Forums > Social Discussion > Do road drivers have manners?

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NadishomeLiving life to the full!
177 posts
Location: Rural South


Posted:
Over last few days i have become noticing the pure arragance of road users towards others. K I'm not the politist person but make sure that i say thankyou to anyone who waits or gives way to me!

It is becoming clear that common curtesy is not on many's priority list and often end up reminding them to say thank-you.

Is it wrong to assume that it takes very little effort to raise the hand in a polite many to thank others and to return the thanks when it is given!

Is England becoming a selfish and impolite country?

(I appoligise for spelling!)

Life is short!
So lets leave a mark,
for people to remember!


flidBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,136 posts
Location: Warwickshire, United Kingdom


Posted:
I think hampshire/surrey are particularly bad. I used to walk to college when I lived in surrey each day (about 40 min walk) and was at the mercy of dangerous/bad drivers all the time (i don't for instance understand the english inability to indicate when turning). I've been almost run over by dangerous drivers on several occassions, who've then just stared at me like I was trying to kill them/scratch their paintwork! There seems to be quite a snobish attitude of "I paid for this road, I'm right, you're wrong, i can do what I want", which I haven't seen nearly as often in other places of the UK i have lived. I'm all for speed cameras (i don't understand having an issue with a camera, surely the issue is with the speed limit?) and fining/banning dangerous drivers, not only for the money we could generate but also to make the roads safer.

_So_BRONZE Member
Skinny poi maker
313 posts
Location: Moscow, Russia


Posted:
Hehe... Come to Russia where the drivers dont let the pedestrians cross the road, and you have to wait while all the queue of cars passes by...

colemanSILVER Member
big and good and broken
7,330 posts
Location: lunn dunn, yoo kay, United Kingdom


Posted:
the problem with speed cameras is that too often they are not placed in an areas with high incidences of accidents but rather in areas in which the speed limit is perhaps on the low end which maximises revenue but does nothing for reducing the number of accidents.

oh and while i'm here - if you are a driver and want to say 'thank-you' to another driver at night, it is far more polite to dip your headlights than it is to flash your fullbeam and blind the person you are trying to thank smile


cole. x

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood


flidBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,136 posts
Location: Warwickshire, United Kingdom


Posted:
I agree (and speed cameras have been discussed much already) that some speed cameras are a) hidden b) placed on short sections of road where the speed limit doesn't make sense and isn't advterised properly, but I have no problems with their existance by schools, accident blackspots etc

colemanSILVER Member
big and good and broken
7,330 posts
Location: lunn dunn, yoo kay, United Kingdom


Posted:
i agree completely smile


cole. x

"i see you at 'dis cafe.
i come to 'dis cafe quite a lot myself.
they do porridge."
- tim westwood


BirdGOLD Member
now available in "advanced"
6,086 posts
Location: Cornwall, United Kingdom


Posted:
I remember driving around London last year, I drove as I usually do, letting folks out of junctions and such.

The other drivers often sat there in pure amazement and couldn't work out what I was doing!!!

My state of mind is not yours to define!

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."


pricklyleafSILVER Member
with added berries
1,365 posts
Location: Manchester, England (UK)


Posted:
I agree too! I nearly got aught by one of the speed, hand held things, I wasnt particulary over the speed limit, I was just ok, but there was a huge white van tailgating me the whole way. It also annoyed me that the guy was hidden behind a bush, obviusly just a money making scheme.

Wha theyve started to do in yorkshire that is really good and works is those flashing light signs that tell you off (and tell you your speed) if youre going too fast. They're not camaras, so you dont get fined, but they definately make people slow down!

But grr, I hate tail gaters. Especially the ones on the motorway because A) its so dangerous, especially at that speed and B) if Im going too slow then use the overtaking lane! thats what its there for!

Live like there is no tomorrow,
dance like nobody is watching
and hula hoop like wiggling will save the world.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson


DuncGOLD Member
playing the days away
7,263 posts
Location: The Middle lands, United Kingdom


Posted:
Written by: Nadishome

Is England becoming a selfish and impolite country




Quite frankly, Yes. The difference between almost everywhere in the UK and the South West is amazing. The South West is pretty much the only place where road manners seem to exist in the UK apart from some other very small extreme areas. Drivers actually stop for pedestrians to cross at crossings, this amazed me cuz since I grew up I've always had to wait until it was clear, cars never stopped!

Let's relight this forum ubblove


NadishomeLiving life to the full!
177 posts
Location: Rural South


Posted:
Well i must live in the 'very small extreme areas' you talk about Dunc. Either that or i really shouldnt complain about my area if everywhere else is really bad! lol

Life is short!
So lets leave a mark,
for people to remember!


