Cutting corners

[strange6]

Another thing that gets up my goat on the roads is the cutting of corners on even the mildest of bends by most drivers on the road. How often have you come across another driver coming into your half of the road (i.e going over the centre road markings into your half) when thay are negotiating a bend? I have seen several head-on crashes because of this. If you can't judge spatial awareness properly, you shouldn't have a driving licence as far as I'm concerned!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Agreed.

I live in an elongated crescent, right up near the elbow of it, and I reckon that I'm the only person who ever drives on the correct side of the road when going anti-clockwise round the elbow, which is sufficiently sharp that it's a double blind corner.

Not surprisingly I never drive clockwise round this road...

 

[O L Leigh]

It is particularly dangerous for bikers too. When cornering there are times when you want to get out towards the centre line so that you can see further around the bend and be more easily seen by oncoming traffic. To suddenly be confronted by some buffoon in a Range Rover (or whatever) straddling the centre line is a scary moment.

O L Leigh

 

[strange6]

It is particularly dangerous for bikers too. When cornering there are times when you want to get out towards the centre line so that you can see further around the bend and be more easily seen by oncoming traffic. To suddenly be confronted by some buffoon in a Range Rover (or whatever) straddling the centre line is a scary moment.

O L Leigh

Yeah, the advanced driving training courses often encourage you to do that for greater cornering visibility. I always make sure that the position of my car is well away from the centre line of a bend when I'm driving - it is, after all, not a racing track as most people seem to think it is. However, I do believe that most people who do this annoying and dangerous manouevre are really not aware that they're doing it and/or how dangerous it is. Even more reason to make advanced driving all the more compulsory in my book.

 

[90019]

I find this annoying as well as it being dangerous on corners where the view is restricted or you cannot see what is coming for whatever reasin, however, when you can see clearly that there is nothing coming the other way, I don't really have much of an issue with it.

 

[strange6]

I find this annoying as well as it being dangerous on corners where the view is restricted or you cannot see what is coming for whatever reasin, however, when you can see clearly that there is nothing coming the other way, I don't really have much of an issue with it.

I do when you're trying to avoid a bloody pothole on yourside of the road!

 

[90019]

I do when you're trying to avoid a bloody pothole on yourside of the road!

What's that got to do with what I said?

 

[ChrisCooper]

Another annoying one is when approaching a T junction to turn right from the minor road onto the major road and someone turning right into the minor road cuts the corner. I do it myself sometimes, but only after making sure the minor road is clear. Same with cutting corners or swinging a bit wide normally, fine is the road is clear, but not if something is coming the other way.

Of cource whilst it's bad for bikes, bikers can be bad for doing it too. I imagine most aren't proper bikers though but middle aged men who take out their high powered bike on a weekend, probably without even having a CBT.

 

[O L Leigh]

Of cource whilst it's bad for bikes, bikers can be bad for doing it too. I imagine most aren't proper bikers though but middle aged men who take out their high powered bike on a weekend, probably without even having a CBT.

Yes they can, but it's not just the numpties. Advanced instructors teach it as a skill to aid vision and visibility. After all, provided it is clear to do so and there is enough space to get back across if something comes the other way there is no reason why you shouldn't cross the white line. There's a group of riders I sometimes ride with who do that quite a bit, although I feel uncomfortable doing it myself.

But the difference here is knowing when it's safe to do something like that. An advanced rider/driver will be scanning the road quite a long way ahead and will know and appreciate when the road is clear and when the view of oncoming traffic is limited and will modify their riding/driving accordingly. It's the numpties that just swing across without any understanding of the risks that pose a danger to themselves and everyone else.

O L Leigh

 

[strange6]

What's that got to do with what I said?

It has everything to do with what you have said if the pothole is on my side of the road and to my left and I need to get near to the centre of the road to avoid it but quite often I can't cos somebody is cutting the bend. This is a real situation for me everyday on a corner where I live and the hole is very big!!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

If the pothole is that big, it's probably worth putting it up on fixmystreet.com - once things get on there, councils tend to take note!

 

[ralphchadkirk]

If the pothole is that big, it's probably worth putting it up on fixmystreet.com - once things get on there, councils tend to take note!

Just had a look at that site. Apparently there's masses of problems right down my street - I'd never noticed many of them!

 

[ChrisCooper]

Yes they can, but it's not just the numpties. Advanced instructors teach it as a skill to aid vision and visibility. After all, provided it is clear to do so and there is enough space to get back across if something comes the other way there is no reason why you shouldn't cross the white line. There's a group of riders I sometimes ride with who do that quite a bit, although I feel uncomfortable doing it myself.

But the difference here is knowing when it's safe to do something like that. An advanced rider/driver will be scanning the road quite a long way ahead and will know and appreciate when the road is clear and when the view of oncoming traffic is limited and will modify their riding/driving accordingly. It's the numpties that just swing across without any understanding of the risks that pose a danger to themselves and everyone else.

O L Leigh

That's really what I was getting at, the difference between doing it when safe and doing it when not safe (or only safe due to the reaction of the driver coming the other way). Same with car drivers. For cars and other large vehicles it actually has an environmental and economic advantage, as by smoothing the corner out you are not having to brake as much and therefore not having to accelerate as much, saving fuel (and also brake wear). Depending on the corner it might also reduce the need for a gear change, making life easier and reducing clutch wear. There is a road I use a few times a year that has a chicane on it and nearly everyone will take a racing line through it as it's in the fens and therefore has great visability, plus it's a fairly quiet road anyway. Still I imagine it has plenty of accidents due to people being idiots (as it's an otherwise straight road with excellent visibility).

 

[LE Greys]

That's really what I was getting at, the difference between doing it when safe and doing it when not safe (or only safe due to the reaction of the driver coming the other way). Same with car drivers. For cars and other large vehicles it actually has an environmental and economic advantage, as by smoothing the corner out you are not having to brake as much and therefore not having to accelerate as much, saving fuel (and also brake wear). Depending on the corner it might also reduce the need for a gear change, making life easier and reducing clutch wear. There is a road I use a few times a year that has a chicane on it and nearly everyone will take a racing line through it as it's in the fens and therefore has great visability, plus it's a fairly quiet road anyway. Still I imagine it has plenty of accidents due to people being idiots (as it's an otherwise straight road with excellent visibility).

From what I remember of Fenland drivers, I'm astonished there aren't more accidents, remembering the roads aren't exactly level (although they might have been once). Still, I have plenty of experience of walking on country roads and nearly being flattened by cars cutting the corners on both sides. It's worst on sunken lanes, as there is nowhere to go, even with a flying leap. OK, you can cut the corner when you can see round it, to take advantage of the camber, but one day someone is going to risk it and end up crunching into a tractor coming the other way.

 

[90019]

It has everything to do with what you have said if the pothole is on my side of the road and to my left and I need to get near to the centre of the road to avoid it but quite often I can't cos somebody is cutting the bend.

You're talking about something completely different though. What I'm saying has nothing at all to do with potholes.
My point is that if you can see that there is no one coming and it's safe to do so then I don't have a problem with cutting corners.