Almost ran me off the road

I haven't done a name and shame in a while, simply due to the fact if I listed everyone who changed lanes or used an island without indicating; or who cut me off that's all this blog would turn into. However this is a little different.

I'd just done some shopping in Kidderminster and was on my way home I'd proceeded down the right-hand lane of the dual-track towards the bus-station island which as indicated multiple times during the approach is the straight to Stourport rather than the left-turn to Worcester.

I pulled up at the junction alongside another car; then pulled forward; the car next to me did the same a moment later. I started to pass the Worcester exit when that car which was still next to me, but slightly further back, starting indicating to turn right into my lane. As there was nothing behind me I expected them to slow down and pull in behind me. They didn't. They decided to try occupy the same space as me and expect me to slow down to let them in. They finally realised they were running out of room and pulled in behind me; just as they should have done in the first place.

They flashed their lights at me and I gave a non-committal wave to which I received a two fingered salute. They they tail-gated me all the way through to the dual-carriageway and then just before it switches to 70mph  pulled out and pulled alongside me; then ahead of me and then almost into me. Seriously this wasn't a case of cutting me up or not seeing me they were running parallel to me and purposefully swerved into my path; back out and then did it again.

So if you see car registration Y598 JFM being driven by some old guy treat them as a psychotic menace on the road.

Name and shame

Not an entry on the twitter feed supposedly breaking superinjunctions, but a topic I haven't visited for a  while - poor driving. The gap is not due to everyone driving well, but because if I noted every infringement of the rules I'd be writing about nothing else and hey we all make the odd mistake. However it's back due to the sustained poor driving skills I witnessed on Saturday.

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Way too fast

Not done a Name and Shame in a while so here we go. Hello to BN55 AYF Sunday morning who thought that taking the Gilgal-Mitton road at 50mph was a good idea, and who roared past me on the right as we turned the corner on the CoW corner then almost lost control of their vehicle as they moved to the left hand lane and had to come to a sudden slowdown with the traffic already in it..

Vroom

Hello P768 JAS I am sorry that I did not realise that your growling engine, burbling exhaust and Pirelli stickers entitled you to travel faster than the speed limit.

I apologise that my meagre 30mph in a 30mph zone was too slow for you necessitating a switch lanes (without indicating) roaring past me then switching lanes once again (also without indicating). I also feel your pain in that having done so you came to a grinding halt stuck in front of me in traffic for the rest of the journey through Stourport.

Perhaps to announce to others their need to remove themselves from your presence you should think about having blue lights fitted to your vehicle. I'm sure the emergency services will quite understand.

An old friend

Wow it seems an old friend really has it in for Mitton Street and Lion Hill.

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Letter to the Shuttle

Yet more roadworks

With Stourport returning to normal after the disruption caused by the work around Gilgal it's good to see that the powers that be have decided to inflict yet more pain for us in the same area. For those who missed the announcement it seems that the Stour Bridge will be closed for a week in the new year for resurfacing. Now while I have called for and agree that this area requires the work to be done some questions present themselves.

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Motorway driving

I'll start with the admission that I'm not a fan of motorway driving, according to the BBC this morning I'm not the only one.

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Someone who needs speed lessons

Travelling hopefully for the last time to Great Witley a car picked me up before Dunley. I was doing ~55mph in the 60 zone and yes he was up my arse. Dunley's a 30 so I'd slowed down and then braked when my deceleration wasn't enough. Through that and back to just under 60 and yes still on my arse. On the approach to Great Witley coming up to the S-bend I've already mentioned I see two cars following a van who are travelling slower than I. I enter the S as they leave and the idiot behind me overtakes in a roar and then has to slow down behind these three.

M397 YBV named.

Stown Hall truck

Came in again via Great Witley and joined the queue for Holt Heath! Differences between this and the queue from Shrawley however are a) shorter, and b) on the flat. Then got stuck in the standard slow-moving queue to Holt Fleet and Ombersley. That's not the point though.

Getting on to the A449 was easy, coming up parallel to the join I could see a big gap between a Land Rover-type and a Stown Hall truck. I'd slowed down slightly so was only travelling at 40mph when I joined and then sped up to 50mph (the limit); the Stown Hall truck sped-up and came right up my arse until we expanded back to two lanes when it (and the car behind it) overtook me.

