Incredibly dangerous driving

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Incredibly dangerous driving

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ... | 12

18435 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#1203040 24-Dec-2014 08:39

mdooher:
Geektastic: As far as I know, NZ is one of few countries where passing on the inside is actually legal.

My driving instructor back in the UK (where it is most certainly NOT legal) used to tell me it was called undertaking because it would kill you...!

Even here, I won't do it, so deeply does my training prevent it.

Yes but in those other countries the keep left (or right) rule is policed properly. See how long you keep your licence if hold up traffic in the fast lane in Germany.

Ever noticed when diving in Europe/UK that if some one hasn't noticed you behind them and you flash your lights they WILL actually move out of your way?

I don't think the fact that the "flash your lights" switch on your car is actually called the "pass" switch has even registered with most Kiwi drivers.

Agreed, too many Drivers here believe they need to defend their patch of road. I see no point in it I will let other drivers pass when ever I can and it does not affect my journey at all. Actually it does affect it, it makes it less stressful and more enjoyable.

majoco

18 posts

Geek

#1203044 24-Dec-2014 08:56

IMHO the driving test in NZ is still too easy, despite being tightened up a couple of years ago. I took quite a few professional driving lessons in the UK in the 60's as well as driving with a qualified driver before I was deemed 'competent' to take the test by my instructor. In the UK they teach you how to drive the car under all sorts of conditions and situations - motorway, rush hour, skid prevention and control, bad weather etc - here they teach you how to pass the test! About the hardest thing in the NZ test now is parallel parking!

Cheers - Martin.

mdooher

Hmm, what to write...
1424 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1203046 24-Dec-2014 09:00

majoco: IMHO the driving test in NZ is still too easy, despite being tightened up a couple of years ago. I took quite a few professional driving lessons in the UK in the 60's as well as driving with a qualified driver before I was deemed 'competent' to take the test by my instructor. In the UK they teach you how to drive the car under all sorts of conditions and situations - motorway, rush hour, skid prevention and control, bad weather etc - here they teach you how to pass the test! About the hardest thing in the NZ test now is parallel parking!

Cheers - Martin.

The new driving test here is quite frankly pedantic rubbish. It doesn't test driving skill, it tests how well you learnt a set of instructions on how to pass a test

Matthew

DarthKermit

5346 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1203053 24-Dec-2014 09:12

Does anyone know what the minimum age to apply for a licence is in the UK?

Whatifthespacekeyhadneverbeeninvented?

MikeB4

18435 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#1203060 24-Dec-2014 09:25

mdooher:
majoco: IMHO the driving test in NZ is still too easy, despite being tightened up a couple of years ago. I took quite a few professional driving lessons in the UK in the 60's as well as driving with a qualified driver before I was deemed 'competent' to take the test by my instructor. In the UK they teach you how to drive the car under all sorts of conditions and situations - motorway, rush hour, skid prevention and control, bad weather etc - here they teach you how to pass the test! About the hardest thing in the NZ test now is parallel parking!

Cheers - Martin.

The new driving test here is quite frankly pedantic rubbish. It doesn't test driving skill, it tests how well you learnt a set of instructions on how to pass a test

Agreed again, I would guess that 80% of NZ drivers would have no clue how to deal with a skid, how to drive in ice or get out of a bogged in situation or simply the correct method of jump starting a vehicle. We could look to the Finnish system for good examples of how NZ could do it.

MagicSquirrel

40 posts

Geek

#1203067 24-Dec-2014 09:50

KiwiNZ:

Agreed again, I would guess that 80% of NZ drivers would have no clue how to deal with a skid, how to drive in ice or get out of a bogged in situation or simply the correct method of jump starting a vehicle. We could look to the Finnish system for good examples of how NZ could do it.

Finnish system was good at 90's but it is going over the top nowadays as long training pushes the cost of drivers license up.
Things I would pick from Finnish driving schools to NZ.
- practicing emergency braking and observing the speed vs. braking distance
- repeating same braking test after dark
- 'moose test' on dry and wet

And most importantly: teach drivers to plan and see things beyond the car ahead of them.
I've had so many cases of doing 85 on speedo, 78 real, on 80km/h zone and being passed 300m before 50km zone. I fail to understand the logic behind such overtake. Saving 1 second??

Maximus

33 posts

Geek

#1203068 24-Dec-2014 09:51

DarthKermit: Does anyone know what the minimum age to apply for a licence is in the UK?

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#1203070 24-Dec-2014 09:53

So, assuming that the idiot driver in the OP's video had a license, then which part of the driving test needs to be tightened up on so that kind of behaviour is eliminated from our roads?
IMO the "we need a more difficult driver license testing system" is nonsense. Most serious accidents aren't caused by lack of adequate driver training or ignorant of complex rules, but by people willing to flout the most basic rules which every idiot does know. Some of the most annoying behaviour on the roads combines this willingness to flout known laws with a complete lack of courtesy and consideration for other drivers. Testing to eliminate people with "willingness to flout the law" or "not care about anybody else" will be a challenge.

