Crap Drivers

[studders]

You leave Mrs Dibs-H alone you swine. :lol:

Besides, give it a few days and will turn out to be your fault for not changing the bolt before it broke. I kid you not, I was that soldier. :?

 

[lurker]

You leave Mrs Dibs-H alone you swine. :lol:

Besides, give it a few days and will turn out to be your fault for not changing the bolt before it broke. I kid you not, I was that soldier. :?

+1 ](*,)

 

[Dibs-h]

Chris - if a buzzer went off in the car, the driver would probably sue for sh!tting themselves and having crash. Cars are complicated beasts and do require a modicum of attention whilst driving them.

From driving on the roads it is obvious that there is a portion of folk who have obviously got their driving licenses from collecting Weetabix tokens and shouldn't be in charge of a shopping trolley, let alone a car. We'll all seen them.

Studders - yeah I know what you mean.

Lurker - hopefully with it being an ecu controlled one, hopefully the ecu would shut it down prior to siezure. I haven't yet plugged the laptop in to see what fault codes it's logged.

Got it in pieces at home - bits to collect this afternoon - so should hopefully have it buttoned up this evening. One small part arrives tomorrow - so hopefully get my life back. Till the next episode - no doubt (i.e. whatever is waiting next )

 

[Digit]

My son recently purchased a car from our local breakers, slight frontal damge and an easy repair job. When we came to move it the reason for the damge was somewhat obvious, not a drop of fluid in the brakes and a glaring light on the dash!
Yes the previous owner was a woman!

Roy.

 

[Mike.C]

I can not tell you the sheer level of control it took not to beat the crap out of the car and tell her to fcuk off and get a bus pass! :evil:

IMHO that's totally OTT - I generally get as annoyed as anyone at others' perceived shortcomings but unless it's a blinking light or accompanied by a sound, chances are she didn't see it because she was more concerned about guiding the vehicle safely through the traffic.

With the crowded roads we have and the excess of distracting signage, painted lines and the like, the demand on a driver's concentration is far too high these days and vehicle instrumentation hasn't kept pace.

Just curious Chris. I presume that most of the time, especially in built up areas and around schools etc, you keep to the speed limit. If this is the case then how do you know how fast you are going if you do not glance down at the dash every now and again?
Maybe Dibs was a bit harsh, but IMHO there is no excuse for not keeping an eye on the speedo and the lights surrounding it. A split second is all it takes :wink:
And yes I know that it only takes a split second to hit someone up the rear, but unless you are bumper to bumper crawling along (when there would be no need to look at your speed) you should not be near enough to have an accident that quick.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Lons]

I've got 2 of them..(bloody women that is)

Daughter has a brand new fiesta. Got the car out last week and noticed her tyre was flat with a screw in it. Car has no spare wheel so she drove half a mile for a doc appointment she was late for and then 'phoned me from the carpark to ask what to do. Won't repeat what I said - cost her £70 for a new tyre.
To make matters worse, she left her up-n-over door up...some little t*** passed by and pulled down one corner and sprung the cable off the track so muggins here - at the end of a day's hard work !!!!!!!!

Wife has a mini cooper bought new Sept 2008. Told me a couple of months ago that the "needs a service" light had started to come on.

I said impossible as had done only 13000miles and not 2 years old yet, at which point she got annoyed and words like "you must think I'm stupid" were uttered. My reply "if the cap fits" didn't help much :lol:

Wouldn't believe me when I explained that the light comes on briefly every time you insert the "key fob" and press the start button, telling how many miles to next service. I had to shove the handbook under her nose. Hadn't seen it in 18months of daily driving ffs :!:

Mind - I had a bloody big skip in the drive for 3 months and it was gone for 10 days before she noticed that :roll: ](*,)

 

[Doctor]

My misses is a great driver, she has worn out a set of tyres on my lotus in 6000 miles, is that good or bad!!!

 

[big soft moose]

I've got 2 of them..(bloody women that is)

Daughter has a brand new fiesta. Got the car out last week and noticed her tyre was flat with a screw in it. Car has no spare wheel so she drove half a mile for a doc appointment she was late for and then 'phoned me from the carpark to ask what to do. Won't repeat what I said - cost her £70 for a new tyre.

