The rules of engagement

[VauxVeteran]

I think I'm in the right place to say this..... what sets a good driver apart from a bad one?

For me it's recognising road conditions and times of day/night

Before I go any further I'd better explain myself, I passed my test 1st time about 24 yrs ago, and to start with I was a right tear**** who would think that the road was my own personal race/stunt track, as I've got older I've realised that it isn't and that a lot of unrepairable damage can be caused by being reckless in this way.

Today I drive how I consider to be sensible, I split the day into timezones, 7am-7pm is 20 mph material, 7pm-12am is be aware of drunks and attitude junkies time, 12am-7am is a split of the two, but allows more use of the road to avoid situations, and school times are as slow as 10mph in side roads.

My general technique is to use my eyes like wipers, constantly scaning the pavement for kids and ppl with things on their mind, and courtesy is absolute, it takes nothing to raise a thx hand when given way to, and vice versa, and the ultimate driving tool is to drive without the right of way even when it is yours.

Stay safe ppl, the life you save may not be your own.


Gr8 site btw , I'm really pleased I found it and the ppl on it.

[Andy]

i think most of us on here, due to the nature of the car, tend to be past the boy racer age lol, ie late 20's through to late 50's?. As such most of the members tend to have a fairly sensible approach to driving. In my opinion the guys on here are pretty safe drivers, but wont be neive enough not to admit to the odd blast if they can get away with it. It helps having a couple of Police on here as members too. One a Police driver (MLC) and another fledging on his way up ( Jamie),and if i remember right, we also have bobbyboy whose an ambulance driver, so we are quite lucky to have some expert advice if we need it.

[C19_CJB]

I too have come to see the errors in my driving when I was in my late teens early twentys after doing my advanced driving with IAM. I am doing my test in a couple of weeks (which is 1.5 hours long ) and have come to realise how badly some people drive - some of them how dangerously they drive!

I would recommend anybody to do the advanced driving course as it is such an eye opener.... anybody that thinks they are a good driver now will be amazed at how much more you can learn!

Chris.

[OilBurner]

The only bad thing about improving your own driving is realising just how bad some other people drive. But I believe they're in the minority - just more obvious because of their behaviour.

Most people drive OK, a few are excellent (would like to categorize myself like this, but I make far too many mistakes!) and a few are awful. We tend to notice the few more often. Give a wave of thanks and make allowances to everyone and maybe there'll be more the in excellent category over time.
One thing I did learn a long time ago was that honking at others mistakes, whether real or forced by my aggresive driving doesn't help matters much. Relieves a bit of anger though!

So what is a bad driver? I used to think it was someone who made stupid mistakes or selfish aggressive maneouvers. That's mostly true, but to be a good driver you need to do more than avoid those pitfalls, you need to anticipate and rise above the errors of others too. Easier said than done sometimes!

Anyhow, good luck with the IAM test Chris. I've done it and it was a peice of cake - just drive confidently and sensibly as you've been taught and you'll be fine!
If you choose to do the commentary, make sure you point out every little detail you can see that might inform you about road conditions, what cannot be seen ahead and others intentions.
That demonstrates that your good driving on the day isn't just a fluke and is a genuine skill. I'm sure you've already been told that, just thought it was a key point for me.
Don't worry about making mistakes on the day either. I'm normally superb at reversing but I badly fluffed a reverse into a space on the day in a car park, under pressure. Kicked myself for being such an idiot but still passed!

[spoons]

OK, you really want my opinion with this one...

I passed my drivers license first time, my advanced license first time (member with the institute for 15 years), motorcycle license 1st time and I've been driving since 1985. I ride an 'ace' carbon fibre mountain-bike regularly and am also a 'qualified' pedestrian.

What I have learned.

People are the problem. Everyone drives like a 'complete danger to others' in someone elses opinion. (I could seriously write a book on 'points of view' from road users).

