Which car are you MOST likely to see rammed up your exhaust pipe on a Motorway?

[Konan555]

Anything with 'TDi' on the back. I can't be bothered to shy away from the obvious stereotype: It's the late twenties to mid thirties ginsters munching sales rep. They used to be found in the BMW 318i, but it appears the diesel engined 'dub cars are the new road rocket. This is compounded with such balding drivers mistaking the woosh of torque at 2200rpm for Ferrariesque performance (briskoda, anyone?).

Failing that, the Merc Sprinter quite often takes up the entire rear view. That's allowed tho

[GavinS]

1. Bmw
2. Bmw
3. Bmw

[Taz]

White Van Man tailgates me quite often. I don't usually have a problem with BMWs as the majority can be despatched with ease.

[sleepyhead]

Talking about manoeuvring on the m-way, my mate on New Years day was involved in an RTA while trying to overtake on a dual carriage way (just off the roundabout). Car A was going quite slowly with Car B up it's butt, so my mate indicated, pulled out and as he was side by side with Car B, Car B decides to change lanes. No indicators...nothing.

So two choices for my mate, hit a kerb or side on with Car B. Mate chose kerb...maybe wrong choice as he somehow hit Car A.

To make matters worse, both Car A driver and Car B driver put across the view that it was my mate who was at fault being idiotic...

Only good thing was the speed was around 30 ish mph (national speed limit for the dual carriageway), so damage was not as severe as say 70+mph on the M-way.

Someone also mentioned girl racers...oh how true this is, real fad of girls in MINIs or similar to be belting it along.

I have been there whereby someone has rammed up my butt to force me over when I am clearly overtaking but equally I have been thanked once (by an audi driver) when I saw him giving it some beans in the outside lane (easily over 120+ at the rate of knots he caught me up), just moved over ASAP. Odd eh?

[MD]

hmmm I was gonna hop in here and say my bit - but i think I will just step away slowly and quietly...

I mean i drive a BMW, and its not a slow one, but I dont drive like an idiot tho - the speed limit is a bit difficult sometimes tho

[iranu]

Up my tailpipe? None, I drive a Ferrari! oh how I wish.

Beemers, Mercs and the odd Audi. Then again anything that is a repmobile.

On the subject of motorways and changing lanes/driving on the left/getting in peoples way.

M-ways are the safest roads regardless of their higher speeds simply because you don't have to do all those manoeuvres to navigate and watch out for stuff like pedestrians. If you don't lane change cos you think it's dangerous you shouldn't be on a motorway and should seek some additional driver training.

If someone comes roaring up behind you and it's safe to let them past, do so. Their accident/speeding ticket/whatever is not your problem regardless of whatever speed you are doing. I have a tendency to find that 94mph is a natural speed for me on the motorway in the best conditions. If someone wants to go faster be my guest, I've already seen you and will be looking to get out the way.

However, what does annoy me is when traffic is heavy, you're all doing the same speed eg 55/65/75 for the lanes and some prat then decides to tailgate. I've got know where to go MF! Then what you have to do is actually increase that gap between you and the car infront because you have to consider the knob-jockey behind you and his braking distance. This only makes him feel the need to intimidate you and get closer. grrr.

Whilst I'm on a rant I'll also mention bike riders. I have no problemo with you, your machine is way faster, out accelerates everything at 80mph plus. I've seen you come up behind me, I know you want to go past it's no problem. But when the traffic is in all 3 lanes why the (*** Oi .... read the rules about partially starring swearwords! ***) do you ride in my blind spot(s)? I know you are there, but I can't see you. How do you expect me to know when you want to come past so I can make a little more room for you? Inside or out I don't care just let me see you so I can see you indicate. Then you can pull out and go alongside.

[LWA]

Got to be white vans. I mean I always get cars sitting very close to me but non as consistently as white vans.

In fact I had one there about 45 minutes ago....

*shakes fist*

[nichomach]

I'd like to add the Audi Q7 to my personal hate-list, since they appear to be getting a bit ubiquitous round here, and also appear to be being driven by utter knobs. And yes, I'm seeing that grille in my mirror way too much and way too close.

[Gumby]

1. Bmw
2. Bmw
3. Bmw

4. VAG 1.9 TDI (usually A4/Passat)

[Mblaster]

I don't get it that often, but the last ones I remember were Golfs and white vans. I usually just pull over to let them through and do the exact same to them, with the addition of flashing headlights, since they're not going anywhere because there was another car right in front of me

Only really do that on older cars though, wouldn't be confident against a new/fast car cause I'm not sure I could out-break them

[IBM]

BMW's.... Normally Red ones :S

Or racing (read 'dirty') green ones I find....that and salesmen on commision driving Vectras....

