Has anybody else noticed this on the roads lately?

[trigger_andy]

33 minutes ago, spuddog0507 said:

The driving standards have dropped dramatically in the UK over the last 20 yrs, but we have more cars on the roads now so that is to be expected, and as RAC man said weed, we have a few local meeting places where cars gather and the occupants have a chat over a few cans and joints,,But its just the way of the modern world,,,

I also find this hard to believe. The standard needed to pass a driving test 20 years ago could almost be done with your eyes closed. The levels of stringency these days are eye watering in comparison. 
 

If you’re not using hyperbole then you really should have reported this driver. 

[gand]

I'm reapplying for my licence at the moment due to epilepsy. It's probably been 10 years  since I've driven on the road. All I see as a passenger is crap drivers, and I'll be honest I'm not looking forward to getting back on the road. Driving definitely seems to of gone downhill.

[Macpherson]

Being in a tourist area 3 times in the past week I've been confronted with a car coming towards me on the wrong side of the road, not fast... but it takes a few seconds of flashing..  'main beam'😁 till the penny drops and they switch lanes.

 

As you say I think that driving standards have never been lower than they are today, I'm not really an Amber gambler and particularly since you never know where there is a red light camera, but often when I go through an amber light it's amazing how many follow you through on red.

 

As for phones, around here the number of vehicles that drive off the black stuff is almost unbelievable.... they drive along a single track road with their phone out the window filming the feckin scenery ffs.

 

On top of all that you have a whole wide range of designer super strong or lab modified drugs that bear no resemblance to anything in the past that could conceivably been described as recreational, or even medicinal.

 

Also going by reported figures from the USA, a 1/3rd of the population, or a 100 million people are medicated with anti-depressants, can anyone guess what the unreported figure in the UK might be....

 

But I'd guess that many of the obviously compromised drivers are on legal prescribed drugs ... I mean a friend of mine aged 65 has been chemically lobotomised by his doctors.

He was a shit hot guitarist who after being fed anti-deps sold al his gear and is totally disinterested in music and all since being medicated.

 

And just to say , that in know way do I defend DUI but I've got to say that I'm totally ignorant of the latest trends in getting high, so I can't comment on how bent the minds of folk taking god knows what are, or just what it does to them and their perception.

 

 

[Phil_G]

The reduction in police presence on the roads is a big element I think. I commute 80miles a day and the only police I see is at the Mersey Tunnels. Travelling from Mold, North Wales you pretty much never see a copper unless its outside of rush hour when there is next to no one on the roads.

 

The A41 going across the Wirral is full of nutters avoid if possible.

 

 

[Anno]

Not oversubscribed Police presence wise here but shortly to be boosted by the fine I'll need to pay for doing 35 in a 30 Zone - probably overtaking the local crackheads and lunatics discussed above...

[devon TWiG]

4 hours ago, Phil_G said:

The reduction in police presence on the roads is a big element I think. I commute 80miles a day and the only police I see is at the Mersey Tunnels. Travelling from Mold, North Wales you pretty much never see a copper unless its outside of rush hour when there is next to no one on the roads.

 

The A41 going across the Wirral is full of nutters avoid if possible.

 

 

There may not be a great police presence , but lots of people now have dashcams who are happy to send footage to the police of bad driving which is becoming increasingly more common , bad drivers often seem oblivious to this fact !!!! It is unrealistic to expect police everywhere all the time so it will become more common for road users to "police" one another ...esp cyclists ...

[petercb]

6 minutes ago, devon TWiG said:

There may not be a great police presence , but lots of people now have dashcams who are happy to send footage to the police of bad driving which is becoming increasingly more common , bad drivers often seem oblivious to this fact !!!! It is unrealistic to expect police everywhere all the time so it will become more common for road users to "police" one another ...esp cyclists ...

