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?

The local breed here seem to think 40mph is an acceptable speed everywhere. On the NSL dual carriageway, in the 50mph leading to it, in the 30mph local roads and in the 20s past schools. 😡

They are speed demons who delight on swerving round the motorway.
so for example on daily commute I can be in the middle lane doing 70 and overtaking lorries speed limited to 57mph. I also like a stopping distance and am preparing to move back into near lane. Cars in far lane doing 70-80mph overtaking me. Reasonable so far, everyone overtaking each other. Speed demon bats up behind and realises a) moving too fast and about to miss his junction so undercuts everyone to avoid missing turn off. B) for some godforsaken reason best know to himself (or still high on last nights coke) decides patience is not a virtue and has spotted a gap in near side lane that gets him further ahead so zooms into that only to find himself behind a lorry, so zooms out of that and off to far lane in one swoop if the spare spec is there.

I suspect F1 would find a lot of untapped talent round my area.

I've been doing observing for our local group of the Institute of Advanced Motorists for nearly 35 years! None of this is new. There were bad drivers back then.

Our bugbear for that entire time has been people who don't observe road signs nor road markings. It was one of the first things we checked on 35 years ago, and is still the biggest issue today! Of course, far worse now with the proliferation of road signs, overgrown hedges obscuring them, white paint wearing out on road surfaces etc. It has always been one of our favourite challenges to ask a driver what road sign they'd just passed - when they're first asked, I'd say probably 95% hadn't a clue. After a few observed runs, it'd be down to about 5% who hadn't noticed/registered a sign!

It's not something that "normal" driving test examiners check for, and it should be. Learner drivers tend to just drive around the test route multiple times ahead of their test, so know the roads by experience, as opposed to "reading" the road via signage, markings or even observation. It's such a simple thing that could easily be included in tests and which would lead to life long good habits!

Yep. The road between our village and the outskirts of town is 60mph. The town outskirts and our village both have a 30mph speed limit. I see so many 40mph drivers on this road who drive at 40 on the 60mph road and through our village. I don't understand what is going on in their tiny little excuse for a brain.

Someone recently had a go at my husband because he had passed 4 cars on his left before she came around a bend and refused to move back half a car length to allow him space to pass, instead expecting him to reverse past 4 cars and back around that blind corner onto a main road because it was her right of way, technically yes, but in reality stupid. He didn't reverse as that would have been dangerous but the venom from her was ridiculous.

That is so well described and I have seen this stuff first hand.

i think the real reason is that a lot of women I have encountered on the road seem utterly terrified of, or refuse to, reverse. In any situation or scenario.

reversing on a road is actually one of those where I think if people were retested on it, thousands would fail - folk seem to actively loathe doing it and will resort to abuse, remonstrations, gestures etc to avoid it

I Agree and road pricing. Pay per journey.

There already is road pricing. The more I drive the more fuel I use the more tax I pay. Simples

There was a thread on here recently about a point on the highway code. Despite the highway code and RAC advice being linked to several posters were still utterly convinced that they were right and the people following the highway code were wrong and they firmly refused to budge.

So you are right, some people definitely ignore the highway code, especially if they have decided their way is better.

I meant this.
publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmtrans/789/report.html#:~:text=Road%20pricing%20involves%20direct%20charges,as%20pollution%2C%20emissions%20and%20congestion.

This green switch over for cars, and utilities is coming. People need to wake up and understand, that unlimited energy usage is not sustainable.
Wakey, wakey everyone.

How eco friendly are the batteries in electric cars? How is the electricity made to power them? The emissions/damage are somewhere else but don’t pretend they’re 100% green.

Had one gas guzzler for almost 17 years and the other for 12. Could have bought 10 new cars in that time but haven’t. Don’t get any credit for that though. It’s just about the electric ones.

(When they have a 6-800 mile realistic range on them and a reliable network of chargers, I’ll consider it.)

They don't need to overtake on the right if they're already in the inside lane - it's only incorrect if they move to the inside lane with the purpose of undertaking. Also why are people able to be undertaken in the first place? You should only be in the middle lane if overtaking a vehicle in the inside lane. That's obviously not happening if you're being undertaken regularly

@LadyCampanulaTottington exactly!!

But if you're going slowly enough to be undertaken then you're the one in the wrong

Twice today I had to stop on a main road behind drivers who have ground to a halt to let another car join from a side road. Not in slow moving traffic but 30 mph +.

Signalling at roundabouts and junctions is so diabolical it's useless. What's even more amazing is the number of people who decide to have an argument about it with me in the middle of the road. I feel like I should start carrying copies of the Highway Code with me to hand out.

It honestly seems like a mistake to fit indicators to cars, if they can't be used to gauge someone's intention. I'd rather have no indication at all than a false one.

Those arseholes who start a left hand lane queue when the signs say the road turns from 2 lanes into 1 in 600 yards.

600 yards is a long way, keep using both lanes of traffic and at 100 yards merge in turn.

I got beeped yesterday for doing this and all these utter muppets sitting in the left hand lane had brought the traffic on the left to a complete standstill.

People just follow other drivers, even if they drive like twats.

Out of principle I won't let in large 4 x 4s or vans from a side road as I don't trust their driving and don't want to be at the mercy of their brake lights. I want to be able to see through the cars in front of me so I can anticipate dangers and don't have to rely on wankers in gas guzzlers to not be distracted.

I am finding a large proportion of drivers who refuse to give way. There’s a cyclist or a parked car on their side and rather than wait for the oncoming traffic to allow a space, they just pull out and expect oncoming cars to make room. I refuse to do this and hang back waiting for a safe overtake but I’ve regularly had people tailgating me, beeping or even overtaking me as I pass a cyclist.

I was waiting at a set of temporary traffic lights last night where half the road is closed and they’d just gone green for us. Everyone was starting to move forward but that wasn’t enough for the car behind me. He pulled alongside me as I was moving out to try and overtake the cars going through the lights in a single lane.