70 quid for a new tyre ???? on a fiesta ??? - did you mean a new wheel , or does she buy tyres from the same place as my missus :lol:

the last new tyres i had on my focus were 25 quid each

 

[Lons]

70 quid for a new tyre ???? on a fiesta ??? - did you mean a new wheel , or does she buy tyres from the same place as my missus :lol:

the last new tyres i had on my focus were 25 quid each


Yeah but you're supposed to use tyres with tread not s/h bald ones :lol:

That's what it cost her Moose.
I wasn't there but my son went out to help her and he's pretty savvy.

It's one of the new style fiestas with low profile tyres and she wanted a decent match to the others. Car had done only 1000 miles and actually had 2 screws in it

She had to pay for it herself so won't make the same mistake in a hurry.

I wonder sometimes if it's to do with the medical profession. my wife and daughter are both nurses as is my son's fiance' (who is just as bad) and I have a friend who is a modern matron and she's even worse :?

 

[big soft moose]

low profiles explains it - my missus drives an mx5 so she has similar

also i my missus buys brand name pirreli etc from kwikfit (370 notes for four tyres because there was an offer on 4 for the price of 3 when she only needed two ! :roll: thats female logic for you)

mine are generic unbranded standard profile from one of those services that come and fit them for you on site, but still have a decent about of tread left after 20 thousand fast (motorway) miles - and were £125 notes for 5 (including the spare)

come to that the ones on the work truck (nissan 4x4 pick up) were only £210 for four and they are kumo half and half mud pluggers

 

[Digit]

thats female logic for you)

Female logic? Is there such a thing? :lol:

Roy.

 

[matt]

...how do you know how fast you are going if you do not glance down at the dash every now and again?

I agree re the point you were making, however, on the specific point of speed - I kinda just seem to know what speed I'm driving at without having to check the speedometer. In fact I prefer to drive at a speed that feels right for the conditions/surroundings/etc* rather than worry about what the speedometer says.

* Notwithstanding the dangers of advocating this approach to self-proclaimed "good drivers"... (i.e. those that rarely prove to be good in practice and their definition of good centres around speed and their prowess behind the wheel etc) :roll:

 

[big soft moose]

(i.e. those that rarely prove to be good in practice and their definition of good centres around speed and their prowess behind the wheel etc) :roll:

reminds me of the spoof advertising jingle

driving like a ****, wearing a baseball cap - just log on to geezers wheels
driving too fast, right up the ass - just log on to geezers wheels

(there was a lot more but thats all i can remember)

 

[Dibs-h]

Doc - that's slightly high wear, either she thrashes the nuts off your Lotus or leaves the handbrake on slightly - in which case big bills at some point! :wink:

Bleedin dealers - ordered a part on Monday- when I went to pick it up yesterday was told it's on back order - i.e. VAG don't have any in the country & their system isn't clever enough to check in Germany. Bloody jokers!

Have to trundle off to Manchester this afternoon to get a used one - thankfully it's not a stressed or loaded part, so can live with it.

With a bit of luck might get it finished today.

The problem is that driving a car has been so dumbed down that folk think any old muppet is capable when in fact they aren't. If you think I'm wrong - next time you are in the supermarket - have a look around. They have trouble controlling a shopping trolley & you think they're safe behind the wheel of a car?

Not paying attention to the dashboard - imagine the consequences of an engine seizing in the 3rd lane - not for the twit driving, but for the other road users. Or a grinding noise (the type where they say "never noticed that before!") becoming terminal.

Matt - with the PC brigade (i.e. Speed Kills - actually speed doesn't, ****** drivers driving beyond their abilities does amongst others) - in urban areas, you don't really have any other choice than to pay more attention to the speedo than the road - i.e. cameras, etc.

 

[lurker]

Calm down dear, its only a car!

 

[Dibs-h]

Calm down dear, its only a car!

