>>And where exactly in the Highway Code does it suggest that blasting the horn is a >>suitable cure for annoyance?
Not the point though is it? You could equally well say you blasted the horn to indicate your immediate presence - as the other driver clearly hadn't see you or registered it by his/her actions. That's acceptable in the HC I believe.
You can be annoyed & obey the HC - not mutually exclusive. In fact, if I manage a trip without some careless or thoughtless driver causing annoyance, I consider myself lucky these days.
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Mapmaker, I don't think that the circs in that thread are similar to those described here.
I think the OP's actions are pretty reasonable. Does anybody really drive by the letter of the Highway Code at all times? I doubt it.
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...where in the Highway Code does it say...
Now we know what the other driver was trying to say to Alanovich: "You, sir, were driving otherwise than in accordance with the Highway Code."
And there's silly Alanovich thinking the guy was being rude, ignorant, and aggressive.
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There's a lot of it about - sadly.
I've undertaken defensive driving courses and the advice is to always to let tailgaters be in front of you and to leave a longer stopping distance (in front) whilst they're behind you.
Another 'trick' (but be careful of 'upping the ante') is to wash your windscreen - can make tailgaters pull back, if only for a moment as the spray hits their screen.
However, I always think of an expression my long deceased father used to say when this happened and I was a passenger as a child "he (or she) is probably in a hurry to get to their parents' wedding".....
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I had a very unpleasant road rage incident a couple of years ago, and I wished I'd made a not of the guy's reg. I'd certainly recognise him if I saw him again, and I'm fairly certain he's known to the police given his behaviour towards me when he got out of the car in a traffic jam. I still can't believe I didn't 'respond', but I'm glad (and proud!) that I didn't. I think the guy who confronted me is dangerous, as is the driver in the OP's case.
It all happens so quickly and as 'normal' people we can't predict how we'll react to such incidents. And if you've got young children on board it's even worse. On the other hand, my 15 year-old son will offer 'constructive criticism' on my gestures to other drivers!!
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Very difficult situations, these. On the one hand you're justifiably annoyed that this numbn*ts has endangered you and other drivers. On the other, blowing your horn or signalling that he's done something stupid and dangerous is not going to make him change his behaviour. Until fairly recently I'd have been there on the horn and telling him what for, but now I've got a young daughter I just tend to take a deep breath and express silently what I think...
But I really do sympathise with your position, Alanovich.
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Woodbines: " There are people out there, who, through some fluke haven't yet been locked-up - and they drive too."
I think that is the nub of it.
I am not a perfect driver. I occasionally make errors of judgement which must annoy other drivers. I feel bad about it, but have not yet worked out a way of saying "Sorry, mate - and thanks for being patient with me."
But I have one rule that I keep to. If another driver irritates me, I make sure that I don't show my annoyance. At least not to him. After all, the person who has annoyed me may just turn out to be one of the nutters that Woodbines speaks of. And I don't really want to be the catalyst for their imprisonment.
Edited by tyro on 17/02/2010 at 22:34
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There was a time in my yoof when I may have flashed and laid on my horn and even followed an idiot who had annoyed me.
Age and 'wisdom' have mellowed me and now I just shout from the comfort of my seat to get any pent up anger out straight away. I then usually say out loud that they must have been born out of wedlock and hope they snap their cambelt.
Makes me feel a lot better.
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I had something similar once on the M4, about 10 years ago, the other car was a Granada IIRC, he brake tested me twice nearly causing a multiple pile up as there were other vehicles around. I indicated that I was stopping on the hard shoulder, he did the same though 200 yds or so beyond me, I waited for him to walk towards me and accelerated away when he was a few yards away, he would have had to have been Usaine Bolt to have a chance of catching me again.
I never knew what it was that upset him, or I cannot recall now anyway.
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Full sympathy for the OP, and others who have experienced similar incidents
I have also been at the receiving end of many incidents over the years
Like many other responders, I no longer get on the horn when someone upsets me, because these days we just have no idea what will happen, and as bristol01 says, it's not going to change their behaviour - very valid point
Certainly no criticism of the OP for honking though, as Pat L says we don't know how we respond, and we understandably get enraged when someone deliberately puts us in danger, especially with a youngster on board
I guess that the other problem with NOT retailiting is that we create a divide between those who intimidate and those who don't. So eventually the agressive drivers will have full control of the roads, (mind you, they have it already with no insurance, no MOT etc etc!)
OP - you did well to maintain control of your vehicle in the light of such an agressive action
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>>as bristol01 says it's not going to change their behaviour - very valid point
I dont know, I think some people simply dont realise how unsociable they are until given an indication.
A bit like the noisy git in the pub, if you tell him he will either say "sorry guv, have one on me" or tonk you!
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I've undertaken defensive driving courses and the advice is to always to let tailgaters be in front of you and to leave a longer stopping distance (in front) whilst they're behind you.
I've been told that as well... but what do they tell you to do if, as said earlier, the guy gets in front and then slows down?
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Nsar>>Mapmaker, I don't think that the circs in that thread are similar to those described here.
Who knows? Who knows why the other driver was behaving so abysmally? He might have been kicked out by his wife and be looking for a fight. Why join in?
No doubt the hoot of OP's horn could be viewed as alerting the other driver. BUT the real reason for doing it was for OP to have a frank exchange of views. The art of keeping out of fights - and being frightened in the way OP was - is not to get into them in the first place.
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Cheddar says:
"I dont know, I think some people simply dont realise how unsociable they are until given an indication.
A bit like the noisy git in the pub, if you tell him he will either say "sorry guv, have one on me" or tonk you!"
Good point Cheddar. But I think the analogy only works in a face to face situation as per your Pub example. The horn is just seen as an act of agression these days. When I think back to the times I used to honk in rebuke, it never helped the situation or taught the other driver the error of their ways, it always just made the situation worse, so I don't press it any more. I agree it's difficult not to press it sometimes though.
Tricky one this!
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Tricky one this!
We all probably remember the Kenneth Noye story. However, this report from April 2009 is also worth remembering,
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1164141/Motorist-...l
( above link is pre-judgement, and includes transcript of 999 call )
(below link is report after sentencing)
www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/20/road-rage-death-...d
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I was driving from Dorset to Bristol last night and on a dual carriageway section of an A road which is used as an overtaking point a bad accident had occurred. There must have been 10 emergency vehicles attending, including three or four ambulances, and I glimpsed the flashing indicators of a car which had gone off the road. A single stretcher lay unused at the roadside.
Several drivers had overtaken a slower car at speed (80+) and some were itching to outdo each other before the dual carriageway ended. We all had to slow to a crawl to negotiate the cluster of emergency vehicles, but once on the way again, everyone really calmed down, initially I thought because of the police cars there, but they seemed to take it easier for some time afterwards. It was a sobering sight.
I didn't get past the slower car, which was doing a steady 50, so not too much of an inconvenience, and in any case it turned off a couple of miles down the road. I hope the occupant(s) of the crashed car(s) were OK, but it looked very nasty.
Perhaps some tailgaters might think twice when presented with such scenes, but I fear that the hardened headcases are oblivious of such dangers.
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*** The horn is just seen as an act of agression these days ***
Well, no ... It depends on the degree of honking actually,
My wife was cut up where a 2 laner goes into 1 (she's a mimser btw)
She gave a gentle 'toot' just to let the numb-scull know, and he put his hand up to say sorry but - if she'd gorn BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP she'd have got = !
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