To think the roads are becoming more unsafe

[Solonelywastheballard]

I've been driving for 16 years and never had an accident. I've lived in two major cities and driven all over the country.

I would consider myself an experienced and very good driver. I've never had an issue on the roads. Until this last month.

Two weeks ago a man became very very aggressive with me. I was really shaken for a while, he looked like a proper thug. This was because I overtook a parked car when he was coming in the opposite direction. I had plenty of time to get round, it's a 20 mph road with speed bumps. He deliberately sped right up, zoomed up to me as I was passing the parked car didn't stop until he was almost touching my bumper, I reversed out the way, he the drove beside me and started spouting abuse at me, calling me a stupid foreign bitch. I thought he was going to get out the car and rip my head of he was so angry. (I'm English and white btw)

Then today I stopped at a roundabout to give way to a car on the right and a van driver drove up the back of me. Another tattooed thug. Shouting about how I shouldn't have stopped I should just have carried on driving to keep the flow of traffic moving. I've noticed people have less and less regard for giving way at roundabouts, he's obviously one of them. I said he needed to take a driving course because you have to giveway to the right.

My dh has also had two road rage incidents in the last couple of weeks while I've been in the car - one was a thug on a bike.

I feel like the roads aren't safe and the world is being taken over by bully boy men. Right now I don't want to get behind the wheel again but my DS is disabled and I need to drive for him.

Is anyone else feeling like the roads are becoming lawless or is it just me.

There are more dickheads around in everyday life.

Had a man overtake on a blind bend, beeped him and he put his fingers up. 🤷🏻‍♀️ He then raced ahead only to be caught at the next traffic lights. He then waited whilst the lights were on green, then moved off when they were on amber leaving us behind. Weirdo!

Yes. Roads are getting worse.

I don't drive but DP does, the other week we were almost taken out with the kids in the car by a massive van. He made no indication to come over in to our lane, he just pulled over and almost pushed us off the road. DP slammed the breaks and beeped his horn but no reaction!! He then did it again further down the road. Unfortunately it was an enterprise van so they couldn't do anything when we rang and complained apart from look on Monday who was driving.

People seem to forget to use indicators as well round here. Even when you're walking. See a car, no indication, set of to walk across the road and they turn in?!

We are looking in to getting a dash cam.

I've also noticed that people seem to think using indicators is on a voluntary basis... or that they're there to explain what you've just done. "I've just braked hard - it's because I'm going to turn left".

People are getting worse, there’s some strange sense of entitlement that makes them believe they are always right.

Near me there’s a roundabout (in)famous for the problems it causes. No one ever reads the road signs/markings and never get in the right lane. The number of times I’ve been cut up/beeped/verbally abused when the other driver is actually in the wrong is infinite. Worse now there’s roadworks which have closed a lane on one of the exits. Despite numerous signs stating the lane is closed (it’s a dual carriageway) everyone speeds around the middle lane then slams the breaks on and forces their way in to the open lane causing traffic to build up behind them on the roundabout, blocking the middle lane until they manage to shove over.

DH recently had a road rage incident where the guy chased him down to verbally abuse him. At a different roundabout in the town, somewhat unusually the left lane is left turn only and the right lane goes straight on/right. The other driver had sped down the left lane then, when DH carried straight on, was forced to turn left and had a tantrum. Obviously hasn’t studied the road layout and realised he was wrong because he had the same argument with a friend of mine a few weeks later!

And don’t get me started on the local bus drivers!

People are getting worse, there’s some strange sense of entitlement that makes them believe they are always right. ... as evidenced by the Mn speeding threads. On the one side "if you can't drive up to the speed limit in all conditions on every road (sometimes with the exception of a "country lane", something which is implied that no-one of sense ever needs to drive on) you shouldn't be driving at all. On the other "it's a limit not a target". And clear water between them, no middle ground at all.

One of the more useful tips I got from mn is if someone is right up your arse wash your windscreen. It makes them back off every single time.

