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Shocking driving? Not all the time

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 7:06 am
by dvenman
I saw this BBC News article this morning - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-norfolk-45843691/shocking-dashcam-videos-released-by-norfolk-and-suffolk-police

Most of the examples are egregious - but 20 seconds in, can anyone see what the white BMW has done wrong? I can't - I'd like to have a look at this on Google Maps to see if there's anything so if there's someone more local who knows where along the Norwich northern distributor road this is could you enlighten me?

Re: Shocking driving? Not all the time

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 8:34 am
by angus
If anything, it was the Honda going from lane 1 of the juction to lane 2, forcing the BMW into lane 3. Perhaps they object to "performance" cars in general?

Re: Shocking driving? Not all the time

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 10:44 am
by Strangely Brown
I had the same initial reaction as you. I cannot see that the BMW has done anything wrong and even if he did it certainly wasn't bad enough to warrant posting on a national news site.

The police officer says that they have had a 50% increase in videos submitted. Well duh! if you run a multi-force campaign actively asking people to submit videos what do you expect. :roll:

In the second of the follow-on videos on that story, "Car almost hits lorry in police pursuit"... yes, a car almost hits the lorry. IT WAS THE POLICE CAR! :headbang:

Re: Shocking driving? Not all the time

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 2:48 pm
by hir
dvenman wrote:I saw this BBC News article this morning - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-norfolk-45843691/shocking-dashcam-videos-released-by-norfolk-and-suffolk-police

Most of the examples are egregious - but 20 seconds in, can anyone see what the white BMW has done wrong? I can't - I'd like to have a look at this on Google Maps to see if there's anything so if there's someone more local who knows where along the Norwich northern distributor road this is could you enlighten me?



I think that the point at issue is the "cutting-up" of the "video car" on the exit from the roundabout. At 25 seconds the BMW cuts across the front of the "video car" as they both go for lane 2 of the exit.

But:

1) The Honda driver was at fault for not looking in his mirror and then changing lanes right in front of the BMW when he entered the roundabout.
2) The "video car" driver was at fault for not looking in his mirrors when exiting the roundabout into lane 2. Hence his obvious surprise and indignation at being "cut-up" which then prompted him into sending said video to the "dash-cam police squad"; otherwise known as "desk-bound traffic officers". :roll:
3) The BMW driver was at fault for deciding to "go for it" on the exit when he should probably have gone round again.

So, to sum up; all three of them were driving like idiots; what we see on this video is typical of what happens all the time on British roads; fortunately no one was injured and no damage was caused. This was nothing more than stupid driving on the part of three drivers who came into close proximity.

This is why I disapprove of those dash-cam warriors who take a "superior than thou" attitude when in reality they're own actions are often implicated in the "dangerous driving" outcome.

Re: Shocking driving? Not all the time

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 8:38 pm
by dvenman
hir wrote:3) The BMW driver was at fault for deciding to "go for it" on the exit when he should probably have gone round again.


I don't see that. The BMW avoided and passed the Honda smoothly when it changes lanes, and was in the correct lane (as far as I can tell) for the exit.

Re: Shocking driving? Not all the time

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:52 pm
by hir
dvenman wrote:
hir wrote:3) The BMW driver was at fault for deciding to "go for it" on the exit when he should probably have gone round again.


I don't see that. The BMW avoided and passed the Honda smoothly when it changes lanes, and was in the correct lane (as far as I can tell) for the exit.


It all happens very quickly. If you stop the video at 25 seconds and look at the very first frame of the forward facing camera, approx 4 or 5 car lengths from the exit, you will see the “video car” correctly positioned in lane 2 for the exit. The BMW then comes across very close to the "video car's" off-side front wing and the “video car” swerves away to its left away from lane 2. It all happens very quickly and in the blink of an eye and to fully understand what happened you have to examine it frame by frame.

Re: Shocking driving? Not all the time

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 10:29 am
by dvenman
Hence I'd like to see it on Google Maps. It seems, from the signposts and shadows, that the cars are going east-west on the Norwich Northern Distributor but I can't see anything on google Maps which corresponds.

Re: Shocking driving? Not all the time

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 10:55 am
by Mr Cholmondeley-Warner
A lot of these are simply explained by lack of signals from other drivers, and sudden avoiding action. Not ideal, but better than crashes. I think the key thing with the BMW one is that the video is taken from a 3rd car that you never see because you're inside it. It's the effect on that driver that you have to assess, not the others on the roundabout.

There are some pretty scary ones though - the van driver going through the red light on the crossing was lucky not to kill anybody.

Re: Shocking driving? Not all the time

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 5:03 pm
by sussex2
Dashcam footage! Moments in time and not the full story and not a way to do real policing.

Re: Shocking driving? Not all the time

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 5:28 pm
by jont-
sussex2 wrote:Dashcam footage! Moments in time and not the full story and not a way to do real policing.

No different in that sense to speed cameras :roll: