Matthew's Journal

Welcome to Coventry. If it helps, Birmingham's worse :-).

I had a nasty one last night too. Coming home from the cinema I was turning right at a large roundabout: five exits, three two-lane dual-carriage ways joining with two smaller roads as well. I was in the turn right lane of one of the dual-carriageways and was going to be turning right into another one.

Lucily I didn't have to wait to pull out as there wasn't much traffic. Part way round I stopped indicating right and was about to indicate left when I realised there was a jerk in boy-racer so close on my inside that he was in danger of taking off my wing-mirror; our doors were less than four inches apart! I wasn't exactly hanging about given the very wet roads. He seemed intent on forcing me off the road. I indicated left anyway and held my route; I couldn't slow up as he would have hit me.

He dropped back slightly after I indicated left and dropped out of my line of sight; I though he'd turned left into the preceeding single-carriageway road, so I turned left into the left lane of the dual-carriage way that I wanted. It isn't usually a good idea to get into the right lane as there is a right turn only a few yards further on when there are usually a number of cars waiting.

It was only when I was past the right turn and a car zoomed past me well over the 40mph limit and cut in quite tightly in front of me and braked that I realised that I'd probably managed to cut-up the jerk! I pulled into the right lane, there was no other traffic, and he swerved right. I stopped, locked the doors, had a quick look round, backed up a yard and did a U-turn over a dip in the central reservation and went the other way home.

I'm sorry I cut him up; it wasn't my intention to do so, but if he hadn't been performing an illegal and highly dangerous manouver it wouldn't have happened.

That little incident took place half-way between Wolverhampton and Birmingham. Yes, they are crazy round here. I've seen more vehicles jump red lights in the year or so that I've been living here than at all other times of my life: I'll see dozens in the six miles to work in the morning. The amber will go to red as the red goes to red/amber. Several seconds after the red/amber has gone green there will be vehicles crossing the the junction, regardless of whether it is a simple cross-roads or a large roundabout with traffic lights! All types of vehicle: cars, white vans, small lorries, artics, buses, you name it.

Drivers are idiots. Turning out onto the main road this morning, someone kindly waited before the box junction to let me out (and slip into the non-moving stream going north behind a bus) I was part way across when I realised that someone was overtaking the car who had waited and was currently between that car and the bus. Yesterday, a Park and Ride bus was stopped in the box junction right across the road. I know most people don't know what box junctions are for, but I expect people who drive for a living to be slightly more clueful.