Do you know your highway code

[Silver_Shiney]

I too passed the IAM test and the guidance is you don't signal if there is no one to benefit, but that of course does include pedestrians. To signal when there is no one to see it indicates your observation is poor.

Be that as it may, I choose to signal regardless of who's around, so I don't get into the habit of not signalling and avoid the possibility of not signalling when it really does matter. Besides, you don't know if a BMW driver is going to come steaming round the corner at his usual high speed...

[Stephen]

...or a mental Merc driver. Brampton hospital must give them out as leaving presents

[Mervyn and Trish]

I too passed the IAM test and the guidance is you don't signal if there is no one to benefit, but that of course does include pedestrians. To signal when there is no one to see it indicates your observation is poor.

Be that as it may, I choose to signal regardless of who's around, so I don't get into the habit of not signalling and avoid the possibility of not signalling when it really does matter. Besides, you don't know if a BMW driver is going to come steaming round the corner at his usual high speed...

Agreed, better than not signalling when one is needed Shiney. But the IAM point is one should be alert and assessing the situation at all times. Hence if there is a blind corner around which the BMW might duly steam one would signal, and be ready to take avoiding action. It should not be a habit either way, but a decision taken based on observation and assessment of every situation.

The alternative taken by too many drivers is not to observe and to assess but to assume if they have signalled the road is theirs by right to do as they please. For example, those who indicate then pull straight out in front of you on a motorway, from a side road etc as well as one a roundabout.

[Stephen]

I too passed the IAM test and the guidance is you don't signal if there is no one to benefit, but that of course does include pedestrians. To signal when there is no one to see it indicates your observation is poor.

Be that as it may, I choose to signal regardless of who's around, so I don't get into the habit of not signalling and avoid the possibility of not signalling when it really does matter. Besides, you don't know if a BMW driver is going to come steaming round the corner at his usual high speed...

Agreed, better than not signalling when one is needed Shiney. But the IAM point is one should be alert and assessing the situation at all times. Hence if there is a blind corner around which the BMW might duly steam one would signal, and be ready to take avoiding action. It should not be a habit either way, but a decision taken based on observation and assessment of every situation.

The alternative taken by too many drivers is not to observe and to assess but to assume if they have signalled the road is theirs by right to do as they please. For example, those who indicatethen pull straight out in front of you on a motorway, from a side road etc as well as one a roundabout.

Very rare. Why give other drivers a clue of your intention and use all that energy flicking that pesky lever.

[oldbluefox]

Of course there are those who haven't a clue what's going on around them as they are too busy ensuring the car stays on the road and devote all their attention to that as they peer through the steering wheel. They rely upon everyone else going around them, giving way to them and avoiding them as they make their weekly trip the mile or so down the road to the hairdressers or the daily shop. Fortunately they never creep much above 20mph although getting past them is sometimes difficult as they are hogging the centre line. I suppose it avoids giving pedestrians a fright!!!!

We once came up to a T junction in Ireland and I said to my wife "Just look at that. Somebody has parked on the T junction". We were there a couple of minutes and there was nothing else on the road when suddenly the car in front moved off and turned right. When we eventually got past we realised that driving the car was a little (very little) old lady peering through the spokes of the steering wheel. She was doing very well really as she didn't need a friend to change gear for her!!! Come to think of it, it was probably automatic!!!

[AnnCAgain]

It also depends on the road markings. In Weston super Mare there are roundabouts that have a double lane approach and then 25 yards from the roundabout split into three, and not all operating in the same way. There are clear markings on the road....unless there is a queue of traffic when you cannot read them as they are covered by cars. My daughter, a driving instructor, says she has to teach each roundabout individually due to the instructions (on road and road signs) being very different for many, and as she says, heaven help and strangers to the town. And I said heaven help those of us who are familiar with the roundabouts' individual characteristics but have to deal with all the visitors being in the wrong lane and changing lanes or cutting people up at the last minute.

