Yesterday, in an unfamiliar area, I got stuck in a bus lane. I saw a space to my right and eased gently over to it. The guy behind was so determined not to let me in that he accelerated and hit the car in front of him. Fortunately (!) this was fitted with a tow bar. What fun.
No serious damage to anything, but Paul Ripley always says don't fight someone for a piece of road.
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I always liked reading his Telegraph articles. It's a pity he was chopped. Regarding fighting, I always reckon that if someone is that aggressive, then I don't want them anywhere near me, and in front is best.
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You're right Leif, on both counts. I didn't agree with Paul Ripley 100 per cent of the time and I often wondered whether he was blessed with Superman's eyesight, but he was always interesting and useful. Telegraph Saturday motoring section now seems to have been taken over by 'lads' and teenage scribblers. HJ excepted of course!
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I always looked forward to the article Paul Ripley wrote each week based on photographs taken from the passenger seat of the Renault Sport that was around at that time. Being left hand drive with no windscreen, the Sport allowed unobstructed views of the road ahead to be photographed from the persective of what would normally be the right hand driving seat. A whole piece would then be written around a single photograph pointing out what to look out for and how to anticipate what might be ahead etc. I also did'nt agree with everything Paul Ripley wrote but plenty was thought provoking. Two messages stick in my mind - give yourself a buffer by creating room around you and don't get angry.
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All very sensible advice. Although, round here, if you put your hazards on in a laudable attempt to warn, people will just think that you're parked and drive straight round you into oncoming traffic!
Did you have a good holiday, HJ?
Cheers
Rob
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For all who miss the Ripley column - have a look at the HPC website for the occassional articles by John Lyon of the High Performance Club.
Matt35.
PS to Rob - good advice!
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Late contribution to this thread. I miss Mr. Ripley's column as well. I thought it excellent and safety never goes out of style. I agree with other contributors on this thread that the motoring pages are becoming a bit too laddish at times, but, and it's a big one, they beat the hell out of the the rubbish that passes for the motoring section in the Sunday Times.
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I agree with twinexhaust, I didn't agree with everything Mr Ripley wrote, but it did make me think, and question my reasons for not agreeing. Of course in the days when we had traffic police they did the same, a quick lecture at the side of the road had much more effect than a letter through the post 14 days after the event. We need him back, even if it's just for the occassional article.
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>give yourself a buffer by creating room around you and don't get angry.>
That and "drive a bit slower" was all he ever wrote in my view, that and gratuitous mentions of the car he used - presumably he was on some deal with the manufacturer.
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I endorse that. Agreement or not with Ripley (although it was hard to fault his logic most of the time) was less important than the cleansing mental exercise that his output stimulated in the reader (driver). Either way you benefited from a quick refresher. We can all use that little piece of discipline much as even an expert at anything has a good coach dropping hints and tips and reminders.
What I really hate is those motoring writeups where you get seven paras of drivel which have nothing to do with the subject before the "writer" addresses the matter at hand, usually completely subjectively and with little value for anyone seeking hard information, but rather to parade an already over-inflated sense of personal importance not shared by anyone else. I do not need to name at least one name.
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<< >give yourself a buffer by creating room around you and don't get angry.>
That and "drive a bit slower" was all he ever wrote in my view>>
But that is the point - that's all you need to say, and as often as possible. Those few wise words can be applied to virtually every driving situation.
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But hardly enough to fill half a page in a broadsheet every week!
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i agree with everyone agreeing that we should agree.
agreed?
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Oh dear, it's Friday......
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