Here we are again, lashings of rain on the M6 today all the cars are slowing except a huge artic who was going faster than everyone else, then woke up, luckily we all missed.
I now think driving on a wet skid pan should be part of the test, so many people think their car is still going to grip like glue on greasy wet roads.
Please slow down before you hit my nice shiney little car and kill yourself.
|
M62 anti-clock this morning. 7am. Pouring down. Very bad visibility Driver of one of those BMW sports cars that looks like a bat mobile joined from slip road and straight into lane 3, no lights on at all.
Idiot.
|
Why don't people put their lights on in the rain?!
My driving instructor was a big fan of little rhymes and sayings.... one of his favourites being "if you need to wipe, you need your lights."
Bless him.
|
I have noticed since buying a car with over 200bhp and 500Nm of torque how carefull you have to be with throttle use. I'm a big fan of rear wheel drive cars but this is the first one I've had with a lot of power.
The car could be lethal in the wrong hands and this is the problem. As mentioned before people do not seem to understand just how lethal a car can become when the roads are wet or greasy. Cars are becoming more and more powerfull nowadays but the level of driving appears to be getting worse, if not worse then no better.
Changes really do need to take place with regard to drivers perception of conditions and attitudes to driving as they seem to think that with ABS, ESP etc they will never lose control of the car as the electronics will save them.
We all know what happens then.
|
I have always felt it should be mandatory to complete two years on a motorcycle before gaining a licence to drive 4 wheeled vehicle.
The knowledge of road surface effects stays with you for the rest of your days. Alternatively not learnt you wind up in the mortuary .
|
I have always felt it should be mandatory to complete two years on a motorcycle before gaining a licence to drive 4 wheeled vehicle. The knowledge of road surface effects stays with you for the rest of your days. Alternatively not learnt you wind up in the mortuary .
Definitely with you there Phil - It's amazing after coming a cropper on a freshly rained on road how much respect you learn for the conditions. It amazes me how some people simply do not adjust their driving style, rain or shine, sleet or snow...
|
|
|
I have always felt it should be mandatory to complete two years on a motorcycle before gaining a licence to drive 4 wheeled vehicle. The knowledge of road surface effects stays with you for the rest of your days. Alternatively not learnt you wind up in the mortuary .
Now that really would solve the population explosion...
|
|
|
|
"I have noticed since buying a car with over 200bhp and 500Nm of torque how carefull you have to be with throttle use. I'm a big fan of rear wheel drive cars but this is the first one I've had with a lot of power."
Equally I bet you've realised just how much rubbish is being talked by people who say that matching revs on downwards gearchanges is just showing off.
Very easy to unstick the rear wheels with mechanically unsympathetic driving in the wet.
|
|
Whether the car is rear or front wheel drive, it is easy to unstick the wheels in the wet. It is even easier in snow and ice. It is the power to weight ratio that matters, and the amount of power that the tyre can deal with. I have tramped the front wheels of my old Volvo 440, 1.8L in the dry when I have tried to come out of a junction too quickly for the surface. Have you tried a four wheel drive car ? The power is shared between four wheels instead of two.
|
Hillman,
I think you misunderstood the point being made.
Agreed and taken as read that is easy to unstick wheels with misuse of throttle both rwd/fwd. Even with 4wd actually if you have enough power depending upon the types of differentials.
I was ACTUALLY talking about shifting down the gears, where rwd are more prone to unsticking the rear wheels if the revs are not matched to speed and the clutch is re-engaged sharpish. Can be deliberately induced in lots of rwd cars in slippery conditions but is especially prone in a powerful large engined rwd sports car eg TVR say. Less so in a fwd car due to weight transference and distribution.
Is that clear now?
FiF
|
|
|
|
Try driving a Caterham 7 in the wet, its often easier letting the tail hang out and driving it sideways than it is keeping the rear wheels in line. This driving style does tend to panic oncoming drivers a little even though the car is under complete control.
--
I read often, only post occaisionally
|
|
|
|
Why don't people put their lights on in the rain?! My driving instructor was a big fan of little rhymes and sayings.... one of his favourites being "if you need to wipe, you need your lights." Bless him.
True in more than one way.
|
|
My caution in the wet is probably due to my moped days, learnt the hard way, 1st on wet leaves, then twice on a greasy road, it still scares the hell out of my seeing a 12 wheeler sliding past my drivers window though.
|
|
flat4 - puts me in mind of my Edmonton winter days in the 60s. After a week or two without fresh snow, most main roads were nicely glazed. The bus drivers would come to a cautious halt a few feet from the kerb, then slide down the camber to pick up passengers. Artics would approach stop signs with all 16 wheels locked. We all got used to it though.
|
|
|
|
|
