After three weeks of daily motoring in France, Richard Madeley believes French drivers show considerably more consideration than UK drivers. He was not tailgated once, was invariably allowed into slow-moving traffic when joining from a smaller road, and was never beeped at or flashed. After dark, everyone drove on dipped beam and he was never dazzled.
French Driving Manners Impress
In the south of France, there were plenty of high-performance sports cars, but none had souped-up exhausts blaring pointlessly. No one revved engines at traffic lights. In a local supermarket car park, no one left cars straddling two spaces or diagonally slewed in a parallel slot. Everyone parked neatly and efficiently. When an elderly woman held up cars for several minutes fumbling with exit buttons, the man behind her got out and smilingly assisted her. Madeley did not see a single driver using a mobile phone.
UK Motorists Admit Hypocrisy
Back in London, the contrast is great. People drive with hostility and aggression. A survey published this week found most UK motorists admit committing faux pas they criticise other drivers for making. The poll of more than 2,000 people for insurance provider GoShorty found three quarters of British drivers admit doing exactly the things they cannot stand seeing other drivers do.
The most common discourtesy is refusing to let another vehicle pull out, while stubbornly hogging a place in slow-moving traffic. Hundreds admitted deliberately blocking someone’s attempts to merge from a slip-road. More than 12% confessed to failing to say thank-you with a wave or a brief flick of hazard indicators to someone who slowed down to let them out. Tailgating, failing to indicate, and using the phone behind the wheel were also admitted.
Electric Car Drivers Named Hypocrites
Despite all that, 96% still considered themselves good drivers. A hardcore of 2% reckoned all other drivers are rubbish and much worse than them. The most interesting finding concerned drivers of electric cars, in particular Teslas. Tesla owners emerged as the biggest hypocrites – 88% of them admitted committing the sins they detest in other drivers.
Madeley also noted that loud exhausts are always fitted by men, wondering what they are compensating for. He then turned to other topics, including Jerry Hall’s appearance on Celebrity Traitors at age 70 and his own upcoming trip to Bolivia to film the second part of his extreme prison series for ITN and Channel 5.
