Timber Floor Au

Returned to the Uk...

is it me or are all the drivers FARKING MAD !!!!

Its like watching a video of driving in FAST FWD mode...

Truly scarey !

quoll

The motorways have always been faster than in Aus but generally more consideration for others on the road - more give ways and waves. I havent noticed that much difference in UK driving recently really - my big shock came after going home following a couple of years in PNG, then I did find the driving particularly stressful. I suspect that may have had more to do with me than the prevailing driving mode though.

Pollyana

Thats what I find. I think you can trust drivers over there more. Here the driving is for more erratic and they tend to think they are the only person on the road so they drive without any consideration of anyone else, either pedestrian or driver.

Wendy

I can only compare where I come from to where I live now, but the drivers in my part of the UK are mental (or they were when we lived there - no I'm not gonna go back to see if they still are ).

They are more laid back in Adelaide I think and there are some idiots about, but not nearly as many as there are in Bradford!

Timber Floor Au

Very true !!!

Debs was down at Paul and Annettes cpl of days ago, and 4 dogs loose on the road, all car drivers slowed down.
One driver just hurtled thru, and in fact sped up.

Recently an agent was showing us a house, he left gate open, and dog ran into road.... BANG full on hit, not metres from us.

Was shocking.

The driver stopped, got out looked at bumper and drove off.

Fortunately the dog has since made full recovery.

Ste

ozzieeagle

Dammit you've put me orf my trip. Reason being I've got to spend a lot of my time in at my Brothers in Milton Keynes. Mkeynes is almost certainly the home of the fastest and biggest roundabouts in the world. Try entering one of the main roundabouts on the A5, with a turbo Golf and Subaru WRX battling it out.

Got to admit I enjoyed being able to drive fast last time I was there, especially on that Birmingham tollway road.

Fleaflyfloflum

Driving is my business industry. Believe me, standards in UK far outshine the Aussies. Driving at slower speeds does not automatically equate to safe driving.

marcpiano

Learning my licence in Perth and am finding in my limited driving experience that lange changing and merging seem to be too much hassle for many drivers to bother doing safely or properly. Indicators? What's the point, must think many drivers!

PaulandNic

Without a doubt!

One thing for me that was nice was to be doing 90MPH in the middle lane without worrying about getting done for speeding!

Ok, speeding is not big, and not clever, but 100% honest I was just keeping up with the flow on the M1 heading north in rush hour!

BadgeIsBack

Have to be honest, I am ''nervous'', contemplative, about driving in bits of London. I will have to be far more aware. Here I find I can drive on auto pilot around where I live - which to be honest I think many Australians are guilty of too.

My belief is that you tend to drive to conditions and in the Uk the conditions are faster and more cramped and thus lend themselves to more aware drivers. Take all Australians to the UK and they would ''raise'' their game like so many Australians adapt to a faster pace of life there.

Won't have too much of an issue on Her Majesty's Highways.

I find the courtesy of the Brit driver only really extends to towns and villages, once on the motorway you do see shocking behaviour, mostly people trying to get in to/ maintain their business in the fast lane.

MartinLuther

There are pluses and minuses to the driving in each country and as people go from one to the other they concentrate on the minuses. As most of the posts are knocking the Aussies here's some of the pluses (for Vic at least). Better indication, better roundabout discipline, better road sharing (e.g. on a dual carriageway Aussies will keep right to let someone in from the left; Brits don't so the car coming in from the left has to wait), better lane discipline, slower driving in car parks when there are pedestrians around.

As always there are exceptions to the rule and people will define things by the exception rather than the rule if it suits their purpose. Also there will be those who don't understand where Aussie rules (de jure and de facto) are different to the UK and are unable to cope or adapt. This makes them bad drivers not the Aussies.

MartinLuther

Exactly what I found when I went back last year. It also included people sticking in the fast lane when the could move over, tail gating and generally driving beyond their capabilities.

BadgeIsBack

Just an afterthought.

It makes me laugh when people try to say the citizens of one country are worse than the other but without actually substantiating their claims. Because they cannot really compare like for like.

I go to track days with Australian mates and they are far better drivers than I am - in an environment where your literal driving ability is measured accurately but they've had more practise.
In fact I would go out on a limb and say Australians have the propensity to be better drivers - they have a car culture and many seem to grow up playing with cars offroad and can really learn to drive in the privacy of their properties. Of course it works both ways, the car culture means that many idiots make it worse for everyone else - this does not mean that Australians are born worse drivers.

Infact, I would say people mix driving with motoring. Very few people are drivers. Few people know about understeer/oversteer etc. Most people make a car go from A to B.

Motoring (which is what people talk about on here) is more about awareness etc, and I'd say that the road rules, and conditions are different in the 2 countries. Australian drivers outside the main CBDs have far more space and like I said drive to conditions. I know this cos I find it too. I am far more relaxed driving here - yes I know - but in truth I know that the environment is different. People will probably lecture me on how ''alert'' they are as a British driver on Australian roads but out of the car, and in the safety of an internet forum it would be easy to say that.

cheers

Nu-Shooz

I haven't experienced too much distress here in OZ with the driving side of things, just the ignorance of not giving way, no manner's or a thankyou when you let them in.
Speed in OZ is slower, probably too slow.

Buzzy--Bee

I really have not noticed any appreciable difference in driving here from the UK. I don't give it a second thought.

Buzzy