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yeah must be a real mongrel
I am going out to find some grumpy old git to tailgate then I am going to pass him and chop in front so he has to hit his brakes.
Maybe I should do it to a copper to prove Dans point about idiots drawing attention to themselves.
Studley
silent,Quote:
Originally Posted by silentC
At my work, a work colleague who was a driving instructor for a car club explained to 2-second gap in greater detail. He talked about the dynamic and static safety zones (my terminology - the driving instructor may have used different terms).
The 2-second gap is the dynamic safety zone (i.e. leave a 2 second gap between you and the next car). If someone is tailgating you (i.e. not allowing a 2 second gap), then what you do is add their 2 seconds on to your dynamic safety zone - i.e. you open up your safety zone to 4 seconds. This allows you to gently brake if sometime untold should happen ahead and allows the person tailgating a chance to brake without hitting you.
The static safety zone was used when stopping behind another car. The guideline allow sufficient space so that you can see the where the (rear) tyres of the car in front are in contact with the road. This gap is to ensure that you can manoeuver your car out of the lane should you find the car ahead connot move, or if someone behind looks like running into the back of your car.
Chris
Not a bad option Chris but who's got time to think about all of that stuff. All you have to do is turn on your rear fog lamps when they're really close then watch the blue smoke as they lock up their front wheels:o :eek: :eek: :D
If you're really stupid (no comment on my qualification here) you can brake test them properly with a quick dab on the brakes and then hit the accelerator:eek:
HH.
They do it all the time. Usually scares the poop out of me. ESPECIALLY when they are going 25 MPH faster than the traffic in either lane.Quote:
Originally Posted by gregoryq
BTW - Lane splitting (As it is called here) is completely legal. I would assume that it is legal in Australia also. The wording in the vehicle code is something like this: A vehicle overtaking another vehicle must use the traveled portion of the highway. (i.e. It is illegal to use the sholder or center median for the purpose of over taking.)
There are two rules that apply.Quote:
Originally Posted by ozwinner
1) The vehicle that LEGALLY enters the intersection first has the right of way.
2) The key words 'Provided that it is safe to do so' also apply.
In this case the motocycle had the green light so he was in the intersection legally. The car making the right turn on red violated the motorcycle's right of way AND made the right turn when it was unsafe.
On two counts, the car was at fault. HOWEVER, should they have collided the motorcycle rider probably would have been dead. (60 KPH on a bike, hitting a virtually motionless vehicle.) Fault really doesn't matter much, dead is dead.
To add further confusion about turning on red. There are some places that legally permit a left turn on a red light if you are turning FROM a one way street into another one way street. The one way street that you are turning into must be one way from right to left from your perspective.
Aren't you allowed to turn left on red?Quote:
Originally Posted by ozwinner
Only if there is signposted permission to do so.
At least, that is the case in NSW. Could be completely different in other parts of the country.
I have attended some rather spectacular motorcycle accidents and I am amazed at how resilient some riders are:
Dandenong. Drug crazed moron doing monos, rear ends stationary Toyota Hilux 4WD at approx 160kph, major leg and internal injuries but lives.
I had to interview him in gaol re his claim, he thought he had won lotto until I explained that everything was based on loss of earnings and earnig potential, never had a job in his life and was a crim.
Not a happy camper when he found out he was getting nothing except his medical bills.
Motorcycle accident in Doncaster, bike comes over rise at approx 180kph and into side of brand new Mercedes performorming right turn, driver said way was clear when he proceeded and bike came out of nowhere.
Rider has a flying lesson, broken shoulder, broken legs, Mercedes is a write off (as was bike).
I used to ride a bike but had too many close calls, never came off on the road (once in the dirt but that was my fault and was only embarrassing).
Same here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Felder
Al :)
Yep. Not allowed in Victoria, or Queensland yet I believe but it's still 1982 there :rolleyes: and could take a while (insert ducking for cover emoticon)Quote:
Originally Posted by Felder
I believe it was first trialled in 'Straya in WA.
Anyone from WA able to confirm?
It's a great law. I travel the US lots and I love it.
Some time ago when I lived in Johannesburg I attended a BMW sponsored 1/2 day advanced driving couse on BMW's own skid-pan and tuition grounds in the mid-Rand.
I enjoyed it so much that I signed up for a full five day advanced course.
This was really intensive stuff as well as being both informative and fun.
To 'pass' one had to have retained 95 points or more from an allocated 100. Errors such as resting an elbow on the door cost a point. Stopping too close to the car in front at a traffic light (where one couldn't see the car in front's rear tyres on the road) cost two points. Any traffic infringement of any kind meant an instant fail.
