WITH driving standards in this area seemingly at an all-time low, I am thinking that maybe that there is an ‘alternative’ Highway Code which has yet to reach the HMSO shelves?

The amber light which follows green has – and always will be – the signal to ‘prepare to stop.’

We now see on a daily basis drivers who regard amber as the signal to ‘accelerate as quickly as possible to try and beat red.’ Time was when most roundabouts could be negotiated in the same textbook manner, however many exits.

These days, many roundabouts have designated lane approaches and exits, making them safer and more user friendly.

Apparently this does not concur with the ‘alternative’ version which allows traffic in a ‘left and ahead’ lane to travel the entire circumference of the roundabout in order to access the third or even fourth exit.

If one happens to be in the ‘ahead and right’ lane this can have serious consequences.

One of the worst roundabouts which attracts these drivers is the St Paul’s roundabout where it is quite normal to see cars in the left/ahead lane in Holdenhurst Road trying to barge in at the Wessex Way exit or, worse still, the last exit back into Holdenhurst Road.

Of course it might help if the road markings at this point were renewed, but somehow I doubt it.

Parking so close to a road junction that a car is actually covering the dropped kerb designed to help those with buggies or the elderly to cross the road, is another selfish habit which is almost accepted nowadays.

Apart from creating problems for pedestrians it’s just as hard trying to turn into one of these streets with cars parked right up to the junction.

The rule about ‘ahead has priority at junctions’ seems to have been rewritten by those who deliberately cross the white line, turning their wheels in an aggressive fashion so as to give the signal “I’m going to turn in front of you whether you like it or not.”

This is a favourite at the Lansdowne/Beechey/Cavendish Roads junction, but I’m sure there are plenty of others.

Finally, do motorists who can be seen constantly glancing down into their laps rather than looking at the road ahead really think they’re fooling us? Of course not – they’re looking at their phones, maybe even a laptop!

Come on you ‘alternative’ drivers – invest in a copy of the real Highway Code and make our roads safer for the rest of us.

DANIEL CAMPBELL

Ascham Road, Bournemouth

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