Luke C

iTrader: (1)

What is wrong with people? Why do they feel the need to drive like this when it is so plainly very dangerous?

Just this morning I was driving at about 7.15 (pretty dam cold!) when some guy in a Mk 2 gold decides to come flying up behind me and drive about 2 inches off the Pratt Magnet!

For a start what exactly is the point? In what world would his car be quicker than my Type R? What is he trying to prove apart fromt he fact he is a moron! Also it was quite slippy this morning and it was bloody dangerous!

My car has been of the road enough with 2 engine failures and I dont want it to be off again because someone decides to park in my boot

But generally poeple dont seem to slow down this time of year, another wierd thing is that alot of them seem to be golf drivers

Are VW selling their cars with some sort of 'Drive like a loon in poor conditions' licence?

Anyway rant over, my point is just that I wish people would just slow down a little bit before someone gets run over.

RAF1

iTrader: (5)

Mate,
if every1's thinking woud be like that we'd have lot LESS accidents...

Luke C

iTrader: (1)

True, its just that is so extra slippy at the mo

gingerboy

Saw a classic (no - not of the scooby variety) this morning after dropping the wife off at work - guy in an Escort GTI right up my backside on the dual carriageway (I was doing 45 in a 50) anyway we get past the speed camera he floors it swerves in front of me and roars off.

He then swerves sharply from the inside lane to overtake another car and then the fun begins - the escort starts swerving all over the road and I mean all over the road, he clips the curb and ends up facing the wrong way - fortunately the car he overtook managed to avoid him and I slowed down to a stop. His face was a picture of sheer terror, white as a sheet and no doubt brown undies.

So whilst he did a 3 point turn to face the right way I was wondering if he had left his brain at home, my outside temp gauge was showing -1 oC and obviously their was ice on the road. Now I was taught that when its cold or wet to take it easy avoid sudden sharp steering and throttle inputs and brake slowly whilst allowing sufficent space between you and the vehicle in front.

Obviously he was either never told this or chose to ignore it, I have to say he stepped down from the road warrior platform and continued at what appeared to be 30 - 40 mph obviously the taste of fear had some effect - at least until tomorrow anyway!!

So in answer I know what you mean about VW drivers but unfortunately it is not an exclusive club as todays Ford driver proved to me.

The trouble is that it does bother me one bit if they smash their car up its when like you say they drive so close as to put you or other innocent motorists / pedestrians in danger.

Paul

Luke C

iTrader: (1)

Very true, its not so much the people themsleves driving like idiots i am worried about, its the people around them that they might hurt

Dam I thought it was an exclusive VW thing

Sound like quite an amusing event you saw! We all know how it feels when you get that horrible.........whoa........whoa..........yikes.. ......the sterring has no effect on where i am going feeling! What a plonker!

explore

hasnt be to cold here yet, but last year bet its gonna be the same, the roads near me dont get gritted that much, i was travling up this 1/4 mile road its slippy as hell and guess what, a woman with her kids in the car come up behind me and sit about 2 foot from my bumper, my car is slipping every now and again and hers must have been to but she stayed there right till then end of the road, thank god i didnt have to put the brakes on. but always get that round here.
also when we had some real bad rain here i was going down country lanes water lying all over the road i was doing about 35 cos of the plaining on the water and i hit afew big puddles (lakes lol) and i swerved a little the car on my **** was all over the place and ended up on the wrong side of the road

Stiver3

I think a lot has to do with experience.

These drivers dont adapt to their environment and changing conditions. They drive like this every day come rain or shine, snow or ice, fog or mist... They know how their car handles in the dry and assume they can act the same in the wet, fog etc...

A little more thought and care is all that is needed....

Jonty

Yup, but what do you think he'll tell the guys at work..? How he made a skid and almost took himself out when the conditions were evidently that dangerous... or how he left behind an Impreza, using both lanes, but always in control.

I do find myself becoming utterly disgusted with driving standards these days... but can't work out whether it's just me getting older (I'm nearly 32) or that idiots are just that... relying on fancy gizmos to help them out with traction or who just don't give a stuff because the car they drive is worth less than a box of Jaffa Cakes.

