When I was learning to drive on a country road I was approaching a corner and my driving instructor asked me if I’d seen the lorry around the corner, I immediately slowed down more and made sure my road position was correct for the lorry and once I was around the corner there wasn’t a lorry to be seen. Since then I’ve always thought about this hypothetical lorry when driving and it’s made me feel like a safer driver no doubt.
This is one of my bones of contention, I'm a truck driver and can't believe the speeds some cars (and trucks) come around country lane bends towards me, they seem to think coz it's a NSL road they can just blast around them like they're in the RAC Rally 😳
@@truckingscouser once while watching an oncoming idiot, I stopped on a 90 degree right bend on a country lane... perfect dry day... driver carried on until he'd wedged his mum's Peugeot under the trailer that was in my half of the road... only the front tyres of the front of three axles saved his life. He actually smashed his face on the trailer after the "A" pillar had split and peeled back his roof. He'd had about 5 seconds (tachograph analysis confirmed) to just slow down a bit. And I wasn't actually at that point, using his bit of road.
I do that on country roads but with joggers and horse riders.... Don't fly around a corner if you have no clue what's there Should be basic common sense really but it's absolutely lacking these days
The last clip at night on country lanes. You only see the front or back lights first. That car making a U turn ensured it was invisible at the time when the back and front faced the kerb. That's my take.
I agree. The oncoming vehicle probably couldn't see the car until he was around the blind bend and it was in his headlight beams, which would have been dipped, and therefore unable to avoid.
Expat Biker Yup, absolutely. Add to that, the driver turning around seemed to have no idea of the vulnerability s/he was in as they emerged from their maneuver at a very slow speed (considering the speed limit of the road). Had they hit the gas much more aggressively, it might have allowed the car behind precious few more seconds/space to figure out what was in front of them.
That clip with the school kids is very scary. There is no way anyone,let along a small child, would survive an impact with the weapon that was driven by someone who should not ever be allowed to drive. Instant lifetime ban following a spell behind bars is a fair sentence. Shame there is no way of getting the license plate and getting this person off the road.
Yeah I was thinking about an emotional video on Ben Pearson's (ex-Police Interceptor) channel where he talks about attending a fatal child RTC and the trauma it left him with. This clip is exactly the kind of situation which would cause such a fatality. God-forbid there wouldn't be much left of a child if that car had hit them at those speeds.
To be fair to the German driver, I'd say the scooter rider's positioning at 4:37 was questionable to say the least. I think you can just make out the road markings around the car waiting at the traffic lights. It looks to me like the scooter rider was trying to "filter" around the car and was on the wrong side of the road. So while the driver possibly could have done marginally better I'd mainly say the scooter driver should have been more careful with the "filtering" in such conditions.
It was, quite simply, on the wrong side of the road. It wasn't clear at the beginning that was the case as there was something of a confusion of headlamps. In any event, it's a stupid thing to do.
This business of driving in staggered formation is something I was really putting into practice yesterday during a 150 mile round trip from home in Canterbury to Hyde Hall flower and garden show in Essex. Especially so on roundabouts, plus a notable example going through the Dartford tunnel from Kent into Essex: HGV in the left hand lane, myself in the right hand lane, with no room in front for me to fully overtake the whole length of the HGV due to traffic ahead of me. So I remained "staggered" behind the HGV until I could fully overtake in one go and still maintain proper following distance to the vehicle in front of me. Ashley's voice was ringing in my head big time and I could almost hear his voice saying "Nicely sorted". I may even still have that occassion on my dash cam if it hasn't been overwritten.
@@margaretnicol3423 Haa yes, just imagine if I'd done that...and commented on it here! I know from previous experience of downloading dash cam footage (purely for my own interest, not due to any incident) that it actually saves a surprising amount on my memory card before overwritting. Oh and...Happy Sunday btw!
@@cactusbase3088 Oh my, what a small world! By any chance, did you see someone there wearing a Canadian flag over the shoulder messenger bag? If so, that was me. I know I have my profile photo here too but I was wearing hat and sunglasses, so difficult to recognise. Hope you had a great time there. Mum and I wandered all the booths as well as many parts of the garden up the hill. And we got a lot of leaflets from the Essex police booth, something we didn't expect to see at a flower and garden show but useful all the same. Oh and I'm sure you noticed how dry and brown much of the grass was, though surprisingly green and lush in other parts of the garden. Can't believe what a small world this is though!
My driving instructor taught me never to do a U-turn on a main road, always try to find a side road or some other area which is well out of the way of busy traffic
Doing a three point turn or U turn on any road where the speed limit is over 30mph is utterly moronic why on earth turn facing traffic that is doing 60mph like in the video.
@Dave Moss There's nothing illegal about performing a three point turn on any single carriageway road although, if you pick a bad spot, it may constitute dangerous driving.
