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Post by the light works on Dec 1, 2012 7:57:39 GMT
here, if you go over 20 past a school, they take particular delight in assessing you a very large velocity tax.
it's all part of out "expect people not to have the sense to look out for themselves" culture.
and we usually only put "summer" tires on performance cars. otherwise, it's all-season when its not winter, and some of us use snow tires in winter.
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Post by kharnynb on Dec 1, 2012 8:13:18 GMT
we have 30 kph (just under 20 mph) for school zones etc. 20 kph for parking area's and "mixed zones"(for example the open squares with houses around in the suburbs.
When i say summertyres, i mean all weathers, there is no special summertyres in finland(would be insane to fit for the 2 weeks in july we have an actual real summer).
You can drive all weather's here from mid march till 1st of november legally.(though you are supposed to keep an eye on the weather of course)
Spiked tyres are legal from 1st of november till easter(with ofc. the exception if the winter is longer.)
Non-studded winter tyres are legal all year round, but not very good outside of winter.
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 1, 2012 9:06:25 GMT
Perhaps its a cultural thing, what we would call summer tyres are lightly treadled semi-slick's... I know them better in the Bike world where you can get hand-cut tyres that are basically harder racing tyres with enough tread pattern to make 'em legal cut into the surface.
Summer tyres are those Just Legal tyres for use in light sports cars when you ask a Brit what they are....
Our all weather tyres may be what you would call Winter tyres when compared to them.
Winter HEAVY tread tyres, we would probably term as "Off Road" type tyres, and "reserved for four-by-fours", not fitted to family saloons....
For me, I stick with the tyres I have, and if I have difficulty getting out of our road, then the whole of the surrounding area is going to be a blooming nightmare with other people struggling, so it would be probably a good day to stay home.....
I just wish some of the drivers round here would heed that advice and STAY HOME when it gets to difficult for them....
The roads would be safer without them...
Not that in emergency I would chicken out of driving at all.
Its just I like my car in the shape it is, and rather than risk someone who has NEVER driven on Snow before, a Newly qualified driver with more enthusiasm than sense, rather than risk them redesigning my doors, I would be better off limiting my trips out to the bare minimum, or go borrow a vehicle better suited to the conditions....
(I have access to a Land-Rover or Transit Van when I need it...)
Spiked tyres are not legal here at all for "Normal" road conditions.
Studs depend on what kind of studs... Rubber heavy tread studded tyres are OK.
Any part metal studs are illegal.
Snow chains, its law that once you hit any tarmac you must stop and remove them, as Chains are liable to break up tarmac surfaces.
Average drivers dont know that...
Tyre chains are not part of the Driving Test or instruction...
You can get as far as Class 1 HGV (C+E Articulated) without ever seeing tyre chains...
But I have Canadian Blood in me, so I have experience from Family, and have sought out professional instruction on the fitting of chains...
Winter driving for me is no challenge, I can handle it easily, its a natural thing...
Its just the problem with those who share the road with me?...
For me going round a bend slightly sideways, rally style, is under FULL control.
I didnt aim to do that, its just I had to adapt halfway round when the back end started to step out?.. rather than let it park up a tree, I use my abilities to control the slide and power out of the corner....
My two passengers in the truck, a 10 tonner at that time, went a little white, then slightly green, and started grabbing parts of the furniture in preparation of the big crunch they were expecting....
As we powered out, the look on their faces would be a Kodak Moment because all I said was "They need to grit that corner..."
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Post by Lonewolf on Dec 1, 2012 13:51:49 GMT
I had a cop pull me for that and he was going to give me a ticket. I asked him if he was going to write himself one since he had to drive faster than me to catch me, thereby exceeding by even more his judgement of "driving too fast for conditions". He decided not to give me one.