On Friday I was at a very narrow, 2-laned roundabout and chose to let a couple of idiots barge passed me because it was evident they preferred to have everyone squeeze into 1 lane (once you're over it) and fight over space. Then when I had a safe space to continue about my way, a pratt in an A3 thought it'd be sensible to race into a hazardous situation and force me to swerve 'out' of his way so that we didn't collide (which isn't easy when you have a r'bout right next to you).

Quite possibly the idiots who drive like this have never been involved in a spin or accident of their own. I have (not my fault) and it does make you think.

Jonts.

Luke C

iTrader: (1)

Sort of reminds me of a guy at work.

He and his girlfriend were in his Boxter (dont worry I take the **** all the time ) when a guy in a 330 Convertable decides to come flying down the outside at the end of a duel carriageway (the the white chevrons). Not too bad if it was not absolutely SOAKING! Anyway nothing bad happened but I though his Girlfriends comment was a classic..."BMW's, Sold by ******* - To *******!"

Not saying that all BMW drivers are *******, but it was quite funny!

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Yes, if you've ever hit black ice or been involved in a spin, it tend to promote a bit more respect for the road conditions. Problem is, these idiots take risks, get away with it, then infer from this that it was due to them being skilled behind the wheel, when it was -in point of fact- just blind luck. All well and good till it runs out, and it WILL run out!

If people see a car like an Impreza -reknowned for its grip and traction- going slowly it should be a hint that it might be a good idea if they drove a bit more cautiously as well and not take it as an invitation to drive like a d*ck to get past.

NS04

Mikkk

Last night driving through Bristol I glanced over the temperature gauge in the Scoob and noticed it had dropped to -2 ... interestingly a new Mini decided to pass me in a 30 zone by using the right turn only lane approaching a set of lights. I just pottered along at a steady 28mph and 3 minutes later was behind the mini once more due to traffic. On the grass verge was a white car parked up with a slightly shorter front end than originally designed ... in these freezing conditions drive slow & steady people, you may get home 5 minutes later but at least you get home.

Jonty

Hear hear.

Luke C

iTrader: (1)

IT is quite funny. I am so wary in this sort of weather. I always roll the diff forward a bit in the mornings now as i am a bit paranoid!

andy10

Agree completely. The week after passing my test in 1980 something I had my first test in skidding when I hit black ice on a roundabout. Nearly turned 360 degrees, totally sh*t myself and lost my passenger side mirror on a barrier. They didn't teach this in my lessons. (Maybe skid pad driving should be included within the lessons- no test without proof of completion).
Luckily enough I wasn't travelling at speed which is possibly why I can still post on this forum today.
Leave the racing to the experts preferably on a track. Scoobs are excellent machines in the right hands. The experts around my neck of the woods seem to be in short supply. (not aimed at the scoob drivers by the way-they seem to be quite sensible around here)
Lets slow down and leave some space between each other just in case.

gingerboy

The week after passing my test in 1980 something I had my first test in skidding when I hit black ice on a roundabout. Nearly turned 360 degrees, totally sh*t myself


Lets slow down and leave some space between each other just in case.[/QUOTE]
I'm with you their - test drove the bosses XJS after fitting new rear wheel bearings about 12 years ago, came to a round-a-bout touched the brake hit a "lake" of diesel and she spun a total 360, boy did I have brown undies, luckily the car and it's surroundings were undamaged. Did I learn from my experience - oh yes lots, never assume because it is a fine summers day that you will stick to the road like brown stuff to a blanket, so if that can happen in summer driver beware in winter.

As for your last sentence a few have said it in this thread and it is so true the old addage "only fools rush in" springs to mind. Leave em to it I say they obviously have a pressing appointment with an oak box 6 ft under.


Paul

PHILYB

People drive like tools in the ice, i am in the recovery trade and people just do not take any notice, that they have just had to de frost there screen!!!

DARKSSLASH

I carnt agree with philyb more, im a lorry driver and you wouldnt believe some of the standareds of driving i see everyday. At the min im seeing a worring trend for people to drive like ***** with there kids in the car!!!!! Lets hope its not the kids that end up paying for the priverlage of being 5min earlier.

