The real problem is that almost anyone is able to get a driving license - eventually, while only about 50% are sufficiently intelligent or temperamentally suited to be in charge of a motor vehicle.
The imminent arrival of driverless cars raises some important issues. A lot of people use driving as an expression of personal freedom. Possibly the daily commute is the only time when they feel totally in control of their lives, which could explain their impatience when they encounter any impediment to their free use of the road. Maybe, when the car takes away our ability to control our own destiny, we will all have to use simulators to work out our frustrations.
Sorry to say, Barry, if you run up the back of someone, it has to be your fault. But the instructor should have checked the mirror before insisting on an emergency stop. Jumping the lights on the amber could have been a better decision in that case.
If you are on two wheels, all the cards are stacked against you. All the old bikers I know are observant, defensive riders who are aware of braking distances and are always looking for escape routes in case they get into trouble.
I think it was age/fatigue , the break is in a totally straight line , and the exposed metal appears to be "Fossilised" . Thousands of Suzuki 750 cc Intruders are still running, the model has been in production since the 1980s , so I am at a loss there. The bike is a write off due to the forks/headstock damage ...I got what I paid for it 8 years ago ...well done Matmut and am looking for a new Baby !
You would never be disrespectful. Firstly I totally agree, some cyclists appear to have no common sense or respect for rules of the road. They appear to defy drivers and take up the whole road as if to make some perverse and dangerous point about their rights. Not all of the drivers are French either. Recently an older English driver in Spain, in a moment of absent mindedness (if that's a word), defaulted to the left lane and ploughed head on into a group of riders coming the other way on a bend. I have ridden 1000s of KM, raced on open and closed roads. I have have my share of bumps and fractures. One thing is clear to me now at my advanced age, we must slow down and respect each other.
With respect David, cyclists can be very dangerous too. I passed a group riding four abreast on the other side of the road with one on my side at the same time. I canāt imagine the carnage if one of your so called mad French drivers came upon them when I did. Fortunately I was going at a speed where I could stop because the four on the other side made this necessary to prevent ploughing into all of them. They were clearly blissfully unaware of the danger they were placing themselves in apart from anyone else.So I donāt think it is always motorists at fault.
I found a way to get rid of tailgaters without them overtaking you and then slamming on their brakes.
If you weave about slightly, 90% of the time they back off as this gives the impression that you're drunk and they don't want to be that close to a drunk driver. They then think they have the moral high ground and don't get aerated with you.
Or you can try this one if you're not in a hurry, just back of the throttle ever so slowly so that your speed drops away and then see how long it takes them to realise you've slowed down. This has the effect of reducing the speed to match the distance between your vehicle and his.
Of course it goes without saying that road conditions, traffic flow need to suit this behaviour .I.E not doing 100KPH on an autoroute
One of the features of statistics, is they have to be viewed long term before a trend can be seen. Also they exhibit clusteringā¦ the London bus phenomenon, you wait ages for one and not a single bus comes, then three come together.
A feature of those who use statistics to āproveā their point (justify taxes or grants or their existance) is they use them selectively.
I can sum it up quite easily: drink driving is very common, no stopping at āstopā signs, passing through red traffic lights (Iāve seen them weave between crossing pedestrians), driving too fast and too close, using mobilesā¦ I could go on.
Absolutely agree with you Paul! The congestion on UK roads was enough to raise the suicide level before we came here in September. Getting stuck in an endless traffic jam on the M6 or the M25 was normal and no way of avoiding if you had to drive at certain times.
I love every time I go out in my car here. Sure there are some idiots but in general the driving experience has been renewed for me in the best possible way.
āyou cannot factor in a brake lever snapping,ā
Don't wish to upset you, but you have to ask why on earth it snapped ?.
There are plenty of bikes are still running around with 50 year old steel levers working fine. So to be only 25 years old it is possible it was made of Alloy, and broke either because of previous damage (crack propagation) or aging/fatigue.
If it is fatigue, then the rest of the bike will be in similar shape, and potentially dangerous and only fit for the scrap yard.
Lastly, if it were a very cheaply made bike with lots of nasty Alloy/Crudite castings, then get rid of it now as its only going to fail again.
When in UK I drove 1000 miles a wek (!) with my work - we moved to France 12 years ago and I was immediately struck with how bad the driving was compared to UK.
When we go back to UK several times a year and join 3 solid lanes of traffic on the UK motorways I am again impressed by the overall standard of driving in UK compared to France.
When French Autoroutes are really crowded during the busy holiday weekends there are always massive pile ups - mainly in my opinion because they drive too close to the vehicle in front.
It must be because they are taught/encouraged to do that!
I used to be bothered by these idiot drivers in the Var but now I ignore their antics, light flashing and horn honking and pray that they only kill themselves.
Lack of anticipation and overall awareness(consideration?) of other road users?
Many French drivers seem to have no conception of potential danger. Like Richard I don't think UK drivers can afford to 'sit on their laurels' but I do think it must be something to do with how they (the French) are taught.
Hanging on to the bumper especially of lorries before overtaking when they have a very limited forward view and the habit of taking up an overtaking position even when no opportunity exists.
I've got used to it and we often play a little 'game' when driving to see when how late and how dangerous the following car will begin his/her manoeuvre. I am constantly slowing down when being overtaken to ensure that the 'overtake' is completed safely.
Mobile phones I think has a lot to do with more accidentsā¦what did we go before thus, and what is sooo important you cannot either wait or pull in yo the triad ride?
Recently driving on the A51(near Aix-en-Provence) a young woman was texting in the outside lane? Seriously! The sad thing about accidents, that one thing is that the driver might have a death wish, but sadly their bad driving of course often involves many moreā¦
Not sure if itās just me, but why is it that French drivers drive right up your backside and hover there, dangerously, until you can move into the middle or inside lane, despite they can see you have often several cars in front of you?
Why have the French never ever been taught how to drive around roundabouts, I am stunned when I actually see cars indicating where they are going, as it does not happen often in Provence!
Mine was a D reg so it must have had the sliding windows. Perhaps they were one of the few parts that worked properly, and I donāt remember them. I have a modern mini now, in the same off white as my first one. Good carā¦no rustā¦less fun though.
Yes that's right Alexander, it wasn't metal but a kind of felt/metal compound type stuff with a plasticy finish if I recall. Water poured in, even when the sun shone ! The battery was behind the drivers seat between the rear wheel arch and the drivers car door. It was a death trap to say the least. The final insult to the vehicle was the installation of an eight track machine which was more valuable than the mini van ! The eight track ate virtually every tape I had...
I enjoy driving in France a whole lot more than driving in the UK because the roads that I drive on are much quieter than in the UK. Something to do with France being a much larger country and (possibly) the same number of cars spread out. Also the pay as you go autoroutes split the motoring public between 'pay for quick and easy' & 'I'm not paying to drive on french roads' factions.
The foibles of driving habits and regulations are different but no less frustrating in either country.
UK families now have 3-4 cars per household, suburban streets are blocked solid with parked cars, and front gardens are almost a thing of the past!
A neighbour in France flew in to Bristol airport, hired a car and drove to Cardiff to watch an international rugby match. The volume of traffic alone resulted in him swearing that he would never come to the UK again!!
On average I can complete the 340 miles from Caen (Ouistreham) to the Dordogne in 6 hours. It can easily take 6 hours+ to drive the 250 miles from Wiltshire to Manchester.
