Hmm... where to begin?
1) Ditto cyclists; I make sure I'm dazzling car drivers if I'm out riding at night.
2) Cyclists in lycra, but that's just me.
3) Tailgaters - I've always wondered what the legal ramifications would be if I just stamped hard on the brakes and said a dog ran out into the road or something.
4) The dashboard on my Xsara - the lights don't come on with the ignition, so you have to have the sidelights on to read the dials in even slightly gloomy weather.
5) People who do 90MPH+ on motorways.
6) The police who don't care about it.
7) The speed cameras on the Rochdale -> Rawtenstall road. WHY do they need 12 in a 4 mile stretch?
8) People who know where the cameras are (I drive the road at most 10 times a year) and (3) me until I let them out.
9) People who don't look in their mirrors.
That's all for now, but I'm sure I'll think of lots of things to add to the list.
|
I've not said something controversial in a while so I've decided to change all that right now.
Jesse, I agree with 8 of the 9 points you make. Well - 7. Well - 6 given I don't drive anywhere near Rochdale.
I'm not advocating speeding for one moment but what difference does it make to you if someone is doing 90mph on the motorway? That came out a little harsher than was intended. I'm asking why that annoys you. If they're tailgating or driving dangerously then that's a completely different matter. Not turning this into a speeding thread (where is NW by the way) but the Police do care and probably plough a percentage of their resources into that, and the remaining into other (some would argue more serious) crime. There's only so many cops and so much money.
--
Adam
|
|
|
> 3) Tailgaters - I've always wondered what the legal
> ramifications would be if I just stamped hard on the brakes
> and said a dog ran out into the road or something.
Well I believe you're in the clear in this case, and in fact I know someone who knows someone who did this. But you'd have to question their sanity: the reason you don't want someone tailgating you is because they might crash into you. So if you make them crash into you, you're as bad as they are really - they did something which MIGHT have caused an accident, you did something which you knew WOULD cause one. If you're prepared to make someone crash into you, why are you concerned about tailgating in the first place?
-Mark
|
It has long been assumed that if someone drives into the back of you it's their fault. I had a situation once where I had to pull up sharply (in a loaded lorry), thankfully without collision, because a car pulled out of a road on the left and then immediately stopped in the road to turn right at a staggered junction.
I wonder in a situation like that whether the other driver would have been to blame, since I was travelling at a sensible speed. I was already braking hard because he'd pulled out in front of me from the left when he stopped to give way (50 metres on) to oncoming traffic before turning right .
Cheers, Sofa Spud
|
Still would ahve been deemed your fault methinks as you should be able to stop .....
However, I had an incident yesterday where a car pulled out of a parking space at the side of the road and as I was still a fair way off I just lifted off the accelerator until I realised he was coeming backwards at me at speed. If I hadn't realised and put my hand on lights and horn I'm sure he'd have hit me or I hit him and without witnesses I would have been deemed the guilty party I'm sure!
|
"cyclists with no lights, riding around in the dark when it's raining, with no reflective gear."
ditto joggers, in black tracksuits.
|
|
People who fail to put their children in child seats or seatbelts. The little dears stand up on the back (or front) seats so they can see out of the windows. I once saw someone with a child on their lap "driving" the car. I sometimes wonder what planet they're from. This is despite some very graphic public service advertisements on (NZ) television. And there's never a policeman around...
|
People who fail to put their children in child seats or seatbelts.
Or those who sit a child on their lap and then put a seatbelt on. Makes me cringe.
|
Drivers that:
- dont press the ratchet release button before yanking the handbrake on,
- leave the wipers running long after the windscreen has dried,
- turn the ignition off and THEN turn the lights off.
Yes, I'm a mechanical engineer to the bone and no, unfortunately SWMBO will never get to read this.
Andy
|
Oh well if we are going that route........
SWMBO's who leave the car in gear.
|
Sorry RF - got to stop you there. As always! Leaving it in gear is something I've done from day 1 - deliberately. My Dad drummed it into me saying that if the cable ever snapped, then...well - you know. I realise the chances of that happening now are slim but it never hurts.
I tried telling one of my friends to do this but after getting in the car that evening, and her starting it in gear with no clutch, I quickly told her to disregard what I said.....whilst legging it away from the car.
I always start the car with the clutch in whether in gear or not...always will but I can see if it was never normally left in gear, or if you always left it in neutral and wifey put it in gear that it would be...annoying to say the least.
--
Adam
|
Agree with Adski.
I *always* leave the car in gear as a roll-away backup, and *always* start any manual gearbox car with the clutch pedal depressed. No conscious thought required to press clutch, start engine, move gear to neutral (or check it is if not my car), release clutch pedal to a likely biting point (final safety check), and then release fully. Sure, modern thin oils are not the treacle of old, but especially in cold weather this technique gives the starter motor an easier time, as well as being an obvious safety measure. I have educated my missus to do the same, which she does on all counts, religiously.
As an aside, back in the early eighties when I lived in Kuwait, the manual gearbox Yank pickup trucks that I regularly drove wouldn't start unless the in neutral with the clutch pedal fully depressed.
