~ ~ As a taxi driver here in Dublin I probably see more bad driving than most.
On a daily basis I see other drivers doing the daftest of things on the road, and one of the commonest offences is simply failing to maintain proper lane discipline. (The other is tailgating, but that’s another ... Read review
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...simply failing to maintain proper lane discipline. (The other is tailgating, but that’s another opinion)
~ ~ I suppose that chopping and changing lanes in traffic is symptomatic of the hectic pace of modern living. Nowadays, everyone seems to be in such a dreadful hurry, whatever it is they are doing. Rush, rush, rush. Whether anything actually gets done any more quickly is another question. You know the old saying; more hurry, ... ...is using the right-had turn lane for it’s legitimate purpose. (To turn right!)
~ ~ It’s not only at traffic lights that you see drivers chopping and changing lanes. Whatever lane you happen to be driving in, you can be sure that someone will take a fancy to the spot directly in front of you, because of some silly (and usually misguided) notion that your lane is progressing at a faster rate of knots.
This constant ... more
~ ~ As a taxi driver here in Dublin I probably see more bad driving than most. On a daily basis I see other drivers doing the daftest of things on the road, and one of the commonest offences is simply failing to maintain proper lane discipline. (The other is tailgating, but that’s another opinion)
~ ~ I suppose that chopping and changing lanes in traffic is symptomatic of the hectic pace of modern living. Nowadays, everyone seems to be in such a dreadful hurry, whatever it is they are doing. Rush, rush, rush. Whether anything actually gets done any more quickly is another question. You know the old saying; more hurry, less speed.
~ ~ Never has this old saying rang more true than on today’s over congested highways. Every day of life I get “cut up” by some driver or another. They tear up beside me at the traffic lights, take up position in the right-hand turn lane, and sit there like David Coultard at the start of a Grand Prix, revving their engine furiously as they wait impatiently for the lights to turn green. Then they do their ‘Meatloaf’ impression, (Like A Bat Out Of Hell) and rip off at a massive rate of knots, their tyres squealing like stuck pigs in protest. It rarely seems to do them much good, mind you, as invariably I am alongside them again at the very next set of lights, or when their headlong rush is halted by the almost inevitable traffic jam! Sometimes they get their comeuppance, and are left stranded like beached whales when they are caught behind someone who is using the right-had turn lane for it’s legitimate purpose. (To turn right!)
~ ~ It’s not only at traffic lights that you see drivers chopping and changing lanes. Whatever lane you happen to be driving in, you can be sure that someone will take a fancy to the spot directly in front of you, because of some silly (and usually misguided) notion that your lane is progressing at a faster rate of knots. This constant lane changing is one of the major causes of traffic congestion in our cities. (my opinion) In itself, a single incident of someone jumping lanes, and the resultant delay to traffic that it causes is not particularly significant. But when you multiply the small delay it causes by the literally thousands of time sit happens each day, then you begin to realise what a huge knock-on effect it has.
~ ~ A lot of this lane changing could be avoided if drivers would only think ahead a bit more.Many times people find themselves in the wrong lane to make a turn simply because they have been driving along in a little dream world of their own, and then suddenly realise that they are in the totally wrong position on the road to make the right/left hand manoeuvre they desire. Personally, I am always thinking ahead when I’m driving, and ensure that I don’t get caught out in this manner, by making sure I’m in the correct lane WELL ahead of the turn I want to make.
~ ~ Another major cause of traffic jams is driver’s almost total disregard for “yellow box” junctions.It’s only common sense that you don’t wilfully block a yellow box, either at traffic lights or at a major junction. They are there to facilitate the free flow of traffic, but to see the way a lot of drivers simply ignore them, you would sometimes think they were additional parking spaces.The rule is simple. You DON’T enter a yellow box unless and until your exit is completely clear, to ensure that you don’t cause a blockage of traffic coming in the other direction.Time and time again, huge delays are caused by drivers blatant disregard for this basic rule of the road.Apart from the illegal aspect of their behaviour, it’s simply bloody minded, and extremely bad manners. If I were in charge of dishing out “penalty points” for traffic infringements, then this offence would warrant three points on your licence, and a six-month disqualification on a second conviction. (That might help concentrate the mind a wee bit!)
