Dangerously bad driving

[Mr Sands 0]

Evening all,

 

Hope there isn't a thread already on what I'm about to say; I did use the search but to no avail. Was just hoping for some advice/information from the knowledgeable sorts on here (and in particular the one or two forum members whose day jobs are in the Police) about what exactly to do if you witness truly, horrendously dangerous driving.

 

I'd like to point out before describing the following that I'm not the sort of petty, intolerant driver who suffers from paranoia, road rage or a desire to see road users prosecuted every time they change lane without indication, take the wrong line at roundabouts, hog the middle lane, have fog lights on when it's not foggy etc. Sure, these things bug me as much as they do us all but not to the extent of causing me to want to phone up our overstretched enforcement of the law peeps and give them yet more to do.

 

However, I really am curious as to what the procedure is when you've seen someone do something that is just plain stupid or dangerous. Example: today, on the commute home in the missus' car, we watched a Range Rover in front which had been driving poorly already, drop out of the inside lane of the motorway and onto the hard shoulder a full half a mile before the next junction and then drive all the way along the hard shoulder and onto the slip, causing enormous risk to the unwary driver who would have left the motorway at the appropriate point for the slip road.

 

We were mystified: as traffic was heavy, our first thought on watching the Range pull onto the hard shoulder (after realising they hadn't broken down) was to think that they were going to pull the mother of all undertakes out of sheer reckless impatience. However, they continued to keep traffic speed (approx. 55 m.p.h.), just in a fourth "lane" that they'd turned the hard shoulder into. Before they left the carriageway, we were next car behind them; by keeping pace with traffic, we'd had to pull level with them by the time that the slip arrived and Sally had to negotiate pulling onto the slip road as the same time as they drove over the line at the end of the hard shoulder and straight onto it. It seemed almost as if they thought that this section of the M5 was the equivalent of the sections of the M42 where the hard shoulder is in play as a lane at busy times, despite the complete lack of signage to that effect. However, their doziness/bizarre decision could have caused a serious accident if an unwary driver didn't check mirrors before leaving the motorway; I know that drivers should always check mirrors but then you don't expect a vehicle to be in your blind spot but travelling at speed on the hard shoulder.

 

I'm not the kind of busybody who posts criticism of people's driving on the websites I've seen in the press for such purposes, where you can shop numberplates (even though I made a note of this wally's); I'm just wondering what people would advise doing. I know the logical thing is to 'phone the local constabulary but the only previous time in all mine and Sally's years of driving where anything that potentially serious has happened before (a completely reckless driver at a roundabout came within millimetres of hitting Sally, having failed to give way), the response for so doing was "You could come in and make a witness statement in a few days". Would anything get done? Is that the best way to go?

 

Thoughts? :scratch:

[dub envy 0]

To be fair, I've seen much worse than that.

 

If I'm honest I'd have to admit to accidentally moving into the hard shoulder when pulling off at a junction. Not sure why I did it, but it confused the hell out of me when the hard shoulder stopped! I know that the girlfriend has done this too.

[-=Kris=- 0]

It's a tuff one to call really... cos you see drivers like that all the time, and you can't help but hope that they crash and burn somwhere away from everyone else while you pootle along past them laughing your ass off as they burn in hell for thier stupidity............ or is that just me?

 

anyway, it's really is a case of, 'what can you do?'

 

Will anything really get done about it if it is reported? i personally doubt it...

 

a part of me thinks "ok just get out of this lunatics way, you'll end up with a sevearly dented rado"

another part of me thinks "who the f*ck does this fool think he is?! am i on this twats road?! hell no!! right dipsh*t, you're not gettin passed, AND i'm gonna do what i can to piss YOU off as much as you have pissed ME off! fighting fire with fire baby!!!"

 

again... probly just me...

 

TBH, i just stay outta thier way most of the time... not worth damaging the rado for... :)

[sprinterVR6 0]

I, probably foolishly, am of the thinking that when a person reports dangerous driving to the Police, ie going down and giving reg plate / descriptson etc. That they DO put these in some record base thingy, and if they get 2 or 3 reports agaisnt the same reg, they DO something. I fear this is not the case though.

