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Driving standards


hayfield
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15 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I have had a pedestrian engrossed with his mobile phone suddenly veer in direction and step onto a pedestrian crossing right in front of me. He was fortunate that I was looking in his direction at that moment. IIRC its reported that even the best trained and experienced drivers only can take in about 12% of whats happening around them.

Yeah, but the trick is in picking which 12% is important.

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1 hour ago, jcm@gwr said:

 

But that implies that you've scanned all 100%, then discarded 88% to concentrate on the remaining 12%!

 

Where-as you would have only scanned 12% and then have to decide which bit is worth concentrating on hoping the 88% you couldnt scan isnt important.

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It's a little more complicated than that. There's time to consider, so you can include memory of the situation, and knowledge that a lot isn't going to be relevant - what's going on on that hill a mile away isn't, for example. And the subconcious is fairly good at picking up things and directing your attention, especially if they're moving. If we really only were capable of taking into account a random 12% and nothing else at all we'd all have been eaten by tigers long before we invented cars. 12% at a glance, maybe (and even then we're more likely to notice certain things than others).

 

Edited by Reorte
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On 12/02/2020 at 16:07, PhilJ W said:

The main fact is that he was driving a school bus which makes you wonder about who employed him without checking his credentials.

 

I would certainly suggest that while not having a licence was not relevant to the accident, it suggests that his employers had failed at a very basic level which must suggest that they are not fit to run a bus/haulage company

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On 11/02/2020 at 14:52, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

 

 

 This very morning a hundred yards from home and there's Mummy driving on the wrong side of the road, leaning out of the driver's window to have a conversation with her child who is walking toward the school gate.

 

I am usually working at 8.30 - 9.00 so don't get to see the school run. But this morning I had to go out to post a parcel to an RMwebber.

 

Three cars parked on a bend outside the village school in such a way as to block the road completely. No way to pass them safely as one can not see any oncoming traffic. MORONS who should not be holding a licence.

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On 13/02/2020 at 12:13, PhilJ W said:

I have had a pedestrian engrossed with his mobile phone suddenly veer in direction and step onto a pedestrian crossing right in front of me. He was fortunate that I was looking in his direction at that moment. IIRC its reported that even the best trained and experienced drivers only can take in about 12% of whats happening around them.

 

I surely can't be that difficult to put in some software that makes it impossible to use a mobile while on the move: be that lorry, white van man, car, bike or pedestrian. Would make a massive difference.

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3 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

I surely can't be that difficult to put in some software that makes it impossible to use a mobile while on the move: be that lorry, white van man, car, bike or pedestrian. Would make a massive difference.

Especially to those who use their phone as a (hands free) sat nav.

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2 hours ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

I surely can't be that difficult to put in some software that makes it impossible to use a mobile while on the move: be that lorry, white van man, car, bike or pedestrian. Would make a massive difference.

 

Or just a passenger?

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8 hours ago, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

Especially on trains...

 

As nice as it would be for the rest of us, perhaps not reasonable to stop people using their phone while on the train. But one could get around that by the phone being linked to the train's wifi.

7 hours ago, jcm@gwr said:

 

Or just a passenger?

A bit unfortunate to stop car passengers using their phones but probably a price worth paying for the wider safety benefit.

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1 hour ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

As nice as it would be for the rest of us, perhaps not reasonable to stop people using their phone while on the train. But one could get around that by the phone being linked to the train's wifi.

 

Using your own mobile data is more secure than public wifi.

 

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10 hours ago, royaloak said:

Especially to those who use their phone as a (hands free) sat nav.

Many people can no longer read a street directory (if ever they could - which is debatable).

 

At least something like Google Maps is likely to be more accurate than some old inbuilt GPS, that costs too much to update. The latter might be OK, in long establish areas, but in places like Australian capital cities, which keep growing or updating, it's pretty useless.

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Once again it comes down to how far do we take it, do we make 99:9% ot the population

suffer, to protect the odd few (who either don't want protecting, or aren't worth protecting)

It's dangerous and illegal to drive under the influence of drugs, so they've banned it, that's

worked out well for the authorities, hasn't it?

Speeding kills, so they would have us believe, rubbish! Yes it's stupid and dangerous to do

60 MPH in a 30 limit through a high street, but 60 on a quiet motorway, pretty safe.

If speed kills, then Formula 1 drivers wouldn't last a season.

I'll put my soap-box away, until my cage gets rattled again!

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19 minutes ago, jcm@gwr said:

 

Speeding kills, so they would have us believe, rubbish! Yes it's stupid and dangerous to do

60 MPH in a 30 limit through a high street, but 60 on a quiet motorway, pretty safe.

If speed kills, then Formula 1 drivers wouldn't last a season.

I'll put my soap-box away, until my cage gets rattled again!

 

Common sense at last!

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12 hours ago, johnofwessex said:

 

I would certainly suggest that while not having a licence was not relevant to the accident, it suggests that his employers had failed at a very basic level which must suggest that they are not fit to run a bus/haulage company

About 50 years ago, (!) the school I attended involved a coach trip. The West Riding CC contracted private coach operators to do the transport. our coaches were from a neighbouring village, Which was fine, until one day the police stopped our driver, on another job, and found he was under age for driving PSVs. The coach company went out of business, and the council had to hire another company very quickly!

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1 hour ago, jcm@gwr said:

 

If speed kills, then Formula 1 drivers wouldn't last a season.

 

Well, there was a time, within living memory, when quite a lot of them didn't. A few years back I happened to catch some footage of the 1954 and 1955 Le Man's races and was struck by the fact that, of all the drivers mentioned in the commentary, most were dead by ~1960. The only notable exception was Moss, and he came damn close in 1962.

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17 minutes ago, PatB said:

Well, there was a time, within living memory, when quite a lot of them didn't. A few years back I happened to catch some footage of the 1954 and 1955 Le Man's races and was struck by the fact that, of all the drivers mentioned in the commentary, most were dead by ~1960. The only notable exception was Moss, and he came damn close in 1962.

 

What killed them was inappropriate speed for the situation. Of course in racing you have to get pretty close to the edge between appropriate and inappropriate in order to win and no-one is perfect at judging that, which isn't necessary on the roads. Depending upon local conditions (traffic, weather, road layout etc.) inappropriate can be well below the speed limit too.

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