Shocking Drivers (perth)

[jyo]

I don't know if it's the same in all states, it probably is. I have been driving for only 15 years and in that short amount of time I have noticed (or seem to have noticed) a huge increase in the amount of incapable drivers on the roads. This ranges from idiots who tail gate a car length behind you while doing 110 to people texting while driving and nearly side swiping you as they look back up to the road....I feel like a whinger as I type this but it's the truth.

On the way home today from visiting a mate, we were nearly cleaned up on the Mitchell Freeway southbound. I mean, it is the closest I have come to having a serious accident in my short time on the road. I was sitting on 100 kms, 6 month old bub and 3 year old asleep in the back, wife in the front and this 20 year old fuckface (I know he's 20 because his number plate stated his year of birth) in a fourwheel drive came ripping up behind me, just missed my rear end and then cut straight in front. He missed the front of my car by 300mm, no exaggeration, then proceeded to cut off 4 more cars in the exact same fashion.
It really annoys me that if the idiot had have misjudged by 300 mm, there could be a different story to tell right now.

All cars had to jam on the brakes, including myself. Traffic was fairly congested, this idiot was just crazy.
As you can imagine, having your babies and wife in a car when someone else nearly takes you out of the game makes you fairly f*****g angry.

The thing that pissed me off is that 10 minutes later I had caught up to him as he exited the Freeway. Got his number, reported.
Rant over.

 

[Cube]

Darwinism will take care of his gene pool mate - it always does in the end.
I see similar so often now I just keep reminding myself of my opening comment and I think thank god for evolution.

 

[jyo]

Darwinism will take care of his gene pool mate - it always does in the end.
I see similar so often now I just keep reminding myself of my opening comment and I think thank god for evolution.

I hope you're right, mate. That spanner nearly took care of my kids today.

 

[Pennywise]

Had something similar happen to me about a couple or years ago. P plater, comes flying up my ass (single lane road each way, over a crest), pulls out next to me the hammers it in front nearly taking out my front end. Now, I was on my way to the shops and I was about 3-400m from my estate, Comming home from somewhere and just doing the grab some milk & bread run before we get home. Well I noticed this knob hammer it into my estate and I think, oh, this'll be good, so I follow him (oh, I should say my missus was 7 months pregnant at the time, so I wasn't happy). Turns out he lives 3 streets away. So I pull up next to him so close that the passenger could get out, leaned over my missus and said "listen here you little fuckin c**t, I live in this estate with my pregnant wife, now I know where you live, if I catch you driving like that again I'll rip ya fuckin neck off, got it c**t", little shit was shaking so much his airbags nealry went off. Little fucker!

Hope the pigs get em', prolly wont unless other have got his plates as well. Which is why I tend to look after shit like that myself. Yes I know, you had the whole fam in the car, so wouldn't have been appropriate. I get that wild with shit like this, I kinda loose some of the fruit in the basket

 

[jyo]

Which is why I tend to look after shit like that myself. Yes I know, you had the whole fam in the car, so wouldn't have been appropriate. I get that wild with shit like this, I kinda loose some of the fruit in the basket

Mate, I had to use every bit of self control not to follow him. The wife saw how pissed I was and starting asking me to be calm. LIke I said, It's the closest I have come to a serious accident, the fact that my family was in the car made me boil.
I was no angel when I was younger, but I never endangered anyone elses life (my own plenty of times) like this knob.

 

[Banshee]

Problem is more people on the roads today so the number of idiots increases. Also there are more distractions such as mobile phones and pretty ladies out there. Really there is no excuses for stupidity. Also Perth has the worst road planning I have ever come across around the globe. I call Perth the city of lights, traffic lights that is.
I'm glad you are here to tell your tale and hope the offending driver gets what he deserves.

 

[Pennywise]

I completely agree with you mate

 

[Lecterfan]

I honestly believe it is way too easy to get a drivers licence. Let's ignore the fact that essentially teenagers are a pain in the arse (they can't help it, they have a childs brain and need to experientially learn rather than work on hypotheticals), but what really annoys me about JYO's example is the absolute lack of the understanding of basic physics that most drivers (that one obviously included) display. You don't need an algebraic formula to know that big heavy fast moving things can't come to an immediate halt without something destructive happenning.

