I witnessed possibly the 2nd most dangerous bit of driving in my life (and the worst for 15 years) at about 8pm on Friday on the M40.
I was in fast moving traffic in the outside lane and my machine was saying that I was doing 93mph when i looked in my rear view mirror to briefly see a motorcycle squeeze between me at about 120mph and the car I was overtaking before disappearing into the distance at about 130-140mph to do the same thing with the next set of cars.
Maybe the rider does not realise that bikes at night on a motorway blend in quite well with all the other lights.
Crazy and is anything really that important to take such a risk?
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About 10am this morning on the M6...Silver Ferrari being driven like a tosser, undertaking in the slow lane as I was overtaking a middle lane hogger. I was going about 80 - 85, he went past like I was stood still. To cap this he tried to SQUEEZE through cars ahead between lanes 2 and 3....
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The craziest moment I ever witnessed, which I've posted here before:
-Biker on big 'British bike' type machine doing 50-60 mph overtaking line of traffic on straight A road.
-Car approaching from opposite direction flashes headlights.
-Biker lets go of handlebars and stretches both arms out sideways, still travelling at speed on wrong side of road towards oncoming car.
-At last minute, steers bike back to own side of road, no-hands fashion, still with arms outstretched!
I've seen plenty of other dangerous situations, but never anything so blatantly foolhardy.
Sofa Spud
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The woman who was driving at 45mph on an otherwise free flowing M1 one evening.
considering that the middle lane was travelling at the speed limit, which is the norm, and the outside lane was travelling considerably faster, plenty of room, not too many cars about, I pull into the inside lane rady to leave the motorway and find myself stuck behind a car capable fo cruising at a ton being driving at half that pace.
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I read often, only post occasionally
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I think she is more dangerous that the biker noted above. If you read about the need for HGVs to maintain momentum and attempt to keep at 56 mph, she is one of those people who have never had an accident, but have seen thousands.....
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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This biker may have been trying to prove a point - that motorcycles don't need as much space to overtake as cars.
Most car drivers don't seem to realise this, and often flash their lights unnecessarily.
Think about it - a 30inch wide bike (if you had the nerve!) could probably overtake continuously, whether or not there was anything coming the other way, on all but the narrowest of country lanes.
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The craziest piece of driving I have ever seen was some 6 to 8 years ago when travelling on the A2 three lane dual carriage way.
Having left the London suburbs behind and driving at about 70 mph on the long straight approaching the M25, I noticed a group of bikers approaching fast.
I estimate they were doing between 90 and 100. I immediately slowed down and pulled to the nearside lane as the group was being led by one doing a wheelie.
My reaction was what if, on returning to 2 wheels, he had come off. I certainly did not want to run over the rider or his machine.
Luckily for him, he made a safe landing before taking the slip road for the M25.
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Saw an Evo and a TT racing yesterday on the M1 - well in excess of 100 mph, followed some time later by a Focus who was trying to keep up! V dangerous but amusing.
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Unless of course the Focus was a cop car.
This happened on the main stretch out of Liverpool a couple of months ago.
FTO and an Impreza ragged past me at about 70 (40 limit) followed about 30 seconds later by a dark blue Focus. I thought - that'll never keep up but then two red flashing lights came on in the back window and the siren whirred up.
Hope he caught them.
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Adam
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I reported a piece of bad driving to a large international company last week. I guess the driver was late for lunch as he pulled into a layby cafe soon after his bad driving. He was overtaking at speed down hill approaching a crossroad. He was across solid double white lines that marked a central no go area AND across all the rumble strips to wake you up on the approach. I suggested to the Co that they at least have a phone no on the back of their vehicles. They also have a smart web site but no address on the vehicles.
They were very responsive and admitted to several complaints about their drivers. I declined their offer to report back.
I have seen bikes doing wheelies in the rush hour on the crowded three lane A3 Kingston bypass. It is usually just after a Gatso.
On the M40 lunchtime a bod was trying to push a Transit along the hard shoulder. Talk about meat in a sandwich. Still some education on motorways is required?
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Today - quiet country road. Smug self in air-conditioned ubercar, Sherpa coming the other way towing a rowing boat, Sherpa negotiating a left hand bend far too quickly, boat drifts (excuse pun) accross road into my path, Blinking heck that was close, I could swear the car tensed itself up for the collision - could have been a part of my anatomy though.....seat of the pants springs to mind.
