Bad driver gets his comeuppance

If like me, you are constantly having to take evasive action and give way when it's your right of way (both in the car and on the bike) to avoid accidents with idiots who think they're good/fast drivers when they're actually just reckless and you constantly wonder how they avoid accidents, this might make you chuckle:

I was on the M4 yesterday, eastbound between the 2 Bristol junctions. I spot the traffic "panic braking" almost a km away and make a mental note there's probably a speed trap/something there. As I get to about 500m away, I see there's something on the road on the inside 2 lanes, but can't work out what it is. I move into the outside lane and as I get to about 250m, I realise that they're breeze blocks and slow down a fair bit (anticipating that there may well be some in the outside lane that I haven't yet seen, as well as cars on the inside lane swerving violently for the outside lane, people in front braking hard etc.) I check my mirrors and an idiot in a black 206 is coming up behind me way too fast, he nearly rear ends me then proceeds to tailgate me. I slow down even more, thinking the last thing I want is for the car in front to brake hard and then for me to get rear ended by this clown when I brake. At this stage, we're about 150m away.

The idiot then (cannot believe he hadn't yet seen the breeze blocks, or thought he could undertake and get back into the outside lane in time) proceeded to undertake me about 20mph faster than I was going. He couldn't have seen the breezeblocks till he was about 50m away as he suddenly threw on and locked up his brakes (clouds of smoke) and proceeded to hit several breeze blocks against the front of his car from the looks of it. He pulled over into the hard shoulder and as I drove by I glance across and could see he was okay, no serious damage to the car even. I nearly wet myself laughing and hopefully he has learnt his lesson without hurting himself (other than his wallet) or other people.

I'm the first to admit I'll undertake when the opportunity presents itself, but I make damn sure it's safe to do so. I know I shouldn't derive so much pleasure from another's misfortune, you just knew he was the sort of knobber who constantly drives aggressively and takes stupid risks that other people have to give way to/stop for and it was nice to see him get what he was due.

I hope you indicated to hiim to Weigh Anchor

[timwilky]

TBH I would not care so much about the actics of one stupid driver as much as the driver with the insecure load who dropped the bricks

Locally I know of two car drivers killed because of fallen loads. The first was my boss when I was an apprentice. Tanking up the M6 in the pre seat belt days he hit a railway sleeper at about 11 pm. His car came to an immediate halt as the suspension/wheels were ripped out and he left through the screen with his legs trapped by the engine that had been pushed through the bulkhead.

The second was a local doctor and his wife who were following a truck with a large cable spool loaded insecurely. When it came off there must have been about 10 ton that rolled straight over thier car.

There is no excuse for insecure loads and drivers deserve the book being thrown at them when caught.

I have come close to hitting bricks on the road when at speed on the bike. You tend to look at the bend and not concentrate what is 20 ft ahead of you. When you do see these isolate bricks and have to adjust quickly you are asking for an off.

The way people drive on our motorways is terrible. It's like a Jeckle and Hyde thing, one moment they're reasonably competent, the next they're either tailgating at high speed and diving down inside lane to make 1 space, or they freeze, get in the middle lane and sit there at 60 MPH no matter what thetraffic is like to their left.

[rant] IMHO, both the nob in the 206 and the truck driver are just typical examples of the standard of driving in this country. Everybody goes on about "speed kills", when it's more like "@rseholes kill" [/rant]

Feel better now.......

.

Very valid points put forward here and I feel I must put my tuppence forward as well...



BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAH!!!!!


I wish I'd seen it. You're a VERY lucky person.

Originally Posted by Ping

Very valid points put forward here and I feel I must put my tuppence forward as well...



BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAH!!!!!


I wish I'd seen it. You're a VERY lucky person.

Yes, I usually bite my tongue and just think, "well, if they drive like that, it's a only a matter of time before another driver gives them a kicking, or they crash" etc. and leave it at that. I must admit, I'd been losing faith in this approach as I never had seen someone who deserved it get 'what they were due' in this way before. As you say, I was lucky to see it and next time I'm cut up, I'll just think back to the chap hitting the blocks and laugh to myself.

As a few people have pointed out, yes the driver of the truck was definately at fault, I had a look at the lorry (which was pulled in the hard shoulder 200m away, driver on the phone and looking pretty green ) as I passed. Completely inadequately tied down. Looked like stacks of blocks taped together using that fabric-like plastic banding that holds piles of bricks together. Looks like one block worked its way free/one tie snapped and that had a bit of a snowball effect and most of that stack of blocks ended up on the road. I'm amazed how many open back and/or top lorries aren't properly secured. I've been behind a scrap lorry before that was open top with just a net with v. big holes securing the top. Unsuprisingly, things that are small in one direction/plane (eg scaffolding) worked their way out of the holes. I've seen sandbags dropping off the back of a building supplies lorry too. This was the first time where the driver had acknowledged it and had stopped.

Originally Posted by Jelster

[rant] IMHO, both the nob in the 206 and the truck driver are just typical examples of the standard of driving in this country. Everybody goes on about "speed kills", when it's more like "@rseholes kill" [/rant]

Feel better now.......

.

Yep. What sickens me, is that if this clown had crashed into the breeze blocks at 80 rather than 60 and managed to roll his car and coofed it, it'd be cited as "proof" that 80 is lethal by the anti-speed lobby. You can guarantee speed would be recorded as the main factor, rather than "driving like a knob and p**s-poor observation to boot" which was the real issue here.

[Spiderman]

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

Yep. What sickens me, is that if this clown had crashed into the breeze blocks at 80 rather than 60 and managed to roll his car and coofed it, it'd be cited as "proof" that 80 is lethal by the anti-speed lobby. You can guarantee speed would be recorded as the main factor, rather than "driving like a knob and p**s-poor observation to boot" which was the real issue here.

Youre so right there, sadly.

Its like the old saying that "guns kill people" no they dont, its the person holding the gun that kills people. The gun just does what the user tells it to do.
Same for cars, its never about the speed alone. Its about the attitude and competance of the driver too.
But try telling that to a govt in this counrty who dont yet know how to make money out of the truth.

Almost to the letter the same thing happened to me around Dublin.
I see wierdness ahead on the dual carridge way, slow right down, some muppet in a black beemer is up my hole, I realise that the road is all iced, beemer boy doesnt get it, starts freaking out, pulls out to try and pass me, hits ice and starts sliding.

Alllll the way into the central reservation. No control whatsoever. 10 month old spanky Beemer knackered, they were ok. Lovely gf he had too. Shame he was a complete tosser.