When I first got on the roads, my brother said 2 things to me. The first was "Treat everyone else on the road as a moron, and their soul reason for being there is to try and cause an accident", and "The graveyard's are full of people who technically had right of way". Looking back at every accident I've ever had (I used to be a commercial driver, and did about 150,000 miles per year, so I think it wasn't that bad to average out at just under one insurance claim per each 4 year period I was in that line of work) all but one of them could have been avoided by not assuming others were normal capable drivers. The one where it didn't mater was when someone ran into the back of van doing about 40 while I was sat at a red light........ There's not a lot that defensive driving can do about that situation. :)
"The graveyard's are full of people who technically had right of way" - This is a great thing to keep in mind. Maybe one I think about a lot is what's seen in this video, until you can confirm somewhere is clear, assume a car is right there. If you can't see clearly at a junction, be prepared to swerve away and brake if a car suddenly shows up. If you can't see clearly on a country road, assume a car is going to cut a corner and be blasting down the wrong side of the road. Always think about where you'd go, be aware of what traffic is around you all the time so if you do need to swerve you're not going to hit someone. :)
“The graveyards are full of people who technically had right of way” is probably one every driver (every road user in fact) should hear. There’s really no use in being right and dead.
The amount of times driving staggered has saved my front end can’t be counted. Especially on roundabouts. People in the wrong lane, tailgaters evading etc
I never want to sit anywhere near anything on a roundabout and like you it has saved me before. Sadly however driving in this fashion annoys the idiots behind you who don't understand and you get tailgated which is no good either because emergency stops do happen on roundabouts too. I once had to slam from 30mph to a full stop on a spiral roundabout for a muntjack thankfully it was early morning and the roads were dead.
5:50 I frequently see that type of driving on motorway onramps. Actually it’s worse when joining drivers are somewhat slower than me, causing me to move over, then they speed up to match me, or push on to effectively undertake me.
As a motorbike rider for over 30 years I have seen a lot of bad drivers. I have accepted that no one can see me and always expect that I will have to avoid other vehicles regardless of whether I have right of way. With a combination of luck and always thinking that I am invisible to everyone else on the road I have avoided serious injury. My tips are never overtake a turning vehicle, never sit alongside any vehicle, don't trust your mirrors always look by turning your head, never blindly do the speed limit but instead drive at a speed that allows you to react to the traffic and road conditions. You must leave a 3 second gap between you and the vehicle in front of you anything less is very dangerous. Never listen to the radio or use a mobile phone even if you have hands free, talking on a mobile phone or listening to the radio is the equivalent of driving under the influence of alcohol. When you are in control of a vehicle you must concentrate on driving and nothing else, don't drive when you are angry or upset because that makes you a danger to everyone else. Driving is a privilege and not a right, you are doing a very dangerous thing and you can quite easily kill yourself or someone else so take responsibility for your own actions and drive like people's lives depend on your driving abilities because they do. Driving is the most dangerous thing that the majority of people will ever do.
I never drove a motorbike. And I agree 100% as a car driver I can add. The motorbikes can accelerate so quickly. And they are so dynamic. When I saw them. I need to pay more attention to them than the cars. And give a lot space.
A great contribution 👍 I was taught when learning to drive never to turn in front of traffic as you can't see what is coming and the other driver wont see you till its too late, you should only turn across traffic if directed by signs or an officer I suspect the car was going too fast but the motorcyclist should never have used that manoeuvre being so vulnerable to oncoming traffic
I don't ride Motorbikes, but i've always driven as though i'm invisible as well. Top things i've used ever since I started learning to drive. - Drive like you're invisible. - Treat everyone else like a solo learner (i.e Doesn't know how to drive and no instructor to save them). - Never tango with a HGV, you will lose. This naturally causes things like staggered driving (Just in case they can't see you and pulls out), leaves space for HGV on corners/roundabouts cause you don't really know how much of a swing they need, and allows you to never rely on the right of way...there is always some numpty that leaves their signals on to miss lead you as well. Only accidents i've had in 12 years of driving have been up the arse that I have no control over, and i've only had one of those so it must be working :D I've had a couple of near misses thanks to staggering my lane, and I swear I dodged a fatal crash on a cross junction because I knew the pillock wasn't gunna stop...low and behold he barrels across at what must have been 70-80 (In a 30), and had I not reduced my speed, i'd be dead.
@@danielpotts1172 when I got my motorbike licence I was told that I am now a statistic because I will either be in a major accident or killed. Somehow I avoided that. My dad told me to give way to anything bigger than you and as I was on a bike everything was bigger than me. Quite a few times I thought I was going to die but for some reason I didn't and to this day I still don't know how I avoided it, that is why I said that luck has paid a part in why I am still alive. I am still an organ donor but I doubt that I have anything that is useful for anyone anymore.
The Golf really did a number on that barrier, Holy Moly! 😲 Personally speaking, I got into a collision myself a couple of years ago from not being aware enough of what I couldn't see. Thankfully, the only serious damage was to my car and insurance premiums. Since then, I've been a lot more careful and aware of what's around me and it was a real wake up call. Another thing I've found that helps is my experiences as a jogger, which really teaches you how careful you need to be around pedestrians, as cars just don't look out for you at all. Not that pedestrians should be stepping out willy-nilly, but many drivers really don't engage their hazard perception *at all* when it comes to what's on (or coming off) the pavements. For example, if I'm on a one way street I won't dream of crossing until I'm a long way down the street. Way too many folk speed round bends onto these roads because they don't expect anyone to be there and their stopping distance is a lot longer than you might think 😬
Possible the Golf driver had done that many times before and got away with it. I thought it was pretty funny how he sheepishly appeared from all the side airbags and then didn’t realise he was at fault! Just staggering
I always say people that have a accident know more on how a pain it is dealing with it as takes weeks even months for a new car or money for the car even when your not in the wrong. And people that have had a accident change their driving to try and be better i had the same thing happen i got smashed into my stupid fault but written off both cars and now i drive better and be more careful mainly because it cost a lot more to insure and dont want to have another crash on record for costing me more again.
