Do you know what gets my goat?
Bad driving, that's what.
I get so disillusioned with the human race when I'm driving.
I try to drive carefully and follow the highway code and speed limits. I got caught speeding once. It was 1994 and I was driving down a steep hill. I was doing 43mph in a 30 limit. Hardly Stirling Moss, but the £60 fine and the 3 points on my license were enough to make me pay attention to the speed limit ever since.
Most of the time I've got my precious boys in the car, so any downright dangerous driving frightens me.
I'm a confident driver. I passed my test, first time, at the age of 17. I've pretty much had a car ever since. I've driven abroad and am as comfortable in big cities as I am on motorways. I have driven all around London, so I've learned to drive defensively.
Even in sunny Lancashire we have our fair share of idiots who, in my opinion, shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel of a wheelbarrow, let alone a car or van. I must shake my head at other drivers every time I go out.
Are people rude and obnoxious before they get behind the wheel? Or do they transform when they put on their metal cloak?
I'm so sick of drivers jostling for position, cutting me up and pushing in. This behaviour wouldn't be tolerated in the supermarket queue, so why does it happen on the roads?
The lack of courtesy to pedestrians, cyclists and other road users astounds me. People don't indicate. They don't move over in narrow roads or where there are parked cars. They can't wait for a second at changing traffic lights without honking their horns.
Get out of my way. Beep beep. I'm more important than you. BEEP BEEP!
This post was written as part of the Sleep is for the weak writing workshop.
This week I chose writing prompt 5 - Have a good rant. Go on! You know you want to...
Thanks for that, I feel better now :-)
totally agree with you - nice rant!!
ReplyDeleteI got cross with someone this morning who clearly didn't see my big car with big headlights on as they pulled out of a side road right in front of me as I was doing 60mph. I wouldn't have bothered too much normally but with my girls in the back and a huge gap behind me there really wasn't any need to make me brake so suddenly. We do get a lot of careless drivers round here - especially on the country roads.
ReplyDeleteI was eyeballed and then given a v sign yesterday by a clearly rude woman in the narrow country lane where I live - and she had just passed a 'pull in' on her side of the road! Grrr. I so agree with your rant.
ReplyDeletePS I just smiled and waved politely without having eye contact - and she eventually backed up.
I think that indicators have become optional extras in new cars!!!
ReplyDeleteDon't come to Bosnia. I can't even start to write about their driving. Forget a comment - it is a post, actually a book. Dreadful. And it shows in their accidents.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit worried that I may have absorbed some local habits to survive here and I'm going to have to unlearn them pretty fast.
im with you on that, i live in stafford where cars do not come equipped with indicators. or at least thats what you would think the way people drive round here! one of the few times i saw someone using one they went in the opposite direction to the indicaters!! duh! so frustrating and dangerous! oh dear think i may have had a little rant of my own there x
ReplyDeleteah yes, another reason I'm not sorry to have left sunny Rochdale behind! When I took hubby to England for first time, we left the airport in a taxi and he sat cowering in the back as the driver swerved and bullied his way down the four lane motorway. He'd never seen such a sight or so many cars in the same place all at once.
ReplyDeletenice rant.
I agree, as a driver in London and also a sometimes cyclist, I see both sides of the story. And most drivers are rude, agressive and dangerous. Great rant!
ReplyDeleteI lose my patience so quickly when I'm driving - there are a hell of a lot of bad drivers in London. I'm actually getting angry just thinking about them!
ReplyDeleteA very deserving rant!
I don't/can't drive, so I'm with you. Bad enough when I'm a pedestrian, but when I'm cycling? Jeez, that's when bad driving (people beeping at me for daring to be on the same road as them!) really gets to me. What should I do, ride on the pavement? Sure, that's safe...
ReplyDeleteThis is Ant's biggest pet peeve - ESPECIALLY middle lane drivers on the motorway!
ReplyDeletePersonally I hate driving. It terrifies me to be honest. I think I'm a good driver it's just everyone else! I always feel at the mercy of all the lunatics out there on the road so tend to opt out and walk or make Ant drive instead ;)
x
Agree with you 100%! People should have to resit their driving test every 10 yrs I think. Some of them are just lunatics!
ReplyDeleteTattooed Mummy, thank you!
ReplyDeleteParty Sprite, 'careless' is a very polite way to put it! It is scary when you have your children in the car.
Diney, some people are so rude! Smiling is a much better response to bad driving than gesturing. I shake my head reproachfully. They probably don't even notice!
The Mad House, I totally agree!
Fraught Mummy, I'm sure I've read a Dear So and So on your blog about Bosnian drivers! Be careful when you get back to the UK or I may have to shake my head at you! ;-)
Fun Mum/Glum Mum, do you feel better for your little rant? I know I do!
Heather, thanks. Yes, a lot of drivers are bullies. They drive on your bumper making anything you do dangerous. Grr!
Victoria, I've never cycled on London. I think you would need to be very brave to do so. Why do people change when they get behind the wheel? I hate it.
Make Do Mum, thanks. It makes me wonder whether half of them have passed their driving test!
Ruth, I know. I only drive about twice a week, the rest of the time I walk everywhere. The pavements are narrow where we live so I worry about vans and lorries clipping the pushchair.
Josie, there are so many lunatics on the road. I worry every time I drive on the motorway in particular. Having said that I prefer to drive as I'm such a nervous passenger! x
Laura, what a great idea, I bet hardly anyone would pass! x