I regularly drive along B roads and lesser A roads and there seems to be an increasing incidence of people driving at me on my side of the road. Bends, blind bends and straight roads. Last night I had a guy coming at me with the white lines right down the centre of his car on a blind bend.
Is it a general sign of people who shouldn't be let out on their own or are we phasing in driving on the right?
JH
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I think many people just think they're the only car on the road - they really don't consider the possibility that they might meet a like minded person coming the other way.
I live in rural Cheshire and these A & B roads are deathtraps. I avoid them if at all possible, but my wife thinks I'm mad - she'll happilly 'nip through the lanes' to get wherever she needs to go. I reckon many people on these roads in the evening have been drinking and they're avoiding the more heavily policed main roads.
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Not so much the drinking but the recreational substances I think. Immortality is often promised but seldom realised.
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I find this problem seems to get worse in the summer months.We put it down to people unused to rural roads and seem to think the grass verge is a no-go area. We live on a single track road and find some drivers expect a lorry full of eggs (for example) to go on the verge,or even reverse about 100 meters so THEY can get past.
All the way up to six if I have to...and maybe faster than you.
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They've resusrfaced a number of roads around PU Towers. They seem to have forgotten to paint the lines back
consequently cars all over the place. Isn't there some Dutch theory that roads wtout lines are safer......seems daft to me then so dies building your country under sea level but that seems to work well enough !
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I think you may find PU that this Dutch theory is for busy inner-city areas and depends on BMW drivers wafting along at an idle in second gear. African market scenario, everyone nosing through in all directions without actually colliding.
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Interestingly, they've done the same thing to a road near me - resurfaced and forgotten to paint the lines back. What was an arrow-straight bit of road you could blast down at 60mph is now down to 35mph... which in retrospect is probably safer.
You do get people wandering all over the place though, I think many of them just plant their cars alongside the white line and don't pay attention anywhere else.
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I've noticed this too. Much of my driving is on local B roads. I drive on the outside of bends for better visibility; the opposite of the "racing line". Good job, too. The numer of times I'm starting a left-hander with my wheels 2ft from the white line only to meet some loon flying towards me straddling the white line ....
The same when I'm on the motor-bike. Start the left-hander to the right of the lane only to meet a flying race replica with their knee down on the white line trying to put out my headlight with their helmet. I'm used to being overtaken on right-handers by other bikers; I ride on the left and they take their chances on the white line. Last week I was overtaken on the *inside* on a left-hander with undergrowth right to the edge of the road. The rider scooped up some vegetation from the verge and then trailed leaves and twigs as he/she zoomed off into the distance. No safety margin for either of us on the bend. Crackers.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Ive just been down wales for the week finding the most quietest lanes i could its great and have to agree this driving at my side of the road and not willing to go up on the grass was even worse this year,most of the locals dont do it its the outsiders as they cant cope to turn the steering wheel or cant be bothered im not sure which.
Villages are worse if cars are parked higgal de piggaldy a car will try to come down the middle with an arrogant "YOU WILL GET OUTA MY WAY" attitude, it never washed with me and i always block them with a "did i do something wrong guv? blank scare"
While on the subject of country roads can anybody explain why you can go 4 miles down a dead end lane to park up for the day to relax read the papers and have a picnic and someone will come down same lane and park next to you with their music or air conditioning on?
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can anybody explain why you can go 4 miles down a dead end lane to park up for the day to relax read the papers and have a picnic and someone will come down same lane and park next to you with their music or air conditioning on?
OM, surely you've been to the supermarket and parked in an empty zone to avoid trolleys and other cars opening their doors onto yours; when you return your car is the centre of an admiring crowd of other vehicles parked as close as you like; spaces everywhere except next to yours. Cars are definitely social animals.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Most of my route to work is along rural roads, and I get the same problem. However, most drivers seem to be incapable of driving safely, and this is just one of the many dangers that they cause.
This (and all of their other acts of dangerous driving) very furstrating, and sometimes scarey. I fear that it is only a matter of time until my car is written off (and I will probably die in my tin can of a car). I think something needs to be done about our roads, and I think driver training is probably one of the only real solutions. Driver training would probably reduce all of the problems, reduce congestion, reduce pollution, improve safety, and many others. It seems that nothing can be done about bad driving though.