Round any blind corner I always assume that immediately beyond what I can see is a stationary object blocking the whole road, so often I slow down to keep my stopping distance fully in view at all times, if I don't I feel like I'm running towards a brick wall with my eyes closed (cos you basically are doing that). I can't understand why some/most people don't get that same feeling or see the danger.
"there wasn't anyone in the way yesterday so it must be clear today! No but seriously, that is how our brain works. You get used to the road being clear because it should be and the 1000 times where nothing happens lull you into a false sense of security.
@@itchyscratch3829 If you're driving the same route, say going to work, day after day there comes a time when you're on autopilot. It's not unusual to 'come to' and realise you're further up the road that you thought. That's frightening too.
As you become more experienced you tend to get that ,what if! mentality, what if there is something coming from behind that car and what if a child runs out, but its good that people can look at these videos and your breakdowns Ashley , it can help those inexperienced to learn that, what if! by not going through the school of hard knocks to get it!!
Any time I am approaching a set of green traffic lights and proceeding straight ahead and have a car to my right waiting to make a right turn > Huge alarm bells go off in my head to slow down and watch out for an oncoming vehicle making a right turn (to my left) that may be hidden from view. And if I'm making a right turn nearside to nearside with limited view, I first try to position as far over to my right as possible without blocking oncoming traffic proceeding straight through plus I creep forward very very slowly and "search for view". Also, as show in Ash's video, be prepared for oncoming red light runners.
That last clip with the silver Ford pulling a U turn on a bend and at night was pretty silly. I've often seen drivers doing a U turn when stuck in traffic and quite often, once one driver does it, others will emulate. As Ashley mentioned, as bad an idea as that U turn was, it's still rather surprising that the oncoming car didn't see it. Lesson to be learned from this: Whenever there is an oncoming traffic queue, expect to encounter this kind of manouvre..and keep well over to the left (all other factors considered)
When I learned to ride a motorbike 3yrs ago, I became a lot more aware of the concept of "presenting yourself" to other road users, constantly being aware of the fact that others may not have seen me, or are unable to see me. Also, proceed at a speed where you can stop in half the distance you see to be clear. That blue/green car in the 1st clip was going way too fast, it didn't even occur to them it's a JUNCTION, just slow down a bit. Less speed, more time.
I think you mean, in the distance you can see to be clear. You would be crawling around corners if it was only half the distance. If you did that you would have impatient cage drivers right up your arse constantly. If you are in the UK there are a couple of clubs you can join that will help improve your safety when out riding. IAM and RoSPA. They are really the same thing, it all depends which is closer to you. I started doing the IAM course a few months ago. Being seen is one of the main things they teach you :-)
@@rufus1346 As a car driver, I've been telling myself to get on the IAM Roadsmart course / test for ages! Every time I go to a local car show here in Kent, they have a Roadsmart booth. The folks running those car show booths have seen me so many times it's got to the stage of "Oh no, not you again! So when are you going to sign up?" It's actually getting embarrasing!
@@ibs5080 You'll get to the point where you start avoiding them at these car shows:-) Don't know what they do with cars but if it's like the bike one it will be all about not crashing LOL. They always put safety first above all else.
@@rufus1346 That's actually my thought exactly: To either avoid the Roadsmart booth at these car shows or to sign up! They usually have a Roadsmart Motorbike booth set up alongside the car booth at these shows.
Great reminders for us all to look out for ourselves and others. Always think. Including in advance. Stopped buses are always a danger. Especially at school times.
Possibly the most important realisation of my driving career (over 20 years now) is the importance of being able to stop in the distance that you can see to be clear and assuming that there is a tractor/horse/child around every blind bend. That said, I think I might have been caught our by the person turning in the road in the last clip. The second most important driving lesson is that I'm not perfect and there is always more to learn. I enjoy driving and it is something I want to do well, this channel has definitely given me a few worthwhile tips that I think have improved my drivng.
"being able to stop in the distance that you can see" I think is one of the worst sayings a driver can learn. if you're driving on a road where you can of example only see 30m in front of you you should be able to stop in 15m, remember the oncoming vehicle is moving as well, if they drive the same way you do (ie: being able to stop in the same 30m visability) you will have a head-on colision as you cant both use the 30m distance you can see.
I find your presentation extremely 'zen'. Despite the sometimes heavy topics and tense situations, I leave an Ashley Neal video calmer (and better educated) than when I arrived!
The second clip reminded me when I was driving in Princes Risborough. The Zebra crossings there use white lights on the stripy parts of the poles next to the crossing and its amazing how much it hides the pedestrians because of that.
For the car in the last clip coming in the opposite direction: There’s a good chance they weren’t able to see any lights with the car across the road like that. And if they are on the outside of the corner the traffic on the inside may have blinded them a bit with their headlights. They may have just been distracted though.
I drove from Newcastle over the lake district twice this week and I had drivers race up the outside of a climbing lane and pull in at the last min. And all I could hear was Ashley's voice when it was tempting not to let them in. But instead I slowed down and created a gap in front giving them somewhere to go. Rather than closing it and hanging them out to dry
When driving I go by a simple rule, I will only emerge, turn into a road or similar if I can "see nothing", not if I "can't see anything". Always best to positively know there are no other road users there rather than just not seeing them and going anyway. Actually its a bit of phrasing taught by my instructor that I still remember to this day.
