What on the roads has annoyed you today?

[Phil Bowman]

14 minutes ago, nnfox said:

This is a really good point.  I used to refuse to let anyone in in front of me because... Well, just because.

 

Then I listened to some advice on some podcast or audiobook or something and it was to just let people in.  Be kind.  It usually makes you feel good as you've helped someone.  You can relax, the other driver can relax and it really doesn't make any difference to the journey time.

 

Done it ever since and have no regrets.

Yep. My story exactly. I’m much calmer and happier while driving now.

[Parafox]

10 hours ago, Footballwipe said:

Just booked myself in for a Speed Awareness Course on Zoom in October. 2hrs 45 mins. Anyone have any experience of what they're like. I've heard they're actually quite interesting/useful? (I even heard fun...)

 

(50 in a 40 on a mobile camera whilst tootling on a dead road in a village in Lincolnshire, so annoyed I didn't spot it sooner.)

 

Edited 1 September 2021 by Parafox
Already answrer

[The Bear]

I did one a couple of years ago. It was fine, plenty of interesting stuff in there to consider, though the guy doing it was a bit smug and preachy. 

Edited 1 September 2021 by The Bear

[tom27111]

1 minute ago, Parafox said:

Friend of mine did one not long back and he said it was all quite light-hearted yet informative and made him more, well... aware and it included free tea/coffee and biscuits. Also I think @tom27111is due to go on one.

Yes, I'm doing one online. 1st October at 7:45am.

 

Quite impressed that they offer them so early, I'll only be a couple of hours late for work, instead of having to book a whole day off.

 

I'll go in to it with an open mind, although, when I discovered I had to pay £88 for the pleasure, I did seriously consider just taking the 3 points and paying £100.

 

I got caught on the motorway and I believe that's a different course? 

[Parafox]

Just now, tom27111 said:

Yes, I'm doing one online. 1st October at 7:45am.

 

Quite impressed that they offer them so early, I'll only be a couple of hours late for work, instead of having to book a whole day off.

 

I'll go in to it with an open mind, although, when I discovered I had to pay £88 for the pleasure, I did seriously consider just taking the 3 points and paying £100.

 

I got caught on the motorway and I believe that's a different course? 

It must be different. I actually did one several years ago and I had nothing to pay. I was doing 56 in a 50 and got clocked by a camera hidden in overgrown bushes. Maybe it's changed now and payment is a new thing. Obvs I couldn't take points but IIRC the course cost nothing. I guess the online one you will need to provide your own tea and biscuits 

[Parafox]

2 hours ago, The Bear said:

I'm not saying I do it very often. Only when someone is being particularly impatient or has tried to cut ahead of me further back down the road. 

 

I find with how smooth electric cars are, they make me drive much more leisurely that I used to on the whole. There are no revs to hear or see on the dials, so you are almost disconnected from the idea of an engine and gears. You just glide along. 

That doesn't sound like a good thing. A decent driver, IMO, needs to be able to sense the car's responses to acceleration, gear changes and braking. Part of that is feeling connected to the car and registering the engine notes. I've never driven a Tesla so I stand to be corrected. Just personally, I prefer to hear what my car is doing.

[tom27111]

7 minutes ago, Parafox said:

That doesn't sound like a good thing. A decent driver, IMO, needs to be able to sense the car's responses to acceleration, gear changes and braking. Part of that is feeling connected to the car and registering the engine notes. I've never driven a Tesla so I stand to be corrected. Just personally, I prefer to hear what my car is doing.

 

I'd agree it's a good thing.

 

I knew a lad who was an incredible motorcyclist. The amount of times he had to accelerate to get out of trouble was frightening. 

 

Other road users didn't see him or thought they could sneak out.

 

People with less awareness and ability would have been like a rabbit in headlights, panicked and slammed on the brakes, probably leading to being involved in an accident. 

 

With more and more road users and things like electric scooters about, you've got to be switched on and confident. 

 

Always nice to wind up a boy racer too 

[The Bear]

21 minutes ago, Parafox said:

That doesn't sound like a good thing. A decent driver, IMO, needs to be able to sense the car's responses to acceleration, gear changes and braking. Part of that is feeling connected to the car and registering the engine notes. I've never driven a Tesla so I stand to be corrected. Just personally, I prefer to hear what my car is doing.

You still get feeling and input from the steering and also the tyre noise. Lifting off gets you regenerative engine braking. So the majority of the feedback is still there on a regular basis, but it's all throttle and steering controlled rather than gearbox related. 

Edited 1 September 2021 by The Bear

[Blarmy]

Did a speed awareness course last September, found it to be surprisingly enjoyable.

 

Got a fine and three points last month. 