 

I reported a young punk in a chav'd up Civic to the cops 2wks ago for speeding along like a rally driver near my gaff. Quiet Country road, and this guys comes round tight corner in the middle of the road doing 'bout 50mph! I'd just washed/polished the VR so was doing about 5mph thankfully and he shot past and nearly went straight into the field.

F@cking knobhead :censored:

My main concern is that there's lots of people on horses, rightly or wrongly, along that road and next time who knows.

Dickheads like that will only stop after they get a serious wake up call. And maybe if the cops get a few complaits they do a house call and put the sh!t's up the little scrote's.

[robrado974 1]

lucky escape mate country road accident normally 50/50 very annoyin :mad2:

[Fulltimejunglist 0]

What if the person being reported is innocent of danger,speeding or any crime or any sort but for instance a driver (Old man) going very slowly (25mph ish) on a 40mph road, me sitting behind, daudling at silly speeds, i will happily overtake if im legally allowed, infact i see it as a big problem on the roads as alot of muppets on the road cant drive to save their life, i dont want to sit behind some slow, usless occupent of what ever car, be it a rover or a lamboghini.

 

I have had a man take down my reg plate for doing this on my road, i live on it, know the speed limit, its dead straight, hes technically going too slowly, why can he then go and report me stating i was speeding etc when i have actually done nothing wrong?

 

Also, the people who drive at speeds i could walk at are generally the ones who get in a huff about it, this annoys me immensly.

 

Another is people going round roundabouts and cutting the middle lane, thus nearly taking your passenger side off, sometimes you even need to beep to warn them so you dont crash, you do what ever the hell you can do so as not to hit them and ight beep to help inform them of their mistake and you get a finnger off an old women etc who thinks they have done no wrong as their were doing 12mph.

 

If theres two lanes, you cut one, no matter what speed your doing your driving like a fool and you should not be on the road if you cant see the big lines in the road that we pay for to notify you of the fact its a two lane roundabout.

 

ARHHHGHH

 

Sorry rant over.

 

But you know you see these on a daily occasion (Deffinatly more than i see fast, dangerous drivers)

 

(Edit) - Or those who pull out on you and because their doing 15 mph think they have done no wrong but they dont understand that you just went to the toilet in your seat and potentially saved their life.

 

Leaving you frustrated and them oblivious or thinking you just nearly crashed into the back of their car.....

 

ARGHHH

Edited February 21, 2011 by Fulltimejunglist

[Yandards 0]

I suspect this driver was just confused with the use of the hard shoulder on other sections of the UK motorway network, not that that makes it acceptable in anyway and I would be concerned that the driver didn't know where they where.

 

However, if you really think someone is driving that badly then make a report to the police, if enough people make a report on a given day/incident then that gives the police a pattern of behaviour for that car/driver. This should eventually lead to an investigation of the car at the very least - where do you think the 'intelligence' often quoted in road wars etc comes from, mostly from reports by members of the public.

 

But, there is just as much chance they will fob you off as do anything about it, if you insist on making a complaint you will have to make a formal statement but it will then have to be actioned at least.

 

Damn should have looked furthur up for posting content.....

Edited February 21, 2011 by Yandards

[BILLCOR 1]

It would appear that Fulltimejunglist likes to post on Mr Sands old threads!!

[andy 0]

I had a chav overtake me in an underpowered fiesta some time ago, we were in a 40mph limit. I saw them overtake the car behind me and thought that was silly. I then watched with horror as they went past me on the wrong side of the road on a double apex right hand bend. There was no suitable gap in front of me, I dropped back slightly to let them in but no, they went round the car in front of me as well. I should add it was a single carraigeway (one lane in each direction) but very tight and twisty. I'd estimate their speed in excess of 70mph. They were completely blind for 95% of their manouvre, asking for a head on crash. As it was the road leaving my village and I know most of the people who live there, there was a high chance someone I knew well would have had a head on collision with a closing speed in excess of 100mph. I was fuming for days and physically shaking for the rest of the evening. I wish I could have caught them at the next set of lights, I'd have made sure they weren't able to drive for a while. Scary stuff, true death wish.