I'm a Professional driver. It really is about thinking about what someone else is going to do. A Good driver will always look for ANY escape route while on a motorway, forward thinking is KEY! how many people really do that I ask? Anticipat any scenario when you are driving on a/any particular road, know your surroundings (what is around you) Sometimes/not all, you have to be in my reader, because you have to anticipate what the other driver is doing or wants to do! Ashley's videos are a GREAT tool to lean from, I still like to learn and see different senecio's on his videos. Driving CAN be still enjoyable (very much so) you just need to have an Relaxed approach about it. Well Done Ashley, I'm still watching and taking on-board the advise 👍👍👍
Learning to appreciate what your fellow road users can and cannot see is such an important skill on the road. Formal teaching can help but it really is about experience and a desire to understand why somebody else did some the way they did.
Very strong message there Ashley which I hope resonates with people - it’s what you can’t see that will catch you out if you are not fully focused. These clips with children coming out from behind parked cars are chilling. Driving round my own (residential) neighbourhood I have become increasingly vigilant after watching a few of these - the thought of a kid falling into my cars path keeps my speed waaay down and my attention up.
Clip 1, because the car is approaching going up hill they will automatically be on the gas, and as the road levels off… a less experienced driver could in error stay on the gas and speed up even faster as they go through the junction, but I agree, a good driver would be coming off the throttle because although your lane is clear you cannot see beyond the cars you are undertaking. And as you mention, ‘what a bloody awkward junction’
I've mentioned a few times in comments regarding my poor health and how this hindered my mindset of my driving I was always looking for the unseen. Since being a subscriber I have downloaded a driving app which evaluates my driving on every trip. My lowest score has been 992/1000. I hit 996 on average, and normally get a deduction due to braking. On single track roads when someone comes flying around a bend Iinstinctively hit the brakes harder. As always, thanks Ashley.
@@MrTuts4life drive score, I think, I have jt too. problem is you get penalised for slowing down too easily IMO, you can be doing 30 approaching a set of lights, anticipating them to change and when they do break smoothly and come to a nice stop. only later do you find that reducing your speed by 10 mph in 2 secs is considered 'harsh'? 🤔
Many people, unfortunately, have the mindset of "If I can't see it; it isn't there". Thankfully we have a Channel such as this which may help others avoid what we've all just witnessed. Fools rush in 🤔
The one with school kids is scary. I highly doubt the speed limit is anything higher than a 20/30mph but the car flying through looked to be exceeding that by quite some bit! Many issues are down to people either being impatient or just not looking.
The IAM has a mantra: Always be able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear on your side of the road. However I nearly got caught out when I went round a left hand bend on a country road to find a jogger running towards me at speed! I have modified the IAM guideline: Always be able to stop in the distance you can reasonably expect to be clear. That means if there's a possibility of a currently invisible threat (like a jogger coming towards you on your side of the road around a corner, or a motorbike crossing behind a car in front, or a kid running out from behind a bus) then SLOW DOWN. Learnt from Ashley: "When risk goes up, speed comes down!"
It's always difficult to tell because we're seeing it from a different perspective, but it looks like the motorcyclist didn't hesitate at all to check for oncoming traffic.
When I learnt to drive in 1988/9, it was always offside to offside, then road markings began to appear to do near side to near side and it soon became the norm
Yep same here. It was always the imaginary flagpole to drive around. near to near makes some sense if there's long queue, as you can see the oncoming through traffic better, but you have to really crawl out for a peek first. When I'm a through driver I always try to anticipate somebody doing that and if they get too far out I'll stop and let them go, but there's still a lot of "its my right of way" thinkers that will whizz through regardless
I learned in the 2003/04 and officially, it was offside to offside, but I was also taught that nearside to nearside was the norm, so just go with that bcos no one else would be expecting the former.
Amazing how many people now get cross and confused if your try to do offside to offside these days.. Some junctions just arent safe to do anything else ...or at least try. But, hey, 45 years since I took my test (and I'd have probably failed it if Id done a nearside to nearside turn). Ultimately, try to be safe and watch for everything.
@@roderickmain9697 I passed Sept 78, 7 month wait then only because no one wanted to do test in that area. Think they have it tough nowadays at 5 months. Correct it would have been a fail then going offside to offside you always went to the rear of opposing vehicle to turn right except on dual carriageways with a lane to turn right in line with opposite lane in front. Think its an extention of that brought in by councils rather than highway code as often happens. Definately changed to offside to offside mid to late 80's on two way single lane roads.
Think it's also important to mention the importance of stopping if your not sure and crawling out The rider just went for it which is completely the wrong thing to do
I pass through that junction in Maghull on my way home most days, coming from the direction of the car and you have to take it slow as you can not be seen and people just pull across without being sure its clear. It's happened many times to me. Defensive driving is a must in situations like that.
