Bad Drivers - How do you spot 'em

[Blazin]

This is my first post.

Another tribe that beckons disaster are two-wheeler riders who ride at night without any of their lights on. I live in Mumbai and I have witnessed instances on the EEH (especially north of Chembur where there are stretches without streetlights) where two-wheelers without lights sometimes overtake from the wrong side (this when I am doing 60kph and I am sure this guy would be doing 75-80). These guys are very difficult to spot in the RVMs unless you stare hard into the RVM. I just can't understand how such people don't even have survival instincts, leave alone common sense.

[RonXRi94]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Aren't there far too many in the sight nowadays???

A loser in my college has been driving since he was 9 years old. And his driving is the rashest I have seen. Cuts other cars on the highway, changes lanes without indicating, speeds over bad roads, and in general acts as an idiot on the road.
Parents are also at blame for letting their kids drive underage

[quote=muni;45836]Generally the female drivers are the reckless ones..am sure there are some exeptions..it was a generalisation as i have found most of them reckless be it cars or 2 wheelers..they are most of the times perched at the edge of the seats. trying to c the front wheels i guess [/QUOTE ]
Most female drivers drive with all mirrors in the car positioned such that they can see themselves in the mirror, so that they can check that their hair and makeup is still okay, which they do frequently instead of concentrating on the road.
Such idiots should have their licenses cancelled. It's not like we care about them, but we sure care about ourselves and our cars.

To any female reading this, I said "most" females and not all. I don't say that all females are a nuisance on the road, and I certainly don't mean to offend the sensible ones.

To any female who is reading this and drives the way mentioned above, I hope with all my heart that I managed to offend you.

[Thad E Ginathom]

To any female who is reading this and drives the way mentioned above, I hope with all my heart that I managed to offend you.

You've managed to offend me.

If we are going to do this huge-scale generalisation and stereotyping, lets take a guess at what would make the roads safer:

--- Dealing with some of the typical male behaviour?

--- Dealing with some of the typical fe-male behaviour?

Not hard to answer that one, eh? Let the offended take a long hard look at their own driving.

In other words, look at this way: seeing as how we are almost all guys here, lets put our own house in order first.

Originally Posted by Blazin

This is my first post.

Another tribe that beckons disaster are two-wheeler riders who ride at night without any of their lights on ...

And how about bicycles not even having lights? Crazy unsafe!

Welcome to active posting!

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by MaxTorque

Bikers have their own rules to follow while they are on road. I have came across bikers who keep on trying to overtake from the left when I have already turned on my left indicators.

Bad drivers / riders are people who either ride / drive their vehicle in a bad way to endanger other road users. It does not make a distinction between a biker or a 4 wheel driver or a truck driver.

Well for a change, as a biker, I always overtake from right and because of this today in heavy traffic ( Goan year end traffic) I was keeping to the right and looking for an opening to overtake a car in front and Lo, I sense something on my left.. seeing the vacant place on the road on my left, an adventurous red Maruti Swift has ventured into that space and almost nudging me out to the incoming traffic. This is a very dangerous situation as he tried claimed the whole space for himself. The vehicle in front just nudged further and I quickly managed to re- align myself in the middle of the left lane and could see the frustration of the Swift driver in my RVM. His face was saying - Yo Biker, your place is on the left corner of the road, why are you in the middle of the road, that space belongs to the 4 wheelers. So many 4 wheelers find it surprising ( irritating to some) when a biker overtakes sincerely from right side and waits patiently behind them when the left side of the road is free.

Ok that was while returning from Calangute to home at 6 in the evening. But earlier to that I had another incidence today evening. I was riding my duke 390 at Panjim towards Calangute on the Mandovi bridge. and I see one Scorpio driver in front of me suddenly use his right indicator ( apparently he did not want to go over the bridge and wanted to take a U turn) and waiting for a opening in the oncoming vehicles. simultaneously, He slowly kept turning right. I was just right behind him very close and I honked him and there was enough space to pass, I proceeded to pass him. I kept honking at the same time, just to make him aware that I am passing. But the guy was totally oblivious of my honking and kept with his right turn and his mind fixed on finding an opening in the oncoming traffic to make his turn. I managed to pass him while he kept turning right and I was continuously honking at this time ( Evening peak traffic and we were all doing very slow speeds). But what bothered me was the drivers total apathy for vehicles behind him while turning.

