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Andrew C
10-Sep-07, 11:39
Hi folks,

I've had many a chuckle to myself in the last few weeks of arriving in Caithness at the driving. I love the way people just come at you!

When you're driving along the road and there are parked cars on your side of the road, you're supposed to stop and let oncoming traffic go. If there are cars parked on the other side of the road and there is traffic coming towards you, you have right of way. When there are cars parked on both side, its the car with the first space to pop into that gives way I suppose.

The great thing is when you have right of way and so proceed, but someone else decides 'I'm going to go anyway' and then give you dirty looks because they're driving when they're not supposed to. :)

Perhaps we can pass some driving etiquette around :)

Happy Driving

Andrew C

alistair harper
10-Sep-07, 11:42
Hi folks,

I've had many a chuckle to myself in the last few weeks of arriving in Caithness at the driving. I love the way people just come at you!

When you're driving along the road and there are parked cars on your side of the road, you're supposed to stop and let oncoming traffic go. If there are cars parked on the other side of the road and there is traffic coming towards you, you have right of way. When there are cars parked on both side, its the car with the first space to pop into that gives way I suppose.

The great thing is when you have right of way and so proceed, but someone else decides 'I'm going to go anyway' and then give you dirty looks because they're driving when they're not supposed to. :)

Perhaps we can pass some driving etiquette around :)

Happy Driving

Andrew C

Perhaps we can pass some driving etiquette around
good luck with that up here its every man and women for themselves

BRIE
10-Sep-07, 11:45
i had a scary experience not long ago. driving on Thrumster straight a car decided to overtake in the on coming traffic obviously didnt check to see if there was anything coming!! forcing me to do an emergency stop, nearly breaking my babies neck in the process & the guy gave me the finger!![evil]
so if your the owner of the turquoise citreon berlingo I suggest you go back & resit your test before you kill someone!

Andrew C
10-Sep-07, 11:47
Perhaps we can pass some driving etiquette around
good luck with that up here its every man and women for themselves

I'd noticed lol :)

Thumper
10-Sep-07, 11:47
That would be in Wick you are talking about?SOME drivers there have a law unto themselves.I remember being there one day and was waiting at the traffic lights when they turned green this woman who was parked on the yellow lines with her big shiny jeep tried to pull out onfront of me and nearly took the whole side out of my car!Then she rolled down her window and screamed abuse at me for not letting her go infront of me!(she was at my back passenger door alongside me so I would have had to reverse to allow that to happen!)I simply stated to her that if she hadn't perked illegally she wouldn't have a problem then getting out of said "parking space".I really hate inconsiderate drivers [evil] x

Andrew C
10-Sep-07, 11:52
That would be in Wick you are talking about?SOME drivers there have a law unto themselves.I remember being there one day and was waiting at the traffic lights when they turned green this woman who was parked on the yellow lines with her big shiny jeep tried to pull out onfront of me and nearly took the whole side out of my car!Then she rolled down her window and screamed abuse at me for not letting her go infront of me!(she was at my back passenger door alongside me so I would have had to reverse to allow that to happen!)I simply stated to her that if she hadn't perked illegally she wouldn't have a problem then getting out of said "parking space".I really hate inconsiderate drivers [evil] x

We have similar fun with the wee bit of land between our house and the water works bit in Victoria Street. I generally park just by the fence at the river, next to the back entrance to our garden. Sometimes I go out and people have parked beside me...thats fine....but they've also parked all the way along in a row behind making it impossible to get out!

