To think driving in Britain is very good?

[amandacarnet]

I know it is easy to criticise standards of driving. But in comparison to most countries in the world, the standard of driving is very high in Britain. People don't tend to drink and drive, they-do usually wear-seat belts, they do usually stick to their lanes, they do usually stop at red traffic lights. It all makes driving in Britain easier than most other countries in the world.

can ONLY go by my experience but this summer I drove through France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Holland and Belgium - on in Belgium did I feel the driving was worse than the UK - generally I find UK drivers impatient and aggressive (I do a LOT of driving) - sorry

Belgium drivers are absolute mental heads.

I lives driving in France

we've got one of the lowest road death rates.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listoffcountriesbyytraffic-relateddeathh_rate

Pretty rigorous driving test (not sure what they're generally like elsewhere but the one I did when living in Pennsylvania was a joke ... it was >20 mph round a diddy fake road with no other traffic)

And our road signs are good - seriously, I had to read a book on good design at work once, and British road signs were highly praised.

Just too much traffic and too many roadworks.

Whenever I return to the UK from my home in another European country I am always shocked by the impatience & aggression shown by British drivers, and the speeding on motorways. It takes me time to readjust to the driving conditions & I'm always relieved to get home.

I've just come back from 2 weeks in Norway. Speed limit is much lower and most drivers were very very good at leaving a decent gap. No tail gating.

We drove through many countries. It helps in France that the roads just seem quieter. German autobahns are interesting....

We're not bad - but our roads can be very very busy.

We are very good at stopping at pedestrian crossings though. I sometimes think people are amazed when they are waiting to cross when I am abroad and I stop for them.

I've only driven in the UK, France, Germany and the US, and I'd say the UK had the worst driving generally of those (although I haven't driven in Paris, which my mother says is full of very aggressive drivers).

From my experience, It's not bad in the UK- really bad in India, appalling in Egypt, quite good in the USA, frightening in Italy, unpleasant in France. And well, adventurous in African countries.

And parking- another story in other countries!

I've only ever driven in the UK, Italy and Sri Lanka. Due to that admittedly rather small sample of countries, I think the driving in the UK is excellent, by which I mean I don't actually fear for my life constantly while on the road.

YABU absolutely no defensive driving anywhere I’ve driven in the UK. I’ve driven around many places, but the majority is done in London - crowded, aggressive, impatient drivers aplenty.

Try driving in India, Vietnam or Cambodia - seriously grim

I have driven extensively abroad. UAE particularly Dubai is unbelievably awful. Italy is very bad and dangerous and Paris too but UK, Spain and France in general I think are pretty good. Uk is the only country that appears to understand a pedestrian crossing!

I’ve only driven in the U.K., France and the US but whilst I’d say the standard of driving is probably the highest in the UK, in my experience they are also the most aggressive.

The first time DH and I went to Italy, he asked someone why they bothered painting zebra crossings on the road as no one stopped (tell a lie... cars with German plates stopped). The man shrugged his shoulders and said that Italians are very artistic, so they like painting roads.

Britain is the worst country to drive in.

I've lived in Europe and driven in France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and also in the USA and drivers here are the most impatient, aggressive and least skilful.

That combined with our rubbish roads network and piss poor maintenance means driving is a chore and dangerous to boot.

I've driven in LA, if you don't move the second the light turns green, the person behind you is beeping and calling you an asshole. We're much more polite here, we wait at least 5 seconds.

I suspect it depends where in America you have driven. Maybe rural areas and wide open states are fine? But I agree LA is a nightmare.

I think drivers in the UK tend to be very competent but far too aggressive.

Massholes are the only drivers I can think of who are consistently more aggressive.

I've driven in LA, if you don't move the second the light turns green, the person behind you is beeping and calling you an asshole. We're much more polite here, we wait at least 5 seconds.

The relevant comparison to LA is London, where if you don't move within a second they beep and call you an arsehole.

Where I live in the US we stop on main roads to let people cross, and wave and say hello while we're there.

I’m a very experienced, very confident driver, I drive on the M1 almost every day, and I agree with you, OP. While lane discipline could definitely be better (‘Keep Left Unless Overtaking’ is an alien concept to many), the general standard of driving, on weekdays in particular, isn’t too bad. I notice it deteriorates the closer you get to London, however.

Weekends are different, because a much higher proportion of drivers don’t drive on motorways frequently and as a result are less confident and decisive. You can generally spot the nervous numpties a mile off and try to make allowances, until they do something really stupid....