. Was this not part of your driving lessons?

I’m also still not sure where I suggested that the speed limit was variable.

By using the word fast/faster you imply that others are slow/slower. Just pointing out that they’re all subject to the same speed, it’s just that lanes 2+ are for overtaking.

i was in the right lane of a dual carriage way and had stopped at a x-junction at a red light. there was another car stopped in the left lane.

lights went green and we both started forward. A car drove from the road on my right, through his red light and turned right (i.e. into my lane). I had to do an emergency stop to avoid him.

i should mention that the car on my left was a police car, and i had great delight in seeing the red-light-jumper get pulled over

You always have to drive assuming that other road users may not follow the rules....

I had the wonderful experience in a carpark yesterday when a woman reversed out of a carparking space straight into my car. She tried to say I hadn't been there when she started her manouever but as I was stationary and had been for some time (minutes not seconds) that really didn't stack up. She'd just reversed without looking at all. She then told me there would be no damage as it was so slow, but I still have a scuff and a dent. Not quite enough to deal with insurance for so just leaves me with a slightly annoying dent that is nothing to do with me at all.

Rahhhhhh

A police office who had set up a speed gun on my street told me that larger cars look as if they’re going faster. We had a good game of guess the speed that day and obviously he won!

I seem to remember a piece of research years ago that suggested that people also seriously underestimated the speed of cars and motorbikes that had their headlights on.

Dash cams are definitely the way to go. Except when I play back the footage of mine, which includes sound, it sounds like a Tourettes convention .

In my part of SW England, nicknamed by some as God's Waiting Room, the elderly are a total nightmare on the roads. They pull up at a give way, wait, wait, wait more then pull out in front of you. Sunny days are worse because they all go out. The morning commute is fine because they don't go out that early, and wet weather tends to keep them at home. They also do 37mph everywhere whether it's a 20, 30, 40 or 60 limit. It drives me NUTS. When DD1 was learning to drive, rule 1 was "everyone else is a dickhead", now abbreviated to rule 1. DD2 has had one lesson, the 2nd is tomorrow. She is well-versed in rule 1 (and swearing)

So, for overtaking they go faster, past the slower vehicles, no? @tittygolightly

I think you’ve made my point for me. I’m not sure why you felt the need to be pedantic about this but on this occasion I’d say it was misplaced

@malbecfan- it's exactly the same up by me (although I was trying to avoid saying it in fear of being called ageist!) It's part of the reason that I think there should be a retest every so many years.... doesn't deal with tiredness or dicks on the road but would make sure everyone was at least up to date and confident behind the wheel!

@malbecfan - that’s exactly why we don’t have our dashcam microphone on!

@Jamboree05 - there is an awful lot of elderly drivers on the road who aren’t safe but they won’t give up driving because they don’t want to lose their independence. It’s a tough one but sending them a letter asking them to confirm they are fit to drive and can see well enough isn’t enough because people lie. We don’t have adequate public transport any more and they don’t want to be housebound. I can understand it but they’re putting lives at risk so something has to change.

I was hit by one a few years ago - shocked me when I realised how incapable she was of driving safely. She also tried very hard to avoid going through insurance even though the damage to my car was extensive. I was having none of that, especially given I clearly wasn’t her first victim, then she immediately admitted liability to her insurance company, which left me thinking she doesn’t want anyone investigating her. I’m very wary of elderly drivers now.

The driver in front of me pulled off into a roundabout so I moved forward to wait my turn for a gap. The driver then changed his mind and reversed back into me ]

BANG!

I wasn’t happy.

Where you live has a bearing on how many 'near misses' a person can have.

I live in a town with a one way system round 2 central housing/shopping areas.

The first roundabout is hit by lorries generally once every couple of months, it's a standing joke that it keeps the local brickies in work. Off that roundabout is a one way system with 2 lanes; you need to merge. Countless accidents there as people don't merge and stop dead, often blocking the first lane. At the top of this road is a fork going into 2 more one way streets. Again, accidents both right and left when people stop dead.

The left lane bears right and goes into town. I've seen people go the wrong way down this one way street and also seen a fire engine hit 2 cars parked on the street (it is no parking). The right lane merges onto a fast(er) 3 lane road and cars get side swiped all the time.

I have to drive through twice a day and feel like I take my life in my hands every time. I'm glad I drive an old, small tank car.

I drove to Lewisham the other day, bloody hell its like a new breed of shit drivers! 😂

I do a huge commute every day. Every day, there is appalling driving along the whole route. I drive a eyewateringly brightly coloured car and people don't seem to see it. I am fed up of getting cut up on roundabouts by arrogant men who think they should be in front of me. I am also fed up of getting on the motorway at 35 mph because someone is so panicky/lazy/stupid.

I'm also sick of men getting very upset when I have overtaken them (as they creep along texting or picking their nose) resulting in absurd 'retaliation' overtakes to put me in my place. Ugh!

It never ceases to amaze me when a car pulls out just in front of a bus. I mean,who do they think is going to come off worse between a car and a double decker bus?