Road Rage

[Roboframer]

I don't really suffer from road rage - I'm just trying to get somewhere - there's no chequered flag. Sometimes I'm forced to brake hard (the No 1 sign of a bad driver is one that forces another to brake) sometimes I'm tailgated - whatever, the situation is usually over in seconds and I'm probably having a better day than the other arsehole.

But this evening I took issue........

I'm joining a road from a 'T' junction - it's not a main 'A' road or anything - just a busy village artery; I want to turn left.

All I should really have to worry about is traffic coming from my right, and there wasn't any, but I'm fully aware of the rules and I'm more than fully aware of how things are in our village.

The rules are that you "give way to traffic on the road you are joining" - so from the right or the left is to be assumed - bearing in mind that traffic from the left should be on the opposite side of the road that you want to be on, and if everyone followed the highway code and did not park within 30 ft of a junction, that would be swell, but .... things in our vilage are different, it's like the land that time forgot regards the highway code. There are parked cars opposite this junction and on the same side of the road (with a few breaks here and there) all the way in to the village centre.

So, I checked left - there's a car already committed, about 50m away - passing parked vehicles. I'm not about to pull in front of that car and claim right of way.

About 100m behind that car is another car, not committed, there are plenty of gaps and it's actually on the right (as in 'correct' - so left) side of the road, between parked cars as I join the road.

I let the 'committed' car pass the junction and turned on to the road, knowing full well that once on I'm on the road the other car will have to pull in to a gap (that I could see it had) to let me pass. It's got an obstruction on its side of the road; I haven't and I have right of way the instant I join the road (?)

Maybe I could have waited - wouldn't have been a big deal I suppose - but it's not my fault that the road has been turned in to part road/part car park!

So, I turned on to the road and as I approched this car, it swung out past the line of parked cars and drove straight at me!

I braked (see above) and so did he - stalemate. So I just thought 'what the hell' and reversed so's he could pass and we could both get on with our lives.

But as he advanced I saw the window come down - he wants to talk? So I put my window down and as he came level to me he said "You need to brush up on your driving skills"

He was about 70 I suppose, and wearing a tweed hat - always a bad sign - beware of drivers that wear hats - you've got a roof FFS!

I said "I had right of way"

He said "Actually you didn't - check the Highway Code"

I said "You were on your side of the road; I was on mine - you chose to move to the wrong side of the road and drive at an on-coming vehicle - you won't find THAT in the Highway Code you ####" (Rhymes with hat)

I wasn't interested in debating the point - I'd already worked out he was a master(de)bater - but before I continued getting on with the rest of my life by flooring it - I totally took in the expression on the face of his wife (assuming) in the passenger seat - GLEE!

[guzzijim]

Couldn't agree more, beware of people that drive cars wearing hats, it's so true!

[misterdiy]

I am not good with road rage. I am always getting into it I'm afraid. The situation you describe happens to me on fairly frequent occasions because I live on a busy road in a village with a "gateway" which we call a chicane. The chicane is about 100 feet from my house to the left and so I have to be aware of oncoming people in the middle of the road. Anyway this one day I saw nothing coming from the left prior to the chicane and it was clear to the right. I pulled out of my drive and I have priority in the chicane. I was almost into it when a mini (old type) came the other way and just drove through the chicane forcing me to brake hard. Down comes my window first and I asked him what the f*** he thought he was doing as it was my right of way and he said no it wasn't because I had pulled out of a drive!!!

We had a bit of an argument before he roared off up into the village. So John you are not alone. If you pull out of a side road and someone sees you do it from whatever distance ..... they have right of way.

We have around 10 - 12 prangs a year in this "gateway" so others must think as I do.

[Roboframer]

Don't get me started on those chicanes, or 'pinch points' !