[oldbluefox]

It's even worse when there are two lanes at traffic lights, and one is a filter lane!!! Sometimes you have no option but to go (although some will sit it out, much to the consternation of those behind) but then you find your way back on course blocked by central barriers or one way streets so you end up totally lost.
I believe many accidents are caused, not necessarily by poor driving but by poor road design. Going through town I find the slower you go the more likely it is for pedestrians to walk out in front of you, many without as much as a sideways glance. The responsibility for safety should not be the sole preserve of the motorist. Pedestrians and cyclists are equally responsible although since they are the ones who would come off worst in any collision they should also have a personal stake as well.

[qbman1]

Plenty of cyclists in Oxford don't believe the rules of the road, especially red traffic lights, apply to them. And who gets the blame when the silly buggers get knocked off?!

[oldbluefox]

We get Lycra man around here who thinks he's in the Olympics and takes up all the road. They are narrow and winding enough as it is so any overtaking is impossible. Amazing how Lycra men can see out of the tops of their heads.
Some do keep over to the left and cycle responsibly but sadly they are in a minority, especially at weekends. Lycra man is a perishing nuisance and a danger to himself.
Equally as bad are the clubs which use public roads for time trials. Then it's literally head down and ignore any rules of the road in order to record a good time. I'm surprised there are not more accidents as some of these characters are totally unpredictable.

[Stephen]

We get Lycra man around here who thinks he's in the Olympics and takes up all the road. They are narrow and winding enough as it is so any overtaking is impossible. Amazing how Lycra men can see out of the tops of their heads.
Some do keep over to the left and cycle responsibly but sadly they are in a minority, especially at weekends. Lycra man is a perishing nuisance and a danger to himself.
Equally as bad are the clubs which use public roads for time trials. Then it's literally head down and ignore any rules of the road in order to record a good time. I'm surprised there are not more accidents as some of these characters are totally unpredictable.

What's he doing on the bleedin road. I thought that was what public footpaths were for!

[Mervyn and Trish]

We came across a car parked outside a corner shop yesterday. Yes right outside. On the corner. On the double yellow. Front half in one road, back half in the other. Causing chaos as people tried to get round him (yes it was a him - with baseball cap) to turn into the side street.

[Stephen]

And the make of the car Merv?

[Meg 50]

We get Lycra man around here who thinks he's in the Olympics and takes up all the road. They are narrow and winding enough as it is so any overtaking is impossible. Amazing how Lycra men can see out of the tops of their heads.
Some do keep over to the left and cycle responsibly but sadly they are in a minority, especially at weekends. Lycra man is a perishing nuisance and a danger to himself.
Equally as bad are the clubs which use public roads for time trials. Then it's literally head down and ignore any rules of the road in order to record a good time. I'm surprised there are not more accidents as some of these characters are totally unpredictable.

can't you stick a pole through their wheels? If they've all get their heads down, they won't have seen you, and anyway, by the time they've untangled themselves you'll have walked half a mile away

[Silver_Shiney]

We get Lycra man around here who thinks he's in the Olympics and takes up all the road. They are narrow and winding enough as it is so any overtaking is impossible. Amazing how Lycra men can see out of the tops of their heads.
Some do keep over to the left and cycle responsibly but sadly they are in a minority, especially at weekends. Lycra man is a perishing nuisance and a danger to himself.
Equally as bad are the clubs which use public roads for time trials. Then it's literally head down and ignore any rules of the road in order to record a good time. I'm surprised there are not more accidents as some of these characters are totally unpredictable.

can't you stick a pole through their wheels? If they've all get their heads down, they won't have seen you, and anyway, by the time they've untangled themselves you'll have walked half a mile away

MEG!! that's a disgraceful thing to say.

Where can I get some poles?

[david63]

Twice this week I have had to deal with pathetic and incompetent driving instructors. One was when I was at a roundabout indicating, and turning, right when this learner cones straight out - OK I know it was my fault to indicate right when I wasn't going straight on - which seems the norm these days (memo to self - must get an up to date Highway Code).

The other I was travelling along the major road when a driving instructor comes out of side road and, belatedly, decides that I have right of way and that he should practice an "emergency stop"!

[Silver_Shiney]

I saw one a few years back who parked on a double-yellow line about 10 feet from a controlled junction. When I phoned his company to complain, I was told he was their best driver!!

[Stephen]

The old, one rule for them and one for the rest of us

[Mervyn and Trish]

And the make of the car Merv?

An old and tatty Corsa Stephen. But I expect it had a BMW badge.