Post by Dave on Apr 1, 2010 22:44:45 GMT
Did you know that the world’s first road traffic death involving a motor vehicle is alleged to have occurred on 31 August 1869.An Irish scientist Mary Ward died when she fell out of her cousins' steam car and was run over.
Based on the miles I drive every year I have a 27% chance of not being involved in a very serious car crash, it sounds far worse if I say there is a 73% chance that I will be and it’s a simple case of the odds being against me due to being on the roads so much.
We all like to think we are good drivers and while in most cases experience will make some better drivers, others will drive all their lives and always be a danger to other road users.
I expect should I ever be in a crash it will be down to another driver and over the years I have had many near misses, all because of others drivers failing to stick to the rules of the road or just performing some very stupid action on them.
I do get asked often if I like driving, well I suppose I must do, but there are some aspects of it I do not like and try to avoid and there are certain things other drivers do, that make me mad at times.
The funny thing is I never suffer from any road rage during the working day, I take everything that happens in my stride and mostly smile about them, the only time I might suffer from any road rage, is my joinery home from work back to Paignton
I think that only happens because after such a long day on the roads, I see the hold-ups around Penn Inn and get a bit frustrated because I just want to get home. That brings me onto one thing that does make me mad and Penn Inn is a good example.
You get over the roundabout and the two lanes go into one, its simple action for the cars all to merge into the one lane and yet there is always the one stupid driver in the inside lane who wants to not let you merge in where you should do and keeps you forced out in the middle of the road.
I do hate middle lanners and always slightly exaggerate my pulling back in front of them as I shoot to lane one to let them know that is where they should be driving. It works most of the time but not always and some will still sit in the middle lane doing 65 mph and become a real danger to other motorway drivers.
Drivers who do not thank you for giving way to them also get me a bit mad, it costs nothing to be polite and put your hand up, or flash your lights. I also dislike those who think its just fine to stick the car four feet out into the road at a junction, I’m more than happy to let other drivers out, but please don’t try and bully other drivers.
Another thing I hate is being stuck in traffic and that is why I try to learn all the rat runs around the towns and villages I go to, this time of year I call temporary traffic light season, as they seem to be every where I go and its fine if they are working, but you get the times when no one is working there and the lights are stuck on red at both ends.
Talking about traffic lights why are they not all the on demand type? I leave home here in Paignton around 5.20am most mornings and so often as I get to Tweenaway lights they turn to red. They then go through the whole cycle of changes for all the lanes and guess what? No other cars are anywhere to be seen, but I just have to sit there for five minutes waiting for them to change my way again. It would be just my luck if I went through them on red to find one of those rare things they call policemen watching me.
I have driven the same roads for so long now, but you never know what you are going to see and so I never find it boring at all and the weather can sure make it all the more challenging at times.
The roads are far busier these days and most of the problems in the mornings and afternoons are caused by all the parents driving their kids to school, whatever happened to walking? Don’t start me on that anyway as I feel kids should go to their local school and not have all this choice as they do these days. Simple make all schools the same standard and that would get half the cars of the road straight away.
Merse will tell you we once used to wait to get near the Aller lay-by to over take cars there, you are lucky to go past it these days doing 3 mph. Just when it looked like we would see the bypass started within a year, the government has now put back any decision to after the general election, so it may well end up the case I’m never going to see the road built in my lifetime.
Based on the miles I drive every year I have a 27% chance of not being involved in a very serious car crash, it sounds far worse if I say there is a 73% chance that I will be and it’s a simple case of the odds being against me due to being on the roads so much.
We all like to think we are good drivers and while in most cases experience will make some better drivers, others will drive all their lives and always be a danger to other road users.
I expect should I ever be in a crash it will be down to another driver and over the years I have had many near misses, all because of others drivers failing to stick to the rules of the road or just performing some very stupid action on them.
I do get asked often if I like driving, well I suppose I must do, but there are some aspects of it I do not like and try to avoid and there are certain things other drivers do, that make me mad at times.
The funny thing is I never suffer from any road rage during the working day, I take everything that happens in my stride and mostly smile about them, the only time I might suffer from any road rage, is my joinery home from work back to Paignton
I think that only happens because after such a long day on the roads, I see the hold-ups around Penn Inn and get a bit frustrated because I just want to get home. That brings me onto one thing that does make me mad and Penn Inn is a good example.
You get over the roundabout and the two lanes go into one, its simple action for the cars all to merge into the one lane and yet there is always the one stupid driver in the inside lane who wants to not let you merge in where you should do and keeps you forced out in the middle of the road.
I do hate middle lanners and always slightly exaggerate my pulling back in front of them as I shoot to lane one to let them know that is where they should be driving. It works most of the time but not always and some will still sit in the middle lane doing 65 mph and become a real danger to other motorway drivers.
Drivers who do not thank you for giving way to them also get me a bit mad, it costs nothing to be polite and put your hand up, or flash your lights. I also dislike those who think its just fine to stick the car four feet out into the road at a junction, I’m more than happy to let other drivers out, but please don’t try and bully other drivers.
Another thing I hate is being stuck in traffic and that is why I try to learn all the rat runs around the towns and villages I go to, this time of year I call temporary traffic light season, as they seem to be every where I go and its fine if they are working, but you get the times when no one is working there and the lights are stuck on red at both ends.
Talking about traffic lights why are they not all the on demand type? I leave home here in Paignton around 5.20am most mornings and so often as I get to Tweenaway lights they turn to red. They then go through the whole cycle of changes for all the lanes and guess what? No other cars are anywhere to be seen, but I just have to sit there for five minutes waiting for them to change my way again. It would be just my luck if I went through them on red to find one of those rare things they call policemen watching me.
I have driven the same roads for so long now, but you never know what you are going to see and so I never find it boring at all and the weather can sure make it all the more challenging at times.
The roads are far busier these days and most of the problems in the mornings and afternoons are caused by all the parents driving their kids to school, whatever happened to walking? Don’t start me on that anyway as I feel kids should go to their local school and not have all this choice as they do these days. Simple make all schools the same standard and that would get half the cars of the road straight away.
Merse will tell you we once used to wait to get near the Aller lay-by to over take cars there, you are lucky to go past it these days doing 3 mph. Just when it looked like we would see the bypass started within a year, the government has now put back any decision to after the general election, so it may well end up the case I’m never going to see the road built in my lifetime.