To think car drivers are becoming more impatient

[MhairiLynette]

On the A70 in the cab of an HGV. DH is driving and as long as the job is done his boss doesn’t care if he takes me. Despite being an A road the A70 is a winding road just wide enough for two HGVs to pass each other with farmland either side and fences at times no more than a foot from the road.

Still catching my breath at the moment. There was an HGV approaching us on the other side of the road which in itself is not a problem. However the car behind the HGV couldn’t wait to get past and so rather than checking it was safe drove onto our side of the road and ended up facing us head on. With nowhere to go DH had to slam on the brakes almost causing the car behind to go into the back of us. Thankfully they also were paying attention and a car stops far more quickly than an HGV carrying 44 tons. The HGV on the other side of the road also hit his brakes which just allowed enough room for the overtaking car to get in front of him and avoid hitting us head on.

So sorry you had to go through this but sounds like it could very very easily have been much worse.

I have no idea what's going on at the minute but there is so much bad driving about and it's been consistently getting worse over the last few years. There is less skill, awareness and patience. It's terrifying but most people fall into the second category and are completely unaware.

Wow that must have been terrifying. I agree that peoples standard of driving is getting worse. I was on the M1 on Saturday and yes the weather was poor, but it wasnt helped when a driver with P plates on was driving at just over 50 mph in lane 3 of 4. Cars were both over and undertaking her. I pootled along in an empty lane 1. Madness 🙈

Oh wow OP. That must have been utterly terrifying.
I thought this would have been a standard bad tempered Driver story
I was 2 cars behind a Tractor on country lanes and I could see that the Driver in front was too nervous to overtake, even though thee was occasional chances.
I kept a large gap, so they knew I was fine to tootle along 😇

I’ve noticed people speeding through our village a lot recently. It’s a 30mph with lots of houses etc but some people clearly couldn’t care less.

That sounds scary. Hopefully they won't try overtaking again without being sure it's safe to do so. They would have come off much worse than you if there had been a crash.
I don't know if people are more impatient but I've noticed a real decline in driving competence lately. Things like lots of people driving excessively slowly (20 in a 40 limit), not seeming to know what to do at roundabouts, can't position themselves properly when turning right so end up cutting across the wrong side of the road etc.

I have returned to driving after giving up not long after my test many years ago. I did so many refresh lessons and I do feel much more clued up , but I still feel like a relatively new driver.

I was not ready for the impatient fuckers on the road however. It’s been a real eye opener. These type of drivers made me doubt myself momentarily on the road and could have frightened me into dangerous situations because they were so impatient. OP you describe a similar situation to me today where an impatient idiot beeped his horn at me to encourage me to move , except he couldn’t see the danger ahead had I did.

I’ve learnt quickly to trust myself and rely on what I can see on the road, and everyone else can fuck off. But there will be so many new drivers out there nervous and bullied into situations.

i also find private hire taxis to be the worst

10 minutes from the yard now and the rain looks like it has stopped. It has been an interesting shift and you definitely learn a lot about driving from the cab of an HGV. HGVs are restricted to 56mph and yet we still manage to overtake cars on the motorway as the cars are driving dangerously slow. There was an accident tonight on the M6 which turned the M6 into a car park in both directions. Even after seeing a helicopter appearing to leave the scene some drivers were impatient apparently unaware of what a helicopter might mean. I think society as a whole appears to have less patience for each other now.

I think people are pretty stressed, increasingly so, which affects judgement.

There is lots of terrible driving. What you described is awful and that idiot is lucky to be alive.

However, hesitant and nervous drivers cause huge traffic jams and congestion, driving way under the speed limit in clear conditions or not observing lane discipline, and are just as dangerous as those who speed if not more so. Neither should be on the road, both are a menace and a hazard, and I have seen more of an increase in the former than the latter in the last few years. The worst part is that the former people are generally convinced that they are "safe" drivers and doing a good thing by driving that way. 🤦🏻‍♀️

The sad thing is they won’t stop doing it because they got away with it and are either unaware or just don’t care how close they came
Until they actually fail to hit the gap they are going for and injure/kill themselves or whoever unfortunate person gets in their way it won’t register in their minds

@GallaBru You sound like a good driver. I find the worst are young, newly qualified young boys (although of course they're not all like that). They tend to think they know it all. At traffic lights I didn't move forward when they changed to green because it would have left me in a box that should be kept clear. It was so busy at that junction that I had to wait for the next green cycle, but the car behind was driven by a young boy, and he kept hooting aggressively while his passenger made rude gestures. They either hadn't seen the box, or perhaps hadn't even read the Highway Code.

Two reasons.

Firstly, complete lack of any police bothering to enforce the laws. "Normal" police such as local ones, dog vans, etc now routinely ignore law breaking and leave it to the very few traffic police to do it. In the past, "normal" police would stop and report/issue FPNs for traffic offences. Even foot patrol officers would stop cars that they saw with faulty lights or who'd gone through a red traffic light! Presumably at some stage, there was an official directive that only traffic officers dealt with traffic policing, which has left the streets virtually lawless unless there is a specific "initiative" being carried out which are few and far between.

Secondly, all the congestion, ever-increasing traffic lights, road works/lane closures, cycle lanes, one way systems, etc., causes more stress and anxiety to drivers, so after a period of being held up, often completely unnecessarily, there is a natural tendency to put your foot down to try to make up lost time. (I'm not saying that's right to do, I'm holding it out as a reason for such behaviour).

The war against motorists has a lot to answer for!

Yes people are rude on the road. No courtesy anymore.

I'd say people generally, not just on the road. I frequently encounter rude pedestrians, rude cyclists, rude shoppers, etc. No one seems to have any manners nor respect anymore. We've become a very selfish and self-obsessed society!

Thank you. Many times I’ve been left in tears until I figure out it was never me, it was them. I’m a stickler for rules.

i like you, I’d rather hang about and piss people off til they realise the error 😂 mugs