Driving standards

[Reorte]

6 minutes ago, stewartingram said:

I know this will be controversial, but, in my opinion, there is no such thing as a dangerous road. It is the drivers that are dangerous. If you drive to the conditions, because there are so-called dangerous spot, the road is safe.

In this country at any rate, in most conditions. Footage of narrow, crumbling mountain roads elsewhere I'd argue shows genuinely dangerous roads. And even with reasonable care for the conditions there's still a chance of being caught out by a patch of black ice.

[Reorte]

2 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Is it in Germany where there is no such thing as an accident?

That sounds like "accident means no-one is to blame" or "implies it was unavoidable," which is a sentiment I strongly disagree with. The word "accident" is merely the opposite of "deliberate," and very few incidents are deliberate, even when there's clearly someone who behaved very stupidly, is 100% responsible, and could easily have avoided it with even a tiny bit of brain engagement.

[97406]

14 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

The annoying thing about the A515 is that the speed limit was introduced because of some motorcyclists using it like the Mulsanne straight, which from the last experience of it they still do.

 

Mike.

 

Yes, they should have just enforced the 60 limit instead of punishing drivers for driving at a safe speed over the current limit. Those who imposed the limit are either utterly incompetent or running a racket to keep the local Speed Awareness course lot in business.

[Reorte]

3 minutes ago, 97406 said:

 

Yes, they should have just enforced the 60 limit instead of punishing drivers for driving at a safe speed over the current limit. Those who imposed the limit are either utterly incompetent or running a racket to keep the local Speed Awareness course lot in business.

But "It's 50 for a reason" !

 

The reason apparently being as you described.

[jjb1970]

4 minutes ago, Reorte said:

That sounds like "accident means no-one is to blame" or "implies it was unavoidable," which is a sentiment I strongly disagree with. The word "accident" is merely the opposite of "deliberate," and very few incidents are deliberate, even when there's clearly someone who behaved very stupidly, is 100% responsible, and could easily have avoided it with even a tiny bit of brain engagement.

 

There was a fashion in H&S where the word accident was Forbidden as it was felt that the word had connotations of 'things just happen' when in reality something has gone wrong (risks unforeseen, risks foreseen but not acted on, technical failure, human action etc). Personally I wasn't enthusiastic as accident was the term used by people and when a discussion becomes fixated on words it can induce people to ask (reasonably in my view) whether time would better spent stopping accidents happening rather than arguing about what we should call them.

[stewartingram]

They are not accidents, but incidents.

[Reorte]

3 minutes ago, stewartingram said:

They are not accidents, but incidents.

Saying they're not accidents says they're deliberate.

[Compound2632]

1 minute ago, Reorte said:

Saying they're not accidents says they're deliberate.

 

Saying they're incidents reserves judgement.

[Dunsignalling]

7 minutes ago, Reorte said:

But "It's 50 for a reason" !

 

The reason apparently being as you described.

The fact that it's been made a 50 rather than the national limit of 60 due to "certain elements" exceeding the latter by the former seems irrelevant.😉

 

Installing an effective way of enforcing the existing limit would have been the correct course of action. 

 

We have some parallel round here where the A303 through the Blackdown Hills (except for a short length of dual carriageway) had a 50 limit slapped on it a few years back. Overall, the "accident" record on the road is average or a little below, but there are two or three locations where what such incidents as do occur tend to be concentrated, and even the 50 may not help much. Lower limits at those locations while reverting to the National limit elsewhere would better emphasise the risks to those unfamiliar with the route.

 

The cynic in me suspects that bunging a blanket limit on the whole road enables a lower (cheaper) standard of maintenance....

[Reorte]

Just now, Compound2632 said:

 

Saying they're incidents reserves judgement.

Whilst that's true the proportion that is deliberate is surely very small, and isn't the reason usually given for trying to force a change in terminology.

 

[johnofwessex]

Personally I am not a fan of constantly changing speed limits and would prefer a blanket one that covers several miles unless its something like a village

Edited Friday at 10:19 by johnofwessex

[Dunsignalling]

4 minutes ago, Reorte said:

Saying they're not accidents says they're deliberate.

 

Or the result of carelessness even if equally attributable to all involved.... 

 

 

 

[97406]

Just now, johnofwessex said:

Personally I am not a fan of constantly changing speed limits and would prefer a blanket one that covers several miles unless its something like a village

They just need to be signed clearly.

[jjb1970]

We still have a marine accidents investigation branch, rail accidents investigation branch and air accidents investigation branch. Indicating they're still accidents when trains, ships or aircraft are involved.

[Compound2632]

2 minutes ago, johnofwessex said:

Personally I am not a fan of constantly changing speed limits and would prefer a blanket one that covers several miles unless its something like a village

 

I've driven behind drivers who drive like that - a steady 40 mph whatever the limit.

[Dunsignalling]

7 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

I've driven behind drivers who drive like that - a steady 40 mph whatever the limit.