Nevetas

We should all have winter tyres like the rest of Europe.

http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/techinfo/winter.asp

richs2891

All very true but as already stated most people drive exactly the same in dry, the wet, the night, the cold, the icy weather etc and as soon as they get into the car the brain goes into neutral and they are driving on automatic pilot and have absolutely no consept of differing driving conditions or even observation of say darker patches on the road etc.
Lack of on going driver tutuion / periodic driver re assesment seems to be an obvious answer.
Richard

Jonty

I've often thought about this and I'd personally welcome some form of re-assessment or testing... say every 5 years. If you think about it, you pass an initial test and then free to do what you like thereafter. Granted, re-testing would be similar but if the frequency was right and people understood more of the physics and the impact it had when you can no longer drive, perhaps more people would 'think'.

Friends of mine argue that every 5 years is too frequent... fine... then use some form of points system so that if you scored really bad 5 years ago, it's in your interests to have learnt by the time year 10 arrives.

I'd also be quite happy to see some of my re-test fee ploughed back into the kitty for carriageway repairs, etc.

Just my 2p.

Jonts.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

To be honest mate, I don't think it would make much difference, as the problem in many cases seems to be one of attitude rather than lack of competence. People would most likely drive under conditions of assessment in a manner unrepresentative of how they'd drive normally. As soon as the test ends, it'd be back to the bad old habbits.

The key problem IMHO is that people people take their safety for granted. These people who tailgate, race on icy roads etc... will know darned well about stopping distances, adhesion on ice etc... but they do it anyway. Why? cause they've gotten away with it this long, they misattribute it to skill on their part and thus and don't have any disincentive to drive properly. I would like to see a compulsory session at a skid pan as part of driver training. Once you've felt how scary it is when a car looses grip and had that "oh sh*t" stomach in mouth moment I promise, only a complete moron would continue with dangerous practices in icy conditions.

NS04

richs2891

Yes a skid pan would be a useful addition but most people (as you have already implied drive well to pass the "test" and then revert back to normal ) would surely forget what thye have learned on the skid pan and hence drive the same all year round.
Re test every 5 years or so, combined with proper police prescence to deter such idiots. Make people realise that they are respnsible for their actions would probably be a good start as well

Richard

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

I wasn't actually thinking of the skid pan as an assessed experience per se. I was thinking more along the line of scaring the cr*p out of people and shattering the illusion of invulnerability and control they think they can exert over the car at all speeds in all conditions. As such, I'm not so sure it would be such an easy lesson to forget as soon as its convenient- if you see what I mean. In fact I think it should be orientated as such.

NS04

Jonty

Ah, well... you see that's where it all goes wrong. Isn't it against Human Rights to force someone to be accountable for their own actions..?

To sort this problem we need to bring back Maggie, ditch Europe and vote common sense!

Jonts.

richs2891

Jonty
I with you on that !

Richard

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

A skidpan course is a great idea and a real eye opener to someone who hasn't done it before. You have very little control, over certain speeds, and you need to learn new techniques to regain that control. I did one at castle combe, it was excellent. The following year we had a really bad deep freeze during rush hour, and the roads were lethal, you couldn't even touch the brakes @5mph in a straight line without the wheels locking, sheet ice everywhere. If I hadn't been on that course, I would of really struggled in certain places to get home, and I thought I knew it all about getting out of a skid. The worst problem as said, is all the other idiots ploughing into you, there's not alot you can do to avoid that.

MikeCardiff

iTrader: (2)

Have to agree with all these - but especially people who drive like prats in the wet - seems worse on days where it has been warm and dry, then starts lashing down - you see people who make no adjustment to their speed to account for this - obviously not realising their stopping distance probably doubles in the wet compared to the dry.

Nevetas

http://media.ebaumsworld.com/wmv/badcorner.wmv

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

I was "lucky" enough to own an old fiesta as my first car. I span three times with a month, not doing silly speeds, but it has given me the experience to drive safely. All in the winter, early morning.

Once was even as I turned left at some lights, car continued round so I was facing the way I came.. Not really scary, but showed me what not to do.

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

The only time I've spun a car on a public road in the wet, was in a 71 toyota celica that had far too much power for what the chassis could handle