I’m an old man

[Primus1]

Many years ago I used to be frustrated driving behind some old fella tootling along in his car, today , whilst driving at 20 mph over speed humps so as not to cause too much stress to the suspension components, a yoof in a Nissan overtook me, driving off at well over 20, then, some berk in a merc decided I should proceed onto the roundabout whilst cars were still entering, yes, I was indicating to turn left and the cars coming from the right were going straight on, but, being old, I always thought you gave way to traffic from your right on a roundabout, so, the merc driver decided to pip at me to encourage me to move off..even yesterday I was overtaken by not one, but two audiots who decided that me travelling at 50mph on a country road wasn’t fast enough, either that or they  like the look of the front of my cross in their rear view mirror, they did have plenty of time to study it whilst they waited at the traffic lights as I drove up behind them, so that’s it, I’m officially an old git who tootles along annoying everyone who has the misfortune to be behind me, frustrating the hell out of them, looks like karma has caught up with me…….and I bl##dy love it..!!.

[Big_D]

And I thought I was the only one.

[Mjolinor]

8 minutes ago, Big_D said:

And I thought I was the only one.

Nah, there's at least 5 million, I have one in front of me every time I go anywhere.

[Big_D]

3 minutes ago, Mjolinor said:

I have one in front of me every time I go anywhere

No, it's either Primus1 or myself. We're stalking you

[Primus1]

Where can I buy a Panama hat from, and will the load cover take the weight..?

[Rhymes with Paris]

There is mention of a grumpy old mens section on here.

Where do I apply?

But then again,bad, inconsiderate driving in any make of car is a bit of a pain, and always has been.

It's the general deterioration in attitude towards others that accentuates this, the me me me line of thinking that permeates all aspects of life in the last few years.

The old truth of treat others as you would wish to be treated isn't a bad way of living,or indeed driving.

Sadly, this is a cat that escaped the bag a long while ago , and I fear, one that won't be ever reinstated.

The good side is that there are still plenty that want to do the right thing, and do so.

 

 

 

[Xanadu_999]

26 minutes ago, Primus1 said:

Where can I buy a Panama hat from...

You'll need some stringback driving gloves to go with that hat.

[twintopp]

being 73 i guess i would be classed as an old whatever, but i still love to rag it on country / moor roads and vary rarely hold anybody up, though only when conditions allow, yes i may be a little more careful than in my youth but still love driving and not dawdling .

[Mjolinor]

Well I'm 70 in a few months and I am there with you. That is why ABS, traction control, hill assist and all the rest of the crap is disabled on my Smart car. I like to drive it and do not like it driving me. 🙂

 

[Bper]

"You know you're getting older when your back goes out more often than you do!"😂

[Perfection]

I always feel that if you drive a small car, you get bullied. I used to drive a Yaris I always being pushed from behind driving on A roads even at reasonable speed. But on the Verso, this bullying has stopped. 

[Hadrian1]

18 minutes ago, Perfection said:

I always feel that if you drive a small car, you get bullied. I used to drive a Yaris I always being pushed from behind driving on A roads even at reasonable speed. But on the Verso, this bullying has stopped. 

I find the same, depending whether  I'm driving the Yaris or Rav4

[PeteChat]

5 hours ago, Xanadu_999 said:

You'll need some stringback driving gloves to go with that hat.

oh damn! - not only am I just like Primus but I also own a couple of Panama hats AND a pair of string back driving gloves 👨🏻‍🦳😂😂

[Primus1]

I’m of an age where pulling an all nighter means not getting up to go to the toilet…

[Corollanutter]

20 minutes ago, Primus1 said:

I’m of an age where pulling an all nighter means not getting up to go to the toilet…

I'm with you there....

[Haliotis]

What are you youngsters complaining about.  I’ve recently turned 89 - I don’t dawdle, never ignore the speed limit, but can’t honestly say I don’t exceed it accidentally ( has happened on a good clear road if I haven’t glanced at my speedometer for some time).  I still drive on motorways and often at peak times.  Regardless of the clowns we all seem to meet on the roads, I like to think that my driving experience keeps me able to deal with the various situations that occur.  Yep, I may grumble some times but what the heck, I’m only human (I think) so I just carry on with the hand of cards with which life has dealt me.   Let’s all have a good day - and many of them! 

[Eddiefh]

I’ve noticed over last year I’ve been getting over taken on round abouts I’ll be in correct lane but something German or white that transports goods will be in wrong lane going same exit as me but overtakes mid roundabout then pulls infront of me 

[Haliotis]

3 hours ago, Eddiefh said:

I’ve noticed over last year I’ve been getting over taken on round abouts I’ll be in correct lane but something German or white that transports goods will be in wrong lane going same exit as me but overtakes mid roundabout then pulls infront of me 

Haven’t we all witnessed this?  Drivers familiar to an area will use the lanes to suit themselves - getting to the “front” being the prime aim above all else.   I blame the planners - painting white lines and road numbers in the naive belief that drivers will adhere to them.