Mistress_MaledictiHeaven doesn't want me, and Hell is afraid I'll take over
192 posts
Location: Wolverhampton


Posted:
Do road drivers have manners? Some of us do!

sin

"Abashed, the Devil stood and saw how awful Goodness is"


MiGGOLD Member
Self-Flagellation Expert
3,414 posts
Location: Bogged at CG, Australia


Posted:
being a half and half road user (half walk, half drive, half ride), i like to think i can look at this from both sides of the story. Sometimes pedestrians can be absolute idiots, ambling along in the middle of the road, completely oblivious to the fact that there is a tonne and a half of car barreling toward them at 60k's an hour. or worse, when they turn, look at you coming toward them, then turn back and keep on walking as slow, if not slower, then they were before. Really, roads are for cars, pavements are for people. and i know who'd win an argument between a car at speed and a pedestrian.

But then, walking and/or riding around the place, people driving cars can be tools as well. I generally follow the 'i'm going to hurt if we meet, so i'll avoid you as much a possible' rule, giving way to almost everyone/thing. Some driviers expect that i should do this, other drivers look at me weird when i wave them across in a car park.

All in all, i'm getting a little tired, so my points arent quite coming across as i'd like them to, but i think its a two way street (pun only partially intended). I think its pretty safe to say that pedestrians annoy drivers, and vice versa. It's sucky, but i can't see a massive way around it. People in what is, in essence, a high speed armoured vehicle, which closes off the outside world aren't normally very likely to care much for the plights of the 'plebs' that dont have a massively expensive rolls or mercedes or whatever.

"beg beg grovel beg grovel"
"master"
--FSA

"There was an arse there, i couldn't help myself"
--Rougie


AnotherPyronewbie
18 posts
Location: Sydney


Posted:
Fixed and mobile speed cameras have ruined Sydney!!! I regularly see too many people driving along, looking at their speedos instead of the road, to the point that they can't manage staying in one lane. But the one thing that REALLY GETS ME PISSED is the idiots that drive in the fast lane at 7-10km/h under the speed limit and won't get out of your way, even when u flash your lights at them. At that point, I no longer even understand the term manners. If I can get beside or in front of these @#$%^ ^&*()!!! I'll go out of my way to run them off the road. As far as I'm concerned their breathing is wasting air!

Ahhhh Life.......So many wonderful shades of grey.


The Tea FairySILVER Member
old hand
853 posts
Location: Behind you...


Posted:

Dunc: 'The difference between almost everywhere in the UK and the South West is amazing.'

It really is! I moved from the south-west to outskirts of London, so I still expected cars to stop for me, I didn't even used to bother with looking to see what's coming if i was on a zebra crossing. I've been nearly run over here SO MANY TIMES!

I still don't quite understand how you can be half way across a crossing sometimes and drivers still don't want to stop for you, even if you're already in the middle of the road! They give you dirty looks even though it's your right of way!

I drive (except the past 3 years had no car), I'm normally polite/well mannered until about the fourth person tries to [censored] with me then I lose it a bit. But then i've had other cars crash into me randomly when it's been my right of way too.

Pedestrians never annoy me, it's always other drivers.

Idolized by Aurinoko

Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind....

Bob Dylan


NadishomeLiving life to the full!
177 posts
Location: Rural South


Posted:
AnotherPyro you sound like you have it hard! My mum is very much i same, calling them 'lane hoggers' she then stairs them out, its so funny!

In my driving test year and a bit ago, i gave way to a chap in a wheelchair and got a minor for it! Apparaently i put other car drivers and pedestrians at risk! Had never heard of anything stupid!

Pedestrians only annoy me sometimes. I have to drive up a small lane to get to my Mums shop in the middle of town, people walk up it, see you coming and carry on walking in the middle of the road! How dumb! If only i had more guts and didnt know as many important people in the town i'd make a bigger scene than i do! lol

Life is short!
So lets leave a mark,
for people to remember!


AnotherPyronewbie
18 posts
Location: Sydney


Posted:
I'm going out to buy air horns and halogens for my car. That should get their attention!!!

Ahhhh Life.......So many wonderful shades of grey.


strugzBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,964 posts
Location: Southampton - Possibly..., United Kingdom


Posted:
drivers rolleyes

sort of related - funny none the less

smile

"...We don't stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing......."


The Tea FairySILVER Member
old hand
853 posts
Location: Behind you...


Posted:
Hehehe, my mum called me last night, she got a speeding ticket! She's been fined and she has points on her license. I think it's funny because she kind of deserved it, she always speeds! She's been pulled over and got away with it so many times!

Idolized by Aurinoko

Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind....

Bob Dylan


NadishomeLiving life to the full!
177 posts
Location: Rural South


Posted:
strugz, jus watched that movie and although sound cards gone funny! It was histerical! Couldnt stop laughing! Pure genious!

Life is short!
So lets leave a mark,
for people to remember!


