Today's "What Gets My Goat" - NO POLITICS!

[Dudeofrude]

[quote author=b1k3rdude link=topic=17546.msg321689#msg321689 date=1606427394]
Is it me of has the general standard of driving gotten noticeably worse in the last 6 months..?

Its not just the last 6 months, I think its been declining for years. Millions of vehicles out on the roads these days without tax/insurance/mot/licence
[/quote]

I'm sorry but I just can't believe that's true. With all the ANPR camera about these days and the DVLAs  ability to check and fine you digitally I find it hard to believe there are too many on the road compared to the late 80s early 90s.
My old man for one was driving since before I was born but never took his test until I was around 10, and he wasn't you only one. Back then we all knew plenty of people that just drove without anything as you had to be caught by the police and physically checked out.
These days the only people that drive about like that are the delinquent criminals and foreigners who pretend they have no clue.

I think (as with most things) you are all getting older and therefore everything that comes after you isn't as good in your opinion (just like the music)? but the truth being I doubt many of you would pass a modern driving test without extra training ?

[agricola]

[quote author=agricola link=topic=17546.msg321705#msg321705 date=1606496990]
[quote author=b1k3rdude link=topic=17546.msg321689#msg321689 date=1606427394]
Is it me of has the general standard of driving gotten noticeably worse in the last 6 months..?

Its not just the last 6 months, I think its been declining for years. Millions of vehicles out on the roads these days without tax/insurance/mot/licence
[/quote]

I'm sorry but I just can't believe that's true. With all the ANPR camera about these days and the DVLAs  ability to check and fine you digitally I find it hard to believe there are too many on the road compared to the late 80s early 90s.
My old man for one was driving since before I was born but never took his test until I was around 10, and he wasn't you only one. Back then we all knew plenty of people that just drove without anything as you had to be caught by the police and physically checked out.
These days the only people that drive about like that are the delinquent criminals and foreigners who pretend they have no clue.

I think (as with most things) you are all getting older and therefore everything that comes after you isn't as good in your opinion (just like the music)? but the truth being I doubt many of you would pass a modern driving test without extra training ?
[/quote]


Yes, 2008, and the Mail. But cant see that much has changed since then
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...veals.html

[coffee]

[quote author=Dudeofrude link=topic=17546.msg321707#msg321707 date=1606500894]
[quote author=agricola link=topic=17546.msg321705#msg321705 date=1606496990]
[quote author=b1k3rdude link=topic=17546.msg321689#msg321689 date=1606427394]
Is it me of has the general standard of driving gotten noticeably worse in the last 6 months..?

Its not just the last 6 months, I think its been declining for years. Millions of vehicles out on the roads these days without tax/insurance/mot/licence
[/quote]

I'm sorry but I just can't believe that's true. With all the ANPR camera about these days and the DVLAs  ability to check and fine you digitally I find it hard to believe there are too many on the road compared to the late 80s early 90s.
My old man for one was driving since before I was born but never took his test until I was around 10, and he wasn't you only one. Back then we all knew plenty of people that just drove without anything as you had to be caught by the police and physically checked out.
These days the only people that drive about like that are the delinquent criminals and foreigners who pretend they have no clue.

I think (as with most things) you are all getting older and therefore everything that comes after you isn't as good in your opinion (just like the music)? but the truth being I doubt many of you would pass a modern driving test without extra training ?
[/quote]


Yes, 2008, and the Mail. But cant see that much has changed since then
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...veals.html
[/quote]






I think you're dead right there pal,I would hate to have to take my car or bike test again,you actually thought it was hard back in the day but when I tell my kids what was required in either they can't believe how easy it was! I know we can't compare decades but with no theory/CBT etc it really was a piece of piss.I'd gladly take the old tests though. :lol

[fazersharp]

The theory tests are a joke and some questions are hilarious with a 3 choice answer. Something along the line s of an old man is slow at a pedestrian crossing and the lights have turned to flashing amber do you.

1. wait patiently until they have safely crossed the road
   
2. rev your engine to encourage them to be quicker
   
3. ride around the old bastard
   

[Grahamm]

I would hate to have to take my car or bike test again,you actually thought it was hard back in the day but when I tell my kids what was required in either they can't believe how easy it was!

It was a bit before my time, but I recall a friend describing the "Ride around the block and stop when the examiner sticks his hand up" Test!

TBH I'd be interested in doing the modern "cone course" test simply to see if my skills are up to scratch.

