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Post by silverdragon on Nov 9, 2014 9:46:27 GMT
Lets get personal....
Am I a good driver, a great driver, one of the worlds best, or just an average joe getting paid to sit on his (seat) pushing pedals all day for a fat paycheck.
I am taking the hit here for this one, as its hardly going to get personal personal, so am relatively hard skinned enough to take the criticism?...
But are Drivers worth their salt or is it something any trained monkey can do, and "Not rocket science".
Discount "SWIFT" as TLW would point out, sure wish I finished training, there are bad drivers on the roads, even in the relatively high position of heavy heavy haul, so, discount the sewer rats, the sump oil, and those who just shouldnt be on the road, take the "Ideal" driver who can say "Been drivin' 30 odd years never had a wreck that was my fault" as the basic driver under scrutiny....
Add in maybe the propper CDL in U$A, class C+E in UK, (Was class 1) maybe shove in STGO oversize for good measure, thats ovesize and overweight, and then add a little spice of ADR, dangerous goods, get a driver that also holds Airport Security clearance (AvSec) and then you are at the top of the game.
Now take the detractors, those who say its just an easy job "I drive to work every day what could possibly go wrong" Ayrton Senna wannabe's who think they can do the job and show them the ropes....
(They are over there in a corner, work it out yourself...)
Now est the "Myth" that being able to pull a trailer gross weight under 5 tons is not all you need to know about hauling heavy wagons.
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Post by Cybermortis on Nov 9, 2014 13:43:33 GMT
Studies have shown that people tend to overestimate their driving skills, regardless of job - the possible exeptions *might* be traffic police and similar who have to undertake advanced pursuit courses. (And presumably get tested frequently).
Ask a group of drivers to rate their own skills and they will usually say 'average' or 'above average' at worst. It is a rare person who will admit to being a bad driver.
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Post by the light works on Nov 9, 2014 15:20:47 GMT
Rain Man is an excellent driver, an excellent driver.
my standard of excellence for drivers would not only include getting from point A to point B without banging into anything, but also while minimizing unnecessary traffic disruption, wear on the vehicle, and navigation errors.
to me the epitome of a bad driver that thinks they are a good driver gets from point a to point B without banging onto anything, but leaves a trail of carnage wherever they go.
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Post by kharnynb on Nov 25, 2014 9:30:09 GMT
I have BE(car and trailer over 750 kg) A1(motorcycle under 125 cc) and both airport and forklift driver licenses.
I'm a decent driver with 15 years of no claim and no accidents(including driving well enough to avoid ones that could have been caused by others.)
I doubt i'd be any good in a C class vehicle though let alone something CE or even more special.
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Post by alabastersandman on Sept 19, 2015 7:53:32 GMT
Reminds me of the insurance commercial I have so much disdain for. The Allstate commercials where the girl is reminding a guy that he says "women are bad drivers" She pulls out a check from the insurance company for safe driving, the gauge used to determine safe driving is that she drove six months without an accident. That is just a silly thing to call logic, In fact, most drivers on the road can drive several years without crashing, that does not in itself make them a good driver.
I despise the things but I decided to install one of State Farm's "Drive Safe and Save" devices, just out of curiosity. I've come to the conclusion that the perimeters used to determine "safe driving" practices are far closer to "You drive like we say and you get a tiny fraction of your bill reduced.
Call me crazy but I was under the impression that driving 35+ years without ever making an insurance claim would be a pretty good tool for figuring out who gets the discount. Obviously it has nothing to do with the way their device records acceleration, braking, turning left and right, speed traveled, and time of day/night. I know this because I drive quite often at night and get marked down for it. The reasoning is that it is dark at night, so what I can see just fine at night.
I also get marked down for my right turns. This is largely because I turn right off the main road to get to my street. I will turn on my signal just after passing the street before mine then I will speed up pretty much as I would if I were not turning. Then I brake and make the turn. I do this because I don't like clogging up traffic. My signal generally keeps them far enough behind me that they won't even need to brake as I make my turn. I get marked down for doing this because some twit decided that in every circumstance, this is dangerous behavior that leads to rear-end collisions.
