Who was in the wrong? (Driving related)

[PookieDo]

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?

If I was A I would have waited

Driving at 50mph is never going to be considered careless driving though yes at really slow speeds the police may ticket you for such an offence. 50mph isn't an unusual speed to see people doing. Agree it's irritating.

And in a collision at that speed car a could have been looking at a prison sentence for causing death by dangerous driving. Insurance claim could have been least of their worries.

Car A failed to judge the speed of the car in front;
Car A failed to judge the speed of the car in the outside lane and pulled out when they should not have.

Car C was going slow but they may have had legitimite reasons for doing so. Slow drivers are an annoyance doing 50 in the inside lane of a DC is not unusual and not illegal.

Car B - we don't actually know if they were doing 90 mph (subjective and possibly biased by the OP) but even if they were, a driver speeding does not entitle other drivers to throw best practice out the window.
Car B should also not have responded in an aggressive manner but if you cut someone's nose off, especially when they are travelling at speed, you're putting their lives at risk through your own incompetence - a reaction is often to be expected.

Learn to drive properly and other drivers won't upset you with horn beeps and rude gestures.

Car A shouldn't have had to brake because of the car ahead. Should have anticipated that speed. They also shouldn't have assumed car b was doing 70, should have been checking the mirror for how fast he's approaching,

The road rage of course isn't on but car A needs to work on anticipating other users speed and act accordingly.

Car A should have judged B's speed better before pulling out to overtake. Car A should also not have had to slam on brakes behind car C. But B is an angry twat and sounds like he should not be on the road.

Since car A moving from one lane to another has caused another car to have to slow down then car A is in the wrong. It doesn't matter than car B is speeding, A should have been aware of their (excessive) speed regardless.

B is a prat cos they if they want to speed then they should be more aware that there are people like B (who are very unaware) on the roads.

I remember my driving instructor taking about not doing anything that means another driver having to take evasive action even if that other driver is speeding. So going by that car A was in the wrong. Car B shouldn’t have been speeding but car A should have been more aware of how fast he was approaching and waited until they had passed before pulling out.
I have the exact same situation on my commute a 50 after a bridge that turns in to a 70 both bridge and road are dual carriageway and sometimes it can be a pain to get out and by someone but sometimes you just have to wait. Shortly after the 70 on my road there is a left turn off so people turning there generally don’t speed up.

but does not realise car B is going 90mph.
This is really concerning that driver A could not judge this. Changing lanes when unsafe to do so is an extremely dangerous manoeuvre.

Car A should have waited beind car C until it was safe to carry out their manoeuvre of changing lanes.

Choosing to pull out rather than break behind car C is really poor judgement.

Car B is established in the right hand lane and has right of way.

Car A should have slowed down and waited for car B to pass before overtaking car C.

Car B should have assessed the road ahead for hazards and slowed down to mitigate the risk of hitting car A If they pulled out to overtake car C. I’m assuming that car A was up car C’s arse...

I'd be interested to know how many car lengths car A was behind car C when they overtook.

A the most at fault. B gets prize for most twerpy tho.

Car A shouldn’t have pulled out. It’s not just about how far back car B is, it’s how fast they are travelling that needs to be taken into account too. Car A caused bar B to take evasive action, car A would have been failed on a driving test for that.

Car B*

If car B had failed to brake in time and had hit car A, car A would have been at fault for insurance purposes for pulling out unexpectedly. This happened to someone I know, as it's impossible to prove what speed Car B was doing unless there was a camera there.

Car A should have just stayed behind Car C until Car B had passed.

I agree that it's seriously concerning that Car A couldn't discern that Car B was rapidly gaining on them - which they really must have been to have to slam on their brakes.

B sounds like a dick.
A sounds like a dangerous driver.

So which car are you OP?

Not sure OP will be back...but for those saying Car C was wrong to drive 50mph on a 70mph carriageway, aside from this being perfectly safe and in keeping with the speeds HGVs, buses, towing caravans etc would be moving along at, there's also the fact that a roundabout was coming up pretty sharpish otherwise the road rage bit of OP's post makes no sense so Car C was arguably the most sensible of the lot, planning for the road ahead and declining to burn extra fuel for the sake of a few faster yards.

As if OP was gonna say it was her swearing and cursing at another driver

Don’t think this thread went how she expected though!

Car A should have gauged the speed of car B and should not have pulled out to make car B brake. It is dangerous on the roads to make any "assumptions" it can cost lives.

I always find that whenever anyone tries to anonymise their post by using A, B and C it is often blindingly obvious who they are because the entire post is written from their perspective!

And then they make it even more obvious by coming back with a question complaining that posters have said they are in the wrong. It's a classic!

B is most at fault as they were driving at 90 a speed that significantly reduces reaction time. They were speeding and should not have felt entitled to continue driving at that speed.
A was entitled to pull out as the speed limit had changed and the driver ahead had not changed speed from 50 but sounds like they jumped out a bit quickly.
The unfortunate reality is that there are lots of B drivers who feel entitled to speed and everyone else must move aside and get out of the way or risk an accident as they own the road don't cha know.

The unfortunate reality is that there are lots of B drivers who feel entitled to speed and everyone else must move aside and get out of the way or risk an accident as they own the road don't cha know.

Except that's not the advice given by the DSA, and if you had a question in your theory test about what to do in a scenario where someone is speeding behind you, the correct answer is always to get out of their way/maintain your course where appropriate. The correct answer is never "pull out as they shouldn't be going so fast".