My question is.

1. Does putting ON the indicator gives a driver automatic authority to go ahead with his intended turn?
2. Does checking his RVM if any other vehicle is coming behind before taking the turn not the drivers responsibility ( even with the indicator switched ON) because some other driver may have already committed to his move and is at some speed
3. if a driver is going to take a right U turn in a busy traffic road, is it not his responsibility to completely stop the vehicle instead keep on inching to his right blocking all other vehicle movements?
4. Was I right in honking and slowly passing him on his right as there was still enough road space (left lane that is) for another car to pass ( I could have passed from left, but I was on the right edge of the road) when his indicator was ON?

There was no untoward incidence and I rode on, but the thought lingered, there are as many number of 4 wheel drivers who err and drive badly as you can find the 2 wheeler riders.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

.....Yo Biker, your place is on the left corner of the road, why are you in the middle of the road, that space belongs to the 4 wheelers....

With no offence to you, or any other 2 wheeler rider on this forum, I would wish to put forward my thoughts.

I think it was not justified for you, to be on the extreme right lane of the road. There are two reasons I say this -
1. A 4 wheeler's 40kmph is way higher than a 2 wheeler's 40kmph. So there is a very high probability that there is a speeding vehicle behind you, and you are driving slow in a fast lane.
2. You actually were creating waste space around you. I have faced this and hence saying. There could be 2 more bikers around you to complete the width of a car. But since you were in the middle of traffic, that fill in the gaps could not happen. So normally the car behind you would like to fill in the gap. More risky are the 4 wheelers around you. Someone could dangerously charge into your lane, thereby causing confusion for you and for the car behind you. And when you are in a peak hour traffic, trust me, no one would like another vehicle bullying into his/her lane just because the 2 wheeler ahead has some space around it.
I am just saying these from my every single day personal experiences.

My question is.
1. Does putting ON the indicator gives a driver automatic authority to go ahead with his intended turn?

No. But I would say Yes if there is a 2 wheeler trying to squeeze in the gap between the median and the 4 wheeler taking a turn.
Check out some Bangalore Traffic Police Videos on You Tube.
One of the CCTV footage clearly show a town bus taking a U-Turn, and a Scooty with a lady trying to squeeze in the gap. Result, she gets badly bruised by the bus.

2. Does checking his RVM if any other vehicle is coming behind before taking the turn not the drivers responsibility ( even with the indicator switched ON) because some other driver may have already committed to his move and is at some speed

Why would I look into the RVM again and again ? Someone following me, should follow me, isn't it ? If he/she is trying to squeeze in the gap to take a quicker U-Turn, that is his/her risk and headache. Not mine !!

3. if a driver is going to take a right U turn in a busy traffic road, is it not his responsibility to completely stop the vehicle instead keep on inching to his right blocking all other vehicle movements?

Absolutely 100% True !! I simply hate vehicles trying to bully into oncoming vehicles. I have stopped long times while taking turn into oncoming traffic, and have heard all the band baaja from the vehicles behind me

4. Was I right in honking and slowly passing him on his right as there was still enough road space (left lane that is) for another car to pass ( I could have passed from left, but I was on the right edge of the road) when his indicator was ON?

Good - You honked to make him aware, unfortunately he didn't bothered.
Good - You didn't jump to the left lane, surprising people behind you.
Bad - You did attempt a risky thing to take that quicker turn. Please be careful.

I hope I have understood the situation correctly !! If the situation was something different than what went into my brain, kindly call it out and I would re-post my post.

[MaxTorque]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

1. Does putting ON the indicator gives a driver automatic authority to go ahead with his intended turn?

Turning an indicator ON showing the driver's intention to take left/right turn not his authority. I have came across situations, where a two wheeler trying to overtake me from left while I have already started taking turn. If there was a slight timing mistake, I would have knocked him down. End of the day, the blame will go to car driver. Normally sensible drivers switch ON the indicator well in advance, so it is foolish to squeeze ourselves in available space and try to overtake from there.

Originally Posted by ashkamath

4. Was I right in honking and slowly passing him on his right as there was still enough road space (left lane that is) for another car to pass ( I could have passed from left, but I was on the right edge of the road) when his indicator was ON?