 

In my experience that usually reflects on (self-acknowledged) limitations to the abilities of the drivers rather than the numbers on the signs. i.e. they've started having near misses if they go any faster.

 

A mate in the trade describes another symptom of the issue as customers starting to "round off the corners" of their cars on their gateposts.....

 

As I get older, I am watching myself like a hawk! 😉

Edited Friday at 17:29 by Dunsignalling

[Compound2632]

3 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

In my experience that usually reflects on (self-acknowledged) limitations to the abilities of the drivers rather than the numbers on the signs. i.e. they've started having near misses if they go any faster.

 

The point is, they carry on at 40 mph once they're past the 30 mph sign, so i think they're well beyond the point of self-awareness of the limitations of their abilities. At least it means that after every village one can drive at the 50 mph or 60 mph limit for a few minutes until one catches up with them again.

 

A4074...

[Dunsignalling]

8 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

The point is, they carry on at 40 mph once they're past the 30 mph sign, so i think they're well beyond the point of self-awareness of the limitations of their abilities. At least it means that after every village one can drive at the 50 mph or 60 mph limit for a few minutes until one catches up with them again.

 

A4074...

Or they have to choose between seeing where they are going and being able to read the instruments...

 

I started wearing varifocals in my fifties when I spotted that beginning to happen! 😀

[97406]

28 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

Or they have to choose between seeing where they are going and being able to read the instruments...

 

I started wearing varifocals in my fifties when I spotted that beginning to happen! 😀

Varifocals are great, though people often think I'm nodding in agreement with them when in fact I'm just getting things into focus!

[GrumpyPenguin]

On 19/09/2024 at 12:00, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 Which means that there could be so little traffic that reversing to do a lane change

as @TheQ has outlined is possible , you seem  to be equating all gritter drivers as having

the same modus operandi as you .

Reversing a heavy vehicle (or any vehicle for that matter) on a motorway live lane ?

 

Are you mad ?

 

Collide with a gritter in a car and it will end very, very badly for you and anyone else in the car.

[GrumpyPenguin]

On 19/09/2024 at 15:51, TheQ said:

Ps I've driven snowploughs ( day and night on 12 hours shifts) myself on public roads, even if only little Landrover ones.

Bit different to a 32t AWD eight legger. I don't see your LR ploughing on motorway or motorway standard roads.

 

Maybe, if you had described the circumstances better there would not have been any confusion.

 

Whatever, I would not reverse my gritter on a live lane (dual carriageway or motorway) unless it was an emergency and assisted by TrafPol or VOSA/Highways (or whoever they are this week).

[PhilJ W]

[Coldgunner]

Bit of an awkward situation these past couple of weeks. Mum has been having issues with balance, dizziness etc for a few weeks and we've made the conscious decision as a family to ban her from driving in the meantime. We think we know why she's been getting these issues, she's been getting confused between two different, but very similar looking drugs for her diabetes, which we've hopefully resolved, but are giving her a couple of weeks to ensure she doesn't have a bad turn again.

 

She's been very complicit and I've been taking her to places when she needs to go. I'm very confident that she'll be ok to drive again soon, but I'm glad she's temporaily handed in her keys. She's got doctors appointments coming up so hopefully after that we can be confident she can drive again. She still got her license but we felt as a family that she's best not driving till she's feeling better. We've not notified DVLA as we know she'll be back to normal soon. We have discussed the possibility that she may need to surrender her license eventually due to her eyesight.

 

Its not nice to have to do but its for her safety, but she's been co-operative and if she needs anything one of us will go get it or drive her to get it. She's been driving for 50 years and not had a single accident in all that time. She's a very good driver in fact. She will get better now the mixup with the medication was found and her sugars should balance, but we're keeping an eye on things.

This all came to a head when her car dashboard wasn't powering up when trying to leave Tesco and she had a hyper, getting herself into a right state. I had to go rescue her and drive the car back home without the dash working (indicators/lights etc were fine). None of the fuses had blown, and reconnecting the battery didn't help either.

 

You know how I fixed it in the end? Thumped the top of the dashboard! Something is/was loose, but the problem hasn't come back.

Edited Saturday at 21:23 by Coldgunner

[PaulCheffus]

19 hours ago, Coldgunner said:

This all came to a head when her car dashboard wasn't powering up when trying to leave Tesco and she had a hyper, getting herself into a right state. I had to go rescue her and drive the car back home without the dash working (indicators/lights etc were fine). None of the fuses had blown, and reconnecting the battery didn't help either.

 

You know how I fixed it in the end? Thumped the top of the dashboard! Something is/was loose, but the problem hasn't come back.

Hi

 

It’s not a Ford SMax is it? My brother and my daughter both had one and they had to thump the top of the dashboard to get things to work.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[Coldgunner]

2009 Mondeo, so probably very similar.

 

Its quite a pleasant car to drive, it has the 2.0 turbo diesel and is a bit of a barge. But it really eats up the miles. Although its an auto, so not to my personal liking.