Oblivious drivers

[Mikkel]

I had a chat to a guy a while back about Christchurch drivers, he said he could only think of one word to describe them: Oblivious.

Today in the car with a couple of mates we were ranting about the atrocities taking place all around us - people not bothering to indicate, indecision regarding lane change, running red light, etc ad nauseum.
Anyway, sitting at the lights to cross St. Asaph Street (a one-way street) I sat wondering why this silver Holden was taking off so slowly from the lights... and then I saw it, and it actually made my day, Mr. Clueless is coming from the opposite direction, against the flow of traffic on a one-way street, creeping up to and into the intersection. :niceone:
I start digging in my pocket for my cellphone...
Then, to add to the absurdity of the situation, Mr. Clueless begins to turn north onto Barbadoes St (one-way street going south) - but seemed slightly disturbed by the virtual wall of motorvehicles blocking his progress in said direction.
In the meantime Mr. Holden had, prudently, fucked off down St. Asaph.
I've finally managed to dig my camera phone out of my pocket between fits of laughter. Dunno if he saw this, but he became a bit more decisive at this point and I didn't manage to get a shot. :(
Following the path of least resistance (or least thought and effort perhaps) Mr. Clueless decides to continue east down St. Asaph - still going against the direction of travel.
Then he proceeded to turn left into the carpark at the Liquor Store there. Delerium tremens is bad mkay...

Quite simply mind-boggling.

Take care out there - they are everywhere. :stupid:

[mattian]

hahaha.... its hilarious ! and, you know what? he probably knew exactly what he was doing, he just didnt give a "bleeeeep"
I was out walking one day. I was just about to cross the street near a roundabout, very little traffic on the road. I get half way across the road and find this van going round the round about on the wrong side of the road! coz, it was quicker for him that way. as he comes past me.... smiling, I muttered "what a moron" and he heard me !! he stops in the middle of the road, and starts taking his seatbelt off like he wants to smash me over !!!!! he even gets half way out of his van !! I was kinda shitting my pants at this point as he was twice my size:crazy: thankfully, I made it home in one piece.

[sunhuntin]

ive been nearly caught out by one way streets many times. they need to be better sign posted [ie a huge NO ENTRY at the start of the road.

i found chch drivers to be quite good, specially for an out of towner who got lost just going around the corner, lol.

[yungatart]

Just got home...luckily still in one piece.
2 lane roundabout, outside lane is left turn and straight ahead, inside is right turn and straight ahead. I am on the inside lane going straight through, driver slightly ahead of me in the outside lane, indicates left just past the first exit, then proceeds to turn right from that point, into my lane. I hit the brakes hard and stop about half a metre from his door. He glares at me (like I had done something wrong!) and then continues on his merry way.
I drive home, shaking my head the whole way and put a bottle of wine in the freezer for instant chilling! It has been a long week!

[LilSel]

Maybe Mr Clueless ran outta booze & was going to get more, taking the most direct route possible without thinking of consequences :blink:

[LilSel]

...put a bottle of wine in the freezer for instant chilling! It has been a long week!

Fookin heck has it ever!! A cold beverage is the perfect end to a manic week aye! :)

You mentioned shaking your head the whole way home, I do too this when on the bike & people in cars do stupid things, so they can see my disapproval!!
BUT... on my way home this afternoon in peak hour traffic in my work ute, I was being tailgated quite badly & I found myself doing the 'helmet' headshake minus the helmet :lol: (I hit the picks on purpose when he was right up my arse & he almost pranged his car lol, I have a tow bar & bull bars on the back so I wouldve been just fine... hehe)

When Fireball & I went down the south island late last year, I found driving in christchurch confusing, we got lost frequently (only had a tourist map), was pleased the next down didnt have so many one way streets :)

[Katman]

I'm a motorcyclist - my shit doesn't stink.

[98tls]

Jesus im glad i live in the sticks.:rolleyes:

[MisterD]

From what I see posted by our engine-less colleagues on Vorb, the Village of the Damned seems to be over populated with incompetent cagers.

[McJim]

I don't know if it's perception or rose tinted memory but New Zealand in general seems to have an appalling set of drivers compared to Blighty. Many are, as has been mentioned, oblivious to the road rules and other road users but there seem to be a great many of malicious drivers.

