Non VRS drivers - why the hate?

[LordRaiden84]

This isn't specifically aimed at people on this forum nor is it me looking for an opportunity to stir things up.

If anything, I want to see if this is common or if it's purely coincidental. Basically, owned my VRS for a few months now and apart from the now and again admiring glances it gets, I feel certain brands of road users *insert 2x appropriate German manufacturer here* are not so admiring and have been in some instances, complete ****.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not whiter than the driven snow and I could understand if I drove like a balloon but getting right up my backside on the M6 when I'm clearly making progress is ludricous.

Not to mention the fact the above driver thought it was necessary to pull into the middle lane, undertake then pull back in front and harsh brake if so to make the statement "you don't belong here pal".

You may argue he simply wanted me to move back into the middle lane and I do realise you shouldn't just hog a lane as they are for progress.

Other instances include being tailed by what literally felt like a few feet in a 40 zone and being cut up on a dual carrigeway for no apparent reason. Another classic is a nut job merging onto a carrigeway (50 zone) even though I'm clearly seen and travelling at a fair lick but decides to pull out anyway forcing me to slam the anchors on in the process. I flashed him if so to say WTF?! What does this bloke do? Drives at 30 - 35 whilst doing random brakes for the next 4 miles, not bothered about the buildup in toe.

Since, there have been no instances and although I drive a tad quicker (more than to be expected), my driving style has not all that changed.

I owned a Fiat punto previously and yep, that got zero attention which = zero mither.

So, is it really me or are us VRS drivers just not welcome on the road?

Discuss please.

[devonutopia]

Not to mention the fact the above driver thought it was necessary to pull into the middle lane, undertake then pull back in front and harsh brake if so to make the statement "you don't belong here pal".

You may argue he simply wanted me to move back into the middle lane and I do realise you shouldn't just hog a lane as they are for progress.

 

 

I think you might have reasoned for your own actions here.   Yes you were making progress, but if there was room to your inside for the aggressor to undertake, pull back in to the outside lane and brake check you, then to me that says you could have been making progress in the middle lane and allowed the aggressor to make even better progress in the outside lane.  Hope I read that correctly anyway.   You should never have to be in the outside lane when there is room in the middle lane.  In fact I think its an offence that can attract a £100 fine now.

[LordRaiden84]

Fair enough on that one but that doesn't explain the behaviours of the other driver(s) and instance(s). Again, my driving style hasn't hardly changed and I have more than adapted to the more powerful Octavia. I'm sure there are others on here where a VRS owner has come across this, unless of course it is just me

[laff82]

honestly couldn't say I've noticed any extra aggression from other motorists in driving my vrs coming from quite a sleeperish xsara vts for a few years before.  im quite a relaxed guy anyway and maybe years of driving quick-ish cars at a fair lick has bettered my anticipation and improved my b*ll*nd radar enough to keep clearer of the near misses.  Having seem plently of driving f**kwittery over the years I keep the view that in the very next car could be an utterly incompetent driver.  Other than that I drive quite courteously (as most people probably think about their own driving) and can use a motorway properly unlike the vast majority of road users (not a pop at the OP)

 

The only time i could honestly say I noticed the increased 'hate' was going from a metro old lady shopping trolley to a racey ish 106xsi as a very early 20 something.

I think you might have reasoned for your own actions here.   Yes you were making progress, but if there was room to your inside for the aggressor to undertake, pull back in to the outside lane and brake check you, then to me that says you could have been making progress in the middle lane and allowed the aggressor to make even better progress in the outside lane.  Hope I read that correctly anyway.

Would have to agree with you there if the other driver had room to go round the inside it does sound like you were keeping poor lane discipline, which is probably my top pet hate.  I'd have probably sat behind you grinding my teeth mind rather than undertake.

You should never have to be in the outside lane when there is room in the middle lane.  In fact I think its an offence that can attract a £100 fine now.

 

Nor should you be sat in the middle lane if there is space in the left lane.

[devonutopia]

I fear the other instances are more coincidental than due to your car model.  

[lombardy]

I've occasionally had similar instances with other drivers. I think they are not happy at being overtaken (or similar) by a Skoda. I think it goes back to the old days when Skoda's were the butt of many jokes. It is their ignorance which is showing nowadays. The last couple of weeks I've noticed particular bad behaviour from certain other German drivers who I feel get insulted if you are in front of them and they cannot get past you because their own car is not quick enough. They probably don't know what a VRS is capable of!