As another aside, a friend's father did a huge amount of damage to his one week old Audi 80 some years back by parking it with warm brakes on his steep driveway, and not putting it in gear. The Audi handbrake mechanism worked directly on the rear discs IIRC, so as they contracted, instead of getting tighter, they marginally released. Bang. One very sad looking Audi.
|
Leaving it in gear is something I've done from day 1 - deliberately
>>if the cable ever snapped, then...well - you know. I realise the chancesof that happening now are slim but it never hurts.
>>
I bought an old UNO for my two learners to practice on.
Two days after I got it the handbrake cable snapped.
Fortunately we were stopped as of course I had no brake pedal on my side!!!
It had a valid MOT with months to go. Just one of several items not serviced but I think a pretty poor MOT inspection as the cable had obvious been frayed for ages.
Another reminder why I always get my MOTs done at a MOTs only long established place.
|
"turn the ignition off and THEN turn the lights off"
Huh? Unless it takes them 10 mins between the actions I fail to see how that can be annoying!
Besides, its lights on, engine on, lights off, engine off. Unless they changed the rules since my test!
|
No wait :) thats, lights on, engine on, engine off, lights off. I thought it was safety that was important.
|
Lights on, Engine on?
Oh yes its such a wonderful idea to draw those extra amps out of the battery, just as the starter motor is going to draw the battery to its knees to turn it over.
Safety? The car had no lights on before you started the engine, how does having lights on make engine starting safer?
|
Succinctly put, as always, RF.
|
While I agree with RF's point, I don't really see the necessity to turn off the lights before the engine?
I understand when switching stuff on that the extra draw does no good, and also the surge caused by the alternator cutting in can damage the bulbs if they're lit at the time, but what's the problem with switching the engine off with the lights still lit?
|
A lot of it is down to "old wives tales" "Father son" derived knowledge. Harks back to the old days of cars that took ages to start, lousy electrics, carp batteries and the good old dynamo and electro mechanical regulator.
Hence it was that every last microvolt or milliamp left in the battery could mean the difference between a starting "on the button" or a "family out for a push" morning.
Hence there is no real need to worry to those lengths these days about turning off lights before engine.
Its still true however that you really dont want to add any more strain on your electrics when starting the car and this includes lights.
|
|
Erm, don't most modern cars automatically disconnect the headlights during starting? Certainly all the Japanese cars I've had have done this. Sidelights do stay on, but headlights go out. Hard to tell, as the engine usually starts very quickly, but I checked the wiring diagram of one car, and there's a relay connection to the start position of the ignition switch.
|
Erm, don't most modern cars automatically disconnect the headlights during starting? Certainly all the Japanese cars I've had have done this.
Our Nissan Almera doesn't disconnect headlights when starting. Neither does my Toyota Hilux...
|
"Oh yes its such a wonderful idea to draw those extra amps out of the battery, just as the starter motor is going to draw the battery to its knees to turn it over.
Safety? The car had no lights on before you started the engine, how does having lights on make engine starting safer? "
*shrugs*
I have no idea, I'm just re-iterating what was said to me when I was learning! If its dark you should switch on the lights before the engine.
Sorry it got up your nose!
|
Drivers that: - dont press the ratchet release button before yanking the handbrake on,
I used to believe this until I read through my Ford Mondeo Mk3 handbook, it specifically tells you NOT to press the ratchet release button when pulling the handbrake on ?
|
>>Drivers that: dont press the ratchet release button before yanking the handbrake on,I used to believe this until I read through my Ford Mondeo Mk3 handbook, it specifically tells you NOT to press the ratchet release button when pulling the handbrake on ?
>>
Perhaps the sound of the ratchet gives an audible reassurance?
In the Mk2 handbook the only reference is to press the button to release.
It also says to reduce handbrake application effort,
depress the brake pedal while applying the hand brake.
I wonder why the instructions have changed.
I always believed that pressing the button when applying the hand brake preserved the ratchet.
|
|
|
ditto joggers, in black tracksuits.
Funny you should mention joggers - they used to be plentiful round my way but now you hardly ever see one. Perhaps not such a healthy activity after all?
The trouble with jogging is, by the time you realise you're not up to it, it's too far to walk back.
|
Funny you should mention joggers - they used to be plentiful round my way but now you hardly ever see one. Perhaps not such a healthy activity after all?
They're like swallows; back in the spring.
|
"Leaving it in gear is something I've done from day 1 - deliberately. My Dad drummed it into me"
Funny the things you remember Dad drumming into you - (40 years ago!!) not only to leave the car in gear but also to reverse into parking spaces "in case the Germans come"!!! (Apologies to any Germans out there!)
"Ditto jogger"
And ditto the bloke last night at 7pm in the black sweat shirt and dark trousers walking his black labrador on a narrow lane. Him against the grass verge and dog at the end of a 2metre lead almost in middle of the road. The thing I saw was the "FCUK" emblazoned on his sweatshirt - I went into anagram mode!
|
Yep - I've been ordered to reverse into spaces too - in case we need a quick getaway.
Can't think at all why though...
--
Adam
|
|
|
|
|
|
