To think the Highway Code is ignored by most people, who then make up their own rules to suit their driving?

[SavoirFlair]

I’m fully expected to be flamed for positioning myself as the “perfect driver” which I’m not (I’m always trying to improve my roadcraft) but hey, here goes..

Does anyone else agree or has noticed that the Highway Code is completely ignored by most folk on the roads. And it’s forgotten soon after passing one’s driving test, because folk make up the rules that suit them first rather than other road users?

classic examples of this are

Middle lane drivers the Highway Code states “Keep in the left lane unless overtaking. If you are overtaking, you should return to the left lane when it is safe to do so”. This rule is completely ignored in most motorways I travel on. You have these comical at best drivers who sit in lane 3 of 4, at 70mph with no sense of relative speed, and refuse to move over. The reason we have smart motorways is because so many people pick their own personal lane for “their” space, or are terrified of lorries or whatever. Meanwhile traffic builds up, people get frustrated, was ever thus. Also I don’t hold truck with “overtaking and weaving in and out all the time is more dangerous”. Go and do Pass Plus then, learn how to use a motorway properly

Signalling on roundabouts Every single day I see someone approaching a roundabout in the right hand lane to turn right, no signal.. they go round 270 degrees towards the right exit, then suddenly at the last min stick a left signal on. WTF?

also annoying are the folk who take the “racing line” on a two lane roundabout and cut you up as you’re going straight.

but the worst without a doubt is those who are approaching, as if to go straight on, no signal, then dive off to the left … meanwhile I’m sitting here, could have gone. But no.. as long as they’re alright.

Running engine while stationary We all know this one, plenty of threads on it. But the law and Highway Code is completely irrelevant to folk who insist their little ones would have a small fit without it

Mobile phone usage Again the Highway Code is completely irrelevant to the dozens of school run folk I see looking down, flicking, checking things while driving THEIR children let alone endangering ours

Giving way when parked cars or an obstruction is on your side This is now a free for all in most places I drive in. as it happens, I was driving forwards past parked cars on the right, occupying the single lane space, when a school run mother came swiftly round the corner into the same lane. I waited for her to reverse as she only had one car length to reverse and I had passed 8 cars by then. Nothing. Complete stand-off. Shouting, swearing, gesturing at me.. in the end for my own sanity I reversed so I could get on with my day. What do I get for it? “You could see I was trying to get into that gap…. No I wasn’t… shut the fuck up bitch”.

so my point stands.. is the Highway Code completely irrelevant to most people. And we just seem to make up whatever suits our driving needs?

I agree that some people need to think about their driving.

I'd like to see the book thrown at more people who use their phones while driving, but it's so difficult to catch people.

As for the parked car issue, I have another complaint - I wait and then people dawdle past. If someone is kind enough to wait for you, hurry up! That said, if you don't have right of way but you're already a way through, you can't disappear so can the cars coming in the other direction please stop. Also, if you are going through and a car comes the other way, don't pull into a space big enough for one, if other cars are following you. Again - we can't all disappear. Look in your mirror and use common sense.

There was a thread about leaving your engine running while stationary the other week and many MNers thought it perfectly acceptable to pollute the atmosphere to keep the aircon on. They've not heard of windows and clearly have loads of money to waste on fuel.

Middle lane hoggers should be banned or at least given points on their licences and the police/CPS able to prosecute based on other people's dash cam evidence. The general dislike of 'snitching' may exist, but I'm sure there would be plenty of drivers willing to make an exception and report people.

In general many people I expect have never read the Highway Code.

Absolutely agree.

Also add in the dangerous slow drivers, causing tailbacks, because 'it's a limit, not a target', and

The people with an inability to merge in turn on a slip road. Nope, got to edge in front and never let anyone in...

I agree, round here if theres a car doing something stupid Its a Taxi, or driving up your arse/ trying to go through you Its an Audi

You missed out the twits who drive right up your backside. Very few people leave a safe space.

You should be able to issue fines and prosecute based on dashcam evidence.

We watch UK dashcam videos on YouTube and it’s shocking how badly people drive.

It’s like they’re completely unaware of the fact that they’re driving and there are other cars on the road.

I drive mostly in the right hand lane - mostly, but not exclusively - because I am usually overtaking for most of my journey. What's wrong with that?

