Driving standards

[Jol Wilkinson]

7 hours ago, Baby Deltic said:

What makes this truly shocking is the fact it was a Skoda driver. Had it been an Audi or BMW driver doing such a dangerous manoeuvre it would have been far more understandable.

 

29 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Skoda are owned by the Volkswagen Group, as are Audi.  So perhaps the Skoda driver has ambitions to become an Audi driver when (if) he grows up

Perhaps there is some "brand behaviour" transfer going on within VAG group car owners. VW Golf drivers seem to becoming noticeably more inconsiderate/arrogant based on three consecutive weekend driving up and down the A12 and section of the M25, M3, M40 and M4.

 

Yesterdays prize however still went to a BMW and Audi (both "customised, i.e. black windows and no silencers) on the M25 near J27 for the M11, who took late lane changes in fairly crowded traffic to exit the M25 to new levels.

[Baby Deltic]

51 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Skoda are owned by the Volkswagen Group, as are Audi.  So perhaps the Skoda driver has ambitions to become an Audi driver when (if) he grows up

He has to pass through the VW stage first before he can qualify for Audi.

[ejstubbs]

18 hours ago, 45156 said:

came from behind the queue doing about 50, totally unable to see if there was any oncoming traffic, and turned left round the 90 degree bend on the wrong side of the road - he (of course) got away with it, but I shudder to think what would have happened had there been any oncoing traffic at all.

 

I saw something similar near here a couple of weeks back.  Three-way temporary lights had just gone in at this junction.  Being newly installed, people hadn't been able to plan to avoid the area.  The road works were quite long, so the cycle time on the lights was pretty long too*.  So all in all, long tailbacks and extended periods of sitting around going nowhere.  Clown in a Subaru (WRX or similar) decides he's had enough, pulls out of the queue along Colinton Road southbound and absolutely floors it through the extended single-lane section. He had no way of knowing whether something might be coming over the rise from Oxgangs Road North, or from the western leg of Colinton Road. And there were gadgies in hi-viz wandering around (possibly trying to fix/adjust the lights). So: jumping a red light, speeding and dangerous driving all in one package.

 

* Near enough five minutes, which was frustratingly long, but in no way excused the homicidal idiot in the Scooby.  I get the impression that TTLs are usually installed with a default cycle setting designed to accommodate the time it would take an asthmatic ant with a load of heavy shopping to safely pass through the single lane section.  They do seem to get better over time though, but whether that's because people avoid the area so the queues get shorter, or the people working on the road works do actually try to 'tune' them to improve the flow based on actual traffic levels I've never been sure.

[PhilJ W]

Bad driving is not confined to certain makes/models of cars. There are long standing road works on the A13 on the eastern approach to the Sadlers Farm junction. Both lanes on the left for the roundabout are open but the offside lane for the A130 is coned off. A few days ago one idiot was in a hurry switching lanes and carving up other cars. When he approached where the road divided he was in the left hand lane so he simply carved his way across two lanes of traffic forcing other drivers to brake. The car he was driving? A 1973/74 Jensen.

[chris p bacon]

I pass through Black Cat roundabout on the A1 quite a lot, approx 18 months ago it was partially upgraded, this is a stopgap until a completely new junction is built (A1/A421). As part of the upgrade there was clear definition of lanes and where they lead to, for example heading North on the A1 there are 3 lanes with 2 marked for North (A1) travel and 1 for A421.

As more traffic heads north it is becoming more common for some drivers to head to the lightly used A421 lane and when the lights change try and out accelerate the A1 traffic and cut across. The same for lanes heading from the A421 to head south on the A1, drivers are using the lightly used lanes to overtake on the roundabout.  I have used the junction 4 times in the last 5 days and on each occasion there were such manoeuvres with all 4 being 'near misses' . Yesterdays was a Nissan Note that brought the whole junction to a standstill by trying to overtake, but not figuring on a bus joining from the old A428 crossing the A421 and blocking his path. I managed to pass on his left (the correct lane for my direction) and noted the driver had 2 screens stuck to the windscreen (Phone & sat nav??) and was wearing headphones.....you have to wonder about some drivers.. 

[Hobby]

12 hours ago, peanuts said:

the audi /bmw trope went long ago nowadys its ANY large german saloon or product of the vag group will be driven poorly and agressivley usualy by mr/mrs entitled with a get out of my way attitude 

 

That's out of date as well. It's any car of any make these days. 

