Reacting to Bad Driving
Discussion
With so many bad drivers, or bad driving incidents, I reckon the only reason the figures aren't higher is because there are clued-up/switched on drivers avoiding them.
How do you react when something happens in front of you? Do you take a deep breath and remain in full Ogmios Zen mode, or do you give it the full horn+arms+range of expletives?
Sometimes I think there are numpties driving around who need to be told. The more people disapprove of their careless and selfish driving, the better the chances of making a difference. Most do it unopposed...
Then there are days I just want to get past the idiot in the car in front of me and get on with my day without him/her affecting my [zen] mood.
Also, when you swerve a MLH and get on with it, why do they flash their headlights? What are they trying to say? Is it morse code ffs
How do you react when something happens in front of you? Do you take a deep breath and remain in full Ogmios Zen mode, or do you give it the full horn+arms+range of expletives?
Sometimes I think there are numpties driving around who need to be told. The more people disapprove of their careless and selfish driving, the better the chances of making a difference. Most do it unopposed...
Then there are days I just want to get past the idiot in the car in front of me and get on with my day without him/her affecting my [zen] mood.
Also, when you swerve a MLH and get on with it, why do they flash their headlights? What are they trying to say? Is it morse code ffs
I always try to ignore it, but sometimes if it's something particularly outrageous I do find myself reacting.
I have discovered since my wife got one, that driving a Yaris seems to paint a virtual target on your head for the incompetents, the frustrated, and the bullies out there. I reckon I've been on the receiving end of more of all of this in the past 2 years driving this car than in my entire 30 years on the road. It really is quite incredible. People treat it with total contempt.
I have discovered since my wife got one, that driving a Yaris seems to paint a virtual target on your head for the incompetents, the frustrated, and the bullies out there. I reckon I've been on the receiving end of more of all of this in the past 2 years driving this car than in my entire 30 years on the road. It really is quite incredible. People treat it with total contempt.
Zen Mode 99% of the time, occasionally can't help reacting in some way but not with shouting, screaming, waving arms or hooting endlessly, usually just by flooring the accelerator briefly or not letting them in, but even that's rare. I used to react with more anger but realised in my 30s (which were a long time ago now... 
) that it was counterproductive, unnecessary, and that I was setting a bad example to my kids so I stopped very quickly when that responsibility landed on my shoulders.
) that it was counterproductive, unnecessary, and that I was setting a bad example to my kids so I stopped very quickly when that responsibility landed on my shoulders. Best not to, to tut and get on with your day, use the horn only as a warning and not a rebuke.
There are some utter mental cases out there, drink, drugs, knives and a desire to get into some kind of altercation, dont get into pissing competitions with nutjobs as it can end badly.
Yes, they have done something stupid/rude/ignorant but you cant educate them, or any of the 50 million or so driving license holders.
Yes its frustrating, but they will still be a throbber despite your input, and they may follow you home, start brake testing and all the other joys that can arise when a lunatic gets the red mist.
I always find it funny that someone who is obviously in a massive hurry and overtakes on chevrons, pull out with no gap or round a traffic island or whatever, will, if you object, clear their busy schedule to engage in some top level f
kwittery for ages and chase someone down, its bizarre.
Revenge is a dish best served cold, get a dash cam, dont be a DCW but if someone does do something stupid, don't press your horn for 14 hours or try to cause accidents, just send the footage to that YouTube channel.
Need to remember also that people make mistakes, people have stuff going on in their lives like breavements, illness and whatever, err on the side of tolerance.
Main thing is to get home with you and your car intact, with no pending court cases arising from interacting with a loony.
Also, need to ask yourself if you are in the wrong, I have had situations and the red mist comes on and really, when I dissect it afterwards, I could have handled it better, I am not infallible.
There are some utter mental cases out there, drink, drugs, knives and a desire to get into some kind of altercation, dont get into pissing competitions with nutjobs as it can end badly.
Yes, they have done something stupid/rude/ignorant but you cant educate them, or any of the 50 million or so driving license holders.
Yes its frustrating, but they will still be a throbber despite your input, and they may follow you home, start brake testing and all the other joys that can arise when a lunatic gets the red mist.