It sped past myself and the Land Rover in front before being forced back into lane as the lanes shifted back to one again. Then jumped straight back out to overtake a 50mph convoy as we approached the flashing school lights. It then had to force itself between two cars in the convoy as the lane ran out again, before pulling out once again and overtaking them as it approached the sign informing us that the road ahead was narrowing on the right.

Now sure I'm not a speed limit enforcer, and that road used to be 60/70mph until it was sectioned off at every turn, but all of the vehicles weren't travelling slowly; no-one was tootling along at 30mph. So to want to travel faster was slightly off, but combine that with the knowledge that the road keeps alternating between one and two lanes and through a school warning is insane.

Sadly I failed to get the licence plate, but if Stown Hall employers are reading this - which truck of yours was on the A449 heading to Crossway Green at 8:50?

Methuselahian drivers

It's a Friday that means dropping someone off in town as I pass through. Of course there was a bus parked at the High Street stop; not that I stop there that would be against the dictates of the Highway code me not being a taxi and all; but it means that I can't stay in the left-hand lane because the bus is there. Oh sure there's a indent for the bus to park, but as mentioned it was cleverly designed and built not to accommodate buses.

Anyway as usual I park jest next to the Wheatsheaf. Cars can still get out of that junction and disabled drivers pull into the bays before me, yes I'm blocking the left-hand lane, but the number of people who are normally using it at this point can be counted on the fingers of one head; besides there's a bus in the way.

So 10 seconds later I'm trying to pull out back into the right-hand lane and a queue is backing up from the Vale Road junction; normally this is good because by the time it reaches me the traffic about to join think "What the hell" and let me out to sit at its end; not today. I watch the queue stop just past me then watch two cars pull up opposite me. Oh look there's a wonking great gap behind them gee how useful I could reverse down High Street to pull in there yeesh.

Anyway the queue moves forward and the reason for the gap becomes obvious - it's a Methuselah. Now the gap is just short enough and he's driving just fast enough for not to be able to pull out with any degree of certainty that I wouldn't cause him to alter his speed. However he's also travelling slowly enough that the gap behind him is narrowing as all the cars catch up.

So I hone up my reflexes and get ready to slip out behind him as he passes me, at which point he slows down thank you, thank you very much. I still manage to get out mainly I think because the white van behind him has worked out he's following someone who thinks 15mph is 'pushing it' and wants nothing to do with him.

So I'm stuck behind the cloth capped guy in the plaid short-sleeved shirt whose side mirror is displaying an elbow; what he can see behind him using it is anyone's guess - my roof I'm betting.

So we reach the bend and someone's trying to get out of Lickhill Road and use the right-hand lane, which of course they can't do due to the left-hand lane waiting on Vale Road (in turn waiting on the infamous Gilgal). As this is a queue I normally let them out, which I do, or try to because Methuselah has a turning circle of a mile and his rear-end is sticking out into that lane. He finally shuffles forward 5 seconds after everyone else does and they manage to get out and I join the queue.

It's backed up along Vale Road and past the Mitton Street splitter which happens occasionally. We've four vehicles trying to join Vale Road from Mitton Street who despite not wanting to use that lane are, like us, blocked by it. Oh and yes once again they have right-of way over two of those lanes.

The traffic moves forward and the car before Meth has managed to slip in and the rest of the stuck queue move forward to get into the middle lane. At which point Meth sticks his nose out into the second lane and forces his way before that traffic into the queue and leaves his rear-end stuck out again blocking them all until everything moves forward again. Please note no-body knew he was going to do this indicators being for the weak. I sadly end up behind him again.

We finally reach Gilgal and praise be a gap is about to form in the constant stream of traffic from the lights. Meth slows down in order to slip in behind it, just as I would, makes the corner and then slows down again just as I'm following him. I get out, the car behind not being as fortunate despite that there would have been enough time for him. Oh and no Meth didn't indicate here either.

Down Gilgal and past the awkwardly parked van blocking half the left-hand lane screwing everyone up. Round the corner, over the bridge and up to the island. Where Meth slows down to about 5mph in order to see what's coming. This of course doesn't work because, as mentioned elsewhere, you can't see what's coming even if you stop. As Michael George sang you have to have faith when you venture out.

Meth pulls out and causes a car on the next exit to come to a stop, because he assumed that Meth was going straight on, a safe assumption given that once again Meth isn't indicating.

