Why did I make this stupid mistake?

Discussion on Advanced and Defensive Driving.

Postby 04smallmj » Tue Dec 15, 2015 6:38 pm


I was driving while at work, going towards Southampton from Havant-ish. We were stuck in traffic on the A27 due to an incident so a co-worker directed me down some back roads to avoid it. We left the "motorway" at Cosham and rejoined at J11. He directed me left off Boarhunt Road - https://goo.gl/maps/UbHU4X2VqRG2 which had no signage for some reason. As I saw the sign for the roundabout, I moved into the right hand lane to go right at the roundabout... And then oncoming traffic appeared in my lane...

It was dark and raining, traffic was stop/start in the left lane but barely any oncoming traffic. I'm not sure why I did it, other than being an idiot. It's embarrassing considering that I passed the RoSPA test last month and passed the B+E test yesterday...
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Postby Gareth » Wed Dec 16, 2015 9:48 am


The only things that comes to mind are that you were distracted by the presence of your co-worker, had mentally relaxed since you were following their directions (in the way that sometimes happens when people follow satnav directions), and/or momentarily confused your location with somewhere else more familiar that has two lanes on a dual-carriageway approaching a roundabout.
there is only the road, nothing but the road ...
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Postby onlinegenie » Fri Dec 18, 2015 4:29 pm


Why? Because you're a human and humans make mistakes.

The fact that you admit it was your mistake, instead of looking for someone else to blame, means there's a good chance you'll learn from it and not repeat it.
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Postby 04smallmj » Sun Dec 20, 2015 11:50 am


Thanks guys, good points. I've never really thought about "mental relaxation".

I don't think I've ever joined the motorway from such a quiet area so that probably threw me off.
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