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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Traffic calming thingies

4 replies

Sebsaloysius · 06/02/2025 13:28

I'm posting to genuinely try and understand this. It's not impacting my life in any way and there's plenty of other hills I would choose to die on, but any time I take this route, I end up thinking "Just why?"

A huge new housing 'village' has been built a few miles away from me and it has made the drive into our nearest town a lot shorter and quicker. The perimeter roads have multiple traffic calming areas along their length, where the road narrows in a chicane style. It's a bloody silly layout to be honest, as it's neither one thing nor the other. In the areas where the road narrows, it is just wide enough to squeeze two cars through, but both cars would have to slow to a crawl to do so. Obviously, everyone's time is so precious that nobody does this, so access through the chicanes has become a bun fight (priority isn't given in any direction). Rather than slowing traffic on the approach, it's done the opposite - people race towards them if there's a car approaching in the opposite direction, to ensure they get there and through it first.

My question is this...why oh why am I always the one who ends up giving way? If there's any chance that I am likely to arrive at the chicane at the same time as another vehicle, it's always blatantly obvious the other car has no intention of giving way and most continue to hurtle through at speed. I really don't mind adding a nano-second onto my journey and giving way, I'd rather that than have my car's ears swiped off. On the one occasion I decided to be brave and try it - because I had definitely arrived at the chicane just before the car opposite me - the other car sped up at the last minute and forced their way through too, and then blasted their horn at me!

I'm no goody two shoes, but why does it feel like I'm the only one who will ever give way at these things? I will continue to use this route, as the alternative involves turning right onto a major and very busy A road at a blind summit, so the new route is still a far safer option.

OP posts:
Catza · 06/02/2025 14:23

That's the way I see it - I am a calm and measured person. I am really in no rush whatsoever. If someone is so desperate that they have to bulldoze their way through, I can only feel sorry for them. So yes, I do also end up yielding to aggressive drivers but I don't let it bother me. The stress is all theirs and... poor sods, it must be hard to be so on edge all the time.

Balancedcitizen101 · 06/02/2025 14:28

It's not a very tangible feeling but by being a 'calm' driver you are literally preventing accidents everyday with road rage / impatient / out of control drivers. The Council could probably bexlcome involved if there are a lot of accidents at the choke points. Adding a priority system etc.

icouldholditwithacobweb · 06/02/2025 14:38

I wonder the exact same thing on my drives locally through the villages every day - why am I the only person willing to just give way? People constantly speed & drive on my side of the road past parked cars etc when they have space to pull over on their side (and should) but never bother to, everyone seems to think they just have priority and can do what they like with no regard for other drivers. It's mostly men, too. And they rarely acknowledge that they make other drivers wait. Arrogant arseholes.

malmi · 06/02/2025 16:52

Maybe you're just driving too far out from the kerb. If you get over a bit then there's no need to slow down and give way. That would make sense with being beeped.

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