13/04/2026
Too many tailgaters lately.
Too many cars sitting far too close.
Too many instructors getting rear ended for doing nothing more than driving properly.
This is not the odd incident anymore.
This is daily.
You can be out on a normal lesson, doing the correct speed, reading the road, keeping everything calm and controlled… and there it is.
A car right on your bumper.
Not drifting close.
Not misjudging it.
Sitting there.
You can almost feel the pressure through the mirror.
I see what it does to learners.
They start second guessing.
They rush decisions.
They look in the mirror more than they look ahead.
That shift alone is enough to change the whole drive and when pressure replaces patience, everything speeds up in the wrong way.
Then you get the ones who refuse to sit behind at all.
Three or four cars back and they have already decided they are coming past everyone.
No clear view no proper information.
Just a decision made too early.
They pull out, commit to it, and then rely on speed to get them out of a situation they should not have put themselves in.
You watch it and think… you were not even involved in that situation yet.
You created it and for what?
To sit one car ahead at the next roundabout.
To stop at the same red light.
To gain seconds that mean nothing.
It is not progress it just feels like it in the moment.
That is what a lack of patience looks like on the road.
Roundabouts are another one.
Drivers so focused on looking right, they forget the most basic thing.
There is a car directly in front of you.
They creep forward without thinking.
They follow movement instead of making a decision.
They assume.
The car in front hesitates or stops then it’s too late .
Straight into the back of it.
It is one of the simplest things to avoid, yet it is the most common.
Not because people cannot drive because they are rushing the moment instead of managing it.
Patience would solve most of this.
Patience to sit behind.
Patience to wait for a proper overtake.
Patience to hold your position at a roundabout.
Patience to let situations develop instead of forcing them.
But patience feels uncomfortable to some drivers now.
Sitting behind feels like losing.
Waiting feels like wasting time.
Holding back feels like weakness.
It is none of those things.
It is control.
From where I sit, teaching someone to drive, the difference is obvious.
The drivers who struggle are the ones who cannot wait.
The ones who cannot tolerate being behind another vehicle.
The ones who need everything to happen now.
The drivers who improve, who stay safe, who build real skill…
They are the patient ones.
They let the road come to them.
They give themselves time to think.
They do not force situations that are not ready.
They understand something very simple.
The road is not against you.
There is nothing to win.
You are not being delayed.
You are moving with everything else around you.
Most of what we are seeing right now comes back to that one missing piece.
Patience.
Without it, drivers sit too close.
Without it, they overtake blindly.
Without it, they run into the back of cars at roundabouts.
With it, most of those problems disappear before they even begin.
If any of this feels familiar, take it as a moment to reset.
Create space again.
Slow things down.
Give yourself time.
Patience is not just a personality trait on the road.
It is a safety skill and right now, too many people are driving without it.
Sheena Ahmed
Motorvation School of Motoring
