Wrong way round
November 28th, 2008 catnipTags:bad driving, road users
Posted in birmingham, road users, state of society | 1 Comment »
I have noticed a disturbing driving trend recently – people driving the wrong way around roundabouts!
I’m sure it started off by people taking a lazy shortcut when turning right at mini roundabouts when there’s no-one else about.
But I’ve seen people do this when there are other people waiting to enter the roundabout and also not just on the very small ‘mini’ roundabouts in residential areas.
I recently saw someone turn right from Wake Green Road (a B-road) into Hayfield Road in Moseley while I was waiting on College Road:
I regularly see people turning right at the roundabout where Spring Road meets Cateswell Road and Tynedale Road in Acock’s Green. I pass this roundabout on my way to and from work and I see this happen so regularly that I’m tempted to go and stand there with a video camera or ask the police to set up camp there!
A van nearly hit me recently at this roundabout. I was on Cateswell Road going straight across and he was coming down Tynedale Road indicating right. It was my right of way so I carried on going, but he decided to turn right without bothering to go round the roundabout and nearly hit me and had to break suddenly. Apart from the obvious problems of driving the wrong way round a roundabout, it mucks up the right of way. If he’d have gone right round the roundabout as he was supposed to, we both could have gone at the same time.
Bad driving habits are quickly formed, so my advice is don’t even take shortcuts on mini roundabouts when there’s no-one about, because you’ll end up doing it without thinking on a bigger, busy roundabout!
December 5th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Oh, driving bug bears! I get so annoyed with people! I so try not to and, in my older and motherly years, I was succeeding nicely but just lately….. grrrrrrr!!!
People really don’t know how to use roundabouts, lord knows how they pass their driving tests (says she that took three attempts!). I get so cross when people approach a roundabout in the left hand lane to turn right and then just blindly carry on in their path, cutting off you in the right hand lane also trying to turn right! There is a roundabout I use at least a couple of times a day where this happens to me 9 times outta 10! (Birmingham Great Park in front of the cinema.)
A couple of days ago a driver crawled at 3 mph in front of me on a dual carriageway while he sprawled out files full of paper on his steering wheel and dashboard to have a quick read! And yesterday, I was harassed after a car stopped dead without indicating on a double yellow on the same dual carriageway to pick up her kids from school. I tried to pull out to pass but it was too busy. So, I patiently waited but gave her a single, angry flash (of headlights y’all!) when she eventually pulled away. I then calmly pulled out when it was clear and overtook her… only for her to race up behind me, a foot away from my rear, flashing constantly at me for half a mile ’til I turned off. I was just glad she didn’t follow me!
I just go home and rant to my hubby, who doesn’t drive and thinks I’m mad!! :)