to think if you don't know how wide you're vehicle is then you're not safe to be on the road??!!

[MadreInglese]

Had a ridiculous near miss this morning with a muppet who seemed to think that her car was two feet wider on the passenger side than it actually was.

She's not the only one, I see loads of people (esp town centre) driving way out in the middle of the road. Yes, be cautious, but to the point of being dangerous? It always seems to be larger cars too IME, why drive a car about that you don't know the size of?

I don't get it

I don't drive such a huge car that I realistically have to worry about either hitting the parked cars to my left, or crossing onto the other side of the road .

Everything in moderation!

What does really really really bug me, and I have checked the highway code on this one! is all those drivers who feel the need to cross on-coming traffic, to park their cars against the traffic! Then they have to cross on-going traffic again to get back into their right lane.

So dangerous!!!!

Outside my DS1's school today, all against double yellow lines, there were five cars, 3 of which were huge 4WDS, and 4 of them were facing the wrong way!!!!

tinseltot 'majority of space/width retards are women.'

You'll cause deep offence using the R word on here.

Thank you.

my spatial awareness is totally shit. At least it was when I did have some driving lessons, I could do most things but I couldn't judge "where" the car was on the road.

some people think they are driving a lorry when its a tiny car..ie a fiesta.

Seriously what evidence is there that women are shit drivers.

This word document shows that 74% of people who are killed in road traffic accidents across the world are men!

www.gtkp.com/uploads/public/documents/Knowledge/TI-UP%20Report%20-%20Gender%20and%20Road%20Safety.do c

I find it really sad that such sexist comments about women drivers are made by women.

I find this quote on road deaths sad

"We suspect that a lot of the drivers will be men, but a lot of the passengers and pedestrians will be women and children"

My awareness is rubbish tbh also, and I drive a mahoosive car. I ahven't been abe to readjust since I got my most recent glasses, and I need them to be legal.

If I had a bus route I'd catch it happily.

Actually, most spatial awareness-challenged people might be women, but men driving fatcat Jaguar/Daimler/etc. cars are also severely lacking. They also seem to lack the ability to find the brakes or the indicator as well...

See I would rather cars did this than that they drove so close to my parked car that they knocked the mirror off (cost £290 to replace and that was with it tucked in ) or clip the driver's side rear door as I am putting ds in his car seat. BEaring in mind with the latter, the door was practically closed behind me as I leant over, it was a bright sunny day and our road is exceptionally wide.

same problem though pooka, just manifested in a different way - the idiot driver doesn't know how wide their car is.

Tanya in her 4x4.

i see them with my own eyes - dithering whilst reversing 4x4 that is clearly to big for them to handle safely - into a multistorey carpark - holding everyone up in a queue due to incompetent driving.

i see them faulter at mini roundabouts becuase suddently the minature scale of the roundabout confusticates brain cells.

any dodgy driving, its 7 times out of 10 a woman - young or old - and 2/10 old men and 1 time a man who is a fuckwit.

ime

woman are on the whole shit

I am an inexperienced driver because i don't own my own car. So when i have to drive my partner's car or a hire car then i am generally not too sure of it's dimensions.

What does the OP and others suggest i do???
BUY a car just so that i can practice and get to know it??? Wouldn't that be good for the environment?
Or alternatively just never drive? most daily drivers seem to think that those of us who drive less regularly (for good environmental reasons) shouldn't be allowed on the road anyway

Plainoldpeachy

Retard is an acceptable word in this instance. As described by Custardo above, someone who is unaware of space/width 'dithers', 'holds up', 'falters'.

Dictionary def is:

re·tard 1 (rĭ-tärd') Pronunciation Key
v. re·tard·ed, re·tard·ing, re·tards

v. tr.
To cause to move or proceed slowly; delay or impede.
v. intr.

Riven - see above for dictionary def. No offence meant by me.

I drive my DP's car and try not to scratch it lol

Can reverse park wonderfully, park in a space you couldn't poo in, but i can't tell where the front of the car is say if pulling forwards into a parking space, i am one of the better safe than sorry drivers in that situation, where i will reverse out a little bit 'just to make sure' i clear the other car.

Have never had an accident, clipped or damaged any other car, but my DP moans about my driving lol..my point is to him that when (if) i have an accident, then he will have a RIGHT to moan, if not, SHARRAP

Also stick to speed limits
Give horses and cycles a HUGE space..as per the highway code..

And it's frustrating when stuck behind a little old man/woman/sunday driver who believes they are driving a juggernaught and not a fiat punto
But as impatience/risk taking is the commonest cause of accidents, i believe these people do indirectly cause accidents as people who get impatient try to get round them at the first opportunity, potentially causing a dangerous situation .. it IS possible to be 'too' careful.. you can apparently be done by the police for driving too carefully which made me laugh when i found out

But there is a strata of women who are awful drivers.

Just to generalise, they are in their 50s, possibly called Pam, and have a job maybe in training or building society admin to which they drive back and forth in their Polo or Fiesta. The drive might involve a small stretch of motorway. This causes daily anxiety, and they clutch the steering wheel at braced arm's length, driving along at a steady speed in the middle lane.

They have never driven out of their locality and get upset and dither when faced with an unfamiliar car park or change of road layout.

Ditto most pensioners, who start from A and just drive to B, no matter how many pedestrian crossings they sail across without looking, cyclists they mow down, roundabouts they drive into without looking right.

I'm always telling people they are incompetent drivers. Dh says I'll get punched before too long.

Do not have slang at forefront of mind i guess! For what its worth 'disabled' is viewed by some as an offensive word.

As said no offence meant to anyone.

On the whole, anyone who says other people shouldn't be on the road can generally be relied upon to be being unreasonable.

In tests, everyone always over-estimates how good they are at driving. Everyone else is always an idiot, they are always excellent.

The test results nearly always contradict their self-assessment.

My driving instructor is always on at me to drive as far towards the white line as I can when passing parked cars. It always feels to me as if I'm too far over, especially when there is oncoming traffic, but she insists!

tinseltot, So actually what you meant to write was

'that the majority of space/width impede are women'

or

'that the majority of space/width proceed slowly are women'

or

'that the majority of space/width delay are women'

Well, blow me, none of those make any sense.

A number of parents at dc's school can't even park their 4wd's between two white lines

I must admit (as a woman driver) I am crap at judging the size of my 7 seater (too many kids) even after driving one for 4 years. Mind you, am the same when driving DH's Astra!! It takes me blardy ages to reverse into parking spaces. DH drives a ginormous lorry through central London regularly and I have much respect for him (even though he's a tosser ).