Oh gods I'm still behind him. Trundling at 20mph through the 30mph; we finally hit the 50mph where we reach the giddy heights of 30mph.

[Additional - Damn it I forgot to add what he was doing along this 50mph. He would slowly drift towards the middle line, before 'waking up' and shifting a little bit quicker back to the middle before slowly drifting back out again. Repeat for the entire stretch]

Compulsory re-examination of anyone over 70? Yes please. Start with the Toyota, registration J865 DWP.

More vehicular behaviour

Last night a car pulled out of Santa Maria Way the driver with a mobile phone clamped to his left ear. Stayed that way all down Worcester Road to the island and still there when he turned left at the island, then I lost sight of him. That would be B5 DAP, a silver Mercedes; you've got a Merc get a hands-free kit.

The same night the car in front almost lost control on the bridge. He obviously realised that some pedestrians were friends of his and wanted to acknowledge their presence. The car slowed down and then jerked to the left almost running into the metal tank-busting kerbs before an arm was stuck out the window to wave. R232 W.ish? Italic font and I was more concerned with what they were doing then reading the plate.

Variable speeds

This one was from Saturday that I forgot to mention. Heading back from Kidderminster through the main streets I ended up behind a car travelling just below the speed limit of 30mph - fair enough. Up to the Railway bridge and we entered a 40mph - still travelling at around 30mph - okay maybe he missed the sign. Approaching the first set of stupidly placed traffic lights and into a national speed limit (60mph) still 30ish over and approaching the next set of lights on green and I'm about to indicate and overtake when the car behind me just pulls out and speeds past; I indicate and follow.

We both overtake several cars and hit the end together and slow down back to 30mph. Through into Gilgal and I indicate and switch lanes, the car in front just switches lanes. Through into Mitton Street and I indicate and switch lanes the car in front just switches. Then I hear a car roar and this little car speeds past the pair of us, indicates and pulls over into the other lane, then speeds down Lion Hill and indicates and pulls into the moving queue of traffic.

Yep it's the same car that we had been following before - R202 MAB. Perhaps they could explain why when travelling on low-traffic, straightish, wide rides you should travel at 30mph, but on bending, narrow, high-traffic ones speed is the best policy?

Rain

We had a spot of rain on Saturday, in fact it didn't stop and carried on through to Sunday morning. Good for the garden, but bad for the roads. Once again our roads prove unable to cope with rain. As always a river from Areley Common flowed down the entrance to Hermitage Way, as is becoming usual the left-hand lane of the newly-laid Dunley Road approaching Areley Lane was slick with surface water.

Just as the left-hand lane of the dual-carriageway heading both into and out of Stourport were so heavy with surface water that it was safer to drive on the, relatively, dry right-hand lane. With approaches to the Birchen Coppice lights being heavily puddled along the edges as to the approach into Kidderminster.

And finally again as usual the point just before the ambulance station was a pond you could have sailed model boats on.

Now of course you can fire of the standard excuse that this was extreme weather, but point one it isn't and point two this happens for everything baring a light shower. This is England, we wouldn't expect roads to melt in Australia or freeze in Canada; yet a rain turns our roads into slick danger zones.

As an addendum this isn't just roads, the rain shows up all the flaws in design at car-parks. The lowered kerbs at crossing points amass water and whoever designed the overhangs on the Crossley Retail park obviously didn't envision some the stores extending their entrances out beneath them foricing pedestrians out into the rain to either enter or walk around them.

And one last shout to Hackney Carriage No 75 overtaking me in the left-hand lane down The Ringway towards the bus station. I was doing a nip under 40mph (max speed 40mph) and he happily went past me before pulling over into the right-hand lane. Not sanguine with anyone doing that in the best of conditions, but with all that rain?

Things not to do in cars

I won't talk about the guy driving at 50mph with a mobile clamped to his ear, I'll ignore the woman eating an apple as she drove past at 30mph, nor will I mention the woman applying her makeup while moving slowly forward in a queue; nope I'll talk about kids.

Little bit of fun getting out of the drive due to a blockage, when it was gone I checked I could pull out and saw a car coming towards me so I waited. She slowed down, was she letting me out? Nope she then sped up again. As she passed me towards the bend I guessed why she'd altered her speed - she wasn't looking where she was going, she was leant over the passenger seat and looking at the back seats.