There is no courtesy at all - for example if you are exiting a side street and entering a busy main road in the UK drivers will make room for you by slowing down to create a gap - this doesn't happen in NZ - it seems to be a case of "I don't have to therefore I won't"

Another phenomenon is if someone makes an error of judgement in New Zealand the other drivers have zero tolerance for this and will actually try to crash into them It's as if they are thinking "I'm in the right so I'll risk death by having an accident - that'll learn 'im"

I'm not even going to mention the murderers who accelerate when someone tries to overtake them:mad:

As Billy Connolly said on New Zealand Drivers "If someone overtakes you, It's nothing personal"

But of course - no one on here does any of that shit do they? :Pokey:

[Mikkel]

hahaha.... its hilarious ! and, you know what? he probably knew exactly what he was doing, he just didnt give a "bleeeeep"

No this guy was definitely out of his depth. He wasn't trying to be a smart arse, break the law or anything like it. Just you average incompetent Chch driver.

Good proverb: "Never attribute to evil what can be easily explained by stupidity (or incompetence)."


I get half way across the road and find this van going round the round about on the wrong side of the road! coz, it was quicker for him that way. as he comes past me.... smiling, I muttered "what a moron" and he heard me !! he stops in the middle of the road, and starts taking his seatbelt off like he wants to smash me over !!!!! he even gets half way out of his van !!

Wrong side of the road in a roundabout? You mean he went around it counter-clockwise?

You must have muttered it quite loudly for him to hear though...

Anyway, if there truly was no other traffic I couldn't care less. I have no trouble with people stepping outside the roadcode as long as they do so consciously and competently without causing other people inconvenience or delays.

E.g. I ran at least three red lights coming home from work a night last week. Had been working late and there's barely any cars on the road at all at 3.30 am... However, I still consider most red-light runners the scum of the earth.


i found chch drivers to be quite good, specially for an out of towner who got lost just going around the corner, lol.

Was it cold and rainy? The heat sometimes seems to drive people nuts.
Big rugby game on?
...Bathhurst?

There's gotta be some rational explanation behind that...


From what I see posted by our engine-less colleagues on Vorb, the Village of the Damned seems to be over populated with incompetent cagers.

Well, incompetent cagers and insane cyclists. As I said earlier today, albeit slightly sarcasticly, the purpose of the crazy cyclists in Chch is just to be run over by incompetent cagers so we can get both lots off the road.


I don't know if it's perception or rose tinted memory but New Zealand in general seems to have an appalling set of drivers compared to Blighty. Many are, as has been mentioned, oblivious to the road rules and other road users but there seem to be a great many of malicious drivers.

There is no courtesy at all - for example if you are exiting a side street and entering a busy main road in the UK drivers will make room for you by slowing down to create a gap - this doesn't happen in NZ - it seems to be a case of "I don't have to therefore I won't"

Another phenomenon is if someone makes an error of judgement in New Zealand the other drivers have zero tolerance for this and will actually try to crash into them It's as if they are thinking "I'm in the right so I'll risk death by having an accident - that'll learn 'im"

I'm not even going to mention the murderers who accelerate when someone tries to overtake them:mad:

As Billy Connolly said on New Zealand Drivers "If someone overtakes you, It's nothing personal"

But of course - no one on here does any of that shit do they? :Pokey:

No actual training or introduction to proper road etiquette probably carries a considerable share of the blame for these things.

[Drum]

....
I start digging in my pocket for my cellphone...
.....

I'm interested in knowing how the phone would change the situation.

[Mikkel]

I'm interested in knowing how the phone would change the situation.

You know the saying "Pictures or it didn't happen!"?

[SARGE]

hahaha.... its hilarious ! and, you know what? he probably knew exactly what he was doing, he just didnt give a "bleeeeep"
I was out walking one day. I was just about to cross the street near a roundabout, very little traffic on the road. I get half way across the road and find this van going round the round about on the wrong side of the road! coz, it was quicker for him that way. as he comes past me.... smiling, I muttered "what a moron" and he heard me !! he stops in the middle of the road, and starts taking his seatbelt off like he wants to smash me over !!!!! he even gets half way out of his van !! I was kinda shitting my pants at this point as he was twice my size:crazy: thankfully, I made it home in one piece.

the door frame would have made a nice dent in his forehead as he was getting out..

[The Lone Rider]

ive been nearly caught out by one way streets many times. they need to be better sign posted [ie a huge NO ENTRY at the start of the road.

i found chch drivers to be quite good, specially for an out of towner who got lost just going around the corner, lol.

I find NZ roads hugely mislabeled, signs not in readable places, or no signs at all for important things.

But it has gotten better in the last 10 years.

Far out I'd get lost something chronic traveling around 6-10 years ago.

[James Deuce]

he even gets half way out of his van !! I was kinda shitting my pants at this point as he was twice my size:crazy: thankfully, I made it home in one piece.


Guess where people like that try to hit you when they do try to have a go?

In the head.

What are you wearing on your head?

An armoured knee to the groin FTW.