The other day on Facebook, I was berated for suggesting it would be wise to anticipate risk and slow down in accordance with the risk level and what you can or cannot see. One user stated that I surely wasn't serious! No way should you slow down when you've got priority and lights are on green 🤦♂️
5:55… years ago my colleague t-boned a milk float very similar to this, he was in the out side lane [40 reducing to 30 MPH zone] and the milk float joined the dual carriageway from the side road from the left and pull straight out across into the outside lane. When my mate asked why he pulled straight out into the outside lane instead of filtering into lane 1 [the road was empty and no other traffic around] the float driver said he wanted to turn right at the next round about [which was about a 1,000 yards further up the road] and also added he was new at the job and had only been driving the float about a week. 😳🤦♂️
One can be as safe as can be but we are still on the road with idiots on phones while driving or high on intoxicants. You do a very good analysis. I hope every driver watches. In many of these collisions you are correct in identifying the one or two stupid things caused a collision. In the last one particularly. Find a cross road or turn off with much better view. So easy, yet so difficult for the impatient. And when coming to or going through a short sight line area reduction of speed is so good yet so difficult to practice. And if one drops speed due to a situation with obvious dangers the jerk behind you might plow right through, your vehicle included. New subscriber.
Your videos have changed the way I drive. I currently live in London but am from up north originally. Bad driving in London is very common and I see risky behaviours every day. My biggest change in my driving is not flashing my lights to let people through. I can see how this can go wrong and how it is better to show your intentions by the way you position yourself on the road . The biggest problems I see whilst driving are people overtaking you on your left side and weaving in and out of traffic. Sometimes it's very scary.
In the motorcycle clip you can see the nose dive before the rider decides to just go for it. It looks like a learner and the lack of experience (of cars trying to kill you on a regular basis) meant they weren't expecting a car to turn up. It also looks like the rider was leaning as they came into the junction before reaching the point to turn which implies that they came from the nearside and then moved over, normally you would approach the junction already well over to the right.
The school bus clip gives you the collywobbles. There was a particularly distressing fatality, witnessed by a bus load of kid near us a few years ago. The car driver ultimately took their own life, seemingly as consequence. We have all seen kids dashing from behind the school bus, my own being one. I might have been OTT in impressing on him what could easily have happened...Just be extra cautious passing school busses, if you even need to pass one at all.
I think a lot of it comes down to people blindly trusting the system "It's my green light i can go" and "They have to give way to me" instead of using that as a motivation but still keeping an eye out for someone not paying attention or poor care for safety. When i had a filter arrow one time on my lessons my instructor told me to still look left incase there were any red light jumpers. "Always be aware even if it's your right to go", and that has stuck with me ever since.
I have to admit I did slip in to bad habits. But since watching your analysis videos I have slowed down and think a lot more. Thank you for you videos.
HGV v Golf: love the compo-clutch at the heart(!) There are bits around the driver that are harder to see but, for the most part, there isn’t a ‘blind spot’. There are ‘places I didn’t look’ spots, or places the driver didn’t set his mirrors for. Too many people rely just on their mirrors. In this case, it looks like a Golf driver accustomed to weaving in and out of traffic who didn’t give any care. He usually gets away with it. But you can’t hide an HGV in a Golf’s ‘blind spot’.
Liverpool Road North and Westway. It reminds me of Penn Road and Stubbs Lane, turning right from Penn is nearside to nearside due to the junction. They're both about the same distance from the stations and in the amount of collisions.
I don't know if it's every state but I've seen the yellow school buses in the US with a stop sign on the bus. When they stop to let the kids off the stop sign sticks out and drivers are not allowed to go passed the bus at that time. Perhaps British buses could adopt that to be used during the school runs.
Hmmm that'd be limited in situations. Majority of kids here use the regular public busses and the ones that are on school runs are normally council or hired ones from private companies operated by councils. Though i have been in such situation where the bus was parked on the other side of the road and having to cross over on a quite busy 2 lane road thats a 30 limit. Now Council have putted a new pedestrian island in recently.
Sometimes it is hard to look for the things that you cannot see when those you can see, can be so awful all on their own. That said, the bus incident was insane, and the other unsighted and blind sided incidents cried out for rather more care than some took. Your staggered formation point was well taken, I prefer to tuck in and wait, or, if not possible, then hold back and let the chips fall where others drop them.
Hi Ashley very much enjoying your videos and though these I'm trying my best to be better driver, however I have to ask at 01:46 would it not have been safer for all, if you had stopped to let the more venerable and quite obviously less skilled road uses cross? I know that's what I would have done and would really like to understand if that would been a mistake or wrong? We cant see the traffic behind but I am assuming you had enough distance to any users behind and your speed would indicate it to have been fine. Genuine question BTW and I'm in no way trying to call you out, many thanks X
Hiya Holly, thanks for the question as it’s a good one. Each situation as always should be judged on its own merits so please don’t take this reply as a “must do this in every situation”. As I was approaching the pedestrian it’s obvious where they were looking to cross so be ready to stop and proceed with caution. When road users suddenly have a change of mind things can be missed. Effectively they were telling me they wanted to cross behind so why change that 👍 I hope that makes sense.
@@ashley_neal Thanks for the explaination to Holly and yes, for me it makes sense. Also good to take onboard the don't take as a "must do this in every situation" approachj. I know in the past, you stated that driving isn't always strictly black and white, as there is some grey in between . Hence a flexible approach should be taken and to judge each situation on it's own merits.
