Driving standards

[BlackRat]

The 1 tonnies were great fun to drive and the acceleration from a red light would sometimes have the boy racers going red with shame as they got left behind

,

[kevinlms]

The 1 tonnies were great fun to drive and the acceleration from a red light would sometimes have the boy racers going red with shame as they got left behind

,

Do you always accelerate from a RED light?

[Guest]

Do you always accelerate from a RED light?

 

Probably all those cyclists setting an example...

[47137]

If I draw the MX-5 alongside a Landrover Discovery or Evoque or similar, I am invariably asking for trouble. Most likely the driver never saw me arrive, and may well simply drive across me. I'd like to imagine these vehicles being given blind spot mirrors like lorries, but it's a vain hope and the drivers of these must be treated with extreme caution.

 

I suspect these vehicles are bought by drivers who have poor observation skills to start with, and the reduced peripheral visibility goes completely unnoticed.

 

If I may allowed the tiniest rant, I'd like to see these things classified as commercial vehicles. This would keep them out of car parks, out of the outside lane of motorways and hopefully governed below 60mph too. Dream on I guess.

 

- Richard.

[Arthur]

The 1 tonnies were great fun to drive and the acceleration from a red light would sometimes have the boy racers going red with shame as they got left behind

,

Yeah, they're surprisingly sprightly for such a big lump and you can certainly surprise people. Mind you, 3.5 petrol V8, low gearing and big wheels are a recipe for a quick take off.

[chris p bacon]

Do you always accelerate from a RED light?

A friend in Frankfurt would ask if it was  "light or dark red"  it matters apparently.

[alastairq]

.............and they run out of fuel before they get to the next light?    

[alastairq]

.....plus, if over 6 foot tall, does one still have to drive with one's knees in one's ears?  

[Gareth Collier]

The problem is, since the employer (whoever it is) doesn't pay any speeding, parking tickets etc, so in my opinion it takes you, as long as it takes to do the job. A club member lost his licence for 3 months, for too many speeding tickets, because the boss kept complaining he needed to get to jobs quicker. More fool him.

 

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but in many occupations now if 'it takes you as long as it takes to do the job' you won't have a job for long as people are queuing up to replace you. Maybe it's 'more fool him' but 'him' will be unemployed. In an ideal world you stand up to the management and say no but the world is far from ideal.

Gareth

[alastairq]

Re-the Audi thing?

 

I've mentioned this years ago...but a long while ago, when we had some serious snow up this neck o' the woods...I was out on the North Yorkshire Moors, late in an afternoon, trying to keep my autist son happy...with our Volvo 740 estate [running Colway snow tyres...yup....and remoulds too!!].......we had even been down to Grosmont to the train shop [at his behest]....and I doubted we'd get back up teh hill......especially as I had noted a Range Rover-y thing had earlier been clocked going up...followed shortly afterwards, by same RRy thing reversing back down.

 

I wasn't too worried, as we could have always stayed the night at the pub/B&B.

 

Come going home time, I first set off the opposite way [towards Egton, etc], only to find a line of cars failing to climb the S-bend...and obviously not keen to get out of anybody else's way....so,I  turned round....and headed back to the level crossing, and the hill to Sleights.

 

We made the fork in the roads, using good old trialling techniques.....then we got further and further along...met the odd tractor coming the other way.[there are some very odd tractors around there]....eventually achieving Sleights...to find, the road had apparently been closed....and had been for some hours [nobody bothered to tell me!]  An Hoccifer of the Lieu thought I had just that minute ignored the signs....but backed off when I showed him the till receipt from the engine shed at Grosmont..plus carrier back full of goodies!

 

We tried to return home [south] over the moors, but were thwarted by incredibly long lines of cars [well, red lights, really] as far as the eye could see, going nowhere very quickly...so we backtracked to Whitby, and returned via the main  Scarborough road....eventually...[at no time did we become stuck....but spent a lot of time merely waiting for others to finally give up and get out of the way!!]

 

The point?

 

Well, throughout that evening, we saw many cars broken down [parked, bonnets up]...and many more, nose first in the ditches/hedges.

 

Without exception [my son was keeping track/count]...all the broken down cars were BMWs!

 

Without exception, all the ditched & hedged cars were Audi's!

 

[Even one sporting the words 'ECILOP' on the side.]....[Ebberston...in case the driver is a lurker on here?]

 

We eventually got home, over the tops again [Wetwang]...to a well-earned Fish  'n Chip supper!

 

Dads shouldn't let their kids down, should they?  

[kevinlms]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but in many occupations now if 'it takes you as long as it takes to do the job' you won't have a job for long as people are queuing up to replace you. Maybe it's 'more fool him' but 'him' will be unemployed. In an ideal world you stand up to the management and say no but the world is far from ideal.