I always find it funny that someone who is obviously in a massive hurry and overtakes on chevrons, pull out with no gap or round a traffic island or whatever, will, if you object, clear their busy schedule to engage in some top level f
kwittery for ages and chase someone down, its bizarre.Revenge is a dish best served cold, get a dash cam, dont be a DCW but if someone does do something stupid, don't press your horn for 14 hours or try to cause accidents, just send the footage to that YouTube channel.
Need to remember also that people make mistakes, people have stuff going on in their lives like breavements, illness and whatever, err on the side of tolerance.
Main thing is to get home with you and your car intact, with no pending court cases arising from interacting with a loony.
Also, need to ask yourself if you are in the wrong, I have had situations and the red mist comes on and really, when I dissect it afterwards, I could have handled it better, I am not infallible.
Edited by J4CKO on Monday 22 April 10:31
Generally I’m fairly zen. I just drive defensively and silly mistakes I let go.
If you are being a complete idiot I will beep you or flash.
A lot of the time I do find I can predict when someone is about to do something stupid and have nearly gamified driving to try and predict these things before they happen.
As J4CKO says there is a lot of nutters out there. I know everyone likes to pretend they are the hardest man on the planet but the reality is they just aren’t. Imagine having your life ended because you stopped the car to have a go at someone about their driving. Can think of nothing sillier now than someone getting out of their car (admittedly a mistake I have made once and the other driver quickly had a reality check). I also live in Belfast where you never know who you are getting out to.
If you are being a complete idiot I will beep you or flash.
A lot of the time I do find I can predict when someone is about to do something stupid and have nearly gamified driving to try and predict these things before they happen.
As J4CKO says there is a lot of nutters out there. I know everyone likes to pretend they are the hardest man on the planet but the reality is they just aren’t. Imagine having your life ended because you stopped the car to have a go at someone about their driving. Can think of nothing sillier now than someone getting out of their car (admittedly a mistake I have made once and the other driver quickly had a reality check). I also live in Belfast where you never know who you are getting out to.
I get angry with people, but I wouldn't think of stopping to have a go at them, far too much chance of being stabbed. I don't really do much driving on busy roads, sounds like a nightmare. For all the complaining people do about delivery drivers, I really wouldn't want to be one, or anyone who has no choice but to spend a lot of time on the road.
I encountered two kids of terrible driver at the weekend. Lane hogs in Msport Transits or Pickups, L2/3 only until the final countdown marker for their junction. These are best avoided by slowing down and dropping back or getting clear of them.
The other, no particular driver profile, but very annoying. The driver who cannot maintain a constant speed. These drivers are far harder to predict, will they slow down, will the accelerate to deal with the next hazard? I don’t have a solution for these drivers, maybe rockets?
The other, no particular driver profile, but very annoying. The driver who cannot maintain a constant speed. These drivers are far harder to predict, will they slow down, will the accelerate to deal with the next hazard? I don’t have a solution for these drivers, maybe rockets?
There was a time when I would get out of the car and ‘have a chat’. That was long before the time when you were likely to get stabbed, shot or beaten to a pulp, all being videoed for distribution across social media.
These days, if you let it get to you, you’ll be damaging your own well-being. Bad drivers often wouldn’t know (or accept) that they were driving badly, so even if the whole world blows their horn or shouts at them, they probably wouldn’t understand and it won’t change their behaviour, so just treat it like the Dodgems and the fair and try and avoid hitting them or them hitting you.
These days, if you let it get to you, you’ll be damaging your own well-being. Bad drivers often wouldn’t know (or accept) that they were driving badly, so even if the whole world blows their horn or shouts at them, they probably wouldn’t understand and it won’t change their behaviour, so just treat it like the Dodgems and the fair and try and avoid hitting them or them hitting you.
J4CKO said:
Best not to, to tut and get on with your day, use the horn only as a warning and not a rebuke.
There are some utter mental cases out there, drink, drugs, knives and a desire to get into some kind of altercation, dont get into pissing competitions with nutjobs as it can end badly.
Yes, they have done something stupid/rude/ignorant but you cant educate them, or any of the 50 million or so driving license holders.
Yes its frustrating, but they will still be a throbber despite your input, and they may follow you home, start brake testing and all the other joys that can arise when a lunatic gets the red mist.