[laurenceb]

Seen yesterday, bloke in the passenger seat with a big german shepperd dog on his lap with its head out of the wndow. emergency stop and he would have a headless dog thrashing about on top of him.

[PhilJ W]

44 minutes ago, laurenceb said:

Seen yesterday, bloke in the passenger seat with a big german shepperd dog on his lap with its head out of the wndow. emergency stop and he would have a headless dog thrashing about on top of him.

If the air-bag goes off they'll have to sort out what bits are him or the dog.

[dvdlcs]

While drivers should not be using phones while driving (at least IMO), nor should cyclists.

 

Passed one today on the road; left hand steering, right hand holding phone, head generally downwards looking at the screen. Perhaps a directions app?

[PhilJ W]

4 hours ago, dvdlcs said:

While drivers should not be using phones while driving (at least IMO), nor should cyclists.

 

Passed one today on the road; left hand steering, right hand holding phone, head generally downwards looking at the screen. Perhaps a directions app?

I've had pedestrians step out in front of me completely engrossed in their phones.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nYgTM1pPjKQ

[ejstubbs]

5 hours ago, dvdlcs said:

While drivers should not be using phones while driving (at least IMO), nor should cyclists.

 

If you're in charge of a motor vehicle it's a statutory, strict liability offence to use a non-hands-free phone unless you are safely parked.  Your opinion on the matter is of little consequence, though it is in accordance with the law.

 

For cyclists, using a mobile while riding is not illegal per se (although you might be charged with dangerous, careless or inconsiderate cycling) but it is a pretty poor idea in 99.99% of likely circumstances.

[ejstubbs]

On 03/06/2019 at 10:22, chris p bacon said:

noted the driver had 2 screens stuck to the windscreen (Phone & sat nav??) and was wearing headphones

 

Quite likely a paid-by-the-job delivery driver.  At least Deliveroo claim to be able to identify a courier given the time and location of an incident (my understanding is that they get a GPS track from the courier's phone while they're on a job).  If the vehicle is unmarked then it's going to be ridiculously hard to find anyone to complain to, apart from the police who likely won't care much unless you have video evidence and the vehicle's registration number.

 

Oh, and having two screens stuck to the windscreen is very likely to be creating an illegal obstruction to vision through the windscreen, see https://www.roadhawk.co.uk/articles/product-placement-is-your-dash-cam-breaking-the-law

[Baby Deltic]

10 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

If the air-bag goes off they'll have to sort out what bits are him or the dog.

 

They would be dogged with problems.

[duncan]

18 hours ago, ejstubbs said:

 

Oh, and having two screens stuck to the windscreen is very likely to be creating an illegal obstruction to vision through the windscreen, see https://www.roadhawk.co.uk/articles/product-placement-is-your-dash-cam-breaking-the-law

 

Interesting that the steering wheel obstructs much of zone A, particularly if it is a short driver who can hardly see over a raised dashboard

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Having just spent a week driving in good old blighty, may I just say how excellent you all are, I used to think driving standards were pretty atrocious in the UK,,,,,,,,,,then I emigrated to Spain.

 

Mike.

[TheQ]

one cockwomble this morning came steaming up the outside lane, then swerved in to undertake a car there, pulled back into the outside lane and had to slam on his anchors as it was the round about and he needed to  get round it.

 the poor renault cut up made much blowing of horns as he had to take avoiding action before going right round the roundabout himself.

It was of course a BMW.

 

meanwhile..

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/four-vehicles-stranded-by-incoming-tide-at-trimingham-1-6088823

Edited June 6, 2019 by TheQ

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

 

meanwhile..

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/four-vehicles-stranded-by-incoming-tide-at-trimingham-1-6088823

No sympathy here, they are allowed on the beach only to launch their jet skis and then they should park in the car park provided. I expect (hope?) their insurance company shows the same amount of sympathy.

[Titan]

55 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

No sympathy here, they are allowed on the beach only to launch their jet skis and then they should park in the car park provided. I expect (hope?) their insurance company shows the same amount of sympathy.

 

Pity you did not read the comments. There is a good chance that the article is very misleading in order to sensationalise. It is written by a journalist after all...

[kevinlms]

4 hours ago, Titan said:

 

Pity you did not read the comments. There is a good chance that the article is very misleading in order to sensationalise. It is written by a journalist after all...

I don't see how it's 'misleading'. If the original vehicle was left on the beach and the tide turned, despite notices to the effect of once unloaded, they leave the beach. Self inflicted.