People hate bikes, bikes hate horse Riders, horse riders hate cars, cars hate lorries, and lorries hate everyone (as they spend so much time on the roads, they see everything). The reason why everyone hates everyone else is because although we have 'the law' and the 'highway code' it doesnt account for 'personal circumstances' or 'vehicle type'. This means that we will not allow any 'flexibility' to other road users as in our opinion, they should drive just like us...

Ever heard the prosecution in a court of law, and then been absolutely convinced the defendant is guilty. Only then to hear the defendants side of the story, which then changes your mind... Well the same is with driving, BUT you only ever hear YOUR SIDE of the story, so their always 'guilty as charged' by YOU.

Some people are completely reckless, I agree, but you cannot stop this behaviour and in my opinion its best to keep well away from them when you do spot a tw@t, rather than 'chase' them down the road to invite them into your court of law. Get their number and report them to the police. I do. But they cannot do anything unless they have two witnesses at least.

In my opinion.... the really excellent drivers are always the ones you never notice... even when being a passenger in the same car...

[Ian]

has anyone noticed regional differences in driving attitudes?

Until recently, I used to drive from York to Wigan every day and as i went from one side of the country to the other, I notcied how much more patient and poilte the lancashire drivers seemed to be. They would happliy let you change lane on the MWay or let you out a junction (not all, but certainly the majority). On the return journey, folk tended to generally ignore you and make it harder to correct my own mistakes (wrong lane etc).

anyone else noticed this?

[C19_CJB]

Anyhow, good luck with the IAM test Chris. I've done it and it was a peice of cake - just drive confidently and sensibly as you've been taught and you'll be fine!
If you choose to do the commentary, make sure you point out every little detail you can see that might inform you about road conditions, what cannot be seen ahead and others intentions.
That demonstrates that your good driving on the day isn't just a fluke and is a genuine skill. I'm sure you've already been told that, just thought it was a key point for me.
Don't worry about making mistakes on the day either. I'm normally superb at reversing but I badly fluffed a reverse into a space on the day in a car park, under pressure. Kicked myself for being such an idiot but still passed!

Thanks for the encouragement mate.... starting to get a little nervous now! I have another couple of runs before my test as I need to improve on explaining the 'system' while negotiating a roundabout - don't get me wrong I can drive the 'system' but explaining it while trying to watch everything and get everything right on a roundabout is a bit tricky.... don't ask me why but hopefully I can get it all sorted soon!!

Chris.

[spoons]

has anyone noticed regional differences in driving attitudes?

anyone else noticed this?

I've always noticed....

The further north you go, the more relaxed and polite the drivers get.

The further south you go, the more uptight and impolite the drivers get.

Something to do with personal space & lifestyle I reckon....

[Brocks]

[QUOTE=pte]has anyone noticed regional differences in driving attitudes?[QUOTE]

I was thinking this earlier.

I lived on the Surrey Hants border for a few years and rarely had any issues driving apart from the traffic that is. Sure, getting from A to B was somethimes a bit difficult but everyone was in the same boat and accepted it. Never saw a case of road rage although did still see some careless driving.

Now I commute in the NW, it seams that people are always in a hurry to get from A to B and as there is some space on the roads they can move reasonably quickly. Some people don't like people being in their way. Anger is sky high and I see some one getting shirty with someone else every day. yesterday I was on the recieving end.

People have a view of how the roads should be and if the roads don't meet their expectations there's hell to pay. Patience is a virture...I wish I could work from home!

[MLC]

As a grade 1 Police Adanced driver for nine years, I could go on forever. The two fundementals are anticipation and hazard perception.

The biggest single cause of incidents on our road is lack of anticipation. I regularly sit in friends/family cars and find myself ghost braking 4-5 secs before the driver jams his anchors on.

How often have you been behind a vehicle, approaching a parked car that maintains its line and drives right up to it. It then causes congestion as it trys to get around it. All then needed to do was move over a few feet.

Approaching a bend, see if you can see over hedges etc and see what's around it. Watch the car at the head of the line, rather than just the one in front of you. It goes on forever.....

I'm no saint, but I like to think I'm safe.