I always find it funny that someone who is obviously in a massive hurry and overtakes on chevrons, pull out with no gap or round a traffic island or whatever, will, if you object, clear their busy schedule to engage in some top level fkwittery for ages and chase someone down, its bizarre.
Revenge is a dish best served cold, get a dash cam, dont be a DCW but if someone does do something stupid, don't press your horn for 14 hours or try to cause accidents, just send the footage to that YouTube channel.
Need to remember also that people make mistakes, people have stuff going on in their lives like breavements, illness and whatever, err on the side of tolerance.
Main thing is to get home with you and your car intact, with no pending court cases arising from interacting with a loony.
Also, need to ask yourself if you are in the wrong, I have had situations and the red mist comes on and really, when I dissect it afterwards, I could have handled it better, I am not infallible.
This all day long. Nothing to be gained from kicking off but there is everything to lose. There are some utter mental cases out there, drink, drugs, knives and a desire to get into some kind of altercation, dont get into pissing competitions with nutjobs as it can end badly.
Yes, they have done something stupid/rude/ignorant but you cant educate them, or any of the 50 million or so driving license holders.
Yes its frustrating, but they will still be a throbber despite your input, and they may follow you home, start brake testing and all the other joys that can arise when a lunatic gets the red mist.
I always find it funny that someone who is obviously in a massive hurry and overtakes on chevrons, pull out with no gap or round a traffic island or whatever, will, if you object, clear their busy schedule to engage in some top level f
kwittery for ages and chase someone down, its bizarre.Revenge is a dish best served cold, get a dash cam, dont be a DCW but if someone does do something stupid, don't press your horn for 14 hours or try to cause accidents, just send the footage to that YouTube channel.
Need to remember also that people make mistakes, people have stuff going on in their lives like breavements, illness and whatever, err on the side of tolerance.
Main thing is to get home with you and your car intact, with no pending court cases arising from interacting with a loony.
Also, need to ask yourself if you are in the wrong, I have had situations and the red mist comes on and really, when I dissect it afterwards, I could have handled it better, I am not infallible.
Edited by J4CKO on Monday 22 April 10:31
I remember it and let it fester in my head for a few hours before relaying it as a tedious anecdote on a car forum. I'll make sure to let everyone know I've never had an accident and that I've been driving for many years despite it being nothing special or unique amongst my peers. Then I'll get defensive when others point out that I'm the crap driver and get into a sulk and throw out random strawman arguments.
J4CKO said:
Best not to, to tut and get on with your day, use the horn only as a warning and not a rebuke.
There are some utter mental cases out there, drink, drugs, knives and a desire to get into some kind of altercation, dont get into pissing competitions with nutjobs as it can end badly.
Yes, they have done something stupid/rude/ignorant but you cant educate them, or any of the 50 million or so driving license holders.
Yes its frustrating, but they will still be a throbber despite your input, and they may follow you home, start brake testing and all the other joys that can arise when a lunatic gets the red mist.
I always find it funny that someone who is obviously in a massive hurry and overtakes on chevrons, pull out with no gap or round a traffic island or whatever, will, if you object, clear their busy schedule to engage in some top level fkwittery for ages and chase someone down, its bizarre.
Revenge is a dish best served cold, get a dash cam, dont be a DCW but if someone does do something stupid, don't press your horn for 14 hours or try to cause accidents, just send the footage to that YouTube channel.
Need to remember also that people make mistakes, people have stuff going on in their lives like breavements, illness and whatever, err on the side of tolerance.
Main thing is to get home with you and your car intact, with no pending court cases arising from interacting with a loony.
Also, need to ask yourself if you are in the wrong, I have had situations and the red mist comes on and really, when I dissect it afterwards, I could have handled it better, I am not infallible.
This is the best response and take on the situation.There are some utter mental cases out there, drink, drugs, knives and a desire to get into some kind of altercation, dont get into pissing competitions with nutjobs as it can end badly.
Yes, they have done something stupid/rude/ignorant but you cant educate them, or any of the 50 million or so driving license holders.
Yes its frustrating, but they will still be a throbber despite your input, and they may follow you home, start brake testing and all the other joys that can arise when a lunatic gets the red mist.
