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Thread: Appalling driving today A1M

  1. #1
    Grand Master Rod's Avatar
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    Appalling driving today A1M

    In all my years as a police and civilian driver have I witnessed some of the most idiotic driving. I was on the A1M and had just missed this one ..
    https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/ne...ly-say-police/
    I've had BMW drivers within 5 feet of my car rear at 70mph.
    What is wrong with people today?
    Like lemmings on a death wish.

  2. #2
    Just up the road from me, shame but it happens and seems to be getting worse, everyone just seems to be in a rush these days or can't resist seeing the latest notification on their smartphone whilst driving...

  3. #3
    As the story doesn’t say, can you tell us what caused the crash

  4. #4
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    Largely I don't think it is people in a hurry because get behind someone on a single carriageway road and they'll amble along at 50.

    I think it's lack of interest in, attention to and application to their driving. They get in the living rooms on wheel and are elsewhere while some small part of them controls the machine from a to b. But then there are the audi/bmw/merc lunatics but that's not about hurry either it's about control.

  5. #5
    Grand Master Rod's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by adrianw View Post
    As the story doesn’t say, can you tell us what caused the crash
    Can't I'm afraid Adrian as it happened moments after I passed that J61.
    There are accidents there frequently.
    The northbound sliproad onto the A1 is
    a hazard as drivers speed of it and approaching fast traffic don't adjust their driving on the approach.
    I've a pal on Road Traffic who may have attended if so I'll get more info from him.

  6. #6
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    Mobile use at the wheel is a major factor.

  7. #7
    Most dodgy thing I keep seeing are all the idiots who sit in the fast lane and at the last minute turn across three lanes onto a slip road.

  8. #8
    Grand Master magirus's Avatar
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    32 years of dealing with this sort of thing has shown me that excessive speed and poor driving skills are usually the biggest contributing factors.
    F.T.F.A.

  9. #9
    Craftsman Jpshell's Avatar
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    I sat on a traffic court yesterday (JP) and the amount of people who came in “just to make a point” - some of them became pretty aggressive because I wouldn’t let them rant about how unfair it was and how their driving was just fine. That rant cost most of them £150 above the fixed penalty cost.

    On the way to the court I saw a lady in a Ford cut in front of an Artic to get off the A1 at the last minute, then did the same thing at a roundabout off the A14 and then flipped the driver behind the bird when she got a blast of his horn.

    They are the people I have whinging in the dock that their licence is their life and they can’t lose it.

  10. #10
    Grand Master hogthrob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rod View Post
    Can't I'm afraid Adrian as it happened moments after I passed that J61.
    There are accidents there frequently.
    The northbound sliproad onto the A1 is
    a hazard as drivers speed of it and approaching fast traffic don't adjust their driving on the approach.
    I've a pal on Road Traffic who may have attended if so I'll get more info from him.

    If you don't know what happened, how do you know it was caused by appalling driving?

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by hogthrob View Post
    If you don't know what happened, how do you know it was caused by appalling driving?
    No one knows including Rod, as per his first post he never saw it but stated he had drivers hanging off his bumper at 70mph on the same stretch of the road, hence the appalling driving statement…

    As a driver of that stretch of road, I totally agree with the comments about the junctions and drivers reacting too late, see so many near misses when you use that road…


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  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Rod View Post
    Can't I'm afraid Adrian as it happened moments after I passed that J61.
    There are accidents there frequently.
    The northbound sliproad onto the A1 is
    a hazard as drivers speed of it and approaching fast traffic don't adjust their driving on the approach.
    I've a pal on Road Traffic who may have attended if so I'll get more info from him.
    Is it drivers from the slip-road going to slowly or too fast?

  13. #13
    I think the most dangerous thing on the roads today is large lorries overtaking, one lorry overtaking another because his speed limiter calibration is slightly different and causing a huge 56 mph traffic jam full of builders vans and smaller lorries, causing all the cars behind to be completely blind. however large a gap they leave. The lorry drivers don't care how big the jam is behind them or the disruption it causes on slip roads them, I see this on the M11 and A12 all the time. lorries should be banned from overtaking anywhere in the UK, The French have done the correct thing in banning them completely at weekends.

  14. #14
    Grand Master Rod's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hogthrob View Post
    If you don't know what happened, how do you know it was caused by appalling driving?
    How do you think accidents happen then?

  15. #15
    Master brigant's Avatar
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    Another one is drivers coming off slip roads not regulating their speed and expecting everyone on main carriageway to get out of their way.
    Back in 60's and 70's it was common for British divers to slag off driviers in France, Spain and Italy. Nowadays I find it is Britains drivers that are by far the worst. No lane discipline, lack of attention and total unawareness of what is happening around them. The driving test is a farce and very little motorway training.

