Driving standards

[Guest]

try reversing any sort of large comercial vehicle hazard lights reversing lights reversing alarms and still people will wall across the rear of amoving vehicle oblivious to its presence 

 

Reversing the Leaf is fun as it's curiously silent even though it has a noise maker when going forwards...

[Baby Deltic]

Reversing the Leaf is fun as it's curiously silent even though it has a noise maker when going forwards...

You come out stem first? How do you know which leaf is yours in autumn?

[Joseph_Pestell]

Hi

 

Surely you should be reversing into the space so you can drive out giving you complete visibility of your surroundings?

 

Cheers

 

Paul

 

I agree with this entirely. But I do wish that the designers of supermarket car parks would give it due consideration. They don't normally give you enough space to reverse your car in and leave access to load the shopping into the boot.

[Guest]

I agree with this entirely. But I do wish that the designers of supermarket car parks would give it due consideration. They don't normally give you enough space to reverse your car in and leave access to load the shopping into the boot.

 

I think perhaps we should all be driving these. Plenty of room for a couple of baguettes, 4 pints of milk and a frozen chicken. Strangely, I don't think I've ever seen anyone driving a McLaren 650S Spider at our local Tesco... they could reverse in and it would make loading their groceries so much easier...

 

[chriswright03]

At our local Aldi the spaces are far wider than normal and it is easy to open your door and get in or out of the car without risk of biffing the car next door.  Having said that some still manage to park cock eyed which negates the extra space.  As a general rule I will reverse into a space because you are normally in more of a hurry to drive out anywhere than in.  A lesson I learnt to my cost early on in my driving.

[graeme3300]

Unfortunately a minibus collided with a Puffing Billy tourist train about 1pm Melbourne time this afternoon on School Rd., Menzies Creek. Luckily only minor injuries were involved, but clearly the bus hit the train's 3rd carriage. School Rd. is not a major road but has flashing lights which were operating correctly at the time, but the level crossing is at the bottom of a reasonably steep incline. Other media outlets refer to a 'train hitting bus' scenario - typical sloppy journalism, but at least the ABC got it right. But one bus driver has some serious explaining to do.

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-06/puffing-billy-crash-at-menzies-creek/9518658 

[TheQ]

I think perhaps we should all be driving these. Plenty of room for a couple of baguettes, 4 pints of milk and a frozen chicken. Strangely, I don't think I've ever seen anyone driving a McLaren 650S Spider at our local Tesco... they could reverse in and it would make loading their groceries so much easier...

 

mclaren650s.jpg

but with the width of a Mclaren the driver would never get out of the car unless it's in a disabled parking space..

[Baby Deltic]

One for all of those BMW bike-car drivers:

 

 

It looks like they've actually used a car ramp to fix the thing together!

Edited March 6, 2018 by Baby Deltic

[MJI]

Yes, you don't have to be going fast to come off - I was once following a motorbike, he'd come out of a petrol station on my right a few hundred yards ahead of me, probably hadn't even got to 30 when he started to brake for a pedestrian crossing.  I looked across to my nearside mirror, looked back in front and he was laying on his back under his bike in the middle of the road.  I still have no idea exactly what happened, needless to say I parked my bus across the road and helped him up and onto the pavement, before a few of us picked his bike up.  Maybe he just lost his balance, maybe his tyres were oily from the petrol station forecourt.  An ambulance checked him over, but he seemed unharmed, apart from his pride...

 

Sounds like a greasy road to me

[MJI]

The fact that the rear parking sensor / camera is considered necessary seems to be a tacit admission that visibility is not a strong point in today's car design.

 

I parked up once, just drove in to reverse out (quiet garage).

 

Only the beep of my reversing sensors warned me of a car parked behind me below my rear window height while I was getting back in and seatbelt on.

Hi

 

Surely you should be reversing into the space so you can drive out giving you complete visibility of your surroundings?

 

Cheers

 

Paul

 

Normally but sometimes it is difficult, in my case petrol pumps prevented doing that

[PhilJ W]

Hi

 

Surely you should be reversing into the space so you can drive out giving you complete visibility of your surroundings?

 

Cheers

 

Paul

 

 

Agreed, but how many actually reverse in? I think we've had that discussion on here a few times.

 

As much as reversing into the space is the recommendation, part of the driving test now includes driving forwards into a bay space........ 

 

A side-effect of wanting to squeeze as many spaces into the limited area - there is one supermarket car park near me where about 1/3 of the spaces have a wall behind them, so access is limited for the boot/back door The spaces are also so narrow that you stand a good chance of scraping yours or someone else's car whilst trying to get to the rear. Cue for lots of nose-in parking

Normally I reverse in to a parking bay but sometimes in the supermarket car park I will park nose in if the cars either side are reversed in. Then I can leave space to open my door and ditto the car on the right by moving over slightly. I am surprised at the number of vans I see parked nose in, when they reverse out they can see didley squat of whats behind them.