Several years ago a new development of 600 houses was added to our village; of course everyone was up in arms about it (not me - more customers - bring it on ...... just not my end of the village of course)

So, to sweeten us, the council made it a condition that the developer built a by-pass - WHOOPEE - A BY PASS - we've always wanted a by pass (not me - see above)

So they did - trouble is though that it by passes the village on the wrong side - takes the traffic away from where it wants to go and dumps it further along the always congested A259 than it wants to be. So it all carried on coming through the village. The by-pass is an access road to future housing developments - trust me - developers do nothing for nothing!

So they introduced 'traffic calming' - built SIX pinch points to deter motorists on to the by pass, mostly at places that you'd never dream of parking a car - too close to junctions, and the worst on the crest of a hill with a blind bend just beyond. Then they removed yellow lines from the road I had this fracas on and turned it in to the best place for miles to practice driving on the continent - heading North, you're never on the left!

But it didn't deter anyone that's familiar with the area on to the by pass - just made the village the lesser of two evils and had an opposite effect to 'calming' - again as per my fracas.

Anyway, my dear wife was tonight elected chair of the Parish Council - bulldozing these things is a priority!

Fancy a good laugh? I googled 'Angmering pinch points' to get a photo of one and found this gem of a website - where there is indeed a photo of a pinch point amongst the funny - and total bollocks - other stuff - like the photo of the 'empty shops', none of which were/are - and the chippy isn't Chinese, the guy that runs it is called 'Mark'

[misterdiy]

But I just LOVE that website. I had tears streaming down my face. Don't you just love political incorrectness.

Thanks for a good start to the day

[Tim]

In a similar vein, some years back we spent some time living in Ayrshire, Scotland. Before we moved up there (from rural Oxfordshire), a good friend sent me this link , with the additional comment "are you sure you know what you're letting yourself in for.....?"

[realhotglass]

-
Local Industry - Smuggling = CLASSIC ! LOL.

Re road rage.
Driving nowadays there seems to be a constant need to 'count to ten' everytime some planker (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/don ... 6058537973) does something stupid or discourteous.
Especially peak hour when people seem to develop some sort of need to get in front of the next vehicle at all costs.

[Roboframer]

I thought you'd spelled 'plokers' wrong - planking looks like fun!

Local Industry - Smuggling = CLASSIC ! LOL.

The owner of that website certainly has a sense of humour .....

"Considered relatively small operations on the national scale, no effort is made to kerb the illegal traffick *. The only officials interested being the council wardens responsible for fining litter droppers. Woe betide any smuggler that drops the packaging off an armalite rifle in front of a litter warden. Eighty quid fine straight away!


* To be fair, detecting smugglers is quite difficult now-a-days, as most of them no longer wear tricorn hats, eye patches, ¾ length coats and cutlasses. This failure to wear the proper uniform is a dirty rotten trick that doesn’t give the authorities a chance and also means that local stockists of such attire are rapidly going into recession."

[prospero]

One thing that where you have to watch out for are lane filters with a cross-hatched patch just before. The hatching is there to make changing lanes safer. Some people will jump the gun and change lanes prematurely across the hatching. The other chap in front who is waiting until the filter actually starts may be forgiven in thinking that there can't be anyone coming up on the outside. Wrong. I've had a few close encounters like this. I think if you assume that every other road user is an idiot you can't go far wrong.


Even more fun when the road markings get worn away.

Anyone been round this?

magicroundabout001.jpg (152.52 KiB) Viewed 6163 times

[prospero]

Your guess is as good as mine.

Five mini roundabouts surrounding a big roundabout.

magicroundabout002.jpg (38.75 KiB) Viewed 6161 times

[JohnMcafee]

I don't really suffer from road rage

Really?

Sorry Roboframer, we just can't let that one slip through unchallenged.

So we are to believe that a chap who can go virtually incandescent with outrage at the mere thought that someone hundreds of miles away from him might be considering using the wrong type of cardboard in a picture frame (where nobody dies, remember), is not much bothered when he and his family are placed in mortal danger by some careless idiot in an oncoming vehicle?

It might be interesting to have Mrs Roboframer’s take on this.