I got 97.
The reward - the last half day on the skid pan and doing some defensive driving on private roads - Whooooo!
I like to think that all of the above made me a better driver and, above all, a safer one.
So when I see you bearing down on me at 200kms per hour, Ill know Im alright.Quote:
Originally Posted by Auld Bassoon
Al :p :D
In Western Australia you only turn left on a red light if there is a green arrow displayed.
You can never turn right or left on a red light without the arrow.
Macca
Al! how could you possible say that :eek: I never, ever, exceed the maximum speed of whatever I'm driving :DQuote:
Originally Posted by ozwinner
BTW, now that I'm NOT is RSA, I used to drive from Johannesburg to Cape Town fairly regularly. About 1610KM - call it 12 hours +/- 5 mins - would set the cruise control at 240Km/H through the Great Karoo (yes, there really is a region with that name:eek: ) 850+Km of largely nothing...
BTW2 When I first arrived in Johannesburg, it was perfectly legal to use the hard shoulder to overtake, and overtaking was legal on either side - made for some interesting highway runs.....
sounds like the nullaborQuote:
Originally Posted by Auld Bassoon
Now that I don't commute to work through peak hour my general stress level is pretty much set at Nil.
Lets see, what used to annoy me:
the pull into the 2 second space morons,
the pull into that space between the truck and the car in front morons,
idiots that get on the horn when I'm at the front at a red light and won't turn left illegally,
the bloke behind me that lit up his tyres cause I would not go through the red light,
the people that travel in the right lane doing 10km less than the speed limit,
Mr P-plater who cuts across 3 lanes to find a 2 second safety zone to get into,
Trucks trying to avoid running up the &&&& of idiots that pulled in front of them and then stopped,
Fools that use "driving lights",
4WD's with incorrectly adjusted lights,
Unsecured loads on the Western Ring road.
Theres more.... but not no more :D
How about reaction times that need to be measured with a sun dial.
1. Melbourne drivers (an oxymoron, perhaps?) see a traffic light change to green; think "hmm, maybe I should start moving soon, oh! It's gone amber again...)
2. People who think that they have they god bothering right to make whatever lane changes they like, when they like, just because they've flashed their indicator for a couple of blinks...
I'll go now. :D
This one happened Sunday night.
Driving down a 110km freeway at 9pm, on cruise control, doing exactly 109kms. Car slowly catching me from behind but well clear, in right lane. I am in left lane approaching a car doing maybe 10kms less than I.
Just as I put my finger on the indicator to overtake the car in front, it changes lanes to the right lane. Not sure what it was doing, I stay in left lane on the cruise control. The car in the right lane behind me slows and changes to get in behind me as I am now level with the car and overtaking.
The car beside me then accelerates hard and pulls in front of me and brakes! I am forced to brake and the car behind me accellerates and overtakes, blocking any exit I had on the right. I brake harder then pull immediately behind the overtaking vehicle. The dunce in the left lane then accellerates and stays level with the car that overtook me, they then go to about 120kms until the driver in the right lane really guns it. The dunce then backs right off, lets me pass then goes on high beam.
I flicked my mirror to night,engaged the cruise control again and nudged up to 111kms so I could slowly leave the dill behind.
What was it about? No idea. My lights were on low beam, I'd approached steadily and was not exceeding the limit. The other driver was also behaving lawfully and carefully (except I wished he hadn't overtaken me when I needed the room). Within ten seconds the fool had endangered four people's lives for no apparent reason.
I can only suspect drugs or alchohol.
Only drugs or alcohol?
I'd say he was just an id10t myself.
Uhh folks, don't drive here. Trust me on this.
I don't usually drive during peak hours, and this is a small city (kinda like Adelaide, a little smaller though) but the number of morons amazes me.
People don't look, don't think and don't even try to drive sensibly. It's common to see some halfwit who is $#!* terrified to drive at a sensible speed (like 30 in a 50 zone) proceed to run a red light. Like 5 seconds worth of red.
I came home about 1AM last night, and was doing 60 in a 50 zone most of the way home, I was the slowest car on the road, and yes I was driving in the right lane because I was sure some nimrod was going to run a red light and figured a lane of space might give me a sporting chance.
Many times some cornhole will tailgate me. Tailgate here means you can see the back of their head they are so close. If they become obnoxious about it, I will brake test them. Not a gentle dab at the stop pedal, I mean ABS invoking emergency stop stuff. Still waiting for someone to get out and have a word to me. Should be fun, I think I'll break their keys off in the ignition and fling them somehwere.
