Same thing happened to my wife, shunted into the car in front. There was a some delay while it was sorted but in the end the guy who hit her car was deemed at fault and his insurance paid up. pays to leave a decent gap with the car in front in queues!
Spot on Barney.
A good way to remember is Road & Rubber or Tyres and Tarmac. you should be able to see both when stopped behind another vehicle.
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Road & Rubber or Tyres and Tarmac.
I was told that by a police advanced driver, but only because it allowed you to drive round them if they stalled - perhaps he may have had more urgency than me!
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I too read the same sort of thing... about being able to drive round it if it stalled or (more likely) broke down - but it was also mentioned that if high level brake lights were dazzling you at night (because the inconsiderate so-and-so kept their foot on the brake) then it suggested you were too close to the car in front.
I suppose there's a bit of truth in the latter - but it still amazes me that almost every car in a queue displays brake lights, for whatever reason. I realise there may be some sort of justification in certain circumstances, but I still say it's the vast majority that can't be bothered to go handbrake - neutral" ... I mean to say, it's darned hard work keep pulling that handbrake up innit?
And while I'm in a complaining frame of mind ...what about the (majority again) people who don't press the handbrake button in when applying the handbrake?
OK, I concede that no-one does the latter (clicking the handbrake ratchet) very much any more coz they never use the blessed handbrake any more.
And I'm going upstairs for a shave and a shower now so you can all rant and rave at me .... and I won't see any of it :-)
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"I suppose there's a bit of truth in the latter - but it still amazes me that almost every car in a queue displays brake lights, for whatever reason. I realise there may be some sort of justification in certain circumstances, but I still say it's the vast majority that can't be bothered to go handbrake - neutral" ... I mean to say, it's darned hard work keep pulling that handbrake up innit?"
Bear in mind, however irritating this is, the drivers in question may well actually be doing their bit for pollution levels!. Our Honda Jazz auto has a stop-start facility, but it only works when in drive, stationary, and with your foot on the brake pedal. If you slip it in neutral (which i tend to do if i know i'm going to be stopped for more than 30 seconds or so) the engine starts up again. I'm not saying this is a good idea, and it certainly irritates me if i'm behind someone in stationary traffic and the brake lights are on, especially in low daylight conditions, but there you go!.
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Ah, right you are ... I sort of knew that there was some sort of reasoning attached to the practice (or is that practise? ... I can never work it out) but couldn't remember what it was. At least now I can forgive them and assume they all have stop/start and not simply too inconsiderate to apply the handbrake.
However, that still doesn't cover the question of sitting in traffic with no handbrake on - and being shunted up the rear and surging forward into the bloke in front due to the impact causing your foot to come off the pedal.
Oh well, there ain't no pleasin' me.
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Just in case you're interested, KB, you were right: practice is the noun, practise is the verb. It's the same with licence and license.
A way to remember it is alphabetically: c comes before s and n for noun comes before v for verb.
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"... practice is the noun, practise is the verb. It's the same with licence and license."
Indeed, but, with the influence American English has, confusion arises when you learn that across the Pond they have only one form for both grammatical functions: practise and license, so "licence" and "practice" do not exist as correct spellings.
"Prophecy" versus "prophesy" is an interesting case. The distinction between the two in British English is the same as for the words discussed above. However, in American English, though traditionally the same distinction is maintained, "prophesy" is fast becoming the single form used, which makes sense, I suppose.
"Garner's Modern American Usage notes that prophesy for prophecy is at stage 3 of language change: it's common even among educated speakers and writers." (www.vocabulary.com/articles/chooseyourwords/prophe.../)
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... it still amazes me that almost every car in a queue displays brake lights...
Don't assume its always malicious or careless. My car has an 'autohold' function. When I stop, it keeps the footbrake on automatically and cuts the engine until I'm ready to move away. Unfortunately the brakelights stay on.
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It does more harm (so we are told) to keep taking a TC auto out of D and the then reselecting D for the typical traffic light change duration, than leaving it simply in D.
As for neutral and parking brake, the standard parking brake acting on the rear wheels won't take much of a shunt to shift it into the car in front, similarly there could be extreme damage to the transmission of an auto with P facility of P were selected and only the handbrake applied in the event of shunt from the rear.
So, sorry if my brake lights annoy at the typical traffic light stop, but no one has to look directly into them, and its not as if they are the eye destroying mllions of lumens brake lights as found in Mercs and similar, ironically so safe are they that they completely blind the driver behind so a rear shunt is actually more likely because a following driver cannot possibly see past the lights in question so a split second decision depending on what has caused this application of the brake pedal (no braking actually needed) is out.
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It does more harm (so we are told) to keep taking a TC auto out of D and the then reselecting D for the typical traffic light change duration, than leaving it simply in D.
As for neutral and parking brake, the standard parking brake acting on the rear wheels won't take much of a shunt to shift it into the car in front, similarly there could be extreme damage to the transmission of an auto with P facility of P were selected and only the handbrake applied in the event of shunt from the rear.
So, sorry if my brake lights annoy at the typical traffic light stop, but no one has to look directly into them, and its not as if they are the eye destroying mllions of lumens brake lights as found in Mercs and similar, ironically so safe are they that they completely blind the driver behind so a rear shunt is actually more likely because a following driver cannot possibly see past the lights in question so a split second decision depending on what has caused this application of the brake pedal (no braking actually needed) is out.
HC Rule 114: In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. This will minimise glare to road users behind until the traffic moves again.
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