I'd love to say it was Mercedes drivers ('cause I hate them) but they're traditional too shockingly poor at driving/have no peripheral vision/too utterly self absorbed to be driving in anything but the middle lane. For ever.

Anyway, people rarely get close enough to tailgate me. I see someone coming doing a fair speed more than me, I get out of the way before they get too close. And if I can't get out of the way, then I'm generally going fast enough for them not to be that fussed about being stuck behind me.

[Dreaming]

I dunno the exact model but those little 3 doors from the 90s that people have as a first car with a big exhaust / alloy wheels / sometimes a bodykit (nearly always a spoiler). They have their full beam on too (at night) and so the whole interior of your car is lit up. Quite annoying.

[Saracen]

M-ways are the safest roads regardless of their higher speeds simply because you don't have to do all those manoeuvres to navigate and watch out for stuff like pedestrians. If you don't lane change cos you think it's dangerous you shouldn't be on a motorway and should seek some additional driver training.

If someone comes roaring up behind you and it's safe to let them past, do so. Their accident/speeding ticket/whatever is not your problem regardless of whatever speed you are doing. I have a tendency to find that 94mph is a natural speed for me on the motorway in the best conditions. If someone wants to go faster be my guest, I've already seen you and will be looking to get out the way......

Or, better yet, if you don't think that changing lanes is risky, you shouldn't be on the motorway and should seek some additional driver training.

Being aware that a manoeuvre like changing lanes has an element of risk to it is fundamental to safe motorway driving. Of course, not changing lanes sometimes has risk too .... especially if some impatient berk is glued to your rear bumper.

But driving has risks, any motorway driving has risks, even getting out of bed has risks. And a friend of mine managed to break his ankle changing a light bulb ... he stepped off a chair, twisted it and pull his full weight on it. So changing a lightbulb in your own home has risks, and not just by sticking your finger in the socket.

Yes, changing lanes has risk, so you only do it when needed and when you do, you do it carefully ..... if you're a decent driver. But of course we all actually know that, and doing the necessary checks should be automatic.


I agree with the second half of the quoted bit of what you said. I'm not a traffic cop and what speed someone else wants to do isn't my problem. And, moreover, if they're in that much of a hurry, I'm safer with them in front than behind me. Generally, changing lanes has a risk, simply because it's not quite as easy to see other cars when they're behind and offset, and because you might have missed one, and because someone might have accelerated just after you took your last glance, or the impatient one behind you decides to undertake just as you pull in to let him past, and so on. The risk increases, but that's not to say it's either a huge risk or hugely increased. But nonetheless, it is generally higher than staying in your current lane. And that risk increases, obviously, the busier the road is and the faster and closer together traffic is, and the smaller the gaps between vehicles are.

Personally, I'll move out of the way of a faster car, regardless of my speed and his, provided I consider it safe and suitable to do so. In fact, a goodly percentage of the time, if you're doing 94, I'll have seen you coming and be out of the way before you get to me ..... providing I don't get myself caught in a queue of slow-moving traffic, like lorries, to do so. If I'm doing the limit in a line of traffic and there's no decent gap to move into, you'd have to slow down until I get to a suitable gap. And I assume you would ... but there's some people who think that they own the outside lane and that anyone in it going slower than they are is under a duty to get out of the way, regardless of either speed or traffic conditions.

[Skii]

BMW every time.

[dkmech]

If we are going to ask those sort of questions, here's one:

What car is the one at the traffic lights in front of you with its brake lights glaring into your face all the time? It's not a big deal if it's a short stop at the lights, but if you are stuck in a long jam at night behind one of those it can get to be quite a pain!

The answer is - Mercedes. Most of them being automatic and all.

Rant over.

[Howard]

If we are going to ask those sort of questions, here's one:

What car is the one at the traffic lights in front of you with its brake lights glaring into your face all the time? It's not a big deal if it's a short stop at the lights, but if you are stuck in a long jam at night behind one of those it can get to be quite a pain!

The answer is - Mercedes. Most of them being automatic and all.

Rant over.

Cars with a "Baby on board" sign most often

People carriers, SUVs etc. People who have a specific "mindset" about driving, that it's just a tool and they don't care about it/anyone else