Motorists
Posted by: Fisbey on 23 September 2004
The ones that drive very close behind you - is this a reflection on people being in too much of a hurry?
Whatever it is, it is really annoying
Whatever it is, it is really annoying
Posted on: 26 September 2004 by Berlin Fritz
quote:
Originally posted by Steven Toy:
_ Fair enough Mick _
You'd certainly be under the limit then.
The porridge wouldn't make any difference though. The only thing that elimintates alcohol is time. If anything, eating may slow down your metabolism.
Regards,
Steve.
Would a bloody good swim do the trick ?
Posted on: 27 September 2004 by jlfrs
Motorists who behave aggressively towards learners.
Yesterday, whilst in a queue of traffic, I heard the guy a few cars in front beep the learner in front of him when he didn't move quickly enough for his liking. The learner, obviously intimidated, stalled his engine. The "beeper" then tried to overtake him.
We were all learners once and it is surprising how often I witness such behaviour.
Appalling really...
Yesterday, whilst in a queue of traffic, I heard the guy a few cars in front beep the learner in front of him when he didn't move quickly enough for his liking. The learner, obviously intimidated, stalled his engine. The "beeper" then tried to overtake him.
We were all learners once and it is surprising how often I witness such behaviour.
Appalling really...
Posted on: 27 September 2004 by Steve G
I had to drive to Suffolk for a family do which entailed 800 miles of driving in my Motorhome this weekend.
As is usually the case on long trips I did see some pretty poor driving including:
Someone in a Fiesta on one of the roundabouts on the A1 who tried to whip around the roundabout in the wrong lane before crossing 3 lines of traffic in an attempt to make his exit. Unfortunately for him my 22ft of motorhome was in the way so he had to do another lap, but he seemed rather unhappy that I wasn't able to vanish and let him through. Has a colision occurred it would have been the front corner of my 3 and a half ton vehicle into the side door of his little car which would have been pretty nasty for him and anyone else in his car.
There were very strong sidewinds all the way north on the A1 yesterday (not ideal when driving a 10 foot tall motorhome) and the number of high vehicles I saw travelling at speed and barely able to stay in they lane in the gusts was scary. At one point we were passed by a air cadet minibus (probably doing 80mph+) that when it got hit by a gust in front of us swerved so badly that I started to take avoiding action because I was so sure it was going over.
On the section of the A1 between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh the wind was so bad that we slowed to 50mph on some 60mph limit sections. As the traffic was fairly light by then there were never any long waits for overtaking opportunities but several drivers sat so close behind my vehicle that I could see them in either mirror. I've no idea why they do that - none of them were stuck behind me for long, and visibility for overtaking from there would have been terrible.
One good note though - a fair bit of that route was on 3 lane motorway sections and I only recall seeing one car driver who was hogging the middle lane (and at 60mph as well) distance when the inside lane was clear for miles.
On the way to work this morning I say another odd bit of behaviour. On a long straight 60mph section the car in front of me (doing perhaps 70mph) overtook a Mondeo which was doing 50mph at most at the time. As soon as he was overtaken Mondeo driver accelerated right onto the bumper of the car which had overtaken him (still travelling at 70mph or so) and then sat about 1 foot of his bumper for the next 5 miles or so until the diverged at a set of lights. I could then see the driver glaring at the overtaker and cursing to himself - WTF for I wonder? Was he a Mick Parry disciple who was attempting to force the world to travel at 49mph with no overtaking allowed?
As is usually the case on long trips I did see some pretty poor driving including:
Someone in a Fiesta on one of the roundabouts on the A1 who tried to whip around the roundabout in the wrong lane before crossing 3 lines of traffic in an attempt to make his exit. Unfortunately for him my 22ft of motorhome was in the way so he had to do another lap, but he seemed rather unhappy that I wasn't able to vanish and let him through. Has a colision occurred it would have been the front corner of my 3 and a half ton vehicle into the side door of his little car which would have been pretty nasty for him and anyone else in his car.
There were very strong sidewinds all the way north on the A1 yesterday (not ideal when driving a 10 foot tall motorhome) and the number of high vehicles I saw travelling at speed and barely able to stay in they lane in the gusts was scary. At one point we were passed by a air cadet minibus (probably doing 80mph+) that when it got hit by a gust in front of us swerved so badly that I started to take avoiding action because I was so sure it was going over.
