Driving standards

[Baby Deltic]

If I'm on a dual carriageway and an emergency vehicle is approaching on blue lights I'll usually give them a couple of blinks on the left indicator to let them know I've seen them approaching and I'm not going to move into their lane.

[peanuts]

Why dont Police Helicopters have a door gunner?

rather reminds me of driving down the A57 at Barton stretch next to the airfield when an army Apache gunship swooped across the the road and briefley hovered before side slipping onto the police helipad incidence of joyriding and general anti social behavior seemed to lessen for the four days it was based there 

[Catkins]

But I am sure Mercedes will in time develop Signal abhangige Autobus und Strassenbahn konditional Bremse anlegung 'SAASKBA' system to cover this one off. (In English language territories sold as 'BUSSTOP' system.) (Apologies for my mangling of the German, long out of practice now.)

 

They already have - the BBQ flavour bendy-buses that used to run in London are Mercedes busses.

[Catkins]

I have noticed three general things regarding driving standards;-

1, The general standard of driving seems to have got lower.

2. The number of "Learn to drive in 5 days" driving school cars has increased.

3. The number of people who can swap their European licence for one of ours, without needing a test, has increased - but I'm not saying their original test could have been easier than ours.

 

BONUS POINT - The number of active and qualified TRAFFIC police has seriously, and rapidly, decreased.

 

I don't hold with learning to drive in 5 days. I don't see where the new driver can practice what they have been taught, nor do they get to drive in varying weather or light conditions. I have no issues with being taught to operate a vehicle in a 5 day block, but I don't think you can teach a life skill such as driving a car in one week.

And although police forces might have a 'Roads Policing Unit' they will consist of beat officers, Armed Response Units or other specialist officers, or it will represented by the local road safety partnership in a camera van.

[Jonboy]

They already have - the BBQ flavour bendy-buses that used to run in London are Mercedes busses.

They refurbished a load across the road from my office prior to export to Cyprus a few years back,8 of the first ten apparently broke down on route to the port for the ferry abroad......

[chris p bacon]

They refurbished a load across the road from my office prior to export to Cyprus a few years back,8 of the first ten apparently broke down on route to the port for the ferry abroad......

 

There is a yard full of them in Malta, I think they lasted a matter of months.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/San+Gwann,+Malta/@35.9123126,14.4649082,128a,35y,164.19h,45t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x130e4557b66a07af:0x2375a4a87544f9ce!8m2!3d35.9077365!4d14.4752416

[MarkC]

I have noticed three general things regarding driving standards;-

1, The general standard of driving seems to have got lower.

2. The number of "Learn to drive in 5 days" driving school cars has increased.

3. The number of people who can swap their European licence for one of ours, without needing a test, has increased - but I'm not saying their original test could have been easier than ours.

 

BONUS POINT - The number of active and qualified TRAFFIC police has seriously, and rapidly, decreased.

 

I don't hold with learning to drive in 5 days. I don't see where the new driver can practice what they have been taught, nor do they get to drive in varying weather or light conditions. I have no issues with being taught to operate a vehicle in a 5 day block, but I don't think you can teach a life skill such as driving a car in one week.

And although police forces might have a 'Roads Policing Unit' they will consist of beat officers, Armed Response Units or other specialist officers, or it will represented by the local road safety partnership in a camera van.

All very true - except that there are exceptions to the Traffic Police situation. The Durham force and Cleveland force have a combined RPU who are very proactive in monitoring and nicking wrong 'uns. Their motorcycle team is kept busy too, especially in good weather, trying to stop biking buffoons from killing themselves on our country roads. Durham is, as I recall, the only area without fixed speed cameras too.

[Baby Deltic]

They already have - the BBQ flavour bendy-buses that used to run in London are Mercedes busses.

They kept passengers warm in the winter months. Until the fire was put out.

[laurenceb]

I have wondered how the Merc Citaro has not been banned given their habbit of catchin fire with so many different causes. They are downright dangerous

[PhilJ W]

There is a yard full of them in Malta, I think they lasted a matter of months.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/San+Gwann,+Malta/@35.9123126,14.4649082,128a,35y,164.19h,45t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x130e4557b66a07af:0x2375a4a87544f9ce!8m2!3d35.9077365!4d14.4752416

I went to Malta when the Bendybuses predecessors, the 36 foot long SMS types had just been placed in service. The SMS's had to shunt too and fro to get round some tight corners.

 

I have wondered how the Merc Citaro has not been banned given their habbit of catchin fire with so many different causes. They are downright dangerous

A lot of the problems were caused by them being put on routes for which they were unsuited where they overheated and caught fire. They were quite successful on the limited stop Red Arrow routes.

