Driving standards

[Coldgunner]

My 2009 Golf Estate (manual) has CC. Reach the speed, engage and chill. It'll accelerate uphill and ease off downhill. Lifting the clutch or engaging the break will turn it off, but pressing the accelerator will cause it to speed up (i.e. to overtake) and then returns to the set speed. Its a real lifesaver on long haul trips on quiet motorways and clear A roads.

 

My old 2005 Mazda6 auto did the same but was also able to shift gears to pull itself up steeper hills. The CC obviously can't work manual gears with a clutch.

 

On the subject of dashcams, I've invested in front and rear cams, hardwired in to switch on with the ignition. Used the wiring kit which should protect the battery from dropping below a certain voltage. Getting the USB cable running to the camera on the rear hatch is a as I can't seem to get into some bits of headliner without major surgery, which I don't want to attempt on the driveway.

 

Its the Nextbase 512gw and associated rear camera. Its pretty decent and a world ahead of the £30 chinese job I had previously. If you can't read a numberplate with your camera, get something better imho.

Edited December 31, 2019 by Coldgunner

[Enterprisingwestern]

6 minutes ago, Coldgunner said:

My 2009 Golf Estate (manual) has CC. Reach the speed, engage and chill. It'll accelerate uphill and ease off downhill. Lifting the clutch or engaging the break will turn it off, but pressing the accelerator will cause it to speed up (i.e. to overtake) and then returns to the set speed. Its a real life licence saver on long haul trips on quiet motorways and clear A roads.

 

My old 2005 Mazda6 auto did the same but was also able to shift gears to pull itself up steeper hills. The CC obviously can't work manual gears with a clutch.

 

On the subject of dashcams, I've invested in front and rear cams, hardwired in to switch on with the ignition. Used the wiring kit which should protect the battery from dropping below a certain voltage. Getting the USB cable running to the camera on the rear hatch is a as I can't seem to get into some bits of headliner without major surgery, which I don't want to attempt on the driveway.

 

Its the Nextbase 512gw and associated rear camera. Its pretty decent and a world ahead of the £30 chinese job I had previously. If you can't read a numberplate with your camera, get something better imho.

 

 

Slightly amended your post!

If your NextBase has impact recognition recording then you really need to wire it to a permanent feed to protect the car when parked.

 

Mike.

[rockershovel]

Having had the opportunity to investigate, I find that the CC in my Skoda Scout does, indeed, resume when you press the button - but there is no provision to recognise that I might now be going 20mph faster or slower and/or be in the wrong gear, or do anything about it. Hence the advice from the dealer, to switch it off at the stalk and back on again, thereby re-setting the speed. 

 

Presumably this is because it is derived from the system fitted in the Audi but doesn’t have the front sensors, or other features. 

[polybear]

52 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

 

Slightly amended your post!

If your NextBase has impact recognition recording then you really need to wire it to a permanent feed to protect the car when parked.

 

Mike.

 

But leaving your cameras in whilst parked makes them a target for theft.  Decisions, decisions....

[stewartingram]

On 30/12/2019 at 02:40, kevinlms said:

A bad driving habit that I haven't seen mentioned here before.

 

People driving with their foot on the brake pedal when not required.

 

Almost certainly, they were driving an automatic, with the left foot on the brake - very nasty as if they brake in an emergency, they probably press hard with both feet, giving lots of power, just when you need to stop!

