This thought came to me on the back of this thread
and I just wondered if any of you drivers had become more wary on the roads now…given that everything is back to normal (more or less). I see an increase in traffic, more irate drivers blaring their horns, overtaking each other on corners and generally skipping through lights.
I don’t drive and never have (or will) because I honestly would be petrified of being the cause of an accident, or being involved in one that someone else caused.
I agree with what you have written PixieK.
The sun brings the nutters out and road rage has increased big time.
Thankfully it hasnt made me less a confident driver,just more wary.
Pedestrians are a law unto themselves,i have lost count about the amount of times one has just crossed the road without looking,as they are too busy on the damn mobiles,and don`t get me started on cyclists and mobility scooters ect
Interesting you mentioned pedestrians and mobiles, BV…I have noticed a few drivers, even now, are still using mobiles while driving. I thought that it was against the law?
I find the behaviour of some drivers so aggressive. I live in a rural area but frequently see drivers heading towards me on country roads or lanes. If i am nearest a passing place I always reverse up to let them pass but they seldom do even if they are just a few feet past a passing place. Obviously if I see a passing place ahead I always pull in too. Then they gesticulate to me telling me to go back! One day i got so peed off with a woman who did this that I stayed where I was and picked up my book and pretended to read it. Took her several minutes to realise I wasn’t moving.
I drive and I really don’t enjoy it. There is far too much traffic on the road, far too many speeders, far too many impatient, wanting to get to destination quicker dickheads, far too many traffic light jumpers and far too many intimidators.
I am nervous and for that reason I do not drive on motorways or large city centres, preferring to take a bus or train.
I watch police interceptors on TV and the dangerous drivers out there is just ridiculous. I saw a bad accident in Bradford on the programme only last night which was ccaused by a young idiot speeding round a corner, it caused a 3 car pile up and the thug who caused it just carried on like itvwas a joke with no shame or remorse. He was laughing and the other 2 drivers were so lucky not to be hurt or killed…very shook up though.
I had started to feel less confident about driving in my old car - after 17 years, it was starting to show its age a bit. I think maybe I have shrunk a bit or modern vehicles are so much bigger because I was beginning to feel dwarfed by other vehicles on the road and it was getting more difficult to see into the distance.
Last year, I decided to retire my old faithful Ford Focus and get something nearly new with a higher seating position. I got an SUV - a VW T-Roc
I feel much more confident driving now I’m sitting up higher and can see all around me - plus all the useful modern tools, like cruise control, speed controls, easy to follow Sat Nav showing speed limits etc etc make driving feel so much easier and more comfortable.
I had started to dread going on motorways but they don’t phase me at all now I’m sitting up tall!
I am getting out and about by car to visit distant family and friends a lot more than I used to.
Boot, I’m so glad you feel happier sitting up higher so you can see…I’m sure it makes all the difference!
I do agree with @LionQueen & @Flowerpower that drivers are getting more aggressive and less…caring? I saw an accident happen down where I used to live, and found out it was my neighbour at the time had her car tipped upside down onto its roof with her inside, and it was a boy racer speedng down the road with his friend. Thankfully she was ok, and so were the other drivers but gosh who even does that in the streets…race, I mean.
Thankfully, I am still a capable driver!!!
Well yes…I imagine you are…but are you confident? I think there is a difference, because to be a confident driver means (to me anyway…a non driver, heh!) that you feel perfectly able to contend with anything the road may throw at you, be it other drivers, sudden emergencies, etc on a daily basis…but capable means that yes, you can get yourself out of a pickle if need be, but you won’t drive again for 3 weeks because of anxiety. 
Maybe I’m overthinking it now…I’ll be quiet. I’ve got a cheek starting this thread anyway 
Oh yes PixieK! I am confident. You’d have to be if you’re in Africa. I don’t have much choice but to drive - but, I enjoy cars.
I can also drive in rough terrain 4x4.
I know you’ve got your hubby to chauffeur you around PixieK - lucky lady! The benefits of being married eh!
I am a confident but careful driver but I don’t like driving in unfamiliar towns where I don’t know which lane to get into and there are other short tempered drivers about .
While driving through Nottingham last week Mr M was shouted at by an awful common as muck woman in an open top Mercedes for some imagined fault when he asked what was her problem she gave him the finger . Her husband ( driving ) wisely kept Schum .
