Driving in 2022 are standards getting worse?

[Gary Flinn]

Is it just me getting older or do the standards of driving seem to be getting worse these days?

I know the volume of traffic is greatly increased, but I'm constantly amazed by some of the things I see whilst commuting the 20 miles or so to work, there seems to be an Incident or accident more or less daily!

The thing I've noticed the most though is people running Red Lights, I don't mean going through when they are changing and on Amber I mean blatantly going through on Red!!😒

There is one particular Roundabout with Traffic Lights on my commute through Derby where it is a normal daily occurrence

I can't recall people doing this on a regular basis when I started driving back in the 1980's?

What do you all think?

Gary 

 

  

[Pete Lewis]

doing a 6 point turn in the road outside school parking drives me nuts 

see on TV they are avertising the 2 second rule  but dont explain the why and wherefore   you need it 

or how the daft ones can work out where to count the 2 seconds   

bring back the olde  how to publicity films   , for motorways and clunk click stuff ( not with JS) 

simple and factual 

yes getting old helps with being grumpy   .....love it  

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

I must get a dashcam; almost written off twice this morning on the dual carriageway - one clampit in a van joined from the right, so drove across two opposite lanes and the central reservation then turned right onto the overtaking lane at about 20 mph, so I had to undertake him at 70... then on the way back another eejit merges without checking his blind spot, which is where I was sitting. I'm getting too many white hairs and not from age.

[PeteH]

Youngsters, sadly, are not educated, they are tought to pass exams, not the same thing at all. The upshot being large numbers have never been properly trained, observation skills, zero, awareness likewise. No wonder the accident rate is higher. 
 

 

Pete

[NonMember]

30 minutes ago, Gary Flinn said:

There is one particular Roundabout with Traffic Lights

There's one of those round here, too. Sorry, I mean there's at least two of those round here. For drivers joining the roundabout, the green light means "there are now only two more cars going to jump the red light from your right".

 

10 minutes ago, PeteH said:

Youngsters, sadly, are not educated

Yeah, don't want to sound like a grumpy old man, but GenZ have never been taught to think about the reasons behind anything, just rote facts like in Victorian times. It shows up in how they ask advice (if they ever do) or read manuals. They don't want to know what they're doing, just give them a step-by-step "press this button, then this button" YouTube video. All very well until one of the buttons isn't there.

[Colin Lindsay]

9 minutes ago, Mathew said:

Its also the lack of consequences. There used to be more chance of being cought. The shift to blame 2mph over a speed limit as the cause for accidents rather than the way someone drives. 🤣

Over here they talk about 'dangerous roads'. I hate that. It's not the fault of the road; the road is an inanimate object. We have all kinds of fatal collisions over here, and the first thing the local representative does on tv or radio is blame the road and repeat about how many times they've asked for more flyovers and wider stretches. If you crash on a bend, it's not the bend's fault. You've gone round it too fast. Sadly as Pete H says above, if many of today's drivers don't see huge signs telling them there's a bend, slow down, use 3rd gear, follow the lines and avoid the striped barriers etc they don't know to look out for anything.

[Badwolf]

I have a relation who was a driving instructor. He tells me that while he was still tutoring, he regularly saw his pupils, after passing their test, doing things that he had never taught them!!

[DVD3500]

Here in Rulesland Germans simply cannot believe that people will not obey the rules.

When someone signals to leave a roundabout they drive into the roundabout simply assuming the driver is committed to leaving before they enter... when you factor in that up until about 2006 people signaled to ENTER a roundabout there is a non-zero chance that person has forgotten to turn off the indicator and BAM...

Had they waited 2-3 seconds it would have been avoided...

I am constantly pointing out to my kids how you can predict other drivers' behavior regardless of what the "rules" are.

Things like looking at the attitude of the tires as well as the indicator to see if there is discrepancy or trying to get eye contact at an intersection because inevitably the whole right-before-left   could break down when all arrive at once.

They also seem to have learned to look forward and stop and then inspect the intersection where I learned to know where a car will stop blindfolded.

 

[RogerH]

On 08/03/2022 at 15:00, Gary Flinn said:

Is it just me getting older or do the standards of driving seem to be getting worse these days?

I know the volume of traffic is greatly increased, but I'm constantly amazed by some of the things I see whilst commuting the 20 miles or so to work, there seems to be an Incident or accident more or less daily!

The thing I've noticed the most though is people running Red Lights, I don't mean going through when they are changing and on Amber I mean blatantly going through on Red!!😒

There is one particular Roundabout with Traffic Lights on my commute through Derby where it is a normal daily occurrence

I can't recall people doing this on a regular basis when I started driving back in the 1980's?