I always find it funny that someone who is obviously in a massive hurry and overtakes on chevrons, pull out with no gap or round a traffic island or whatever, will, if you object, clear their busy schedule to engage in some top level f
kwittery for ages and chase someone down, its bizarre.Revenge is a dish best served cold, get a dash cam, dont be a DCW but if someone does do something stupid, don't press your horn for 14 hours or try to cause accidents, just send the footage to that YouTube channel.
Need to remember also that people make mistakes, people have stuff going on in their lives like breavements, illness and whatever, err on the side of tolerance.
Main thing is to get home with you and your car intact, with no pending court cases arising from interacting with a loony.
Also, need to ask yourself if you are in the wrong, I have had situations and the red mist comes on and really, when I dissect it afterwards, I could have handled it better, I am not infallible.
It depends.
There are generally two types of bad driver - those who lack awareness / skill and those who are deliberately driving like an idiot to seek attention because they're just arrogant morons. I'll give the first group a 'beep' if required to make them aware of a potential hazard. The second group I give absolutely nothing, I pretend they don't exist.
There are generally two types of bad driver - those who lack awareness / skill and those who are deliberately driving like an idiot to seek attention because they're just arrogant morons. I'll give the first group a 'beep' if required to make them aware of a potential hazard. The second group I give absolutely nothing, I pretend they don't exist.
My initial emotional response is irritation, but I have learned over the years that if I get into a confrontation over something, it spoils the rest of my day far more than if I shake my head and get on with things. I also have a habit (I think it's one of my few good habits) to go for my brakes and steering before I hit my horn. That means by the time I'm ready to hit the horn the timing would only mean I'm using it as a rebuke and I believe the Highway Code has something to say about that. Longer term irritations (as discussed at length in the "Insanely slow drivers" thread) I find harder to deal with, and that takes conscious effort to sit back and drive appropriately until I can safely overtake them.
I always try and drive well and courteously, but I know I make mistakes that are not typical of 90% of my driving, so who is to say the same doesn't apply to the "bad driver" in front of me. And as has already been said - you don't know what else is going on in their life. I drive mainly around the BD postcodes, so I do see a good chunk of young lads driving like complete knobs, but you get so used to that you expect it once you see a hot hatch with such a driver at the wheel. So that just washes over me now.
I'm also fortunate to drive a car I love, so if I feel myself getting wound up, I can just sit back and enjoy it. I watch Ashley Neal's YouTube channel a lot, so that helps too, as do the things I learned doing my advanced test, albeit that was 25 years ago!
Ultimately, I remember years later, with some embarrassment and shame, verbal altercations and incidents of road rage I've had over the years. I can hardly remember times I've been cut up or whatever and not reacted. That's possibly the best driving advice I passed on to my son when he passed his test.
I always try and drive well and courteously, but I know I make mistakes that are not typical of 90% of my driving, so who is to say the same doesn't apply to the "bad driver" in front of me. And as has already been said - you don't know what else is going on in their life. I drive mainly around the BD postcodes, so I do see a good chunk of young lads driving like complete knobs, but you get so used to that you expect it once you see a hot hatch with such a driver at the wheel. So that just washes over me now.
I'm also fortunate to drive a car I love, so if I feel myself getting wound up, I can just sit back and enjoy it. I watch Ashley Neal's YouTube channel a lot, so that helps too, as do the things I learned doing my advanced test, albeit that was 25 years ago!
Ultimately, I remember years later, with some embarrassment and shame, verbal altercations and incidents of road rage I've had over the years. I can hardly remember times I've been cut up or whatever and not reacted. That's possibly the best driving advice I passed on to my son when he passed his test.
I forget who said it, but I like the saying,
"Don't make someone a part of your tomorrow."
Getting into a bad situation on the road can lead to assault, a crash with injuries, or worse, death. That person who you didn't know this morning becomes a part of your tomorrow with court cases, prison etc.. It simply isn't worth it. Get home safely to your family and friends.
"Don't make someone a part of your tomorrow."
Getting into a bad situation on the road can lead to assault, a crash with injuries, or worse, death. That person who you didn't know this morning becomes a part of your tomorrow with court cases, prison etc.. It simply isn't worth it. Get home safely to your family and friends.
Edited by Stu0221 on Tuesday 23 April 12:51
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