Newbie-employee
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Good for you. I wish more people would fight their corner/stand their ground like this.
driving offensive issue
- Thread starter flashpoint741
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flashpoint741
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I read a article about boy racers around here, the superindentent isn't a fan of them at all, as much as says he will throw the book at them. Me 28 and with a Vectra I wonder what someone might class me as? A boy racer maybe?? And I'm clearly not!!!
I'm not so certain that's as clear as you'd like to think, you mention that have relatively high power car and you are a young(ish) male:
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you are a boy racer but you need to consider the perception of others. The other driver may have felt threatened by you especially when you beeped and may have assumed you were a boy racer. Boy racers have a deserved bad reputation in general and the gardai may have made the assumption you were in this category.
So my advice would be argue / appeal if you think there is a valid dispute here however I think you should consider how you are perceived on the road and I don't think you will have such problems in future.
It is always important to be patient and drive safely and respectfully to all drivers especially when driving a car that may intimidate vulnerable drivers. The roads have a wide range of drivers and skills and some people may not be as confident and it's wise to always be cautious and aware that others may react unexpectedly. This is even more important again when you roughly fit the profile of a boy racer but don't want to tarred with same brush.
If the driver was driving slowly there may have been a reason and they may have moved out as a precaution when you tried to overtake i.e. there could have been something on the road, car pulling out etc. If this was the case would still have beeped? It's your responsibility to drive safely to the conditions and scenario in front of you.
You also said:
and this does not come across well and suggests maybe you were being aggressive. When a car behind is blinding you simply adjust your rearview mirror to night mode. If they were moving slow enough that you felt it appropriate to overtake you should have been away from the beam of their lights within a few seconds.
epicaricacy
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I would certainly contest the allegations as (mis)perceptions should not play any part in penalty points / fines being administered. 44Brendan's advice - predicated on his own personal experience - is particularly sound.
The reality is that there are some drivers on the road that expect everyone to travel at a glacial pace and who quickly become enraged when other drivers partake in perfectly legal manouevers - such as overtaking when it's safe to do so. The other driver's behaviour in the above example - pulling out in front of the OP and flashing his headlights - are the acts of a dangerous driver with little regard for the safety of other road users.
In the UK and elsewhere, slow drivers are regularly fined as their driving is correctly considered to be dangerous driving. The widespread practice of slow drivers remaining in the overtaking lane is a particular frustration on Irish roads.
The reality is that there are some drivers on the road that expect everyone to travel at a glacial pace and who quickly become enraged when other drivers partake in perfectly legal manouevers - such as overtaking when it's safe to do so. The other driver's behaviour in the above example - pulling out in front of the OP and flashing his headlights - are the acts of a dangerous driver with little regard for the safety of other road users.
In the UK and elsewhere, slow drivers are regularly fined as their driving is correctly considered to be dangerous driving. The widespread practice of slow drivers remaining in the overtaking lane is a particular frustration on Irish roads.
I agree, that (mis)perceptions should not lead to fines etc but the main point of what I'm saying above is that intelligent and responsible driving will avoid such situations arising.
I'm not advocating the other driver and I agree that if the other driver was intentionally obstructing a safe manoeuvre it is they who deserve a fine / points. But there was no mention of flashing headlights, they turned on the headlights after the overtake, maybe assuming the OP would continue on at high speed and not be affected. This may not be the case but it's a viable scenario. If the OP then braked hard in front of the car, it may have been seen as act of aggression by the OP.
Despite the blocked manoeuvre and the beeping of the horn, I think if the OP just carried on and didn't slow down in front of the car that would have been the end of it. Frustrating things happen on the road, reacting inappropriately just makes things worse for everyone.
Completely agree on the above, I regularly have to drive the N7 and the number of people who sit in the middle lane at 80kmph or less is irritating and shows either a lack of confidence or knowledge of the rules of road and I would like to see the gardai do more about it or even a media campaign to educate people about it. If more people drove in the right lanes / appropriate speeds the roads would flow much more freely.