[BBROWN1664]

[quote author=coffee link=topic=17546.msg321741#msg321741 date=1606655838]
I would hate to have to take my car or bike test again,you actually thought it was hard back in the day but when I tell my kids what was required in either they can't believe how easy it was!

It was a bit before my time, but I recall a friend describing the "Ride around the block and stop when the examiner sticks his hand up" Test!

TBH I'd be interested in doing the modern "cone course" test simply to see if my skills are up to scratch.
[/quote]

When I took my test they had just bought in the part 1 / part 2 test. Part 1 was a ride around the car park and part 2 was the figure of 8 route around the test centre with the examiner stepping out in the road 100m away from you for you to do the emergency stop.
Having been riding for several years off road by the (I was only 17) I borrowed my dads XS750 which I was insured on through my car insurance (Imagine that today) and with a sidewinder bolted on the side I was able to skip the Pt1 and just do the Pt2 test. It was great in teh 80's you could ride any size bike on L plates if it had a side car and no instructor was required. Take your test with that on that, unbolt the sidecar and ride home. All legal.

[coffee]

The theory tests are a joke and some questions are hilarious with a 3 choice answer. Something along the line s of an old man is slow at a pedestrian crossing and the lights have turned to flashing amber do you.

• wait patiently until they have safely crossed the road
  
• rev your engine to encourage them to be quicker
  
• ride around the old bastard
  

I could hardly read this for laughing. :lol :lol :lol :lol

[Grahamm]

It was great in teh 80's you could ride any size bike on L plates if it had a side car and no instructor was required.

Yep, I knew people in Sixth Form who had the Sidewinder (for those who don't know, it was a plastic tray with a little wheel on the side that fulfilled the definition of "a side car"  :eek )

They would also have a bungee attached to it, so they could pull it up and out the way when they weren't in danger of getting pulled over by the Police!

[Oldgit]

Sat my test on a Tiger cub, the examiner walked along side me at walking pace to determine my ability to control the bike at that pace, then it was a solo ride on a route he dictated to me with the emergency stop included when he stepped off the pavement as I was returning from the test route, then a short ride round various corners and roundabouts using hand signals, plus stopping at the side of the road and then taking off again then back to the test centre. Passed first time.
Got the same examiner for my car test several months later (Morris 1000), and when exiting from a side road (with Hand Signals) I stalled it, then the usual handbrake on , out of gear, restart engine, observations left , right and rear , signal  turn , another stall, there was an old man leaning against his fence with his Jack Russell dug at his feet, and he turned round to face the car and said "where hiv ye been gettin awe the drink son" I died internally then and finally managed to move off and complete the test, I nearly fainted when the examiner said I had passed, and as for the stalling he said I was always in full control of the car and did the correct procedure each time it happened, passed 1st time.
It seems that the younger drivers nowadays are less aware of the rules of the road than we were at the same age, and tend to speed more.

[fazersharp]

[quote author=fazersharp link=topic=17546.msg321744#msg321744 date=1606657390]
The theory tests are a joke and some questions are hilarious with a 3 choice answer. Something along the line s of an old man is slow at a pedestrian crossing and the lights have turned to flashing amber do you.

• wait patiently until they have safely crossed the road
  
• rev your engine to encourage them to be quicker
  
• ride around the old bastard
  

I could hardly read this for laughing. :lol :lol :lol :lol
[/quote]It really is not far off the mark though with some of the questions

[Grahamm]

It really is not far off the mark though with some of the questions

And yet:

The 2019/20 pass rate is 47.7%*, which means just over half of all people who sit their Theory Test fail it.!!  :eek

[Dudeofrude]

[quote author=fazersharp link=topic=17546.msg321782#msg321782 date=1606832508]
It really is not far off the mark though with some of the questions

And yet:

The 2019/20 pass rate is 47.7%*, which means just over half of all people who sit their Theory Test fail it.!!  :eek
[/quote]

I think that's because while there are plenty of questions like the one fazersharp mentioned (I think I genuinely had that one on my bike theory ?) there are also lots of either obscure ones about road signs you never see in real life or ones that have very similar answers that seem like they are almost deliberately designed to trip you up ?

As with most DVLA related things its all BS and not relevant to actual real world driving. I've been driving around 15 years but I still couldn't tell you what colour cats eyes are anywhere on a road ?‍♂️ tbh I think they've removed most of them from the roads now anyway ?