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Post by the light works on Sept 19, 2015 13:54:33 GMT
Reminds me of the insurance commercial I have so much disdain for. The Allstate commercials where the girl is reminding a guy that he says "women are bad drivers" She pulls out a check from the insurance company for safe driving, the gauge used to determine safe driving is that she drove six months without an accident. That is just a silly thing to call logic, In fact, most drivers on the road can drive several years without crashing, that does not in itself make them a good driver. I despise the things but I decided to install one of State Farm's "Drive Safe and Save" devices, just out of curiosity. I've come to the conclusion that the perimeters used to determine "safe driving" practices are far closer to "You drive like we say and you get a tiny fraction of your bill reduced. Call me crazy but I was under the impression that driving 35+ years without ever making an insurance claim would be a pretty good tool for figuring out who gets the discount. Obviously it has nothing to do with the way their device records acceleration, braking, turning left and right, speed traveled, and time of day/night. I know this because I drive quite often at night and get marked down for it. The reasoning is that it is dark at night, so what I can see just fine at night. I also get marked down for my right turns. This is largely because I turn right off the main road to get to my street. I will turn on my signal just after passing the street before mine then I will speed up pretty much as I would if I were not turning. Then I brake and make the turn. I do this because I don't like clogging up traffic. My signal generally keeps them far enough behind me that they won't even need to brake as I make my turn. I get marked down for doing this because some twit decided that in every circumstance, this is dangerous behavior that leads to rear-end collisions. let me guess: their thing doesn't even know what a turn signal is... |
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Post by silverdragon on Sept 20, 2015 10:48:01 GMT
I will not drive with a "Tracker" device in my car.
For several reason.
For one, the EULA states the information will be shared with a traffic research facility.....
So someone is interested in where I am going?.
I spend many hours keeping tracking cookies off my Computer, but let someone else track where I am as I drive?.
They track HOW I drive?...
Yeah, you can see this coming.
I know I will fail a standard car driving test because of advanced training.
Therefore, I will fail the standard they keep in those black boxes.
35 yrs with NO claims.
Thats good.
I have 10 yrs since my last claim....
However, that was someone else hitting ME.
No Claims is good.
Having that destroyed by someone elses failure, someone elses fault?....
But the insurance, a claim is a claim is a claim and you will loose your NCD.
Unless you pay extra to "Protect" that NCD.
However you look at it, they are just finding ways to make you pay more.............
I am "Over 50", which in its self is a milestone in Driving safety, they sort of presume I know better by now....
Except they dont.
However much they pretend there are companies out there who will reward the over 50's....
Its a catch, and its NOT always that cheaper.
Plus the insurance you get is not always as good as you want....
You dont get guaranteed like for like hire.
I loose my 5seat family car and get a 4 seat for dwarves micro-car for the hire period?...
I dont get automatic cover for all losses.
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Post by the light works on Sept 20, 2015 14:16:09 GMT
I will not drive with a "Tracker" device in my car. For several reason. For one, the EULA states the information will be shared with a traffic research facility..... So someone is interested in where I am going?. I spend many hours keeping tracking cookies off my Computer, but let someone else track where I am as I drive?. They track HOW I drive?... Yeah, you can see this coming. I know I will fail a standard car driving test because of advanced training. Therefore, I will fail the standard they keep in those black boxes. 35 yrs with NO claims. Thats good. I have 10 yrs since my last claim.... However, that was someone else hitting ME. No Claims is good. Having that destroyed by someone elses failure, someone elses fault?.... But the insurance, a claim is a claim is a claim and you will loose your NCD. Unless you pay extra to "Protect" that NCD. However you look at it, they are just finding ways to make you pay more............. I am "Over 50", which in its self is a milestone in Driving safety, they sort of presume I know better by now.... Except they dont. However much they pretend there are companies out there who will reward the over 50's.... Its a catch, and its NOT always that cheaper. Plus the insurance you get is not always as good as you want.... You dont get guaranteed like for like hire. I loose my 5seat family car and get a 4 seat for dwarves micro-car for the hire period?... I dont get automatic cover for all losses. here, we still have assigned liability - the good side is if its someone else's fault, you don't get the mark on your record. the bad side is the other guy can ignore a stop sign and hit you after you have come to a complete stop despite having the right of way, and his insurance can still claim it is 40% your fault. |
