Jump to content
 

The non-railway and non-modelling social zone. Please ensure forum rules are adhered to in this area too!

Driving standards


hayfield
 Share

Recommended Posts

  • RMweb Gold

You know, I drove from Sheffield to home (Surrey) this morning, and apart from a bit of speeding and lane hogging I didn't see anyone being a particular dick on the road... I'm sure it's unconnected, but I also had a clear run home!

Saw plenty of accidents in your rear view mirror though

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

I once had a girlfriend who drove like that!

 

(the wife's sister actually, but that's another story, for another time!)

Well, if it was the wife's sister who was the girlfriend, please do tell sometime soon!

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

A nice brand new section of motorway, opened minutes earlier. With cameras!!!!!!

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-30/hoon-driver-in-adelaide-has-car-impounded/10322730

 

28 days impounded for that and probably loss of licence for much longer.

And carries on driving without a license, probably.

It's amazing how many stopped for offences don't have everything valid and up to date.

 

There was one on the TV in the UK about Police patrols in Oz where a woman slowly drove across a junction against a red light. The Cops were right behind so later pulled here over.

She had a license with a clause that she should wear glasses when driving but wasn't when she was stopped. Also the license had been suspeded pending an eye test!

 

We had similar in the UK where a man failed an eyesight test and was told by his optometrist to stop driving.

He refused. Drove off and after 20 seconds killed someone.

 

Keith

Edited by melmerby
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

And carries on driving without a license, probably.

It's amazing how many stopped for offences don't have everything valid and up to date.

 

There was one on the TV in the UK about Police patrols in Oz where a woman slowly drove across a junction against a red light. The Cops were right behind so later pulled here over.

She had a license with a clause that she should wear glasses when driving but wasn't when she was stopped. Also the license had been suspeded pending an eye test!

 

We had similar in the UK where a man failed an eyesight test and was told by his optometrist to stop driving.

He refused. Drove off and after 20 seconds killed someone.

 

Keith

Speaking of driving without a licence.

 

My wife's late mother (I won't call her MiL, because I never met her), drove in England during WW2, for the RAF I believe, and in those dark days licences weren't issued.

After the war, she came out here and continued driving for 35 years or so. Never had a licence and refused to apply for one. Not once did she ever get caught, or receive a ticket for anything.

Still wouldn't get a licence, even after my wife joined Victoria Police and tried to persuade her.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Speaking of driving without a licence.

 

My wife's late mother (I won't call her MiL, because I never met her), drove in England during WW2, for the RAF I believe, and in those dark days licences weren't issued.

After the war, she came out here and continued driving for 35 years or so. Never had a licence and refused to apply for one. Not once did she ever get caught, or receive a ticket for anything.

Still wouldn't get a licence, even after my wife joined Victoria Police and tried to persuade her.

Just one example of bloody-mindedness?

Link to post
Share on other sites

A nice brand new section of motorway, opened minutes earlier. With cameras!!!!!!

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-30/hoon-driver-in-adelaide-has-car-impounded/10322730

 

28 days impounded for that and probably loss of licence for much longer.

 

Before looking at this I would have guessed Holden but looks more like a Statesman than a Commodore.

 

The lack of control and veering across lanes directly in front of other traffic is just beyond stupid.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Before looking at this I would have guessed Holden but looks more like a Statesman than a Commodore.

 

The lack of control and veering across lanes directly in front of other traffic is just beyond stupid.

 

Not impossible. Older Statesmans (elder statesmen?) are pretty cheap these days, and the majority come with the big V8, which (at least here in the West) is less common in cheap Commodores. A touch of bogan luxury for the same price as a Pov-Pak Executive would be hard to pass up, even for a 24 year old.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Whatever cam it was, it was coming into the roundabout almost as fast as the eejit in the van....

 

The vehicle carrying the cam negotiated said roundabout without any drama.  Eejit in the van seemed not even to see it!

Edited by ejstubbs
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

Isn't that even more of a reason not to fall foul of the law, or am I being silly and old fashioned?

The "agree" was with the first part of that... The saying "if you can't do the time don't do the crime" should apply. There is an issue that the same punishment might be very different for different people, but I wouldn't apply that in this case - someone who's totted up that many points shouldn't be on the road for the sake of the rest of us, irrespective of any punishment aspect.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

The "agree" was with the first part of that... The saying "if you can't do the time don't do the crime" should apply. There is an issue that the same punishment might be very different for different people, but I wouldn't apply that in this case - someone who's totted up that many points shouldn't be on the road for the sake of the rest of us, irrespective of any punishment aspect.

 

I thought I'd posted this before, maybe not: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40862975

 

"The most points on a valid licence belong to a 44-year-old woman in Oxfordshire. The licence has 51 penalty points."

 

I wonder if the beaks ever take in to account the "exceptional hardship" which could result to a third party if one of these individuals went on to cause a serious accident?

 

In the case cited by laurenceb it could very readily be argued that, if driving is your job, then you should be extra careful about not breaking the applicable laws.  If you aren't, and you lose your job because you're banned from driving, then logically the next step should be to find a different job which does not require the skill which you have demonstrated to the satisfaction of a judge that you don't actually have...

 

In other 'hardship' cases which come to light from time to time one might be tempted to bemoan the fact that society has apparently become so organised as to make it unreasonably difficult to carry out a lot of normal activities without having ready access to a car.  (Then again, there are such things as taxis and private hire cars*.)

 

Choosing not to ban drivers who are demonstrably unable to abide by the laws which are put in place in order to reduce risks on the road would seem to require a evaluation of the potential residual risk to third parties by doing so.  I strongly suspect that this happens rarely if at all.

 

* It's relatively straightforward to find reports online of people who have 'done the math' and decided that using taxis instead of running a car can work out cheaper surprisingly often.  The problem is that, once you have bought a car there is an implicit need to justify the sunk costs - including VED, insurance etc.  But that argument is void if you're not actually allowed to drive.

Edited by ejstubbs
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...