Practically Classics Forum

Driving to work this morning I was thinking of a few things, some prompted today, others earlier and so I’m going to vent here:

My commute now consists of about 45 minutes on motorways and until I decided to let it unfazed me I was getting more and more annoyed with the way certain people act on the roads. Mainly the twat brigade who usually drive big 4x4’s or executive cars and think the roads are just for them. You know the kind, the ones that head right for the outside lane of the motorway the second they get on it, tailgating cars no matter how fast they go (sometimes flashing them) until they move over and then at the last minute chop across 3 lanes (or more) to cut onto the slip road over the white hatchings.

Now, last night I witnessed a Range Rover doing all the above and then chopping off a car to cut into the clip road I was taking. I’ve often dreamed of being able to pull these idiots over and asking the question “What licence do you have that I don’t?” What EXEMPTS you from obeying speed limits, giving space to other cars and positioning into slip roads at the appropriate time and not tailgating any car that’s doing under 100mph on the outside lane…please, tell me so I can get one”

What worries me is if you pulled said driver above over and simply asked “What were you doing back there?” They would have one of two answers

1. They aren’t aware of what they were doing, nor that it is dangerous and wrong…and that scares the crap out of me that someone has a licence to drive a 2 ton projectile around at speed and not even aware of what they are doing
2. They ARE aware, and are to arrogant to care…I’m not sure if this scares me more than the above

So, what are your thoughts on it?

It reminds me of a scene from a bond m ovie, where Q tells bond
"you have a license to kill, not to break the traffic laws!"
Asd he is showing bond the lates gadgets on his car.

="Welshie
What worries me is if you pulled said driver above over and simply asked “What were you doing back there?” They would have one of two answers

1. They aren’t aware of what they were doing, nor that it is dangerous and wrong…and that scares the crap out of me that someone has a licence to drive a 2 ton projectile around at speed and not even aware of what they are doing
2. They ARE aware, and are to arrogant to care…I’m not sure if this scares me more than the above

So, what are your thoughts on it?

I think both types exist. I blame advertising that markets these cars as aspirational possessions, helped by the German car worshipping of J Clarkson. I remember some years ago being tailgated on the M5 by a driver in a BMW making a succession of phone calls. The misdemeanour was compounded by the fact that he was looking up the numbers in a Filofax balanced on top of the dashboard

I think it’s all a case of ego and culture. The class system now seems to have changed, whereby nowadays, everyone else is the same and the individual is simply better than everyone else. Thus they feel they can do just as they like and nobody must question them. Added to this there is an unhealthy mix of what you might call old time toff arrogance and the course manners of the gutter. They say if you put a beggar on horseback he will ride it to Hell and this behaviour is a good example of this.

Some of these jerks, you refer to, are probably in such a rush because they are disorganised but some of it will be just them trying to give the impression that they are super important. One thing they don’t like, is when someone in an old car or one they perceive as inferior to theirs, puts them in their place (Like the idiot in some kind of Chelsea tractor, who pulled alongside the Traveller, in the turn right lane at some traffic lights but was left behind when the lights changed or the driver of an Audi van, who pulled into the outside lane of a dual carriageway out of a roundabout and wouldn’t pull over, even though there was nothing about; he didn’t even pull over when I had passed him in the nearside lane. Clearly he assumed that my MG Midget wasn’t fast enough to out drag him). To be honest I don’t find driving a pleasurable as I once did and where possible I try to avoid busy roads. Luckily I have a day off on Wednesday and if the weather is fine, some of the “Weekend” roads are then at their best; either that or 7am on a Sunday morning.

I don’t think it’s anything peculiar to the car. No matter how they travel, people do stupid things. Recently I saw someone in Bridgnorth cross the road, whilst using his mobile phone. Instead of going to the zebra crossing, he ambled out in front of traffic, in the middle of the zig zags; he as in a world of his own. Have you noticed how few people in high streets etc seem to be looking at where they are going

Last Saturday, I saw a group of cyclists riding two abreast. They were on an A road, so this was perfectly legal but I feel they could have allowed more room between pairs of riders, as cars wishing to overtake, were having to overtake the whole group of say 10 – 15 riders. To make matters worse, a mile or so down the road, there were some traffic lights and some of them tried to push through when the lights were on red and changing to green. As a cyclist myself, I am all too well aware of the abuse/discourtesy cyclists suffer from other road users but it would be no good the lot I saw moaning about people not abiding by the Highway code and then trying to push through at red lights.

Later on, last Saturday, I was cycling home via a remote mountain road. It was dark and coming towards me, on the wrong side of the road, I saw a “Seated pedestrian” type cyclist, with no lights. I can’t imagine where someone of his clearly limited ability would have been going at that time of night, in that location (He may well have been drinking in the pub a mile or so south). Maybe he’s still up there in a ditch.

It’s not uncommon to see people on trains, with their feet up on the seats or sitting in seats reserved for others. There is no consideration for others and no humility. A little bit of national service wouldn’t go a miss, to cut some of them down to size!!

