finalzero

At work today, crap weather but didn't mind it as the sun was shining a little and we hadn't got any of the wind yet.

Decided at lunch I would fill up the scooby at the local Shell garage so I wouldn't have to do it tomorrow. Now I live in MK so the roads are very wide, smooth with clear view 360^ at any point, with roundabouts that are well spaced out with clear lanes for each car.

As I head to the shell station down a long carriage way minding my own business I approach a medium sized roundabout that has exits at four points so traffic coming from all sides.

I am waiting in the right hand lane, on our roundabouts we can use this lane to either go straight if the road ahead is two lane/dual carriage way or go right, as the left hand lane was queued up and I needed to go right eventually I stayed in the right lane intending to go straight.

I hadn't noticed the dosey cow next to me chatting away (hands free luckily), as I move off I indicated left to let everyone know where I am heading, out of no where the woman decides she wants to go right after all and cuts right across my lane causing me to slam on the brakes. I hit my horn shouting at her as did almost everyone on my left, oblivious she then almost hits another car pulling out (who had seen that I was going straight so was rightly pulling out to go left).

Instead of realising her mistake she just weaves around the other driver and carries on like she hadn't done anything wrong.

Has something gone wrong over the years with the standard of driving or are people just too involved in everything else to realise they should be paying attention, especially in such thing as a car which can kill others and the person driving?

I got to the station, filled up and made it back to the office in once piece but I was absolutely fuming - I have seen some very stupid things while driving but never something this dangerous and wreckless, oh how I wish there was a police car nearby to see it that move, she would have thought twice about what she did.

What worries me is how she has no idea about what she did and probably never will because it has never been homed into her while learning to drive.

All well and done having a ballistic missile for a car but I think scooby owners are in more danger of other drivers than their own car's and how they drive them.

Rant over

bighead

iTrader: (1)

it take all sorts to make this world ......so thank god you were alerts to her actions

renny

iTrader: (2)

Just goes to show that 'hands free' isn't safe either.

This sort of thing winds me up as well - the standard of driving has hit an all time low.Either that or it just seems it with more cars on the road.

what would scooby do

Is that dodgy roundabout still marked up badly in Bletchley. The big one near Ikea, just before the two mini ones..

Left lane is marked "turn left" middle lane is marked "straight ahead or turn right", right lane is also marked "straight ahead or turn right"


Bit of a problem if person in middle lane wants to go right and person in right lane wants to go straight on

hey ho - good reason to avoid bletchley I guess

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

get it all the time . some woman pulled out right while looking right and didnt even look left , and i was coming from the left . 2 wheels and tyres for me please

and she just drove off without even noticing what she had done. idiot . and i was stranded on the kerb with 2 fooked wheels.

the screech of my brakes and horn didnt even make her look round lol , mad, just oblivious to anything

Rich_wrex

iTrader: (1)

well you wont beleive this one,

I was heading home from telford going north and i was doing bout 80 in the outside lane of the dual carriageway and some idiot comes flying up behind flashing me so i move over and this dummy comes flyin past in a people carrier pulls up at the roundabout brakes screeching pretty sure he had his kids in the back aswell i mean how stupid are some people

just hope he didnt kill anyone wherever he was going

Rich

serega

He must have been talking on his phone surely!

bighead

iTrader: (1)

he thoughts he was in a scoob

finalzero

Yeah I know the one, still a mess but they have made the left lane going to Asda a bit wider, problem is people still get confused when they approach the roundabout as to which lane to be in.

On a clear night with no traffic it's a nice bit of road to navigate Yeah Bletchley is bit of a dump but they are investing a bit of money in the place, it's a bit overcrowded with aging roads.

bob r

iTrader: (46)

I think drivers that make stupid mistakes, are probably too embarrassed to acknowledge their obvious error, therefore they pretend that they are unaware of what they have just done.
We all make the occasional mistake when driving, but it would really help, if the muppet driver would hold their hands up to their mistake and gesture an apology to the other driver.

GC8WRX

Why?, its just the same as talking to a passenger!

