Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Who was in the wrong? (Driving related)

264 replies

PookieDo · 04/10/2018 09:28

Car A and B are driving down a dual carriageway that has a section of 50mph speed limit and the rest is 70

Car A comes out of the 50 section in the left lane and picks up speed, coming up behind car C still going 50. The road is pretty empty bar car B which is in the right hand lane some distance behind - at least 20 + car lengths who has also just come out of the 50 zone and picking up speed

Car A sees car B in mirror but due to speed of car C either has to brake or overtake Car A pulls out and overtakes car C quickly going back into left lane but does not realise car B is going 90mph.

Car B is very angry and had to slam on brakes although car A does not stay in right hand lane for any longer than needed to overtake 1 car

Car B driver flashes lights beeps horn multiple times even once has passed car A, then makes offensive gestures pulling level with car A then at the next roundabout opens window and shouts at car A driver for being a stupid ***

Clearly car B did not react very well but was this proportionate to what car A did, a normal driving manoeuvre making the assumption that car B was going around 70mph and therefore had plenty of time?

OP posts:
Onlyjoinedforthisthread · 04/10/2018 09:32

You are a pair of idiots and should neither be driving if they can't control your anger.
Grow up

Dandybelle · 04/10/2018 09:32

Car B shouldn't have been going that fast, and shouldn't have been sat using the right hand lane exclusively. It's an overtaking Lane.

Providing Car A ensured that there was ample time to overtake safely, and used indicators to show intention, there shouldn't have been a problem.

Car B driver sounds like a dick.

FullOfJellyBeans · 04/10/2018 09:32

Well If I was car A I would have waited to overtake until I was sure I could do so without any other vehicle having to take evasive action. If you were dong 50 behind car C and another car was doing 70-80 in the right hand lane it's better to let the other car past first. That said if the other car really was doing 90 then they obviously they put themselves at fault too by speeding. I think all of the cars would have failed their driving test for their part (probably including car C ho should have increased their speed).

SputnikBear · 04/10/2018 09:35

B shouldn’t have been driving that fast.

A should have given way to B even if it meant slowing down. B was in the right hand lane therefore had right of way. A should only pull out into the right lane when it’s safe to do so, which it clearly wasn’t.

Medea13 · 04/10/2018 09:38

Well If I was car A I would have waited to overtake until I was sure I could do so without any other vehicle having to take evasive action. If you were dong 50 behind car C and another car was doing 70-80 in the right hand lane it's better to let the other car past first. That said if the other car really was doing 90 then they obviously they put themselves at fault too by speeding. I think all of the cars would have failed their driving test for their part (probably including car C ho should have increased their speed).

I agree with all of this. Caution in all things -- since you can't control other roads users or know what they are thinking. I, too, would have waited to overtake if I were Car A. What's a few more seconds on your journey for the sake of safety? It's not like Car C was a tractor crawling at 15mph.
Car B obviously unreasonable for speeding and losing temper. But Car A also unreasonable for being impatient. No excuse for road rage ever, but why act in ways that might elicit i in others?

SassitudeandSparkle · 04/10/2018 09:39

A sounds at fault tbh (I think this is you, OP, sorry to hear about the road rage from B) because they should have slowed down or waited to pass C.

B shouldn't have responded like that, though, or been speeding.

llangennith · 04/10/2018 09:39

Car A should have waited.

Sirzy · 04/10/2018 09:41

Car A doesn’t sound very aware of what is going on around them.

steff13 · 04/10/2018 09:42

FullOfJellyBeans has it, I think. All three of the cars were in the wrong, really. Although B really overreacted to the whole situation.

Original poster
PookieDo · 04/10/2018 09:43

Some questions: if you waited for the right lane to be empty on a dual carriage way would you never really be able to pull out at all? What is a reasonable distance to see a car and use your judgement that overtaking a slower car will not affect cars going faster

OP posts:
Dychmygol · 04/10/2018 09:43

Car B was breaking the law - however Car A would have been as much for an accident because...