There is no such thing as an "overtaking lane" even if press releases by An Garda Siochana famously and erroneously referred to the outer lanes(s) of multi-lane roads as such.
That is just semantics, it may not be called an overtaking lane but it should only be used when passing slower traffic in the lane to the left. See page 143 of the rules of the road and you will see what I mean.
On a 3 lane motorway, lane 1 (left most) is the normal lane for driving and should be used unless passing slower traffic. Lanes 2 and 3 should only be used when the traffic in the lanes to the left of them are moving slower. If everyone drove this way the roads would flow a lot smoother in my opinion.
The problem is as I see it is that some people sit in the lanes to the right doing slower slower speeds or when there is no traffic in the lane to the left. These drivers do not obey the 'keep left' rule.
Anyway, I don't want to take this thread too far off topic, I just wanted to clarify that although the term "overtaking lane" may not be official, it is a logical term to use.
J
Jon Snow
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What are they for, if not overtaking?!
I don't think anybody suggested that there is.
I also think Mathepac was being somewhat pedantic, which to be fair, is unlike him.
The other driver was probably a gaurd or related to one or something I would fight it all the way to court the judge will just laugh it off how can one persons word against another be sufficient ?
If it was me id just deny everything it's your word against there's it's not enough to prosecute someone.
If it was me id just deny everything it's your word against there's it's not enough to prosecute someone.
thedaddyman
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Actually it can be, quite often the judge will have to decide who is the most credible witness Bear in mind also that on this occasion, there could actually be two witnesses on the prosecution side, the driver and his wife.
Strictly speaking, this would mean there is no point in having a 3 lane motorway. You seem to imply there is 1 lane for driving, and 2 lanes for overtaking. So effectively, you are halving the carrying capacity of the motorway?
There is a big difference between "sitting in the lanes to the right doing slower speeds" and "lanes 2 and 3 should only be used when traffic in the lanes to the left of them are moving slower".
thedaddyman
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RSA have the following advice for motorway driving
Lane 1 – You should always use this lane for normal driving. Stay in this
lane unless you are overtaking.
• Lane 2 – You should only use this lane for overtaking. You must move
back to lane 1 once you have finished overtaking and it is safe to do
so. You can also move into lane 2 to allow vehicles coming from your
left to join the motorway.
• Lane 3 – You should only use this lane if traffic in lanes 1 and 2 is moving
in queues and you need to overtake or make room for merging traffic.
Again, you should move back to lane 1 as soon as it is safe to do so.
When overtaking, only move between two lanes at a time. For example, to move
from lane 1 to lane 3, first move into lane 2 and wait to move to lane 3 until it is
safe to do so.
That's right. If not overtaking then use lane 1. If there are cars in lane 1 moving slower or you are making room for merging traffic move to lane 2. When in lane 2 If there are cars moving slower in that lane then move to lane 3 to overtake. Once you have completed your overtaking move back to the lanes to the left.
I don't see how you interpreted that from my previous post. If the road has large volumes of traffic and many exits then there will be lots of cars at varied speeds so there will be cars in all lanes but when lanes are clear drivers should remain in the leftmost lane. This will result in the smoothest flow of traffic and avoid dangerous undertaking that often happens people sit in lanes 2 and 3 unnecessarily. It also makes it easier for drivers to join and leave the roads.
But they are the rules of the road, designed to keep traffic flowing safely & optimally. Adherence to the rules is in everyone's interest from a safety perspective. Only selfish drivers "know better" than the rules, making their driving habits chaotic and unpredictable and thus unsafe.
I think having every car on a busy motorway trying to gain access to lane 1 as lane2+3 can only be used temporarily can not possibly lead to safe and optimal driving. But we're going off topic here. What's in the rules of the road is more pertinent here, not what they should be.