What do you all think?

Gary 

 

  

Hi Gary,

you are welcome to come down to Hayes in West London near Heathrow.

We are a very mixed race community and I think each race is trying to beat the other races to get there first.

Traffic lights are there only to illuminate the night sky.

Even the buses know which light has a camera and so continue through on RED.

We have a specialist Doughnut track (Shopping mall car park) that has nightly events.

The Uxbridge road and Hayes Bypass double as sprint tracks most evenings -  book early, very popular event)

 

Roger

 

[Gary Flinn]

Some interesting comments, it seems a lot of you feel the same about the way driving standards are going.

The recent changes to the rule with regards to cyclists/pedestrians at Junctions will no doubt cause yet more confusion, confrontations and also probably more accidents🥺 

I'm a keen cyclist and certainly won't be riding any differently, I try and keep my eyes peeled at all times, especially at junctions and have had a number of near misses and Incidents on the road.

The new rules regarding junctions and Cars giving way to cyclists/pedestrians seems a recipe for disaster to me.

Gary   

[Pete Lewis]

I had a mirror on the handle bars back in the 60s so you could see what was behind you about to take you out 

there again also had built in hub dynamo lights  a loud bell ,mudguards and a saddle bag for loading stuff 

no bicycles  just have two wheels too many  gears ...any safety gear ....Nah 

Pete

 

 

[DVD3500]

13 minutes ago, Gary Flinn said:

Some interesting comments, it seems a lot of you feel the same about the way driving standards are going.

The recent changes to the rule with regards to cyclists/pedestrians at Junctions will no doubt cause yet more confusion, confrontations and also probably more accidents🥺 

I'm a keen cyclist and certainly won't be riding any differently, I try and keep my eyes peeled at all times, especially at junctions and have had a number of near misses and Incidents on the road.

The new rules regarding junctions and Cars giving way to cyclists/pedestrians seems a recipe for disaster to me.

Gary   

I cycle pretty much everywhere under 10k/10 miles... I tell my kids over and over and over "Just cuz you have the right of way does NOT make you right"

 

[Gully]

Not convinced driving standards are getting worse. Many people have done daft things when first out from under the watchful gaze of their driving instructor - not sure that's anything new. However, roads are much more congested than they were (even by my reckoning and I've only been driving since 1987), which leads to impatience and in my view impatience is a far greater cause of accidents than simply speed. 

Another factor is more powerful cars. I would have had to work my original 1200cc Mk 1 Astra very hard to break most non-urban speed limits! Now, small cars are generally pretty nippy, inviting impatient, drivers to go for gaps...

Gully

[Colin Lindsay]

2 hours ago, Gary Flinn said:

Some interesting comments, it seems a lot of you feel the same about the way driving standards are going.

Don't get me wrong, we weren't perfect back in the day, and still aren't... but it seems that with driving, as with a lot of other things these days, rules no longer exist, nor do manners, and it's every man for himself. You no longer stop to let a car out at a junction - he'll drive out in front of you anyway. There's no shame any more, no embarrassment at doing wrong or getting caught, and if you do get caught it's always someone else's fault; you were let down at school or disadvantaged plus you can't afford to be punished as you need your licence / can't afford the fines or do the jail time as it will affect the family life or your job. 

We had roadworks on the 'back' road this morning; I stopped for the red light and the car behind went round me and carried on.

[Unkel Kunkel]

 

Occasionally, my car and I  become transparent.

Pedestrians as well as drivers can be the problem then.

On those “transparent” days, they can come up to the kerb, either not look or even do the full “green cross” and then step off, looking the other way or into their phone or blankly in my direction.

The ultimate was last year when a young woman slowly sauntered off the pavement  into my path whilst on her phone.Looking the other way the whole time, she was unaware of my presence and fact  that I had stopped  very quickly to avoid hitting her.

Now a bit wary, I decided to wait  until she approached other kerb before moving off.

Just as well.She had just passed the bonnet when  she did a sudden about-turn,to retrace her steps, now  at a faster pace and  engaged in a very animated phone conversation and hurried away -  still completely oblivious of me sitting  in my stationary, transparent car…

 

 

 

 

[PeteH]

Everyone has "rights". NO ONE, has, nor takes, responsibility.

