What is happening with driving

[Kidsfortea]

Just as title tbf.
I followed a driving instructor car back from my fathers today. Only one person in it so assumed it was the instructor. Realise I could be wrong.
Never once did the driver indicate and we ended up in the same village so quite a few junctions. Speeding along 30mph roads.
Is this why so many drivers ignore the Highway Code? They are just never taught it!

I've not been driving that long so I can't comment on whether anything has gotten better or worse, but the amount of drivers who don't indicate amazes me. It's just automatic for me to indicate - as a PP said, I almost feel I'd have to actively try to not indicate!

Is this why so many drivers ignore the Highway Code? They are just never taught it!

😂 But how would they pass their test. Or are the examiners in on it too? 😂

My teen son passed his test about a year ago, I can confirm he uses indicators and is more familiar with the Highway Code than I am 25 years after passing my test as the theory test is much more thorough.

I’ve noticed that sooo many drivers just don’t bother to indicate. It’s really bloody annoying.

but the amount of drivers who don't indicate amazes me.

I must admit that it is one of the few things that irritate me while driving. Particularly when people suddenly change lanes on motorways and dual carriageways without any warning.

Mirror, signal, manoeuvre. In that order.

There is no such thing, legally, as speeding "with good reason". You might get away with an appeal only if road signs were missing or obscured, or your actions were caused by a speeding emergency vehicle.

Around SW London and Surrey indicating seems to have become pretty much a lost art!

As for people who don't know how to use a roundabout...

May not have been the instructor driving, I suppose. But I don’t think the way an instructor drives when there are no students in the car is an indicator (see what i did there!) of the standard of driving they teach, especially not with acts of omission that are likely laziness (rather than, say, poor judgement of other vehicles’ speed). They’d be in a totally different headspace when teaching with a different goal in mind.

I think driving standards generally have steadily improved, not deteriorated.

Do as I say not as I do

Is there a good reason for speeding that puts you and other road users and pedestrians at risk?

Unless you're a trained emergency services driver of course....

I think driving standards generally have steadily improved, not deteriorated.

They certainly haven't improved where I live, standards are noticeably lower. There is far more crossing over the central line now and really stupid, and terrifying, things like overtaking just before the top of a hill.

But don't assume that signalling means you're bloody entitled to move straight over!

Whatever the scenario its still poor driving however you try to explain it away.

Did he have a sticker on the back of the car saying ' my other car is a BMW '?

I use the same two lane roundabout every morning in a weekday. Surrey location.

EVERY morning I have to face cars who are on the roundabout, approaching from 12 o’clock.

No indicator, and they’re positioned in the left hand side of the roundabout lanes, so they’re going straight on, right?

NOPE!

They career round in a right hand turn, doing a 270 degree turn, exit off, blithely ignoring those of us who are waiting to go out, straight on

It’s so frustrating . It’s like the new thing - anyone who does a right hand turn on this roundabout, doesn’t indicate. But if they’re going late, they indicate!

Do you think they had an extremely urgent hospital appointment for an arm problem that was preventing them from indicating?

I’d like to see some proof of that because my experience tells me the exact opposite.

I believe it is illegal to drive without working signals.

I was behind a car with P plates yesterday, doing about 23mph on a decent 30mph road. Didn't look confident, I kept a healthy distance... then their hazard lights came on... they carried straight on over a roundabout with hazards on then turned them off.
I'm still puzzling over that one!

Whether it's the instructor or another driver driving badly in a driving school car, it does reflect badly on the driving school.

I think if it was an extreme emergency then yes, there can be, IMO. Not to make a habit out of it though of course, and only in emergency circumstances.

Your opinion wouldn't matter to the police. Medical emergency - you're not necessarily fit to drive and/or should have called 999. Not really sure what else there could be.

Speeding is not even classed as careless driving - it's dangerous driving. Much higher penalties if you cause a death.

OK, don't let that get down to Surrey, or they'll all start doing it!

I don’t think it’s conclusive, but the statistics on collisions shows large drops even while the number of cars n the road has increased. And I think that’s a strong indicator of better driving.

I know collision statistics are also influenced by the significant improvements in vehicle safety that have taken place, because collisions that don’t involve injury are much less likely to be reported. But even pedestrian injuries have gone down, which suggests that people just aren’t getting hit as much (since pedestrians are much less likely to be killed or seriously injured with crumple zones, but I don’t think improvements prevent lesser injuries). Overall casualty rate fell by 57% between 2004 and 2021 (www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-pedestrian-factsheet-2021/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-pedestrian-factsheet-2021)

Speeding, per se, isn’t classed as careless or dangerous driving. It’s classed as speeding and has a range of penalties starting at well below that of dangerous driving.

You would have to be actually driving at a dangerous speed for the circumstances for it be classed as dangerous driving, regardless the posted speed limit. Simply being above the speed limit would not reach the standard required for it to be dangerous driving (even if you killed someone). And being below the posted limit would not be sufficient excuse if other circumstances made it dangerous.

Just one reason - a complete lack of road policing.

People know they can get away with just about anything as long as they don't cause an injury accident.

"Normal" police, don't do any traffic policing anymore, they leave it to the traffic police who are very thin on the ground and only seem interested in "initiatives" rather than stopping normal/low level bad driving.

OP I agree with you about declining driving standards. People such as Jeremy Clarkson who moan about a so-called 'war on motorists' which is a few parking fines have held far too much sway in transport policy. Our current Prime Minister when campaigning last summer promised to end the so-called 'war on motorists', and the previous male Prime Minister cut police numbers both as London Mayor and when in number 10.

I maintain at least 25% of those who have a driving licence should not have one.