Why drive in middle of road?

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

My theory being when they finally get enough money to afford the biggest, widest vehicle they can to impress the neighbours, their eyes are bad enough to be unable to see properly to drive at night . . .

Naa...SUV drivers drive in the middle of the road here in London too where theres no hedges and plenty of light!

I think the natural assumption is that the person coming the other way then needs to stop and pull onto the pavement...quite amusing to see what happens when the person coming the other way just copies them .

There should be some sort of selection test to prevent people buying vehicles that are clearly beyond their driving ability...referring to SUVs in cities here...especially ones with a full snorkel kit fitted!

 

[Erie Fred]

I had a truck coming at me pulling a large horse trailer, the woman driving it was yacking on here cell as she came over the center line.
The hell if I'm going in the ditch for her.

Our mirrors made the quietest "clink" ....she never even heard it.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Could of been a
Bunch of cyclist with no lights and in a bunch.
Or a gaggle of joggers.

 

[redlig]

When your mirrors are £40 to1k you will give the overgrown hedges trees a wide berth.
Overgrown hedges trees are the farmers, persons on whose land they grow responsibility, the councils should enforce the cutting back and if the owner does not the authorities should do i t and bill the owner.
The one cut that is no higher than a car window which seems the norm around here is also poor substitute for a proper trim.
Half the people who cut with flail mowers do not seem to understand the flails need need sharpening, I see a lot hedges beaten to death not cut

Ignoring the trivial matter of blocking the ditches .

 

[redlig]

I've heard it said ,and seen it 100 times, that it's the second vehicle that won't/can't overtake that causes the tailback as it makes it more difficult for anyone to pass.

 

[mtt.tr]

No issues with lorry's doing it as they tend to be more aware plus windscreens, mirrors are at branch level.

However the cars that do it driving far to fast paying no attention drive me potty.


Lorry is attentive and driving to road conditions, the bell on a mobile taking a pic on the hand.

 

[eddie49]

Used to be that trucks etc. would flash their LH indicator when they could see that the road ahead was clear and suggest to a following driver that it was OK to pull out and pass. Maybe none of today's car drivers can understand that, so they no longer bother to do it.

 

[Erie Fred]

Used to be that trucks etc. would flash their LH indicator when they could see that the road ahead was clear and suggest to a following driver that it was OK to pull out and pass. Maybe none of today's car drivers can understand that, so they no longer bother to do it.

I've seen allot more bumper stickers that read "Horn broke.....watch for finger" than I have I have ever seen the turn signal
"O.K. to pass" manuver.

 

[redlig]

Used to be that trucks etc. would flash their LH indicator when they could see that the road ahead was clear and suggest to a following driver that it was OK to pull out and pass. Maybe none of today's car drivers can understand that, so they no longer bother to do it.

The other reason is that they don't want to be implicated in the ensuing accident.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I've seen allot more bumper stickers that read "Horn broke.....watch for finger" than I have I have ever seen the turn signal

Thats one big difference I noticed between the UK and USA...over here nobody has bumper stickers....dunno why but it's not a thing that caught on over here.

Diving in the USA I found some of them quite entertaining

 

[Erie Fred]

Thats one big difference I noticed between the UK and USA...over here nobody has bumper stickers....dunno why but it's not a thing that caught on over here.

Diving in the USA I found some of them quite entertaining

A local college town had some real zingers 30 years ago when i worked there....

The current ones I like:
"4 out of the 5 voices in my head say Go For It !"
And
"The more people I meet, the more I like my dog"

 

[Keith 66]

Thats one big difference I noticed between the UK and USA...over here nobody has bumper stickers....dunno why but it's not a thing that caught on over here.

Diving in the USA I found some of them quite entertaining

Last year we were on holiday on the Isle of Man, A lovely place, One day we were driving along this superb mountain road & came up behind an Oil tanker lorry. It was bright yellow & written in red writing across the back of it was "Plenty in the tank Sir & Oil be seeing you!".
My wife asked me why i was smirking & i made some feeble excuse.....