Gareth

Have it your way, but perhaps I should point out that the margins for 'speeding' are much less in Oz, than for the UK. Yes he was made unemployed, because he lost his licence.

 

So which is worse, losing your job for 'being too slow', or losing your job 'because you are too fast'?

IMO, the latter is worse, because you can't get ANY new job that involves driving. Unless of course you decide to drive whilst unlicenced, which is really asking for trouble.

[alastairq]

Says a lot about the nature of 'work' these days?

 

A thought, however...if people are 'queueing up' for one's job, it's easy enough to walk, and get another. [Maybe drop the employer in the kak with the authorities too?]

[Baby Deltic]

I had a run in with a selfish young woman driving an Audi TT who was tailgating me. I was doing 70 on a dual carriageway, passing another vehicle. Naturally I moved over very slowly to allow the driver the Audi to pass. She was literally on my rear quarter panel and shot past with the usually tirade of abuse and sped on up the road. What a shame Mr Plod wasn't behind her.

Edited August 11, 2015 by Baby Deltic

[Gareth Collier]

Have it your way, but perhaps I should point out that the margins for 'speeding' are much less in Oz, than for the UK. Yes he was made unemployed, because he lost his licence.

 

So which is worse, losing your job for 'being too slow', or losing your job 'because you are too fast'?

IMO, the latter is worse, because you can't get ANY new job that involves driving. Unless of course you decide to drive whilst unlicenced, which is really asking for trouble.

No one said anything about speeding, you can't when delivering around towns with stops every 3 or 4 hundred yards. It's more the pulling out into small gaps, amber traffic lights and abandoning your van blocking roads as there is nowhere to park etc.

In the run up to Xmas I'd around 100 parcels on board and 4 hours to deliver them. I pointed out this was impossible, 3 minutes to drive to the next address, park, locate parcel, knock on door, knock on neighbours door etc, so 20 an hour if you're lucky. I was told 3 minutes was longer than allowed and to get on with it. You just end up working for free to finish when your 4 hours is up. An acquaintance working for another courier company has guaranteed time slots in which he has to deliver, drop below 90% you get a warning, again and your out.

Employers know it is you taking the risk but don't give a hoot as there are plenty of others eager replacements.

I don't know what the employment situation is like in Oz but it is cut throat here nowadays! Not just delivering but all jobs.

Gareth

[Horsetan]

....If road accidents were investigated with the same vigour as rail and air accidents then a lot of employers would find themselves on the sticky end of enquiries.

Generally only happens if there's a fatality or a serious injury.

 

.....Unless of course you decide to drive whilst unlicenced, which is really asking for trouble.

Doesn't seem to stop some people

Edited August 11, 2015 by Horsetan

[Baby Deltic]

No one said anything about speeding, you can't when delivering around towns with stops every 3 or 4 hundred yards. It's more the pulling out into small gaps, amber traffic lights and abandoning your van blocking roads as there is nowhere to park etc.

In the run up to Xmas I'd around 100 parcels on board and 4 hours to deliver them. I pointed out this was impossible, 3 minutes to drive to the next address, park, locate parcel, knock on door, knock on neighbours door etc, so 20 an hour if you're lucky. I was told 3 minutes was longer than allowed and to get on with it. You just end up working for free to finish when your 4 hours is up. An acquaintance working for another courier company has guaranteed time slots in which he has to deliver, drop below 90% you get a warning, again and your out.

Employers know it is you taking the risk but don't give a hoot as there are plenty of others eager replacements.

I don't know what the employment situation is like in Oz but it is cut throat here nowadays! Not just delivering but all jobs.

Gareth

In the UK, the employer could end up facing Corporate Manslaughter charges if it is found that they forced drivers to do silly hours/distances leading to a fatal accident. Edited August 11, 2015 by Baby Deltic

[BlackRat]

Do you always accelerate from a RED light?

Yup, always.

[petethemole]

Before imported cars were a significant part of British traffic the marque commonly blamed for aggressive/inconsiderate driving among status symbol cars in the 50s-early 60s was Jaguar. Later it was Mercedes, then BMW, then Audi. What's the next likely scapegoat?

[PhilJ W]

Most surprising thing about those Prairie’s was how they performed on the twisty bits.

One tried to give me a run for my money on the lanes between Margeretting and Galleywood ( I was in a Renault GTA and he was in front) despite looking like it was going to fall over at times the Prairie more than held it’s own). Amazing really - was it you?

So ungainly looking though. I enjoyed it because I once took my (then) wife’s 2CV around a Roundabout flat out.

 

I was young then.......Before I learned that racing was meant for the track (which I later did and can recommend for getting such ideas of racing on the street out of the system).

 

Best, Pete.