~ ~ Roundabouts are another spot where you will see drivers causing havoc by being in the wrong lane.In this case, the errant behaviour is often caused by sheer ignorance of what lane they should actually be in, in order to exit the roundabout at the exit they require.In reality, the rules are simple enough.If you are taking the first left hand exit, then you take up position in the left hand lane. When you are taking the last exit of the roundabout, (you have to go nearly all the way around it) then you should be in the far right hand lane. Indicate right, and stay in this lane until you pass the exit immediately before the one you want to take. Then begin to indicate your turn, and move over into position. If taking an intermediate exit, you take up position in the APPROPRIATE lane. (it could be the middle lane if there are 3 lanes, or the right hand lane if there are only 2 lanes) Once again, you stay in this lane until you pass the exit immediately before the one you are turning into, and then indicate your intention to turn and move into position. Being in the wrong lane at a roundabout is actually a lot more dangerous than sinning at a yellow box junction. How many times do you see minor (or sometimes major!) shunts caused by some idiot who simply doesn’t know their Highway Code cutting directly across two or more lanes of traffic to try to get to the exit they want? More times than I care to recall!
~ ~ Then we come to motorways.We have a ring road around Dublin called the M50. (A bit like the M25 in London, but on a smaller scale) I use this road on a daily basis, as I often work the airport in my taxi, and it has exits for nearly all the major suburbs, which keeps me away from the lunatic asylum that passes for city centre traffic in Dublin city. Often it resembles the Indianapolis Speedway, with cars jockeying for position in the different lanes, and weaving in and out of the dense traffic at a colossal rate of knots. Again, most of the chaos is caused by sheer bloody-minded ignorance and a totally cavalier attitude towards the rules of the road adopted by many drivers. In order to save a few precious minutes (or even seconds, to be even more accurate) they are prepared to jeopardise not only their own lives but the lives of everyone else around them. What amazes me is that there aren’t more serious accidents on the motorways, but I suppose people have simply come to accept and expect crazy behaviour now, and are more prepared for it when it happens.
~ ~ Last, but not least, I wish to talk about bus lanes. Or as we call them here in Dublin, “Quebecs”. (Quality Bus Corridors) Here in Ireland the bus lanes are for the use of buses and PSV vehicles (taxis) only. The last time I looked, private cars didn’t come equipped with roof signs, and therefore have no right to use a bus lane. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t ALWAYS a taxi driver, and can fully appreciate the frustration of a private motorist when they are stuck in a huge tailback of traffic, and have to sit and watch taxis and buses zipping past them in a practically empty bus lane. But the bus corridors have been put in place in order to facilitate the free movement of public transport around our cities, and not only is it illegal for a private motorist to use them, it is also selfish in the extreme.It’s cocking a snoot at all their fellow drivers, and delaying the travelling public who DON’T have the advantage of owning a private car to ferry themselves about the place. I’m glad to say that in future here in Dublin anyone caught at this practice will now incur two penalty points on their driving licence, and not simply a paltry (€65) fine as in the past.
~ ~ OK. That’s it. The mad cabbie’s wee rant about lane discipline. (Or rather, the lack of it!)Let’s be having your feelings on the topic in the comment box.
Advantages: Good lane discipline leads to less accidents and enjoyable journeys Disadvantages: Death, anger and stress are all caused by bad lane discipline
...driving in the far left lane that they will be classed as slow drivers, hence the massive column of traffic in the middle lane, even when the left hand lane is completley empty, this then causes the other motorists that need to overtake them into the far right lane, completley making the need for a third lane unnecessary, as now we only have traffic in two lanes again!!!
I however have learnt that sitting in the left hand lane (like what you are ... ...used the correct method of lane usage and overtaking, sometimes I just stayed in the left hand lane even when there was a queue of traffic sat in the middle lane for no apparent reason.
I know that this is classed as inside overtaking and is illegal, but the look on peoples faces as I drove at 70mph past them on thier right was sheer delight to me, they were getting annoyed at me, but I didnt care, had they been in the correct lane in the first ...
Martin.rowley 18.06.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lane Discipline
Advantages: Getting from A to B alive Disadvantages: Not many people do it.
