The other night I was driving home when I heard behind me a
beeping of horns and a flashing of lights so intense it could only have come
from one of two sources – the police or Mr Toad. The lights not being blue I presumed that it
was Mr Toad from "Wind in the Willows".
I was correct in this
assumption.
As I reached the top of the hill it seemed Mr Toad was
directly behind me. I knew this for a certainty because he kept tooting and
flashing even though I was stationary at traffic lights. When the lights went green I proceeded across
the cross roads and he tried to pass me.
There was however no room to pass me so I positioned myself so as to
make this even more difficult and started to drive more slowly
When aggressive drivers toot and flash me it is
one of my hobbies to drive overly carefully like an old age pensioner. Indeed, should I ever be able to afford a
flashing sports car it would be my intention to drive my Aston Martin DB5 deliberately slowly –
at the exact speed limit and no higher – everywhere just to annoy such drivers.
Having traversed the crossroads and some bends in the road
where it would be impossible to pass anyone the trickle of traffic jammed
bumper to bumper cars finally reached a stretch of straight road where he
attempted to overtake me. However, I was
keeping a two second gap from the car in front so this was impossible to
achieve without cutting in. So he cut
in. So I dropped back in order to stop
from driving up the back of him. He
seemed to have succeeded in the manoeuvre when he suddenly pulled out to the
right hand lane again and stopped. I had
also stopped to avoid collision. But why
had he stopped?
He got out his car and walked over to my window in the
delusion that I was going to wind it down and exchange pleasantries with him
but I have long ago tired of collecting pieces of people’s minds that are empty
so I let him get right up to the car window and, gauging that I had enough space
to get around his stationary motor on the inside, pulled off again.
The cars behind followed me and this put
three cars between his and mine.
He followed me through two sets of traffic lights – I stuck
to the main road – and at the third got out, came up to the window again and
accused me of driving into the back of him.
However, no sooner had he got these words out his mouth than the lights
had turned green again and … now I had put even more cars between myself and
him. He lost me. Brainpower beats horsepower.
Driving back the other way another day it occurred to me
that the straight section of road was punctuated by traffic islands and what
might have happened is that he had decided to abort his overtake last minute
for fear of hitting one of these traffic islands.
Anyway, cogitating on whether I had done the right thing I
found myself over at the “Honest John” website – a spin off of the Daily
Telegraph – from whence it might seem that some of these thought patterns
originate …
This afternoon I was
driving along a straight road with a national speed limit, behind 3 or 4 cars
doing about 35mph. There was a large gap ahead, so I decided to overtake the
rear car, as I was nearly past the car (about 2/3 of my car was in front) I
noticed that the cars in front were accelerating, and so was the car behind. I
carried on, and gradually realised that I could not pull in as he was
preventing me, and that I was soon approaching a blind bend and it was about to
get extremely dangerous. I slowed, and pulled in behind him. On that day luck
was on my side, as just before I pulled back in I was on the wrong side of the
road, and dangerously close to a blind bend. IMO someone could have been
killed.
The main problem for
me was that his behaviour was totally unexpected. I wasted seconds trying in
vein to clear his car, and then more seconds gradually realising that he was
basically racing me, and that I was in considerable danger
A few miles down the
road, the traffic had come to a stop. I got out, approached his car, his window
was partly down, and I said "could I have a word with you". He wound
the window down further. I said "Did you see me overtaking you?" He
said "Yes". I said "Did you try to prevent me pulling back
in". He said "Yes". I said "By preventing me pulling in,
you endangered me and other road users". He said "I don't care you
shouldn't have overtaken me". I then said "You are a complete
halfwit" a couple of times, except the word was not exactly halfwit, and
walked away. I don't really understand the mentality. He was young, and a risk
taker judging by the driving I witnessed a few miles later on.
Has anyone else
experienced this?
Genuine Responses:
It's a British thing,
we like to wait in line but a road isn't a queue at the post office and
overtaking isn't queue jumping.
