Sunday, 14 April 2019
Defensive driving
We are on holiday in Norfolk at the moment. Pleasant but chilly. On the way here we drove past Sandringham so I was particularly keyed up and alert in case Prince Philip darted out of some obscure side road. Fortunately there was no sign of him so we count that as a good start.
Speaking of which I'm reminded of a recent family conversation about defensive driving and what appears to be a greater need for it. The problem seems to be an increased level of inattention rather than excessive speed or aggression. As mentioned in the previous post, it's the distractions in modern cars. We often see it when following another vehicle - the driver is obviously distracted by something.
Only this morning we were strolling back from a leisurely breakfast when a car blithely drove out from a side road onto the main road right in front of another car. No accident, just casual inattention where fortunately the other driver was paying attention. As if more responsibility has fallen into the hands of defensive drivers.
In the recent past Mrs H has mentioned the erratic driving of young women who seem to have too many things on what we traditionally call their "minds". Parking at strange angles with one wheel on the pavement or lurching off without taking a quick gander at oncoming traffic. Manoeuvre, mirror, signal seems to be a common approach.
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4 comments:
I wouldn't be at all surprised if the standard of driving needed to pass the test has declined. If it hadn't, it would be just about the only thing in the country which had maintained standards.
As much as anything the penalty for careless driving or even being caught for the same has been reduced to almost nil, if I can drive 300 miles in this country, as I have more than a few times and not see one patrol car, the chances are I could be 'careless' for the whole distance and not be apprehended.
The only time you see police in action on the roads is 'after' an accident.
Part of the problem, is that modern cars just seem so secure these days, that all the bells and whistles almost do the job of driving for you!
The other part is that cretinous morons get behind the wheel in the first place!
Sam - it's as if the test and/or the testers do not or cannot test general carelessness.
Wiggia - it's as if the police are less interested in motoring offences which cannot be picked up easily in large numbers. As if it is a numbers game - must be at least a certain number per hour or we don't bother.
Scrobs - yes modern cars do feel safe and partly in charge of what is going on, but as you say there is another problem with morons.
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