Roundabouts and other driving pet peeves

[Bada-Bing!]

Taxi driver blocking my driveway today whilst on his mobile after dropping off my neighbour. All I did was ask him politely to pull forward and stop parking in front and he got the right hump and started mouthing of. What is wrong with some people that they can't be told when they are the ones doing something inconsiderately?

 

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South Yorkshire motorists warned over mobile phone use

Road groups and emergency services in South Yorkshire are backing the Hands On The Wheel initiative.

www.bbc.co.uk

Well that's one police force.

 

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Wales' 20mph limit: Average speed down 4mph after switch

Ministers hail a turning point as the first official data shows drivers' speeds drop.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

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More drug than drink-driving arrests by some forces

Drug driving is becoming more prevalent in younger groups, says one of Britain's top police officers.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

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Driving theory test cheat jailed for six months

Asif Saber, 35, charged people £100 to sit the exam on their behalf, Sheffield Crown Court hears.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

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Harry Dunn's family to hold second funeral after human tissue found

Charlotte Charles says she is experiencing fresh trauma after personal items were returned to the family.

www.bbc.co.uk

All because an American couldn't drive on the left hand side of the road and then left because she wouldn't take responsibility for her actions.

 

[Saintjay]

To be honest the amount of cyclists who jump red lights and pedestrian crossings is far greater where i am. As i said before i see probably 15-20 per day. They won't get a fine or points even if caught on a dash cam because there's no way of identifying them. Maybe Mikey could come to Cambridge and have a go at catching them.

I was hit by a cyclist on a pedestrian crossing. There excuse was "i thought i could get through" . I was fine and still standing, felt the impact and then looked down at a cyclist legs akimbo in a pile of metal. My initial reaction was a few choice words and the feeling of that's 'karma'

 

[Bada-Bing!]

To be honest the amount of cyclists who jump red lights and pedestrian crossings is far greater where i am. As i said before i see probably 15-20 per day. They won't get a fine or points even if caught on a dash cam because there's no way of identifying them. Maybe Mikey could come to Cambridge and have a go at catching them.

Unless pulled over by the police. But there are few and far between on the roads and even when they can ignore blatant infringements - i.e. e-scooters.
Mikey is on YouTube/X (maybe on instagram?) - perhaps suggest he go up to Cambridge some time?

I was hit by a cyclist on a pedestrian crossing. There excuse was "i thought i could get through" . I was fine and still standing, felt the impact and then looked down at a cyclist legs akimbo in a pile of metal. My initial reaction was a few choice words and the feeling of that's 'karma'

I am glad you weren't too badly hurt, but you lived to tell the tale right? If you were hit by a car that went through the pedestrian crossing you certainly wouldn't.

I am not gonna defend any cyclists who run red lights or pedestrian crossings. They wouldn't listen to me when I am out cycling although I do call them out where I can. This kind of inconsiderate/illegal behaviour happens all the time. Just that with car drivers they can kill in their 2 tonnes of metal.

Those calling for registration of cyclists and wearing of number plates to id them are wasting their time as DfT have already looked into it as have some other countries and it's not worth the upkeep of the system.

Government confirms no plans for cyclists to be registered and insured.

The government has confirmed it has no plans for cyclists to be subject to compulsory registration.

www.cycleassociation.uk

 

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Wales international Mason Grady admits speeding at 115mph

Mason Grady was caught driving at 115mph in October, days after returning from the World Cup in France.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

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Definitely agree on needing to change our car centric transport system, as part of getting to net zero. Going to to extremely tough to get drivers out of their cars though, especially for short journeys.

 

[Reiser99]

Definitely agree on needing to change our car centric transport system, as part of getting to net zero. Going to to extremely tough to get drivers out of their cars though, especially for short journeys.

The issues are beyond simply a car centric transport system. Yes, that is a huge issue, but there are wider problems.

Take a short trip to the shops. If you're taking your weekly shopping home from the supermarket then you aren't going to want to get a bus or train etc... back home, especially if you have a larger family and you will have hundreds of pounds worth of shopping. However, this issue isn't just based around the logistics of a car. Like with many areas, supermarkets have decimated competition with their low prices. Just look at pubs. It's the same for high streets with butchers, green grocers etc... they have been completely priced out of the market. Corner shops and newsagents have some stuff and occasionally you might have a small supermarket nearby, but most people will only use them for little bits and bobs, not all their shopping. By creating a one size fits all shop, we actually encourage the use of cars. If you wanted to move from a car centric system, you would need to provide alternatives within reach for people that are accessible and affordable. With rents and bills as they are it's never going to happen. Any specialist shop like a butcher is marketed as a premium service, not an affordable one. I honestly believe, we wouldn't just have to remake our roads and transport links, but actually how entire towns are designed. Instead of roads running through, there should be multiple central areas that cater to the entire community's needs that have good transportation links. However, the cost would be astronomical. The only other solution for shopping would be to encourage more online shopping with more deliveries in one vehicle.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

The car has provided incredible freedom and mobility for us. But here in the UK we have 35m cars of which apparently only 650k are EVs. But there are just too many of them. Drivers getting more irate trapped in congestion and pumping out their fumes in their cars crawling at 5-10mph.