[MIXONE]

Mikkel if you've lived in chchur for a while you well know what a few days of a nor'wester wind can do.To any one else beware.It drives many people temporarily bonkers.Throw in a full moon and you have the perfect recipe for mayhem on and off the roads.

[slimjim]

yup got caught out ,going through auckland city...turned fucking right into a oneway street..starbucks three shops up.:drool:.6am on a sunday..fucking lost as.:sleep:.bugger was hailed loudly..by a police car:clap:.turn around and go back down...stopped and pushed bike over to curb and pushed it to starbucks ..so it happens alright .

[sunhuntin]

i cant recall what the weather was doing. it may have been a bit of everything!

i found the signs to be the worst bit, specially in the 80k area with all the roundabouts. signs impossible to read till you were in front of the queue, and 9 times out of 10, i was in the wrong fricking lane. got lost so much out that way! [heading towards new brighton from north] actually found the middle of town easier to negotiate!

[Ixion]

I find NZ roads hugely mislabeled, signs not in readable places, or no signs at all for important things.

But it has gotten better in the last 10 years.

Far out I'd get lost something chronic traveling around 6-10 years ago.

Tauranga is the worst. They have this weird system of putting the signs some way down the road AFTER the intersection. So if you want to go to X you have to randomly choose a turning, go down it a couple of hundred yards to the sign, see if it the one you are looking for, and if not U turn, go back to the intersection and choose again!

The logical idea of putting the sign BEFORE the turnoff apparently has made no impression there.

[James Deuce]

Tauranga is the worst. They have this weird system of putting the signs some way down the road AFTER the intersection. So if you want to go to X you have to randomly choose a turning, go down it a couple of hundred yards to the sign, see if it the one you are looking for, and if not U turn, go back to the intersection and choose again!

The logical idea of putting the sign BEFORE the turnoff apparently has made no impression there.

Tauranga is largely populated by "very old people". Old people have issues remembering where they are going once they've left the driveway so the signs have been set out in such a way as to remind the old dears where they are going, not to inform vistors of how to get somewhere.

[vifferman]

I find NZ roads hugely mislabeled, signs not in readable places, or no signs at all for important things.



i found the signs to be the worst bit, specially in the 80k area with all the roundabouts. signs impossible to read till you were in front of the queue, and 9 times out of 10, i was in the wrong fricking lane.


Tauranga is the worst. They have this weird system of putting the signs some way down the road AFTER the intersection.


...the signs have been set out in such a way as to remind the old dears where they are going, not to imform vistors of how to get somewhere.
Bleat, bleat, bleat! :yawn:
You guys have no freakin' idea how good the signage generally is in Noo Zilund. :rolleyes:
I spent nearly 4 hours of my life that I'll never get back, trying to navigate in Brussels. It took me nearly two hours to get out of Brussels, and even longer to find the Midi station coming back in. There are few signs, and they're not continuous, but more of the type, "Head in this general direction..." then nothing for many blocks, intersections, etc. Street names (and many direction signs) are affixed to buildings, and they're inconsistent in size, shape, colour, height, and if they have arrows, it's not always apparent which direction they're pointing. Furthermore, if you can actually see them while driving, you've gone past before you can decide if it's the street you want.

I have few problems navigating in New Zealand: the signs are generally well-maintained, consistent colouring, placed where they're visible and usually in advance of where a turn needs to be made. If it wasn't for the general gormlessness and lack of manners and road skills of the average NZ driver, finding yourself in the wrong lane wouldn't be an issue.

[vifferman]

Tauranga is largely populated by "very old people". Old people have issues remembering where they are going once they've left the driveway ...
Yeah.
It surprises me that Roundabouta has more roundabouts per capita than any other place in the world, given how much trouble old people have with them. I was living there when the roundabouts first started to breed and proliferate, and it was pandemonium. Soon they will all be joined, and it will be nigh impossible to drive in a straight line anywhere in the city.

Heh... I remember when Rotorua got its first roundabout, where Devon St, Old Taupo Road, and Otonga Rd join. The first morning after it was instituted, there was a line of tyre tracks through the dirt and shrubs in the middle. Shortly after, they dumped some huge rhyolite boulders in the middle. Next morning, there were tyre tracks up to the boulders...
A favourite game late at night when we'd been out on the turps was to see how many times you could drive around the roundabout.
Anticlockwise.
From memory, I think the record was 37 times.

[The Lone Rider]

Bleat, bleat, bleat! :yawn:
You guys have no freakin' idea how good the signage generally is in Noo Zilund. :rolleyes:

I'm from Chicago, NZ roads and signage are a joke compared to it.

Even got lost on way to lady friends house this morning. First time over at her place, turned onto what I believed was her street.. no sign where I turned on but the next intersection on this country road said what street I was on.