Shocking Drivers (perth)

[Zizzle]

At the risk of this turning into a general driving rant thread...

I used to drive gravel hillclimbs so I know how to drive a car, on a race track it's the norm to sit right on someones arse (circuit, not hillclimb), but on the road it's just dangerous. Most of the wankers that think they're awesome drivers on the road would probably get blown away on a hillclimb. Fuckwits.

I don't think most people have any idea how a vehicle reacts at the limit of traction, or more importantly, where that limit is. I'm sure ABS doesn't help people's attitude and confidence levels.

I've lost count of the number of times I've been in the passenger seat just after it started raining when the road is slick with oil and stuff that hasn't washed off yet, but the driver has not slowed down one bit. Late braking, taking corners at normal speed, tailgating. Argh my foot is going through the firewall, but they are oblivious.

I'm no expert driver, I just think it's worth backing off in the wet... my life and those around me is worth a few minutes extra travel.

I've often though that new drivers should be made to drive on a wet skid pan as part of their test... and have to show that they know what the traction limits are, and what the braking distances change to in the wet.

 

[The Pope]

The other month I was driving down a main road here in Sydney when I noticed an older couple go around the round about the wrong way then continue down the road on the wrong side beeping their horn at the oncoming traffic and waving their hands in the air as if everyone else was in the wrong. I couldn't believe it...

 

[Fodder]

+1 for the average Perth driver being crap!

Lived, drove & rode here most of my (reletively short) life, havent driven anywhere else in Aus, but have driven all over the UK (lived there for some 18 months) and other parts of Europe.

Even with the higher numbers of road users and congestion that the UK is subject too, most people over there still have something called common curtesy. I can understand people being in the wrong lane and not realising and needing to cut in to get where their going. But its the way they do it that seperates the dicks from everyone else.

Perth drivers would simply cut you off then give you the finger when you honk them, UK drivers would slow, indicate and you either give them a flash of the lights or a wave to let them through and get one back in return.

Different mentality althogether...

 

[jyo]

Well, I must've jinxed us.
The missus was driving with the kids today, doing 70kmh when an elderly lady pulled out in front of her, she didn't look. My wife was pretty quick and jammed on the brakes, ending up scraping the old bird down the side of her new car. By the time she had pulled up, my missus was only doing about 5 k's. Thankfully, everyone was o.k. My '06 Commodore (only had it for 4 weeks) ended up like this:






Dented panel and some paint...It could've been a lot worse. I swear I bloody jinxed myself! The lady is insured, so it can look new again.

Perth drivers would simply cut you off then give you the finger when you honk them, UK drivers would slow, indicate and you either give them a flash of the lights or a wave to let them through and get one back in return.
Different mentality althogether...

Speaking to my boss today about this and he spent months living in various places in the U.K. He said the exact thing. People will try to push in front of you, but the other person will let them in and the good old thank you wave occurs. We are getting shit at doing this.

 

[outbreak]

Grew up in Perth..... I didn't realise what dickheads majority of West Australians were till I moved to Melbourne for a few years. I am a building supervisor so I am on the road all day. Tail Gating is by far the worst, people sitting half a car length behind you on the fwy. Everyone thinks an amber light is speed up and gun it through. Tradesmen 18-40 are by far the worst drivers in Perth, they are the ones that tailgate, overtake when its not safe (saw someone over take on a bend on the Great Southern HWY 3 weeks ago).

We have an over population of cashed up bogans who think they are invincible so things wont get better.

 

[jyo]

Necro thread for Bribie

Taking my little girl to ballet this morning and spotted at least 7 people texting while driving. I am not talking just quickly checking their phone at the lights, I mean eyes on their phone for 50% of the time.

One chick was driving along, reading and texting/facebooking/twittering, (I don't really bloody know) and having a good old laugh. The moron was swerving over the road, nearly hit the kerb a few times, but didn't seem to mind. This went on for about 5 kms.

I am so sick of these morons, especially when I've got my kids in the car.

 

[bruce86]

yeah jyo you should try doing the gero to perth run tossers everywhere especially ppl who dont know how to drive around trucks.

 

[warra48]

Driving to Newcastle from Port Macquarie last Monday morning.
We have a stretch of road from Port to get to the Pacific Highway, at a major roundabout we call the Doughnut.
The Pacific Highway has two lanes northbound, two lanes southbound, with a 110 kph limit.

We had just joined the Highway, and noticed a small white hatchback some way in front of us. Next, he slowed almost to a stop pulling over to the left, and then proceeded to do a U-turn, and come back up towards us in the right hand lane of a one way road with a 110 kph limit!

I flashed my lights, hit the window down button, and just managed to gesticulate and point back the other way. He slowed again, and did another U-turn to face back in the right direction.
Major, and I mean MAJOR, accident in the making there if he had been allowed to continue.

Seemed like a dickhead in his 50s from what I could see. Probably too old to contribute to the gene pool anymore, but who knows who else he could have taken out?

Where are the cops when you need them? Probably tending their speed cameras and guns, pretending they keep us all safe from ourselves.

