Thursday, September 20, 2007

English drivers.

They are the best of Drivers, they are the worst of drivers. On the whole, apart from no one ever indicating, I would have to say people are pretty good, but the worst really do drag the average down. (Actually I am almost certain that BMWs aren't fitted with indicators over here. I've never seen one with them on)

For example, if you are waiting at a T section to pull out onto a busy road, someone will slow down and flash their lights to say, c'mon, you can go now. Usually this is the very last car in the queue and if he just kept on driving, you could have pulled out anyway. But hey, the thought was there. Considerate.
Then when two lanes merge into one? Forget it, no one will let you in. In fact, once you are all merging, people even pull out of the right lane over in to the left lane - or even left of the left lane - and over take on the inside to form THREE lanes of merging traffic when there really should only be two.

Or like the idiot I nearly crashed into today. Its a three lane roundabout. The left two lanes are straight ahead only, and the right lane is right turn only. I am going straight, and am, appropriately, in the middle lane. About to exit the roundabout, and the guy in the left lane next to me decides he wants to turn right, so he does. Right in front of me, without the use of indicators. Beautiful move. I am so used to this kind of rubbish now that I actually remember to hit the horn in time before he drives off, usually by the time I remember to honk in anger they are long gone. Yay for me. I need a louder horn.

Oh thats is barely the start of it. Working on the motorway you do see some funny things. Funny as in oh my god I can't believe he just did that and is still alive. When you are driving in roadworks, they have 'free recovery' so that when you break down, they spot you on the CCTV cameras, and a man in a towtruck comes out and gets you and brings you back to our compound, where you can then arrange for the removal/repair of your vehicle. They also bring back all the crashed cars. I think there are about 8 tow trucks, and they are always busy, and we see loads of good bingles brought into the yard. Last Thursday there were five big heavy haulage trucks all got towed in and parked out along the length of our (very long) driveway. These guys cruise along with the front of the truck two foot behind the back of the one in front of it at 40 or 50 miles per hour.... so when one has to stop suddenly, well, its the old concertina effect. Bumper to rear to bumper to rear.

Thats my rant for now.

Don't even get me started on pedestrians.

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