 

Not necessarily the driver at fault though, my car (Rover 75) can have a fault condition, well known throughout the owners club because our more knowledgeable members have investigated it and found the solution. The brake light switch (it also has some control over the cruise control) is mounted on a bracket next to the brake pedal, and should operate only when the pedal is depressed. However the mounting is a ratchet type plastic item, and it can work loose. This turns on the brake lights without the use of the pedal. Easily fixed if you know how (1- expensive garage; 2- push it back in and add a cable tie; 3- fit a new switch as a last resort). Having suffered this fault, I've added an led in the rear window brake light, facing forward so that I can see it the mirror! Not quite an everyday fault, but we are aware of it happening on our cars, and wouldn't be surprised if it happened on other makes,

 

Stewart

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, stewartingram said:

 

Not necessarily the driver at fault though, my car (Rover 75) can have a fault condition, well known throughout the owners club because our more knowledgeable members have investigated it and found the solution. The brake light switch (it also has some control over the cruise control) is mounted on a bracket next to the brake pedal, and should operate only when the pedal is depressed. However the mounting is a ratchet type plastic item, and it can work loose. This turns on the brake lights without the use of the pedal. Easily fixed if you know how (1- expensive garage; 2- push it back in and add a cable tie; 3- fit a new switch as a last resort). Having suffered this fault, I've added an led in the rear window brake light, facing forward so that I can see it the mirror! Not quite an everyday fault, but we are aware of it happening on our cars, and wouldn't be surprised if it happened on other makes,

 

Stewart

It does, as I stated previously........

[rockershovel]

Does anyone, other than a rally driver or the owner of a vintage Bentley, use their left foot on the brake? I’ve certainly never done this when driving automatics. 

[PhilJ W]

 

1 hour ago, rockershovel said:

Does anyone, other than a rally driver or the owner of a vintage Bentley, use their left foot on the brake? I’ve certainly never done this when driving automatics. 

The driver of a Routemaster or trolleybus. On a trolleybus the right hand pedal operated the controller and the left hand pedal the brake. The Routemaster was intended to replace the trolleybuses in London so the pedals were arranged to mimic those of a trolleybus. The later Routemasters had a more conventional pedal arangement and I believe all were converted. 

[peanuts]

Anyone care to hazard a guess at what lenient sentence this idiot will end up with ? 

 

[boxbrownie]

13 hours ago, rockershovel said:

Does anyone, other than a rally driver or the owner of a vintage Bentley, use their left foot on the brake? I’ve certainly never done this when driving automatics. 

Oh I imagine half the “chaps” on Pistonheads would say they do as it makes them better/faster drivers 

[Coldgunner]

19 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

 

Slightly amended your post!

If your NextBase has impact recognition recording then you really need to wire it to a permanent feed to protect the car when parked.

 

Mike.

 

Oh yeah, I have the impact sensor on so it turns on if a knock is detected

[johnofwessex]

8 hours ago, peanuts said:

Anyone care to hazard a guess at what lenient sentence this idiot will end up with ? 

 

 

 

The difficulty isnt so much the Bench or the Judge, its what the law sets.

 

Now if they had to demonstrate that they were not a complete a**e before being allowed to drive again & a driving ban was treated as an injunction with power of arrest then things might be a little different

[johnlambert]

19 hours ago, rockershovel said:

Does anyone, other than a rally driver or the owner of a vintage Bentley, use their left foot on the brake? I’ve certainly never done this when driving automatics. 

Yes.  Left foot braking can be very useful when parking, filtering into traffic on a busy motorway or negotiating a twisting section of road.  However, some cars don't have the brake pedal very well placed for left foot operation so in normal driving right-foot operation can be more comfortable.

 

The left foot it perfectly capable of braking with as much sensitivity as the right one, with the advantage that it can cover the pedal so there is no need to move the right foot across from the accelerator.

 

As for vintage Bentleys (and other, proper motorcars) the accelerator is in the centre and the brake on the right; left foot braking would therefore call for crossed legs and probably result in a frightful tangle in the footwell 

[Baby Deltic]

The trouble with left foot braking is you end up picking your teeth out of the steering wheel. I find it akin to forgetting that you're driving an automatic and trying to change gear and wondering why the car suddenly decelerates.

 

[boxbrownie]

Also on many modern vehicles upon applying the brake it cuts the fuel to the engine (for economy/emissions) so left foot braking is absolutely pointless as you no longer have any control over the engine regardless of keeping your foot on the accel pedal.