On the section of the A1 between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh the wind was so bad that we slowed to 50mph on some 60mph limit sections. As the traffic was fairly light by then there were never any long waits for overtaking opportunities but several drivers sat so close behind my vehicle that I could see them in either mirror. I've no idea why they do that - none of them were stuck behind me for long, and visibility for overtaking from there would have been terrible.
One good note though - a fair bit of that route was on 3 lane motorway sections and I only recall seeing one car driver who was hogging the middle lane (and at 60mph as well) distance when the inside lane was clear for miles.
On the way to work this morning I say another odd bit of behaviour. On a long straight 60mph section the car in front of me (doing perhaps 70mph) overtook a Mondeo which was doing 50mph at most at the time. As soon as he was overtaken Mondeo driver accelerated right onto the bumper of the car which had overtaken him (still travelling at 70mph or so) and then sat about 1 foot of his bumper for the next 5 miles or so until the diverged at a set of lights. I could then see the driver glaring at the overtaker and cursing to himself - WTF for I wonder? Was he a Mick Parry disciple who was attempting to force the world to travel at 49mph with no overtaking allowed?
Posted on: 27 September 2004 by Steve G
quote:
Originally posted by jlfrs:
We were all learners once and it is surprising how often I witness such behaviour.
Appalling really...
Agreed, however I don't think it does anyone any favours taking learners onto the roads when their basic car control is still not up to scratch. I've always thought it would be best if car drivers were (like motorcyclists) taught the basics off-road before they were allowed to venture onto the public roads.
Posted on: 27 September 2004 by Steve G
I saw another cracker on the way up yesterday. North of Newcastle on the A1 in an area with no houses or any buildings at all anywhere near the road, and with no dangerous looking junctions there is a section of the A1 which suddenly drops from a 70mph speed limit (on a dual carriageway) to 50mph for a couple of miles. In that section there are two speed cameras each way and sounds proudly announcing that they'd caught 786 speeders the previous month.
I couldn't see any reason (other than the existence of the cameras) for the speed limit reduction so it looked on the face of it like pure revenue generation.
I couldn't see any reason (other than the existence of the cameras) for the speed limit reduction so it looked on the face of it like pure revenue generation.
Posted on: 27 September 2004 by jlfrs
Quote by Steve G
I don't think it does anyone any favours taking learners onto the roads when their basic car control is still not up to scratch.
I do agree with this point and think that "car schools" would be an excellent idea but my original moan was more to do with courtesy and aggression rather than driving skills It takes relatively few skills to inch a car forward in a stop-start line of traffic,(IMHO). Until a learner/recent pass experiences "real world driving", he or she will have little chance to hone their skills to the point where they can learn and practice all the thngs we're moaning about on this thread!!!
I don't think it does anyone any favours taking learners onto the roads when their basic car control is still not up to scratch.
I do agree with this point and think that "car schools" would be an excellent idea but my original moan was more to do with courtesy and aggression rather than driving skills It takes relatively few skills to inch a car forward in a stop-start line of traffic,(IMHO). Until a learner/recent pass experiences "real world driving", he or she will have little chance to hone their skills to the point where they can learn and practice all the thngs we're moaning about on this thread!!!
Posted on: 27 September 2004 by Steve Toy
quote:
Agreed, however I don't think it does anyone any favours taking learners onto the roads when their basic car control is still not up to scratch. I've always thought it would be best if car drivers were (like motorcyclists) taught the basics off-road before they were allowed to venture onto the public roads.
I agree, except that you need to break eggs to make omelettes. My father taught me the basics of vehicle control on quiet back roads (still public roads) on Cannock Chase in the late eighties. The most important thing he taught me with regards not delaying other road users was clutch control. By treating each of a series of telegraph poles along the road as stop signs I soon learnt that "Go!" really could mean "Go! and not "gently ease up the clutch, down on the accelerator, oops handbrake still on... Stop! car coming... Try again..."
Regards,
Steve.
Posted on: 27 September 2004 by greeny
quote:
As soon as he was overtaken Mondeo driver accelerated right onto the bumper of the car which had overtaken him
I see this quite often. Some people seem to think that noone has the right to overtake them!!