[PatB]

I have wondered how the Merc Citaro has not been banned given their habbit of catchin fire with so many different causes. They are downright dangerous

Must be a Merc characteristic. A few years ago there was a spate of Perth's Mercedes bus fleet (sorry, don't know enough about buses to give the model) spontaneously combusting too. Mind you, this is WA so maybe someone just parked them in the sun .

[laurenceb]

They have been catching fire all over the world on a regular basis

[duncan]

Is that the Euro 6 ones, the safest ever for passangers & pedestrians ?   

[peanuts]

ALERT ! ALERT ! be extra carefull on the roads around christmas time as lots of blokes will be having a few drinkies so the wimmin folk will be doing the driving !!!

[Hobby]

Probably safer then... 

[40F]

ALERT ! ALERT ! be extra carefull on the roads around christmas time as lots of blokes will be having a few drinkies so the wimmin folk will be doing the driving !!!

 

 

Very funny NOT I know plenty of women drivers that are ten times better than men and that includes PCV drivers

[kevinlms]

Why bother with SatNav's when you can have one of these!

 

[Hobby]

It'll never catch on!!

[Coryton]

Why bother with SatNav's when you can have one of these!

 

 

Incredible!

 

I presume the reason that it wasn't practical wasn't so much the problem of road layout changes as the fact that you only have to miss one turn and the whole thing becomes useless.

 

Ingenious though.

[StuAllen]

What do people think about smart motorways? Saw this saying their roll out should be cancelled https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46553654 but is it a case of enforcing the rules? It really makes me angry seeing other drivers ignoring the big red crosses, they’re not difficult to see, but there isn’t a deterrent to stop people ignoring them. This would be an easy one to solve with technology with a camera on each gantry.

[kevinlms]

Incredible!

 

I presume the reason that it wasn't practical wasn't so much the problem of road layout changes as the fact that you only have to miss one turn and the whole thing becomes useless.

 

Ingenious though.

The way I see it, the biggest problem was creating a cassette of the required route in the first place. Presumably it had to be recorded in real time, by someone driving the intended route. Might work for one of the suggestions - a (tour)bus route, where once created, it can be used multiple times. But for day to day driving, or a taxi with one off destinations - useless.

[bimble]

What do people think about smart motorways? Saw this saying their roll out should be cancelled https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46553654 but is it a case of enforcing the rules? It really makes me angry seeing other drivers ignoring the big red crosses, they’re not difficult to see, but there isn’t a deterrent to stop people ignoring them. This would be an easy one to solve with technology with a camera on each gantry.

 

I like the way that people decide that instead of just sticking to lane two, they can now stick to lane three, so when you have to catch up with them in the wee small hours of the morning you get to change lanes from one to four to overtake them...

 

But the only real issue I have with them is that the motorway matrix sign setters get to lie even more... I remember finishing a night shift in London and coming back down the M3, and once passing the M25 the matrix signs had me driving in lane 3 (of four) and 40mph... with all four lanes empty and clear from the M25 to Junction 4 (where I turned off).

 

Or when you see them slow the traffic down for a "queue", but you can see the next gantry has a speed restiriction, but the one after that is back to national speed limit... and there is no queuing traffic between you and the third gantry...

[PhilJ W]

The removal of the hard shoulder is dangerous and those that have been removed should be re-instated. Its only increasing capacity on the cheap but what is it going to cost in lives?

[Catkins]

But the only real issue I have with them is that the motorway matrix sign setters get to lie even more... I remember finishing a night shift in London and coming back down the M3, and once passing the M25 the matrix signs had me driving in lane 3 (of four) and 40mph... with all four lanes empty and clear from the M25 to Junction 4 (where I turned off).

 

Or when you see them slow the traffic down for a "queue", but you can see the next gantry has a speed restiriction, but the one after that is back to national speed limit... and there is no queuing traffic between you and the third gantry...

That is down to the operators in the control room, and unfortunately they don't seem to be as smart as the motorway.

My issue is when you can use the hard shoulder as a running lane, but then it suddenly becomes an extended slip road for the next junction - common around Birmingham.

[TheQ]

What do people think about smart motorways? Saw this saying their roll out should be cancelled https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46553654 but is it a case of enforcing the rules? It really makes me angry seeing other drivers ignoring the big red crosses, they’re not difficult to see, but there isn’t a deterrent to stop people ignoring them. This would be an easy one to solve with technology with a camera on each gantry.

 

I've only driven on one smart motorway the M62, and from what I could see just about every other gantry did have a camera on them and there are a lot fo gantries.