Best examples of bad driving you have witnessed

  • Drivingforfun's Avatar
    I'm sure people here can beat my contributions, especially those whose job was to look out for it! But, what were the worst examples of driving you've come across in real life?

    The ones that stood out to me weren't due to the potential for damage/injury but more the hypocrisy - people almost causing accidents because they themselves were making a big deal out of and busy getting angry at some kind of misdemeanour

    i.e. a lady recently driving towards me on "my" side of the road while pressing her horn and shouting out of her side window at a car that had pulled out of a parking space beside her

    I have a theory in life where if people get angry or abusive their point is usually invalid, and they realise that if they were in the right they would be able to get their point across without aggression ... I don't get angry at people making mistakes on the road because I know I'm not the one at fault - maybe if I was trying to do stuff wrong and someone picked me up on it I would?
  • 4 Replies

  • Rolebama's Avatar
    Before they installed traffic lights on Mahjacks roundabout in Uxbridge I saw a guy pull onto the roundabout in front of a Transit van, as the van was coming around the corner. The Transit driver swerved to avoid a collision, and caused another car to swerve to avoid him. This car hit another car, which collided with the Transit van. They all braked, which caused another two cars to rear-end the two cars originally involved. All the drivers got out and started blaming each other, mainly blaming the Transit driver for causing it all. In the meantime, the car which had caused it all was clear of the roundabout and heading off up the dual carriageway towards Harefield Road. I tried to explain what I had seen individually to the drivers involved, but they just didn't want to listen as they had 'seen with their own eyes' how the Transit driver had deliberately swerved across the lanes. In the meantime more and more cars joined the roundabout, effectively gridlocking it. I accept that some of the drivers would not have seen the car that pulled out in front of the Transit because of the road layout, but it was made so much worse because of tailgating and speeding on the roundabout.
    I hope the attached will explain why I used the term corner on a roundabout.
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  • Drivingforfun's Avatar
    A bit of a tangent but a family member commented to me that people seem to drive very quickly on roundabouts these days. This may be exacerbated by the fact they drive a van, and the increase in electric cars (with their lower 0-40 times)

    I don't find it a massive problem but I do tend to agree that some people are almost out looking to become a "victim" (i.e. on a roundabout by speeding towards people on the left who "should" be giving way) instead of taking control of the situation themselves and just easing up

    Without wanting to get overly political, I notice a "desire" to be a victim in many areas of society.. I wonder if there is some kind of pleasant emotion or chemical that occurs in the mind when someone comes to the realisation that they are a victim, or when this is acknowledged by society??
  • Rolebama's Avatar
    It does seem that some people, in a car or on foot, completely lose their self-preservation instinct. (To the point of being semi-suicidal?)To be fair though, I think I was probably just as bad in my younger days. I raced motorcycles, climbed mountains etc, but I honestly don't remember messing around in traffic, albeit there was a whole lot less traffic then.
  • NMNeil's Avatar
    I was sent to an accident where the driver was being nagged incessantly by his girlfriend because she wanted to go to her mothers house and not where they had agreed to go earlier.
    Her whining got so bad that he did a 'U' turn just to shut her up. Trouble was he was driving at about 60 mph when he made, or rather, did'nt make the turn.
    Nobody was hurt but the SUV rolled and was totaled. Best part, as I was arrested him for reckless driving and told him he could bond out of jail after I had finished with the photos and prints. He asked "Do I have to bond out?" I said no you can stay in jail until the morning or until you get to see the judge, to which with a big smile on his face he turned around so I could cuff him.