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Post by the light works on Dec 19, 2013 13:43:52 GMT
Pavement Pate sounds the right way.... good friend of mine stopped to herd a herd of sheep off the road, LOUD bang from the rear, some twit had missed seeing not only the flock of clouds with legs, but the large 12ft high nine feet wide back of his wagon.... some years back we had one of our city garbage trucks that developed a fire in the back. on a four lane bridge with reasonable shoulders; they had the truck pulled to the side, with two fire engines, and a lane cordoned off with cones. one of our firefighters heard a " whap whap whap whap whap whap" in time to grab two other firefighters and drag them out of harms way before a motorhome passed through the space they had been standing in, clipped one of the fire engines, and came to rest at the other end of the incident scene. the driver of the motorhome couldn't understand why the fire crews wouldn't let him go on about his business. (the sound had come from him running over every one of the cones they had cordoned off the lane with)
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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Dec 19, 2013 15:41:08 GMT
Pavement Pate sounds the right way.... good friend of mine stopped to herd a herd of sheep off the road, LOUD bang from the rear, some twit had missed seeing not only the flock of clouds with legs, but the large 12ft high nine feet wide back of his wagon.... For lack of a better reaction to that twit's lack of insight...
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Post by The Urban Mythbuster on Dec 19, 2013 15:44:34 GMT
some years back we had one of our city garbage trucks that developed a fire in the back. on a four lane bridge with reasonable shoulders; they had the truck pulled to the side, with two fire engines, and a lane cordoned off with cones. one of our firefighters heard a " whap whap whap whap whap whap" in time to grab two other firefighters and drag them out of harms way before a motorhome passed through the space they had been standing in, clipped one of the fire engines, and came to rest at the other end of the incident scene. the driver of the motorhome couldn't understand why the fire crews wouldn't let him go on about his business. (the sound had come from him running over every one of the cones they had cordoned off the lane with) "the driver of the motorhome couldn't understand why the fire crews wouldn't let him go on about his business" He sounds like someone who might have a touch of affluenza. He should have priority over the emergency being handled...he and his family are on vacation & cannot be delayed because they have nowhere to go or be right now... Was the offending driver given some time in a holding cell to think about his actions?
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Post by the light works on Dec 19, 2013 17:23:56 GMT
some years back we had one of our city garbage trucks that developed a fire in the back. on a four lane bridge with reasonable shoulders; they had the truck pulled to the side, with two fire engines, and a lane cordoned off with cones. one of our firefighters heard a " whap whap whap whap whap whap" in time to grab two other firefighters and drag them out of harms way before a motorhome passed through the space they had been standing in, clipped one of the fire engines, and came to rest at the other end of the incident scene. the driver of the motorhome couldn't understand why the fire crews wouldn't let him go on about his business. (the sound had come from him running over every one of the cones they had cordoned off the lane with) "the driver of the motorhome couldn't understand why the fire crews wouldn't let him go on about his business" He sounds like someone who might have a touch of affluenza. He should have priority over the emergency being handled...he and his family are on vacation & cannot be delayed because they have nowhere to go or be right now... Was the offending driver given some time in a holding cell to think about his actions? actually he claimed to have someplace he urgently needed to be - and (I wasn't on that scene) he wasn't described as a potential affluenza sufferer. and for whatever reason, the police officer allowed him to drive away after the investigation. - which nobody else understood, as he had already exhibited an inability to drive safely.
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Post by User Unavailable on Dec 19, 2013 19:10:13 GMT
Question. Should there be a law that prohibits those who cant read local language from driving in that country... For instance, perhaps non of us can read Arabic. If we went to an Arabic country, should we not first have to PROVE we can read their local road signs before we are allowed to drive?... Well, if I went to the middle east I wouldn't be allowed to drive anyway .... But understanding the local signs (whether by knowing the symbols or knowing the language) sounds like a reasonable restriction. One of my friends was posted to Germany during his military career, and at that time the radio stations that reported on Autobahn traffic conditions only broadcast in German. If you wanted to drive on the Autobahn, you had better understand enough German to know they just warned you about a wreck two kilometers ahead, or you were going to be part of that wreck. In the US Military,* the government has Status of Forces Agreements with many of the host countries. Part of these SOFAs in many cases require service members who are going to drive in the countries, to take classes and tests and get an International Drivers License to operate civilian vehicles in that country and/or to have a SOFA stamp on their military drivers license, noting they are trained on the traffic laws and signage in that country. For example, my military drivers license in the Marine Corps had SOFA stamps that allowed me to operate military vehicles on public roads in Japan, Korea and Thailand. * many countries have SOFA agreements, not just the US.
