To think driving standards are generally awful?

[Jknow]

I’ve been driving for 24 years, and I realise that there’s a lot more traffic on the roads now than there used to be. Which is obviously going to mean a higher total number of people who don’t have a bloody clue, but honestly it seems endemic at the moment.

Things I’ve noticed in particular lately:

Indicators appear to have become entirely optional, not just at roundabouts but also pulling over or turning into a junction.

People don’t give way when they’re supposed to. When it’s your right of way and you’re approaching a parked car on the other side of the road, or one of those traffic calming bits where the road narrows and signs show it’s your right of way, drivers coming the other way seem to be increasingly taking the view that if they can nip in there first then they do so, causing you to stop when it’s your right of way.

Undertaking. Was on a fairly busy motorway today and saw two separate cars going like stink, cutting into whichever lane they could make the most progress in and undertaking time and time again.

People who seemingly have no idea how to reverse their car. I live in the countryside and on narrow lanes frequently have to reverse back bloody miles, when the person I meet coming the other way has a place much closer they could reverse to, because they sit there looking panicked and helpless rather than just bloody well reverse back.

I used to enjoy driving. I don’t anymore.

Mardyface, my point is you sound like quite an angry driver already, not wanting to share road space with mopeds and scooters, do you hate cyclists too? Fewer cars the better. London is a great city to not drive.

Seriously?

I find it pretty awful but I drive through busy parts of London on commute and I don't feel like it's gotten worse I feel like it's been this way for years.

Yes agree. Going through red lights, not stopping at zebra crossing. And I’m shocked by the mobile phone use - it’s so widespread and so obvious.

YANBU. I have to drive a lot around Birmingham and it is horrific. The motorways are full of aggressive, up your arse, trying to intimidate you drivers - usually men in Audis / BMWs / white van or some other high powered car and I am a confident driver but the levels of aggression I see are staggering. I often wonder what these people are like when not behind the wheel?

I was driving in the M54 a few weeks back which is dual carriage way so only 2 lanes, one articulated lorry over taking another which always slows it down. Mr BMW could not wait though so off he pops into the hard shoulder to undertake everyone because he is so much busier and more important than anybody else driving. No wonder people get murdered due to road rage.

@Fastandlupine I don't mind sharing the road with mopeds who don't pass you on the left when you're turning left or hover in your blind spot - eg those who have had lessons. I'm confident you have not driven on a road with someone on an electric scooter if you think they should be on the roads without helmets or lessons. They are travelling fast and have no awareness of other road users - including those more vulnerable than themselves or that they are vulnerable themselves as we all are. I'm not an angry driver actually but I DID mess up my typing which might have given you that impression.

As to why I drive - don't make assumptions about people. You have no idea why I might need to drive.

Lunar, if you can't overtake, don't, why get so angry about it

I absolutely agree! I'm in SE London and it's really scary sometimes.

Mardygace, equally don't make assumptions about whether I share the roads with electric scooter riders. London traffic is so slow, for cars at any rate, that no car should be going fast enough to cause damage to a vulnerable road user. No point in getting angry with them.

I use the motorway every morning and I’m often behind someone that thinks it’s acceptable to drive 30 mph onto slip road and not speed up then indicates to the right , why you moron your not even doing 50 mph. it’s so dangerous how a accident hasn’t happened yet . I’m generally seeing a lot slower driving I mean yes some people do ridiculous speeding but you can’t chug along at 50mph in the middle lane move to the left let others overtake.

@Fastandlupine I made assumptions based on what you were saying whereas you made them based on nothing. However your latest post is incorrect in so many ways I'm not even going to engage with you on it. I'm going to make the assumption you think people shouldn't drive at all. I don't necessarily disagree with that, depending on people's circumstances. I'm bowing out now though.

The anger is oozing out of some many of these posts and the name calling, and yet you all drive in that mood and think you're the better driver

I live in the north and find the driving standards get noticeable worse when I'm going south and get near London. I think it's around Cambridge that it changes and the driving is so bad.

I only really go on motorway to work so the worst I see at the minute is people being slow on the slip road, though I do hang back quite far when I notice this to give myself more time to speed up at the last minute, and middle lane drivers who should have moved back into the left.

Mardy, you drive in London and vulnerable road users piss you off. Those are not assumptions. Sharing the road without getting angry is a safer way to drive, if you must drive.

Do you not understand how dangerous it is when you try to overtake someone (quite safely and legally) and the other driver speeds up to block you?