I often see it in drivers with fancy cars also - they seem to think that because they have a car that handles as well an Air Force fighter jet and that they themselves are fantastic masters of their vehicle means that the rest of us have to second guess every move they are going to make. Especially those of us in comparatively primitive vehilces that may need X metres in front of us to be able to brake safely or whatever.

You may have total control of your vehicle, but you don't have control over the kid who is going to run onto the road, or of the tyre that is about to blow on the car in front of you etc.

I think the reason it is easy to get wild about it is that it is a complete disregard for the safety and well being of others.

Anyway, hope your rant makes you feel better, you obviously have plenty of supporters here!

 

[bum]

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.

 

[leiothrix]

Let's ignore the fact that essentially teenagers are a pain in the arse (they can't help it, they have a childs brain and need to experientially learn rather than work on hypotheticals),

No, the problem is society. Back in the day we'd send 5 year olds down a big hole in the ground to mine coal (and without a light too).

Since then we've been treating children better, which is a good thing.

The bad thing is they're treated like (and therefore act like) children until their mid twenties.

And I'm saying this as someone that turns 30 in three weeks time.

 

[InCider]

I ride a motorbike - and see plenty of those kind of clowns as your spacial orientation is tested all the time. I just pop down to my local Cop Shop and hand over the incident details. Quite satisfying. One goose overtook me on the gravel shoulder in a 100km/h zone after tailgating me for a few ks. And I was going about 105km/h anyway, so not holding anyone up. I memorised his rego what he looked like and the vehicle year/make/model and went to the cop shop. Turns out the car was registered to a guy in his 50s, but the driver I saw was a P Plater...she dispatched a car to go to the address and speak about the incident, and suggested that Dad may just take away car privileges from his son...

And I was encourage to keep reporting incidents so they get to learn before someone gets hurt.

Dob the feckers in!

 

[jyo]

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.

^This rings loud and clear for me too, Bum.

Some good points raised by all.

@ Incider- The Copper I spoke to on the phone made it very clear that the driver would be receiving a visit at his house on Monday to investigate his version of events and that if there was even 1 more complaint of the same description and time as the one that I described that he would either have his car impounded for a couple of days, receive a fine or both.
I say make the call, too.

 

[matr]

What are the details? All it would take is a few of us to call and give the same complaint...

 

[newguy]

Had something similar happen to me about a couple or years ago. ....(snip)

When I lived in a different province, my old neighbour didn't tolerate much when it came to teenagers driving up & down our street at light speed. We lived on a crescent, so there was only one way in/out. One afternoon, we were in his front yard drinking beer (which is all we ever did in our front yards), when some kid roared by really fast, windows down, stereo cranked. We all had young kids playing in the yard, 7 between the 3 of us (myself and my two neighbours), and Terry just watched the guy. From that point on, he kept an eye out for the little shit to return. When he could see him returning, Terry grabbed a baseball, said "excuse me just a minute" and casually tossed the ball into the street just as this guy was returning. Dickhead locked the brakes and came to a screeching halt, then Terry strolled out to talk to him, beer in hand. Now Terry was an electrical lineman - a guy who climbs power poles to string up power lines, and he was about 6'5" and approx 240-250lbs, all of it muscle. He had a nice talk with the teenaged driver and he never, ever, drove past our places at more than 20 km/h after that. Given the look on his face, I think he nearly shit his pants when he saw Terry coming out to talk to him.

I honestly believe it is way too easy to get a drivers licence. (snip)

A-fricking-men! Here (Canada), there is a proposal that all new drivers (teenagers and immigrants included) should have a seasonal progressive licence. That is, they don't get a full drivers licence until they have one winter "under their belt." They wouldn't be able to drive on any roadway with a speed limit > 60 km/h and wouldn't be able to carry any passengers unless accompanied by someone with a full licence.

The new winter drivers generally fall into two camps - those that think they can drive like it's still summer in a blizzard (usually on bald tires), and those that think it's okay to drive 70 km/h in the fast lane of a 110 km/h highway when the road is clear and dry and visibility is good.

 

[thelastspud]

You get bad drivers everywhere over here in spain they're really bad at parking.
The thing that annoys me the most is that on streets with 2 lanes in one direction
they'll just park in the outside lane with the emergency lights on and go do things like have a coffee or go shopping.
The amount of times I've come around the corner and a had to change lanes because some lazy
******* couldn't be bothered looking for a proper park.
Normally now i just drive in the middle lane so I don't have to change all the time.