I don’t know what it is with Mercedes’ drivers , as soon as they get one they want to stamp their inner jackboots or invade Poland .
I’m certainly not a less confident driver these days but I have to say I am fully aware that my reflexes are possibly not as quick as they once were. I have been driving for sixty plus years, a wide variety of vehicle sizes and weights in a great many countries. Never had an accident and I still have a clean driving licence, Not so much as a speeding ticket…sheer luck there I think. I no longer like driving on motorways at night but that is mainly because of the lack of lighting on many sections and the fact that so many drivers have their lights on full beam, a real danger to oncoming drivers.
I changed my car 2 years ago to a mini Cooper, and yes have noticed I get blinded by other cars headlights more because I’m low down so I’ve stopped night driving . I hadn’t driven to my sisters for 14 years until I got the mini and I decided I must do it so I now drive m27 and m3 but very early on a Saturday morning as less traffic and lorries…I do get anxious driving where I don’t know and use my sat nav that sometimes gets it wrong ! I got lost 3 years ago when I left my sons house in weston super mare and panicked a bit but by a miracle I found the m5 to get home . I don’t want to drive there again though
I only drive at night on roads I know and not when it’s raining as this affects my night vision .
I have driven SUVs for the past 20 years and feel quite unsafe in cars that are low to the ground .
Having said that Mr M and I could not resist sitting in the new sports Jaguar in the show room .
Getting in was no problem getting out was less than dignified .
Yes, I am less confident driving than I used to be.
Like others have said, I won’t drive anywhere I don’t know now, I would worry if I got lost and hadn’t a clue where I was. I also don’t like road systems I have never used before.
I don’t like those drivers that hang onto my back bumper, and every single time I go out, I am amazed at the number of drivers (nearly always men), who will not signal which way they are going on roundabouts etc, or if they are turning off even. They just seem to go where they want, but never signal first.
I almost never night drive now, because I can’t stand those awful dazzling blue headlights, especially when the drivers can’t be bothered to dip them half the time.
You are spot on PixieK.
I see motorists on mobiles every day.
Worse than that,i see some watching videos,especially on the motorway.
And just to put it out there,hogging the middle lane on a motorway does my bluddy head in,selfish useless bunch of shysters.
I have to take issue with you there re middle lane .
If you travel on a busy motorway today you will find the left lane completely filled with HGV lorries who can only go at 60 mph .
Therefore most people have to stick in the middle lane else go in and out of the lorries and there are so many and lots together it’s better to stick in the middle and go back to the left side if there is a reasonable space . I went on the motorway yesterday and most cars in the middle lane were going at 70 mph or over . So as You are only supposed to go at 70 mph on a motorway ianyway I don’t see a problem . if someone in the middle lane annoys you overtake them on the outside right lane .I did overtake on the outside lane several cars on the middle lane but to do this I had to break the law and go at 80 mph . However as the left ,slow lane was full of lorries what were they suposed to do?
I can only assume that you travel on a relatively quiet motorway I travel largely on the M4 and believe me it’s chock full of lorries on the left .
If you travel on the M25 all four lanes are chocker and there are basically two middle lanes but mostly people just drive along side each other all going around the same speed as it is so busy .
I wonder how you know that people are watching videos on the motorways are you so near to a car on the motorway that you can see inside ? I am afraid I don’t believe it .
Motorways are dangerous places requiring focused attention by all users .
I totaly get what your saying Muddy,but i was talking about the middle lane hoggers who have no intention of moving into the inside lane when it is empty.and i mean as clear as a bell.
We go on the M5 and M6 on a regular basis and believe me it is a constant nuisance.
I read that the traffic police on motorways are going to fine those who hog,and rightly so as they are a danger to other motorists.
Its against the law to undertake and against the law to speed,so where does that leave me and others when the middle lane is being hogged.
Do/ have i broken the law, yes,but only as i need to get past the numpty and pull back in when safe to do so.
I lost some confidence driving over the lockdown but I really surprised myself earlier this week. I had to deal with my husband and a medical emergency…I had read all the reports about waiting times for ambulances so I managed to get him into the car and I drove at break neck speed to the hospital…even managed to park right outside in a very tight spot…it was all very mission impossible 
Hubby is fine by the way…they glued him back together …every cloud has a silver lining as I think the whole.episode restored my confidence…
Good for you Summer. That only goes to prove what I have always thought. If can take a real emergency to prove we are all stronger and able to cope than we think we are.
