Richard Yarrow’s opinion for www.startrescue.co.uk providing low cost vehicle breakdown cover
I had the dubious pleasure of a drive down the A12 on Saturday. If you don’t know this road, it’s a notorious stretch of dual-carriaged unpleasantness than runs from Ipswich in Suffolk, down through Essex and joins the M25. The surface is appalling, there are several tight bends and it’s regularly blocked by accidents and vehicle breakdowns. For years the A12 has been earmarked for improvement, but since the Government’s spending review of a couple of weeks ago, that’s been axed.
Watching the traffic using it on Saturday, I’m convinced half the A12’s problem is the way people drive on it. They seem to pull on and instantly forget the basic rules of the road. Instead of using the outer lane for overtaking, they sit in it for mile after mile, effectively turning the whole thing into a single carriageway. Inevitably that leads to frustration, which leads to the illegal practice of undertaking, which leads to greater risk of an accident. Chuck in a spectacular downpour and masses of spray and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. I didn’t think I would ever say this, but it was a pleasure to get off the A12 and on to the M25.
Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know I have a bee in my bonnet about driver education. The fact you can pass your test at 17 and never have another minute of tuition is a national scandal. Where to position your car on the road is a classic example of people getting into routines and motoring on autopilot. I could tell you to think about it next time you drive, but me ranting on isn’t going change anything. It needs Government intervention, and if there’s no money to upgrade the A12 there’s probably none for driver training.
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