  16. #16
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rod View Post
    How do you think accidents happen then?
    Diesel spill, driver heart attack, mechanical failure, bird/other animal strike?

    There are plenty of things other than appalling driving that could have caused this.

    Tailgating morons are a problem, always have been, but you do seem to have jumped to conclusions, based on other experiences, here.

    You're probably right that the problem was driver error of some sort, but it seems you can't know that.

    Appalling driving exists? Certainly. It was the cause of this accident? The jury is out.

    M
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  17. #17
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    People forget that this lockdown (s) has resulted in skills atrophy among the driving population - they remember doing it but they are out of practice doing it - particularly longer, cross country and higher speed driving.

    I have been recommending refresher courses to quite a few friends after seeing their driving post lockdown which most of them admit to being a good idea.


    B

  18. #18
    A1 still closed on this section and as a result traffic around Durham this morning was gridlocked on the way to drop my daughter at school, whilst sat in the que’s of slow moving traffic the amount of people on their phones was unbelievable.

    Had a M5 driver hanging off my bumper also this morning while I was slowing to turn right off a dual carriageway, in the end he swerved to the left which caused the car on the inside lane to brake then moved back into the right hand lane to accelerate away.

    Again too many people in a rush and not paying proper attention to the roads.


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  19. #19
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    I think it's a combination of factors, personally.

    1) Lack of forward vision. I passed my IAM a couple of years ago, and the biggest thing that was drummed in to us was to look ahead. Most drivers focus on what is happening right in front of them, and just don't see the hazards coming up.
    2) Undoubtedly mobile use. If you are doing something on your phone, you are NOT focussing on what is happening on the road. No excuses.
    3) Modern cars with active safety features (might be contentious). If you rely on your car to accelerate, brake and keep you in the lane, then you are not actively involved in or aware of what is happening. Something happens, and it will usually be fast, you're just not ready. The car may well take action, but it will be unthinking.
    4) Aggression. Still see alot of angry driving. Leads to people pushing themselves and therir vehicle beyond what is safe.
    5) Infotainment. I suppose it's the modern equivalent of rooting in the glovebox for a casette. Big touch screens, nav systems, music streaming from your phone, all are a distraction.

  20. #20
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    its just people behind a wheel who are inattentive or entitled. I cycle into work every day (12 miles each way) in Nth Mcr and I watch some crazy driving every day. People who are darting from lane to lane to get 1 car ahead, running red lights at speed, people on phones or just distracted. Thats how it is now, people dont think they should have to pay attention to the road or whats happening in front of or around them. I just ride, try to be predictable and signal when necessary. Some motorists seem to see every pedestrian,cyclist, other motorist and traffic control as a personal challenge.

  21. #21
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ty-Durham.html

    Only thing it mentions is a lorry crossed the central reservation?
    Is that the cause, no one knows yet fully.


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  22. #22
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Martylaa View Post
    Only thing it mentions is a lorry crossed the central reservation?
    Is that the cause, no one knows yet fully.
    Don't be silly, Rod knows and he wasn't even there. No need for witnesses, dash cams or evidence, you just need to take Rod's word for it.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by wileeeeeey View Post
    Don't be silly, Rod knows and he wasn't even there. No need for witnesses, dash cams or evidence, you just need to take Rod's word for it.
    Seems a bit harsh - unless i've missed something .

    B

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by apm101 View Post
    Infotainment. I suppose it's the modern equivalent of rooting in the glovebox for a casette. Big touch screens, nav systems, music streaming from your phone, all are a distraction.

    It was said not long ago that there was a plan to fit cars with speed limiters and yet you can have a car with a large ipad style screw in the dashboard. No idea how it was decided that was safe.

  25. #25
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian View Post
    Seems a bit harsh - unless i've missed something .

    B
    There are quite a few things I would trust Rod's view on, this isn't one of them.

  26. #26
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by adrianw View Post
    Most dodgy thing I keep seeing are all the idiots who sit in the fast lane and at the last minute turn across three lanes onto a slip road.
    I see this so much on the M25 with 4 lanes! For some reason normally CW at the Brentwood Juc, I just don't get it, they have miles to get across and two slip roads to leave on and yet I regularly see this mad panic move across four lanes at the last minute.

  27. #27
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Essexman View Post
    I see this so much on the M25 with 4 lanes! For some reason normally CW at the Brentwood Juc, I just don't get it, they have miles to get across and two slip roads to leave on and yet I regularly see this mad panic move across four lanes at the last minute.
    Try the exit at Enfield on the M25, it's on the news daily for accidents and pile ups. I never use it now, I get off at Potters Bar or Loughton and go the slightly longer way instead.

