OV9

Every motorcyclist on a UK plate that I’ve shared the road with has always nipped past from the rear of my car, down the side and positioned themselves in front of my car, ready to pass the car in front in the same way when a suitable opportunity appears.

I find it very sensible, I can move over at a suitable point to give them more space and back off a bit to give them a comfortable space in front of me so I still have a braking distance. They cut through the traffic and are no bother to me in the slightest.

Not the French. The annual jaunt to the TT brings the French over and in their droves. Instead of following the sensible UK bikes they decide that for, reasons only known unto themselves, that the most appropriate place to sit is six inches off your rear three quarter, in your blind spot. I between you and the car in the lane next to you. And when they progress forwards it’s not to the gap in front of you before the next car, but to go and sit on the white line bang in between the two cars in front also in their blind spot.

Not only that they’ll pass on your left and right. Sit next to a truck whilst riding the white line and squeezed in between the over taking car in the middle lane? Clearly, the most obvious place to park your bike for a minute or two.

Utter, utter arse holes.

Having just got back from driving in France, they do seem particularly death wish-y.

I followed a German motorcyclist last week up the M25. He was a bloody potato, just sat behind the car in front of me for 45 mins whilst we were going through heavy traffic at 0-10 mph. It was actually annoying me that he wouldn’t just filter through.

The French do love a bit of tail-gating.

I spent a lot of time studying the driving habits of the French. For example, I'm convinced they tailgate so aggressively as that's the only way the driver in front will ever notice there's someone else on his road.

Going by the amount of people either swerving pot holes or just generally not concentrating and weaving about in their lane it’s going to get someone seriously hurt, or worse, and I don’t think it’ll be the French guys fault for sitting in the same lane next to the car in the blind spot.

Saw a bike following a 40t lorry on a relatively clear motorway the other day. The lorry was driving at 60, the bike was less than a bikes length from the lorry’s bumper(?)

No way the lorry could see the bike

No way the bike could see past the lorry

I’m going to guess the biker has rightfully died, but thankfully the lorry driver was probably none the wiser

I'm surprised they don't catch their string of onions on a mirror as they pass.

The seemingly suicidal overtakes in underpowered shitboxes is always something that made me chuckle in France when I’m driving there. They seem to get away with it because of the roads being more empty than here.

drcarlos wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:18 pm The seemingly suicidal overtakes in underpowered shitboxes is always something that made me chuckle in France when I’m driving there. They seem to get away with it because of the roads being more empty than here.

The M6 on a Friday night in rush hour isn’t ideal then