Editorial: Unsafe driving behaviour

Everyone on the road is a bad driver - except for me.
Yes, I sometimes follow too closely (well, I don't think so, but my wife insists I do) and on occasion I have been guilty of going over the speed limit, but haven't we all?
But I've never put my life or anyone else's in danger by overtaking dangerously.
I can't stand dangerous overtakers. It's my No 1 driving hate. But just about every day on Western Bay roads, I witness exactly this sort of behaviour.
Just the other day, I was following a truck and trailer unit on Pyes Pa Rd and the idiot that was tailgating me decided to overtake - with little clear road ahead.
He (I assume it was a he; in my view most aggressive drivers are men) then forced his way into the gap between myself and the truck.
I hit the horn because what he did was dangerous and selfish.
It was with disbelief that I watched him then overtake the truck as we approached a corner. The truckie braked. I braked. If a car or truck had come round the bend it would have ended in carnage, of that I have no doubt.
He snuck in with seconds to spare. Tragedy avoided. But was it worth it? Was it worth putting his life and ours at risk so he could get ahead on the road?
No. A couple of minutes later both the truckie and myself were behind him again at Barkes Corner roundabout. It was all for nothing. Thinking about it later, I wish I had memorised his registration and reported him to the police.
Two other things that irritate me are people who pull out of parks - and then decide to look to see if anyone's coming along - and people who speed up as the passing lane starts.
When it comes to driving, we all have our pet hates. It might be people who fail to indicate, or drivers who hug the centre line.
This week, we asked readers in a poll on our website bayofplentytimes.co.nz whether they thought Bay drivers were good or not. The response was that 84 per cent of the 178 people who took part thought in general local drivers are bad drivers. On Facebook, as of yesterday morning, 99 out of 111 people also thought locals are bad drivers.
We have the story this weekend on page A5. One Tauranga driving instructor, a former traffic officer, reckons there are some "absolute morons" out there.
He's right. Another instructor says mums and dads teaching kids to drive is not the answer because they are not professionals and can pass on bad habits.
Instructors would say this, but they have a good point.
Most kids are taught this way and it's time to change the law so that all learning drivers can be taught only by a qualified instructor.
The Government has thankfully recognised this country has a serious problem with driving and road deaths and has increased the driver-licence age from 15 to 16 and the blood-alcohol limit for drivers under 20 has been brought down to zero under a bill passed by Parliament.
The driver licence age will change on August 1 and the zero limit around the same time.
I don't think they went far enough with the minimum age. It should be 17 - the extra year of maturity counts for a lot.
Over Queen's Birthday Weekend, no one died on our roads. Given the number of drunks and bad drivers, I wonder if this was more good luck than good management.
Driving is a privilege, not a right. But what do you think?
Already, comments are being posted on our Facebook page as a result of the poll being posted. No doubt you have a pet hate on the roads, a road you think is bad or a story to tell. Email us at editor@bayofplentytimes.co.nz or go to our Facebook page.
We will publish a selection of the replies next week.