Reply to: Britain's most dangerous roads

[The Lone Gunman]

No, because you'd get SockPuppet and his mate inching their trucks past one another for miles on end with a huge queue of cars behind them. Happens all the time on the M11 and M26.

This frustrates the car drivers and makes them more liable to drive aggressively when they finally get past.

But there are large lumps of european 2 laners where trucks are not allowed to pass and many are closed to wagons at weekends. (That is why they are all in the UK). Kinda makes up for it. I have been driving on the mainland for a number of years. You still get tailbacks, but not usualy for the truckers 10 mile pass.

[spiderlover]

[QUOTE=Bagpuss]Well I too have been driving for 20 years I have never had an accident, and if you say you have never skidded you are lying. Remember when the roads froze around london a few years ago, people were coming off the road left right and centre, I suppose your special techiques added some magical griping power to your tyres?

QUOTE]

Well I suppose it depends on your definition of a skid - in my mind a skid is a loss of grip leading to the vehicle being out of control and not responding to steering, braking and throttle inputs. In that sense I can assure you I have never been in a "skid".

I have however encountered times when grip has been reduced due to snow or ice but I have never been in a situation where I have not been in control of the car and unable to change direction and speed or indeed stop in a controlled manner.

Here's to semantics.....

[Chugnut]

I agree with this. Many motorways in France for example are 2 lanes, not 3, yet the right lane is often more free for passing traffic. Maybe the rules are simpler and can be interpreted correctly by all, rather than forcing people like shoes to make up new ones for their own benefit. Would 2 x 2 lane motorways be better than 1 x 4 lane? Discuss...

No, because you'd get SockPuppet and his mate inching their trucks past one another for miles on end with a huge queue of cars behind them. Happens all the time on the M11 and M26.

This frustrates the car drivers and makes them more liable to drive aggressively when they finally get past.

[Bagpuss]

God there really are some idiots about!

I have been driving for 20 years and I have never been in a skid on the road, only on the track.

Oil? = Look ahead and you'll see it, if you don't you're going too fast
Snow = that's the white stuff from the sky - slow down
Wet weather = thats the watery stuff from the sky - slow down

It's no wonder people are dying in droves if there are people like you on the road who aren't aware of the world beyond the end of their bonnet!

As for letting go of the controls - f***ing hell, I hope I'm never near you on the road. I teach performance driving every weekend and I can assure you that letting go of the controls in a skid is suicide unless you are about to hit an immovable object and you want to save your wrists!

Well I too have been driving for 20 years I have never had an accident, and if you say you have never skidded you are lying. Remember when the roads froze around london a few years ago, people were coming off the road left right and centre, I suppose your special techiques added some magical griping power to your tyres?

I guess you wouldn't get on too well with this guy..
http://www.creativecarcontrol.co.uk/managegrip.htm

[Zorba]

Its a european thing (obviously left). You are required to let faster drivers past in most EC countries so drivers put their outside indicator on to show they have nowhere left to go so you should consider pulling in to the next available gap.
It does lead to idiots tailgateing when you are justifiably passing something else and have no safe pull in though.
Mostly it works OK and you dont generally get people like shoes holding everybody up (it does happen).

I agree with this. Many motorways in France for example are 2 lanes, not 3, yet the right lane is often more free for passing traffic. Maybe the rules are simpler and can be interpreted correctly by all, rather than forcing people like shoes to make up new ones for their own benefit. Would 2 x 2 lane motorways be better than 1 x 4 lane? Discuss...

[portseven]

I am quite surprised that the Snake and Woodhead passes are not on there.

I can see the Woodhead from my house and there are often crashes on there, and the Snake is closed a few times a month due to some unfortunate soul.

[The Lone Gunman]

I've never seen anybody do that ... why would you indicate right whilst in the right lane ... is it some kind of signal to the person in front to pull out of the way?

Its a european thing (obviously left). You are required to let faster drivers past in most EC countries so drivers put their outside indicator on to show they have nowhere left to go so you should consider pulling in to the next available gap.
It does lead to idiots tailgateing when you are justifiably passing something else and have no safe pull in though.
Mostly it works OK and you dont generally get people like shoes holding everybody up (it does happen).

[chicane]

you get some flash knob indicating right while bearing down on your tailgate like he's got some kind of license to break the speed limit

I've never seen anybody do that ... why would you indicate right whilst in the right lane ... is it some kind of signal to the person in front to pull out of the way?

[alreadypacked]

Don't you just love it when you're 'making good progress' down the right hand lane and you get some flash knob indicating right while bearing down on your tailgate like he's got some kind of license to break the speed limit. Well I've got a big gas-guzzling, old 4x4 with a nice chunky towbar so I whack the old anchors on, signal left and ever so slowly pull out of the way. Heh, heh, heh !

A new sport, someone call the Olympic committee!

[The AntiChrist]

Don't you just love it when you're 'making good progress' down the right hand lane and you get some flash knob indicating right while bearing down on your tailgate like he's got some kind of license to break the speed limit. Well I've got a big gas-guzzling, old 4x4 with a nice chunky towbar so I whack the old anchors on, signal left and ever so slowly pull out of the way. Heh, heh, heh !

[shoes]

Drive by the rules or get off the road.
Just because everybody does it does not make it right.

My point is that it is more sensible to take a pragmatic approach to driving and do what is reasonable at the time than to follow rules solely because 'thems the rules'. I would argue that the largest consideration when driving is what everyone else is doing. If they are breaking the rules constantly in a fairly consistent way then it is actually more dangerous to insist on your rule following in conflict with what everyone else is doing.

Try sticking rigidly to the rules in Italy, then try driving like the locals do. You'll soon learn which one gets you more safely from A to B.


Pragmatic driving please, not pedantic mindless rule following with a side order of self righteousness. You're impressing no-one but yourself.

[spiderlover]

I agree, Most people over-correct when steering into a skid. If you go on any performance driving course they will teach you the car is balanced to be neutral. By giving the car input you make matters worse. The best way is to put the car in neutral and let go of the controls, the car will correct itself. Of course the steering wheel shuffle brigade don't understand the physics of the situation. And the bolocks he wrote about never getting into a skid, never heard of oil on the road, snow, mud, wet weather?

God there really are some idiots about!

I have been driving for 20 years and I have never been in a skid on the road, only on the track.

Oil? = Look ahead and you'll see it, if you don't you're going too fast
Snow = that's the white stuff from the sky - slow down
Wet weather = thats the watery stuff from the sky - slow down

It's no wonder people are dying in droves if there are people like you on the road who aren't aware of the world beyond the end of their bonnet!

As for letting go of the controls - f***ing hell, I hope I'm never near you on the road. I teach performance driving every weekend and I can assure you that letting go of the controls in a skid is suicide unless you are about to hit an immovable object and you want to save your wrists!

[Troll]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/6240288.stm

[VectraMan]

You just pull back in again.

After you've crashed?

Seriously, you can see far enough to safely have a look and move back even if you're close behind another vehicle. You can't usually see far enough to complete the whole overtake.

Overtaking has become a bit of a lost art anyway. Hardly anyone seems to do it anymore.

[The Lone Gunman]

Then you crash.

You just pull back in again.