I should keep a list, or maybe set up a video camera in the car. Could make a fortune selling tapes of nutjobs running around here.
Seems to be that because I am not one of them (I do stop for red lights, stop signs and other minor traffic annoyances) I notice it all the more.
On second thought, if you could come here Dan and sort them out. Please?
Maybe I should become a cop, I think I'd have heaps of fun.
Still don't feel any better after that though. I still have to go out there and face those demons tonight, and what's worse is that my wife will be in the car too. My only release (screaming at them in paint peeling language) is denied to me.
Well, at least she is starting to see how stoopid they are too. It's a start... :mad:
Both these bring back memories. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Clinton1
My bros-in-law used to haul honeycomb rocks from Melb's western suburbs to garden supplies in an old Dodge tipper and dog-trailer. About 60 tons all up. Stopped at the lights over the bridge, he'd just started pulling away when some moron in an MG sports (I think... 'twas a long time ago) tried pulling in between the truck and dog!! :eek:
My BIL showed me some photos after the event, let's just say the MG was beyond panel-beating. ;) Pity it wasn't LH drive, then the idiot would've been a prime candidate for the Darwin Awards.
We get a few idiot drivers around here, on average 3 cars a fortnight go off the edge of the Kuranda range road. This has a high potential for serious injury or death. There's idiots that drive it at 40km/h and then madly accelerate on the overtaking stretches causing the traffic to bank up behind them, like 30 or so cars and trucks.
The road I live on is semi-rural and there's a section about 1km away that has a long straight with an off-camber 45deg bend in it. A few times now I've half woken to the screech of brakes (it's very quiet here and sounds really carry at night) followed by that unmistakeable "scrunch" of a car making high speed contact with an immovable object. I usually just half wake, make a mental note "oh, just another ####head driver making an offroad excursion", then roll over and go back to sleep. And before anyone gets upset at me for not checking on the accident victims, There's about 20 houses closer to the site than ours and I do my bit for the idiots in our community by putting out fires that they've lit in scrub right next to their houses etc so I feel absolutely no need to get out of bed a 3am to see what some drunken or drug addled idiot has done to themself.:p
Mick
I have nearly had so many accidents at roundabouts it is not funny.
The reason for this: I approach the roundabout looking to the right, I see the way is clear and look forward again ready to proceed through, only to find that the idiot in front of me has stopped to make sure the road is clear to the right:mad:
Another gripe is cars taking off from traffic lights.
Why does everybody need the car in front of them to move 5 or 10 metres before they decide to move?
It's simple, everybody watches the light, when it turns green you watch the car 2 or 3 in front of you, when it starts to move, you move.
People say "but then I will hit the car in front of me", but if he has done the same thing your way will be clear and it won't take a couple of light changes to get through the intersection.
And then of course I hate those people that sit in the right hand lane doing a touch below the speed limit, MOVE OVER:mad:
That is nearly as bad as two cars sitting next to each other doing the same speed and not letting others through.
I also hate the red arrows, I am able to make a decision whether it is safe to turn left or right, I don't need an arrow to tell me so.
Not only should young drivers be taught road rules and defensive skills, they should be taught how to improve traffic flow and be a courteous driver.
Cheers, Jack
Consider yourself sworn in as a special constable. Go get 'em Tiger...:rolleyes: :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Schtoo
Dan
Thats easy, you just slow down untill the reduced speed causes the gap to become 2s. On the highway at 100 I have been down to 60 pleanty of times before they got the idear to pass. May not be practical in heavy trafic though.Quote:
Originally Posted by silentC
:D Good one. Takes all kinds doesn't it.Quote:
idiot in a MG....tried pulling in between the truck and dog
I feel sorry for the truckies trying to get out of Melbourne and having fools seeing their stopping zone space as an invitation to "get ahead" in traffic. When I was commuting I'd see at least one truck a day trying not to lock up their brakes and hit the idiot that pulled in front of them. Usually see the car driver mouthing off at the truckie too.
I was getting so stirred up that I was heading toward doing something stupid..... now I just walk 30 meters and I'm at work. Probably just as well.
Thoughts of a fire extinguisher filled with paint stripper, or dog poo mixed with water did enter my mind :D
Great hijack this one!
Heaps of fun or possibly an embolism...
I couldn't handle the fuit loops, I tend to have a very low tolerance for blatant stupidity.
