General Chat

I passed my driving test many many years ago in the days when hand signals were compulsory. I remember my instructor telling me that signalling, positioning of the vehicle and returning to the nearside of the road after turning were the priorities and I have always followed this advice. However over the past decades I believe the highway code has changed. (Must get a copy).

In my day: Always signal in good time so that others following you or approaching you know what you are going to do.
Today: Signal when you are half way round a corner.

In my day: If you intend to turn right, signal in good time and then move so that the right hand side of your vehicle is on the crown of the road and wait for approaching traffic to clear before you turn. This allows other traffic to pass you on your nearside.
Today: If you intend to turn right, stay in the left side of the road but turn your wheels right so that your vehicles is at a 45 degree angle, thereby blocking all traffic behind you. When the road is clear, turn putting your right hand indicator on as you begin to move.

In my day. Hazard lights should only be used in an emergency.
Today: Put your hazard lights on when you stop on double yellow lines, school zigzag lines, this renders you free from prosecution.

In my day: When in the inside lane on a motorway and wishing to overtake, wait until there is a gap in the traffic behind you, signal and then move into the middle lane. Cancel right indicator, overtake the other vehicle and when its safe, indicate left and move back into inside lane.

Today: Indicate right and move into middle lane simultaneously, the traffic behind you must slow down to let you out. Once in the middle lane, cancel your indicator and stay there.

There are others, would somebody like to add to this list?

we always acknowledged when someone gave way for us

Not too sure I can add, but even though when I learned to drive in the 70s/80s all cars had indicators I was still taught hand signals.

The rules in the Highway Code have not changed that much and putting your hazard lights on whiile parked on ZigZag lines will not render anyone free from prosecution, it is in fact an endorseable offence and as such points can be added to your licence for this. Double yellow lines will only be a fine.

This is tongue in the cheek, DazedConfused !

Ah! But the mentality at times says that hazard lights are a gettout to many motoring misdemeanours.
such as............. my phones ringing, I MUST stop and answer it!
or
I'll just stop here while I visit the roadside ATM......./post office.

what gets me is the way that road designers, widen a road/junction at great cost and inconvenience for months only to come along later and cross hatch out one or two lanes because they got it wrong in the first place......and in doing so they only manufacture a bottleneck because often, the now 4 lane wide junction in a few yards narrows down to the original 2 lane road........

PS does anyone know what those little round signs are, a Blue background, with a red cross and border? if so can you please inform some of the drivers that cruise around where I live............I think they mean ""Clearway..........NO stopping"",

or summat.......LOL

and for many others is the speed limit is 40Mph, you ARE pemitted to go that fast.......not 10 Mph under(just in case) ooops!! theres a camera Quick! foot on the brakes....

So true Bobtanian.

I understood that. but if we were all perfect drivers where would the insurance companies stand!!!! Out in the cold holding out their caps for small change....

We all of us make mistakes when driving, and my biggest bugbear are the 'tailgaters'.

Love to see them tailgating lorries and buses who do not even know they are there numpties each and every one.

And tailgate me, I will slow down to the speed limit and really mess their journeys..... and that is only on the roads in town. :-D

But providing you are not TOO close...........slipstreaming save you fuel.........


Bob

From my experiance I thought that these days signaling was optional :-D :-D

One of the funniest things I heard - DC - was from my OH.

He was looking for an address (he delivers stuff) in a quietish side road. He realised he had overshot so looked in his mirrors and reversed up. (It was earlier in the day so no schoolkids about). There was the most almighty honking at that point. A learner on a moped had been following him really close; so close he was in the blind spot.

What I had forgotten & when OH reminded me I realised how hilarious this was . . . mopeds & motorbikes don't have a reverse gear like a car (of course they don't ha ha!) so the poor bloke was desperately trying to scoot backwards.

He won't do that again. :-D

(No dumb animals were injured btw).

That actually happened to my son only the lorry caught up with him, trapped the front wheel crushing the wheel and forks,and my son had to bale out to avoid being run over......

the bike was a writeoff and the lorry driver had the cheek to counterclaim for damage to the rear steps on the back of the van.......

Bob

Even though I don't know most of the jargon here, I do understand a lot of the awful agro caused by a lot of other drivers...in Holland we have a mass of cyclists, the law changed some years back, so cyclists were protected even more, they were ALWAYS given right of way...if you lived here, you would know how difficult this can be, especially when almost none of them give hand signals to show if they are going right or left, or when they cycle in rows of 4/5, when they come out of school.Also, I have noticed that MOST car drivers don't signal either, this is fast becoming a big problem...tailgating is another big problem, even though it is against the law.Most drivers don't give a hoot about this, they continue to 'kiss your bumper"....my reaction is (mostly) to press gently on the break a few tmes, to make sure they back off...this sometimes leads to nasty reactions...jeeeez,what is wrong with people, does a minute longer journey mean you have to drive so agressively/dangerously?
BTW, what does 'slipstreaming' mean Bob?

now I know why the canals were full of bikes when I visited Amsterdam - outside the railway station there we hundreds of bikes - how on earth anyone found their own bike is a mystery

if anyone is tailgating me I too slow down and then I put my lights on so they think I've braked!! sure wakes 'em up bit :-D

What is the definition of a nanosecond?

The time it takes between a red traffic light turning to amber and the impatient idiot behind you sounding his horn !

had my present car ten years - in all that time I may have used it five times

Why have a car Ann?

Sell it and use your bus pass. I take it you are of a certain age to have a bus pass?

how very dare you :-D :-D :-D

LOL

sorry, congrats on your 21st birthday

Slipstreaming, is tailgating, but but not so close

you let the vehicle in front break the wind for you, as it were

Formula one DRS/overtaking is a form of slipstreaming.....

I was naughty when I had my old Phase 2" Vanguard" car..It had the old arm signals still operational but I had winkers fitted...You can guess the rest...ALRIGHT!!! I was still very young then...Come to think of it I still haven't grown up...Les...