The standards of driving on our roads today, are nothing short of atrocious!
The first question I always ask myself: Who is teaching drivers these bad habits?
Floating around the town, on an errand that as per usual, is on behalf of someone else, I spot all kinds of drivers, with not one iota of respect for other road users.
Traffic down to a single lane as not one but four (yes 4!) had decided to park up on double yellows on one side of the road, meaning everyone having to stop and wait, from both directions.
Was there a pharmacy or other important building adjacent to their badly parked, over-priced, yearly hired, flash motors?
Nope. Nothing. Nada.
The second question I always think about: If there’s a “cost of living crisis” why isn’t this reflected in the cars on the road?
There are the scalextric cars (electric vehicles), hybrids, new diesel cars, etc. None of these are what you’d call cheap or reasonably priced.
Less than 20 years ago, I bought an almost new Ford Focus, nowt spesh, just the 5-door 1600cc, from a dealer for £8000, it had just over 8000 miles on the clock.
I wanted to buy a neighbour’s shiny Focus a few months back, that he’d kept in a garage, had regular services at dealers (a rip off in itself) and always looked after.
It was a diesel and only a 1500cc but I like Focus’ they are usually reliable and good mileage, plus when they go wrong they are normally easyish to fix.
He took off his personalised plates, back to it’s regular registration, to see it was 7 years old.
How much? I asked.
“I’ve got someone interested already, I’m only asking £10,500!”
Needless to say, I passed, on their kind offer.
Filed in the section, “Yeh right!” in my memory bank.
So if everyone, “is feeling the pinch” then why am I driving around in a 17 year-old banger, while they flash it around the place in a top of the range, wallet busting, motor?
I find myself also asking of the driver: Why no respect for others on the road?
Not only woeful parking (that we’d get a ticket for if we did it), but also…
Not indicating on roundabouts
Reversing out on to a main road
Parking on double yellows around a school
Also, stopping a flow of traffic to pick someone up around a school
Driving through a one vehicle gap, when you’ve obviously been waiting
Not acknowledging a driver whom has let them through, out or into traffic from a side road
Bombing through the lights when they clearly have just turned red on their side
Stopping on a no stopping grid (yellow diamond box) I hate this.
Are they being taught to drive by people that struggle to enforce the rules of the road?
Or are they just selfish arseholes?