I have been driving for some years now. And I’ve come across many motorists that exhibit poor driving practices in my time. But it seems that, lately, people’s driving has become worse rather than better!
There doesn’t seem to be a specific pattern to the way people drive their cars. For instance, bad driving occurs at night as much as it does during the day. I used to think that I was paranoid, but other people agree that poor driving is more commonplace these days.
What sort of things frustrate you about today’s motorists? I have decided to pen some of my personal frustrations with bad drivers. I’m sure that you will doubtless share many of them too!
Lack of signalling
One of the biggest bugbears to today’s motorists is that many drivers change lanes without signalling.
There used to be a stereotype where people that drove certain makes were prone to this example of bad driving etiquette.
But, as it turns out, the problem exists across the board. Some cars might have faulty turn signals for whatever reason. For the most part, the problem is to do with the driver rather than the car.
Automatic turn signals could be a useful addition to cars of the future. It could help us to combat this annoying and often dangerous problem.
Hogging the middle lane on the motorway
If you are a regular user of Britain’s motorway network, this one will most likely be one of your pet hates!
The national speed limit is 70 mph for dual carriageways. That is also the case for motorways unless otherwise signposted. Slow vehicles like lorries tend to stick to the nearside lane as they often get restricted to driving up to 56 mph.
Most motorists use the middle and offside lanes on a three-lane motorway. The sad truth is that a lot of people “hog” the middle lane, causing tailbacks for miles. Not everyone is confident enough to drive in the offside lane for obvious speed reasons.
The middle lane offers a useful alternative to the nearside and offside motorway lanes. But you will always come across someone driving so slow, nearside drivers undertake them!
Talking on a mobile whilst driving
Bob from cardealwarehouse.co.uk says a shocking number of folks use their mobile phones whilst they are in charge of a car! Most of today’s mobile phones are “smartphones” with touch-screen displays.
That means drivers have to spend more time staring at their screens and less time with their eyes on the road. Using a mobile whilst driving is illegal in the United Kingdom, but people still do it.
Today’s modern cars have Bluetooth-enabled head units. With these advances in-car entertainment systems, you can link your smartphone to it. Handsfree dialling is possible with such systems, and they make driving much safer.
Of course, many road safety campaigners suggest not using your mobile phone at all when you’re driving. But in today’s busy world, this isn’t always an option for some people. Sadly, it can cost them their lives.
Thanks for reading today’s article.