We aren't going to replace them all with EVs without massive upgrade of public/private charging points and also the national grid.

They aren't going to get rid of roads any time soon but I walk and cycle a hell of a lot more and see how many cars are parked up during the day outside houses and flats, just lying their unused, whilst people are at work.

This Tory Government has failed to invest in the maintenance of the roads. Only having to see the number of pot holes in them, created no doubt by the inclement weather and also the heaviness of HGVs and EVs.

They have no incentive not to get peeps out of their cars because a major factor is that 60% of the price we pay at the fuel pump is VAT and fuel duty which goes straight to the treasury.

My local town centre is 3 miles away has about 5 different roads all leading to it, although they've made the centre a pedestrian only zone.

One of the biggest affluent estates rejected LTNs even though 56% were in favour because there wasn't widespread support. Drivers use it as a cut through anyway to get to a main road leading to the M25.

 

[General Melchett]

There are many examples where people need cars e.g. driving kids to school/day care, big food shops, helping the elderly/needy, going to work where transport links aren't good enough etc. but Govt/society needs to find a way to reduce 'lazy b'stard' car use. I know so many lazy gits who won't even walk around the corner to their grandparents or friend's house. We live in an era where many parents have become taxi drivers to their entitled kids who won't walk anywhere or take a bus (not a generalisation as I'm sure many do). There are also people who do have access to good transport links but refuse to use it due to cost, lack of reliability or just because they think it's beneath them.

At the moment we tax people via the cost of fuel, road tax, cars etc. but there is no incentive for people to walk or cycle other than they don't pay the same tax. It doesn't help when we have a transport system that is unreliable thanks to lack of investment in upgrading infrastructure and underpaid workers who are always liable to go on strike.

I read somewhere that in time we will eventually shift away from owning cars and move towards short term hires like zipcar where you will find a nearby car on an app and then use it for however many minutes or hours you need it. Driverless cars will also become part of this model.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

I read somewhere that in time we will eventually shift away from owning cars and move towards short term hires like zipcar where you will find a nearby car on an app and then use it for however many minutes or hours you need it. Driverless cars will also become part of this model.

This is quite interesting what with the moving away from ownership of music and film media. Do we really need to own our own cars? Cars have become status symbols though and I see problem with peeps not taking care of them and leaving in an unsightly state for the next user. We see this with rental bikes/rental e-scooters which get left abandoned or not parked up properly.

 

[General Melchett]

This is quite interesting what with the moving away from ownership of music and film media. Do we really need to own our own cars? Cars have become status symbols though and I see problem with peeps not taking care of them and leaving in an unsightly state for the next user. We see this with rental bikes/rental e-scooters which get left abandoned or not parked up properly.

Cars are a really bad investment and eat up so much of people's disposable income.

I think we're moving towards renting almost everything - the great reset as some predicted. Even phones and laptops are effectively rented as the likes of apple slow down devices after 2-3 years and stop providing system updates which forces many to upgrade and get the latest model.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

The only other thing I would say is that those 33m ICE vehicles on the road that still have value, albeit depreciating assets, and no Govt is going to want to offer a significant scrappage scheme for that number of cars to replace with EVs. They've already given businesses massive tax incentives for EV company cars, which aren't available to ICE cars.

I have a merc A180 which I bought from my parents for a cut down price. Getting maximum value for it when it goes is my main concern and then what to replace it with or not? There's something to owning your own car and not having to rely on buses and taxis. In the mean time I'll keep It and reduce the small journeys on it.

As much as I love my ebike I only want to ride it 3-4 times a week (as well as other concerns) and Walking for local journeys. Weather is a big factor. Brilliant when it's dry but when it's really wet and miserable, not as much fun!

 

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[dullonien]

If we are to move past our reliance on cars, then public transport needs to become a viable alternative, but in my experience this is become less of a reality.

In Cardiff at least, the bus service post COVID is simply pathetic. Unreliable, expensive, and full of incomplete routes. There used to be two park and rides, heavily used by commuters, but these have been closed. I used to have two viable options to get to work via public transport - using the park and ride which cost ~£2 a day and took 20-30min; or service bus which took roughly 45min. As mentioned the park and ride has shut, whilst the frequency of the service bus has halved, cost doubled, and it now also takes twice the time for the same journey due to poor traffic light sequencing at one junction, if the bus turns up at all that is!

Cycling is an option which I need to get better at by investing in good winter gear/lights, but it's my go to option in the warmer/dryer months. It's about a 7 mil commute each way. The half assed cycle lanes are more of a hindrance than a help though!

Otherwise, it is simply easier, cheaper, quicker and more reliable for me to commute via car on those cold, wet, winter days. It takes less than 30min. door to door, including a 10min. walk from a free on road parking space on the outskirts of the city centre.

Don't worry though, because Cardiff are building a tram system that will solve everything! Trouble is they've only just started on the first 3mile stretch between the city centre and bay. It'll be decades before I'll see the benefit of it, if ever. I'm all for it in theory, but they need to ensure public transport is of a high quality whilst we wait.

Don't get me started on trains, not that I have that option where I live!

 

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