If I was in your place, I would have either waited to get clear path or continued in the left lane. Because it is risky to overtake a vehicle from right which is inching to take a U-Turn. Now regarding the inching of a vehicle to take a U-Turn, you better know our road manners. If he would have stopped the vehicle completely, no one would have allowed him to complete the U-Turn.

By the way keeping our roads safe is responsibility of all road users. I too use a two wheeler when I am alone or weather is fine.

[vb-san]

Originally Posted by RonXRi94

Most female drivers drive with all mirrors in the car positioned such that they can see themselves in the mirror, so that they can check that their hair and makeup is still okay, which they do frequently instead of concentrating on the road.
Such idiots should have their licenses cancelled. It's not like we care about them, but we sure care about ourselves and our cars.
To any female reading this, I said "most" females and not all. I don't say that all females are a nuisance on the road, and I certainly don't mean to offend the sensible ones.
To any female who is reading this and drives the way mentioned above, I hope with all my heart that I managed to offend you.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

You've managed to offend me.

I agree with Thad. This is offensive, and indeed is stereotyping at its best! We’ve female members also in the forum, and its ideal if we don’t pass clichéd sexist comments like this.

[RonXRi94]

Originally Posted by vb-san

I agree with Thad. This is offensive, and indeed is stereotyping at its best! We've female members also in the forum, and its ideal if we don't pass clichéd sexist comments like this.

Everything that's wrong, when pointed out, feels offensive. As I said, I do not intend to offend anyone who's going by the rules. As someone pointed out that female drivers are the most reckless ones, I was giving my 2 cents on the matter.

We also have people saying that bicyclists are a nuisance on the roads, turning without looking back for clearance etc. Now how is this made general? Are you saying that every bicyclist is the same? I'm a bicyclist myself, and I do not perform the same kind of stunts on the road.How come you do not stop to think that this may be offending for bicyclists, but something about females immediately alerts you? A BHPian might very well be a cyclist too.

Understand that my point was about the females who drive in the manner I stated, not every female. This was clearly stated.

But yea, I agree that guys too make mistakes in their own way, and I should have included that as well.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

I think it was not justified for you, to be on the extreme right lane of the road. There are two reasons I say this -
1. A 4 wheeler's 40kmph is way higher than a 2 wheeler's 40kmph. So there is a very high probability that there is a speeding vehicle behind you, and you are driving slow in a fast lane.
2. You actually were creating waste space around you. I have faced this and hence saying. There could be 2 more bikers around you to complete the width of a car. But since you were in the middle of traffic, that fill in the gaps could not happen. So normally the car behind you would like to fill in the gap. More risky are the 4 wheelers around you. Someone could dangerously charge into your lane, thereby causing confusion for you and for the car behind you. And when you are in a peak hour traffic, trust me, no one would like another vehicle bullying into his/her lane just because the 2 wheeler ahead has some space around it.
I am just saying these from my every single day personal experiences.

From a safety point of view you are right - but in my opinion a two wheeler has an equal right to the entire lane as a 4-wheeler. The 4 wheeler, Swift in this case, is supposed to come behind the bike and not squeeze in

Point no: 1- again from a safety point of view is right. Hope you meant it that way. But the bike is not riding slow in a fast lane - the vehicle behind is supposed to wait till the biker has overtaken and then move forward for overtaking or whatever

[Thad E Ginathom]

As a rule --- if a vehicle is turning right, no other vehicle should overtake it on the right; if it is turning left, no other vehicle should overtake it on the left. However, the turning vehicle should wait for a vehicle that is already overtaking.

In uk, I was taught to expect a bike to take the entire lane, by right. Of course, one should never squeeze the bike, just as the bike should not squeeze either.

[RonXRi94]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

1. A 4 wheeler's 40kmph is way higher than a 2 wheeler's 40kmph.

Well that's certainly news to me. As long as the speedo reads 40, both vehicles would be at more or less the same speed. Of course, there's the speedometer error percentage to calculate too, but that wouldn't make so much of a difference.

2. You actually were creating waste space around you. I have faced this and hence saying. There could be 2 more bikers around you to complete the width of a car. But since you were in the middle of traffic, that fill in the gaps could not happen. So normally the car behind you would like to fill in the gap.

