Motorists

quote:

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Originally posted by Mick Parry:
John

I trust my oddmeter.

I am making the roads safer.

Regards

Mick

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increasing driver frustration is actually making them far more dangerous - frustrated drivers, rightly or wrongly, do very stupid things.

John

You are missing my point. They just cannot overtake me because of the constant and heavy flow of oncoming traffic. They are trapped.

Regards

Mick

And once they are untrapped they probably tear off as fast as they can, muttering under their breath, and run over lots of babies / mothers etc.

Simon

Not so, they go straight into Oxford traffic jams, still behind me. I suspect 10 mph is the average speed, sardine can type motoring.

I successfully control them.

Regards

Mick

Mick -- You appear to be channelling "The Puppet Master" himself, Stallion.

Matthew

You have beaten me, please elucidate.

Regards

Mick

Mick,
You are truly a unique public service. Pehaps you could raise a small fee note to Oxford Police for services rendered.
Regards
Simon

"Mick -- You appear to be channelling "The Puppet Master" himself, Stallion."

Simon

The reality is that I probably reduce their income. There are several speed cameras on the Swindon to Oxford road.

Regards

Mick

The idea of Mick as a self-appointed law enforcement officer...

Sideshow Bob-type shudders all round.

quote:

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Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Chaps

I am probably one of those motorists you hate but I could not care at all.

I believe in observing speed limits and each day I drive on the Swindon to Oxford road which has a very high accident rate. As a consequence of this, there is a speed limit of 50 mph.

I therefore drive at precisely 49 mph and position myself near the centre of the road making overtaking impossible. I usually end with a stream of traffic behind me. I therefore enforce the law on potential speeders.

It may irritate them but the law is the law and I help to enforce it.

Regards

Mick

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this may encourage erratic overtaking in the queue behind you as people try to evertake 1 car at a time to make progress.

i agree with you totally about keeping to the speed limit but by driving as you do you will only be increasing the tempers of other drivers making them a danger on the road.

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I therefore drive at precisely 49 mph

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quote:

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I trust my oddmeter.

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odometer device for measuring distance travelled by vehicle.
This tells you what speed you are doing?
Perhaps you have a stop watch and calculate your speed on the move?

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Originally posted by Top Cat:
Hmmmm... after a speeding ticket scare (which fortunately amounted to nothing in the end) I recently started diligently following the 30mph-and-no-more-in-town approach. You'd be amazed how many people get _incredibly_ agitated with me when I drive like this.

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No I wouldn't John! These wankers expect me to get a fine so that can drive at any speed they like? Funny how they can seldom keep up when the limit goes up to 60. Many drivers seem to drive at 40-50mph regardless of the prevailing limit, so they're either too fast or too slow. Like I said - wankers all.

I feel better for that

Cheers

Harry

quote:

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Originally posted by Mick Parry:
There are several speed cameras on the Swindon to Oxford road.

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A bit of an understatement there, Mick - it's littered with the bleedin things! I don't understand why, as generally visibility is fantastic & conurbations few. A bit boringly straight if anything so why are the cameras there in the first place? Ker-ching!

Steve

Steve

It is acually one of the most crash ridden roads in the UK.

I cannot understand it either.

Regards

Mick

quote:

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Originally posted by Mick Parry:

They are trapped

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That simple three word statement is plain scary. "They are trapped". What happens next? - I don't think I want to know. Visions of Mick Parry leaning out of the window, turning around, levelling the sawn-off, and letting rip, followed by a blood gurgling cry of "gotcha". Mental note - must not go to Swindon.

Mike

quote:

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Originally posted by Mick Parry:

I successfully control them

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This is getting plain scary

Mike

This guy has the nerve to lecture me on common sense

quote:

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I therefore drive at precisely 49 mph and position myself near the centre of the road making overtaking impossible. I usually end with a stream of traffic behind me. I therefore enforce the law on potential speeders.

It may irritate them but the law is the law and I help to enforce it.

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I don't know how to break this to you Mick, but by not keeping to your left and deliberately causing an obstruction you may actually be breaking the law.

If someone does attempt to overtake you when you are probably only doing 44 mph in reality, and as a direct result of you hogging the centre of the road, they collide head-on with a vehicle coming the other way I suppose your conscience will be clear.

No-one is above the law, not even self-appointed law enforcement agents like yourself.



Regards,

Steve.

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It is acually one of the most crash ridden roads in the UK.

I cannot understand it either.

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I wonder if the accident rate has fallen since the cameras and lowered speed limits were introduced. Here in Staffordshire the death rate is at its highest since 1994 and since a programme of 50mph speed limits enforced by cameras was introduced in 2001 on the A5 (Hints to M6 J12), A34 (Stoke to Walsall), A51 (Rugeley to Sandon), and A52 (Stoke to Ashbourne) - mostly in rural areas.



Regards,

Steve.

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I therefore enforce the law on potential speeders.

It may irritate them but the law is the law and I help to enforce it.

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It's none of my business how you drive, but I'll be interested to see how that goes down when the car behind you, trying to pass is an unmarked police car, or there's an ambulance or fire engine stuck half a mile behind you, unable to make fast progress.

It's all anecdotal and I'm sure you exercise discression. BTW - did you know that if you pull into the path of a speeding car it's you who are in the wrong? The other driver will get done if the skid marks can be measured, but you're likely to have the book thrown at you regardless. If anyone survives.

In my car, a steady 50mph actually turns out to be 44.5mph. What's yours? (I haven't had it checked at 49mph).

Drtive safely folks.



Harry

Well, we're just chewing the fat here. I'm sure a lot of what actually happens in real life gets lost in translation - although the mental images sometimes beam in rather strongly! It's not my place to tell anyone if they're a good driver, no more than it's theirs to tell me. But I have made a mental note to avoid Swindon - probably a good idea on general principles anyway.

Cheers

Harry

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and the others that sit with their foot on the brake when sitting in a queue of traffic

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If you are at the back of a queue of traffic, you SHOULD keep your foot on the brake, this indicates to the approaching traffic that your are stopped in traffic rather than parked (or in fact moving)

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I wonder if the accident rate has fallen since the cameras and lowered speed limits were introduced. Here in Staffordshire the death rate is at its highest since 1994 and since a programme of 50mph speed limits enforced by cameras was introduced in 2001 on the A5 (Hints to M6 J12), A34 (Stoke to Walsall), A51 (Rugeley to Sandon), and A52 (Stoke to Ashbourne) - mostly in rural areas.

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I would be interested to know if the police force covering your area has reduced the number of its staff allocated to traffic law enforcement other than speed camera's?

If it has It would be interesting to see how this could be proven to relate to the numbers you mention, steve.

andy c!

Apologies for posting before anyone Andy's had his answer but I wanted to get in a moan about motorists who put in ridiculous claims for personal injury,(this happened to me in January following an accident). Not only is it worrying,(the Solicitors, or ambulance chasers as I call them,pursue the driver, not your insurance company), it also adds to the cost of future insurance premiums all round. Add to that the fact the Policeman who attended my accident claimed that any accident has to be written up as an offence, in my case, driving without due care and attention.
Is this actually the case? My charge was dropped,(owing to my driving and claims record) but if it hadn't have been, the Policeman told me I'd pick up points, a fine and a mandatory course in "safe driving" and possibly have to resit the driving test. Could all be bollocks but he seemed fairly serious.

Another thing that really pisses me off, is pea-brained idiots who drive along at night with their rear fog-lights on, especially in pouring rain on the motorway

Do you do that Mick?? - I expect you do, cos it makes you more visible innit!