Road Space Is To Be Shared
Yesterday another driver prevented me from using road space, effectively pushing me into the path of oncoming vehicles. How and why did this happen? Well it occurred after a set of traffic lights where there is a left turn into a Tesco store, no turning to the right, and 2 lanes marked for traffic continuing ahead. As I approached, the lights were on red, a fairly long queue of vehicles was in the left lane, but just 3 waiting in the right-hand lane; I chose to proceed in the right. Just after the lights the road narrows into one lane, marked with arrows for right-hand lane traffic to move into the left. It was at this point, as I looked for my gap to move left, that the driver of the car behind accelerated to fill this gap, effectively putting me in danger. The reaction from the female driver and her male passenger (both middle-aged) showed they believed I had committed a traffic offense by using this space to get ahead of traffic, and they were determined I should not get ahead of them, even to the extent of causing a collision!
This is the worst type of driving! Even if my actions had been wrong, to then deliberately force another car into the path of oncoming vehicles is putting everyone around them in danger, all for the sake of ‘punishing’ another driver!
Many of you reading this will have had the same thing happen to you, and it shows the worst form of human nature, the ‘me first, my space’ culture, and it causes more traffic queues than necessary as many drivers are afraid of using the available space of the second lane for fear of being put into just such a position. The road planners put these extra lanes in place, at enormous cost to the tax payer, to relieve traffic congestion, so please do not let those who do not understand this fact put you off.
If you would like to learn how to use space safely and effectively, how to assist other drivers and keep yourself safe, then why not enrol on a refresher, or better still advanced, driving course with us? Good driving is about being considerate, aware and responsible, and driving with this in mind will lead you to becoming a safe and economical driver, ‘eco-safe’, saving you money on fuel and vehicle maintenance costs. Call us today and don’t let drivers like the one highlighted here force you to be a timid driver.
By-the-way, the correct way to deal with queues of traffic where 2 lanes merge into one, is to use the ‘zipper’ action: left vehicle proceeds, then right, then left, then right etc, just like the teeth on a zip. Everyone moves in turn and everyone remains safe!
