Driving standards

[alastairq]

https://www.mot-testing.service.gov.uk/documents/manuals/class3457/Section-0-Identification-of-the-vehicle.html#section_0.1

 

 

[alastairq]

With B&W plates, they can be a failure if they are 'obviously' of incorrect font for the year..or incorrect spacing.

[Sidecar Racer]

 

Returning to actual driving standards , I know there has been comment about Russian

standards or lack of , well I think I've found a nation with total and complete ineptitude

in the use of  motorised transport ,

 

 I present for your perusal ,  China .

 

 

[Nick C]

Last week, on a housing estate near here, the DVLA clearly did a round of tax checks - several cars suddenly had bright yellow clamps with DVLA in big letters, and big "Untaxed vehicle" stickers on the windscreens. Two days later, one of the clamps was resting on a nearby lamp-post. I'm guessing it wasn't left there by the DVLA, so I suspect it may well have been removed without authority...

[MarkC]

3 hours ago, Nick C said:

Last week, on a housing estate near here, the DVLA clearly did a round of tax checks - several cars suddenly had bright yellow clamps with DVLA in big letters, and big "Untaxed vehicle" stickers on the windscreens. Two days later, one of the clamps was resting on a nearby lamp-post. I'm guessing it wasn't left there by the DVLA, so I suspect it may well have been removed without authority...

Have angle grinder, will liberate, eh?

 

I suspect that the DVLA won't let that go...

[alastairq]

Round hereabouts, I suspect it isn't DVLA themselves who go around doing quick ANPR checks, but the local Authority traffic wardens .  Photos taken, checks with a portable scanner made..tickets issued if parked unlawfully...and clamps also imposed...really a sort of cheapo vehicle seizure. Although lack of insurance is another reason.

Some quite 'new' vehicles involved, as well.

Needless to say, a lot of on-street parking around here....but I have zero sympathy for the car owners/users.

[TheQ]

36 minutes ago, alastairq said:

Round hereabouts, I suspect it isn't DVLA themselves who go around doing quick ANPR checks, but the local Authority traffic wardens .  Photos taken, checks with a portable scanner made..tickets issued if parked unlawfully...and clamps also imposed...really a sort of cheapo vehicle seizure. Although lack of insurance is another reason.

Some quite 'new' vehicles involved, as well.

Needless to say, a lot of on-street parking around here....but I have zero sympathy for the car owners/users.

I  know where there are lots of cars parked on kerbs / pavements, prime anpr /clamping candidates for being done for obstruction of the pavement... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are all the coppers cars parked outside the north Norwich police station.. 

[TheQ]

Oops... https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/filby-police-car-crash-investigation-1-6054450

[johnofwessex]

One of the many things I dont understand is that if you are done for no tax, you not only have to tax the vehicle but pay allthe back tax due.

 

If you are caught without insurance however you dont

 

Why?

 

Given that ampunt it costs to run the Motor Insurers Bureau who have to pay for uninsured losses surely making uninsured drivers pay up if they want to keep their licences is a no brainer.

[kevinlms]

7 hours ago, TheQ said:

Oops... https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/filby-police-car-crash-investigation-1-6054450

I see the article says that weren't speeding. Surely that remains to be seen?

[Enterprisingwestern]

13 hours ago, TheQ said:

Oops... https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/filby-police-car-crash-investigation-1-6054450

 

A "non news" story if ever there was one. Have they run out of Bungay traffic light malfunction stories to fill the local rags?

 

Mike.

[PhilJ W]

10 hours ago, johnofwessex said:

One of the many things I dont understand is that if you are done for no tax, you not only have to tax the vehicle but pay allthe back tax due.

 

If you are caught without insurance however you dont

 

Why?

 

Given that ampunt it costs to run the Motor Insurers Bureau who have to pay for uninsured losses surely making uninsured drivers pay up if they want to keep their licences is a no brainer.

The insurance industry has other ways of screwing you.

[mezzoman253]

Yesterday we were out and about and had an incident.

