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I'm a bloke.
Hardwired into my brain is a goal driven motivation system. I can't help it, that's how blokes are. Give us a target to achieve and we're happy, even if the target is pretty much impossible, we'll still be happy to have a crack at it.
Take shoe shopping as an example. I need a new pair of shoes, I go to the shoe shop, see what's on offer and buy a pair of shoes then leave. I don't then go for a stroll down the street, browsing in other shop windows. I don't wander up the road to the estate agent to see how house prices are holding in the area and I don't pop into Next to have a look if they've got any nice shirts... I just buy the shoes I went to get and leave.
Yesterday I wanted to buy some paving slabs. Now I don't mind that the local B&Q doesn't stock paving slabs whereas the larger, slightly further away B&Q Warehouse does. I didn't mind that they were out of stock as there's a Wickes around the corner from them. I still didn't mind that they too had none of the slabs I wanted as there's a Homebase right next door. And even when I found they didn't stock the right slabs I still wasn't bothered as there's a Jewsons just ten minutes up the road.
But what I really DID mind was the complete arse in front of me on the main road who decided to do the whole five mile drive along a national speed limit road at just 35mph.
Because of this sod's dawdling, Jewsons, who close at midday on Saturday, were just locking up as I arrived. And to add to the irritation, I could see a juicy great pile of the very slabs I wanted, right there by the doors. I would've been in and out in less than three minutes... but because of a git in a silver Aygo, my weekend plan to extend the patio was now scuppered.
This annoys me hugely. I can understand and also utterly agree with sticking to speed limits though I'll admit to being no saint and frequently speeding on the motorway. But in built up areas I'm Mr Super Law Abiding citizen and I NEVER speed... I just couldn't live with myself if I ran over someone's kid because I wanted to get somewhere 30 seconds sooner.
But people that don’t drive anywhere near the speed limit wind me up something bloody rotten.
Yes, I know that some cars aren’t as capable as others and have smaller engines or might be older and less powerful and all that, but my transport is hardly what you’d call ‘quick’ in that a 1.9DiD engine is never going to win Le Mans… And I’m not talking about leaving a nice big number eleven on the road at every set of lights… No, I’m talking about just doing something approximating the speed limit where it’s perfectly safe to do so.
Last weekend it was unseasonably, for the UK, warm and sunny. Perfect driving conditions. The roads were dry and warm, so grip shouldn’t be an issue. The sun was high in the sky, so glare wasn’t a problem either. So why was I sitting behind a driver doing 30 mph on a clearly sign posted, straight stretch of road?
And it’s not just me being lead footed. Behind me there was a queue of at least fifteen cars, most of whom decided the best way to go faster was tailgate each other. And that was when Mr. Pootle-along-driver started to get dangerous because everyone behind him started to get impatient, me included.
But I’m not impatient enough to risk overtaking on a stretch of road that has several hidden dips and a bunch of randomly placed central bollards… unlike the three cars that screamed past the pair of us, one of which went the wrong side of a keep left bollard. Now of course this was wrong. And yes, if I had to stand up at the inquest into that driver’s death, I could hardly argue that the driver who had just planted his Saxo into the front of an oncoming lorry was doing the right thing, but I would have to say that the accident was caused by the driver of the Aygo because he was going too slowly.
You see, in the highway code it very clearly states that you should be aware and considerate of other road users. I’m way past getting annoyed about people forgetting about the bit that says when you pull out onto a road you must do so in a manner that does not cause other drivers to have to change direction or speed, (lorry drivers love going for a gap that their cab will fit into, neatly forgetting about the 40 feet of articulated trailer behind them).
But I am getting more and more irate about drivers who, whilst perhaps not oblivious of other drivers, choose to just ignore them instead.
A chap I used to work with was once 30 minutes late for work. He had decided, for a giggle, to drive the three mile stretch of national speed limit road to work at a sedate 30 mph. He boasted about the impressive queue he built up behind him. But why was he 30 minutes late? Because a police patrol, sitting in a lay-by on the road saw what was going on and, once they could pull out through the queue of cars, caught up with him and pulled him over. He got let off with a warning about driving with due care and attention for intentionally disrupting traffic.
Which brings me to another thing; In London there’s a congestion charge and I hear talk of them trialling it in Nottingham too. Which means that the authorities are taking active measures to try and keep our roads free and smoothly running. If that’s the case, I suggest more speed cameras… lots more speed cameras… but with a twist.
These are minimum speed cameras, turned on only after rush hour and at weekends. Do less than 45 past one of them in a sixty limit and you get a fine. Either that or fit a set of trailing ramps to the roof of the car… ‘cos if we can’t go around you at least we can over the bloody top.
Originally Posted by Dareos
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. When I used to undertake the odd long journey in my mum's 2CV I was frequently to be found 8-10 metres behind an HGV. At 60 on an open road a 2CV needs at least 3/4 throttle. In the slipstream it needs about 1/4
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. I might have to cough up enough to get a Citroen with an HDi engine, and then chip it. Alternatively, I could just get my bloody bike fixed
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), most are just going that slowly because they're cautious. 