Yes I agree, but then you only needed to see the thread on here about correctly merging from 2 lanes to 1 to see how obnoxiously people were posting that they never let the other lane in cos they’re cheeky fuckers innit

You forgot drivers that suddenly mount the pavement without warning
Pavement blocking/parking
Drivers who haven't a clue who's right of way it is
So many bad/ignorant/agressive drivers

I'm driving a lot on the motorway at the moment and undertaking is rife. I think people think they're driving on a highway these days. And not just because someone is hogging the middle lane, but because they can't be bothered to overtake on the right.

The Highway Code is a funny one because a lot of it is only guidance. Some parts are law (eg the mobile phone bit).

Right of way is irrelevant when preventing an accident I was always taught - yes it's infuriating when people barge through when it's your right of way, but I do know some sections of road people park up on one side and there's always a steady stream of traffic the other way and cars can be sat there for a long time unless they dive through when there's a small enough gap to get started.

I find all of the things you've mentioned annoying as hell, I especially hate people who have no clue about how to use a roundabout (looking at you, husband) but I try to rise above it and just assume that other drivers will do something stupid and be prepared to adapt.

Not sure what else you can do! People will continue to drive like selfish asses - it's much better for my blood pressure if I don't let it wind me up.

I undertake twats in the centre lane just by virtue of being in the right lane (I’m not in the UK) with the cruise control on and maintaining my speed. Technically it’s not undertaking because I’m not accelerating to get by them. They’re the ones breaking the law.

I leave my engine on while stationary in the winter so I can use the heated front windscreen when its frosty

Yanbu. There should be a required driving test every 5 years.

This is why I have no desire to drive. Its bad enough navigating drivers as a pedestrian.

Latest one round here seems to be: get in left hand lane at 4 exit roundabout, not indicating so presumably driver is going straight over, right? No, said driver goes right round the roundabout in the left hand lane, no indicating, because everyone else is supposed to read their tiny fucking mind. I regularly use this particular roundabout and have seen this at least twice a day for the last fortnight.

This kind of thing drives me mad.. we could all have faster traffic and easier drives if everyone just let each other know what their intention is, so I can nip out if it’s safe to.

We really need re-tests every 5-10 years for everyone.

Police don't care anymore about poor driving. There used to be a time when "normal" police (i.e. local cars, dog vans, etc) would stop you to warn you over minor things. Nowadays they don't do that and leave it to the traffic patrols (of whom there's probably only one car out on the roads in an entire town and they're probably on a main road or motorway!).

When you try to drive properly, you're surrounded by numpties doing what the hell they want without challenge, so you start to think "sod it" yourself!

We also need tougher first time driving tests - they're now so basic and dumbed down, they're barely useful at all as a proper test of driving skills. I can't believe how short they are and how little they cover.

Driving seems to make people super aggressive and weirdly entitled. There was someone on another thread the other day saying how rude they find it people don’t wave to thank them for stopping at zebra crossings. It’s bizzare. I mean can you imagine thanking the other drivers for stopping at traffic lights or waiting to turn right or indeed giving pedestrians a wave for waiting to cross where there isn’t a zebra crossing and the car has right of way.

Its another of those irregular verbs.

I’m careful and always trying to improve my roadcraft
You are careless and need to pay more attention to the highway code
They should be locked up

In general many people I expect have never read the Highway Code.

Don't they have to read it to pass their theory driving test?

Nobody in my city seems to understand the concept of a yellow box or a "keep clear" area.

No you just buy a book containing all the questions (or use the app with all the questions), and just rote-learn enough of the answers to give yourself enough of a chance to hit the pass mark.

A lot of the questions aren't even on "driving" as such, but on things like what to do in case of an accident, documents, insurance, etc.

With it being multiple choice, at least one of the options is completely stupid anyway, sometimes two, so even if you don't know the answer, it can be a 50:50 chance of getting it right!

I bought our DS a copy of the The Highway Code, he never even looked at it once. He did his theory test before he started lessons. He just down loaded an app a couple of days before it, spent an hour or two doing the questions and remembering as many as he could, and then got 100% in the theory test itself.

It's really not like the "old days" when the examiner asked you questions during the test itself which could literally have been on anything in the Highway Code.

The standards of driving in this country are generally quite poor. I live in London and the sounds of car and moped horns are constant background noise.

I'd back a much stricter system which mandates retests (at your own expense) every few years and/or if you're found to be driving poorly, and which removes licenses for lesser offences such as persistent antisocial driving with none of this "undue hardship" appealling.

People get lazy. Also, my son is doing his theory and I did an app test with him and failed miserably. Turns out i have no idea what half the road signs out there mean!