[mikeysaling]

and - wearing a hat ! hope he wasn't driving a battenberg .

[Roboframer]

Well, I did point out that the driver maybe shouldn't've done what he did, which you could relate to mount board etc, but then I called him a twat, so I got angrier than I might over mount board etc.

Mrs R is faaaaaar too important to concern herself with this sort of trivia, now she's chairperson of Angmering Parish Council (The election was a gas - I'll tell you all about it one day) Tonight we're off to a reception in honour of the retiring chairman of Arun District Council, don't you know.

[mikeysaling]

ok yah!

[Roboframer]

Wasn't quite like that.

But to stay on topic for a bit, we had to negotiate the same junction/road in the OP to get through the village. No problem at the 'T' junction, let two cars pass from the right and off to go.

I'm about 100m behind these two cars; further down the road there's 3 cars coming the other way, they give way behind a row of parked vehicles. The two cars in front of me pass them, the first of the 3 drivers giving way decides s/he can't afford to wait another 4 seconds for me and goes for it and the other two follow.

I know what the first driver had worked out - s/he could see a solid row of parked cars between us - BUT - also a junction on my side of the road where we'd probably meet and of course I could just swerve in to to let him/her pass. Wouldn't even have to slow down - not withstanding any poor sod coming out of that junction of course. I had to pull in to that junction to let the 3 cars past, the last two of course 'couldn't see' me because of the first car. No need to check their route is clear - it must be, the guy in front has made it OK.

Depending on the time of day, I take quite a large detour to avoid coming back home on this road.

One day though, I was coming back this way, and I was faced with the line of parked cars on my side but following another car. Just before the line of parked cars it indicated left and pulled in - ahead I could see a car coming towards me with right of way, but I could also see a gap in the line of cars that I would get to first if I floored it; so I floored it (not breaking any speed limit. just reaching it really quickly) and caused the oncoming vehicle no inconvenience at all.

Drove home, but I noticed in my mirror that the car that had indicated left had pulled back out and was now behind me - stayed behind me as I turned right off the road and was still behind me as I turned left on to our cul-de-sac.

Parked up on our drive - the car pulled up at the end of the drive - driver (female - know her - runs the vllage social club, a place where, if anyone 'not from round these parts' walks in, everyone stops talking ...... ) gets out. It went something like this .......

"Who the #### do you think YOU are"

"Eh"?

"I pulled over to give way to a car and you OVERTOOK ME"

"You indicated left"

"Yes, because I was pulling in to give way - there was a car coming towards me and you should have pulled in behind me"

"Indicating left means you are either turning left or pulling over to stop and park, not give way"

"No it doesn't ... "

"Yes it does, you intended to carry on once the vehicle had passed - no need to indicate ... did you flash the oncoming vehicle as well"?

"Yes"

"Well, you should only flash your lights to ensure another vehicle has seen/can see you - so that's two indications you got wrong"

"BOLLOCKS - I was telling him (not that she could see it was a bloke driving) I was giving way"

"I realise it means many more things unofficially, but I couldn't see you'd flashed your headlights, could I"

"You should have known I was giving way"

I realised I wasn't going to win and she was well up for a row, so ......

"Well, I believed you were pulling in to park, had I believed you were giving way I would have never have pulled the stunt you thought I'd pulled; I'm saying I didn't deliberately do what you thought I did and I apologise if I'm wrong"

That did the trick - she could strut back to her passenger saying she got an apology from the areshole.

Last night's do was interesting, we know the guest of honour well, he lives in the village; he and his wife are customers and we've supported his sponsored charity quite a few times and of course Pat knows him through his interest in the Parish Council. But apart from him, on a 'council' level we only knew one other guy, a district councillor that is also an Angmering Parish Councillor, who introduced us to many. But we knew 50-60% of everyone, including the waiters, and the photographer - as customers!

"I know you two - you're the couple from that frame/craft shop in Angmering"

"That's right"

"So, er, what you doing here"?

[mikeysaling]

here you go - just the job for your village