Anyway, back to the OP, I lived in Perth for 3 years in the mid 1990s. Joining the Mitchell Freeway from our home at Doubleview, the right hand lanes were all congested by drivers anally retentive and uptight about missing their right hand direction onto the Narrows Bridge and the Kwinana Freeway. Idiotic, seemed like some of them did that from as far back as Joondalup. Suited me to get my choice of all the left hand lanes to get to the city! Another thing we noticed there at the time was the incredible number of rust buckets still driving around, such as Datsun 120 why nots. Don't know if that's still the same or if the car pool has improved since then.

 

[spog]

Adelaide drivers, oh dont get me started on some of those f,wits. and i live in the same state,now here in Port Lincoln it's worse...hmmm

cheers..spog...(not joking south oz drivers are a fkn joke) little wonder we cant see shit for all the street/road signs

 

[winkle]

When I lived in Perth it was the only place in Australia where you could buy a second-hand car with brand new indicators ,
(that was in the 80's, mind you Brisbane hasn't worked out merging traffic or roundabouts yet)

 

[Camo6]

What gets my goat is the pricks who drive along the highway at 90 k.p.h. then as soon as an overtaking lane starts they boot it up to 115 k.p.h. only to slow back to 90 k.p.h. once it closes. Drove home from Pambula to Melbourne yesterday and it must have happened on a dozen occasions.

Have noticed Melbourne drivers are getting worse. There's a growing lack of consideration for driving etiquette and the hand wave is becoming a thing of the past.

 

[jyo]

Warra- Close call, mate. Lucky. In recent years I would say that the coppers have cracked down on the old Ford XD smoke blowers in Perth. Yellow stickers sort out a rust bucket pretty quickly.

It's just a pity they can't issue fluorescent pink Moron Stickers to drivers who are repeatedly fined for traffic offenses, especially those who have endangered others.

 

[Bizier]

There is one corner I make regularly exiting the Kwinana to turn right on the Canning. There are two lanes and it is a broken line around the corner (stupid decision from Dept. of Transport). I prefer to be in the right lane because there is a bus stop on the left once on the Canning. Daily I have some f*ing moron turn across the broken line around the corner into me because they assume I will move into another right lane that opens up once on the Canning. It is amazing that people have an indicator on going around a corner (even though it is a right turn only) and think it entitles them to two lanes without looking. I mean, is it that hard to get into the lane you want before the corner? It makes me want to actually video that part of my journey every day. People think I make it up or exaggerate it, but seriously it is at least 8/10 times I go through.

 

[petesbrew]

I think there have always been, and always will be, people who don't deserve the licences they've been granted and I don't think it is any more galling nor more frequent today (per capita) than it was, say, 30 years ago. There's no accounting for dickheads.

What does shit me though is the complete lack of consideration for other road users in drivers who might otherwise be behaving fairly. Not allowing people to merge, not indicating their own intention to merge and the death of the finger-wave used when another driver does you a good'un. There's always going to be unreasonable people but when even the reasonable are selfish dickheads we're pretty much a society in decline.

Totally agree with you Bum. It doesn't take much effort to do a quick wave of thanks, even when you sneak in front of someone it can at least diffuse a tense situation. Merging? Yeah Í'm always happy to let someone merge... when they know how to do it properly.

 

[Mattress]

When I was doing my advanced driver training (requirement of my job) we watched a film on driver safety where one of the instructors stated that the best safety device they could make for all vehicles would be a large metal spike coming out of the steering wheel aimed at the drivers chest. If every vehicle had one of these everyone one would drive with a lot more caution.

In my job I regularly attend "motor vehicle accidents". I'm yet to attend one of these accidents where the cause can't be attributed to someone just doing the wrong thing.

 

[warra48]

When I was doing my advanced driver training (requirement of my job) we watched a film on driver safety where one of the instructors stated that the best safety device they could make for all vehicles would be a large metal spike coming out of the steering wheel aimed at the drivers chest. If every vehicle had one of these everyone one would drive with a lot more caution.

In my job I regularly attend "motor vehicle accidents". I'm yet to attend one of these accidents where the cause can't be attributed to someone just doing the wrong thing.

Before I retired I dealt with claims for major and catastrophic injuries from motor accidents.
Not one of those ever arose from what the pollies and pliece like to call "speed related"accidents.
They were almost always due to alcohol and drug factors, inattention, fatigue (falling asleep), and dickheads driving beyond their level of competence.

 

[Kiwimike]

The latest trend, in Perth anyway, is turning right at a roundabout whilst in the left lane. What happens if the person in the right lane wants to go straight - as they are entitled too!

:unsure:

 

[Nick JD]

I believe personal debt is the driving force behind people's impatience on the roads these days.

I see impatience every day: it's being tailgated when you're doing 5km above the speed limit. It's people not letting others in.

Generally I don't see lack of skill as such, it's lack of patience and sharing of the road.

People are anxious. Anxeity doesn't make for good drivers. If all these people were cool with arriving at work a bit late, or not rushing home late to see their kids before bedtime, or not rushing to the next job - or not having to use the phone and eat and apply makeup while driving ... the roads would be a nicer place to be.

I have been yelled at for merely observing the road rules twice in the last month. WTF? You wanna go fast? Have the balls to overtake, you wanker. You tailgate me I brake-check yo ass.

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

I have been yelled at for merely observing the road rules twice in the last month. WTF?

Nick - probably AHB members, nothing to do with driving ...
BBB

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Ride a motor bike. The amount of idiots increases to incredible levels.

Or take a ride in a ride in fully laden truck weighing 40t.

These 2 things should be mandatory