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Post by OziRiS on Sept 20, 2015 20:09:56 GMT
I have BE(car and trailer over 750 kg) A1(motorcycle under 125 cc) and both airport and forklift driver licenses. I'm a decent driver with 15 years of no claim and no accidents(including driving well enough to avoid ones that could have been caused by others.) I doubt i'd be any good in a C class vehicle though let alone something CE or even more special. I have everything except motorcycle, ADR and that airport clearance thing, but I haven't driven busses or trucks enough that I feel confident about it. A regular truck (no articulation), yeah I'm good with that, but slap a trailer on it, or ask me to drive a bus through a busy city and I'll be the first to admit that even though my license says I'm qualified for it, I'm not. I simply don't have the experience, because I got the truck and bus licenses in the army/air force to drive specific vehicles. The fact that I can drive a fully armored MAN HX through rugged terrain at 30 MPH and stop on a dime to avoid hitting a rabbit doesn't automatically mean I'm familiar enough with a city bus or whatever SD drives to get behind the wheel of one and be the perfect driver. Can I drive it? Yes. Can I drive it like a pro? Not even close! Give me a few weeks and I'll quickly get better, but I will never ever claim to be an expert on anything. No one is ever perfect and claiming you are will get you ridiculed at the first sign that you're not. When it comes to regular cars, I'm a pretty good driver, but it's not because I'm arrogant about my abilities. Quite the contrary. It's because I'm constantly aware that I'm just as likely to f*** up as the next person, so I do my best to keep my eyes on the road and everyone else on it to avoid that. That approach has served me well for 10 years and now, at 31 (yes, I was a late bloomer and didn't get my license until I was 21), the price of my insurance is at the bottom of the scale where most people don't end up before they're about 40. I know that because last year I got a letter from the local branch of my insurance company congratulating me on being the first person ever in their branch to reach "Elite Driver" status before turning 31. The branch has existed for 25 years, so I'll take that as an indication that I'm doing something right. |
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Post by silverdragon on Sept 21, 2015 7:53:54 GMT
Had that same argument with my own insurance (EX-Insurance) when I was hit by a bus that just pulled away from the stop.
Legally he had no right to leave the bus stop without checking and letting passing traffic pass.
But still they tried.
I had to threaten legal action against my own insurance to take it to court as I was not settling for any liability at all..
"But thats how we do it".
Thats NOT how I do it, I cannot accept any liability on an otherwise clean record, I will not agree...
My arguing had that incident taken off my record, and my NCD remained clean.
No it didnt go to court, as they know they didnt have a wooden leg to prop themselves up with let alone stand on?....
I changed insurance when I noticed my insurance rate the next year shot up....
Erm, why would that be, if I still had a clean NCD?...
That company has had complaints about the way it handles claims.
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Post by the light works on Sept 21, 2015 14:26:02 GMT
Had that same argument with my own insurance (EX-Insurance) when I was hit by a bus that just pulled away from the stop. Legally he had no right to leave the bus stop without checking and letting passing traffic pass. But still they tried. I had to threaten legal action against my own insurance to take it to court as I was not settling for any liability at all.. "But thats how we do it". Thats NOT how I do it, I cannot accept any liability on an otherwise clean record, I will not agree... My arguing had that incident taken off my record, and my NCD remained clean. No it didnt go to court, as they know they didnt have a wooden leg to prop themselves up with let alone stand on?.... I changed insurance when I noticed my insurance rate the next year shot up.... Erm, why would that be, if I still had a clean NCD?... That company has had complaints about the way it handles claims. That was back when I was still rather young, and when the guy told me that, I said I would have to make some phone calls and hung up on him. (I had already talked to my own company and their reaction was that I was 0% at fault) I called my dad, and he called the insurance adjustor. I'm not sure what he said, but it took him 2 hours to say it, and when he got done, there was enough money to fix my pickup. I asked the adjustor what I could have done to avoid the accident, and he didn't have an answer. |
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