How brainless can you get?

[Graham]

Just came back from Tesco garage and was approaching the Garnlydan turn off on the HOV road and right in front of me this berk of a boy in a car pulled out of the Garnlydan junction onto the HOV road and turned to the right where they have put the "no right turn" system. Fortunately I wasn't going straight on, because if I had been, my engine would have ended up in his lap.

Given the number of accidents and the number of deaths there have been on this turn off, you have to question the level of intelligence of people who would even consider doing this (apart from its illegality). No thought for anyone but themselves and as thick as pig s**t.

[Dai Rob]

Graham, when I passed my test my instructor gave me one piece of advise "to treat other road users with extreme caution".. (or words to that effect)

..having read your post and also the piece on the news about the woman who drove the wrong way up a motorway killing an innocent male (she was well over the limit, had been previously been banned for d/d and also suffers from 'epilepsy' so shouldn't have been driving in the 1st place ) only firms up this advice.

Also, some of the driving I see when driving to calls (referring to my CFR calls) beggers belief..!

[Graham]

Graham, when I passed my test my instructor gave me one piece of advice "to treat other road users with extreme caution".. (or words to that effect)

Yep, mine told me something like that as well (a cracking guy from Gilwern took me for my test in 1980). He said "treat everyone else on the road as if they are an idiot, because 75% of the time this assessment will be correct." Of course he didn't use the word "idiot", but I knew what he meant.

Also, some of the driving I see when driving to calls (referring to my CFR calls) beggers belief..!

You must see some real nutters mate. Last week on Beaufort rise (just above the post office) an ambulance with lights and siren going was going down the hill while a piece of excrement of a boy seemed quite upset that this ambulance wasn't giving way for him to come up the hill. This young excrement did his best to squeeze past and slowed the ambulance down to a first gear type crawl.

I don't know how you guys have got the patience mate, I'd have lobbed an oxygen cylinder out of the window at him. They just don't seem to get it do they? Perhaps other peoples lives actually mean nothing to them.

[CJ]

Just have to interuspt lads, i'm all up for sl*gging off boy racer idiots like this, but would just like to point out that we are not all like this.

Please dont tar us all with the same brush. cheers.

See ya all soon in the new season

[Graham]

Just have to interuspt lads, i'm all up for sl*gging off boy racer idiots like this, but would just like to point out that we are not all like this.

Please dont tar us all with the same brush. cheers.

See ya all soon in the new season

Hi fella,

I've seen you driving and you are certainly not one of these fools. Young lad behind the wheel of a car doesn't always equal lunatic (only about 50% of the time).

Same goes for the myth about women drivers. I've been in the car with some women who are far better drivers than a lot of the blokes I know.

[RS]

Just came back from Tesco garage and was approaching the Garnlydan turn off on the HOV road and right in front of me this berk of a boy in a car pulled out of the Garnlydan junction onto the HOV road and turned to the right where they have put the "no right turn" system. Fortunately I wasn't going straight on, because if I had been, my engine would have ended up in his lap.

Given the number of accidents and the number of deaths there have been on this turn off, you have to question the level of intelligence of people who would even consider doing this (apart from its illegality). No thought for anyone but themselves and as thick as pig s**t.

Pity you didn't get his number, Graham. Why is it that some of these young lads believe in their own immortality?

[Dai Rob]

You must see some real nutters mate. Last week on Beaufort rise (just above the post office) an ambulance with lights and siren going was going down the hill while a piece of excrement of a boy seemed quite upset that this ambulance wasn't giving way for him to come up the hill. This young excrement did his best to squeeze past and slowed the ambulance down to a first gear type crawl.

I don't know how you guys have got the patience mate, I'd have lobbed an oxygen cylinder out of the window at him. They just don't seem to get it do they? Perhaps other people’s lives actually mean nothing to them.

You'd like to think that you can pick and choose who you deal with but reality is you have to treat everyone!

