Quote:
Originally Posted by OneOfOne
About 6 years ago I was in the left lane at a set of lights and just drove off normally, no planting the foot. The left lane merged with the right lane on the other side and my car was more than a length in front of the guy in the right lane...I put my indicator on and merged across. The guy behind honked the horn, flashed his lights, overtook me then cut me off. Because of the traffic behind me, I had no option but to stop. He gets out of the car and starts hurling abuse at me...by then the traffic had eased and I just drove around him and put the pedal to the metal...as best you can in a 10 year old Pajero...and left him with a perplexed look on his face. I think he was expecting an argument...I was expecting to just leave him to his own temper!
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I would agree with that Trev, let him stew.
It seems to be something that i only see here for some reasons. I have driven across the USA, from NY, to Miami, to LA and back, i have driven around Paris, London etc. and never seen this. I think the problem here is 2 fold.
Australians are spoiled !! The roads here are wider than anywhere i have ever seen, have good roadmarkings, and are well laid out, and TBH people here dont seem to know how to accomodate other peoples driving. In Europe (and especially the UK where there are more cars on the road than people in Australia) People have learned to accomodate other drivers. Myself and my partner, who was born in England, but left there are the age of 8, recently went to the UK. She hadnt been back in years, so we did a road trip, and i drove the entire length of the country, from Southern England to the Scottish Highlands, about 10 hours (i know, nothing to you guys
) she was amazed at the amount of cars on the road, on how small and skinny the road where (most of them are relics from Roman roads) but the thing that amazed her the most, was that despite the massive amount of traffic, no one tailgated, everyone kept a distance from the other car, when roads merged, there was an unnofical "1 in, 1 out" rule. At first she was scared when she seen how hectic the roads where, but then she agreed that it worked very well, despite the volume of traffic.
People here (i guess i can only speak for Canberra) are spoiled with huge, big wide open roads. When i drive home, i leave a respectable gap from the car in front, but that doesnt seem to matter here, as people see it as a gap to slide into (usually at high speed, and within very close proximity to me) so, i end up easing back, and giving me some distance incase i need to brake, and then ANOTHER car slides across. The tailgaiting that goes on here is quite frightening, but because no one here, EVER lets anyone in or out, then everyone is desperate to not lose thier place, so they stick to each other like glue, and at high speeds, and its absolute suicide, and this is the only place in the world i have ever seen it. So people dont budge, or let others in, so people tailgate, and this just aggravates the problem.
Another thing that really annoys me is this "FORM ONE LANE" what it should say is "TORA TORA TORA" because there seems to be a mad dash to get in front, with people flying up the hard shoulder to try to press some sort of advantage. i just dont get it, i really dont. Wait your turn and you will get there. Even driving through NYC was easier than Canberra, and the list is endless ...
LOL. This is the only place in the world where i have been overtaken on a roundabout, isnt that madness? its the only place in the world where i have frequently get overtaken from the left AND the right. Its the only place in the world where the cost of petrol gets set by the store owners mood that day, and that REALLY gets up my nose.
This is a fantastic place, and i love so many of the things here, the smallest coin is 5c what a great idea! saves huge whisky bottles filled with old copped coins you never use. I love the fact that my bags get packed for me when i go shopping, i love the scenery, and the cost of living, and so many things ... but i think quite alot of Aussies should be made to drive for a week somewhere else in the world, then they would appreciate the roads that they really have here, and not put other drivers at risk, through being in too much of a hurry
rant over