Reply to: Learning to Drive

[alamest]

I think most of what you’re seeing in this thread matches my own experience.

Young drivers today are in a very different environment to when many of us learned — cars are heavier, roads busier and the consequences of a mistake feel much higher. That said, I’m not sure that simply slapping an X or P plate on the back of a car actually makes much difference to safety. In my group of friends when we first passed, most of the risks we faced were about inexperience rather than anything to do with how visible we were to other drivers.

There are definitely groups who push it too hard and make a nuisance of themselves on the roads, but that’s more about enforcement and responsible driving than the licensing rules themselves. A police presence and sensible penalties tend to do more for overall safety than plates or restrictions that don’t address the real behaviour issues.

Overall I don’t think policy should punish everyone for the actions of a minority, but I agree that anything that encourages better training and more awareness for novice drivers is a good thing.

[sadkingbilly]

I think I got it... let me try again.

Shut it or I'll brake your tuliping legs.

aye, right.

[Protagoras]

Have a Kit Kat

That's so scary. Are you psychic? I've just finished one!

[ladymuck]

Give us a break. Please!

Have a Kit Kat

[Protagoras]

Give us a break. Please!

[northernladuk]

No no no. Break is what happens if you don't brake. Simples...

My head hurts

[malvolio]

I think I got it... let me try again.

Shut it or I'll brake your tuliping legs.

No no no. Break is what happens if you don't brake. Simples...

[northernladuk]

Brake (with 'a')

• Verb: To apply the mechanism (e.g., "She had to brake suddenly").

• Memory Trick: Think of the 'a' in "car" or "stay" for stopping.

• Noun:
  A mechanism to stop motion (e.g., "The car's brakes failed")
  .

Break (with 'e')

• Noun: A pause, rest, or fracture (e.g., "a coffee break," "a broken arm").
• Verb: To separate into pieces, damage, or interrupt (e.g., "Don't break the vase," "Let's break for lunch").

I think I got it... let me try again.

Shut it or I'll brake your tuliping legs.

[sadkingbilly]

Absolutely but many more differences on a plus side as well though, handling, breaking and even the acceleration can be a plus as you can get around something and not wait ages to accelerate so all mean you can go faster but more safely. Not quite a good thing but it's not as bad as it sounds in a simple comparison like that.

I also drove like a loon as a kid but I did it in a 2L Cortina Crusader but what I thought was a fast white knuckle drive back then is probably a standard shopping trip for most people now.

It reminds me of a post I put on here awhile ago about middle age men jumping in Teslas with insane acceleration. I couldn't understand why half of them weren't wrapped around a tree six months later. Brother in law got one that was faster than my stage 4.25 tuned GTR running 700bhp. I had to evidence to my insurance I've driven cars over 500 BHP before they'd insure me and I had top end tyres on it an all sorts. He gets a Tesla that does 0-60 in 2 seconds less, pays way less insurance on a pair of bog standard thin tyres. He is either foot to the floor or hard on the break. Absolute nightmare to passenger with. Was pointed out to me it also stops in half the time, grips like nothing else and has many other safety features. So he, like many young uns now will drive to the limits of the car like we did in cars of old which I guess goes a long way to explain why accident rate is still only around 20% 30 years later.

Brake (with 'a')

• Verb: To apply the mechanism (e.g., "She had to brake suddenly").

• Memory Trick: Think of the 'a' in "car" or "stay" for stopping.

• Noun:
  A mechanism to stop motion (e.g., "The car's brakes failed")
  .

Break (with 'e')

• Noun: A pause, rest, or fracture (e.g., "a coffee break," "a broken arm").
• Verb: To separate into pieces, damage, or interrupt (e.g., "Don't break the vase," "Let's break for lunch").

[northernladuk]

There's a bit of a difference between going fast in the 1970s/80s and what it means 50 years later.
A 1978 Chevette was 0-60 of 15.6 seconds with a top speed of 90mph.
A 2020 Astra 1.4 was 7.8 seconds and an extra 20+ mph.