  • Car A could see that despite the distance Car B was picking up speed, irrespective of the right/wrong of a speeding driver you should never cut one up, it's really bloody dangerous
  • The only assumption you should make when driving is that the other driver may not have seen you/your intention. Anything else is dangerous, especially assuming someone's speed.

Neither Car A or Car B were paying enough attention to other cars on the road.

Sirzy · 04/10/2018 09:45

If you can’t judge the speed of the oncoming vehicle and know you can safely move out without causing the other driver to have to take evasive action then you don’t move out.

Jeezoh · 04/10/2018 09:45

Car A should have been aware that Car B was doing 90mph and not pulled out until they’d passed by. Car B sounds like a dick but Car A sounds just as dangerous if they’re unable to judge whether they can overtake without causing another car to slam on their brakes.

TyrionsNextWife · 04/10/2018 09:49

20 car lengths is nothing when you’re doing those sorts of speeds, and car a shouldn’t have pulled out in front of car b - even if car b had been doing only 70mph, then they still would have had to brake to maintain a safe stopping distance while you accelerated up to speed.

No excuse for the behaviour of car b, but neither driver acted appropriately.

whifflesqueak · 04/10/2018 09:49

You need to ensure that pulling out won’t force other vehicles to brake. You need to take the time to judge the speed of oncoming vehicles and not just assume they are doing the speed limit.

Basically in your sceneraio everyone was being a tit.

ghostyslovesheets · 04/10/2018 09:49

I agree with other posters - B was a prat driving speeding like that but A should have been much more aware - coming up behind a slower car at speed and then pulling out at the last moment is not good driving - seeing the slower car well before you are up it's arse and either pulling out or slowing until it's safe to over take is the thing to do

Dychmygol · 04/10/2018 09:49

f you waited for the right lane to be empty on a dual carriage way would you never really be able to pull out at all?

Yep - which is why you see stacks of HGVs trundling along behind one another, because they can't lift their speed to match the overtaking traffic in the outside lane.

It doesn't matter if the people in the outside lane are travelling too fast, if you want to join their flow you either match speed or wait for a safe size gap. I'm in the safe size gap club personally, I'd rather be 5 minutes late than risk injury because I took exception to someone else speeding.

If you can't judge a safe sized gap, maybe you need to book with a driving instructor to brush up on dual carriageway/motorway driving.

steff13 · 04/10/2018 09:51

If car B was really going 90 MPH (not sure how you know that, unless you're car B, which I assume you're not), it should have be apparent to car A that car B was going too fast for car A to safely overtake car C. Car A could have waited until car B passed before overtaking car C.

Here the speed limit on the interstate is generally 65 MPH, but people generally drive about 80 MPH. People overtake one another so the time without incident, even when the road is quite crowded.

GreatDuckCookery6211 · 04/10/2018 09:52

A didn't judge the speed of B and could have caused an accident but going in the left hand lane. Obviously A was driving like a twat but B should have waited for A to pass.

Raven88 · 04/10/2018 09:53

Car A is at fault and should of let B pass before overtake.

GreatDuckCookery6211 · 04/10/2018 09:53

Sorry B was driving like a twat not A.

DGRossetti · 04/10/2018 09:56

TL;DR but this caught my eye:

Car A sees car B in mirror but due to speed of car C either has to brake or overtake

Car A should have been anticipating better Hmm

eurochick · 04/10/2018 09:56

Car A is most at fault. Your manoeuvres should not cause another vehicle to have to change speed or direction.

Car B shouldn't have been speeding or swearing but car A was in the wrong.

araiwa · 04/10/2018 09:57

A shouldnt pull out in to faster traffic causing them to brake

adaline · 04/10/2018 10:02

Car A is at fault. They should have slowed down behind C until it was safe to overtake, which it clearly wasn't as Car B was doing 90mph.

Yes, Car B shouldn't have been speeding he was going straight down the right-hand lane. Car A is the one that pulled out and caused B to slam on his brakes (very dangerous on a dual carriageway, even if he was going at the limit it's not an ideal thing to have to do).