I do not agree with this point of view, that a biker has to complete the width of a car. Just because you see some empty space next to a biker doesn't mean that you need to stuff your car into it.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

I hope I have understood the situation correctly !! If the situation was something different than what went into my brain, kindly call it out and I would re-post my post.

Hi Soumya, This is the pictorial rendition of the situation.
1. At the neck of the bridge where the Scorpio was about to take a turn is 4 lane which narrows down to 2 lane on the bridge.
2. There is no divider, but a white line, (Once the bridge starts it is yellow line indicating no overtaking, But not many are aware of the significance of these coloring)
3. I was well behind the Scorpio as you can see, but the fact that I was slowly moving and the opposite side traffic was full ( no way he can turn) should he not have stopped allowing vehicles behind him to pass instead of blocking the road. He blocked the traffic completely behind me for a long time till he got an opening from the other end.

and as you can see, I was not squeezing. there was space for one car to pass still at the point of time when I passed him
and then I ride a pretty fast bike, a Duke 390. Guess 0-100 Kmph in 5.6 secs and a top speed of over 170 Kmph is pretty fast for any compacts n sedans on the road ( Not that I ride that fast though)

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

As a rule --- if a vehicle is turning right, no other vehicle should overtake it on the right; if it is turning left, no other vehicle should overtake it on the left. However, the turning vehicle should wait for a vehicle that is already overtaking.

Agreed. But what if there is a very heavy traffic of oncoming vehicle and this guy can actually allow the vehicles behind him to pass by, else traffic piles up this end and we are talking of rush hour traffic. Is it justifiable for one driver to hold the whole traffic while he could easily stop and allow the vehicles to pass instead of blocking the traffic for what over 5 minutes?

I say he is not a bad driver as he used his indicator, But an indicator cannot absolve him of his responsibility to check out for a vehicle behind him as some times due to evening sunlight, one cannot see the indicator glowing, People have the habit of leaving indicator ON after the turn and drive miles and miles with an indicator ON ( I have seen many such drivers and riders), some use the Indicator at the last moment even after entering the turn and not at least some 20-30 seconds before the turn.

When I drive, I make the habit of putting on the indicator much before the turn, checking in the RVM before committing to the turn and if some one behind is already committed to overtake me, then let him pass.

Anyways this is only a mild incidence perhaps not even worth mentioning in this thread. But I felt to get the general opinion so that I can be a better driver / rider.

[mazda4life]

Came across a white xylo ( KA 01 MH 69xx) with team bhp stickers being driven very rashly on the Mysore road...got a comment from my dad about the driving style and the sticker the car was sporting. My sincere suggestion, with such precious lives in the vehicle do drive safe and a minute or two delay will not matter much.

[RonXRi94]

Originally Posted by mazda4life

Came across a white xylo ( KA 01 MH 69xx) with team bhp stickers being driven very rashly on the Mysore road...got a comment from my dad about the driving style and the sticker the car was sporting. My sincere suggestion, with such precious lives in the vehicle do drive safe and a minute or two delay will not matter much.

I feel that TBHP should only sell stickers to members. Since they are openly available to everyone, any tom, dick and harry can paste it on their cars. Such rash drivers spoil the image of the entire community by putting TBHP stickers on their cars.

But of course, this would lead to lower funds coming in. Since our mods already do a great job of maintaining our forum in an unbiased form, by refusing to accept automobile advertising money, and having to pay out of their pockets for maintenance, hosting, the domain name and whatnot, they could do with the financial support that comes from openly selling TBHP merchandise.

Great job mods, keep it up

[MaxTorque]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

Agreed. But what if there is a very heavy traffic of oncoming vehicle and this guy can actually allow the vehicles behind him to pass by, else traffic piles up this end and we are talking of rush hour traffic. Is it justifiable for one driver to hold the whole traffic while he could easily stop and allow the vehicles to pass instead of blocking the traffic for what over 5 minutes?

We should blame our authorities for this type of mess. If we need to take U-Turn, we will always look for the first median. The number of vehicle getting piled up behind our vehicle will be varying depends upon the traffic conditions. I am not sure how many of us will actually consider the vehicle piling up before we take an U-turn.

In my opinion, authorities should shift this particular median well before the entry of the bridge, so that the U-turn can be taken without vehicle piling up.