Are they genuinely thick, or what?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by Fat Controller, Dec 8, 2016.

  1. shiney

    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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    My first real encounter with driving in bad snow conditions was when I bought Mrs Shiney her first car. It was a clapped out 1956 Ford Prefect (No, not Hitchhikers Guide :heehee:) that was 12 years old. I had to get it home from work that was 23 miles away. It needed a bit of work done on the engine as it was burning a gallon of oil every 12 miles :yikes: (a friend who was a mechanic was going to put a new engine in it).

    I had a bit of difficulty driving it up a 1 in 4 hill in very heavy snow with 6" already on the ground. :phew: That was when I decided to get snow chains for my car. :dbgrtmb:

    Not Mrs Shiney's car but the same model.
    [​IMG]
     
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    • pete

      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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      There are a few cyclist and motor bike riders who treat the road correctly, but they are fairly rare around these parts.
      Often see bikes without lights, none seem to abide with traffic lights correctly, they usually mount the pavement to avoid them, cross the side road and drop back into the road the other side without even a glace behind.
      Sunday bikers are the worst, the licra crowd poncing around in groups often racing one another along narrow roads, and the other posers on their weekend 850cc in custom leathers just ignoring every rule of the road.

      Having said that, tonight we were all queuing to get onto a roundabout to turn right, this pregnant fish in a range rover, decides he wasn't going to wait, so he overtook the whole queue of around 15 cars, forcing oncoming traffic to go onto the verge, he then cut in on the queue, when he reaced an island in the road just before the roundabout.
      He then took the left hand lane and went round the roundabout and turned right.

      As to 4x4s, mostly unless you only want to travel the lanes during snow, they are useless in the UK.
      Other traffic will always hold you up.
      Mostly a jackknifed artic at the front of the jam.
       
    • Billybell

      Billybell Gardener

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      Probably because its the motorists who in 2015 alone managed to kill 1,732 people and seriously injure another 22,137.
       
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      • clueless1

        clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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        All by themselves? While it's always tragic when someone is killed, I don't think it's right to imply, as you appear to be, that 'the motorist' was 100% to blame in all 1,732 cases. There is a reason that the emergency stop drill is a core part of the driving curriculum and test. It's because every sane person knows beyond doubt that sooner or later, every driver, no matter how observant and careful, will have to react as fast as possible to the stupid, careless or erroneous actions of another. It is also widely recognised and objectively provable fact that neither driver nor vehicle can defy the laws of physics, so unfortunately there will always be tragic cases where someone does something and 'the motorist' simply can not do a thing about it.
         
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        • Fat Controller

          Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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          I think it only fair to correct that slightly @Billybell - sadly 1,732 people were killed in accidents involving cyclists and motorised vehicles. I am sure that in some cases the motorists would be to blame, and in others the cyclists would be to blame.

          I am not for one second saying that motorists are behaving like saints, because they are not - hell, I have just dropped Mrs C off for a night out and had one idiot minicab driver cut me up at the top of Richmond Bridge, and a taxi pulled out on me without looking in George Street which is about half a mile from the bridge. Equally, this morning on the way to work I saw a cyclist have a very close shave because he chose to run a red light at the exact same junction that I posted my video from last night - if that did become an accident, the cyclist was 100% to blame for taking a huge risk by breaking the law at a very busy junction in the half light of the morning.

          Sunday before last, I was driving a bus - I was at this junction, stationary, in the nearside lane:

          St Rd W.png
          Whilst sat at a red light, a cyclist passed up my nearside and continued straight across the junction. At that time, the junction was actually operating in the same phase as shown in the image, with only the vehicles turning right on a green light.

          I did not pass the cyclist on my way up the dual carriageway to the lights, so I presume that he emerged from a side road behind me. Undertaking a large vehicle in that way is dangerous, and stupid enough - but to cycle blatantly across the junction defying a red light is a whole new level of stupidity. If he had been wiped out by a car turning across his path, would it be the motorists fault?

          The real kicker is that this junction has red light cameras on it, so if a vehicle passes through on a very late amber or a red, the driver gets a fine. Yet a cyclist can do exactly the same thing, and gets off with it - - is it somehow less illegal just because it is a cyclist?

          Cyclists are much more vulnerable than motorists, therefore common sense would dictate that they should realise this and minimise the risks that they take - yet, once again, in the article I quoted originally there is an attempt to shift the entire onus onto the motorist. It is incumbent upon all of us as road users to be equally aware and careful.
           
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          • "M"

            "M" Total Gardener

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            • Jiffy

              Jiffy The Match is on Fire

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              I think all rules of the road should be scraped and they be a free for all on the roads
               
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              • shiney

                shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                Too late! It has already happened. ;) :snorky:
                 
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                • clanless

                  clanless Total Gardener

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                  The main cause of road accidents between bicycles/motor cycles and cars - is that the former do not act as the latter on the road.

                  Cyclists weave in and out of traffic, they pass between queuing cars - cyclists in particular ignore traffic lights etc. - so when the road is supposed to be clear it isn't.

                  Cars make drivers feel safe so they take more risks - cyclists/motor cyclists are vulnerable but don't always comply with the rules of the road - a sometimes lethal combination.

                  I speak from bitter experience - in my 'biking' days I head butted a volvo as it pulled into a junction in front of me.

                  I'll never ride a motorbike again on the roads - it's dangerous enough in car - there really are some plebs on the road nowadays.
                   
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                  • wiseowl

                    wiseowl FRIENDLY ADMIN Staff Member

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                    Good morning my gripe is as an Owl is in over crowded air space I have to cope with Wind farms,Low flying Drones,Seagulls,Kites,Pylons,aircraft,laser pens,and its no better of a night with the crows,rooks,magpies behind every tree, ect and you think you have it tough on the roads:lunapic 130165696578242 5:
                     
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                    • clueless1

                      clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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                      I think many cyclists hold onto the misguided belief that as they and their transport are vastly more manoeuvrable than cars, that will always get them out of bother. That plus I think on same bizarre and twisted subconscious level, SOME cyclists actually want something to happen, so then they can be in some bizarre clique of fellow cyclists that have been done an injustice by 'the motorist'.

                      As you say, many car drivers see their vehicle as a mobile fortress, exempt from the laws of physics and detached from reality.

                      I think if the driving test featured some realistic but simulated emergency situations, then perhaps the roads would be safer. I know from experience, in that split second amongst all the unusual noises and G forces of tyre rubber on the threshold of letting go and the beautiful union of electronics and hydraulics working in harmony to brake as hard as possible, then you switch from 'must avoid this' mode to 'must limit the force of inevitable impact as much as possible', it really does make you re-evaluate your beliefs about what a car can do.
                       
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                      • Scrungee

                        Scrungee Well known for it

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                        I think that a rear view mirror should be a legal requirement for all bicycles used on public highways. I've used one for well over 30 years.

                        Should also have insurance, but how on on earth this could be policed when cars no longer have to display a disk indicating they have insurance, etc.?
                         
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                        • shiney

                          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                          For a start, they should have a registration number and a, small, annual licence fee.

                          After all, you even have to pay for a dog licence!
                           
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                          • "M"

                            "M" Total Gardener

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                            They were abolished in the '80's
                             
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                            • pete

                              pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                              Agree yoiu dont need a dog licence anymore, but its best to have insurance that covers any events that the dog might cause on the road or otherwise.

                              But a cyclist can just wander around causing mayhem in their wake and do not require insurance.
                              Does this mean that dogs are more important than cyclists ?:biggrin:
                               
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