Still....I like looking at the river and I'm never really in a rush to get anywhere!! :)

corgiman
10-Sep-07, 11:54
It's the weekend drivers I hate, That said I had to laugh at the wife the other day as a car pulled out in front of us and her foot stamped down in the passenger side like she was trying to brake:lol: she doesn't even drive :lol:

BRIE
10-Sep-07, 12:19
their not just on the roads either. I was in tescos a while ago driving trying to find a parking space when a woman decided to reverse out of one without looking! I knew there was no way i could get out of the way in time so did the womanly thing & closed my eyes!!:lol: luckily I got passed before she hit me but on looking back their she was screaming abuse at me!! even my 10 year old asked why she was shouting when it was her mistake!
I think I must be a magnet for these idiots!!:lol:

JammyDodger69
10-Sep-07, 12:25
Some people just seem to get a chip on their shoulders when the get behind the wheel, I know I've made mistakes while driving I'm not perfect and usually when someone does something that I think was just a moment lapse in concentration then I usually let it slide, but when it's just showing or being stupid then its a different story.

I remember one time at the light in thurso at the square someone came racing down behind me and locked his wheels up and slid to a stop behind me, you'll know who you are and I hope the police didnt go too easy on you. It's things like that that get to me. But the dirty look thing when it's clearly not your fault that really gets on my nerves. I think people just need to chill out a bit when behind the wheel.

johno
10-Sep-07, 12:29
Had a close one myself last Friday about noon, I was going down Union St from the Bridge end when i met a car with a trailer just outside Ebeneezers bar coming up the one way street the wrong way. he put me into the kerb & he carried on oblivious to the fact of what he had done, i think?. Well anyway buddy if your reading this you left me with a badly scraped front passenger alloy wheel thats gonna cost me about £40-£50 to repair. Still i suppose it could ,v been much worse.
likely this guy came out of the sawmill & just went up the street without thinking. Now im wondering why the roads dept dont put repeat warning signs at the mill or slightly further up the road. Ive even seen vehicles come up from Sainsbury,s to to the Post Office.:eek:

Thumper
10-Sep-07, 12:53
Yup Brie I know how you feel about being a magnet for these idiots lol...seems to me most of them have cars that have "seen better days" makes you wonder if they have had a lot of "close shaves"! I don't profess to be the best driver in the area but I just get really annoyed when you see people doing really stupid things [evil] mind you my Mum could be one of those...she drives in the middle of roundabouts!When I asked her what she was doing one day when I was in the car with her she said...."I stay in the middle bit cos that way I can't be in the wrong lane!" I REALLY think its time for her to give up driving :D x

Ash
10-Sep-07, 13:05
where i live is a one way street, the amount of idiots that go up it the wrong way is unreal!


there is a huge sign

neepnipper
10-Sep-07, 13:28
I've noticed at the retail park loads of people go straight on when you're meant to turn in and go left and around the car park that way, there is a whopping great big 'No Entry' sign but people just seem oblivious to it.

angela5
10-Sep-07, 13:34
I've noticed at the retail park loads of people go straight on when you're meant to turn in and go left and around the car park that way, there is a whopping great big 'No Entry' sign but people just seem oblivious to it.

Yeah, those are the 'lazy' ones that try and get parked right outside the shop door. They rush up there like it's a life/death matter.:roll:

saxovtr
10-Sep-07, 13:42
some obviously dont know what a 30mph speed limit sign is for,the white peugeot 106 that went through watten next time you drive like that ill pick up the phone,and this was a middle aged woman no boyracer!!

Julia
10-Sep-07, 14:17
That would be in Wick you are talking about? SOME drivers there have a law unto themselves.

As does the rest of Caithness! It's not just Wickers who are guilty of bad driving.

We only have a couple of piddly roundabouts here but the amount of folk who have no idea how to use one is unbelievable, I get fed up giving right of way for the driver just to stare blankly at me, even after waving them on they still don't move! I think they should paint simple instructions on the road, or put a four-sided signpost up in the middle!