[Baby Deltic]

Sounds like a greasy road to me

As opposed to a greasy verge...

[TheQ]

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/grandfather-failed-to-use-signal-phone-before-train-collided-with-his-jaguar-1-5421405

[kevinlms]

If you tried that move at my particular supermarket car park you'd incur the wrath of many motorists - they are VERY short spaces.

If you moved forwards to load up, then a queue would form wanting your space, thinking you were leaving immediately.

I try my best to avoid it a busy times.

Well I can assure you that I didn't use the described method, of unloading/loading for the sheer pleasure of being ignorant/selfish!

 

It was the only way possible and the only space found after driving around for 10 minutes, in an expensive car park - $90+ a day max IIRC. The main reason being that behind the space was a low aircon duct or similar. With the tailgate open, it would have hit it. Tailgate down, it went under just, but couldn't get anything out. The space was such that going in forwards, would have been difficult to get out again.

 

The location was a busy Melbourne CBD multiple storey car park, so while full, late morning/early afternoon, not much activity.

 

If anyone had of complained, my response would have been on the lines of 'Tough luck, mate'.

[stewartingram]

Many people (vehicles & pedestrians) seem to think its OK to go round the back of a vehicle, that has its reversing lights on. Sure they are legally entitled to, because the reversing vehicle has to give way, but its something that should be carefully considered (i.e. have they seen me?), before doing so. Nothing could be worse than say hitting a pusher or a small child. 

Totector boots are a boon for pedestrians in that situation....don't ask how I know!

 

Stewart

[Coryton]

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/grandfather-failed-to-use-signal-phone-before-train-collided-with-his-jaguar-1-5421405

 

" Crossings tend to have audio and visual warnings, and are not manually controlled like this one, which must be one of the last of its kind."

 

Hmm...

[w124bob]

but with the width of a Mclaren the driver would never get out of the car unless it's in a disabled parking space..

Surely the Mclaren driver has a flunky in a Prius to do this.

[Baby Deltic]

" Crossings tend to have audio and visual warnings, and are not manually controlled like this one, which must be one of the last of its kind."

 

Hmm...

In his case the audio visual warning being a 170 coming toward him with its horns sounding.

[Coryton]

In his case the audio visual warning being a 170 coming toward him with its horns sounding.

 

That might have been a bit late.

[Baby Deltic]

That might have been a bit late.

Especially for his underwear.

[Joseph_Pestell]

I didn't have that much faith in British justice before.

 

None at all this afternoon after the announcement of the second verdict at Reading in the motorway accident trial.

 

First lorry, with drunk Polish driver, stops his lorry on Lane 1. Following minibus, stops behind him. No collision, no fatalities. That driver is convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.

 

Second lorry, with driver using handheld mobile phone, hits the back of minibus, crushes it against first lorry. 8  dead. Not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. (Convicted of lesser offence of causing death by careless driving).

 

What does that message does that send to all those numpties - especially commercial drivers - who continue to use their mobile phones?

[Joseph_Pestell]

I didn't have that much faith in British justice before.

 

None at all this afternoon after the announcement of the second verdict at Reading in the motorway accident trial.

 

First lorry, with drunk Polish driver, stops his lorry on Lane 1. Following minibus, stops behind him. No collision, no fatalities. That driver is convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.

 

Second lorry, with driver using handheld mobile phone, hits the back of minibus, crushes it against first lorry. 8  dead. Not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. (Convicted of lesser offence of causing death by careless driving).

 

What does that message does that send to all those numpties - especially commercial drivers - who continue to use their mobile phones?

 

An important clarification having relistened to the BBC report. He was not using a handheld device but had been talking on phone for more than an hour.

 

But hopefully, it will make people that using any sort of phone while driving is not safe - indeed very dangerous.

[Horsetan]

What does that message does that send to all those numpties - especially commercial drivers - who continue to use their mobile phones?

You'll be alright if you're not a foreign national?

[royaloak]

One thing that nobody has clarified is why did the minibus stop behind the first truck when there were other lanes available?

If the driver had been paying attention they should have been able to see the stopped truck with enough time to avoid it without having to stop.

 

Not taking anything away from the fault of the truck drivers but just one of the questions, in my opinion, that should be answered.

[Joseph_Pestell]

One thing that nobody has clarified is why did the minibus stop behind the first truck when there were other lanes available?

If the driver had been paying attention they should have been able to see the stopped truck with enough time to avoid it without having to stop.

 

Not taking anything away from the fault of the truck drivers but just one of the questions, in my opinion, that should be answered.

Sadly, he is not in a position to answer that.

 

But, having failed to anticipate well enough to pull out into Lane 2, he would certainly have done better to go onto the hard shoulder.

You'll be alright if you're not a foreign national?

 

You might think that. I couldn't possibly comment.