The advantage (if it is an advantage) that the ambulance drivers have is that they can use the 'blues and twos' to get through traffic - the CFR's have to rely on our normal car lights and the good sense of the general driving public. As you have found, sadly, there are few good drivers on the road. (Having said that, some are very good!)

So, if you see a red SEAT behind you with every light I can find on, please let me through 'considerately' - you may need us one day.

[piglet]

It's not just the youngsters who are capable of driving in such a poor fashion. It seems to me that every time I go out on the road I see untold incidemts of poor driving.
If you want to learn how to deal with other irresponsible road users go get yourself trained for your motorcycle test.
Feel like one of those grumpy old men now!

[Graham]

It's not just the youngsters who are capable of driving in such a poor fashion. It seems to me that every time I go out on the road I see untold incidemts of poor driving.
If you want to learn how to deal with other irresponsible road users go get yourself trained for your motorcycle test.
Feel like one of those grumpy old men now!

I feel quite sorry for most motorcyclists. They get a raw deal from other road users and are treated as if they shouldn't be there. This is mainly because of the way so many prats behave on their bikes, giving motorbikes and their riders a bad reputation.

A mate and I were coming back from Silverstone a few years ago on the M4. Looking in my mirrors, I noticed a good distance behind me was a motorbike gaining ground. Both of us in the car were in a state of shock because this rider was using his indicators to change lanes and not cutting anyone up when doing so. A courteous biker? Very rare. He may have been doing five or 10 mph over the speed limit (we were doing about 65 and he passed us quite comfortably), but he impressed the hell out of me.

[piglet]

All motorcyclists are true gentlemen

[Beefy]

Not sure I agree with you there Gra, in several(!) years of biking doing up to 20K a year 52 weeks a year I've never really felt like I was getting a raw deal because I was a motorcyclist. I get the same deal when I'm driving the car!
Generally though I have noticed vehicles having a greater awareness of bikes. I'm not sure whether it's due to people in cars, vans, lorrys having finally come to terms with the fact that by not letting a bike through in a stationary queue of traffic doesn't actually make it quicker for them to get somewhere or what. Maybe people are using their mirrors more? Maybe I've got my headlight at just the right height to get noticed?
One thing that hasn't changed though is FAG ASH! It still gets in your eyes when it's flicked out of a vehicle window!
And as for off road bikes being ridden on road illegally, loud pipes and all that stuff...well that does give us a bad name but have you ever seen a GATSO catch one of them? I'm not against cameras but I'd like the police on the street as well.
As for doing some motorcycle training, I'd say every driver should. Get on a bike and you'll see things from a totally different perspective. You'll know how much grip different road surfaces are giving you, you'll smell the diesel and find out what colour adrenalin is! You'll expect every car to change lane when there isn't a junction or another vehicle in front of them, but it is difficult for car drivers to text, apply makeup and keep in a straight line and poor lorry drivers trying to read maps and going all over the road...get a satnav (with voice instruction, as visual clues on their own are as bad as reading that map!) You'll find that you have much better visibility on a bike and realise how stupid it is for a car to drive so close to the one in front when that's all they can see and you on the bike can see that the traffic on the M4 in front has stopped and the two cars are both going to plough into it. By seeing all this and knowing the limitations of your vehicle you'll see why in a lot of cases 30mph zones in built up areas are way too fast. Limiting your observations to watching out for unmarked cars and slamming on the brakes for the cameras is really quite dangerous. By not being cocooned inside a metal/plastic box you'll feel a little more vunerable but also more willing to make eye contact with people. This will really help let you know when someone has seen you while they wait to come out of a side junction. So you haven't got much room for lane positioning in a car? I still think you can move towards the centre line when going around a left bend to get better visibility, likewise the inside on a RH one. If you're not convinced that car in the side road has actually seen you you can always slow down and position yourself further out in the road, rather than think it'll be his fault if he pulls out the idiot.
I think someone said you can avoid 90% of accidents which would be caused by other people by being defensive.

And then there's this time of year filtering down a lane of traffic and nosing in car windows to check out the latest fashions or lack of them

Where are my keys??