 

I was approaching a mini roundabout that effectively is a T-junction. I was coming in from the leg of the T to turn right. As I got to the line a car was coming from the right and turning left, so I started to move to turn right. Another car, which wasn't visible as I moved off, came straight across from the right; I managed to slam on the anchors and stop. The car went around the front of me, the female driver and passenger gesticulating. Another car from the right then did the same, remember I'm already on the roundabout. They too were protesting I was blocking their way. Another female driver as it happens.

 

Give way to traffic on your right, and that already on the roundabout. What happened to that. The first car was travelling too fast and from their point of view the left turn, where I was coming from, from is obscured due to the road curvature. You have to slow down there as you can't see if anyone is there. 

 

We'd just been to the crematorium. We nearly ended up back there.

 

Rob

[PhilJ W]

40 minutes ago, mezzoman253 said:

Yesterday we were out and about and had an incident.

 

I was approaching a mini roundabout that effectively is a T-junction. I was coming in from the leg of the T to turn right. As I got to the line a car was coming from the right and turning left, so I started to move to turn right. Another car, which wasn't visible as I moved off, came straight across from the right; I managed to slam on the anchors and stop. The car went around the front of me, the female driver and passenger gesticulating. Another car from the right then did the same, remember I'm already on the roundabout. They too were protesting I was blocking their way. Another female driver as it happens.

 

Give way to traffic on your right, and that already on the roundabout. What happened to that. The first car was travelling too fast and from their point of view the left turn, where I was coming from, from is obscured due to the road curvature. You have to slow down there as you can't see if anyone is there. 

 

We'd just been to the crematorium. We nearly ended up back there.

 

Rob

There is only a single lane approaching the roundabout so they should have remained behind the car turning left and then checked that the road was clear. Also no road onto the roundabout has priority in this case but very few drivers seem to be aware of what signifies priority anyway (a double broken white line at the threshold of the roundabout). 

[alastairq]

Once 'on' the roundabout [for that is what it is, mini or otherwise], then vehicles entering from the right, subsequent;y, are 'following' vehicles.

As long as there was no 'failure to give way' when the OP entered.

 

However, where far too many ersatz drivers get it wrong, is a failure to even 'acknowledge' the presence of an authorised road marking, namely, the  white painted blob in the centre of a mini roundabout.  They 'short-cut' the junction by passing to the right of the blob....essentially going round the roundabout the 'wrong' way.

Is this what the two offending  drivers did?

[Back in the days-when-I-worked.....the DSA view for mini roundabouts was [particularly for large vehicles]...that no part of the front bumper should pass to the right of the blob....it can go onto the blob, but no part to the right. What happens regarding the rest of the vehicle is irrelevant. This accounts for long vehicles, or vehicles with limited steering lock....]

 

As usual with ersatz drivers, there is only a scrap of knowledge regarding the Highway Code, RTA, etc.... even if the HC has been read, they don't read the whole of a definition........

 

To prove a point, a good question to ask a driver, is, ''what's the meaning of a solid continuous white line down the centre of a road....?''

 

I'm willing to bet most will start off with a simple 'no overtaking?'

Which is not what the Highway Code will tell you.......

 

Now I'm retired, I don;t bother in the slightest  making any attempt to re-educate drivers or riders....I simply respond with the middle finger, right hand! Then, carry on, regardless.......

[mezzoman253]

The offending car wasn't visible when I pulled out, otherwise, I'd have remained at the line. 

 

A lot of these cowpats are at unsuitable junctions. You can't go round them as you would a normal large roundabout. It seems they are being used as traffic calming measures rather than anything else. The are several junctions around here that would benefit from them that haven't got them and conversely some that have that don't need them.

 

I suppose we're lucky we don't drive in Russia or China, judging by some of the videos on YouTube. 

 

Rob

Edited May 17, 2019 by mezzoman253
Added comment re above post from alastairq

[alastairq]

Not visible? 

Or, its intentions not visible?

 

Either way, did it go around you to the rear?