Great food for thought, as always Ashley. Thank you so much. Every video you post teaches something! You asked what we (the viewers) think, so here's my 2 cents. I agree on all points with you btw. I absolutely agree that people should slow down when they can't see well. It is what I do. If the limit point in a bend is sharp, I slow down, to 40, 30, etc, depending on the weather conditions as well, no matter that the country road speed limit is the National Speed limit (i.e. 60mph). I just wish others would be less entitled little muppets honking their horns like lunatics. Admittedly, this happens very rarely (once or twice a year). I do wish bullying on the roads could be addressed somehow. So many people are doing the right things, like slowing around schools (at the correct times of day), or slowing at junctions like in the first clip, and some muppet in the back is honking their horn as if their life would depend on it. I've seen drivers speed up immediately, abandoning caution. I have been bullied like this myself a few times, and it's extremely hard to fight the instinct to react. It's of course, our own responsibility to not react and continue to be cautious of everything, but I wish something could be done to teach drivers a little more patience and a little less anger.
Yeah I never drive at the speed limit when there’s a que on the other side of the road. Have to prepare to stop in situations like the one at the end there. Stay safe all!
I'm so glad to have done some advanced training on my bike and follow many youtubers like yourself. The information here is invaluable and I wish there was a way to encourage more and more people to engage with content like this. Please keep it up Ashley people like you have made changes to people's driving and have probably saved lives too. I personally feel that my I have been able to avoid so many incidents because of how I drive and ride now by implementing many of the things pointed out in this video.
@@Christian-ve1wi That would be awesome! "Turn right at the next traffic light" and as you come out of the turn "That was boss mate!" "In 200 feet turn left, only signal if you need to...and watch out for Bobs & Toms" "Turn right at the mini roundabout...and make sure you go all the way around and not over it". "In 300 yards, two lanes become one. If traffic is queueing, use both lanes and merge in turn".
The issue in the second clip happens a lot. As car drivers, we tend to expect to see 2 headlights, in this instance, at a glance, the driver might have assumed there was a car behind the one at the front but it was slightly off to the side so only one headlight could be seen. I have no idea how the car in that last clip hit them. There's was so much time between seeing sidways headlights from the turning car to the collision. As for thinking about what you can't see, it's always on my mind. If I'm going straight through a junction and there's a possible conflict point that I can't confirm is clear, I'll slow down. Maybe from 30 to 20, then back up once I can confirm it's clear. It may not totally avoid a collision, but it's a happy middle ground that would reduce any damage whilst not hindering traffic flow too heavily.
In that first clip. It's mainly the motorcyclists fault for going when there was traffic - but the car driver was passing stationary traffic injudiciously quickly, too.
The car managed to stop in slightly longer than its own length, so I think the speed was less than 20 mph, albeit that it was accelerating across the junction.
The last clip... definitely worth knocking a bit of speed off when going past a queue in the opposite direction. Lots of things you cant see and plenty of places for them to jump out from.
The kids by the bus is bad, I have driven school buses for twenty yrs (Until now that is , cancer got me !), but our vehicles have signs fully in view stating 'Don't Cross Until Bus Has Gone'. You have to reinforce this verbally every time though, because cars fly past buses at crazy speeds, not seeing the situation as a hazard but an opportunity to get past that pesky bus. Anyway, thanks Ashley this channel is great.
That clip with the school kids!!! I just don't know how someone could show such little regard for children! I would happily see that person never driving again.
With respect to taking more care over things I can't see, maybe in the past just for right turns, turning around a sharp corner, overtaking etc the "normal" times. The thing that has stuck with me from your videos is the SLOW writing on roads and the concealed entrance signs and that sort of thing. I take much more care with them now.
Yea absolutely I have a number of mini roundabouts on my daily commute that you cannot see down the right until your basically on the line, I always slow down to a crawl before entering so I can have a clear line of sight, many people go through at 20 ish mph and I assume it's a leap of faith because there is now there stopping if some does the same and pull out without slowing.
My wife used to drive a bit too fast on the country roads round here (Devon). I said to her, "imagine there's a horse on your left round the next bend and a tractor on the right coming towards you". I noticed a significant improvement in her driving after that. Sometimes it just needs pointing out.
The left turn at that junction from the same direction catches unaware people out, as you know there is a give way a few meters past the lights where people will stop when cars travelling in the opposite direction are turning right onto the same road. Pretty sure I've seen at least two crashes in the last 12 months, drivers become too focussed on the cars from the opposite direction turning right and rear end the car stopped at the give way.
The opening clip just reinforces why turning offside to offside is by far the safest way, but over the forty odd years I've been driving, it seems to have become forgotten practice, and if you try to do o/s to o/s you will be treated like an idiot. It is also not helped by the 'must cut the corner' brigade who shut off any room to go o/s to o/s. I have a simple rule, if I can't see, I don't... Recently I was taking a twisty, narrow, overgrown single track road at less than 30mph, because I couldn't see very much. The driver behind thought he could intimidate me into going faster by getting ever closer. He nearly came through my back doors when I had to stop for a tractor, that appeared suddenly even at that speed. He hung back after that. One thing I have learned from Ashley's channel, you never stop learning.
Last clip (what I think), If you drive past a queue of very slow/stationary traffic in either direction, you need to be slower than normal and ready to stop. The clip with the school kids was unbelievable and well worthy of a significant ban.
One thing I see very often on accident videos is a shocking lack of care and attention given to potentially injured people, whoever is at fault. Here, the lorry driver gets into a heated discussion with someone who is clearly in shock, has a leg injury(?) and possibly in need of urgent medical attention.
First of all in the second clip from Germany the scooter driver was on the wrong side of the road..... that is a rather common danger over here.... and second regarding expecting traffic from where i can't look around to, yes i do because of your videos. I was rather defensive before but this helps even more and has saved my and the others backend a few times already.....