Also running red lights is like a sport over here

 

[Dave70]

thank god for evolution.

He he he...

 

[Bizier]

I am 28 and only just got my license (feel free to ridicule me) because I moved out of home in the country as soon as I could, and before I had a license.

The above comment on basic physics is so correct. People seem to disregard everything they know to hold true outside of the car when they step into one and treat it as some kind of video game rather than a hurtling steel flesh-capsule.

What gets my goat, is new riders behaving the same, except with more manoeuvrability and with no safety gear. I don't have a bike license, but growing up in the country means stripping enough bark from your person to know you need leather, or at least denim when you ride a bike and do stupid stuff. The thing that really gets me with riders weaving around and disregarding distances is that it will be me that kills them. It will be their negligence, but my burden to bear.

I feel for you Jyo.

I also think that Perth drivers are, on average, less competent compared to Sydney drivers. It seems that less people indicate here, or let you in if you do. I have also nearly been hit as a pedestrian on multiple occasions because people don't indicate (perhaps there are no other cars), so I walk, and then they turn into where I am walking.

 

[peas_and_corn]

When I lived in a different province, my old neighbour didn't tolerate much when it came to teenagers driving up & down our street at light speed. We lived on a crescent, so there was only one way in/out. One afternoon, we were in his front yard drinking beer (which is all we ever did in our front yards), when some kid roared by really fast, windows down, stereo cranked. We all had young kids playing in the yard, 7 between the 3 of us (myself and my two neighbours), and Terry just watched the guy. From that point on, he kept an eye out for the little shit to return. When he could see him returning, Terry grabbed a baseball, said "excuse me just a minute" and casually tossed the ball into the street just as this guy was returning. Dickhead locked the brakes and came to a screeching halt, then Terry strolled out to talk to him, beer in hand. Now Terry was an electrical lineman - a guy who climbs power poles to string up power lines, and he was about 6'5" and approx 240-250lbs, all of it muscle. He had a nice talk with the teenaged driver and he never, ever, drove past our places at more than 20 km/h after that. Given the look on his face, I think he nearly shit his pants when he saw Terry coming out to talk to him.



A-fricking-men! Here (Canada), there is a proposal that all new drivers (teenagers and immigrants included) should have a seasonal progressive licence. That is, they don't get a full drivers licence until they have one winter "under their belt." They wouldn't be able to drive on any roadway with a speed limit > 60 km/h and wouldn't be able to carry any passengers unless accompanied by someone with a full licence.

The new winter drivers generally fall into two camps - those that think they can drive like it's still summer in a blizzard (usually on bald tires), and those that think it's okay to drive 70 km/h in the fast lane of a 110 km/h highway when the road is clear and dry and visibility is good.

In SA you have to have your Probationary license for at least 2 years, so that's covered.

 

[peaky]

I also think that Perth drivers are, on average, less competent compared to Sydney drivers. It seems that less people indicate here, or let you in if you do. I have also nearly been hit as a pedestrian on multiple occasions because people don't indicate (perhaps there are no other cars), so I walk, and then they turn into where I am walking.

Yup, I've got to agree here. Lived in Sydney for 10 years and thought the drivers were crap until I went to live in Perth for the last 2 years (moved to Melbourne 8 months ago).
It was the tailgating that used to drive me nuts. I'd have a 2 year old in the back and a sticker on the rear screen advertising the fact and I'd still had some wanker sitting right on my arse while I was doing 70km in a 60. Had to pull over a few times because they got so close it was downright dangerous. Then they'd go screaming past tooting the horn and giving the finger. Unbelievable. 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.

 

[Zizzle]

I had a mate on the Gold Coast who lived on a particularly long crescent.

It's no secret that the Gold Coast is chock full of dickheads, but a bunch of young dickheads lived at the far end and liked to have loud cars/music/burnouts/speed in the small hours of the morning, along the main stretch of the street outside his place.

All very transient, over by the time the cops arrived, but enough to wake the neighbourhood up.

The cops claimed there was not much they could do.

So my mate being a bit of a nerd, set up a Linux box, a web cam, and some noise activation software that would run over night.

Before long he had lots of good footage to show the cops and they nabbed the bastards.

The kicker is that he was about 20 at the time. It was probably some of his peers. Some kids are good, some kids are dickheads. I guess it's all about the parenting.