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vehicles parked as close as you like; spaces everywhere except next to yours. Cars are definitely social animals.
Above today in Tesco. At least it was a decent Mk5 Golf Gti. There seems to be a "Finest" area forming in the far flung outpost of the local Tesco's Car Park. Decent motors are left there. Mind you there was a 03 XKR and a 06 Cheyenne in the Disabled spaces. At least the Porsche had a blue badge.
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We always ponder on what the cars treating the lane like a one-way race track will do when they meet the enormous refridgerated flower lorry or large tractor which both fill the lane (6'6" wide in places). As it is, cars and vans often are going too fast to carefully use the grass verges and end up in the ditch after a panic manouvre. I am now quite adept at reversing long distances while keeping fingers crossed that another idiot is not round the next bend.
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I think it's just as common on urban roads - just observe the number of drivers who, passing a cyclist or pool of standing water, will not slow down but will cross to the other side of the road irrespective of oncoming traffic
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Go on, get out of the car...
www.mikes-walks.co.uk
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I drive on B roads and poorer A roads a lot - hey, I live in West Cumbria so what else are there?
On right handers I tuck into the left to improve visibilty. On the left handers I move out wide to the right for similiar reasons. I drive at a speed which would allow me to stop within the distance I can see to be clear.
On left handers, I will regularly straddle the white line. I do this deliberately and regard it in a positive light. AFAIK it's perfectly legal and indeed I believe it's considered good practice rather than poor driving.
Naturally, if a vehicle is appraoching I move back to "my" side if the line and slow down as necessary.
Les
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On left handers, I will regularly straddle the white line. I do this deliberately and regard it in a positive light. AFAIK it's perfectly legal and indeed I believe it's considered good practice rather than poor driving.
It depends who you talk to. It can be good practice, but most organisations (eg. IAM) discourage it. It can be of benefit, but it can also be very dangerous. If you're going to do it be very careful!
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Our (ex Police) advanced driving trainers at work tell us to use the whole road to maximise your view 'around' the bend.
It's also a lot safer to move over the the left if there happens to be another vehicle coming than it is to have to swerve around (say) a broken down vehicle or a cyclist that may be lurking around the bend.
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Well we seem to have split in to two discussions:
First thing they tell you on advance driver training is that you've paid for the whole road so you might as well use it. On the bike I always cross the white line to maximise my view round the bend. Always plenty of time to move back across.
As to country lanes/B roads. I was born and brought up 10 miles off a main road. All the B roads were/are wide enough for two normal size vehicles to pass in both directions as long as they use the full width of the road. Second nature if your used to it. Over cook it a bit and you'll kick up a bit of dirt/gravel. No big deal especially in an ancient Landie.
Never used to be any problems. Now I am regularly forced on to the verge by drivers coming in the other direction who will not use the full width of the road and will not risk touching the edge of the verge.
Not to make it a class issue but usually its upmarket vehicles. Could be townies not used to such roads or could that they just don't want to get their pretty cars dirty.
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Or could be they just can't judge distances closer than a couple of feet so err on the safe side, imagining that they're doing an incredibly close bit of driving. Just like people who think 72 is fast on a motorway.
Never ought to have got driving licences. But the muppets are everywhere. Just give them a wide berth.
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On left handers, I will regularly straddle the white line. I do this deliberately and regard it in a positive light. AFAIK it's perfectly legal and indeed I believe it's considered good practice rather than poor driving.
The trouble with doing that is that oncoming drivers don't know whether you are aware what you are doing and are diving safely as you say, or are one of the growing band of of arrogant drivers who don't care, or perhaps just haven't noticed.
Either way, I never take the chance, so I generally give a vigorous hoot as a warning.
Sorry, but if you APPEAR to be about to drive into me, I have to assume that you might.
It's the same with people edging out of side turns - maybe they have seen me, maybe they haven't. So it's only safe to use the horn for its proper purpose, and warn them of my presence.
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