Yeah all those Johnny Foreigners coming over to the UK causing accidents that should have been caused by British fuckwit drivers!
Bit of a sweeping statement there sim667, I've seen poor driving in most countries but a lot of countries I've been to, especially on mainland Europe tend to have a higher general standard of driving when compared with the UK (Holland being an exception).
I think you're putting words in my mouth a little there, and I knew someone would try and do that, as is Urbans calling.The driving test is much harder here than many other places in the the world, as is the requirement to keep vehicles in a good working condition. As one of the most multicultural countries in the world, with both vehicles and drivers from all over the world crammed onto some of the busiest roads around, and with a vast majority of foreign vehicles seated on the other side, of course it goes without saying that there will be accidents. At no point am I suggesting that all accidents are the fault of foreign drivers, but at the same time, with an influx of vehicles from abroad its simply impossible to enforce driving and vehicle standards on incoming drivers and vehicles.
I for one would rather live abroad than live in a Britain that didn't welcome immigrants at all, but then Im not naive enough to ignore the fact that without an element of standardisation across all driving and vehicles that the accident rate will incrase.
For the last 6 years I've driven an 80 mile round commute daily, the increase in lorries in that time, is hugely noticeable, and the increase in foreign lorries is very noticeable too. Having had my last car written off by a Czech lorry driver who accepted fault at the side of the road, I've obviously been more wary of left hand drive HGV's, and when you're specifically keeping an eye on their movements, you also start noticing that many of them lack the extra wing mirrors left hand drive HGV's are required to have in the UK, and how many of them have mismatched number plates between cab and trailer. I can guarantee that at least twice a month I see a car trashed by a left hand drive lorry thats pulled across to the next lane right and hasn't seen a car in their blind spot, of course many drivers are naive to that position being a blind spot to a left hand drive HGV where as it wouldn't be to a right hand drive HGV.
As for the poorer quality of driving abroad, I've spent masses of time in spain and france, and my spanish freinds and french relatives would admit that standards of driving there are poorer than the UK. Having visited a number of places across eastern europe, i would feel safe saying that certainly poland the driving is awful, but the other countries its certainly not as a. busy, b. controlled on the road as the UK.
Whilst not solely to blame, considering the changing ethic of british society to a "me me me" opinion which is clearly obvious by current issues surrounding predominantly british drivers and cyclists, and the ever obvious BMW drivers and Audi drivers as favoured by the remnants of what was the middle management culture, I do feel that it is rather naive to not accept that the changing cultural landscape in the UK plays no part in practicalities like the quality of driving etc is pretty naive, and to take the default view that anyone who dares suggest that must be making a racist comment, is frankly pathetic.
One thing that has always surprised me whilst driving round the M25 is the amount of military vehicles that seem to be caugh up in really nasty accidents. I passed one about a month ago where a military HGV had driven into the back of the one in front and totally pulverised the cab. I hate to think what the state of the driver was. But then military policy seems to dictate the plaster paperwork all over the windows obscuring the view etc.