My pet hate tho' has to be the drivers who stop along side of each other to have a chat, blocking the whole road.

selkie
10-Sep-07, 14:19
What gets me is the number of drivers who don't give way at the zebra crossing at the Co-op. A few adults have said to me they won't use it as they have had too many frights. I don't think it's usual to have a sign " Drivers must give way at crossing" It could only be Caithness.

neepnipper
10-Sep-07, 14:55
I think Caithness must be one of the easiest places to pass your driving test, no duel carriageways or big roundabouts and not much traffic, I dread to think what some of the drivers up here are like when they go to Inverness or other larger towns and cities.

Thumper
10-Sep-07, 16:02
To be fair julia yes you have a point BUt Wick is by far the worst place for people parking in the street blocking the way for drivers.It really annoys me, I am quite happy if they have a disabled badge then they have the right to park right outside Graham Beggs toyshop or whereever but most of the time it is just lazy people who can't be bothered parking in carparks x

jambo
10-Sep-07, 18:03
Well on my way to Inverness today and was overtaken at great speed, and without any thought for the other traffic, by one of our local councillors. He was driving a green vectra, and I would have thought he would have had more thought for other motorists.

And what was even worse, was that on our journey home, he sped past us at great speed again, dodging other traffic as he went.

With all the speeding accidents, and the calls for drivers to slow down I would have thought that the local councillors would be trying to set an example to others.

poppett
11-Sep-07, 08:58
My other half has struggled to come to terms with Caithness time and Caithness driving etiquette. The rules being drive to wherever you want to be and stop regardless of if there is a space to park......the folk who took the trouble to find a space won`t be in any hurry to leave and will wait for your return. Always keep the drivers wheel on the white line and dodge back to the left hand side when something is almost on top of you.

Having said that when we lived in Edinburgh I would tear my hair out at roundabouts where folk sat in the left hand lane regardless of where they were turning off as "They would be turning left eventually anyway". I was even more horrified when I enquired of a driving instructor why they did this and was quoted the above.

Wherever you go there are local driving issues, there used to be a bit in Inverness on Young street where the locals let right turning traffic go against the lights to ease traffic flow.....pretty dangerous practice for strangers I might add.

Happy motoring.

In Sutherland they have the right idea, the sheep have right of way! Find that in the highway code if you can!

nikki
11-Sep-07, 13:48
We live along a single track road and one day my sister was driving me down to the village, when along came this big, shiny Rangerover or something, straight past the lay-by and stopped infront of my sister, motioning for her to go up on the verge to get past him. Now my sister is a stuborn person at the best of times, but at this point I think she was about 5/6 months pregnant, so she just sat there in her little escort and stared at him until he reversed the 5m or so to the lay-by. Took him about 3 mins though to realise she wasn't going to move.

canuck
11-Sep-07, 15:47
Three years ago I learned to drive in the UK making my way around the streets and roadways of Caithness. I have now moved on to the complicated paths of Edinburgh. I did my first "wrong side of the road" yesterday. And it just happened to be in front of a police car! But all was sorted quickly.

For me, driving in Caithness is peacefulness.

johno
11-Sep-07, 15:51
i dont think that caithness drivers are any worse than anywhere else in the uk, if you wish to see really bad driver,s i dare you to drive in Malta.

Angela
11-Sep-07, 15:59
There are bad drivers everywhere - I think a lot depends on where you're used to driving and how well you know the roads.

I found the winding country roads of Fife quite scary after driving mainly in the city or on motorways.... and the local folk all seemed to drive far too FAST:eek: ...but I know other people find the complete opposite. :confused

freyalass
11-Sep-07, 18:05
I was driving back from Perth the other day and coming round a bend at the Embo turn I was confronted by an OAP reversing up the road because he needed to turn to Embo and had probably missed the turning!! My husband enquired why I hadn't "tooted" him (not his actual words! :-)) However my only concern had been trying to brake safely and in time, but also being prepared to take evasive action if the car didn't stop reversing. Finding the horn was the last thing on my mind!