Lurker - it's not the actual car. It's the actual sheer inconvenience, disruption and headache caused not by an accident or an Act of God\fate, but by the ignorance\stupidity of folk who actually think they know better, but don't and when\if this is brought up (no matter how politely\tactfully), they get the hump. I could understand not paying attention or bothering to learn a little about stuff that you do\use once in a blue moon. But something that is a necessity for modern life, has the potential to cause untold damage\kill - actually knowing what bleep\sign\gauge on the dash means wouldn't hurt.

The car itself - I'd be just as happy pushing it into the street, putting a rag into the filler cap and lighting it, as fixing it - seriously.

The only thing stopping that - is getting the bill from the council\Police\Fire Brigade and then having to get another one sorted.

 

[Digit]

you don't really have any other choice than to pay more attention to the speedo than the road - i.e. cameras, etc.

And that IMO is more likely to cause me to ram something than doing what I should be doing, watching the road.

Roy.

 

[lurker]

Dibsy

As you mature (I perceive you are in your 30s) you will realise there are things you can change & things you can't do owt about.

Concentrate on the former & let the latter go over you head.
Saves a lot of stress & wasted energy
Go with the flow matey :wink:

Accept Mrs Dibsy for what she is - I promise you won't change her!

DAMHIKT

 

[matt]

Matt - with the PC brigade (i.e. Speed Kills - actually speed doesn't, ****** drivers driving beyond their abilities does amongst others) - in urban areas, you don't really have any other choice than to pay more attention to the speedo than the road - i.e. cameras, etc.

Is the reference to association to "the PC brigade" intended as derogatory? Obviously it normally is I'm just curious to know whether I've misunderstood a more subtle point. :?

Nevertheless, it has nothing to do with PC - this is just my opinion and one I'm comfortable with. I have a healthy respect for expecting the unexpected. As soon as 2-3tons of metal starts to move it needs to be stopped in a timely manner when presented with an obstacle which may appear with little or no notice (child running out between cars) - so I agree to a point that speed ALONE does not kill. Depending on your proximity to the obstacle reaction time + stopping distance will largely determine your success at missing the obstacle. (So you could be travelling at a speed of 5mph and still hit the child if you only had a few meters distance to the point where the child appeared). I'm not arrogant enough to be absolutely sure and rely on my reaction times alone to always be on the button - I like to build in some margin - balancing a reasonable pace against the potential risks as I perceive them. Too many drivers appear to measure potential risk with a bias toward likelihood rather than possibility. For example, belting up a residential street lined with cars - it's unlikely that a child will run out. Given that likelihood is low many drivers correlate a period of driving without incident as ability. Odd when you consider so many people enter the lottery - going from relying on a one in a million NOT happening to believing that a one in a million really could happen - it's odd how people shift their values mechanism to justify their actions.

Driving is a very personal thing IMO. People need to satisfy themselves that if the have the misfortune to, for example, kill a child who runs out then they were not being an idiot. I think we all work to different barometers - some people's will relieve themselves of blame because they were not driving over the speed limit, whereas my barometer is more attuned to behaving in socially aware way with a keen eye on the real priorities in life rather than worrying about being late for work or simply adhering to the law.

I'm not a saint when it comes to driving but I do know when I'm being a tit and always try to be better.

 

[Argee]

I'm not a saint when it comes to driving but I do know when I'm being a tit and always try to be better.

That's a good attitude, Matt! Some people think that driving is a right, whereas it's a licensed privilege, subject to suspension or removal. Nowadays, with all the technological distractions that are legal - CD, radio, MP3 players, hands-free mobiles, etc. it's an ever-increasing challenge, so anticipation of the actions of other road users, especially those wearing headphones, becomes key.

I don't know why it is, but hardly anyone seems to be able to do anything nowadays without wearing headphones - I doubt that they realise the risk they're taking in traffic, especially with hybrid vehicles in town being very quiet.

Anything that requires skill and co-ordination needs constant attention and concentration, but I wonder how many have driven over a stretch of their journey and have no later recollection of it? That's symptomatic of being on "auto-pilot," a scary but not uncommon state to get in, in ever-increasing traffic.

Keep practising!

Ray