Or did it pass in front, also passing to the right of the painted blob road marking?

 

[A mini roundabout fairly local to me has recently had it's painted blob slightly re-located  to discourage folk turning right, from doing just that.....before it was quite a tight turn to keep to its left..now not so tight.....worth sitting at the mini roundabout with a video camera, capturing all the offenders before sending the evidence to the authorities...?  Would I do a thing like that??     

Ordinarily, can I now be bothered?]

[mezzoman253]

3 minutes ago, alastairq said:

Not visible? 

Or, its intentions not visible?

 

Either way, did it go around you to the rear?

Or did it pass in front, also passing to the right of the painted blob road marking?

 

[A mini roundabout fairly local to me has recently had it's painted blob slightly re-located  to discourage folk turning right, from doing just that.....before it was quite a tight turn to keep to its left..now not so tight.....worth sitting at the mini roundabout with a video camera, capturing all the offenders before sending the evidence to the authorities...?  Would I do a thing like that??     

Ordinarily, can I now be bothered?]

Not visible. The car turning left was there, of course, and nothing behind it visible to me. The road curves slightly away from your view there.

 

The "invisible" car went over the cowpat in front of me.

 

Rob

 

[TheQ]

1 hour ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

A "non news" story if ever there was one. Have they run out of Bungay traffic light malfunction stories to fill the local rags?

 

Mike.

Three police cars crash into each other and two policemen taken to hospital with serious injuries,, that's a bigger story than many you see.. it will be interesting to see if they decide to prosecute some of them....

Edited May 17, 2019 by TheQ

[Reorte]

Mini roundabouts have their place but I'm not convinced that it's on junctions like the one above because of the danger of cars on the straight across route treating it as if it was still a T junction.

[TheQ]

We've a double mini round about at which if you arrive from one of the side roads, it's very difficult to see. You get many  driving down the old main road who don't slow for the mini roundabouts, So putting you in the situation of pulling out in front of cars arriving at 30mph.

[mezzoman253]

9 minutes ago, Reorte said:

Mini roundabouts have their place but I'm not convinced that it's on junctions like the one above because of the danger of cars on the straight across route treating it as if it was still a T junction.

That junction gets a lot of traffic, in the rush hours, turning right as I was. Putting a roundabout there allows those turning right priority over the right-hand branch, which has less traffic, so easing congestion. But, due to the sighting issue, and poor driving, it's only marginally better than a T-junction.

 

Rob 

Edited May 17, 2019 by mezzoman253

[PhilJ W]

6 minutes ago, mezzoman253 said:

Not visible. The car turning left was there, of course, and nothing behind it visible to me. The road curves slightly away from your view there.

 

The "invisible" car went over the cowpat in front of me.

 

Rob

 

I have only just recognised were the incident took place, Corbets Tey.  I also realised that most if not all mini roundabouts hereabouts differ in one significant way. They all have islands or meridian strips on approaching roads. This discourages 'short cuts' and would have prevented the incident that you described. Perhaps you should contact your local highways authority and suggest they do the same.

[mezzoman253]

2 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I have only just recognised were the incident took place, Corbets Tey.  I also realised that most if not all mini roundabouts hereabouts differ in one significant way. They all have islands or meridian strips on approaching roads. This discourages 'short cuts' and would have prevented the incident that you described. Perhaps you should contact your local highways authority and suggest they do the same.

It's in the Havering Council area, but who the highway authority is I don't know. They certainly could put islands in, there's room enough. But local authorities are cash strapped and unlikely to spend money on it.

 

Rob

[Nick C]

As others have said above, a lot of those mini roundabouts are too dangerous - usually because they just plonk them there instead of properly adjusting the shape of the road. The highway code states that you must go _around_ them unless you're in a large vehicle that physically can't do so.

 

I regularly cross This one, going from left to right - note the separate lane, so there can be no ambiguity as to the direction I'm about to take, yet on a couple of occasions I've been quite worried that the car behind will crash into my rear-right-quarter as they go flying over the roundabout while I'm still going round it...