Exactly, my local force Northants run what they call Operation Snap just send your dashcam video in and they will act on it as required. I think a lot of other forces do the same so don't just whinge about it send any video in. Dashcams are cheap enough and saved my no claims/premium when someone sideswiped me on a country road. Insurance first reaction was 50/50 until they saw my dashcam footage then changed and I was 100% in clear.

[spudulike]

22 hours ago, Glencairn said:

 

You could do the massively pre-empting step of phoning the police rather than complaining about this on a discussion forum.

 

Tell me you did, I really want to believe you did.

No GoPro footage otherwise I would have played it back and sent it off but if the cops don't investigate when you lose £10k of tools, I am not sure it would have any effect unless the bozo killed someone just down the road.

I just put this up for conversation as I was pretty shocked by this ijut and wondered how others felt.....perhaps some drive after a spliff and it may now make them think twice or am I naive....no need to answer that!

 

[coppice cutter]

On 31/08/2022 at 20:08, spudulike said:

I used to be on the road as a rep covering 25-35k miles a year so have seen a fair few drivers in my time. Those days are now long gone and now do perhaps 10-12k a year.

We often travel back from my wife's mums mid evening and tonight around 6.00pm, not that late. What I have noticed is that I am seeing more and more drivers that seem to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, perhaps both.

On one occasion, the guy was doing 50mph southbound on the A1m and this then dropped to 40, then 30 and then a wobble of 1.5 lanes of the carriageway. The next time...yet another going very slowly...45-50mph and no perception on cornering etc.

Tonight took the biscuit, A1m,  50mph, dropped to 40, reached our junction and then veered off midway past the junction with no signals, went round the roundabout on the outside to turn right, got to the T junction, pulled out on a van doing around 50 that missed hitting him by a few feet but very close, he then went down a B road going faster than on the A1m.....seemed like he was likely to have a head on just down the road.

Not sure what is going on but I tend to keep well away form these dick heads that think it fine to drive like the UK on the roads. I would think the one tonight may be wrapped round a tree or another car a few miles down the road and hope he didn't kill somebody!

Initial reaction was "Whatsapp", but if you're pretty sure that this didn't fit the criteria then who am I to argue when I wasn't there.

 

However, had to do a quick dash to the local farm supplies shop this afternoon, which involves a brief stretch of motorway. Came up behind a red Merc which was swerving about both wandering on to the hard shoulder and then over in to the adjacent lane. As I passed I noticed that the woman driving it was looking over and down on to the passenger seat constantly and just looking up occasionally which was then accompanied by a wild swerve back on to the slow lane, then looking back to the passenger seat and reaching over towards it.

 

Looked very like working either a phone, tablet or whatever, while driving.

 

Pretty silly if she was, if a cop car comes up behind her 'driving' like that, she'll be for the high jump.

[spudulike]

44 minutes ago, coppice cutter said:

Initial reaction was "Whatsapp", but if you're pretty sure that this didn't fit the criteria then who am I to argue when I wasn't there.

 

However, had to do a quick dash to the local farm supplies shop this afternoon, which involves a brief stretch of motorway. Came up behind a red Merc which was swerving about both wandering on to the hard shoulder and then over in to the adjacent lane. As I passed I noticed that the woman driving it was looking over and down on to the passenger seat constantly and just looking up occasionally which was then accompanied by a wild swerve back on to the slow lane, then looking back to the passenger seat and reaching over towards it.

 

Looked very like working either a phone, tablet or whatever, while driving.

 

Pretty silly if she was, if a cop car comes up behind her 'driving' like that, she'll be for the high jump.

That reminds me, I was going up the fast lane of the M6 around Stoke a few years back all fairly legal as I could see a cop car around 1/4 mile ahead, I saw in my mirrors a car that had sped right up my jacksy and was pushing to get past, I gave it a short while then pulled over around 100yds away from the cop car, he puts his foot down, speeds past the patrol car but only got the naughty boy wagging of the finger but it made me chuckle....silly sod!