Absolutely but many more differences on a plus side as well though, handling, breaking and even the acceleration can be a plus as you can get around something and not wait ages to accelerate so all mean you can go faster but more safely. Not quite a good thing but it's not as bad as it sounds in a simple comparison like that.

I also drove like a loon as a kid but I did it in a 2L Cortina Crusader but what I thought was a fast white knuckle drive back then is probably a standard shopping trip for most people now.

It reminds me of a post I put on here awhile ago about middle age men jumping in Teslas with insane acceleration. I couldn't understand why half of them weren't wrapped around a tree six months later. Brother in law got one that was faster than my stage 4.25 tuned GTR running 700bhp. I had to evidence to my insurance I've driven cars over 500 BHP before they'd insure me and I had top end tyres on it an all sorts. He gets a Tesla that does 0-60 in 2 seconds less, pays way less insurance on a pair of bog standard thin tyres. He is either foot to the floor or hard on the break. Absolute nightmare to passenger with. Was pointed out to me it also stops in half the time, grips like nothing else and has many other safety features. So he, like many young uns now will drive to the limits of the car like we did in cars of old which I guess goes a long way to explain why accident rate is still only around 20% 30 years later.

[DoctorStrangelove]

I remember one of my mates taking the carb off a chevette & replacing it with a cold manifold with a 28/36 Weber on it.

Making sure the petrol didn't leak afterwards wasn't high on the agenda & he managed to melt the battery when it caught fire.

And being a cold manifold it ran like a pig, though that didn't stop him sliding it sideways into a kerb & bending two of the wheels. .

Ah, dear dead days beyond recall, before emissions testing & all that: when everyone wanted twin 45DCOE carbs on a 2 litre pinto engine in their Mexico replica. . (Also ran like a pig since no one ever ever got the carbs set up properly on a rolling road).

[WTFH]

When I was young I drove like a total loony, going fast and overtaking all the time.

There's a bit of a difference between going fast in the 1970s/80s and what it means 50 years later.
A 1978 Chevette was 0-60 of 15.6 seconds with a top speed of 90mph.
A 2020 Astra 1.4 was 7.8 seconds and an extra 20+ mph.

[xoggoth]

When I was young I drove like a total loony, going fast and overtaking all the time.

[hobnob]

Where I grew up, for a period of 1 year after passing the test you had to display an "R" plate for "restricted". You were supposed to stay below 45mph, but it gave you the opportunity to experience motorway driving, etc.
If you were stopped for going over 45, then you got penalised, and if you were stopped (for any reason) but weren't displaying your R plates, then they were extended for another 6mths+.

I'm really surprised something like this hasn't been adopted, as it helped promote safety (accident statistics proved that), it also meant that if you were driving behind someone with R plates, you knew to give them a bit of leeway and not just stand on the horn if they didn't move off from the lights, or were going slower than you wanted to go.

There are optional "P" plates which serve a similar purpose:
Driving lessons and learning to drive: Using 'L' and 'P' plates - GOV.UK
It doesn't restrict what you can do, but it might encourage other road users to be patient with you.

[Protagoras]

I remember my granddad being a menace in his last few years of driving before conceding he should hang up his keys. He only ever had a motorcycle license which allowed him to drive a three wheeled car (I think - hope - that has changed in the 20-odd years since he died). He wouldn't change out of first gear until he could hear the engine, as he was quite deaf and refused to wear a hearing aid that could take a while. Burnt through a clutch a year. Minimal situational awareness. Never had an accident but was definitely the cause of a few, and many near misses.

My mother was certainly not old when I was at secondary school but she never did understand how to operate a manual gearbox. My schoolmates would ask "what's the gear today?" since she'd select a gear when starting and use the clutch and accelerator pedals together to vary speed. She kept the local mechanic in business!