I travel the Rimutaka Hill on a daily basis and it is only a bump in the road with a few more corners not a mountain climb!! The most frustrating drivers are those who hold up traffic by driving slowly and not pulling over to let the traffic building up behind them get past and the frustrated drivers caught in the line of traffic that become full of road rage.
All the passing lanes are on the up hill side of the road but there are many places where vehicles are able to pull over to let other vehicles past. There are only a few places where one can pass so long as there is no oncoming traffic otherwise you are stuck behind a driver who inevitably puts their foot down once tey reached the straight road at the bottom of the hill.
While stuck behind one of these inconsiderate drivers, I have seen many instances in my rear view mirror where drivers caught in the traffic line are attempting to pass on blind corners, into oncoming traffic or are constantly flashing the lights on their vehicle and sitting on the horn. Frustrated drivers full of road rage cause accidents. If not involved themselves, they leave devastation in their wake as they speed past several cars and try to pull back into the line of traffic when oncoming vehicles appear on the next corner.
The oncoming traffic attempts to avoid a head-on collision and end up hitting the side of the hill. While at the same time, the idiot tries to pull back on to the correct side of the road and make room for their vehicle by forcing everyone to brake hard and several cars end up in a nose to tail collision. The idiot keeps on driving, not even noticing the carnage in his wake and starts with the flashing lights, horn blasting until they again attempt to get past all the vehicles in the line or the driver who is refusing to pull over.
People have often told me how they "hate the Rimutaka Hill" and that they will not go faster than 20 - 50kms. That translates as 20 - 30 kms around a corner and up to 50kms on the rest of the road. These people also describe how cars behind them flash their lights and blast th horn at them and in the same breath, state that there is no where to pull over unless the corner or stretch of road has enough room of a full car width between them and the traffic passing!!
However these same people also state that once they reach the straights, they ALWAYS travel at 110 - 120kms to make up time!! It's directly proportional - the slower these drivers are on the Rimutaka Hill, the faster they travel when they hit the starights!! Only to slow down once more when the next bump in the road which has a few corners.
Both these types of drivers accept no responsibility for any of the accidents that occur as a result of their driving techniques and if it's pointed out to them, they loudly exclaim their innocence. I have only one thing to say t each of these tyoes.
To those who drive slow - If you do not like driving over the Rimutaka Hill, at least pull over to let te faster traffic through. You do not need a full car width between you and the other traffic and most drivers will blast their horn in Thanks as they go by.
To those who get frustrated and full of road rage - learn to relax, think about the other vehicles on the road and nine times out of ten, you will not get to you destination any faster as you do not always get past the one holding everyone up. Taking risks causes accidents in your wake and whether you choose to believe it or not - you are responsible for the accidents caused by your risky manoeuvres.