If it was bright red then possibly yes. The weight was very low down as due to their having no B posts and to increase the rigidity there was two massive girders underneath. Very strong cars, I lost mine when it was rear ended by a truck and it rolled two or three times before ending on its roof, the only injury I received was a cut finger from the broken glass. They are surprisingly rare nowadays, only a handful registered for the road. Talking of impatient drivers, during the long hot summer of '76 I had a Bedford Dormobile, I was on my way down North Street in Romford when I spotted a mate of mine waiting for a bus to work so I offered him a lift which he accepted. Further down the street I came up behind a learner driver who was getting a bit flustered so I had to stop and then crawl behind him. Once the traffic had cleared I started on my way only for an idiot who was behind me pulling across my bows stopping me and mouthing off about my holding him up. My mate just happened to be a police officer in uniform, who went and had a 'quiet word' with him.

[ParkeNd]

Before imported cars were a significant part of British traffic the marque commonly blamed for aggressive/inconsiderate driving among status symbol cars in the 50s-early 60s was Jaguar. Later it was Mercedes, then BMW, then Audi. What's the next likely scapegoat?

It will be whatever low grade criminals and drug dealers are driving in TV programmes. If they get cheap enough secondhand Porsche Boxters?

[Arthur]

.............and they run out of fuel before they get to the next light?    

 

 

If you need to ask about the fuel consumption, you really cannot afford to buy it

 

 

 

.....plus, if over 6 foot tall, does one still have to drive with one's knees in one's ears?  

As I said earlier, Comfort? Get outta here.

[bennyboy]

Before imported cars were a significant part of British traffic the marque commonly blamed for aggressive/inconsiderate driving among status symbol cars in the 50s-early 60s was Jaguar. Later it was Mercedes, then BMW, then Audi. What's the next likely scapegoat?

But using the word scapegoat suggest that they are being blamed for things that they aren't doing which in the case of Audi drivers is definitely not true.

[Horsetan]

It will be whatever low grade criminals and drug dealers are driving in TV programmes. If they get cheap enough secondhand Porsche Boxters?

They've already thought of that

[Pacific231G]

In the UK, the employer could end up facing Corporate Manslaughter charges if it is found that they forced drivers to do silly hours/distances leading to a fatal accident.

But the chances of proving it are pretty small unless the employer was daft enough to put it in writing.

Thanks to thirty years or more of relentless propaganda and a few daft General Secretaries It's now an unpopular idea but it was to stop employers behaving that way that trade unions were invented. Individual employees are always going to be fairly powerless against employers bur collectively they have at least some chance.

[newbryford]

This thread will soon be as old as my Cabstar (18 years) and with just as many holes in it. 

 

I work on the basis that every driver on the road is a blind deaf idiot who is on the phone, so far it's worked well for me and with the A1 at the end of our road I actually see quite a few drivers that fit the description well.

 

I'm actually quite surprised as it's lasted 15 pages so far. Most other driving threads get locked after a couple of pages. However:

 

[rant mode]

Today's work experiences:

 

Following a small white van who suddenly started driving in a hesitant/unpredictable manner. After about 300 yards he suddenly swerves and brakes into a works entrance located on a blind bend, as my pupil has to take moderately evasive action. (I use the term "moderately" as I instructed her to be watchful of the van. As we passed, I looked at the driver whilst he was on a mobile phone. I gave the driver my best "Paddington Bear hard stare" and was given a flash of two fingers in return. If I could, I would've stopped and tw*tted him, but because I'm more tolerant and professional, I simply instructed my learner pupil to carry on. We later had a conversation about the use of mobile phones whilst driving. I have noted the registration of said vehicle for further reference.

 

About an hour later with another customer and we're quite happily progressing at 30 mph(or very close to) in a 30 zone with good traffic, weather and visibility conditions when a driver (I won't mention age/gender/race/vehicle) decides to plant themselves at about 10 feet off the back bumper. My driver correctly eases off a couple of mph on approach to traffic lights and the driver gets even closer. Green light and progress and the gap opens up to about 10 feet again. 40 yards down the road, the driver turns off. Why travel so close?

I'm thinking "dickh*ad" but still remaining calm, much like a swan paddling gently along. It's all about the displayed attitude to other road users.

 

20 minutes later and a van pulls up at a side road in front of us - clearly sees the L sign on top of my car and then pulls out causing my driver to brake when it shouldn't have been required. D*ckhead number three.

 

Just a simple thought to those inconsiderate/selfish/arrogant/t*sser/dickh*ad/a*resholes out there.

 

YOU WERE A LEARNER DRIVER ONCE. STOP BEING A TW*T

 

[/rant mode]

 

Seriously looking at buying a dashcam. Possibly even two to spot the tailgaters.

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited August 12, 2015 by newbryford