 

Its not sensational to report that at one stage, 4 vehicles were on the beach and all except the Land Rover had trouble getting back off, by their own means.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, kevinlms said:

I don't see how it's 'misleading'. If the original vehicle was left on the beach and the tide turned, despite notices to the effect of once unloaded, they leave the beach. Self inflicted.

 

First car broke down recovering a jet ski. Other cars tried to tow it out.

Not a group of jet skiers parked on the beach all day as the story tries to imply.

[Titan]

3 hours ago, kevinlms said:

I don't see how it's 'misleading'. If the original vehicle was left on the beach and the tide turned, despite notices to the effect of once unloaded, they leave the beach. Self inflicted.

 

Its not sensational to report that at one stage, 4 vehicles were on the beach and all except the Land Rover had trouble getting back off, by their own means.

 

Actually none of the vehicles had trouble getting off the beach other than the one that had broken down, and none of them were "left on the beach" as they were attended at all times, so yes both of those parts were also sensationalist an inaccurate.

 

This is how it was reported by an actual eye witness rather than a journalist:

 

Firstly, you are allowed to load/unload boats/jet skis into the sea at Trimingham. No rules were broken.

On recovery of the jetski (just one, there was no "jetskiers"), the vehicle had a mechanical fault and was caught up by the tide.

There were TWO initial vehicle that came to help, but the weight of the vehicle in the water, meant that they couldn't gain traction and sunk into the sand (not stuck).

A Land Rover Defender appeared on the scene, with a winch, and initially pulled the vehicle in the water (a jeep), out of the water. The other two vehicles at this point, exited the beach, along with the jetski which was on a trailer, with many of the people watching lending a hand.

The Coast Guard then appeared, sat back, put on sunglasses, and watched the action unfold. Note that they came after the car was "landed", not floating out to sea!

The Defender, then tried to tow the jeep, but the sand was too soft, and dug a hole. After getting out of the self dug hole, he then used the winch, and in a series of pulls, pulled the vehicle back onto the car park, where the Jeep was later recovered.

The jeep wasn't "completely" destroyed either. After a bit of tinkering, it did manage to fire back into life.

Edited June 6, 2019 by Titan

[Enterprisingwestern]

11 minutes ago, Titan said:

 

Actually none of the vehicles had trouble getting off the beach other than the one that had broken down, and none of them were "left on the beach" as they were attended at all times, so yes both of those parts were also sensationalist an inaccurate.

 

This is how it was reported by an actual eye witness rather than a journalist:

 

Firstly, you are allowed to load/unload boats/jet skis into the sea at Trimingham. No rules were broken.

On recovery of the jetski (just one, there was no "jetskiers"), the vehicle had a mechanical fault and was caught up by the tide.

There were TWO initial vehicle that came to help, but the weight of the vehicle in the water, meant that they couldn't gain traction and sunk into the sand (not stuck).

A Land Rover Defender appeared on the scene, with a winch, and initially pulled the vehicle in the water (a jeep), out of the water. The other two vehicles at this point, exited the beach, along with the jetski which was on a trailer, with many of the people watching lending a hand.

The Coast Guard then appeared, sat back, put on sunglasses, and watched the action unfold. Note that they came after the car was "landed", not floating out to sea!

The Defender, then tried to tow the jeep, but the sand was too soft, and dug a hole. After getting out of the self dug hole, he then used the winch, and in a series of pulls, pulled the vehicle back onto the car park, where the Jeep was later recovered.

The jeep wasn't "completely" destroyed either. After a bit of tinkering, it did manage to fire back into life.

 

Comparing the two reports, it makes it sound as though there were two totally different scenarios on different days on different beaches.

The joys of journalistic licence!

 

Mike.

[Titan]

6 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Comparing the two reports, it makes it sound as though there were two totally different scenarios on different days on different beaches.

The joys of journalistic licence!

 

Mike.

 

Funny you should say that, the last line of the statement which I did not think was relevant says:

 

Oh... and it also happened on Saturday! (unless there was another incident on Sunday, which was incredibly similar)

 

So the journo did not get the day right either!

[mezzoman253]

This was a true story. Only the facts have been changed to make it more interesting.

 

Rob 

[TheQ]

5 minutes ago, mezzoman253 said:

This was a true story. Only the facts have been changed to make it more interesting.

 

Rob 

That's the EDP for you..