I am furious !!!!!!!!!!!

[Tyke]

About 9:15 am today close to the entrance to Dunbeath Castle on the A9, my wife came close to meeting her maker. She was driving Northwards towards Dunbeath on the on the wiggly bends, a large truck was travelling south, nothing unusual in that. But a vehicle driven by some sort of demented idiot was overtaking the truck on a blind bend!.
Paula thought she was going to die! She carried out an emergency stop and slide her car into the ditch to get out of the way. neither the driver of the car or truck stopped to she if she was ok.What the hell is wrong with people these days, whoever the driver of the car was you nearly slaughtered my wife, as it is you owe her 3 new tryes and a new wheel which is damaged.But I want far more than that, I WANT THE DRIVER OF THE OFFENDING CAR.I want to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and then hand you over to the Police. I AM FURIOUS.

Please if you saw what happened this morning or one of your trucks would have been on the road in the area of Dunbeath about this time and couldhelp with information please get in touch.

That stretch of road is bad for near misses and in the time that I have lived in Caithness I have had to take evasive action in exactly the same circumstances.

Now, enough is enough. I am a man on a mission and every body that knows me knows I will do everything in my power to bring this risky and sometimes deadly practice to an end.Would any of our newly elected Councillors like to join me?

[tennents]

Omg am so sorry to hear this, i hope your wife will be ok, Is there not any Camera's at this area that if you did go to the police they might be able to find out who done it?

[Tyke]

No cameras at this point.

Police have been informed. Double white lines at this point.

[Tinkerbell09]

I have also had the same experience as your wife! Just on a different stretch of road and it being 2 busses! By the time my car came to a hault after my emergancy stop, there must have been a hair between us!! And what's worse... a police car right behind me and done nothing, kept on driving in my direction!! I was a bit shaken (as i'm still learning) So I pulled in and stopped for a breath of fresh air. Some people just arn't ment to be on the road!!

Hope your wife is ok Tyke x

[Tyke]

I have also had the same experience as your wife! Just on a different stretch of road and it being 2 busses! By the time my car came to a hault after my emergancy stop, there must have been a hair between us!! And what's worse... a police car right behind me and done nothing, kept on driving in my direction!! I was a bit shaken (as i'm still learning) So I pulled in and stopped for a breath of fresh air. Some people just arn't ment to be on the road!!

Hope your wife is ok Tyke x

As an ex Police Officer I can't condone any Police Officer witnessing something of that nature and not acting on it,
I only hope that they took a note of either the company name or reg no. and had a serious word at a later date.
Me I would have put the driver and bus off the road and done the neccessary.

[Tinkerbell09]

As an ex Police Officer I can't condone any Police Officer witnessing something of that nature and not acting on it,
I only hope that they took a note of either the company name or reg no. and had a serious word at a later date.
Me I would have put the driver and bus off the road and done the neccessary.

I seriously hope they have done something!! What a fright I got!! Glad to see there is still some good people out there!! :)

[changilass]

Glad to hear Paula is ok. Poor lass must still be seriously shaken though.
Hope the plonkers get what they deserve.

[Gronnuck]

What an awful thing to happen! Dashboard cameras could be the answer; they’re used in many countries. Perhaps a local entrepreneur could set up a system where trippers could hire a dashboard camera for their trip to and from Inverness. The evidence gathered could be passed on to the police and once word gets around that people are using cameras the offenders just might be a bit more considerate.

[bluemafia]

I drive up and down this road and others, but it seems to me that there are a lot of people willing to take other drivers lives into their own hands! A lot of drivers are in too much of a hurry to worry about others. Why can't they leave earlier and take their time without putting other people in danger

[pmcd]

Sadly, road traffic is subject to some really strange rules. We allow people of limited co-ordination and indeed intelligence to pass a test which entitles them to ignore, for ever after, the protocols they had to observe in order to pass, and let them loose with their own half-remembered version of how to drive. Add to that the mood music of macho behaviour, hormonal variations, red mists, road rage, pride in owning a specific piece of nice tin and chrome, the desire to compete in terms of speed at any cost, and you've got a recipe for the kind of daily disasters we see on our roads.