[LordRaiden84]

At last!! Thanks buddy I was beginning to feel left out. Clearly there are others here who failed to notice there were other instances apart from the motorway one (yes I WAS more than likely at fault). So, moving on from the M6 it's clear that other road users don't like being behind or overtaken (whatever the circumstances) by a Skoda. I agree with your choice of word 'insulted' and firmly believe this does come into the equation even though I haven't been driving the VRS for long.

 

Again, if I was driving like a moron, ragging it everywhere, showing off then I could completely understand that sort of behaviour. Dress it up whichever way you like and point the finger firmly back at me but when it boils down to it, certain drivers of top marques are imbeciles. Nuff said.

[ryan-re]

tbh mate its more like the fact that there are a lot of people on the road who really shouldnt be driving.

Its nothing to do with what you drive and simply the fact a lot of people turn into total ****ers when they get behind the wheel.

People might feel you should be driving "faster" if you have a quick car but thats their problem. I had some bloke in a 64 plate S-Class up my chuff in a 30 limit, soon as it went to 60 I floored it and he went backwards. Once he caught up didnt sit up my chuff again. People are wierd

[Nikonite]

I don't even have a vrs, I should probably be in the horse and cart lane. My pet hate is people that interrupt my 70mph cruise control by sitting next to me in the middle lane when I have given them room to overtake having been making progress in the center lane myself.

[Hudson01]

I suspect its just the poor state of driving standards these days, your car, although nice, is not so special given what i see on the road on a daily basis, i have had incidents just like yours in my Beige Fabia TDI ! There are just halfwits everywhere and its just best to drive as if every other car is attemtping to kill you. I use my motorbike for a lot of the summer months to get to work and i do get a lot of attention (a lot more than the fabia), but that tends to be from white van man wanting to race me or a job lot of local chav's in their rust green nova, overall the standard of road manners has gone down and i think you had one particular day of seeing a lot of it.

[silver1011]

I covered 50,000 miles in a vRS on my daily commute before upgrading (or down grading depending on which side of the fence you sit) to the Superb.

 

I've not noticed any difference to the attitudes of others towards me.

 

I don't think the tools on the road really care what you are driving, they just see an inanimate object in their way that they simply must get in front of at all costs.

 

The closer they get the slower I go.

[Guest]

re lane discipline

I hate it when I get tailgated in the right hand lanes and undertaken at some stupid times BUT there is a reason I'm out there, to pass the slower vehicle(s) safely and legally and leave a safe distance before pulling in to the left again.

Some folks have never heard of the 2 second rule and that's a minimum, really grinds my gears when cars pass and cut in nearly taking my wing out in the process, especially when there's nothing for miles behind pushing them on.

They can be seen zigzagging in and out of lanes instead of making smooth progress with minimum lane changes.

Shame it'll only get worse...

Just be thankful you have a car with some zip.

[TsvRS]

You are clearly using your rear view mirror too much ...

[blackspaven]

Not got a vrs so my car should p1ss people off more than yours as it's lesser powered albeit with a higher spec, but I've never noticed anything like what you're describing.

 

Not getting out of the fast or even the middle lane when the one to the left of it is free does annoy the hell out of me though.

[Anddenton]

To be fair I've been run off the road on occasion by numpties in VRS's so it's not just reserved for other marks, any car driver can be a ***** at times.

Oh and to be quite honest if you are doing 70 in the outside lane theoretically no one should have any reason to want to be past unless they are sporting blue flashing lights.

[Guest]

Nee-naw-nee-naw, fnaaaar as it was in the days of Viz comic!

[Chriswright03]

I mean this in the best possible way and no offence meant to the OP but.......get over yourself.  Yes you drive a nice car but it isn't all that.  I have one but there are many many better cars out there that people will envy.  Yes we like them but that doesn't mean other people have an opinion on them let alone the desire to make your life hell just because you own one.

 

It isn't about you or the average car you drive.  There are idiots all over the place and they don't give a monkeys about what you are driving let alone your life.  You have already admitted that you got it wrong on the motorway and I think now might be a good time to look at your own driving skills and habits and concentrate on you and that way you are well prepared for what is thrown at you by others.

 

Stop looking at things to that back up your theory that you are being picked on because it is wrong.  Get on with enjoying your car and make sure that people are not writing on forums about the daft things you are doing.

[Atkins lad]

First thing get a dash cam front and back for evidence if you have crash caused by these drivers , and tbh from reading your first post sounds like your still getting to know your car hence you taking it steady ! Nothing wrong with that safety is the key , there's idiots like that everywhere I've got a couple on camera nearly wiping my car out twice and it would prove its their fault , but enjoy your car buddy and go at your own speed

[AlanRHB]

Oh and to be quite honest if you are doing 70 in the outside lane theoretically no one should have any reason to want to be past unless they are sporting blue flashing lights.

