Kitchen Garden Forum

Our roads round here are very hit and miss. Some have been gritted, some have not and some have been half gritted and are very slippery. This evening I have been from Whalley to Chatburn on the A59 The temperature on my car was reading -9 degrees. I was being careful and was not doing the usual speed, more like 35 to 40, when a lunatic MAN overtook driving in the thick icy snow in the middle of the road. No wonder there are accidents. He frightend the living daylights out of me as until he overtook he was right up to my bumper trying to intimidate me.

I wish people would slow down and drive more carefully in these really difficult driving conditions.

Right moan over. Sorry.

Well if it happens when you are in a narrow road that someone drives that close, then stop the car, open the boot and invite them to drive in !
Don't let them intimidate you, you were driving safely and helping to calm the traffic.

Well earlier this year I was trying to back out of our drive and we are just below a sharp bend as I got out into the middle of the road I heard someone holding their hand on the car horn. It frightened me to death, I was so cross that I drove slowley down the road but I was so cross that when I reached the t junction I stopped. He could not pass me so I got out of the car and went to his car, he only opened his window a little bit . Obviously frightened, I asked him what his problem was. He accused me of stupid driving. I told him that I was trying to get out of our drive. I was carefully backing out of my drive. I told him that he was coming round the corner too fast. I explained his problem to him and then got in my car and continued. he followed me down the road. He made sure he kept his distance. We have this problem with getting out of our drive every morning with the traffic and then at night people dont want to stop coming up the road if we are trying to going to our drive. It makes me really mad.

Hi Catherine

I do understand you being cross at being hooted at.

However if you look at the highway code regarding reversing it does say:

Ref: 201
Do not reverse from a side road into a main road. When using a driveway, reverse in and drive out if you can.

I notice in your post that you mention that your driveway is just below a sharp bend which does add to the danger - is it possible for you to reverse in to your driveway to avoid this unfortuante incident happening again?

When I was young and mini skirted I drove a mini and lorry drivers used to take great delight in biting my rear bumper to scare me.

My dad who was a lorry driver told me that if that happened to switch on my side lights so they thought I was braking suddenly - it did the trick and made them keep their distance most times but on occasion I had to pull of the road into a side road to 'get rid of them'. As they passed me they had big grins on their faces.

The most annoying thing was this happened on a section of dual carriageway that I used each day so they could easily have overtaken me if they wanted to.

glallotments. Don't suppose we have any photo's

Dear Shallot Man, you don't think you might have been one of the lorry drivers, do you.

Only this very old blurry one where my sister is working on the cleaning for me.

I'm just going to sit down for a while.

Catherine, I agree with your reaction to being overtaken like that. The A59 is a dangerous road in any case, but if the visibility was clear then maybe the guy was driving safely after all.

My similar experience was in thick fog between Charmouth and Lyme Regis one December night. The road twists and turns and oncoming headlights were blocked by the wall of fog, so there was no way of telling from the lack of light whether there was an oncoming car round the bend. But I was still being overtaken by various vehicles as I cautiously wended my way at 30, which I toiught was the right speed on a road I didn't know well. And that, of course, is how the motorway accidents happen in fog; people just haven't got the sense they need have to drive safely.

Dear glallotment, i was just curious if you still have the mini?

glallotments. Can't recall those legs, but then I have never driven in that part of the country.

I don't recall those legs either Shallot man and OH I have neither mini!

Of course, i was referring to the car.

Dear OH

You will surely be rewarding GL with a photo of you in your leathers