Scottish Elises

I know bad driving has been reported here before.....but really I shake my heid in disbelief this morning. The road in question is the Westhill dualcarriageway all the way into Aberdeen (Queens Rd).

Its a rare day for me to take the car to work - I have to pay for parking which is also difficult to come by, and as I live near the train station I can make the whole commute in under 1 hour door to door (including a 20min walk which makes me feel more justified for eating pies at the weekend).

Anyway, I have a couple of things on today, so I figured I would take the Evora.

All was going well from Inverurie until I got to the outskirts of Westhill where the dual carriageway starts. It appears to be common practice for all commuters entering the dual carriageway to immediately get into the right hand (or overtaking) lane due to the fact that 6 miles down the road the right hand lane filters into Aberdeen. This leaves the inside lane relatively free of traffic, but unusable from the "you were undertaking" police.......

As I was getting closer to Aberdeen I came across said right hand lane hogger, travelling at 40mph (when the limit was 50). After holding me up for a few minutes we entered the 30mph zone at Hazlehead where the guy in question continued to travel on at 40mph leaving me in his dust. I flashed my lights a couple of times (I probably shouldnt) and eventually his tail lights slammed on (probably wondering what I was flashing at). When I arrived at the Hazlehead roundabout he was still there. Anyone who knows the roundabout will testify that as you enter it there are 2 very distinct lanes (left hand lane for turning left or straight ahead, right hand lane for going straight ahead or turning right). Again, convention at this roundabout would appear to be to ignore the left hand lane. I entered the left hand lane and found myself sitting next to the same guy from earlier. we both left the roundabout at the same time, both going straight ahead and - WHOAH - he cut straight across me almost taking out the whole front third of the car.....

A brief toot of the horn and flashing of lights ensued, plus alot of obsentities from inside the cockpit of the Evora. When we got to the next set of traffic lights the guy was sitting shaking his head, full of hand gestures to signify that I was mental and he was completely right about everything in the world. Only when I signalled back to him that he "sort of cut me up" did he quieten down.

REALLY?? - what in the name is going on? - what could I have possibly done wrong? - and I will not be taking the Lotus into the centre of Aberdeen again.

Life's too short, don't let it spoil your day.

Anthony,

It's the same on the dual carriageway heading back out from the Kingswells roundabout to the Westhill roundabout. They sit on the outside lane all the way out even when the inside lane is clear.

I just try and ignore it now, as it was only making me annoyed every time.

It's just laziness because they don't want to change lanes twice.

Whats worse in my book, is when they carry on driving at 40mph straight through Elrick, when its clearly signposted as a 30mph. Then they stay at 40mph upon passing the national speed limit sign.

My 2p

Steve.

Try not to let other ruin your enjoyment of your car.

If i did that I'm not sure what I'd be driving by now, and there's always the outside lane of the M8 in rush hour if you really want depressed about the muppets on the road, or the uphill section going East on Edinburgh bypass - why does a hill suddenly mean no-one can drive?????????

Get it back out there, watch out for muppets, and keep clear of them.

everyday occurance

One of the most enjoyable things about cycling to work is being away from this type of driving environment. Also don't need to worry about getting a speeding ticket and scamera vans. As soon as I need to take the car to work I feel pressure.

Scotty C wrote:everyday occurance

I get this kind of thing everday - to and from work.

Best just to ignore it

I had a muppet pull right out in front of me yesterday at a Shell Garage in Polbeth, West Lothian. I was in the S3 and almost level with the entry to the services when he pulled out from the exit in his Q5 causing me to almost come to a stop. A quick show of appreciation for his skills on the horn and then I was stuck behind him for next mile as he proceeded to drive at 25 in a 40

I'm beginning to get hacked off with the number of cars on standard 2 lane roundabouts turning right from the left lane and turning left from the right lane.
It really isn't difficult!

Aberdeen does seem particularly bad. Getting into the right hand lane if you're going to be turning right at some point in the next 10 miles seems to be the norm. I guess that's preferable to turning right from the left lane and vice versa though.... Top tip I got a while ago is assume everyone else on the road's an idiot and adjust your driving accordingly.

Same commute for me every day. Kintore to Queens road. Never had any bother, so I must be part of the problem

neil wrote:. Top tip I got a while ago is assume everyone else on the road's an idiot and adjust your driving accordingly.

I'd agree, whenever I see poor (read dangerous, inconsiderate .............[insert whichever adjective suits]) driving I usually just back off, try not to get annoyed and say to myself "just give them plenty of room to kill themselves".

Ali

vet111s wrote:

neil wrote:. Top tip I got a while ago is assume everyone else on the road's an idiot and adjust your driving accordingly.

I'd agree, whenever I see poor (read dangerous, inconsiderate .............[insert whichever adjective suits]) driving I usually just back off, try not to get annoyed and say to myself "just give them plenty of room to kill themselves".

Ali

Since taking up motorcycling, my driving has changed considerably, with exactly that view in mind. On a bike, fender benders hurt a lot more than your insurance...

Please dont take this the wrong way, but as a neutral reader here, it sounds like you were all het up......why flash your lights at someone doing 40mph in a 30mph zone? You have no control over that.

You then went to a roundabout that has two filters into one, and you know the road, so why put yourself anywhere near someone that you already identified as an idiot by hogging the rh lane and by speeding. If you had let him "filter" then all would have been fine and you would have carried on merrily.

Just my observation, i know you might not like it. Lifes too short and there are too many people out there completely unaware of whats going on or worse are quite willing to have an accident that you really have to drive super defensive and stay out of their way.