 

[ajlelectronics]

Maybe none of today's car drivers can understand that, so they no longer bother to do it.

It merely means that the indicator was flashing. No other meaning should ever be assumed, when it's not a Traffic Police officer.

 

[JOEPRO]

Used to be that trucks etc. would flash their LH indicator when they could see that the road ahead was clear and suggest to a following driver that it was OK to pull out and pass. Maybe none of today's car drivers can understand that, so they no longer bother to do it.

Yes we still get that here too. A small number of lorry drivers will still extend that courtesy including on my work commute.

About once a fortnight a lorry will indicate and slow down and I pass them. I beep horn on the way past their cab as a "thank you" and they normally honk back too.

It's some of them who choose to drive in the middle of the road and let no one past.

Indeed in many parts of Ireland ALL lorries and also cars travelling below the posted speed limit WILL always pull into hard shoulder and let you pass them safely. Mostly will give you a wave too on the way past even if they dont know you at all

 

[bricol]

Used to be that trucks etc. would flash their LH indicator when they could see that the road ahead was clear and suggest to a following driver that it was OK to pull out and pass. Maybe none of today's car drivers can understand that, so they no longer bother to do it.

Never seen that. Although today, I've had more than a few HGVS trying to read my rear number plate BS number while I followed the speed limits . . . having triggered a camera van on that road a few years ago and enjoyed an 80 quid education session . . .

As a group of daft car owners abroad, the front guy would pull out to overtake, and stay out, indicator on, while they could see the road was clear, so those of the group following could overtake too - quite amusing to see as tail end charlie, the whole group pop out, overtake the non-group car infront of them, and drop back in in a nice smooth manouvre.

 

[bricol]

A local college town had some real zingers 30 years ago when i worked there....

The current ones I like:
"4 out of the 5 voices in my head say Go For It !"
And
"The more people I meet, the more I like my dog"

They seem to have migrated onto plant maintenance tool boxes - some crackers, mostly related to Biden, in a plant in Seattle I spent time in earlier in the year. Don't see so many on bumpers - mainly I guess as bumpers don't seem to be "bumpers" anymore, more an extension of the bodywork.

 

[redlig]

They seem to have migrated onto plant maintenance tool boxes - some crackers, mostly related to Biden, in a plant in Seattle I spent time in earlier in the year. Don't see so many on bumpers - mainly I guess as bumpers don't seem to be "bumpers" anymore, more an extension of the bodywork.

They were proper bumpers years ago used to shift thing and do bumper to bumper push starts not like out apologies for bumpers.

 

[Trevorleach]

Trucks are generally 8 feet wide, then add on the mirrors.
If it is a fridge vehicle then the body can be even wider, by another 4 inches Iirc.
Truck mirrors are pretty expensive, some companies make their drivers pay for damaged mirrors, I kid you not!
Quite a few drivers unbolt their mirrors rotating them 180 degrees on the mirror arm to make them narrower to save damage down tight lanes.

 

[Robotstar5]

Trucks are generally 8 feet wide, then add on the mirrors.
If it is a fridge vehicle then the body can be even wider, by another 4 inches Iirc.
Truck mirrors are pretty expensive, some companies make their drivers pay for damaged mirrors, I kid you not!
Quite a few drivers unbolt their mirrors rotating them 180 degrees on the mirror arm to make them narrower to save damage down tight lanes.

Travel West Midlands bus company would have to employ someone permanently to chase payments , when Mrs Robo worked at the Birmingham central garage they averaged 7 damaged/broken mirrors a day!

 

[qwakers]

unless there is a oncoming vehicle we are trained to keep away from the soft verge. you only need to drop half the width of the near side steer tyre onto the soft verge and it WILL drag you in, and before you know it you're on your side and making a difficult phone call, if you're lucky.

i did it once, scared the crap out of myself, got lucky and kept it on its wheels and now i drive just like the above picture.