EeraBRONZE Member
old hand
1,107 posts
Location: In a test pit, Mackay, Australia


Posted:
Me: about to turn left and flashing an oncoming driver also trying to turn and holding up traffic behind her.

Him in the passenger seat: "What are you doing? You've got right of way?"

For reference he usually drives a ute with a bullbar, that might have something to do with it.

There is a slight possibility that I am not actually right all of the time.


JauntyJamesSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,533 posts
Location: Hampshire College, MA, USA


Posted:
as soon as you get in the driver's seat, you loose all sense of empathy. you always get really pissed off at people for bending the rules when you dont know thier circumstances, and everybody seems to be going out of their way to make you miserable.

This is why I'll never learn to drive, my bike's good enough for me. Oh, and just so you know, if you drive, cyclists hate you and there's nothing you can do about it.

-James

"How do you know if you're happy or sad without a mask? Or angry? Or ready for dessert?"


margitaSILVER Member
.:*distracted by shiny things*:.
3,777 posts
Location: brizvegas, Australia


Posted:
ubblol you guys should check out the driving skills around here!! it's hilarious...dangerous & scary...but afterwards it's hilarious!!

for a start there's right of way. here (country towns) farmers have right of way, then government vehicles, then trucks, then everyone else. seriously! ubblol

and then there's lanes & merging...be VERY afraid! sometimes you can be innocently overtaking someone - in the overtaking lane - and they'll MERGE INTO YOU! eek no, really! it's happened to me a number of times!

country drivers are scary...

do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good to eat!



if at first you do succeed, try not to look too astonished!



smile! :grin: it confuses people!


NadishomeLiving life to the full!
177 posts
Location: Rural South


Posted:
Sounds like an adventure!!! Dont envey you wotsoeva!!!

Life is short!
So lets leave a mark,
for people to remember!


FacelessjokerBRONZE Member
enthusiast
249 posts
Location: Exeter, United Kingdom


Posted:
After driving for only 5 months, ive already been in a minor accident because of someone elses ignorance. Sloppy driving annoys me alot (not indicating i hate the most).
I try and even out the occasions where i let other drivers/pedestrians pass or not. Im no angel when it comes to driving if im in a nice mood ill let someone pass but if im not i just carry on.
Ill always stop for pedestrians because i know that if i hit them its my fault, its always my fault, and im going to get in ALOT of [censored] for it.

MeleSILVER Member
A perth girl gone walkabout...
396 posts
Location: Back home in Perth WA, Australia


Posted:

I always found at home in australia that myself and others would spend more time looking at the side of the road for speed cameras, or at speedo's, than watching what the car in front is doing. Have also found them a nusiance, and well as other drivers.
Cyclists and pedestrians i've never had a problem with. Most people i know who have been in car accidents, it was with a car hitting them, and had a friend killed on a motorbike because a car didnt look before pulling out onto the main road he was riding on. Drivers should (and i've been driving myself 10 years now) as a whole, pay more attention to whats going on around them, and not on radio/cd players, mobile phones, screaming kids etc etc, and learn to keep their cool - was woken up this morning by one driver honking his horn and getting out of a car to abuse another loudly who was trying to park in a tight spot on a narrow road.

Living in Surrey, UK, atm, and altho i see alot of crazy drivers (ie, if you try and cross a road they'll speed up) there are also quite a few that will stop dead in the high street and wave you across. If you try and wave them past first they won't move.
but even so, thank god for pedestrian crossings at traffic lights.

Another pet hate - people who drive big 4wd's with no reason to - if you hit a small car, the chances are alot greater that you will kill someone cause you are driving a big solid tank in the city/suburbia.

I smile because i have no idea whats going on!! biggrin


ClairebeSILVER Member
Destroyer of kitchen appliances
180 posts
Location: Liverpool, UK


Posted:
I'm in Preston, UK, and the drivers here are the most insane I've ever encountered. They speed up when you cross the road, and I've even had one driver try and "chase" me with his car, trying to get me to run away from him. There is no way I would ever try and cross a road here unless there was a proper crossing, or the road was completely empty.

My brain is about as useful as a chocolate teapot, but unfortunately not as tasty.

Squueee!


flamazinejourneyman
91 posts
Location: Manchester


Posted:
I play a sort of game when I'm driving, a bit like you're in a video game. To get maximum points you have to keep all traffic moving as best you can, including yourself and others. So if I'm in the middle of a long line of traffic and someone is trying to turn right across me, I'll slow and let them through thus allowing traffic coming the other way to keep going. I always keep to the inside lane as much as possible on motorways, and if I have to overtake a middle lane hogger I go all the way from the inside lane, out round them and cut across in front of them to the inside lane again - that usually wakes them up! I still can't believe that there is no motorway driving on the test!

He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!



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