Thumper
11-Sep-07, 18:10
freyalass that MUST be a hotspot for idiots...I was driving down to dornoch a few weeks ago and came round the same bend only to find a volvo slap bang in the middle of the road!I lost half my tyre tread trying to stop and i didn't get out but only because IF I had I would have been done for manslaughter as I was so mad and very shaken by the whole incident even now I can't belive some idiot would stop halfway across the road whislt turning down to embo :evil: x

mccaugm
11-Sep-07, 20:03
As does the rest of Caithness! It's not just Wickers who are guilty of bad driving.

We only have a couple of piddly roundabouts here but the amount of folk who have no idea how to use one is unbelievable,

Being from Ross-Shire where we have roundabouts instead of corners... most folk are used to them. I moved up here and have discovered that roundabouts are to be driven across and not around....great tactic.:confused:confused:confused

JimH
11-Sep-07, 21:00
Hi folks,

I've had many a chuckle to myself in the last few weeks of arriving in Caithness at the driving. I love the way people just come at you!

When you're driving along the road and there are parked cars on your side of the road, you're supposed to stop and let oncoming traffic go. If there are cars parked on the other side of the road and there is traffic coming towards you, you have right of way. When there are cars parked on both side, its the car with the first space to pop into that gives way I suppose.

The great thing is when you have right of way and so proceed, but someone else decides 'I'm going to go anyway' and then give you dirty looks because they're driving when they're not supposed to. :)

Perhaps we can pass some driving etiquette around :)

Happy Driving

Andrew C

There is many a casualty said "I had right of way".
In Caithness - you don't use the roads - you share them with whatever or whoever happens to be there at the same time.

bluelady
11-Sep-07, 21:44
Well on my way to Inverness today and was overtaken at great speed, and without any thought for the other traffic, by one of our local councillors. He was driving a green vectra, and I would have thought he would have had more thought for other motorists.

And what was even worse, was that on our journey home, he sped past us at great speed again, dodging other traffic as he went.

With all the speeding accidents, and the calls for drivers to slow down I would have thought that the local councillors would be trying to set an example to others.

simalar incident, when me and Mr B were driving back from Strathy the other week, we were stopped at the traffic lights on the roadworks. From behind came a truck that overtook all the cars stopped at the red light, and went speeding through the light and was doing about 40 - 50 along e road marked at 30 mph, to protect e construction workers.Should he have been setting an example? - you bet, on the back of the truck was clearly marked - Motorway maintainance. Why was he in such a hurry, goodness knows but further down the road,we saw e same truck parked outside e pub !

wifie
11-Sep-07, 23:49
I think Caithness must be one of the easiest places to pass your driving test, no duel carriageways or big roundabouts and not much traffic, I dread to think what some of the drivers up here are like when they go to Inverness or other larger towns and cities.
Great Freudian slip neepnipper - Caithness seems to be full of DUEL carriageways!

JAWS
12-Sep-07, 02:35
Compared with many places I have driven Caithness drivers make it a pleasure to drive. I feel far safer in Caithness, both as a driver and as a pedestrian, than I ever have in any city or large town.

Billy Boy
12-Sep-07, 07:47
some obviously dont know what a 30mph speed limit sign is for,the white peugeot 106 that went through watten next time you drive like that ill pick up the phone,and this was a middle aged woman no boyracer!!

I found the exact opposite person yesterday, i am sure he thought the speed limit out of town was 30mph and just to round it off he was brakeing on every corner :eek:

northener
12-Sep-07, 17:31
Caithness driving? Sooo easy!

We have more people up here who don't understand the rules of the road and certainly more people who shouldn't be on the road but overall it's pretty easy.

There's very little aggression or malice up here and that's what makes it better for driving.

Half of the muppets you all have commented on wouldn't last two minutes in a busy town, but if you look, you'll notice that the really ignorant ones tend to be the older drivers not those pesky 'kids today' - they just tend to be too fast and silly for their own good.
The real problem causers are those who seem to think the rules don't apply to them and in my experience, it's always the older drivers who fall into this category.