[fazersharp]

I didn't actually take the test as I am way older that that :lol but it was a while ago and it was going around the forum to see if we could pass it.
At first go I completely messed up the hazard perception test as I was clicking everything, ooh no leaves on trees - winter - shade from hedge - possible frost -"click". Manhole cover "click" road tar line repairs - "click" blind brow of hill - "click"- pidgin in field I guarantee it is going to take off and fly in front of me - "click"-,  focing audi just pulled up at a junction on my left "click click click" !. Bus up ahead --- well of course he is going to pull out or a twat just got off and cross the road in front of the bus so I "click" oooh I am right it is a hazard in the test but I have spotted the bus hazard far too early for the test and it thinks I am clicking for nothing :wall    and all "my" other hazard clicks were not hazards ----- fail    :rolleyes

[Grahamm]

while there are plenty of questions like the one fazersharp mentioned (I think I genuinely had that one on my bike theory ?) there are also lots of either obscure ones about road signs you never see in real life or ones that have very similar answers that seem like they are almost deliberately designed to trip you up ?

I agree that some of them are ridiculously obscure. Every now and again, someone posts one of those mock theory tests and some have questions that, as you say,really aren't particularly relevant.

I still couldn't tell you what colour cats eyes are anywhere on a road ?‍♂️ tbh I think they've removed most of them from the roads now anyway ?

White down the middle of the carriage way, green for slip roads, red for the left edge, amber for the central reservation, green/yellow for lane adjustments/ contraflows etc when there's roadworks and blue for emergency services 

[BBROWN1664]

I didn't actually take the test as I am way older that that :lol but it was a while ago and it was going around the forum to see if we could pass it.
At first go I completely messed up the hazard perception test as I was clicking everything, ooh no leaves on trees - winter - shade from hedge - possible frost -"click". Manhole cover "click" road tar line repairs - "click" blind brow of hill - "click"- pidgin in field I guarantee it is going to take off and fly in front of me - "click"-,  focing audi just pulled up at a junction on my left "click click click" !. Bus up ahead --- well of course he is going to pull out or a twat just got off and cross the road in front of the bus so I "click" oooh I am right it is a hazard in the test but I have spotted the bus hazard far too early for the test and it thinks I am clicking for nothing :wall    and all "my" other hazard clicks were not hazards ----- fail    :rolleyes

When my eldest was learning to drive I did an online hazard perception test and failed too. I was clicking on things I took as hazards earlier than the test took them. For example, a child walking along the street. To me that is a hazard as they tend to move diagonally into the road without looking. For the test though, they only became a hazard when they turned towards the road. Another was a bus driving along. A hazard to me as it will stop and disgorge passengers so you need to be more aware f it slowing down etc. No, to them, its only when it is stationary. etc etc.

Riding a bike makes you more aware of potential hazards earlier but take the test in bike mode and you will fail.

For the theory test, i had a go at that too. 100% on one attempt and got one question wrong on another go. Cant remember what he questions were though.

[BBROWN1664]

I still couldn't tell you what colour cats eyes are anywhere on a road ?‍♂️ tbh I think they've removed most of them from the roads now anyway ?

White down the middle of the carriage way, green for slip roads, red for the left edge, amber for the central reservation, green/yellow for lane adjustments/ contraflows etc when there's roadworks and blue for emergency services 

Standard question when I took my bike and car test in the 80's.

Another favourite that nobody knows (well I do) the answer to is "When can you stop in a yellow box junction?"

[fazersharp]

[quote author=Grahamm link=topic=17546.msg321787#msg321787 date=1606872466]

I still couldn't tell you what colour cats eyes are anywhere on a road ?‍♂️ tbh I think they've removed most of them from the roads now anyway ?

White down the middle of the carriage way, green for slip roads, red for the left edge, amber for the central reservation, green/yellow for lane adjustments/ contraflows etc when there's roadworks and blue for emergency services 

Standard question when I took my bike and car test in the 80's.

Another favourite that nobody knows (well I do) the answer to is "When can you stop in a yellow box junction?"
[/quote]Promise I did not look it up but you can stop when you are turning right and prevented so by on coming traffic. Its either that or you can go ahead and block the road so long as you are on foreign plates or you are in a van,bmw, or audi

[BBROWN1664]

You can only enter a yellow box junction if your exit is clear EXCEPT when turning right and your exit is blocked by oncoming traffic (or you drive a van, BMW, Audi or are aged under 40 or aged over 60)

[mtread]

Easy peasy.
When can you cross a solid white line in the middle of the road?

[Dudeofrude]

Easy peasy.
When can you cross a solid white line in the middle of the road?

Easy... when your wither drunk or texting? Or when you drive a hot hatch and the car in front of you is doing less than 10mph over the speed limit ?