There are always going to be bad drivers on the road, it’s just a fact of life.
You can tell someone a thousand times to indicate out of roundabouts, but for some people it will never get through.
The same applies for drivers using cell phones – some people just can’t help themselves.
So it’s good that Masterton police will be out this week picking up those who fail to indicate at intersections, and those texting or calling while driving through town.
It’s going to be interesting to see how many tickets are issued and warnings given.
I’ve had two scares on Wairarapa roads recently.
One was an example of a driver’s bad judgement, the other of complete stupidity.
Both took place at night on the stretch of State Highway 2 between Featherston and Greytown, and they gave me a hell of a fright.
In the first case someone pulled out from a side road and thought it was a good idea to pull a U-turn across both lanes before heading back down the side road.
I had to slam on the brakes and luckily missed piling into the side of their car.
On the second occasion I was driving along when I saw something flash past my right window.
It was a car overtaking me at speed, late at night, with no headlights on.
Who knows how long they had been behind me, as they only put their lights on once they were well and truly past me.
Why someone would do this I have no idea, but you’ll see all sorts of stupidity on the roads if you do enough driving.
As for roundabouts, I thought the rules were pretty clear.
You indicate when entering, if you’re turning left or right, and don’t indicate if you’re going straight.
When exiting the roundabout you indicate to let those waiting know that they are free to enter.
Unless, like me, you occasionally use the wrong hand and turn on the windscreen wipers instead.
But I’m not sure there is a specific ticket for that offence.
As I said, there will always be some bad drivers out there.
Bad driving blitz welcome