  28. #28
    Grand Master Rod's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wileeeeeey View Post
    There are quite a few things I would trust Rod's view on, this isn't one of them.
    Where have I stated that fact, that was the cause of the accident?
    I wasn't there. I use that section of the motorway regularly and all I have said is that when people join the motorway at J61 northbound, they enter at speed and approaching motorists, particularly occupying two lanes have no where to go and accidents can happen.
    Of course my view is irrelevant in this case.

  29. #29
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rod View Post
    Where have I stated that fact, that was the cause of the accident?
    Hmm let me see.
    Thread title
    Appalling driving today A1M
    Opener
    Quote Originally Posted by Rod View Post
    In all my years as a police and civilian driver have I witnessed some of the most idiotic driving. I was on the A1M and had just missed this one ..
    Closing statement
    Quote Originally Posted by Rod View Post
    What is wrong with people today?
    Like lemmings on a death wish.

  30. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by Essexman View Post
    I see this so much on the M25 with 4 lanes! For some reason normally CW at the Brentwood Juc, I just don't get it, they have miles to get across and two slip roads to leave on and yet I regularly see this mad panic move across four lanes at the last minute.
    Funnily enough I came to work that way this morning, several people did that at Brook Farm, the other thing that made me laugh was, I was driving a car that easily does 200mph and looks like it, why were people in bloody repmobiles tailgating me, maybe because i was leaving a gap to the car in front of me.

  31. #31
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    For what it's worth Rod there's more chance you're right than wrong but the fact is no one knows what caused it yet but you're already balls deep with your version.

  32. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by wileeeeeey View Post
    Try the exit at Enfield on the M25, it's on the news daily for accidents and pile ups. I never use it now, I get off at Potters Bar or Loughton and go the slightly longer way instead.
    They are widening the road around the roundabout there, it's chaos.

  33. #33
    Master Harry Smith's Avatar
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    Me n Her were talking the other day about how us humans have progressed from running around with rocks, spears and clubs beating the crap out of animals and each other to tearing around on horseback hacking others with swords to driving high speed vehicles within inches of each other with (mostly) such consumate skill and fearlessness. All in only a couple thousand years or so. We decided that a vehicle becomes an extension of your personality and personal space and let woe betide anyone who compromises that space or insults your honour in some way. And imagine what pedestrian perambulation would be like if we applied the same rules as we do when driving? Didn't Monty Python do a sketch on those lines?
    Even the Amish go mad in their buggies:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EUv_1kdL0o

  34. #34
    Grand Master Rod's Avatar
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    Appalling driving on the A1? so a BMW coming within 5' of my bumper yesterday at 70mph is not appalling?

    Driving standards are getting worse, particularly as cars get more powerful, drivers are more arrogant, drug use is worse etc, etc.

    The driving instructor I know says even some teens that he is teaching choose to ignore his instructions about speed limits and courtesy. Its even making him considering jacking it in as it totally frustrates him now.

    In respect to yestrday's accident I feel for the relatives of those that may have been killed as it's no fun for a officer to inform them of the cosequences of what happened.

    Because of some of the negative responces on this thread I'll not respond anymore.

  35. #35
    Grand Master wileeeeeey's Avatar
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    Driving standards are getting worse, no doubt about it. Especially in big cities with all the mopeds rushing around with Deliveroo & Co orders.

    I commuted by motorbike from Hertfordshire into central London for years and each morning on the A10 once I got near to the M25. Enfield junction the stink of weed at 7.30am was something else and that's before you see everyone on their phone. Never calling, but always on WhatsApp and Facebook. Loads have their phone on YouTube or iPlayer watching TV with their phones clipped to their air vents. Mental.

    Some twat up your backside at 70 again isn't ideal and is terrible driving. Not many will say different. A troll might ask what lane you were in and if you were overtaking but I won't ;)

  36. #36
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rod View Post
    Appalling driving on the A1? so a BMW coming within 5' of my bumper yesterday at 70mph is not appalling?

    Driving standards are getting worse, particularly as cars get more powerful, drivers are more arrogant, drug use is worse etc, etc.

    The driving instructor I know says even some teens that he is teaching choose to ignore his instructions about speed limits and courtesy. Its even making him considering jacking it in as it totally frustrates him now.

    In respect to yestrday's accident I feel for the relatives of those that may have been killed as it's no fun for a officer to inform them of the cosequences of what happened.

    Because of some of the negative responces on this thread I'll not respond anymore.
    I think a lot of people associated the thread title with the link, reinforced by your response of "what do you think causes accidents?".

    Certainly, tailgaters are dangerous.

    M

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  37. #37
    Grand Master hogthrob's Avatar
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    Steady on chaps. Remember that this isn't the Bear Pit.

    Apologies Rod, I didn't mean to start all this negativity, and I agree the accident was in all likleyhood caused and compounded by bad driving - too fast, too close and not really paying attention.

