some Drivers

boyse7en

I think you're all being a bit hard on the OP. She/he may be making a bit of a drama out of a minor driving incident, but on the positive side their observation and stopping distance awareness was enough that they didn't actually hit the car that performed an unexpected maneuver.

Flyboy152

marlot wrote: »

I'm guessing the OP has only been driving a short time. Its good that you're shaking a bit from a near accident. It brings home that things do happen; when things go wrong, they can go wrong very quickly. Well done for stopping in time.

I spent a couple of years in an area where hijackings were a potential hazard; I'm a strong proponent of defensive driving techniques. Remember OP, that even if you're in the right, a collision wrecks your day and affects your insurance premiums. Use the near accident as an opportunity to improve what you do. I've now been driving for just under a million miles over 30 years and I still learn.

According to the OP driver improvement techniques are only for pensioners.

Kilty_2

Nearly had an accident this morning, still shaking now.

I was on a roundabout and the exit was blocked so stopped such that vehicles could proceed round the roundabout from the exit immediately before the one that I was taking - easing traffic flow and preventing the entire town being stuck in a traffic jam. Some idiot came charging up behind me and nearly ran into the back of me - obviously too busy daydreaming to see the brake lights / traffic jam in front of them.

They just managed to stop in time i am sure there was only about an inch gap

Love it

shaun_from_Africa

According to the OP driver improvement techniques are only for pensioners.

Not quite.
What they actually stated was that the course provided by the link that you gave is for pensioners, not that all courses are for pensioners.

Ha its for pensioners,

birkee

I've got a rule that I use, well several actually!

(1) Courtesy causes confusion (unexpected actions. The driver behind can't see what you can see.)
(2) I never give a courteous action, and then indicate another driver should take advantage of it. (People have been sued, following someone taking advice from other drivers, and then getting involved in an accident. You let someone out of a side road, and you hadn't allowed for the car coming up on YOUR offside, You let a pedestrian cross, and they walk straight into a motorbike overtaking you, etc.)

So yes, courtesy is fine, but you are accepting some responsibility of any resulting consequences. Use with caution!!!

Kilty_2

birkee wrote: »

(People have been sued, following someone taking advice from other drivers, and then getting involved in an accident.

Successfully?

Care to substantiate it?

interstellaflyer

birkee wrote: »

I've got a rule that I use, well several actually!

(1) Courtesy causes confusion (unexpected actions. The driver behind can't see what you can see.)
(2) I never give a courteous action, and then indicate another driver should take advantage of it. (People have been sued, following someone taking advice from other drivers, and then getting involved in an accident. You let someone out of a side road, and you hadn't allowed for the car coming up on YOUR offside, You let a pedestrian cross, and they walk straight into a motorbike overtaking you, etc.)

So yes, courtesy is fine, but you are accepting some responsibility of any resulting consequences. Use with caution!!!

Quite so, when I learnt to drive 30 years ago, I was taught that you only give way when the road markings and signage tell you to. Here in Oxford I see so called courtesy from motorists every day, I alos see a lot of near misses as a result, I've had people flash me out of a side road yet the driver doing it has clearly not seen the cyclists using the cycle lane, quite often they continue to flash, absolutly oblivious to the cyclists and I often have to point to them.

Another issue I've had with so called couteous drivers was an old guy at traffic lights, even though we had the green light He gave way to all the traffic wiating to turn righ against us, they had a filter light any way and would have been next in the sequence so it was pointless, basicaly once he had done his courteous act he had just enough time to get himself across before the lights changed, how courteous was that to all the vehicles behind him?

marlot

What annoys me is people stopping to let someone out of a side road, when I'm the only driver behind the car that stops - they obviously rate courtesy over using their mirrors!

Lum

Well if you're going to try and be courteous, you do need to think about it.

Obviously letting someone out from a side street when you're last or 2nd to last in the queue is dumb, as is letting in more than one car in a merge.

One technique that I really like for letting people out from side streets is I wont stop for them. I will slow down and open up a gap, then flash/wave them out as appropriate. This avoids aggravating the people behind as much as a complete stop and has the additional benefit that if the person I'm trying to let out is somewhat inattentive then they usually don't come out, thus I end up more likely to have a half decent driver in front of me for a bit.

And yes, as far as I'm concerned, if someone lets you out, it's still your responsibility to check that it's safe to do so.

birkee

Kilty wrote: »

Successfully?

Care to substantiate it?

Fair question Kilty, and I can't remember the details, but yes, the case I'm thinking of was successful, which is when I made the rule to never partake of the pastime of indicating what another driver should do.

If memory serves, a driver flashed his headlights to a car in the sideroad, to say 'I'll let you out', and when the car exited the side road to turn right, it was hit broadside by an overtaking vehicle.

How would the overtaking vehicle know that someone on his nearside had flashed a driver to exit a sideroad?

But as I said Kilty, a successfully sued driver as a result.