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Post by the light works on Dec 1, 2012 14:22:21 GMT
here, they still permit metal studs between thanksgiving and spring break - with exceptions granted if it looks like it might be snowy later in the season. I thinkk there was a campaign to require them to be "lightweight" but I guess they finally realized that with 1-2 tons of car sitting on them it didn't make a whole lot of difference if an individual stud weighed .25oz. or .23oz.
the common practice among urban drivers is to go have studs fitted on the first legal day; and then the car doesn't move if the ground is white at all. I had one day, as a lark, back when I had the Acura, I took my hands off the wheel and drove around several corners with no guidance except the ruts the studded tires had worn in the roadway.
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Post by c64 on Dec 5, 2012 17:21:07 GMT
UK residents, as I may have already stated, normally dont have a pot-of-glue about tyre chains, or how to fit them.... thats a lack of education on behalf of driving schools, most driv That's because they are only good for taking steep hills. While standard in Austria and Switzerland as well as the alpine areas in the south of Germany, they are also "unheard" of in the flat north. |
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Post by c64 on Dec 5, 2012 17:37:11 GMT
I had a cop pull me for that and he was going to give me a ticket. I asked him if he was going to write himself one since he had to drive faster than me to catch me, thereby exceeding by even more his judgement of "driving too fast for conditions". He decided not to give me one. I also had this discussion. He claimed that he's a professional driver so he actually can do that safely. I showed him my bunch'o'papers and told him that I own 3 different professional licenses and asked him how many he as except his government driver's license which is handed out after seeing the civilian license and a lecture of does and don'ts and this one wouldn't count since I have that, too! Then he had changed tactics and wanted to see if I have a first aid kid and the reflective triangle. "HAHA, your first aid kit is expired!" - but there is no law that you can't check and restock it yourself, also I had another one still sealed and good. After a drug and alcohol test I was free to go. It was tempting to refuse so that would invite more officers to the little party and they would have had to drag me to the hospital for a blood test. |
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 6, 2012 8:58:40 GMT
"Flat" north?... have you visited the Peak District, Wales, or Scotland?... we have 20 to 25% hills (1-in-5 to 1-in-4 in "old" money) a plenty round here.....
Our real problem is that if the snow plough or Gritter wagon cant climb the hills barefoot, they shut the damn road.... (barefoot, no chains..)
This is England's Problem... we just cant cope as a nation, and we have spread that to the rest of the UK, we just dont have the right equipment to keep roads open....
What we need is snow-blowers and REAL snow shifting equipment, not a 10 tonner that is a tipper wagon for most of the year but has a "Bolt on" attachment to make it a gritter and snow plough in the winter.....
The Govt state that its too expensive to keep such vehicles that only get used two or three months of the year....
And every year the country grinds to a halt with half inch of snow.....
I cant figure that one out either.
First aid kit "Expired"?... I didnt know they have a use-by date on them?...(Seriously?..I have never seen that... I must check the works one.... I have never thought to look for that...)
And as you say, there is nowt to stop you restocking it anyway?...
I carry my own, two, one in my car, one in my work bag, that never leaves the boot of the car when I aint working so I know where it is....
Warning triangles and the like, I carry my own in my works bag, as I am all too aware that those in the Works wagons sometimes go astray....
One tempting bit of foreign law I have seen challenges... a Driver I know was roadside changing a bulb.
Foreign policeman (German) stopped to see if he needed assistance....
He was a Nice cop....
However, as soon as he learnt that the driver was about to do "france", he came up with the following...
You have just replaced a bulb.... european law states that you MUST carry a full set at all times?...well now you dont have a full spare set of working bulbs... I know catch 22, but by the word of the law, you now DONT have a full set and could get a ticket?... I suggest you pull into (name of service station) and replace that spare bulb as you pass?... before those 'dogs' at the french border give you a going over........
(He obviously disliked french border police?....)
The place I work for now insists you carry TWO sets of bulbs if you go european... one sealed and intact for "border checks", and one that you can use to change bulbs with, that gets checked and re-stocked every time you get home....
