Bad Driving

nosey_parker · Post by **nosey_parker** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 11:26 pm

http://www.portcult.com/DRIVING_IN_PORTUGAL.01.htm

Can we settle the matter now? Figures speak for themselves.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 7:38 am

So Petermeacham...read and digest please and buy an Atlas of Europe....
Yes Figures speak for themselves....matter settled.....( Smug Sod I hear him say !!!).......But to be fair I do think you have been very lucky not to have experienced what I do almost daily.....Drive carefully ...

petermeachem · Post by **petermeachem** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 8:33 am

Actually not completely.
This was, I think produced by an American. Now they mostly drive around at 50mph in cars with no cornering ability at all. They find any European driving scary.
A lot of the amusing text about ignoring trafiic lights etc is lifted straight from other web pages, for instance there is one about driving in Crete which is pretty well word for word.
The insurance report stuff is just urban legend. Beware believing everything you read just because it is on a web page.

Most of the statistics I have found are fairly old, a lot from 95/96, one from 2002 which I can't find now. They do show the accident rate coming down. I would assume this is at least partly due to motorway building and improvement of minor roads. I do remember from the 2002 data that the portuguese figure was 16 whereas the previous year was 20. Apparently this was due to the way the stats were calculated. The document said that previous years figures should be somewhat suspect for this reason. If that is the case, most med countries were much the same.

Anyway, the point for me is that I feel that driving in the parts of Portugal I've been to is easier and safer than driving in Sussex and much much better than France and Italy.

Graham · Post by **Graham** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 12:15 pm

Im afraid I must jump in to support the Portuguese.

The most startling difference to me on the main roads is lane discipline. The locals stick to the inside lane religiously unless they are overtaking, which they seem to do rapidly then move straight back over, unlike the Brits who think if they are doing the speed limit they can sit in any lane they like (yes, I drive the M25 every day!)

I find that if you sit in the outside lane in Portugal for one second more than is neccessary to complete your overtaking then it is true that someone will sit right behind you with their indicator going - in which case move over.

I also find the Portuguese very considerate - if they are in a slower vehicle and I want to pass they seem to move half on to the hard shoulder to allow me to do so (without me having to flash or indicate) - perhaps they do not get as angry about being overtaken as we Brits seem to.

True, in towns and villages there is little understanding of what an indicator is for, and speed humps are definately treated as chicanes, but drive slowly with awareness and this does not seem to be a problem.

If you want to see dangerous driving in Portugal, make it difficult for someone to pass you. If you want a safe journey, keep to the inside lane as much as possible, and use the hard shoulder to make room for faster cars (i.e. use your mirror a lot so you know what is approaching from behind)

Just my experiences, for what they are worth

Graham

iane · Post by **iane** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 1:18 pm

I have been viewing this topic for a few days and wondering what to make of it while it was full of genaralisations and often little realistic opinions on such as UK driving habits - until the latest post which raises the spectre of my own "favourite" nightmare in UK driving - bad lane discipline !!

Most of the statements made here I would echo (I spend half my time in UK and half in Algarve so I see the best and worst of both ALL the time).

On balance I would say both nations have driving problems but the relatively lower level of traffic in Portugal (except Lisbon - before anyone reminds me) help to make driving still often a pleasure while it is a living nightmare in the UK ALL the time. Sunday afternoons now seem to be the busiest part of the week on motorways near my UK base and the motorways are full of amateurs which makes it worse (is this controversial enough ??).

Apart from tending to drive too close (which you can deal with) I find overall standards pretty good in Algarve (as long as you keep your wits about you - which you should do anyway).

Take your time and enjoy the drive !!

digger · Post by **digger** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 1:40 pm

….well this topic come and goes…….but we’ve never before had so much support for the Portuguese…

nosey_parker · Post by **nosey_parker** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 1:53 pm

You're right we need better reports.

http://europe.tiscali.co.uk/index.jsp?s ... 587#charts

http://www.erf.be/images/stat/7_Safety.pdf

As a portuguese I'd be more than happy to agree with those who say our roads are safe. But having known so many people who died in car crashes I cannot help but being skeptic when people tell me our roads are safe.

petermeachem · Post by **petermeachem** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 2:20 pm

The pdf is interesting. It appears that Portugal is similar to several other countries for accidents, but you are more likely to get killed. Is there a seatbelt problem?

Very long time period for that data may make it not too valid. The Algarve, for instance, has changed massively in 30 years.

biffa · Post by **biffa** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 3:51 pm

Extract from Correio da Manha this week

Trinta e oito pessoas morreram nas estradas durante a semana passada, ou seja, de 9 a 15 deste mês. A Brigada de Trânsito da GNR registou 34 mortos e a Divisão de Trânsito e Segurança Rodoviária da PSP contabilizou quatro mortos, sendo deste modo a semana com o maior número de mortos deste o início deste ano

ROD · Post by **ROD** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 3:59 pm

Any chance of having that translated into the Gaelic, or better still, Ulster Scots

biffa · Post by **biffa** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 4:04 pm

"38 people died on the roads last week, or rather between the 9th and 15th of this month.

The GNR Traffic Cops regsiterd 34 deaths and the Road "Safety"(?) Division a further 4 making this the worst week on the roads since the beginning of this year."

Well August is always knwn as the silly season isn't it?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 4:41 pm

I think you'll find that most of the accidents were caused by the rain, yes I know it isn't an excuse for 38 deaths, but it didn't help

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 5:22 pm

Our friends drive all over Portugal and 6 months ago just on a short journey they made the mistake of entering a dual carriageway by the exit instead

so it was only when they saw oncoming traffic they realised their mistake and braked, pulling over to right crash barrier. They were relieved and amazed that instead of a bad accident, the traffic gently stopped and the traffic politely waited for them to turn around and now they are extra careful when looking at those arrowed road signs.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 6:14 pm

Interesting point about the rain. Last September when I was driving down past Poco Partido after a heavy rainfall I decided to test the braking, and it was like ice! That day we saw the aftermath of 5 accidents in the space of a couple of hours. Rain after prolonged dry spells, when a lot of rubber has been deposited on the road, is lethal

nosey_parker · Post by **nosey_parker** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 9:47 pm

No one is bringing the drink and driving issue up. Who hasn't done it raise their hands.

Bad Driving

I like statistics

Bad Driving

Roads

Drink and driving