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Today, M5. Alfa 156 fed up with viewing two lines of traffic at 55-70mph with enough flashing brakelights to bring on epilepsy. Overtakes a whole load of them at 75-80 in the inside lane. Carries on like this for two miles, pulls into centre lane to get round the first lorry in those two miles, then returns to inside lane and repeats this for approx 15 miles.
Boy I felt smug.
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And the second craziest...
At a busy traffic light controlled crossroads, once. Lights go red, cars stop. Third or 4th car in line slows, then changes mind - pulls out, overtakes line of stopped cars - goes through red light on wrong side of road, turns right forcing cars crossing on green light from left and right to do emergency stop.
Cheers, SS
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Saw a few on the A1 and A69 yesterday
A1
Motorcyclist 'filtering' at 90+MPH on one of the 3 lane (crawler lane) sections. His mate then went passed in the outside lane doing 100+.
Audi driver straddling both lanes at around 60MPH when both lanes were clear.
White Van Man sat in the outside lane doing 50-60MPH moving slower than the inside lane.
Okay these last two aren't crazy just very annoying.
A69
Some lady in a people carrier decided to leave at the same exit as me. Unfortunately she was in the outside lane and wasn't really a gap force her way in behind me leaving no gap behind me or herself. Almost a nasty accident.
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LOL.
I see this 10-12 times a day on a 40 minutes ride into the city where I live. In the rushhour often everyone com[pletely ignore traffic lights and there are so many vehicles that you couldn't nick 'em all anyway.
Mostly taxis, BMW's or large 4X4's with no licence plates and blacked out windows (for which read "I'm too important to bother with mere road regulations".
The local saying is the red signal light "is for reference only".
The fine if you get caught is aptly named. Not "failing to observe a red light or anything so pedestrian as that (and they fail to observe it too...)" but "failing to BEAT the red light".
Nobody pays the fine anyway, just "negotiate".
The procedure is simple really. Offender does a quick check to see if enforcers are hanging round the intersection. If not do, it. If they are, check if one has a motorbike, then stop when waved down (unless your motorbike is faster than his). Then proceed to negotiate. If no licence to confiscate (a goodly % of the population) the enforcer will get out his pliers and try to confiscate the front licence plate. However the cognoscenti will have rounded off the bolt heads to avoid same and invested in those plastic box covers designed to prevent licence plate theft.
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And the second craziest...
At a busy traffic light controlled crossroads, once. Lights go red, cars stop. Third or 4th car in line slows, then changes mind - pulls out, overtakes line of stopped cars - goes through red light on wrong side of road, turns right forcing cars crossing on green light from left and right to do emergency stop.
LOL.
I see this 10-12 times a day on a 40 minutes ride into the city where I live. In the rushhour often everyone com[pletely ignore traffic lights and there are so many vehicles that you couldn't nick 'em all anyway.
Mostly taxis, BMW's or large 4X4's with no licence plates and blacked out windows (for which read "I'm too important to bother with mere road regulations".
The local saying is the red signal light "is for reference only".
The fine if you get caught is aptly named. Not "failing to observe a red light or anything so pedestrian as that (and they fail to observe it too...)" but "failing to BEAT the red light".
Nobody pays the fine anyway, just "negotiate".
The procedure is simple really. Offender does a quick check to see if enforcers are hanging round the intersection. If not do, it. If they are, check if one has a motorbike, then stop when waved down (unless your motorbike is faster than his). Then proceed to negotiate. If no licence to confiscate (a goodly % of the population) the enforcer will get out his pliers and try to confiscate the front licence plate. However the cognoscenti will have rounded off the bolt heads to avoid same and invested in those plastic box covers designed to prevent licence plate theft.
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Last winter in the dark and wet I saw a Laguna come out of a junction about 200 yards front of me and stop in the middle of the road. It looked odd so I slowed down. The oncoming Transit who was a lot closer to the Laguna slammed on his brakes. Although in theory there was room for the Transit to pass, the Laguna driver was towing another car still at the junction on a dirty dark-coloured old tow rope, thus making a very effective car trip wire.
Genius
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