One thing I enjoyed when driving in France was thee absence of lane markings on roundabouts.  I used to stay in inside lane, with indicators showing my intended circumnavigation, then changing my signal for the next exit that I intended to take.  Worked every time, with or without caravan in tow, and refreshingly relaxing.

[Mjolinor]

 

Roundabout are a good example of the rules being ill-defined. The highway code simply says "give way to traffic from the right" but the road traffic act says "give way to traffic on the roundabout" (which is usually from the right).

The former is dangerous but the latter is correct. There is no need, legally, to give way to traffic approaching the roundabout from the right but few people seem to know this.

I once had to educate a lady police officer in the correct rules after she pulled me up for entering a roundabout when she was approaching it. She got extremely anti but her co pilot maneuvered her back to her car and on her way.

 

[Primus1]

Problem I’ve found with the cross, ( and probably Yaris too) is that, because the fuel economy is so good I tend not to floor it too much so as to maintain said economy ( 68mpg atm) ..

[Cyker]

I have the opposite problem!  

I think Wow this is so economical it'll barely make a difference if I FULL POWER OVERTAKE GO GO GO   

That does make getting the car into the 80's a lot harder though...

Just refuelled, 407 miles, 24.8ish litres used. Would have been better but for the hard overtakes and also got stuck in a weird and very long jam on the A5 on the weekend before I ended up taking a bizarre and needlessly out of the way, but surprisingly fun hoony detour through a load of B-roads...  ... until we all got stuck behind a tractor.  

On a related tangent, did anyone else see gantry signs saying the M1 was closed between junctions 16 and 18 on the weekend? I went on the A5 to bypass it but then later found there were no notices of the closure or indications of the closure on google maps, and I'm now wondering if it was a hoax...!  

 

[Haliotis]

18 hours ago, Mjolinor said:

 

Roundabout are a good example of the rules being ill-defined. The highway code simply says "give way to traffic from the right" but the road traffic act says "give way to traffic on the roundabout" (which is usually from the right).

The former is dangerous but the latter is correct. There is no need, legally, to give way to traffic approaching the roundabout from the right but few people seem to know this.

I once had to educate a lady police officer in the correct rules after she pulled me up for entering a roundabout when she was approaching it. She got extremely anti but her co pilot maneuvered her back to her car and on her way.

 

Either recommendation is misleading, but I would prefer “give way to traffic from the right” as a basis for safety.  The margins for safety also vary according to the speed limit of the road involved - e.g., one would allow more give way room to an approaching vehicle on a 50mph road than on a 30mph.

”Give way to traffic on the roundabout” is nonsensical, since this can vary from a vehicle from the right already entering the “give way” driver’s trajectory of travel, to it being some distance away depending on visibility around the roundabout - on a wide roundabout with good visibility it is often safe to proceed even if there is a vehicle approaching from one’s right, because that vehicle may have other entries/exits to negotiate before it reaches the “give way” driver’s entry to the roundabout.

Driving instructions, HC or RTA, are not set in stone - they do incur some degree of common sense interpretation.  For instance, a green light does not mean one can go ahead regardless - the rule states that “you can proceed if it is safe to do so”.

I was once nearly brought down by having to brake hard on a motor scooter at a pedestrian crossing, because the school crossing guide interpreted to 5 yard studs on the approach to the crossing as requirement-to-stop indicator, when in fact they were a limit to how close traffic could park near the crossing.  He stubbornly refused to accept my correcting him and said he would be reporting me.   I heard no more so, if he did, the police possibly told him the same reasons for the studs as I had tried to convey.

[Mjolinor]

I reported one last week. Lights flashing on the signs so 20MPH, car in front of me turning right anyway. Just the lollipop man in sight, no pedestrians. When I got maybe two yards from him he jumped out. Full on emergency stop needed. Windows were open so I asked him why he did that his reply was "you were going too fast" and that was it. Got it on Dashcam and I was clearly doing less than 15 MPH if that.

Apparently he thought he was able to determine my speed from the pavement and considered part of his job was to stop people he thought were going too fast.

 

 

[Haliotis]

Worrying thing, John, is that had you not been able to stop in time before you hit him, you would possibly be held to blame for any injuries he received, rather than he being charged with reckless behaviour.   Unless you have a Dashcam and the police were savvy enough to study it. Also a cause for concern is that this person is being trusted to ensure children cross in safety.

[Cyker]

Yikes they better not come down here - There've been many incidents of drivers just ignoring them and nearly knocking them over or actually knocking them over down here, such is the quality and temperament of our drivers down here