Other drivers getting aggravated when turning

martinthebandit

boliston wrote: »

I am considerate towards other considerate drivers - drivers who drive far to close are a liability to themselves and others around them.

You are aware that 'failing to make progress' or whatever it's called now is a fail on the driving test?

Sea_Shell

I've been beeped a couple of times...but I worry about being rear-ended everyday.

My work is down a small side road, with a very tight entrance (single track) off a main road, just before a roundabout. I indicate in plenty of time, but drivers behind assume i'm turning left at the roundabout, and get caught out by me slowing much earlier than they think, because they don't see the turning i'm taking. Don't know what more I can do? Have had a couple of close calls!! I've even tried going down to the roundabout and coming back and turning right....but that's almost as bad, as people expect you to accelerate away from the roundabout!! Any tips?

GwylimT

boliston wrote: »

I have never understood this reliance on brake lights to see if a vehicle is slowing down - perhaps people have no ability to judge relative speed?

I regularly drive behind people in the dark who either don't use their brakes or don't have break lights, in the dark everyones ability to judge distance is impeded. So I assume you use your brakes at night to correctly alert the driver behind you to your intention. In day light when a car slows without brake lights, and you're driving a safe distance behind, due to the thinking distance being longer (compared to seeing brake lights), the driver behind you will take longer to also reduce speed, obviously this is made worse if that driver is also in a large vehicle.

lister

GwylimT wrote: »

I regularly drive behind people in the dark who either don't use their brakes or don't have break lights, in the dark everyones ability to judge distance is impeded. So I assume you use your brakes at night to correctly alert the driver behind you to your intention. In day light when a car slows without brake lights, and you're driving a safe distance behind, due to the thinking distance being longer (compared to seeing brake lights), the driver behind you will take longer to also reduce speed, obviously this is made worse if that driver is also in a large vehicle.

If you are struggling to judge how much a vehicle is slowing by (day or night) when they are using acceleration sense to slow (therefore by definition hardly slowing that quickly), you are either far too close, or need to give your licence back and get the bus.

Now admittedly, to deal with the frankly pitiful standard of driving and observation that seems to be 'average' I would always recommend showing brake lights early when slowing significantly with traffic behind. I frequently use a very light brake pressure in situations where normally acceleration sense is sufficient simply because I have someone behind whose driving looks suspect (so pretty much 90% of all vehicles).

Car_54

martinthebandit wrote: »

You are aware that 'failing to make progress' or whatever it's called now is a fail on the driving test?

Only if it's dangerous, or potentially so..

But it's nothing new: it's one of the reasons I failed 49 years ago.

ThemeOne

Don't worry about it. I find most use of the horn is inappropriate and frequently illegal. It most certainly isn't an indication you're doing anything wrong.

GwylimT

lister wrote: »

If you are struggling to judge how much a vehicle is slowing by (day or night) when they are using acceleration sense to slow (therefore by definition hardly slowing that quickly), you are either far too close, or need to give your licence back and get the bus.

Now admittedly, to deal with the frankly pitiful standard of driving and observation that seems to be 'average' I would always recommend showing brake lights early when slowing significantly with traffic behind. I frequently use a very light brake pressure in situations where normally acceleration sense is sufficient simply because I have someone behind whose driving looks suspect (so pretty much 90% of all vehicles).

Spatial awareness is reduced in all humans in the dark, so unless you're a cat for example, so is yours. So you're either completely ignorant to the fact that everyones spatial awareness is poorer at night, or you're just being an !!!!.

boliston

martinthebandit wrote: »

You are aware that 'failing to make progress' or whatever it's called now is a fail on the driving test?

I'm not sure how use of the brakes affects making progress. I often make better progress than impatient drivers - as I normally time it so I arrive at a light just as it turns green I can keep going and overtake other drivers that have raced up to the red light and still have to accelerate as I sail past in the other lane (quite a lot of roads in our town are multi lane)

Biggles

ThemeOne wrote: »

Don't worry about it. I find most use of the horn is inappropriate and frequently illegal. It most certainly isn't an indication you're doing anything wrong.

If it happens a lot to you - and doesn't happen to anyone else - then it most certainly is an indication you're doing something wrong.

Sicard

boliston wrote: »

I have never understood this reliance on brake lights to see if a vehicle is slowing down - perhaps people have no ability to judge relative speed?

I'm with you on this and I've taken out the bulbs in my brake lights. Whoever thought to invent brake lights must've been stupid. I also don't use lights at night because I can see very well in the dark. And don't talk to me about fog lights.