Driving standards

[ThunderGuts]

I can only really speak for the area I live in (Greater Manchester) as it's the only area I can say I travel in frequently enough to have any decent amount of observation, but from my observation, driving standards since the pandemic have totally and utterly crashed (pun intended). People seem to have become much more selfish, more impatient and perhaps more aggressive. It's interesting isn't it, at the start of the pandemic there was this air of "help out thy neighbour" and lots of generally good feeling at a time of national crisis. Once furlough was being wound up and more people increasingly going back work as normal, this seems to have if anything swung the opposite way and put us in an even more dire place than before.

A possible contributing factor I've also heard is a lot of people who have been furloughed, WFH, or for financial reasons, haven't been driving much or at all over the first part of the pandemic. As things open up, a lot of people are returning to the roads after a long break. This combined with any new drivers who have learned to drive in a pandemic world where, at least in the first part, meant uncharacteristically quiet roads - now they're faced with a level of congestion they are struggling to deal with.

What do we think? I know plenty of others who share these observations (I will add they seem much more prominent in Manchester than they do in the countryside).
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TG.

[Diggs]

I have found myself driving in and out of Manchester quite a lot over the last few years, and I agree, the standard is getting like London. What would really worry me however is breaking down, as there seem to be groups of dodgy looking blokes on every corner on the drop down from the motorway...
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[MCN]

[ThunderGuts]

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

It's actually not how things move on the road that I have noticed the biggest change - it is how many more cars are parked on the roads now. When I first did my driving test back in 2005 there was nowhere near as many parked (and double parked) vehicles to navigate around in towns here.

I think it's down to the fact that despite cars being more expensive, they are now much more affordable thanks to PCP being thrown at any mug coming into a showroom. When I bought my first ever car (a 56 plate Ford Fiesta) that was brand-new (pre-registered - had 4 miles on the odometer) it was a bollock hair over £9,000.00 and now a poverty spec Ford Fiesta is £17,470.00 but that's only £200 a month on PCP. Working full time on minimum wage = ((£8.91 * 37.5 * 52)/12) = £1,447.88 after taxes it's £1,122.41 so anyone can afford it if they really wanted to.

Easy credit = more cars on the road but roads and streets ain't getting magically wider or parking spaces becoming more frequent. If anything, they are getting worse as new build houses have tiny gardens and single car driveways.
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[yen_powell]

I had to stand outside a school and watch the driver behaviour one morning last year. I don't think I have ever shaken my head and sighed so much in such a short time.

A zebra crossing with lollipop man is outside the main gate. There was a constant stream of cars parking on the zig zags, then the parent would leave it there and walk in to the school with their evil spawn.

One car decided he had waited long enough whilst the crossing was in use, he was second in the queue at the crossing, he just pulled out and drove around the lollipop man.

But my favourite wanker was the bloke who stopped at the zebra when the lollipop man was standing there with his sign up ands arm out. The driver turned his engine off, got out, got his son out and walked off to the school leaving his car on the give way line of the crossing. A big queue built up, lots of horn blowing till he came back out, got back in and drove off, ignoring the shouting directed at him.
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[Ste]

People are driving / riding with a bit more awareness and or caution because of the new highway code stuff?

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

I feel like it's about the same as it was 35 years ago, tbh. Quite possibly a bit more sharp-elbowed because of increased volume, but not a sh1tload worse.

What I would say though is that it feels like it varies by city. For instance, York is less aggressive than Hull. Hull can get a bit nasty, whereas York is more laid back - even when the volumes are comparable.
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[MCN]

FFS yoo peepol.

It's better than it was in the 1920s.

And 1920s was probably better than it was in theb1820s (before cars were a fad)

People keep breeding.

There has to be way to control population since mankind has successfully eradicated natural disease from his gene pool.

Even The Rona, HIV, Ebola and famine cannot hold back the expansion in numbers.

Our planet is at breaking point. We need a solution to over-population.

Heavy traffic with irrational driving behaviour is one way to combat the problem.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[blurredman]

Watch old videos of 'real' driving (not the pathe made up scenes) from various decades. Nothing changes.
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CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
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[Ribenapigeon]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

i am f***ing sick of seeing wankers on their phones - how long is it going to be until it becomes as socially unacceptable as drink driving

my guess is that before that technology will get cheaper enabling people to communicate as they drive without looking down and trying to swipe and thumb text bullsh*t to facebook or whatever the f*** they're doing

then again we're already there - as in, why can't they just bluetooth or do sometihng like that??? moronic

what's with the texting - i guess they have sh!tty contracts with limited data?? F*** knows - the frequency of it is starting to p1ss me off now though - filtering down the side of a queue, every third d!ckhead texting
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[WD Forte]

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[notabikeranym...]

Tbh I've probably contributed to poorer driving standards overall. I just passed my car test a few weeks ago and bought a CLA45 AMG and had it stage 1 mapped. It's way too much car for me but I love it. Yolo.

[Ribenapigeon]

I used to get worked up about people on their mobiles while driving but there's literally nothing you can do. It's just another hazard we have to accept is out there every time we get on a bike. Other than defensive riding my plan is if one of these distracted twits knocks me off and im starfished im going to sue them to the ends of their earning capacity for life.

[MarJay]

I think driving standards have dropped. But not observation or awareness... Machine control.

People now seem to be unable to pull away from a junction fast enough to get into a medium sized gap.

People seem to not be able to keep to their own side of the road

Generally driving just seems more erratic, almost exactly as you'd expect from someone who had not driven for 2 years but then had to get into their VW Tuareg to take little Billy to school. It's slightly terrifying, but I think it *might* sort itself out. Maybe?
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[ThunderGuts]

Unsure it'll sort itself out - I genuinely think there's been a shift in outlook in a large proportion of the population, with people being far more selfish. It's not just driving it affects, but it definitely is visible there. People seem to be more impatient than ever, but yes there is a degradation in capability too it seems.
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TG.