Driving Standards and the Police

It is now 15 months since the stroke, but Bryony still gets concerned when I tackle longer drives. Fatigue is an issue, but I persuaded her that I could drive to London (Forest Hill) so that she could drive back with me and the girls (our two grandchildren). After all Bryony was already on Friday duty in Forest Hill.

She had suggested coming back to Norfolk on the train on Friday evening, then driving back down to London on Saturday morning. I thought this was a waste of time and money.

I confess that driving standards in Norfolk are pretty abysmal, but nothing untoward happened between Harleston and Bury St Edmunds. It was a Saturday morning so I expected some doubtful shenanigans on the dual carriageway from Bury St Ed, but everybody (or almost everybody) was being astonishingly well behaved. Lane discipline was sensible. Signalling was near perfect. I could travel at 70 mph in the near side lane except when over taking large vehicles. Most of the cars were travelling at around the speed limit. This was a piece of cake.

Even the route from Redbridge to the Blackwall Tunnel (renamed the A12) held no terrors. Most of the cars in my lane drove at or around the speed limit and left the locals to do their own thing in the outside lane. From my view point, a perfect arrangement. I was feeling pretty smug as I came off the A2 at the junction with the South Circular Road.

I was couple of cars behind one of those 12 - 15 seat mini-buses in Kent police colours. We were in the outside lane turning right onto the South Circular. Two cars to the left of the mini-bus were both signalling right, as were those of us behind it. The police mini-bus driver clearly didn’t think it was necessary.

Not the one that I saw, but very like.

The mini-bus kept to the outside lane and crossed straight over the Eltham Hill roundabout. Not a sign of a signal here. At the roundabout for the junction with the A20, our police mini-bus cut me up to move into the near side lane and then turned left at the roundabout. There was not a flicker of a signal for any of these manoeuvres.

My thoughts on the standard of this driving from a police vehicle are unprintable. Perhaps it’s as well that Bryony had insisted on driving back to Norfolk.