The number of people killed in road accidents is around 1750/year. Go back 30 years and it was 6000. The number of people being seriously injured has also massively reduced over the years.

There are more accidents now, because there are more cars on the roads so more congested. But those accidents happen at far lower speeds than they used to, due to congestion, and the safety features in vehicles have improved hugely.

So, in terms of being seriously injured or killed, the roads are much safer. In terms of being in an accident that causes just vehicle damage, it's worse.

Personally, I'm happy with an increased risk of car damage for a reduced risk of injury or death.

Oh, and I'm also stealing cunt farm

I agree but I also think it's people becoming more angry.
We live in a fast paced environment now and nobody has time for anything ( no excuse to give someone abuse though) .

I think it's advisable to centrally lock the doors whilst driving and I have my headlights turned on each trip now, even in sunny weather because people pull out in front of me more now. I drive a small car and I do encounter entitled behaviour from drivers of larger cars - they try to take up all the road and expect me to pull over.

Presumably car ownership is set to decline as the govt and local authorities make it more and more expensive. It won't be long until we all use Car Clubs and autonomous cars. Or we'll get hover boots and fly round like the Jetsons

This was because I overtook a parked car when he was coming in the opposite direction. I had plenty of time to get round, it's a 20 mph road with speed bumps. He deliberately sped right up, zoomed up to me as I was passing the parked car didn't stop until he was almost touching my bumper, I reversed out the way, he the drove beside me and started spouting abuse at me, calling me a stupid foreign bitch

That's really weird, I had an almost identical thing happen to me a couple of weeks ago, except I was called a "fat ugly cunt". This wasn't in the Brighton/East Sussex area, was it? This guy pulled up alongside me and screamed at me through the window. I'm afraid I replied that I might be fat and ugly, but at least I wasn't a moron with anger issues who shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel.

This guy was really scarey, his face was contorted with rage and he was spraying spittle as he ranted. I had my phone in my hand, with 999 already dialled and my thumb ready to hit the call button, and my other hand ready to wind up the window.

This is the first time in 44 years of driving that I've felt the slightest bit fearful of someone's road rage, so maybe the people on the roads are getting more dangerous. It's made me seriously consider getting a dashcam.

Drivers are getting worse but over the last 10-20 years the number of deaths and serious injuries have reduced. The rate of reduction is slowing though. There were 1,770 deaths in the last year for which figures were published, which is 1,770 too many.

Fewer deaths and serious injuries does not mean politer drivers though. The judge who yesterday accepted the argument/excuse of Steve Coogan is the kind of person who has blood on their hands, and until those kind of judges and magistrates are struck off, there will always be those who are allowed to get away with unacceptable driving.

The police want more people to have dash cams and submit videos of dangerous driving to the police

And yet when you do, they do nothing. There was a case a couple of years ago where I live where there was clear footage of a van stopping on a small roundabout and reversing into the car behind. Police did nothing despite several attempts by the victim. All we could think was that the van was driven by the Chief Constable's relative.

The number of people killed in road accidents is around 1750/year. Go back 30 years and it was 6000.

Emergency medicine has improved immeasurably in that time though. Lots of people suffer injuries that would have killed them 30 years ago.

I expect road rage is as old as the roads themselves, but also a feeling a feeling of invincibility, by people think they won't be caught. For some reason, penalties for drivers seem to be less than for other offences. Cyclists who kill people have walked free from court. Many fines are loose change compared to the costs of running a car: if you can afford a car, you can afford big fines. We need some much harsher penalties, which would pay for the enforcement, and might make people respect the rules of the road more:
Littering from a vehicle - £500.
Speeding, running red lights - £1500.
Road rage - £2000, plus year's ban.
Drink driving - £5000, plus three year ban for first offence.
Driving when disqualified - automatic prison sentence.
Causing a police chase - automatic prison sentence, for this alone (usually they have a criminal record as long as your arm anyway).
Hit and run - automatic prison sentence, massive fine, very long ban. This one should be punished much more harshly than it is now; drivers flee the scene because they know they won't be punished.
Killing someone while drunk or on drugs - 20 years in prison, and no driving allowed ever again. At the moment, some such drivers are out and back behind the wheel after hardly any time.

These days it seems the only thing drivers are guaranteed to be imprisoned for is taking somebody else's speeding points.

Mmn, yes and no. Ask older people about how much they used to drink before driving!

People using mobile phones is the worst thing these days, I always feel like throwing a rock at them.

I think statistically you are less likely to be killed on the roads because of EU regulations on car safety.

I do think that the volume of cars on the roads and increasingly stressful lives lead to manic and aggressive driving, especially in rush hour (or 3 hours between 4and 7!). I don’t think it matters what car you drive.

Also there are no deterrents - many people regularly speed with no consequences - due to austerity impacts on police budgets. I also think that reported incidents will be down because the police don’t choose to report them (because unless it’s serious, they don’t have resource). As long as you know where the cameras are you can avoid getting caught.

Compared to 30 years ago aggressiveness is much worse now.

But on the plus side, car design is better, drinking and driving is less socially acceptable, seatbelts are worn by the vast majority.

I believe some of it is down to people commuting for work and moving for work, away from family.

I grew up in Surrey and moved to east London at 18. I used to go back home for Christmas. Ok, it's a while back but in 1994 you'd be lucky to see more than half a dozen cars at a time on Christmas Day on the M25. Year on year it got heavier and heavier, to the point it felt like a normal working day commute!

I do think additionally that we are, as individuals, under a lot of stress in our working lives, lack of parking, demanding bosses etc., more busy social lives, and end up taking our grievance out of other drivers that 'get in our way'.

When I commuted it was very stressful, despite allowing myself a very good window of time to get to the office, I could guarantee that every day there would be an issue on the way. Yep, I could leave earlier to get to the office, but I couldn't leave earlier to get home......

@wouldyouadamandeveit Here's a bit of Christmas day bingo we always play: spot the crashed car. For the last five or six consecutive years: bingo.

I too have noticed a decline in driving ability and a worsening attitude behind the weel in the last 5 years or so.

Not indicating
Not following roundabout rules
Not giving way
Not stopping at pedestrian crossings
Parking ilegally for short periods of time, blocking traffic
Undertaking
40-miles-an-hour everywhere, any time

This seems to affect all ages so I don't think it's a question of new, younger drivers or "life is just so busy". I live in a reiterement area and the number of older people men who refuse to stop at a pedestrian crossing when I am on the road, crossing keeps on rising.

I think part of it is the attitude of our politicians - setting people against each other for political gain. It makes people think that everyone is against them and they have to look after themselves only.

Driving gives me the rage these days Especially bloody lane hoggers. Several times yesterday i had to go from the inside lane to the outside lane (3 lanes) to avoid undertaking people. Why are they in the 2nd lane when a) there's no one for them to bloody overtake or b) they're going slower than those of us using the inside lane at 70? Undertaking seems to happen a lot which also annoys me but i can see why people do it if they drive motorways with lane hoggers regularly!

I have to note though that the M25, even when congested, is an oasis of civilised driving and indication compared with the motorways in Belgium, especially the dreaded Ring.

We move back to the UK in 9 weeks, and how I have managed 13 years without ending up in hospital due to the worst driving on the bloody planet is a mystery to me.

I was going to ask whether people think it’s a result of immigration as we all know how diabolical the driving is in different countries when we go on holiday.

But I also agree that it’s due to increased stress and anxiety and lack of sleep for lots of people.

@wanderings, I live, on a good day, 2 1/2 hours from 'home'. I've experienced a Christmas Day drive taking 4 hours for a 120 mile trip thanks to accidents! Fuck you M40 and M25!

Ah Zebraa I live in an area with pretty much zero immigration. I am fed up with old men failing to stop at the local zebra crossing. They don't even slow down - they look at me on the crossing with my kids and make a decision not to stop. They are all white and British like everyone here.