Heather Large: Patience is a virtue but too many motorists have lost it

I'd been waiting at a T-junction for a gap in the traffic but a constant flow of cars meant there hadn't yet been a safe opportunity for me to pull out.

But the rude driver behind me clearly disagreed. I couldn't have been stationary for more than 30 seconds before they reached for the horn.

Determined to ignore them and not risk causing an accident, I remained where I was and continued to keep an eye out for a chance to turn right.

As I did so, I quickly looked in the rear view mirror. There I could see a man, probably in his 50s, in the Astra behind shaking his head at me.

At the first gap that appeared, probably 20 seconds later, I made my turn and as I did, there was another honk of the horn. He was making sure I got the message that I needed to get out of his way, NOW.

I later realised he had followed me out of the junction before turning into a nearby petrol station.

This unfortunately isn't a one-off. This behaviour seems to becoming more and more commonplace. I very much doubt his visit to the garage was an emergency so why was he so desperate for me to risk my life - and possibly someone else's - by making a dangerous turn?

And the angle of the junction gave me the better view of when it was safe to turn than it did for him. Why was he deciding it was fine me to pull out?

But it's not just inpatience at junctions that's becoming more common on our roads.

On my way home from the work the other night, I noticed another grumpy driver getting ratty with the motorist in front of them at at a busy roundabout.

The traffic lights had barely had chance to turn green when they sounded their horn, not once but twice, making sure the car ahead of them knew they had to go. Was there really a need for this? There had been no delay, they'd hardly had time to take their handbrake off.

They hadn't done anything wrong, it was completely unnecessary.

This is just another example of how there seems to very little kindness being shown to fellow drivers on the roads these days.

Now there are some people that don’t think twice about giving fellow drivers the green light to make that turn or enter their lane and will sit patiently while the car in front waits for a safe gap in traffic to turn out of a junction.

But sadly they really seem to be becoming few and far between.

When two lanes merge, more and more drivers seem to sit their too stubborn to let anyone filter in in front of them. Often they seem to do all they can to pretend they haven't seen the other car that is running out of road.

I always thought in this scenario, when two lanes become one, it was just understood that you took it in turns going forward.. Isn't that the fairest thing to do?

And by allowing space for another driver to pull in front of you, they may also be inspired to do the same for someone else, helping traffic to flow more smoothly, which benefits everyone.

Unfortunately some people view the 'merging' driver as line-jumping and feel they are in some way getting advantage by being let in even though they are just following the rules of the road.

After all, not letting someone into the lane isn’t going to make the traffic disappear.

It seems for many people, waiting just isn’t an option. Is everyone is that much of a hurry to get wherever they are going that good manners go out the window?

In the case of the poor driver being beeped at at the traffic lights, if that was someone who inexperienced or someone who had just passed their test, it could really knock their confidence.

It just feels that a little patience and politeness isn't too much to ask for. We all lead busy lives and we are all trying to get somewhere but that doesn't mean that one person deserves priority over another when it comes to getting from A to B.

Unfortunately, there will always be inconsiderate drivers on the road. But if you're ever tempted to reach for the horn, tail-gate the car in front because you think they are travelling too slowly, or refuse to let someone pull in front of you because you're fed up of queuing, please stop and think.

Maybe, rather than resorting to many unkind behaviour, we could all be a bit more patient and caring towards our fellow motorist. Taking a more laidback approach, will make it a more pleasant and less stressful journey for everyone.