Pulling up to a junction she was now facing forward, nope around she turns again before pulling out. Now moving slowly in a minor queue a young girl stood up on the back seat and leant over the front passenger side, then sat down, then a young boy stood up in the front passenger seat and crawled over to the back seat.

Driving down High Street the car was now a few ahead of me and I could hear some kids shouting, nothing about until we all moved forward and the angle showed me that it was one of the kids from this car with the window down, head half out and having a shout.

P460 KAR, might want to teach them proper behaviour when in a vehicle

Littering

V566 DHR who thinks that the correct procedure for the disposal of a cigarette is throwing it out the window onto the car behind you. I don't get it I really don't, would such people also throw out sweet wrappers or fast food containers in the same manner?

We were all once learners

Driving last night around some minor corners with the street-lights failing to provide any illumination I noticed my speed was fluctuating due to the car in front of me slowing down and speeding up; I wondered if something was wrong and dropped back a little.

On a more major curve I discovered the 'problem' - the car in second place before me had two large L plates slapped on the back and a student? (it was dark and difficult to see at that angle) driver sign on the back. The driver in question was the one varying their speed and as such I assumed they were both new and unsure of driving in these conditions.

Now colour me crazy, but if you have someone in front of you driving like that (and for good reason) wouldn't you give them a little space, back off a bit; if not just for their own piece of mind, but for your own safety? Tell that to the car in front of me who was pretty much tailgating the poor soul all the way up the road and around corners and junction bends. V002 YFD you have been named and shamed.

That was a bit close

Hello to the young drivers of the shiny silver car on Hermitage Way, you might know me as the guy blistering paint with swearing as I approached the bend on Layamon Walk to find you coming round it at me on the wrong side of the road. Obviously your high-performance car was unable to slow down it is thus fortunate my smaller and slower vehicle was able to squeeze to my left and allow you to carry on without having to shave a couple of seconds off your trip by performing this manoeuvre yourselves. I would like to do this personally but I didn't manage to see your licence plate due to the excessive speed you were travelling at.

In the same vein I'd like to extend applause to the drivers of the vehicles in High Street who not only managed to park illegally next to the TSB, not only managed to block off half of the entrance to Parkes Passage, but did so while parking opposite two large delivery vans close to the Swan. Bravo I say, bravo. Honestly it's the bank's fault for putting a cashpoint right there without parking bays; seriously it's as if they expect people to use the bays on the other side of the road and then walk like this was the bloody Stone Age or something.

Speeding

A shout-out to the black saloon car at 17:30 coming out of Baldwin Road last night. Turned right into the Total garage and roared through there, I'm not exaggerating the noise and fast-movement are what caught my attention in the first place, he got stuck coming out into Gilgal; sat on my arse up Mitton Street and then roared past myself and the car in front of me on Lion Hill to turn into York Street.

Travelling fast? He overtook us half-way down Lion Hill and by the time we'd turned the corner he was turning into Bridge Street from York Street. By the time we got to York Street (and we were doing just under 30mph) he was on the brow of the bridge. Measuring the distances he'd have to have been travelling at approximately twice our speed, that is 60mph, through the town.

As per usual never a copper around when you want one; though saying that I bet if there was s/he wouldn't have going that fast anyway.

Car assumptions

To the person in Worcester Road, Stourport at around quarter to six last night, reg no VO04 something with U and V or Y. The person trying to get your attention last night wasn't commenting on your driving skills, but was trying to let you know your brake lights were faulty in that they were constantly illuminated. As such the hand gestures you made towards him were quite unwarranted.

For future reference if someone tries to catch your attention and isn't making obscene gestures in your direction chances are they're trying to let you know about something important.

More pedestrian action

I really am not specifically looking for this, but just this morning I came down Gilgal into Worcester Road and saw a women and child trying to cross the inflow and outflow roads of Mitton Street and Gilgal respectively. What caught my eye was that in crossing these two lanes simultaneously they'd be walking past the point of the splitter triangle at this junction; the one with the three uncontrolled crossing points that allow you to cross each lane singularly.

In other words ten feet to her left she could have crossed each lane separately and, as I've seen her before at other points on her journey, continued in exactly the same direction she would have been moving to anyway. Instead she's having to wait for both lanes to be clear then dragging her child with her across the road.

I don't get it, I honestly don't get it.