@@ibs5080 I'm 99.99999% sure it's dubbed in. Sounds exactly like the clip where the phrase originated from (see my standalone comment about it, as I've noticed quite a few comments thinking the lorry driver said it)
5:42 That incident is not due to a blond spot, and especially not seeing a lorry. A driver looking to the right can see much more than 90 degrees and when the car making a lane change to the right can see even more... He just didn't look right properly.
100%, agree. And apart. From Lane 1. Do the checks, blind spot, mirros go to lane 2. Repeat the process before move from lane 2 . Check blind spot mirrors go to lane 3. Imagine that drive in a motorway doing the same from lane 1 to lane 3. Smh.
If you can’t see anything coming, most people think that’s fine and they can go. But you shouldn’t go until you *can* see that there is *nothing* coming. There’s a very important distinction.
Golf driver very lucky railings didn't penetrate the cabin, in some cases leaning /tilting your head slightly towards the middle of the car whilst looking in the mirror to see beyond the "normal view" you see when sat back in your seat. Have lived and worked in Germany for over a decade and I can remember driving to work in the winter between Ravensburg and Wangen im allgau and coming across a local walking down an unlight country lane without a foot path dressed from head to foot in black (Warm but deadly), I was so flabbergasted I actually gave them the Hi vis vest from my car. W.r.t the kids dashing across the road , simply horrifying , I'm sure many of us can remember the THINK campaign run several years back where the kid sees his mates crying at a roadside tribute and wonders why then later on sees another who appears to ignore him, so he then calls out to his mate and dashes across the road only for a car to pass right through him, leaving him apparently unscathed ,he then comments to the camera that it didn't hurt as much as yesterday. Road safety is everyones responsibility when you're out and about.
As a rider i leave my "cardriving skills" at home and bring my "riding skills" when riding two wheels. My advantage is getting my motorcycle license before my car license. A good tip for riders is to keep a good distance from behind big veicles and Always think they dont see you. I do this so naturly after 30 years that i dont even think, but i know there if i did not have my "my ridingskills" on i would not have been here. Give the cardriver room, time and sometimes the go ahead no mater what is the rule or law. They never want to hit you, but they have problems seeing, and more
When I done my CBT I was told by my instructor that you have to assume other road users haven't seen you and act accordingly, always think, they they pull out or brake suddenly where will I go? What is my exit strategy? On the road section of the CBT the other rider with me was rear-ended while stationary at a roundabout. The car driver was following a friend and "didn't see her". Just one thing on seeing, although bikes have no frame to obscure vision, they do have large blind-spots, my bike I can loose a long wheelbase transit van in it. It is so important, regardless of vehicle, to look over your shoulders before doing manoeuvre. And even if you are technically in the right, give way to an idiot because it is better to give way then end up in A&E.
In certain situations i look for reflections in parked cars if the roads are narrow and that's a good trick when pulling out of juctions. I also use shop windows as another example for spotting other road users via their reflection. I use this trick as an added safety precaution.
The clip with the kids running out from behind the bus brings to mind the American rules regarding school buses. When they stop they drop down a STOP sign and all drivers in each direction must stop until the bus moves off. Now that's something to think about.
7:48 Is taken on the A38 directly south of the town of Thornbury, near Bristol, judging by the coordinates given by the dashcam. The pair of electric poles seen to the right means the viewer is traveling North East away from Alveston. It is National Speed limit on this section of road from the last juction behind the viewer for Alveston next to a Hyundai dealer
Lamp posts, trees and sign posts situated on the corner of give way. They are large enough to hide bicycles and motorcycles and sometimes even cars if in the exact "right" spot.
I'm apparently an annoyance to some drivers for being cautious. I took a holiday a few years ago in the peak district and not knowing the roads at all, I drove at 40-45mph on a road with a 50 limit. It was a narrow winding country road and I slowed for the completely blind corners. I guess me trying to be cautious annoyed the guy that came speeding up behind me (with me at 40 and the speed he approached, I assume he was doing about 70) because he spent about 5 minutes honking and flashing at me. I'm just glad he was smart enough not to try to overtake me on those corners. I pulled over in the first lay-by to let him flip me off then speed away to save 20 seconds of time before we hit a junction with traffic lights and I was right behind him. Is this poor driving practice or am I correct for being so cautious?
From my perspective as a motorcyclist, we can see above cars this rider should also have been looking through their windows. I really can't see how the first one failed to see the traffic going straight. He should have at least paused to check as well.
The motorcyclist and already committed himself to that manoeuvre when he crossed the traffic light stop-line. The proper approach there would have been to stop when alongside the first car in the queue and then only proceed if the road can positively be seen to be clear. Cars come in all sorts of heights these days, and working on the principle that there's no car there if you can't see the roof over the top of others is a bad principle. You have to be able to see the road itself is clear.
I always think about anything I can't see. If I can't see past a bus, even when I've edged close to the line, I won't even attempt an overtake. Prescot Road where you turn on to St Oswalds Street, I turn right a lot, there. When there's no light for the right turn anymore, I'll hang in the box until I've got a good enough view of the road. The amount of times I've seen cars just go when they can't see behind the right turners in the opposite direction is pretty shocking. Seen a fair few near misses, there.