Except for my own that is. ;)
A bit over 10 years ago i waas driving home on the parkway in canberra and i had a 4wd tailgating me. I was just about to do the old brake test when i saw that there was an MG between the 4wd and the back of my car! that would have probably been disatrous there cant have been more than 300 mm between the mg and either of the other cars. instead i just slowly eased off the accelerator. i got down to about 10km/h before these idiots got the ideahttp://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...cons/icon9.gifhttp://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...cons/icon9.gifQuote:
Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!
Please realise that not all these twats are youngsters, my father frightens the Bejesus out of me. He hates all truckdrivers with a passion, "the barstards all want to go everywhere at 100kph" is his complaint, the limit here is 110..... his reaction if some barstard trucky passes him when he is doing 80 - 90 kph ( that's as fast as anyone need travel!") is to pass them, he will do 160kph to manage this! Then get in front and jump on his brakes! The silly old bugger will not only kill himself and Mum but probably others as well. He just has no idea of any others needs on the road, it is there solely for him and his bloody caravan. Oh, and while I'm on him and the van, he hates towing mirrors, "they are so ugly and they can vibrate you know." so he doesn't fit them, to see behind, if it should ever become necessary, he just saws the steering wheel and makes the van sway a bit till he can see past it......:eek: :eek: :eek:
Back in the eighties, when my old Gran was in her late eighties :rolleyes: , she had to do an annual driving test (think it was annual, might not have been). Anyways, she lived in Renmark and drove and old, blue Austin that she'd had since new (1950's model). She passed her test and mentioned to the terrified copper that she was thinking of buying a new car. He said to her: "Ivy, if you buy a new car, I'm taking away your licence. You know your old car and how it works and everyone else in Renmark knows it and knows to get out of your way.":D
She was a terror. Some years before that, she was driving me out to the Renmark hospital to visit someone. The hospital is on a long straight ... on a normal two lane road (one each way). About 100 metres from the entrance, she turns on her indicator (fair enough), then pulls into the right hand lane ready to do the turn :eek: Remember, this is the lane that has oncoming traffic ... which was doing the oncoming bit:eek: She calmly turned into the hospital in plenty of time (I still reckon the other bloke slowed down) but considering she went out there nearly every day, how often did she used to pull that stunt?
Grand old lady my Gran. I miss her:(
Richard
I think I used to car pool with your Dad's brother. He would get in the right hand lane going over the Westgate bridge and sit on 10 km under the limit. When people undertook and cut in front of him ('cuz they were ticked off) he used that as justification to block them "they're idiots anyway and need to slow down before they kill someone". He didn't seem to understand that these were 'normal' people he was driving crazy! Three trips was all I could handle so I bailed on the carpool thing - waaayyyy too stressful and I knew there was trouble waiting to happen.Quote:
Originally Posted by Christopha
He got snotty when I tried to explain why people behaved that way "they always behave like that!" was his answer.
For that, there's always the penalty notice book...:DQuote:
Originally Posted by Schtoo
Do I get a flashy light on the roof too?
Heeeeeey, can I get a gun too? Can I can I can I?
On second thought, scratch that. I'd end up using the gun more often than the book...
Interesting note. Yesterday there was a little incident about 3kms down the road. Seems some Yakuza fella decided he didn't like some newspaper editor, so the Yakuza shot him. Only winged the paper guy apparently.
The shooter went to the local Police station and turned himself in, all of 2 hours later. :confused:
If the shooter didn't turn himself in, there's a good chance he'd still be running around right now, and possibly never nabbed. Kinda explains just how things are here in that regard really. :(
Luckily, this kinda stuff happens rarely, so it's not too bad, but it is getting worse.
Just don't ask about the road toll... :eek: :eek: :eek:
Living in a place with good roads and a government wedded to revenue raisers (speed cameras, I think they are called), I really love those people who, in peak hour traffic on a road with 100k limit "want you in the left lane, now!!!" because you are doing the speed limit and they want to do 10k (or whatever they think is a safe 'I wont be booked by the speed camera for that little over the limit' ) over it.
The fact that you'd need a can opener, a prybar and a bit of luck to get your car into the left lane never seems to worry them. (Canberra drivers aren't the best when it comes to letting people merge in in front of them...but they are good at chrome swapping because they are driving too close to the car in front).
I also wonder at the reasoning skills of our local members...they introdce more speed cameras, and the road toll goes up...so the solution is...add more speed cameras!! Maybe they need to focus their efforts on other behaviours...? Oh, of course not, there are no automated 'driving too close to the vehicle in front' cameras. Silly me, I forgot that life saving initiatves have to be kept revenue positive. Pardon me while I slap myself upside the head. Nice to know what your life is worth.