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Post by the light works on Dec 6, 2012 16:14:33 GMT
here, it's pretty common that people don't carry a full set in the sockets... let alone spares.
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Post by the light works on Dec 6, 2012 16:18:35 GMT
great story, though, from my dad's youth.
one of his dad's drivers had lost a headlight, and was pulling into the shop to have it replaced. (as in within eyesight of the driveway) when a policeman pulled him over.
"do you know why I pulled you over sir?"
"probably because I have a headlight out - I'm going into the shop down there to get it repaired"
"well, I'm going to have to write you a ticket for driving without a headlight"
the driver climbed down from the cab to attempt to explain things a bit more clearly when he happened to notice the front of the police car.
"say, officer, did you know you have a headlight out?"
the officer tore up the ticket, stomped back to his car, and left.
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Post by c64 on Dec 6, 2012 17:28:13 GMT
I was thinking of the area of the Netherlands and northern Germany.
I once worked with two guys, one a very skinny one from near Hamburg and one easily 3..4 times the weight from Munich. When they sat in my office enjoying my espresso machine, they both talked about their new company cars they had got a week earlier. They both pulled out the cars papers and found out that the skinny one had got 90 HP while the fat one had got well over 150 HP.
I said "Isn't it obvious?". "Don't say anything wrong" said the guy from Munich who always bends my guest chairs whenever he visits.
I said: "There are tall and steep hills around Munich and you need well over 100 HP to climb them reasonably well while there are no hills in the flat north!"
"Not true!" shouted the one from near Hamburg, "I happen to live on the tallest mountain in my area! … … … … 9 meters above sea level"
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Post by c64 on Dec 6, 2012 17:47:47 GMT
Well, here in Germany, you won't get a ticket if you are pulled over if you claim that you have checked the lights before you had started driving and if you can change the bulb immediately while the officer is waiting.
My story at my old workplace used to be checking the lights in the glass front of the office building. The front when I arrive and the rear when I turn the car around to leave. I really did.
Any I can change any light bulb within a minute OR LESS on my car. It's a classic car with easy access to the bulbs.
A coworker owned a modern FIAT. I noticed that a headlight was out and gave him two spare bulbs. He has a degree in mechanical engineering and started to try to change the bulbs. The manual said:
Step 1: Open the hood, see page 53ff
There were three pages how to open the hood with diagrams and a lengthy explanation. Couldn't be hard when the manual is that detailed, can it?
Yes, it can:
Step 2: Unscrew headlight (a strange mix of something almost - but not quite - Torx or a flathead screwdriver half an inch wide. The huge screwdriver I use to remove hubcaps with happened to barely fit)
Step 3: Pull plug (Which plug? none to be seen and nothing to reach which might or might not be a plug)
Step 4: Remove headlight unit (which was as tight as sealed in grout but when it came out there was a plug at the bottom)
Step 5: Change bulbs (Which required 3 different screwdrivers and careful placement of 3 seals in order to put it back together).
Two fellow engineers (electronic engineers) joined the fun. I sat on the hood of my car and was LMAO. "Q: How many engineers do you need to change two light bulbs?" - "A: 3 and 1½ hours!"
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Post by the light works on Dec 6, 2012 17:57:09 GMT
with the old sealed beam headlights, the filament often broke, but had enough length that if they were juggled around just right, with the switch on, they would fuse back together, and work for a while (could be minutes, could be weeks, but was usually until you turned them off again) one afternoon, returning from a ski trip, my brother and I noticed by the reflection on the back window of the car in front of us, BOTH headlights had quit. since it was stop & go traffic getting off the hill, he simply hopped out at the next stop, ran around the front, and swatted the headlights - which fortunately was enough to get them to come on.
the kid in the rear facing seat of the car ahead probably required a lot of education over that.
