I never thought my opinions and irritations would fit in so well anywhere in my life. What a delight it is to find other folk who are driven insane by what on paper looks like something absurdly trivial.
My favourite muttering in my head, sometimes vocalised, is usually "it's a cyclist, not a ****ing tank! Drive around it!".
Sigh. It's just reminded me that I've got all this to endure on the A50 and A537 on my way home tonight. Joy.
'Joy' is a word I used to use for driving.
The only word I can think of now is 'chore'.
So much so that I find myself questioning the very car I drive.
When driving itself is no fun, what's the point of a nice car?
I'm as well with a piece of crap and enjoy the money in other ways.
That's not what I meant. If someone is doing 50 when the limit is 60 and the road is clear and you have a good view etc then overtake him. If the road has a lot of bends and limited view of what is coming then what's the problem? They're not doing anything wrong, they've just adjusted their driving to the conditions of the road, why would that wind anyone up?data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 Most of the lanes around here are national speed limit but you would have to be an absolute moron to steam around them at 60mph.
data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 The really fun ones will try and wave me around in the waggon when there is just not the room to pass safely then they make a big deal of pulling over for me. If it was safe I then I would pass them, in my car it' not a problem but with a lorry you really need to give them plenty of room. I just don't have the time for all the paperwork involved with squashing a cyclistdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Evidently because their idea of an acceptable speed and 'our' idea of an acceptable speed are poles apart.
Not that hard to fathom, surely.
There's a lot of drivers who are physically unfit to be out on the road. Whether it's their eyesight, glacial reaction times or they're just too weak to make an emergency stop. I bet a fair percentage of the people dawdling around the roads fall into this category.
Abso-flipping-lutely.data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Indeed, there are a fair few drivers around who've never passed a test.
My father's uncle is one of them.
He was basically 'given' a licence during the war.
I also know of one local old woman, who falls into the 'too frail to brake' category.
If she even attempted to slam the brakes on, her leg would snap like a twig, I'm convinced of it.
Then someone would have to shoot her.
"There there old girl....you've had a good innings.......BANG!"
I'd pay to watch that.
I couldn't agree with you more. I used to have quite a modest ST170, which I never really used to its full potential unless the roads were 100% clear ... and we all know how often that happens.
When I came to replace for economy, I could have splashed out on more or less any hot-hatch diesel I wanted (within reason, lol - none of those 4.2 Audis), but plonked for something comfortable and economical. A 1.8 TDCi diseasel data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 Does the job, has a bit of spunk with a tuning box fitted, but otherwise, cruises at the lovely speed of 40 mph nicely.
I still hate the long journey, but I now prefer comfort over outright performance.
data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 but you are not on your test and neither is the plonker. If you can overtake him because you are on a straight road and he is only doing 50 then yes he is farting about but why does it matter if you can get past him and leave him to it? If the conditions are such that it is unsafe for you to overtake, poor visibility because of fog for example or lots of bends in the road then the plonker isn't doing anything wrong and why would you want to try to get past him when it isn't safe? If said plonker is on a straight stretch and you cannot overtake because of oncoming traffic I can understand people getting frustrated but what I don't get is the ones I see all too often blowing a gasket at the wheel over it, that I find far more disturbing that all the plonkers I come across. I met one of these people today, such a charming man, threatened to pull me out the cab and kill me. He was angry that he had to wait to overtake a vehicle parked in a silly place and as I came around the bend I flashed my lights to the cars behind him to tell them to come through. Mr angry thought I was flashing at him as I had had to stop for him anyway as I came around the benddata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 Apparently misinterpreting someones helpful intentions warrants threats to kill. Scarey thing is wife and two children in the car with a driver that looked like he was about to explode, literally. This happens to me almost every day and it's water off a ducks back but these people who get that upset over such small things really shouldn't be on the road particularly if they are willing to risk their family over such nonsense. Click to expand...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I had always been under the impression there was a minimum speed limit on motorways.
The fact that slow moving vehicles are banned; mopeds, tractors, bicycles, relates to their maximum of 30mph limits.
Therefore the MINIMUM speed on a motorway must be 30mph, (barring road traffic signs and requirements)
OK, you're wrong. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7