 

I believe that the average third/fourth lane speed on our motorways is now 80-ish mph... I cruise about 73/75mph sat nav speed on my regular journey from North Wales to Newbury which gets me there in a reasonable time, and returns 55mpg (brim to brim) ... on a clear or fast moving motorway of course, and would estimate being overtaken an average of at least one car per minute on the M6-M40-M42 ... (actually had a clear run Midlands M6-M40 yesterday) ...   I believe that the maximum speed limit of 70mph is outdated for modern cars, and that the Police actually turn a blind eye up to 80mph if conditions and handling of the car are safe.

 

I don't have a problem with folks who want to drive faster than me, and will always give way... my days of aggressive driving are now over, and I now drive relatively passively though quickly where conditions allow.

 

Yesterday on the A41, which as those who know the road it is a favourite with trucks, but mainly single carriageway with not so many places to overtake.

I was immediately behind a fairly slow moving truck, (unusual for the "41" as HGV,s rattle along there at a fair lick normally), a large Mercedes was behind me and very close... having a look now and again then tucking in again.

We came upon a straight clear section so I dropped a gear and floored the standard ? 1.9TD, the Mer cdid not try to go first (I was careful to check) rather following me through, and possibly then realising that I did actually have a good turn of speed after all, he hung back from me and was happy to follow for the next 25 miles until we reached the M54 near Wellington...

So perhaps an initial "bias" that the Skoda would be a pedestrian vehicle driven by an old fart... (the old fart part is right) ...   but he was OK after he realised that my speed would be reasonable for that particular road, and did not attempt to overtake when other opportunities arose for him to do so safely.

 

Nice to have a stress free run, which yesterday turned out to be. ... Alan.

[Clive1942]

M'Lord, We know our place.  As VRS drivers, we can look down upon the lesser mortals in German cars with 3 letters who feel compelled to be at the front of a queue.  They in turn have to look up to us for our sensible choices!

Cheers

Clive  {:-D

[Ampere]

Some interesting responses on this topic - and clearly, some very high standards of driving and consideration for other road users being shown on the forum.

 

I'm with everyone on how frustrating it can be to be stuck behind a lane hog - and I've got two things to add.

 

Certain marques of car seem to induce a sense of entitlement in the mind of the driver - brashly overbearing other road users behind their big German badge of privilege. To me, let 'em get on with it - I have no need of such artificial support for my self-esteem.

 

There is a new form of aggressive driving out there, arising from the use of cruise control. Some drivers seem to see nothing wrong in overtaking with a differential speed of 1 MPH - which means they take ages to overtake. If you're about four seconds behind an HGV you are sometimes faced with a choice of indicating and moving out even if you feel it's intruding into the other driver's braking zone -  dangerous in itself; or accepting that you are being effectively blocked in and will have to drop speed. Either way, inconsiderate use of cruise control is interrupting the normal ebb and flow of driving.

 

I'm with Hudson01 - its just best to drive as if every other car is attempting to kill you.

 

:|

[Richf]

I love the "admiring glances" bit , I think anyone who buys a Skoda expecting those would be sorely disappointed

 

I'd rather be more anonymous and I think the VRS is, I get lots of nice comments about my 370z but almost as many unpleasant ones. I'm too old to really care about what others think about my choice of car purchase, or my driving for that matter.  

[Aspman]

VRS didn't attract much attention when I had one. In fact people seemed to keep their distance more than other cars I've owned. I suspect that might have been due to the local plod having quite a few VRSs on their fleet.

 

I believe owners with silver paint and xenons do particularly well at being mistaken for traffic plod.

 

There are ****ers in every brand of car but there do appear to be trends. Audi does appear to be a popular **** car right now but the winners round my way are owners of large 4x4s. Particularly Disco's, RR Sport and X5s.

 

If I get tailgated it's almost always a 4x4 these days.

[iaind1]

Oddly I find most of the people tailgaiting me (in my skoda, which I've only had a few days, and my previous car) are always driving diesel Golfs. Or vauxhall zafiras.

[andy3270]

Having had close to 70 cars in total I have only ever noticed a drastic change of attitude towards me was when I bought a old 911 this was a joke nobody would let you out and everybody wanted to overtake/race at every chance. The thing I notice wit the vrs's I have had 2 is the look of surprise when you come past them as if that car should't be doing that to me !.