Posted on: 27 September 2004 by jlfrs
I'd just love to see these people if they drove on the continent or in the U.S,(with any luck someone would shoot them)....
Posted on: 27 September 2004 by Steve Toy
Agreed.
The driving with Attitude seems to be a British Isles Particularity.
On the continent if you are in the outside lane and you flash your headlights at a slower vehicle infront of you to move to the inside lane they just do it.
Here they are more likely just to anchor up.
If they are like Mick though, they'll straddle lanes 2 and 3 at 69mph.
Regards,
Steve.
The driving with Attitude seems to be a British Isles Particularity.
On the continent if you are in the outside lane and you flash your headlights at a slower vehicle infront of you to move to the inside lane they just do it.
Here they are more likely just to anchor up.
If they are like Mick though, they'll straddle lanes 2 and 3 at 69mph.
Regards,
Steve.
Posted on: 27 September 2004 by jlfrs
And the last time I drove in Germany, the HGVs were confined to the inside lane which really did seem to make a difference to the traffic flow.
I can appreciate how tempers do become frazzled when driving in this country is such a terrible stressful experience. Unlike the continent,(I'm thinking of Germany and France in particular), our roads are largely run down and over populated.
It's no wonder we now have a law against road rage.....
I can appreciate how tempers do become frazzled when driving in this country is such a terrible stressful experience. Unlike the continent,(I'm thinking of Germany and France in particular), our roads are largely run down and over populated.
It's no wonder we now have a law against road rage.....
Posted on: 27 September 2004 by Steve Toy
In Germany electronic signs light up when traffic gets heavy that prohibit HGVs from using the outside lane.
German autobahns get just as busy as ours.
The A3 round Frankfurt can be clogged even at 2 am as traffic crosses the continent, as it is probably Europe's no.1 HGV transit route.
At least in Germany they have an electronic interactive solution to traffic flow issues.
Regards,
Steve.
German autobahns get just as busy as ours.
The A3 round Frankfurt can be clogged even at 2 am as traffic crosses the continent, as it is probably Europe's no.1 HGV transit route.
At least in Germany they have an electronic interactive solution to traffic flow issues.
Regards,
Steve.
Posted on: 28 September 2004 by Steve G
I used to live in Germany and while there lane discipline was pretty good the general standard of their motorway driving wasn't and the number of crashes in the snow or rain had to be seen to be believed. I once had to drive from near Leipzig to Berlin when there was a lot of snow lying and pretty much every bridge had a car wrapped round it.
Having lived and driven in a few countries on the continent the lowest standard of driving I've seen would be in Italy and Portugal, with France, Belgium and Holland not all that far behind - especially in cities.
While the UK has its problems overall it's not as bad as those countries. Holland in particular I never enjoyed driving in as it was just so congested all the time.
Having lived and driven in a few countries on the continent the lowest standard of driving I've seen would be in Italy and Portugal, with France, Belgium and Holland not all that far behind - especially in cities.
While the UK has its problems overall it's not as bad as those countries. Holland in particular I never enjoyed driving in as it was just so congested all the time.
Posted on: 28 September 2004 by jlfrs
I was very surprised the first time I went to California and witnessed the driving there - I was even more gobsmacked when I saw that the Californians practice a "first come first served" system for crossroads which seemed so very polite. The absence of roundabouts was most refreshing and I also like the "right on red" rule.Perhaps the knowledge that the driver you assault/piss off might be packing is enough to ensure that consideration is a higher priority than in the U.K.
However, going to the East coast was a bit of a wake up call - Boston's more like Croydon...
However, going to the East coast was a bit of a wake up call - Boston's more like Croydon...
Posted on: 28 September 2004 by BigH47
I noticed when driving in Florida after the lights changed to greenI was the only one moving for several seconds. I was later informed by our host of the masses of t-bones on crossroads by drivers going thro' the red lights. They now pause on green for the late arrivals on the "red" side.
I liked the turn on red scheme too, you always wondered if a particular State or town had this but within a second of red and you slowing the locals let you know aurally.
Howard
I liked the turn on red scheme too, you always wondered if a particular State or town had this but within a second of red and you slowing the locals let you know aurally.
Howard