It was a woman driving, thats waht the problem was!

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

What you should do mate, is head to a fancy dress shop, locate the policeman's uniforms, get hold of a fake warrant card and the next time you see someone on a mobile whilst driving, beep the horn and give em a quick flash (of the card!!!)

*Disclaimer* Don't do this, it's probably illegal, even if it would give the selfish barstewards a wake up call

escott

iTrader: (1)

Had a guy behind me at the lights at the weekend, there are 3 lanes, the 2 left ones go straight on and the right one turns right.

He had been right up by backside before we pulled up but both lanes were pretty busy, once we got to the lights he decided he would go for the right hand lane as it was quieter, although it turns out he was going straight on and had to cut back in in front of some other cars.

As he pulled out behind me, he hit my rear bumper, but just drive off going through the red light - he knew he had hit me but just wanted to get away. I didn't manage to get his number before he drove off, also had the missus and kids in the car so didn't try and catch him.

Really annoyed me because I had just had the other side done at a bodyshop when someone scuffed it and drove off when I was parked!

Getting back to your point though - there have always been rubbish drivers out there, but I take your point that phones/hands free/sat nav/in dash DVD's are additional distractions that seem to be making things worse. I think it takes an accident to wake some people up to the responsibility of driving. Fortunately I got mine out of the way when I was 17 and no-one was seriously hurt.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

I think that driving tests should have a pass point system.
Obviously, there will be a minumum number of points needed to pass. Points should be awarding for how well you negociate a round about or see a hazard well in advance. At the moment, you basically get 0 for completing a task correctly.

The points you score should then be recorded on your license. This should enable you to get tax and insurance discounts if you have a high score. If you have a low score then tuff. You can take a re-test once a year to try and improve your points tally. Atleast then, there is a goal for driving well.

Fantom

At the roundabout outside my work I encounter people every day turning right from the left lane. It bemuses me just how many people think they are ok to do it. They don't understand how you can't turn right from the left lane.
The amount of near misses I have seen is amazing, and I've had plenty of them too as I usually use the right lane to go straight on into a dual carriageway.
The only way I can think of to fix it is to paint a thick white line on the roundabout that forces you not to turn right.

Andy T

Think it is people not caring for anybody else, just in their selfish little bubble.
In my industry of work, if somebody makes a mistake, they own up, it is easier and saves time and money. You gain respect and trust.
When driving, if I make a mistake (which I do, Im a bloke and human) I try to appologise or just get out of situation with best method, ie go full circle round roundabout if in wrong lane at entry.
Life goes on, it is short enough as it is to get stressed about numpties and muppetisum.

Although, last week. Exception, I am ashamed.

Driving a rented 3.5tonne van, slowed down on the inner ring road (single carrageway 30mph) of Northampton due to tempory traffic lights up ahead which were on red. Spotted Porsche in my mirror, spotted him overtake me, watched him cut in front of me and dive and brake hard behind the queue of stationary traffic as he had obviously not seen the signs warning of lights ahead, men working in road, queue of traffic stopped or anything else by the looks of it till he was overtaking me.

Gave him a flash of high beam and the international signal of I think your a genital stroker (very similar to the coffee bean shake) from my lofty position and joined the queue behind him. What happened next nearly made me use a rude word !! Obviously Mr.Ivor.TinyWeener in Porsche was too important to wait for the lights to change to green, so in between a gap of on coming traffic he pulls out and shoots thru the road works. Yes. WTF are the cops to witness this ?

Caught up with him later at next set of fixed lights, sadly they changed to green before I got a look at driver. So look out for a Porsche Carrera reg V8 ***, ask him if he wants a coffee buy using the shaking of beans action.

renny

iTrader: (2)

To put a positive slant on things it's definately made me a better driver.I don't trust ANY other drivers on the road,very cynical i know but it's the best way of avoiding trouble.

Of course it's easier said than done and accidents can't always be avoided but it's helped me in the past.

sarnyboy

i only take my scoob out round mk at night, when all the people who dont understand how to use the 348 roundabouts have got home...