It's all very well coming out with a facile comment but it's dickish, dangerous behaviour.

Obviously once blocked you don't go for the high speed overtake and pull back but that doesn't change the situation you've been put in.

I constantly seem to encounter people who don’t realise their indicator is still on, causing potentially dangerous situations when they’re approaching junctions and roundabouts. Also seems to happen a lot on the motorway.

There’s a road near me which is 60mph but constantly has people doing 40mph because they haven’t noticed the numerous speed limit signs (road goes from 40mph to 60mph). Even though the road is long, wide and straight, it’s usually not possible to overtake due to a constant stream of traffic coming the other way. So frustrating when people are oblivious to the signs around them.

I do think there should be retesting for elderly drivers .. even if they’re free so no worries about affordability. I have great sympathy for ageing drivers who want to keep their independence, but unfortunately a lot of them no longer have the reaction times, eyesight or control over their car that is needed to be safe. I’ve had an elderly man nearly let his car roll back into mine at traffic lights when he took his foot off the brake .. had to beep to alert him to it. Had an elderly woman nearly drive into my car when she was leaving a parking space on the other side of the road, against the flow of traffic, and clearly didn’t check her mirrors. I had to slam on the brakes, beeped to alert her, and she just continued to drive off as if she had no idea what just happened. No braking. No acknowledgement whatsoever of the near miss she just caused. And the amount of times I’ve heard (mostly elderly) people trying to pull off or reverse with absolutely no clutch control, probably ruining their car in the process.

There’s also more impatient and aggressive drivers. A lot of people can’t even sacrifice literally 3 seconds of their journey by letting someone out of a busy junction which they’d otherwise have to sit at for ages. I regularly encounter people who have to screech off when a traffic light goes green because they must be the first when the traffic merges. I like to leave the lights promptly so as not to hold everyone up, but it’s not a fucking race!

Agree with your observations but I screwed up a reverse on a very narrow country lane the other week (got there eventually
but not in style) so you’ve given me a flashback to that 😀
I live on one of those roads where cars are parked down either side so only one can get down. People will sometimes drive past a space they could easily pull into just to try & force another driver to reverse - really odd, unnecessary bloody mindedness that leads to lots of shouting and beeping.

I dont think standards have dropped . But the attitude has changed to a more sense of entitlement to do what they want

We live on the outskirts of a village.exit our drive,go to end of the road,where we turn left to go into town, maybe 20 seconds from home 99.9% of people turning right into our road,do so on the wrong side. Coming back home, parade of shops, daily some one pulls out.almost 100% turn left into the shops without indicating. These days an average of 8 people walk straight off the curb without looking! I'm not perfect, I did pass my advanced with a police examiner,and did the High Performance driving course for motorway driving. I also worked in the ED, would love to show people what happens after a serious RTC

@DomesticShortHair for goodness sake - there won't always be traffic in the opposite lane - as for patronising, no its just astonishment that you don't overtake when clear? instead you sit behind and then complain, I seriously don't get why

They’ve taken reversing around a corner out of the lessons and test. I live in Cornwall and have to reverse around a corner probably 4 or 5 times a day.

A recent innovation in the world of driving is to swing out to the right to turn left, (not helpful if the car behind is passing because the road the other way is clear) or, when at a particular T junction with lights, 2 narrow lanes, the more popular right hand lane cars always swing over to the left turn lane to turn right straight into the path of a left hand turning car. Why?

Why? I think its because the larger modern cars have beepers which sound when the get close to a corner, so they swing wide to avoid this? my guess

As well as more cars on the road they are all so much bigger and lots have headlights that are so high up they dazzle drivers of smaller cars.
I admit I drive a little too slow at the start of a journey (don't drive often so have to get back into the swing of it) but will keep to the left but still get harassed on the motorway by people even though they have two or even three other lanes to use

YANBU

Noticed a MASSIVE change since the pandemic and lockdowns.

Indicators just aren't a thing around here anymore, it's the exception and a pleasant surprise to see them used rather than the norm it used to be before. People will know they're using the first exit at a roundabout and not bother to indicate left, leaving cars sat waiting to enter pointlessly when they could have been moving forward.

I can see a roundabout from my house and used to watch it from the window a lot with DC and it's striking. People don't indicate on motorways either, they just assess it as safe to change lanes and do it.

I genuinely would welcome more people being stopped by the police for these sorts of things, it might seem minor if nothing comes of it but they'll be doing it all the time, absolute menaces on the road.