(and I replaced the headlights the next day)
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Post by c64 on Dec 6, 2012 18:49:05 GMT
with the old sealed beam headlights, the filament often broke, but had enough length that if they were juggled around just right, with the switch on, they would fuse back together, and work for a while (could be minutes, could be weeks, but was usually until you turned them off again) one afternoon, returning from a ski trip, my brother and I noticed by the reflection on the back window of the car in front of us, BOTH headlights had quit. since it was stop & go traffic getting off the hill, he simply hopped out at the next stop, ran around the front, and swatted the headlights - which fortunately was enough to get them to come on. the kid in the rear facing seat of the car ahead probably required a lot of education over that. (and I replaced the headlights the next day) Can actually work the other way round. When I went for the TÜV safety inspection, I noticed that one license plate bulb was out and tapped it on. The TÜV inspector then tapped it off after I drove around the building to present my car. |
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Post by kharnynb on Dec 6, 2012 19:58:32 GMT
Here in finland, many cars have one or more lights dead.
A common problem of requiring all day lights.
Personally i check once per week and before longer trips.
I know how to change any bulb and have spares.
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Post by c64 on Dec 6, 2012 20:14:06 GMT
Here in finland, many cars have one or more lights dead. A common problem of requiring all day lights. Personally i check once per week and before longer trips. I know how to change any bulb and have spares. Same here. Also the percentage of dead cars on the streets ever increases. The bad economy makes people save money on inspections. After the first real cold night, there were at least 2 cars with popped radiators in my street alone. I also turn on the lights whenever I drive but I buy the expensive bulbs and change them every two years near the mandatory safety inspection. I almost never have a dead bulb on my car but if, the police always seems to spot me. I wonder what all other car owners do to be able to drive with dead lights. Standing at the road and counting good cars, you can rarely count to ten until you spot one broken light and start all over again. |
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Post by GTCGreg on Dec 6, 2012 20:31:47 GMT
Changing the bulbs every two years seems a bit overkill. I've been driving my present car for over 10 years and replaced one headlight and three stop light/turn signal bulbs in that amount of time. My wife's minivan is 12 years old and it's never had an exterior light burn out, although it's not used as often as my car.
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Post by rory on Dec 6, 2012 21:00:09 GMT
I've never had a problem with any of the lights on any of my family's cars. Some are over 10 years old.
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 7, 2012 7:50:18 GMT
There is a small Mercedes floating about that is known for having a headlight unit that requires removal of part of the front of the car to get to... its a mechanics nightmare, as it can be a hour-and-a-half job to change the bulb, and can cost the customer up to £100 (or more) to do?...
Merc say that with the "Long lasting" LED lights they use the lights should last a "Lifetime"....
WHO's Lifetime?... the bulb or the car or the owner?....
From experience...
"You have a brake light out sir?.. I am pulling you over to tell you this, it is not in its own right a ticket-able offence unless I see you again in the next week and you havnt changed it...
We give you some slack with Brake lights as no one yet has managed to put their foot on the brake then get round the back to check it before the light goes out?....."
(1980's)
I liked that copper... he was a sensible one.....
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Post by c64 on Dec 7, 2012 13:07:43 GMT
Changing the bulbs every two years seems a bit overkill. I've been driving my present car for over 10 years and replaced one headlight and three stop light/turn signal bulbs in that amount of time. My wife's minivan is 12 years old and it's never had an exterior light burn out, although it's not used as often as my car. I don't change all of them, just the important one. I also rotate bulbs while at it since on my car, you can change everything very quickly. The turn signals check them self. When the frequency of the relay speeds up, you know you have less load than there should be. And for the trailer, older cars like mine still have the trailer-indicator which reports an "overload" on the turn signal relay so it flashes if you have more than the normal two bulbs (front/rear) on. I wonder why they have changed the law with those. The bulbs from the backup lights fit into the turn signals so while at it, I just swap the rear ones as well. The used bulbs I drop into the tool compartment of my car. It won't overflow since I give them to people who have a broken bulb on their cars. |
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