 

But it’s a good story 

[peanuts]

51 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

Also on many modern vehicles upon applying the brake it cuts the fuel to the engine (for economy/emissions) so left foot braking is absolutely pointless as you no longer have any control over the engine regardless of keeping your foot on the accel pedal.

 

But it’s a good story 

who said anything about a modern car ? a well set up mini will respond superbly to a touch of left foot breaking to drift around a corner with the power on 

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, johnlambert said:

 

 

As for vintage Bentleys (and other, proper motorcars) the accelerator is in the centre and the brake on the right; left foot braking would therefore call for crossed legs and probably result in a frightful tangle in the footwell 

The same applied to the older (pre-1948) Ford E83W vans. You soon learnt which was the brake and which was the accelerator.

[boxbrownie]

5 hours ago, peanuts said:

who said anything about a modern car ? a well set up mini will respond superbly to a touch of left foot breaking to drift around a corner with the power on 

I believe the subject was automatics, not left foot braking on manuals.

 

Sorry, Erik.......

[rockershovel]

6 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

I believe the subject was automatics, not left foot braking on manuals.

 

Sorry, Erik.......

 

Oh, I don’t know. I’d imagine that drifting round corners under power, on public roads, was well within the scope of the OP..

[Jol Wilkinson]

On 31/12/2019 at 21:42, rockershovel said:

Does anyone, other than a rally driver or the owner of a vintage Bentley, use their left foot on the brake? I’ve certainly never done this when driving automatics. 

I often do when driving automatics. I learned to do so when working at Ford Motor Company's Service Division and was delegated as the auto transmission "specialist" (because I was the new boy and no one else wanted the responsibility). With the older three speed BW35 boxes you could achieve rather smoother "drive"

 

The technique for driving rally cars is somewhat different. I do it simply as I believe it gives me better control. I rarely drive automatics now (although my next car currently on order has an 8 speed auto) but find I can still change from one technique to the other easily.

 

 

[rockershovel]

24 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

I often do when driving automatics. I learned to do so when working at Ford Motor Company's Service Division and was delegated as the auto transmission "specialist" (because I was the new boy and no one else wanted the responsibility). With the older three speed BW35 boxes you could achieve rather smoother "drive"

 

The technique for driving rally cars is somewhat different. I do it simply as I believe it gives me better control. I rarely drive automatics now (although my next car currently on order has an 8 speed auto) but find I can still change from one technique to the other easily.

 

 

 

Ah, that would be the reason. I learnt to drive automatics during a time when I was travelling around, doing “yard visits” in various countries ... the main requirement was to be able to get into a rapidly changing succession of hire cars, in a variety of countries, without crashing any of them . 

 

 

[kevinlms]

2 hours ago, rockershovel said:

 

Ah, that would be the reason. I learnt to drive automatics during a time when I was travelling around, doing “yard visits” in various countries ... the main requirement was to be able to get into a rapidly changing succession of hire cars, in a variety of countries, without crashing any of them . 

 

 

Where's the fun in that?

[rockershovel]

1 minute ago, kevinlms said:

Where's the fun in that?

 

You are aware of a tv series called “banged up abroad”, or something of the sort? 

 

Anyway, trying to reclaim hire car excesses on expenses is no fun at all. 

[kevinlms]

1 minute ago, rockershovel said:

 

You are aware of a tv series called “banged up abroad”, or something of the sort? 

 

Anyway, trying to reclaim hire car excesses on expenses is no fun at all. 

Agreed, the paperwork is always a problem!

 

I would not want to be doing lock up time in any country for stuff like that.

 

I've heard of 'Banged up abroad', but never seen it as it is copyright blocked on Youtube. Similar shows have been done on Australians, including those that have been done for drugs. Never a good idea!

[62613]

On 02/01/2020 at 06:37, rockershovel said:

 

Oh, I don’t know. I’d imagine that drifting round corners under power, on public roads, was well within the scope of the OP..

Absolutely no doubt about it!