[ozleicester]

18 minutes ago, Blarmy said:

Did a speed awareness course last September, found it to be surprisingly enjoyable.

 

Got a fine and three points last month. 

Guess that made you aware of your speed

[danny.]

14 hours ago, Parafox said:

That doesn't sound like a good thing. A decent driver, IMO, needs to be able to sense the car's responses to acceleration, gear changes and braking. Part of that is feeling connected to the car and registering the engine notes. I've never driven a Tesla so I stand to be corrected. Just personally, I prefer to hear what my car is doing.

You get feedback from an electric car, it’s just so much smoother and feels so much more advanced than an ICE car. I’ve had mine about 3 months now and would never go back. I agree it’s way more relaxing a drive too, and it’s incredibly responsive, put your foot down and it just goes, no gears to think about, pull your foot off and intelligent regenerative braking slows you down. You only need one pedal 99% of the time and most electric cars have enough gadgets like radar, smart cruise control, all round cameras, to make it ridiculously easy to drive - esp. on motorways, you just put smart cruise on and it does everything for you, bar changing lanes. 

[Blarmy]

18 minutes ago, ozleicester said:

Guess that made you aware of your speed

Certainly had more impact than the course!

[Blarmy]

2 hours ago, ozleicester said:

Guess that made you aware of your speed

Unbelievably, just received a letter from Lincolnshire Police saying they got it wrong. I won’t get the points and am getting my £ 100 back!

[Carl the Llama]

Called in a dog sat in a car with no water and the windows all up.  Dog looks fine but rather not take any chances (unlike the owner apparently).

[HighPeakFox]

I'm fully supportive of driver awareness courses. The biggest thing I took from it is that they don't focus on fault, they talk about preventative driving - that is to say, do what you can do prevent an accident, whoever is 'at fault'. It served me well recently locally, saving me and another party a lot of time, hassle and money.

 

I also recommend owning a car with a speed limiter - on motorways, it gives great peace of mind, knowing you can not be looking for cameras the whole time. The downside is dealing with the variability of others' driving speeds, plus not allowing one's self to become a middle lane-sergeant.

[SpacedX]

10 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

I'm fully supportive of driver awareness courses. The biggest thing I took from it is that they don't focus on fault, they talk about preventative driving - that is to say, do what you can do prevent an accident, whoever is 'at fault'. It served me well recently locally, saving me and another party a lot of time, hassle and money.

 

I also recommend owning a car with a speed limiter - on motorways, it gives great peace of mind, knowing you can not be looking for cameras the whole time. The downside is dealing with the variability of others' driving speeds, plus not allowing one's self to become a middle lane-sergeant.

It's much like using cruise control. Because other road users tend to erratically vary their speed, you find the constant need to disengage it. 

[The Bear]

1 hour ago, Carl the Llama said:

Called in a dog sat in a car with no water and the windows all up.  Dog looks fine but rather not take any chances (unlike the owner apparently).

Where/who do you phone those in to? 

[HighPeakFox]

35 minutes ago, Line-X said:

It's much like using cruise control. Because other road users tend to erratically vary their speed, you find the constant need to disengage it. 

That's ok, it stops me dozing off mentally.

[Carl the Llama]

1 hour ago, The Bear said:

Where/who do you phone those in to? 

Just called 999 and they put me through to the police

[The Bear]

1 hour ago, Carl the Llama said:

Just called 999 and they put me through to the police

Ah ok. Didn't know you could call 999 for that. 

[Carl the Llama]

53 minutes ago, The Bear said:

Ah ok. Didn't know you could call 999 for that. 

Well technically it was 112 if that makes any difference, if you're ever unsure if something's worth calling them just give it a ring anyway and ask if they're the right point of contact, worst that will happen is they'll ask you to phone a specific agency.

[Guest Manini]

7 minutes ago, Carl the Llama said:

Well technically it was 112 if that makes any difference, if you're ever unsure if something's worth calling them just give it a ring anyway and ask if they're the right point of contact, worst that will happen is they'll ask you to phone a specific agency.

What’s the difference between 112 and 999? 
 

If there is one? I’ve never come across 112, just googled it but unclear. 

Edited 2 September 2021 by Manini

[Carl the Llama]

18 minutes ago, Manini said:

What’s the difference between 112 and 999? 
 

If there is one? I’ve never come across 112, just googled it but unclear. 

I don't think there is.  I believe it's just that it's been adopted alongside 999 because it's commonly used outside in Europe

[Blarmy]

10 hours ago, Manini said:

What’s the difference between 112 and 999? 
 

If there is one? I’ve never come across 112, just googled it but unclear. 

 

[Guest Manini]

4 minutes ago, Blarmy said:

 

What an underrated comedy IT Crowd was.