davenewellhome Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 While out on road test this afternoon in a five day old LHD Hymer on the new Fiat chassis I came up the slip road off the dual carriageway. As I was intending to go all the way round the roundabout (to return on the other carriageway) I pulled over to the right hand lane indicating right. At about five car lengths from the roundabout everything in front of me had gone but I could see a lorry coming round the roundabout. Watching the lorry I came slowly up the last bit of the slip road planning to come out onto the roundabout behind it. As the lorry cleared the slip road I started to accelerate being about a car length back from the roundabout. As I started to accelerate I looked forward to see some stupid woman in a Mini had come up the left hand lane then pulled over in front of me...................and STOPPED 8-) 8-) 8-) . I hit the brakes and missed the rear of the Mini by a couple of inches, she pulled away oblivious to the near accident but I got tooted at from behind as the driver behind narrowly missed stuffing me one in the rear (so to speak :$ ). I was now stationary and my view of traffic on the roundabout was completely obscured. I know I should have been looking forwards as I came up the slip road but as I was within a few lengths of the roundabout it never entered my head that anyone would pull a manouvre like that. Anyway, the moral of this tale is to keep your wits about you when behind the wheel, perhaps more so if the steering wheel is on the wrong side for this country. There are some dangerous folks out there! D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 davenewell@home - 2007-10-24 5:21 PM narrowly missed stuffing me one in the rear (so to speak :$ ). At least that could have been some compensation Dave >:-( (lol) >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred grant Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 yous totally missed a woman in a mini dave - you must be getting old. apparantally coming back in fashion, so a timely reminder to all you left handed himers out there. frederousious fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 Yes Fred, it was a woman in a Mini CAR not SKIRT. Can't ever remember a woman in a mini skirt diving in front of me :-( Although my insurance would have dealt with it I really wouldn't have enjoyed telling the customer why his 5 day old motorhome had a Mini as a bumper badge 8-) D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 There is a roundabout at the junction of the A174 and A19 where something similar happens nearly every day. There are three lanes on the A174 approaching the roundabout from the east. The left hand lane is for traffic to go south on the A19 only. The middle lane is for traffic either continuing west on the other side of the roundabout or going north on the A19. The right hand lane is for north bound traffic. In the morning rush hour most traffic is going north from the roundabout so the left hand lane is relatively little used. There are regularly idiots who use it and then try to cut into the lanes going round the roundabout. The police have to station a vehicle there quite often to direct anyone using the left hand lane southwards. We also have problems in the evening rush hour with southbound traffic leaving the A19 at a roundabout near us. The slip road has three lanes with similar arrangements to those described above but there are often idiots who use the middle lane for turning left rather than wait in a queue in the left hand lane. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armstrongpiper Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Graham I'm familiar with the junction on the A174 you mention. There does not seem to be a consistent way of dealing with roundabouts and the lanes leading on to them, in the whole country. The left lane on the junction in question is labelled for the A19 South, but then you have to stop to allow traffic on the rouindabout to proceed. I always feel that I am likely to get a rear end shunt at this place! Yet there are several roundabouts within 10 miles or so that do have left lanes segregated for left turn only, which are perfectly safe to use. You really do have to watch out for yourself very carefully, and not trust wholly the road signing. Slightly off-thread, but another thing that bugs me about road signing is the prevalence of painting on the road the arrows which direct you into a specific lane at junctions. The only trouble is that these are left far too late and close to the junction and are usually covered by other vehicles so you can't see them. Also, try seeing them at night in the rain. When towing a caravan or driving a Motorhome, it is not easy persuading other drivers to smile and wave you into the correct lane. Neil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I agree, Neil - why can't they put a sign up showing which lane goes off in what direction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 armstrongpiper - 2007-10-24 8:50 PM I'm familiar with the junction on the A174 you mention. There does not seem to be a consistent way of dealing with roundabouts and the lanes leading on to them, in the whole country. The left lane on the junction in question is labelled for the A19 South, but then you have to stop to allow traffic on the rouindabout to proceed. I always feel that I am likely to get a rear end shunt at this place! Yet there are several roundabouts within 10 miles or so that do have left lanes segregated for left turn only, which are perfectly safe to use. You really do have to watch out for yourself very carefully, and not trust wholly the road signing. I agree absolutely Neil. First time we used that left hand lane we assumed there would be a filter. It's nearly as bad the other side going from east bound to north bound where a sort of half filter means you have to take care joining the main slip road from the roundabout. armstrongpiper - 2007-10-24 8:50 PM Slightly off-thread, but another thing that bugs me about road signing is the prevalence of painting on the road the arrows which direct you into a specific lane at junctions. The only trouble is that these are left far too late and close to the junction and are usually covered by other vehicles so you can't see them. Also, try seeing them at night in the rain. When towing a caravan or driving a Motorhome, it is not easy persuading other drivers to smile and wave you into the correct lane. Agreed again. The earlier you receive indication the better. It can be done with temporary lane closure signs so why not with permanent roundabout lane discipline? Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooks Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 sorry to be negative, but I think you're all being far too logical, this is the uk for heaven's sake. you'll be pushing for left hand filters at junctions next tchh *-) far too many people who believe that there're rules for everyone else but they're exempt ps - I know [and love] that junction as well, in fact - the A19 seems to specialise in danger points, I'm sure it has more looney points mile for mile than most other roads - especially around smoggieville >:-) B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeti Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Probably the same kind of numpty who passes you in lane 2 and then cuts across to the off ramp! I had a similar experience.but this time it was a builders truck with a over hanging load-you guessed it did't hit the truck but did hit the bar sticking out the back.New windscreen? no complete new front end,noen in stock so Hymer had to make one up and ship iyt over!!! You're right drive I drive as if eveyone is an idiot. Incidentally the following vehicle was also at fault they were following too close to warrant an admonishing toot. If they had kept their distance they would have ha dplenty of time to roll to a halt behind you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 twooks - 2007-10-25 12:23 AM sorry to be negative, but I think you're all being far too logical, this is the uk for heaven's sake. you'll be pushing for left hand filters at junctions next tchh *-) ) I know. Bad habit from years of working in IT. I really should get treatment :-D twooks - 2007-10-25 12:23 AM ps - I know [and love] that junction as well, in fact - the A19 seems to specialise in danger points, I'm sure it has more looney points mile for mile than most other roads - especially around smoggieville >:-) It all came about from the widening of the A19 from 2 to 3 lanes in both directions to speed traffic flow to/from Smoggietown in the rush hours. Pity they forgot that the slip roads between the A19 and A66 are only one lane - which is why there are snarl-ups there every day. At least whoever planned it wasn't thinking logically (lol) Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 yeti - 2007-10-25 7:47 AM Probably the same kind of numpty who passes you in lane 2 and then cuts across to the off ramp! I had a similar experience.but this time it was a builders truck with a over hanging load-you guessed it did't hit the truck but did hit the bar sticking out the back.New windscreen? no complete new front end,noen in stock so Hymer had to make one up and ship iyt over!!! You're right drive I drive as if eveyone is an idiot. Incidentally the following vehicle was also at fault they were following too close to warrant an admonishing toot. If they had kept their distance they would have ha dplenty of time to roll to a halt behind you. Just to balance the argument, Yeti - was it a MAN driving the builders truck, as you seem to have neglected to mention it *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Let's not make this a male/female thing eh? In my case it was a woman but I see just as many men doing equally stupid things when driving. Although the worst I saw was a woman on the M6 in the outside lane travelling well in excess of 70MPH, reading a paper spread across the wheel, fag in right hand mobile phone in left hand, I have no idea what she was using to steer 8-) D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel E Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Dave, To add to your caution, on Sunday, westbound on the M6 going to the NEC, I pulled into the outside lane to overtake a slower car in the middle lane. Sure I was in a car doing only (only!) 70 and I saw a van some way behind me in the outside lane. As soon as I could leave a decent distance behind me, I pulled back into the middle lane. As this (car derived van) overtook me, I couldn't help noticing the passenger waving his fists at me. The van then pulled in front of me and brake-tested me. I switched to the inside lane; he did the same and slowed tight down, so I overtook in the middle lane - or tried, as he accelerated and pulled out right in front of me. This behaviour went on for about 3 miles until he again pulled level with me and I mouthed the words 'Police' to the passenger, showed him 999 on my mobile phone and proceeded to pretend to dial. He sped off rapidly. I have used this technique once before and it seems to work. I have no idea what the man's beef was unless he felt I unreasonably impeeded him by overtaking in the outside lane. Unfortunately, when the m'way is very busy, high speeds in the outside lane become less viable. Mel E ==== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Yes Mel, I've experienced this behaviour before myself. On one occasion I was actually run off the road by some numpty in a 40 Tonne artic, when I say run off the road I mena forced quite literally into the hard shoulder and nearly into the barriers. Our respective vehicles were literally as close as you can get without touching. I don't normally do intimidated but arguing with forty Tonnes is beyond my sense of self preservation. When I got to work I phoned the police and reported it giving the vehicle details but I heard no more about it, they seemed to think it would be difficult to track the truck down. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 MelMe thinks that somehow, by your reasonable action in overtaking someone who was in the middle lane, you upset the van behind you who thinks that he is the only one allowed to drive in that lane.Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 When I got to work I phoned the police and reported it giving the vehicle details but I heard no more about it, they seemed to think it would be difficult to track the truck down. D. DaveNot difficult to track down really, BUT more like it would create extra paperwork for them.!!Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooks Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 GJH - 2007-10-25 7:56 AM twooks - 2007-10-25 12:23 AM ps - I know [and love] that junction as well, in fact - the A19 seems to specialise in danger points, I'm sure it has more looney points mile for mile than most other roads - especially around smoggieville >:-) It all came about from the widening of the A19 from 2 to 3 lanes in both directions to speed traffic flow to/from Smoggietown in the rush hours. Pity they forgot that the slip roads between the A19 and A66 are only one lane - which is why there are snarl-ups there every day. At least whoever planned it wasn't thinking logically (lol) Graham best example of road widening creating log jams has to be the A64, particularly at the point where it ceases to be part of the York ring road. It goes from dual carriageway to single lane, it can back up the A64 east bound by on average 3 miles in summer [scarborough traffic] plus - because the traffic blocks the roundabout thus preventing other traffic from using it - you get another 2 mile block into York and at least the same again from clockwise traffic on the ring road. all it needs - apart from a brain transplant for the drivers on the A64 - part time traffic lights - simple no! B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 We had a similar experience to Mel E with a man driving a car on a two lane section of the A1 dual carriageway a few weeks ago. The car was travelling more slowly than we were until I pulled out to overtake and then he speeded up. That happened time and time again until, coming up behind an artic, he was forced to slow down. A few minutes later he overtook us and sped off - must have decided he had had his fun. This morning we took the van to get diesel ready for going away tomorrow and as we were crossing a roundabout a woman pulled right out in front of us from the next entry lane - and I saw her looking towards us so she must have seen us. Luckily Jill was only driving slowly or we might have hit her. More proof that there are both male and female wazzocks out there. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 GJH - 2007-10-25 11:00 AM We had a similar experience to Mel E with a man driving a car on a two lane section of the A1 dual carriageway a few weeks ago. The car was travelling more slowly than we were until I pulled out to overtake and then he speeded up. That happened time and time again until, coming up behind an artic, he was forced to slow down. A few minutes later he overtook us and sped off - must have decided he had had his fun. Graham GrahamMaybe this is not the right thing to have done, but it would have been very funny if you had timed your "Run" so that you were in the outside lane on the A19, and hemmed the "deviant" in behind the wagon!!Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooks Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 It's amazing how many drivers suddenly find the accelerator pedal as you overtake, a particularly good manoeuvre - where the pedal is some how rigged to the steering wheel so that when they finally pull left after blocking the overtaking lane at 2 mph faster than the inside lane - they suddenly shoot off at an increase of anything up to 20mph. I'm also convinced that my bright blue camper is invisible - the number of plonkers who pull out in front of me One guy cut me up so sharply that I almost ploughed through his front passenger seat - his wife was in it at the time - know what - neither one of them saw me! B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Did you not know Twooks? All motorhomes are painted in majic paint that becomes invisible to other roasd users as soon as the camper is moving. I believe its a legal requirement now ;-) D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 Thai Bry - 2007-10-25 11:27 AM GrahamMaybe this is not the right thing to have done, but it would have been very funny if you had timed your "Run" so that you were in the outside lane on the A19, and hemmed the "deviant" in behind the wagon!!ThaiEvil (lol) :D >:-) Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 twooks - 2007-10-25 11:33 AM It's amazing how many drivers suddenly find the accelerator pedal as you overtake, a particularly good manoeuvre - where the pedal is some how rigged to the steering wheel so that when they finally pull left after blocking the overtaking lane at 2 mph faster than the inside lane - they suddenly shoot off at an increase of anything up to 20mph. The ones that always amaze me are the people frightened of lane 3. Last week (in the car as it happens) on the M1 I was in lane 2, driving at 70 mph and overtaking a slower vehicle in lane 1 whilst lane 3 was empty. A vehicle came right up behind me, tailgating, until I completed my overtaking and moved into lane 1 again - and then the driver put her foot down and sped off into the distance. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 The ones that always amaze me are the people frightened of lane 3. Last week (in the car as it happens) on the M1 I was in lane 2, driving at 70 mph and overtaking a slower vehicle in lane 1 whilst lane 3 was empty. A vehicle came right up behind me, tailgating, until I completed my overtaking and moved into lane 1 again - and then the driver put her foot down and sped off into the distance. GrahamNot as amazing as those creatures who sit in the outside lane, and then as it comes to halt, they all dive into the seemingly faster moving middle lane.Should see some peoples reaction when you are all of a sudden moving faster than them in the outside lane.!!Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.