  38. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by adrianw View Post
    Funnily enough I came to work that way this morning, several people did that at Brook Farm, the other thing that made me laugh was, I was driving a car that easily does 200mph and looks like it, why were people in bloody repmobiles tailgating me, maybe because i was leaving a gap to the car in front of me.
    They want to go faster than you are going, not faster than you could go.

  39. #39
    Master sish101's Avatar
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    I see a large number of drivers on their mobiles, of all ages and in all types of vehicles. I live near to a large sports complex and on a weekend the amount of drivers speeding and on their phones with their kids (and other people's kids) in the car is staggering.

    I wonder how much the fine would have to be (£5,000?) to stop people doing this. But maybe the odds of being caught and prosecuted are so low that people are happy to chance it.


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  40. #40
    Master
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    I had someone swerve about 2ft into my lane along a 40mph urban dual carriageway. As I passed I noticed the ‘woman’ with many chins was shoving a sausage roll in her gob driving along.

    When we stopped at the lights, got her to drop her window before giving her both barrels about the stupidity & lack of attention she was giving the road / other users.

    Alas I then pointed out to her that she was unlikely to starve to death by waiting a few minutes given her amble reserves, or words to that effect.

    At this point, my wife told me to STFU

  41. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    They want to go faster than you are going, not faster than you could go.
    But why? Where is a car in front of me and a car to my left

  42. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by adrianw View Post
    But why? Where is a car in front of me and a car to my left
    Because stupid.

    I get bullied in my Smart 453 commute car, people assume you’re unable to drive. Twisty roads are amusing when they try to keep up in rep mobiles.

    Tend to find I get treated much better in the Porsche.

    Even in long motorway queues, if I leave a gap to the car in front to avoid me always stopping and starting, it seems to drive the person behind me mad, to the point they try to undertake to be on their brake the whole time.

  43. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by adrianw View Post
    But why? Where is a car in front of me and a car to my left
    No idea, but don’t see that you’ve a fast car makes a difference. Not everyone with a fast car wants to ‘push on’ as they say.

  44. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    No idea, but don’t see that you’ve a fast car makes a difference. Not everyone with a fast car wants to ‘push on’ as they say.
    I think you are missing the point.

    A car to my left and a car in front, it doesn’t matter if I was riding a horse, I have nowhere to go.

    Regarding the car, if I wanted to drive like a dick it wouldn’t be an issue to bully my way through,

  45. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by adrianw View Post
    I think you are missing the point.

    A car to my left and a car in front, it doesn’t matter if I was riding a horse, I have nowhere to go.

    Regarding the car, if I wanted to drive like a dick it wouldn’t be an issue to bully my way through,
    Think you’re missing mine. Why say you have 200mph car, they have rep-mobiles?

  46. #46
    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    Think you’re missing mine. Why say you have 200mph car, they have rep-mobiles?
    You tell me what the point of trying to bully a car that can go from 60 to 100 in 2 seconds with a car that goes from 60-100 in about 10 seconds,

  47. #47
    Master
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    Multiple threads in the last few days where people seem intent to pick holes, argue or just be arses to each other for no reason.

    Put phones down, log off from laptops & enjoy a chilled weekend gents. There is enough real world stuff going on that’s awful without this place becoming something it should not.

    HAGWE

  48. #48
    Quote Originally Posted by adrianw View Post
    You tell me what the point of trying to bully a car that can go from 60 to 100 in 2 seconds with a car that goes from 60-100 in about 10 seconds,
    Yes, of course, they should respect you’ve got a faster car and drop back.

  49. #49
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by adrianw View Post
    You tell me what the point of trying to bully a car that can go from 60 to 100 in 2 seconds with a car that goes from 60-100 in about 10 seconds,
    Errr, to move a slower DRIVER out of the way?

    But, as you say there was a car ahead of you and one you were passing, I guess you need to just accept he was an idiot.

    M
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  50. #50
    Master
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    Show me a perfect driver who never makes mistakes, and I’ll show you a liar.

    I do things wrong whilst driving sometimes, all part of the learning experience, but I also like to think I take pride in driving to the best of my abilities.

    Sometimes I’m distracted, sometimes I’m tired or bored, sometimes I’m not thinking and on ‘autopilot’. I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m human.

    I like to think that when I see bad (or appalling!) driving, it’s mostly going to be down to somebody not paying attention to what they should be. Of course, you get genuine ‘throbbers’ who are selfish and often dangerous, but I think they’re outnumbered by inexperienced drivers or those who’ve genuinely fallen into bad habits over time, purely because precisely nothing has happened previously and it becomes normal.

    Driving is by far the most skilled thing a lot of people do, I’m actually surprised there aren’t more deadly events on the roads each year.

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