Ignorance is bliss... apparently.

Yes this is a rant hence the correct section.

Yesterday I was driving home with my wife from the inlaws house in Durham, England back to London, heading down the A1(M), for you non Brits its a minor motorway( freeway), 2 laned but still capable of speeds in excess of 70mph should you feel the need.
So after driving for 3 hours we hit roadworks, signs read works in 800yards etc, so we get down to the beginning of the road works and the left lane is clogged and hardly moving and I slow down to 30 miles an hour, after driving for 20 years I know what others are capable of.
We hit the works in 400 yards sign and there is still NO traffic in the right lane next thing I know this truck pulls out forcing me to brake sharply and the truck behind him moves into the gap, but the truck driver that pulled out in front of me simply stops, for the simple reason that I was about to pass him and he didn't like it.
I felt like getting out and having words with the idiot but what was the point of it? I know us Brits like to queue ( I don't but then again I aint going to kill someone for simply queue jumping) but this was ignorance and he obviously felt some bliss in doing it, after all being in a truck he was unlikely to be hurt.

I was angry enough to send a letter of complaint to his company but I doubt anything will be done, afterall ignorance is bliss ( until it comes to bite you on the ass).

Could the lorry driver see something further up the road that you couldn't ?

i.e. the road drops from two lanes to one possibly.
if that was the case, you had continued further up then you could cut in front of everyone else.

I have seen this many a time. eventually people get fed up with people jumping queues.

but hey it's no problem as everyone else on the roads in the UK think they are more important than anyone else and have special 'powers' once behind the wheel. lol

reply to post by DataWraith


If you got the proper safety numbers off the truck or the license plates, you should definitely send a letter to the company, they take these types of complaints very seriously and the driver will probably get a black mark on his record.

I know because I got fired from a job because of one of those complaints. Its OK though because I hated that job anyway and was looking for a way out.

I love Akira, by far one of my favourite animation films.

Regarding the situation with the truck driver, never get out of your car to have words. I used to have road rage problems and would honk/ cut off people who cut me off. One of them was crazy enough to pull over and clearly was angry enough to hurt me. That was when I realized it is never worth it to start anything with other drivers, you never know how crazy that driver behind the wheel is. Great job handling it well and writing a letter of complaint, my code for defensive driving: always assume the drivers near you are horrible drivers, I actually saved myself from a couple drivers making blind lane changes without doing shoulder checks.

As a keen motorbiker i have this sort of problem a lot.

Two flavours, those that never think of motorbikes being on the road and cut us up accidentally (the ignorance you speak of) and those that see you coming, taking advantage of your small size to fit through gaps in stationary traffic and block you because its "not fair".

Well by the same reasoning i should be allowed to pour water into peoples cars because its not fair they are dry and im wet in the rain. no? exactly.

A classic is people on a roundabout wanting to turn right, so in the right hand lane, but because they want to ground the corner just that bit faster and smoother they drift into the left lane to take a less aggressive turn, right into the side of my bike (and leg). Many times i have wanted to chase them down and rip off a wing mirror, so far i have contained my own inner rage, defiant to avoid falling into the same or similar category.

Sadly many incidents are just a matter of courtesy rather than road law and tainted people with a god complex are unpunished for their, frankly selfish and arrogant, road rage.

Ya pay your money, you takes ya chances. Be cool and not a jealous d-bag, if you want to get to work on time and you always cue in traffic, leave earlier, its not rocket surgery!

Also quickedit: Akira is a great movie!

*Going at max speed +20% on left lane.*

*Pass many cars at the expensive of gas and ticket, Clear road ahead.*

*A driver pulls in front of me*

*Accelerates slow and goes at below -20% of the speed limit.*

*All the cars i passed is passing me on the right lane.*

*RAGE!*


-true story

reply to post by luciddream


Erm I'm not sure what your post is about, I think you were trying to have a pop at my supposed rage?
I didn't rage, there's no point, whatever I say to the driver is never going to change the way they drive, as to the rest of your post, the roads were wet, I wasn't speeding and if people want to sit in a queue then thats fine by me, if there's a clear road then I will take it, and as for the other posters, thanks for your replies.

There was NO traffic in front of the truck as I was able to get a clear view ahead of him, there was still about 2-300 yards clear so he did it to simply stop me and the cars behind me from passing him and his precious space.
He was a douchebag and a complaint as been sent to his company as he could have caused an accident, and had I had collided with him then he would have been in the wrong as I have a dashcam which shows the road ahead and the conditions.

My OP was to say that that I am truly fed up with the as long as your happy screw everybody else? And if someone gets hurt then more fool them?? attitude of the world today.

reply to post by DataWraith


Lol oh no! that happened to me.

reply to post by luciddream


Phw, sometimes I think I shouldnt be so defensive, and it seems that every time I change lanes to go faster the other lanes seems to speed up. I hate that..

Originally posted by DataWraith
reply to post by luciddream

 

Phw, sometimes I think I shouldnt be so defensive, and it seems that every time I change lanes to go faster the other lanes seems to speed up. I hate that..

Welcome to my everyone morning traffic.... only to avoid this is to wake up 2 hours ahead.... i don't think so.

Been thinking of getting a road cam more and more these days....

@OP If you had crashed into the van it would have been "your fault" and i bet the driver would have said he did nothing wrong because, well you already know hes that kind of guy.

reply to post by DataWraith


Living near Chicago all my life, this is standard operating procedure ... I don't think at this point it even occurs to most people that there is another way.

It's expected that when coming up to any major chokepoint on the road there will be one person or another who tries to zip around so we get lane straddlers and some people if you try to go around will attempt to run you off the road - they don't care.

Now, where it gets real interesting is when you take the cars away, such as when you are camping for tickets or a place in line on Black Friday. If you're going to try to cut you best be the biggest person there.

Ha, twice in two days, same road, me on my bike going the limit of 40mph.

A few cars of coming traffic, nothing behind me, can see both directions for half a mile, Van pulls out and forces me to brake down to 10 mph, if he waited just 5 seconds i would have gone past and he could have pulled out as slow as he likes.

Exactly the same thing a day later a few miles up the road, absolutely nothing behind me, car does the same thing and an on coming car once again forces me to brake rather than overtake.

No idea if they didnt see me or were just being a$$es

Hello Data, I think it was because you were running up in the line of traffic in the fast lane causing the courteous drivers and truckers who pulled over into the line of traffic to get throught the construction zone to wait even longer?

I see this here in the US often when there is a long line of traffic at a construction zone and a few inconsiderate people THAT KNEW CONSTRUCTION WAS AHEAD and did not get in the line of traffic moving through the one open lane but ran ahead as far as they could only to force themselves in to the line of traffic .....

I don't blame the truck... in fact, I have done this with my car here in the USA stopping inconsiderate buttheads from slowing down traffic by causing a jam right where the lane closure is!

And I did not think they used "miles-per hour" as you state but KPH in Britain... but I haven't been there since the 1980's ...... ??? just a question?

reply to post by fnpmitchreturns


Britain is very much a mph country, you might be thinking of our litres of fuel instead of gallons

2nd