**
As it happens I had a
similar experience myself the other day. There were 3 cars behind a slow moving
van. Having waited a short while to make sure none of them were intending on
overtaking I indicated and moved out. As I was about to come alongside a Polo
which was the 2nd car in the queue it pulled out with no indication. Luckily I
generally drive expecting people to do daft things, and had already observed
his body language and expected it. It meant that I had to slow down though, and
meant that I now couldn't be sure of overtaking the remaining vehicles in the
space I could see to be clear, so I looked to turn back into the line of
traffic, to find that the car I had just overtaken was accelerating as hard as
he could to try to block me on the wrong side of the road.
Truly homicidal
behaviour. Luckily he was driving a Citroen Saxo while I was driving an Alfa
GTA, so a small amount of pressure on the accelerator and I was able to move in
with no danger.
I didn't even bother
registering my feelings on his behaviour, there's no helping some people.
**
It seems to be
automatic behaviour from some people,to prevent others from overtaking. It is
dangerous, rude and unnecessary. If someone wants to overtake, why not let
them, why not help them, let them get on with it, why would you want to hold
them up.
Maybe it's their own
lack of confidence and/or lack of ability coming out, which manifests itself as
jealousy and spitefulness. Can't think of any other reason.
**
I simply love it when
people on here get so morally high-handed about situations where they can
visualise the situation however they wish. The OP was trying to overtake. Now,
it doesn't matter if he was doing it with his eyes shut on a blind bend, the Highway
code is unequivocal:
"144: Being
overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and
speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass. Never obstruct
drivers who wish to pass. Speeding up or driving unpredictably while someone is
overtaking you is dangerous. Drop back to maintain a two-second gap if someone
overtakes and pulls into the gap in front of you."
Note that it doesn't
tell you to judge the manoeuvre in any way or to decide whether the driver is
safe.
Before you all rant
away at what the OP was doing wrong, why not deal with the discrepancy between
the Highway code and the overtakees behaviour?
Fantastic cherry picking given that it also says that…
162
Before overtaking you should make sure
the road is
sufficiently clear ahead
road users are not
beginning to overtake you
there is a
suitable gap in front of the road user you plan to overtake.
163
Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should
…
not get too close
to the vehicle you intend to overtake
move quickly past
the vehicle you are overtaking, once you have started to overtake. Allow plenty
of room. Move back to the left as soon as you can but do not cut in
take extra care at
night and in poor visibility when it is harder to judge speed and distance
stay in your lane if traffic is moving
slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than
you are, you may pass on the left
The dimwits continue…
It seems to me that
Leif did it all by the book. I can't understand the criticism. Well, a lot of
the criticism at first was due to the fact people misread the thread and got it
in their heads that there was some kind of conspiracy as multiple cars
conspired to block him. This is not what he said happened.
The last time I read
Roadcraft, I seem to remember it recommending to overtake multiple cars if
possible, OR to "work your way up" by overtaking one at a time and
slotting in to a gap in front, which is what Leif tried to do, only the driver
he was overtaking deliberately narrowed the gap which was there as he started
the manoeuvre.
I can't see that he
has done anything wrong.
**
People do not like you
overtaking them, its an ego thing. Even if they are perfectly content behind
the cars infront they dont want anyone overtaking them.
The only way is to
assume that all drivers are going to do this and accelerate towards the car in
front after dropping a gear or two and then pull out so you spend the least
amount of time on the other side of the road but it has to be quick and there
has to be enough room infront at the time of starting the overtaking manouver.
Just drifting out as you accelerate will be seen.
The current journey to
work I have has many overtaking places but people don't know them. I get some
annoying person trying to prevent me overtaking about one or twice a month.
Oh ye, and they would
rather see you die than let you in. True. Overtaking is dangerious you always
need to leave enough room before the next corner or on comming car if you have
to break back in to where you came from.
Its also an aquired
skill to be able to judge distances and aproaching speeds bt a rule of thum is
to assume that you are traveling twive as fast as you are so the corner ahead
is only half the distance it seems.
Sorry drifted off the
subject.
Etc
.jpg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpg)