The best thing that happened to me, Driving wise, was having to do a retake on my HGV. I had let it lapse having not used it and the rules changed during the period I was in the M-N. Having purchased a 9tonne American R-V, I then dicovered that the licence I had was no longer legal to drive it anymore!!. The upshot was a full course and test at great expense, during which I learned a lot about my driving and improving observational skills.  And a first time pass too. Good LGV trainers (still) teach driving, not just test passing. It`s 60 years, since I passed my first test, in a Triumph Herald, no less.

Pete

[Unkel Kunkel]

Road Accidents

Before even the most clever, talented ,or those who consider themselves superb drivers,  pull away from the side of the road into traffic, perhaps there is a need to consider something in that fleeting moment.

1.The  only characteristic shared by all human beings - past, present or who have yet to draw breath, is the capacity to make mistakes.

At best, It is the way we learn- from our very first faltering, stumbling steps.

2. If you are human, and you have learnt anything at all,  you will have made mistakes - and you will make mistakes in the future.

4.If you do not accept that you have made mistakes and have the capacity to make very serious mistakes, you are a potentially dangerous(to your self or others),deluded, deceitful, dishonest or demented  individual - or any combination of the above.

The way for us to reduce the frequency and severity of accidents/ incidents is for us all to  recognize, acknowledge and address these characteristics and then modify our behaviour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dick Twitchen]

15 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

any safety gear

Whatever happened to '''Wear something light at night''?

[cliff.b]

13 hours ago, Unkel Kunkel said:

 

Occasionally, my car and I  become transparent.

Pedestrians as well as drivers can be the problem then.

On those “transparent” days, they can come up to the kerb, either not look or even do the full “green cross” and then step off, looking the other way or into their phone or blankly in my direction.

The ultimate was last year when a young woman slowly sauntered off the pavement  into my path whilst on her phone.Looking the other way the whole time, she was unaware of my presence and fact  that I had stopped  very quickly to avoid hitting her.

Now a bit wary, I decided to wait  until she approached other kerb before moving off.

Just as well.She had just passed the bonnet when  she did a sudden about-turn,to retrace her steps, now  at a faster pace and  engaged in a very animated phone conversation and hurried away -  still completely oblivious of me sitting  in my stationary, transparent car…

 

 

 

 

I find the most effective and satisfying response to an errant pedestrian is a blast from my air horns. Purely in the interests of their own safety, of course 🤭

[Pete Lewis]

1 hour ago, Dick Twitchen said:

Wear something light at night

back in the 60s if you parked on a pavement you had local plod get you to move  if you parked without side lights you could get a ticket 

and there was/is   a rule about parking facing the direction of traffic   well thats also a lost cause 

but the suns out 

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

12 hours ago, Unkel Kunkel said:

The way for us to reduce the frequency and severity of accidents/ incidents is for us all to  recognize, acknowledge and address these characteristics and then modify our behaviour.

I know what you mean, but it's like littering, or using phones whilst driving, or speeding... most of us don't, but an awful lot of others do, and our efforts seem to make no difference at all. There will always be people who just can't be bothered.

Over here a few years back the Police term "Road Traffic Accident" was changed to "Road Traffic Collision" - they wanted to remove the 'accidental / no-one's to blame' concept and introduced the 'prosecute absolutely everybody and let the CPS sort it out' attitude. A year or so later with the Court system clogged up with simple prosecutions that could have been avoided, they changed the policy to one of 'attending injury collisions only', leaving all else up to the Insurance Companies.

[Pete Lewis]

as for mistakes its the way to learn 

then as my old tutor told me 

Son he says  you will find in life there are  a lot of people with 40 years experience ,,,,,

some have 40yrs once   and then some have one years  40 times  

how true that has turned out 

Pete

[Wagger]

It is sad to recall this, but I had mad mates on motor bikes. Natural selection removed them from being a danger to the rest of us. Most of us had a bike, moped, proper motor-bike then a car. Now it is straight to a car with no road craft learned beforehand. The cars are now safer for the driver, but more dangerous for those in its path. Making eye contact is nigh on impossible with sloping windscreens.

Most of my driving lessons were at night, or in the rain. That no longer seems the norm. It has taken me three visits from D-I-L to train her how to use her lights AND check her tyres.

[Badwolf]

First lesson learned. When you move this car, you are in control of a quarter of a ton missile of metal and glass. Make sure that you know how to stop it ...... quickly. Second lesson, if you do hit anything, hit it slowly.  Well remembered so many years later.

[Pete Lewis]

and with an automatic emergency brake the only thing you hit and not slowly is your nose on the windscreen

i got a bit closer than it liked at 2mph in a queue  and its like a bomb going off    Whallop  no finese   it stops it dead 

Pete