I don't drive, but I understand that a lot of people do, and must. As a pedestrian, often standing at a bus stop (I won't bore you with tales of being splashed by tidal waves of surface water, or flinching at the occasional 90mph slipstream of a boy racer or juggernaut), I get to see the body language and the quickest glimpse of the faces of people who don't drive so well. Monobrowed stubbornness, jaw set, staring eyes straight ahead, body hunched as if to squeeze the last bit of power out of the beast, occasionally a quick "I'm better than YOU are" glance out of the window. Or the cleverclogs who can keep a fag going while using a mobile and somehow keep control on the A9 (not a user-friendly road) as long as nothing unexpected happens.

There are plenty of courteous and intelligent drivers (excluding the one who ran over my cat on Monday evening), but it only takes a few congenital idiots with an IQ lower than a snake's bum to upset, cripple, or even slaughter their fellow human beings.

Name, shame, blame and defame could be a very good answer. All male transgressors should be made to drive a pink Reliant Robin for at least 10 years. All female transgressors should be forced to drive a bubble car for a similar period.

Or, we might introduce the concept of a GCE "A" Level Driving & Road Awareness examination, which would sort out the brain-dead with basic co-ordination skills from the aware, intelligent and defensive driver......

Or, we pedestrians can continue to do our best to keep out of your way, and let Darwin prevail on the roads........

[back of beyond]

that was the same spot that relance the prison service over took 3 cars 1 lorry and a tractor with a long trailor that i was driving only to meet my wifie with 3 kids in car going north and only for wifies actions and bloody good brakes that nothing happend !!!! i noted the truck co and 1 other witness came forward all was reported to ee police and when it went to court a week early due to change of plee all he go was 3points and £150 !!!!!!!!!!!!! pmcd ,,,,, leave reliant robins out of it !!!!! end off !!!!! paula i hope ye are ok speek soon

[Tyke]

that was the same spot that relance the prison service over took 3 cars 1 lorry and a tractor with a long trailor that i was driving only to meet my wifie with 3 kids in car going north and only for wifies actions and bloody good brakes that nothing happend !!!! i noted the truck co and 1 other witness came forward all was reported to ee police and when it went to court a week early due to change of plee all he go was 3points and £150 !!!!!!!!!!!!! pmcd ,,,,, leave reliant robins out of it !!!!! end off !!!!! paula i hope ye are ok speek soon

It appears from everyone that I have spoken to so far that yours and my wife's incident are not isolated near misses.

I have been forced off the road twice between where we live and Dunbeath in exactly the same circumstances. Lucky I am a Police trained driver and I don't panic in situations like that. Your wife reacted really well and you had your day in court. Although it wasn't a satisfactory outcome.

[Yon Chiel]

Surely bad driving in the county can't still be happening - after all we've had several "cruises" which was meant to eradicate this type of behaviour.

And of course we shouldn't get hot under the collar over this either, as the prevailing attitude amongst the populace is that this was probably just someone "letting off steam".

Welcome to an average day on the roads here.

[Tyke]

Surely bad driving in the county can't still be happening - after all we've had several "cruises" which was meant to eradicate this type of behaviour.

And of course we shouldn't get hot under the collar over this either, as the prevailing attitude amongst the populace is that this was probably just someone "letting off steam".

Welcome to an average day on the roads here.


I appreciate sarcasm as much as anybody and if I wasn't so angry over all of this I would have had a little chuckle, just a small one.

[cptdodger]

I appreciate sarcasm as much as anybody and if I wasn't so angry over all of this I would have had a little chuckle, just a small one.

