Canada's worst driverYeah, I bought it "Here" to prevent pollution in other threads....
[It has been an interesting week in Motoring, and I have reached a point where its worth me combining all of that in one post here, so, this may take a while.]Break that down to "Any-where's" worst driver, because I find on investigation, that show has sold its format to many different countries....
On reversing, 60 yds, down a course, about as wide as a standard lane, turn round, and drive back the other way.
After 30 mins of "trying" and "I hate driving", on contestant admits "Actually I know I hate reversing" and admits to avoiding reverse as often as possible.
Erm...
Its part of owning and running a car that you must be able to go BOTH directions to get in and out of parking spots?.
One contestant admits she wears a backpack every time she drives as "Armour".
If your seat is that far back that you need to use a backpack to sit forwards, ADJUST THE SEAT, otherwise, how the hell is she allowed to even get into a car whilst wearing a backpack?..
I investigate.
[Do not follow... the lower depths of the internet where I find this stuff is a bloody scary place?...]
I find one driver who was arrested for wearing a baby sling, WITH BABY, whilst driving....
This found whilst investigating this story..
www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/8294276.Dad_fined_for_driving_with_toddler_on_lap/The dad was fined only £60 for having his kid on his lap, no belt, whilst driving
Turns out, aside from Mobile Phones, people have "All kinds of cr@p" with them whilst they drive.
There is a current call to ban ALL mobiles from Drivers whilst driving, including hands free, in UK.
This has caused "Outrage" in the motoring industry after many of them have spent a LOT "Blue-teefing" their cars to Mobile Phone networks...
Well, Duh!, your just going to have to undo all that aint ya?..
I am on the side of even answering a call whilst driving is not just distracting but bloody dangerously distracting even to the same level as Drunk driving.
Phones with MP3/4 players, text, even automated voice activated things, if its not driving, its a distraction...
I have a radio, and thats it.
Thats all I need.
It will cut in and give me local important traffic news that may affect my route, but other than that, I laugh at the silly stories and listen to the tunes of a radio station, and that is just about as much distraction as I find I can cope with.
The people I work with know to phone me and then wait, because they know in no way on this green earth am I taking any calls at all whilst on the move, so they can wait until my next stop.
If its "That urgent", phone me twice in a row, and I will find a space to pull over and get back to you.
But it better HAD be urgent, 'cos if its a time waster "Have you got as far as [xyz]" sort of thing that could have waited until my next drop, I am going "Psycho {female canine}" on having had to pull off a motorway and loosing time just to tell you that I would have got there already if you didnt keep making me pull over to answer the damn phone...
This is after that driver got 10 yrs for fiddling with a phone and not stopping at the back of a queue driving a large truck in busy traffic, killing two and seriously injuring others, that was heard recently in the courts.
Recent cases... eating Breakfast {Bowl of cereal with milk) whilst driving, shaving, reading a book, watching Video's on lap top, TWO calls in progress on different phones (driving with knee on wheel) feeding the kid in the back seat, helping kid with homework in the front seat (Including reading and writing in the kids book) doing Makeup, changing clothes, cleaning the inside of the car with baby-wipes[disposing of used ones out the window] eating full meals not just takeaway burgers and sandwiches, one driver using a stove to make a brew and cook food on the move, having a well loud physical argument with back-seat and front-seat passengers, "Repairing" the vehicle on the move, driving with one hand out the window holding a sheet of plywood on the roof with Passenger holding the other side and using free hand to change gear for the driver, having animals and kids roaming about the vehicle, and many many many many more.
All this cr@p needs to stop, now, whilst your still in one piece.
The worst driver series is therefore an illumination on what is and isnt acceptable... perhaps the threat of appearing on that show is enough to stop some peoples bad habits?..
If it helps prevent even one incident, its worth having.
I am watching cringing and squirming in my seat watching that show.. its highly "Entertaining" from my own point of view.
I have no idea what stage of driving the fool ahead of me is at at any given point of the day.
In the last two days, it has rained extremely heavily in Manchester.
Some places got flash floods...
One house that has a stream to its rear had a waist height torrent of water take a short cut through their garden and wash away their drive to a depth of 10ft to the side and rear of the house, the garden is now gone, all of that was carried away down stream.... you can now see the foundations at the side of the house.
I have been out ion that.
I have waded through water that was axle deep in the truck, about waist height on my own 6ft2 frame, so two to three foot deep... in places I didnt go.. I cry foul at anything more than 18 inch to 2ft, or, maximum of axle depth on the vehicle I am driving at the time, unless its a purposely waterproofed engine.
I KNOW my truck can handle that water, its 2ft max, but thats 24 inch deep, you cant see the deep bits, so unless you know how deep its going to get?...
I know the score, low gear, start pushing, create a "bow wave" and follow that through gently, dont push too hard.
I have no idea what is up with the drivers on seeing a LARGE TRUCK taking a flood 'slowly' think that high speed "Splashdown" charging at that same road will help get their tin-top noddy car through two foot of water that is over the bonnet height of that car.
As for the one that decided to "Overtake" me in the truck?... yeah, how did that work out for you?.. I left you spluttering to a stop when the bow wave of the truck pushed you to the kerb and your car died.
My engine is over the top of the axle height... it didnt even get damp.
And yes, I pass many cars "Flooded out" on that road.
What the hell has happened to common sense?.
I am taking the decision to do the usual long holiday during winter to get me off the "Christmas" traffic hell that is the roads around here, and with Black Friday coming up, that may be my last shift, early morning on that day.
The place I am working at also has a bit of a break over the holiday season as traditionally things go a little quiet at this time of year, so are happy to let me take time off, as they may have had to reduce their numbers and loose the temp staff anyway, so they are letting me off with a promise that as soon as things pick up next year, when they need drivers again, I am on the list of drivers they want back?.. maybe the first one they call, as they were wanting to try and keep me on as permanent...
I am still the temp driver there, but they like my "Can do" attitude and sensible work ethics.
Perhaps this will be a more suitable job going forwards for me, its a quiet pre-retirement semi-retirement job that is part time and suits me just fine....
And their own ethics of "Get this done as best you can then come see me" timetable of no pressure on their staff as along as they are doing the job well, is nice to work for.
They have the usual screamers, like any place, but the attitude of "Well they should have ordered it sooner... it gets there as soon as it gets there" is reflected on us drivers as "Do your best, but dont take no risks, if they[customer] give you any [crud] about being late tell 'em to phone me..."
Perhaps its working for a place like that that has allowed me to look back at recent developments of high-pressure driving jobs and realise how nice it is to NOT have that stress?.