Ay up!

This makes my blood boil. I often hear folks moan about the lack of manners in society - they are usually the ones pusjing the rest of us out of THEIR way!

I used to drive either a Transit or 7.5 tonner. I have seen things that they wouldn't dare show on Police Camera Action.

As an example, a recent survey found that 75% of drivers believe that OTHER drivers using mobiles when driving affects driving. 80% of people think that using a mobile doesn't affect their driving.

Selfishness is a part of modern society. Let's keep the auld values on here....

Excellent posts Martin and Xantia and I agree.

Its a good point about the class thing. The way I see it is in the old days the high class had money whereas now, regardless of class, all ends of the social spectrum have money, and with money comes arrogance.

Thing is, these people have to be somewhere yesterday! Driving a truck limited to 56mph I always get the why do you overtake a truck travelling at 55 blah blah blah, my countenance is why do you have to be somewhere yesterday and can't wait 5 minutes?

There is no fun being on the roads these days, and more often than not I ask myself the question of why I am still doing it.

mach1rob wrote:Thing is, these people have to be somewhere yesterday! Driving a truck limited to 56mph I always get the why do you overtake a truck travelling at 55 blah blah blah, my countenance is why do you have to be somewhere yesterday and can't wait 5 minutes?

There is no fun being on the roads these days, and more often than not I ask myself the question of why I am still doing it.

....don't get me started!

I was asked by my firm to do a van-share in mine, down for a day in Birmingham, to save Derv. The guy was a real WhiteVanMan....

I could tell this because his body language [when I stopped as lights went RED, paused at Rbts, left 6 car lengths* on the Mway at 80] indicated his agitation.

* Quote "you can't leave a gap or some tosser will jump in - or a biggun will weave out and you'll be sitting for 10 minutes as he passes his mate at 56 3/4 MPH!"

He waxed lyrical about exploits the length and breadth of the UK.... usually assisted by a 'rollie' . The 'two trucks passing' issue, he said, was cured by blasting up the HardShoulder!!!!!

I rest my case.....

alfaSleep

I almost agree with Welsie - though I would say "New Money" tends to be arrogant! I knew a few "Lord of the Manors" a few years ago and one, Lord Lonsdale, owned an old Wolseley 1500 and I thought he was certainly not arrogant! I don't know if others thought he was, but I found him decent enough. I also knew a "tradesman" who started a successful business from nothing and bought a BMW in the early 70s. He was a decent bloke, down to earth and well respected. His wife, who drive the BMW more than he did .... I think you can guess! I only say he's a "tradesman" so that locals can't say I insulted him!

Our new neighbour turns up in newish Jags and Range Rovers (nothing older than a 2010 model I think) and sometimes blocks his neighbour's drive. I don't know him well enough yet to be able to say if he's arrogant or not; but he does have an excuse: he's a salesman for the local Jag/Land Rover dealers!

Mrs Thatcher is well reported as saying there is no such thing as society any more. I fear that that era was the start of the rot where manners are concerned, the "Loads of Money" types became acceptable as it was a sign of success (possibly why we are in the sh** now).

As far as the original post goes: there is arrogance with some drivers - and it doesn't matter if you have an old car or a new one (they cut me up in my 2008 Golf too!). There are also the likes of me - too busy thinking about what I'm going to do when I finish the journey, trying to work out what I need to do with my life (it's a big problem at the moment!) and too busy trying to see what is happening in the fields. Modern cars don't help either - my "new" Golf is so much more insulated and refined than the last (Mk4) one that I often find I am going much faster than I expected - or intended! It also accelerates quicker - or seems to - so I sometimes think I can get out of a junction (or whatever) before I actually can - so there is sometimes sudden braking when my brain kicks in! I need to drive the thing more to get use to the difference but I can't afford the diesel at the moment!

Whilst not always the case, I tend to agree about new money and I definitely agree about the 1980s, when many working people became middle class .

I know some people in the coach trimming trade, who have some very well off customers (And some like me). They have said that the old money people are often much more amenable than the street urchins, who have made a few quid.

I can think of one of the loadsamoney types, who started up in business selling office partitions (Or something like that) during the mid 1980s (He’d been a rep selling that kind of stuff). He was something of an overconfident and brash type anyway and soon began to cut the dash, becoming even more pompous as he did so. His Volvo 240GLT estate car was as fast a Porsche, I seem to recall and soon after, a Rover Vitesse arrived (Which must have been faster than a Porsche ), as an addition to the Volvo, along with a Range Rover and fancy horse box, plus an MG Maestro and then a 360 Volvo for his wife (Their housing estate driveway must have been overflowing). There were some who were very impressed by this entrepreneur (Perhaps hoping to bask in the reflected glory of association with him). I was less eager to draw quick conclusions and took the view that time would tell. I seem to recall that the receivers were called in within eighteen months.