The thing is, it's not really sarcasm is it, Tyke? Surely you, as an ex Police Officer can see for yourself how bad drivers are here, and I am not talking about the incident your wife had, I am talking in general. And Yon Chiel is right, I have seen it time and time again on here, exactly what he said " just someone letting off steam". That is, until somebody dies - then it gets real. And again, Yon Chiel is right, no amount of driving slowly around Caithness is going to eradicate this behaviour, as your wife just about found out to her cost. Sarcasm? no, it seems that it is just acceptable behaviour here.

[Tyke]

The thing is, it's not really sarcasm is it, Tyke? Surely you, as an ex Police Officer can see for yourself how bad drivers are here, and I am not talking about the incident your wife had, I am talking in general. And Yon Chiel is right, I have seen it time and time again on here, exactly what he said " just someone letting off steam". That is, until somebody dies - then it gets real. And again, Yon Chiel is right, no amount of driving slowly around Caithness is going to eradicate this behaviour, as your wife just about found out to her cost. Sarcasm? no, it seems that it is just acceptable behaviour here.

I have no problem with somebody letting off steam, been known to have done it myself. I don't care all that much that there are people driving in Caithness wth little or no knowledge of what is acceptable driving behaviour. I don't want people to drive everywhere at 20 MPH wrapped in foam rubber.

I want to stop the insanity that makes people overtake on a blind bend, oblivious to oncoming traffic. It is one of the most reckless manouvres that anyone could do in or on a motor vehicle.

On the stretch of road in question it is painted with double white solid lines - no overtaking. Yet people continue to do so putting innocent lives at risk. This isn't letting off steam.

I am still looking for the person resposible for yesterdays incident and Paula and I were both at the roadside this morning hoping that the driver would pass by, also we are still looking for witnesses to this incident. Paula tells me that there was a lot of traffic about at the time. Somebody must have seen something.

[squidge]

It happens all over the place - It happened to me on the A82 just coming out of Fort William with a big rocky bit at my side of the road so I had nowhere to go. this Audi TT missed me by a whisker and i mean a whisker.... I had to pull over and wait for the strength to come back into my arms. I wet my pants it scared me so bad. And see travelling up and down the A9 in the summer is like taking your life in your hands.

[newweecroft]

Yon cheil may have been making a tongue in cheek referance to a poster on the lybster speeding thread who condones speeding by saying "they are only letting of steam" and "it doesn't hurt anyone". Which in my opinion are two of the most ridiculous comments I have ever read on this board or any other.As I know the OP all I can say is thank god the outcome was such a good one.Imagine if it was winter, evasive action may not have been possible/enough.

[oldmarine]

As an ex Police Officer I can't condone any Police Officer witnessing something of that nature and not acting on it,
I only hope that they took a note of either the company name or reg no. and had a serious word at a later date.
Me I would have put the driver and bus off the road and done the neccessary.

Tyke: You are the type of police officer that I like to read. It would be a good thing if that idiot driver was put off the road. The truck driver should have been more sensitive to the situation and stop to give assistance to your wife.

[Tyke]

Could the person who phoned me the other evening on your return form holiday please contact me again.

I need to verify some the information you gave me, your mobile keeps going the answer service.

[Tyke]

Thanks to the power of the Org. GOTCHA.

[Gronnuck]

Whey-hay great stuff - now let justice be done and your costs recovered.

[badger]

Let's hope that instead of the usual pathetic punishment handed out for once they get the book thrown at them. I've never understand all the "mitigating circumstances" that seem to appear when dangerous drivers are in court, like they need to drive for their work. What's that got to do with it? If they need it they should drive safely. Half the time they get a small fine, a few points on their licence, so it's not taken seriously. Take their cars away, ban them for 10 years and then make them re-take the test.

There seems to be an assumption that breaking the law is OK when you're behind the wheel. Even otherwise law abiding citizens regularly exceed speed limits and I get pitying looks because I won't. It's illegal [evil] . What's the hurry? Where's the fire? As for overtaking on double lines - what do they think they are for?