Passing thoughts...
Driving to work this morning, quietly bemused by the apparently endemic incompetence on display. OK, advanced driving teaches that it is the drivers absolute responsibility to be accountable for his (or her) own vehicle and actions, to proceed at all times in such a way that you can anticipate the actions of others and be able to avoid the consequences of any unexpected event - braking distance, knowing what's beside and behinid you, watching not just the car in front but six or seven vehicles ahead. Simple vehicle control is an essential skill, but it is but the very first step to becoming a competent driver.
So, what to do about the 2-tonne truck bimbling along in lane 3 or 4, clear road to his right, and chaos behind? Not the RTA's proposed minimum speed limit, that's for sure. He's doing that. It is his relative speed that's important, not his absolute. If he wants to drive slowly, or his vehicle is incapable of more, then it should be in the rightmost lane available. Not slap bang in the middle of the faster-moving traffic.
This morning was classic example. I was driving at a steady, legal speed in a clear lane, obstructing no-one and making good progress. And I was breaking the law. Because I was in the empty, right-most, 'slow' lane, and there were plenty of oblivious numpties trundling down the middle. The usual trains of tailgaters crowd the left lane, flashing lights and agression all too evident in their rush to be first to the back of the next queue. So that lane is unsafe. Next is equally crowded, and frequently invaded by those forced out of the overtaking lane to the left. Next is full of Fancy buses and overladen white Toyotas with too many labourers on board, travelling at insane speeds just inches from the minibus in front. Next is our trundling truck, oblivious to the traffc swerving left and right to pass him. Next is more or less clear. And then there's me. Undertaking the lot.
And then a solution occured to me. Make the offender not the undertaker, but the undertaken. If you are driving at less than the posted legal maximum, and there is a clear lane to your right, you are the one committing an offence. Simple. Good lane discipline, courtesy, and basic driving common sense would make a huge difference to our roads. And until that day dawns, I will continue to make good progress in the empty, 'slow' lane...
So, what to do about the 2-tonne truck bimbling along in lane 3 or 4, clear road to his right, and chaos behind? Not the RTA's proposed minimum speed limit, that's for sure. He's doing that. It is his relative speed that's important, not his absolute. If he wants to drive slowly, or his vehicle is incapable of more, then it should be in the rightmost lane available. Not slap bang in the middle of the faster-moving traffic.
This morning was classic example. I was driving at a steady, legal speed in a clear lane, obstructing no-one and making good progress. And I was breaking the law. Because I was in the empty, right-most, 'slow' lane, and there were plenty of oblivious numpties trundling down the middle. The usual trains of tailgaters crowd the left lane, flashing lights and agression all too evident in their rush to be first to the back of the next queue. So that lane is unsafe. Next is equally crowded, and frequently invaded by those forced out of the overtaking lane to the left. Next is full of Fancy buses and overladen white Toyotas with too many labourers on board, travelling at insane speeds just inches from the minibus in front. Next is our trundling truck, oblivious to the traffc swerving left and right to pass him. Next is more or less clear. And then there's me. Undertaking the lot.
And then a solution occured to me. Make the offender not the undertaker, but the undertaken. If you are driving at less than the posted legal maximum, and there is a clear lane to your right, you are the one committing an offence. Simple. Good lane discipline, courtesy, and basic driving common sense would make a huge difference to our roads. And until that day dawns, I will continue to make good progress in the empty, 'slow' lane...
posted by EyeOnDubai at 11:41 pm
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