8:25. Get off the brakes and steer around the accident! Or, like I did, take one for the team and get up the kerb/verge to avoid the collision. This type of response in an accident unfortunately kills far more bikers than car drivers. Even with modern tyres and modern EBD/ABS/ESC software the car is still very hard to control or swerve, especially at speed with your foot jammed on the brakes. I have had a serious near misses like this, on the bike where braking was not going to solve the problem alone. Managed to override the panic braking, let up on the brakes, and steer to avoid. Nobody at fault, one of those things. On the way into a blind dip I see a "parked 4x4" ahead. 50mph in a 60mph road. When I popped back up out of the dip however the 4x4 was actually doing a 3 point turn across both lanes. Immediately went to full brakes, no ABS but I could tell from the bike squirming around I was at the absolutely limit of braking and staying upright. I remember coming to the realisation I was going to hit the car into the driver side front wheel doing about 15mph still. Something in me said, "NO! Find another way.", so I got off the brakes and swerved for the gap between the front of the 4x4 and the hedge, shot through with my mirrors and head passing inches from the 4x4 front bonnet peak, to find an equally startled BMW coming the other way, face to face. Again swerved back onto my own side of the road with still about a dozen feet to spare from the beamer. I raised my eyes skyward and said "Thank you!" All over in about 4 seconds really. Felt like a minute.
Here in S Africa it is normal to turn nearside to nearside, on a lot of traffic light controlled junctions the road markings indicate that. Having been involved in an accident like that over 30 years ago I am super cautious when turning right especially for the red light jumpers that are so prevalent here. If the junction layout or traffic is especially bad I try and find a way that does not involve turning right at it.
In the final clip , it was a stupid and dangerous manoeuvre by the turning car , but the oncoming car was clearly not travelling at a speed such that he could stop safely within the distance he could see to be clear . At police college on advanced courses , the teaching is to base your driving plan on : what you can see ; what you cannot see ; and the circumstances you can reasonably expect to develop . This is part of the resume given at the start of any commentary drive .
There's a few traffic lighted junctions like the one in the first clip you analyse near me and so often I see close calls. I'm convinced that because such junctions are relatively rare and, crucially, because there *are* traffic lights present, folks get lulled into a false sense of security. I.e. they observe they have a green light and assume they have 'exclusive use' of their path across the junction. To be completely honest, I've nearly done this myself a couple of times before. I'm inclined to think the legislation could do with being changed so that there's always a set of lights for turning across other traffic even if it is at the slight detriment of traffic flow. Safety should come first.
Fitting every traffic light with filters would be hugely, hugely expensive and that's money that can't be spent on other things, including other safety measures. I don't know what the statistics reveal about the number of serious injuries and deaths that occur at such junctions. However, in this particular case, the traffic lights were fitted with a right-hand filter, and still there was an accident, so it would not have prevented that particular incident (although a 4-way phase system would). In any event, at least in the UK we do not have many of those vast traffic-light controlled junctions on high speed multi-lane roads that the Americans seem to love. There are some frightful videos of vehicles being T-boned at high speed.
@@nuntius1933 the lights just need sensors and proper programming to only use the turn lights when the traffic gets busier. There are several around where I work which are like that. The right turn arrow only activates if the system detects a number of cars waiting.
That deserves a minimum 12 month ban! I know Ashley's viewpoint is education but the stick can sometimes be just as effective and I'd argue the wider public need to be protected from drivers like this.
The clip with the schoolkids crossing behind the bus and the oncoming speeding car at around 6:48 was truly shocking. How can any driver not think to slow right down when approaching a bus that's either stopped or just moving off again? Especially more so at school start and end times. Perhaps a school crossing patrol should be situated at that particular spot, as this will be a regular daily occurance. Maybe also a "lecture" at the school about this very danger and to wait till the bus has fully moved away and that you can see before crossing. Perhaps also a reminder announcement from the bus driver as the bus is coming to a stop? The announcement voice can even be automated.
I reckon a brief announcement at that stop over the PA by the bus driver "Watch out kids, there's some utter wanker in a black Golf who likes to speed past here at this time. Make sure you don't get flattened by it."
And you're think the bus driver would even have the time to announce that? And you're aiming the bus driver could see the oncoming car. As you don't know what was in front of the bus. Also I'll warrant, the bus driver, understandably was paying the greatest attention, quite rightly, to the kids immediately around the bus
Yeah, on the motorway I'd just used the overtake lane to well, overtake. I then check that I'm way ahead of any traffic and that there's loads of space to move back into the correct lanes. I always do this, and only ever do overtakes when there's loads of space. Now, my car isn't particularly easy to see blind spots with (an Astra) but I know this, so what I do is check my rear-view, nothing, check my left wing (all around including the wider portion of it), nothing, check behind me and to my left physically - I do this several times. I see absolutely nothing, so I put my indicator on. Again, I leave that for a few seconds and check again that everything is clear. I then hear a long loud car horn, and out from UNDERNEATH my blind spot there's a low sports vehicle just tailing on my left hand blind spot. The rear of my Astra is contoured upwards towards the back, and this guy was in a small black slick vehicle just sitting in my blind spot. It was physically impossible to know he was there, and I mean physically impossible. Luckily I could move back to the overtake lane and he could also move, but at that point I'd scared myself shitless. Even as we both moved I struggled to see him. Don't hang around in people's blind spots in small sports cars, it's bloody stupid.
Spent years riding motorcycles, treat everyone like they cant see you, the one that gets my goat is when inching out of a junction with parked cars on the road is the amount of people assume you can see them because they can seen your front bumper, blaring horns for the next 200 yards
