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Occasionally I see online spats about rural driving v town & city driving. Having experienced driving in both rural and urban areas in various countries, I prefer countryside; it is more relaxing and enjoyable than nudging along congested urban highways. However, something I’ve learned since moving back to Britain and living in Devon and Somerset is that just because a person lives in the country it doesn’t mean they know how to drive in the country. Every time I drive somewhere, I usually encounter at least someone who struggles to negotiate Somerset’s country lanes.

Utility vehicle crossing ford, Bury, Somerset

Someone who is confident driving the lanes of Devon and Somerset.

These lanes are not easy to drive if you’re unfamiliar with them, so visitors get a pass in my book. Negotiating miles and miles of single-track lanes scared the hell out of me for months after we rented a house on a sheep farm in Devon, so I understand how intimidating they can be it. But you learn … or you don’t, as it happens in some cases. There are habitual perpetrators of dodgy country driving who are permanent residents.

These are some of the dodgy driving habits which regularly provoke a WTF outburst on the sunken lanes of the South West.

The forty-mile-an hour-brigade

The most common culprits by far. I’ve bitched about them before. They drive at 40mph whatever the speed limit. They don’t slow down when they drive through towns and villages. And they don’t speed up when they pass de-restricted signs. I’m convinced they purchase their vehicles at a dealership specialising in cars that can only do one speed.

Guinea fowl on road, Somerset

It’s important to always be mindful of other road users.

The bulldozer

The bulldozer is dangerous. Head down and hunched over the steering wheel, they just keep driving forward, irrespective of conditions. When the road narrows so that it’s not wide enough to accommodate two cars, they continue full steam ahead (usually at 40mph) leaving the driver coming the opposite way to (hopefully) take evasive action. Whenever I’m behind one of these, I wince as I watch them trundle toward the narrowing waist of a lane with someone heading straight toward them. When I meet one coming toward me, there is invariably a volley of colourful curses machine-gunned at their rear bumper. Thankfully, this lot usually drive at a snail’s pace, so collisions are avoidable, unless two of these bulldozers meet.

Small cars the size of trucks

Road positioning is everything when it comes to successfully negotiating lanes which are narrow yet wide enough for two cars. Bizarrely, the drivers who behave as though they are at the wheel of a Sherman tank, and need a wider-than-is-necessary gap between their car and the verge on their side of the road, often seem to be ones who drive the smallest cars. I found this to be the case in other countries as well.

Landslide on road, Somerset

Sometimes, there is no option but to reverse.

Rabbit in the headlines

With these, I imagine loud klaxons and flashing red lights going off in their heads whenever they meet another vehicle on a narrow lane. Their reaction is to stop dead. It doesn’t matter whether that’s at the narrowest part of the road or not, they ain’t moving another inch. Their reaction speed is clearly very slow; I’ve witnessed loads of them drive just beyond a passing area before deciding to pick the worst bit possible to hit the brakes. In a way, I feel sorry for these rabbits, driving anywhere down here must be a nerve-wracking experience.

Cars with no reverse gear

Drivers in cars with no reverse gear also stop dead whenever they meet an oncoming car on a single-track lane. Even if they are barely the length of their own car from a passing space, they will refuse to attempt a reverse manoeuvre. This lot usually also display slow reaction speeds. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve yelled through the windscreen, ‘If only you’d stopped when you saw me, you’d have been at a perfect spot for passing.’ They are especially frustrating as there have been loads of occasions I’ve had to reverse long distances even though I can see a passing zone directly behind the car blocking the road ahead.

Snow on Devon lane

This road was challenging enough to drive in good conditions. When it’s like this, forget it.

A valiant effort

Linked to the above are those drivers who do attempt to reverse, but lack the skill to do so efficiently. I have some sympathy for them. Until I moved to the South West, I wasn’t accomplished at reversing. Somehow, in all the time spent driving in Greater Manchester, Tenerife, and Portugal, having to reverse was never a thing. I can tell within seconds when a driver is unable to successfully reverse. An air of reluctant hesitation oozes from their vehicle. People who are confident at reversing do so quickly. Those who aren’t, exhibit a sort of satellite delay. It’s a time gap which says, ‘I know I’m the one who should reverse, but I really don’t want to. Please reverse. Please. Please. Please.’ Within seconds of the attempt being made, the car virtually jack-knifes, its rear end heading straight into the nearest hedge or ditch. One the other day barely had to reverse a couple of metres to reach a wide junction. They simply couldn’t manage it, and ended up stuck diagonally across the lane. It was painful to watch. As soon as I realise someone has reversophobia, I flash my headlights and zip backwards. At least these drivers give it a go.

Tractor in town, Devon

In rural parts, these are the kings and queens of the road.

Middle of the roaders

As well as being narrow, many lanes are winding. It’s essential to be alert and mindful of others using the road at all times, which means no hogging the middle of a narrow lane on blind corners. Unfortunately, there are plenty who do this. We met one on a tight bend on the Watchet to Wiveliscombe road. Andy took evasive action, which forced us into the earthy wall of a sunken lane where a protruding rock completely shredded our front tyre. It was costly, and we spent two hours shivering in the darkness in the middle of nowhere waiting for a repair truck, but it could have been a lot worse.

The thing about most of the types of people referenced above is they don’t tend to be fast drivers, just dangerous ones. Surprisingly, people driving too fast hasn’t been a problem we’ve experienced since moving to this part of the country.

Narrow lane through wood, Somerset

You know you’re proficient in driving these country lanes when you can reverse the length of a lane like this.

No manners

Finally, there’s the driver who has me cursing the most. The one who doesn’t raise a finger or a hand to acknowledge ‘thanks’ when I pull into a passing place and wait for them to trundle by. A lack of manners is something that really winds me up. Thankfully, this isn’t common around here. Most people are very polite. Maybe that’s what makes it so infuriating when I’m faced with the rare driver who obviously thinks the road belongs to them, and that the rest of us are lesser mortals who need not be acknowledged.

Despite all of the above, driving the lanes of the South West is an absolute pleasure; I love it.

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Jack Montgomery

Jack is an author, travel writer, photographer, and a Slow Travel consultant who has been writing professionally for twenty years. Follow Jack on Facebook for information about his writing, travel tips, photographs, and tales of life in a tiny rural village in Somerset.

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Some of the items on this site won’t be to everyone’s liking, I get that. Basically this is my place, my wee studio to mess around in – experimenting with words and thoughts. I’ll be chuffed if you enjoy it, but if you don’t, c’est la vie. As a friend used to tell me “it would be a boring life if we all thought the same.”

Jack Montgomery
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