MOTORWAY MADNESS

[Millietant]

Agreed - biggest problem is not the snow itself, but drivers who don't know how to "drive" in it.

We have the perfect storm of people who drive too fast, and too close, for the conditions, but EQUALLY, the people who are too timid and drive too slowly for the conditions. I've seen countless "drivers" going down a dip in the road (on a straight road) and braking in snow, then not having enough momentum to get up the other (up) side of the dip and then spinning the wheels because they start to slow down.

Most of the issues where I live (at the bottom of a hill) are people who approach the hill too slowly, with no momentum and then wonder why they can't get up the hill. So far, I've never gotten stuck - I approach with a decent speed and then run up on minimal throttle/accelerator, with basically no wheelspin.

On the motorway, I'm as careful as the next driver - some might say I drive too fast (but I don't) but I always leave enough room between myself and the Vehicle ahead. I also practice smooth steering input, minimal braking and light acceleration, using the gears by matching rpms to the engines speed & my road speed - something which recent drivers seem not to be taught about. Both our sons were "taught" that it's more fuel efficient to depress the clutch and use the brakes to lose speed (especially a low speeds), which goes against everything I was taught about accelerator control - apparently it's part of the "environmentally friendly" approach to driving that's taught these days.

The Safety crowd and their "slower is better" mantra have won the day and are preventing newer drivers from learning to use, and using, APPROPRIATE speed (neither too fast, nor too slow). - hence likely causing more accid nuts than they prevent !!!!

[tommyardin]

Agreed - biggest problem is not the snow itself, but drivers who don't know how to "drive" in it.

We have the perfect storm of people who drive too fast, and too close, for the conditions, but EQUALLY, the people who are too timid and drive too slowly for the conditions. I've seen countless "drivers" going down a dip in the road (on a straight road) and braking in snow, then not having enough momentum to get up the other (up) side of the dip and then spinning the wheels because they start to slow down.

Most of the issues where I live (at the bottom of a hill) are people who approach the hill too slowly, with no momentum and then wonder why they can't get up the hill. So far, I've never gotten stuck - I approach with a decent speed and then run up on minimal throttle/accelerator, with basically no wheelspin.

On the motorway, I'm as careful as the next driver - some might say I drive too fast (but I don't) but I always leave enough room between myself and the Vehicle ahead. I also practice smooth steering input, minimal braking and light acceleration, using the gears by matching rpms to the engines speed & my road speed - something which recent drivers seem not to be taught about. Both our sons were "taught" that it's more fuel efficient to depress the clutch and use the brakes to lose speed (especially a low speeds), which goes against everything I was taught about accelerator control - apparently it's part of the "environmentally friendly" approach to driving that's taught these days.

The Safety crowd and their "slower is better" mantra have won the day and are preventing newer drivers from learning to use, and using, APPROPRIATE speed (neither too fast, nor too slow). - hence likely causing more accid nuts than they prevent !!!!

I agree wholeheartedly with what you say about being in the right gear to match road speeds conditions.


It seems new drivers are now being taught not to change down and use the braking effect of the engine to slow down, but to dip the clutch and slow to a stop using breaks alone, madness, firstly your brakes are going to want relining or new pads in a quarter of the time and should something happen and you need to get out of the way rapidly you are now in top gear clutch dipped and no hope in hell of powering out of there.
the only thing I don't agree with is the [color=rgb(255, 0, 0)]accid nuts [/color]I have never liked them.
lol  :thumbup


 

[BBROWN1664]

[It seems new drivers are now being taught not to change down and use the braking effect of the engine to slow down, but to dip the clutch and slow to a stop using breaks alone,
 

Completely agree. When I learnt I had been riding bike for years. No option but to use the brakes and gears to slow down (The brakes alone were crap) so you were always in the right gear for the speed.
When my eldest learnt about 6 years ago he learnt to block change in the car but also rode a bike so knows both ways. My youngest is learning now and hasn't ridden geared bikes. He slows down to the point of stalling then dips the clutch and brakes only. Doesn't change down till he is stationary. Wrong. But I cant teach him the real way properly till he passes his test.

[DILLIGAFF]

IMHO a major cause of accidents these days are the "Brake dabbers" who, mainly because they follow too closely, constantly speed up to the vehicle in front then brake to move back. Following vehicles are likely to either over react and slam on the brakes or ignore the constant brake lights ahead then get caught out by some real braking.
I followed a typical vehicle yesterday which in 30 mph traffic on a straight road with no hazards I counted over 20 brake dabs in about 1.5 miles.
I did not need to brake once.

[BBROWN1664]

:agree



IMHO, they should have a mandatory recall on all cars and replace the drivers steering wheel airbag with a spike. That will ensure people leave enough space to react without hitting the brakes every few seconds.!

[tommyardin]

:agree



IMHO, they should have a mandatory recall on all cars and replace the drivers steering wheel airbag with a spike. That will ensure people leave enough space to react without hitting the brakes every few seconds.!

Sound like a cool mod  :eek

[DILLIGAFF]

Or maybe a brake light repeater on the dashboard so they can annoy themselves as well?

[Millietant]

Together with a huge, really bright, rear fog-light repeater, so big that it can't be ignored!!!!!


Totally fed up of following people in the rain who use their rear fog lights, completely dazzling anyone behind them...ggrrrrrrrrr.....

[DILLIGAFF]

In their defence Millie, some modern cars have front and rear fog lights linked so you cannot turn off the rear if front are on.

[Grahamm]

In their defence Millie, some modern cars have front and rear fog lights linked so you cannot turn off the rear if front are on.

The fog lamps should NOT be on unless visibility is down below 100 metres. Not simply "oh, it's a little bit misty" or "hmm, it's raining, let's dazzle everyone behind me..."

They should also default to OFF as soon as the ignition is switched off, so they don't stay on the next day!

[BBROWN1664]

[quote author=DILLIGAFF link=topic=23819.msg276726#msg276726 date=1521025980]
In their defence Millie, some modern cars have front and rear fog lights linked so you cannot turn off the rear if front are on.

The fog lamps should NOT be on unless visibility is down below 100 metres. Not simply "oh, it's a little bit misty" or "hmm, it's raining, let's dazzle everyone behind me..."
They should also default to OFF as soon as the ignition is switched off, so they don't stay on the next day!
[/quote]

There is no defence Delboy.

:agree Mille - With Fords, and it may still be the case, you couldnt turn the fog lights on unless the headlights were on as it was on the same rotary switch. Turning he lights off also turned the fog lights off. Good design in my view.
Turnign them off with the ignition may be good but can have drawbacks until you are used to the idea. An alternative is to automatically turn them off when your speed exceeds 60MPH as visibility must be over 100m at that point for you to be able to stop safely.
In this country you rarely get fog where visability is below 100m.

[Millietant]

I don't know any cars that have fog lights that don't revert to the off position/setting when the ignition is turned off.

I've had British, Japanese, Korean, Swedish, French and German cars in the last 10 years and every one had fog lights that switched back to off when the ignition is turned off.

People who drive with then ON these days, have turned them on - it's not been done by accident, it's been done by someone who doesn't know what they're doing and who shouldn't be driving (these are the same people, usually, who sit in the 3rd lane on the 4 lane sections of the M1 at 68mph, when there is no be ahead of them in lanes 1 or 2 - and they're oblivious to the gridlock they're causing behind them).

Rant over 

[steve 10562cc]

Or they are too busy texting or on the phone to realise the fog lights are on.

[tommyardin]

Or maybe a brake light repeater on the dashboard so they can annoy themselves as well?

:rollin :rollin :rollin :lol :thumbup