MikeB4

18435 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#1203077 24-Dec-2014 10:16

Fred99: So, assuming that the idiot driver in the OP's video had a license, then which part of the driving test needs to be tightened up on so that kind of behaviour is eliminated from our roads?
IMO the "we need a more difficult driver license testing system" is nonsense. Most serious accidents aren't caused by lack of adequate driver training or ignorant of complex rules, but by people willing to flout the most basic rules which every idiot does know. Some of the most annoying behaviour on the roads combines this willingness to flout known laws with a complete lack of courtesy and consideration for other drivers. Testing to eliminate people with "willingness to flout the law" or "not care about anybody else" will be a challenge.

An IQ test

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1203078 24-Dec-2014 10:18

itxtme:
UK drivers are a lot better than we are. UK has nearly half the death rate we do.

I wonder if this has more to do with the roads, than them being superior beings when it comes to driving...

it could be lots of things

better cars, faster times to hospitals etc

trig42

5809 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1203079 24-Dec-2014 10:20

We need compulsory Insurance.
That will weed out a lot of young people in overpowered cars.

Try getting insurance for a WRX or Turbo Subaru in the UK when you are under 25. I think I saw on Top Gear or similar once that it was worth more than the car.

Geektastic

17942 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1203081 24-Dec-2014 10:30

KiwiNZ:
mdooher:
Geektastic: As far as I know, NZ is one of few countries where passing on the inside is actually legal.

My driving instructor back in the UK (where it is most certainly NOT legal) used to tell me it was called undertaking because it would kill you...!

Even here, I won't do it, so deeply does my training prevent it.

Yes but in those other countries the keep left (or right) rule is policed properly. See how long you keep your licence if hold up traffic in the fast lane in Germany.

Ever noticed when diving in Europe/UK that if some one hasn't noticed you behind them and you flash your lights they WILL actually move out of your way?

I don't think the fact that the "flash your lights" switch on your car is actually called the "pass" switch has even registered with most Kiwi drivers.

Agreed, too many Drivers here believe they need to defend their patch of road. I see no point in it I will let other drivers pass when ever I can and it does not affect my journey at all. Actually it does affect it, it makes it less stressful and more enjoyable.

Agreed - the last thing I want is some badly trained jerk riding my rear bumper for miles and miles, knowing that if I have to stop hard, he has left about 15% of the distance he will need in order to stop without hitting me.

Geektastic

17942 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1203085 24-Dec-2014 10:34

trig42: We need compulsory Insurance.
That will weed out a lot of young people in overpowered cars.

Try getting insurance for a WRX or Turbo Subaru in the UK when you are under 25. I think I saw on Top Gear or similar once that it was worth more than the car.

Absolutely agree. My last insurance in the UK was for a new Passat diesel estate. Age 35, full No Claims, no drink driving convictions or speeding convictions and it was $1800 a year equivalent. A WRX would have cost me probably treble that, so someone younger with a bad record or no experience would stand no chance.

If you get done for DUI, expect a double premium. Get done twice and you'll be all but uninsurable. That might concentrate a few minds too.

majoco

18 posts

Geek

#1203087 24-Dec-2014 10:37

Geektastic said:

Agreed - the last thing I want is some badly trained jerk riding my rear bumper for miles and miles, knowing that if I have to stop hard, he has left about 15% of the distance he will need in order to stop without hitting me.

I just go slower and slower until they overtake. But what annoys the s**t out of me is then when they have overtaken they actually go slower than the speed I was originally travelling at! Have you noticed that if you get tailgated and overtaken on the open road, even though you are doing (ahem!!) 100+km/h, it's usually being driven by a woman on her own. (in a BMW/Audi RV???)

It's too easy for the 'young' driver to buy a Sub WRX never mind pay for full insurance. The finance companies are only too eager to provide the funds knowing that they will still get paid when the car is totalled. It's a long time since I had a bike licence - do they have a restriction on engine size up to a certain age? ISTR it was 250cc max up until you had held a licence for 5 years - you could get a bike licence at 16 yo - I had a BSA C15 - wowed the girls at school tho! Perhaps it should be the same for cars. My first car was a Ford 100E Prefect - a whole 1200cc and a magnificent 36bhp! But it was all I could afford - no bank loans in those days!

Cheers - Martin

Geektastic

17942 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1203088 24-Dec-2014 10:38

itxtme:
UK drivers are a lot better than we are. UK has nearly half the death rate we do.

I wonder if this has more to do with the roads, than them being superior beings when it comes to driving...

It has something to do with that.

Mainly it has to do with the fact that the huge majority of new drivers in the UK do not have lessons from Mum and Dad but have 20+ hours of professional instruction before taking a test.

You'd be highly unlikely to pass the average EU driving test unless you had lessons from a qualified instructor and indeed some nations require it before you are even allowed to take the test.

If you learn bad habits from your parents, it simply perpetuates the bad driving and bad attitude.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ... | 12