When I were a lad, lane discipline was what the sad old bag dished out down the lane at the back of the gassworks to our headmaster . . . Oh, sorry, I thought this was Friends Reunited for a minute.
Lane Discipline. I read an op about this yesterday and found myself brimming with ire, so here goes.
Trying to Mate
***************
I travel on the A14 a lot. This is a long dual carriageway off the M1 into Cambridgeshire. The average traffic speed ... ...cars moving in the outside lane that is travelling at 60-70mph. To me, that is no big deal and I try to pass safely, I don't get angry on the road as a rule (only afterwards) and I don't cut people up. Now, there is a class of driver who sees it as their right to drive at 100mph everywhere, and anyone who is in their way just has to get out. The fact that there may be cars on the inside lane seems immaterial. They park on your bumper at 80, flash ...
Saturn 30.11.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lane Discipline
Advantages: Makes my life easy Disadvantages: I'm gona fall of my bike laughing one of these days!
...drivers point and how frustrating lane hoggers are, on some occasions when I get up sufficiently early or the weather is bad I sometimes drive most of the time wishing I had taken the bike to work instead.
The motorway is highly entertaining, I basically get a lane to my self, I know from car driving experience that at 8:30 in the morning the right hand lane travels at 70-80 mph with sudden braking down to 40-50 every mile or so. The middle lane ... ...pop into the left hand lane it’s empty……. Well not completely, maybe a lorry every 2 to 3 hundred meters but other than that nothing??????
Well, being the type of guy I am I hate wasting space and of course with cars so close together you could say the right and middle lanes are queing. Under this condition it is legal to undertake. So off I go into the slow lane and cruze to work with a piece of motorway all to my self at a speed ...
andrewj100 29.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lane Discipline
Advantages: correct lane use leads to safer journeys Disadvantages: none
...I do use the correct lane of the motorway!
I used to make the 120 mile round trip to see my finance (now husband) every weekend (or thereabouts) a journey that took me exactly half way round the M25 every weekend - twice! Clockwise or anti-clockwise it made no difference. At the time I drove a white metro, old and rusty but it was still capable of going round the motorway at a pretty even 70 mph. Without fail, every weekend I would find myself trapped ... ...sit tight in the second lane behind them or do I go into the slow lane and undertake?
Overtaking
No - one I would be breaking the speed limit and I couldn't possibly do that (!) and two it is just not safe in my car. My grandfather left me with an invaluable tip for avoiding trouble - always have at least 10mph extra speed in reserve you never know when you might need it.... as my metro struggles at 70mph pushing it to 80 just to overtake in asking ...
CareBear 09.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lane Discipline
Advantages: see opinion Disadvantages: see opinion
...should use the left hand lane on a multiple carriageway roads (dual carriageway, motorways ect.). These lanes are termed as, from left to right Lanes 1-2-3… so on, not left, centre, right. What does all this have to do with lane discipline? Not much, just to set the context because I feel the major problem with lane discipline is attitude, and time (or the perception of time) just like the rabbit in Alice Through the Looking Glass “I’m ... ...they only use the outside lane and get upset when slower vehicles get in the way.
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LANE DISCIPLINE
~~ The ‘lane hog’ The driver (male & female) on the motorway who stays in the same lane (normally the middle) even though, for miles ahead nothing in lane 1, they will not move over. Have you, asked the question? Why not? Remember back to when you first went out all alone, by ...
123wizard 30.12.2001 (31.12.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Lane Discipline
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Advantages: Very few Disadvantages: Makes those that observe the speed limit think they are safe drivers, restricts safe progress
'tailgating'. Tailgating is stupidity: driving without sufficient stopping distance is a cause of accidents. However, anyone being tailgated has to ask themselves 'why am I being tailgated?' The answer is 'because you are in the way', cure: move over to the inside lane. Learn about proper and safe lanediscipline, don't block those driving faster, use your mirrors, look over your shoulder before moving out and keep out of the way.
Having said all this, I am not in favour of increasing the motorway speed limit until further mandatory training is introduced. 70 mph is too fast for someone not capable of controlling a car at high speed. I'll continue to take my chances with the law at 100mph+ speeds when the road conditions allow. I'll also continue to wonder in amazement at the morons doing 70mph when the conditions do not allow.
Meanwhile ...