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Post by kharnynb on Dec 20, 2013 7:07:48 GMT
Strangely enough, while the military has very strict rules on driving licenses(i remember from some Base members that were just over the border in germany, back when i was young). The US civilian license will allow you to drive and is exchangable to a EU license for US immmigrants here, without any extra classes or tests (they even get the full license, not automatic only)
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Post by ponytail61 on Dec 21, 2013 0:45:35 GMT
Strangely enough, while the military has very strict rules on driving licenses(i remember from some Base members that were just over the border in germany, back when i was young). The US civilian license will allow you to drive and is exchangable to a EU license for US immmigrants here, without any extra classes or tests (they even get the full license, not automatic only) There are different licenses for automatic and manual transmissions?
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Post by the light works on Dec 21, 2013 1:51:59 GMT
Strangely enough, while the military has very strict rules on driving licenses(i remember from some Base members that were just over the border in germany, back when i was young). The US civilian license will allow you to drive and is exchangable to a EU license for US immmigrants here, without any extra classes or tests (they even get the full license, not automatic only) There are different licenses for automatic and manual transmissions? in much of europe, you have to test with a manual to be licensed to drive a manual.
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 22, 2013 9:54:27 GMT
In much of europe, especially the UK, even PSV, PCV, or whatever they call a Bus licence these days, comes in class "D", or Da.... (Not sure of the exacts, mine is s straight Manual...
But I passed the bus the first time as on straight manual class 3, at that time, you could get 3a, which is Automatic.
Yes there were class 1 buses Automatic transmission... or semi-auto pre-select box.
Never saw the point of a Automatic Bus licence.. Or Heavy goods... If you cant drive Manual at that size, you shouldnt be on the road?.... What happens if the only vehicle in the yard is a Manual?... "Can drive today boss, no auto's left"?.....
For that reason, Automatic licence holders get paid less.
Automatic Trucks... Heavy goods. ..they are getting there. I drove a truck with semi-auto recently... you just dont get to miss a gear, priceless..... But I had it set to SEMI-Auto. I just cant let any vehicle decide for me when to change gear... especially when I am trying to hold a gear, say on a steep climb?....
The UK licence is different for every class of vehicle with Automatic gearbox, even if you have a full manual lower class, if you pass with an Auto box on the higher class you are restricted to automatic on that higher class.
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Post by the light works on Dec 23, 2013 1:17:41 GMT
In much of europe, especially the UK, even PSV, PCV, or whatever they call a Bus licence these days, comes in class "D", or Da.... (Not sure of the exacts, mine is s straight Manual... But I passed the bus the first time as on straight manual class 3, at that time, you could get 3a, which is Automatic. Yes there were class 1 buses Automatic transmission... or semi-auto pre-select box. Never saw the point of a Automatic Bus licence.. Or Heavy goods... If you cant drive Manual at that size, you shouldnt be on the road?.... What happens if the only vehicle in the yard is a Manual?... "Can drive today boss, no auto's left"?..... For that reason, Automatic licence holders get paid less. Automatic Trucks... Heavy goods. ..they are getting there. I drove a truck with semi-auto recently... you just dont get to miss a gear, priceless..... But I had it set to SEMI-Auto. I just cant let any vehicle decide for me when to change gear... especially when I am trying to hold a gear, say on a steep climb?.... The UK licence is different for every class of vehicle with Automatic gearbox, even if you have a full manual lower class, if you pass with an Auto box on the higher class you are restricted to automatic on that higher class. and I checked - if you overrev it on a downgrade it will upshift even if you have the selector pulled down to a lower gear.
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Post by kharnynb on Dec 23, 2013 8:18:09 GMT
Automatics are great for 2 things: long, straight and flat OR very busy city traffic. Anything else and i'd rather use my manual gear car.
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Post by the light works on Dec 23, 2013 14:37:52 GMT
Automatics are great for 2 things: long, straight and flat OR very busy city traffic. Anything else and i'd rather use my manual gear car. they do better than they did in the 70s. I'd say they are best in stop & go traffic, or when you are making a lot of speed changes. long straight flats tend to encourage them to gear hunt if you are going the wrong speed.
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Post by kharnynb on Dec 23, 2013 15:46:10 GMT
I was driving my mother in laws 2010 c4 picasso with auto to the cottage a while back, uphill, every damn time the thing hits the next gear about 3 secs before it has to downshift again for the next bit.... drove me mad.
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Post by the light works on Dec 23, 2013 15:49:46 GMT
I was driving my mother in laws 2010 c4 picasso with auto to the cottage a while back, uphill, every damn time the thing hits the next gear about 3 secs before it has to downshift again for the next bit.... drove me mad. that's when you either slow down a bit, or manually select the lower gear.
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Post by wvengineer on Dec 24, 2013 16:56:54 GMT
One thing I see a lot is you will have some one wanting to turn onto the main road. There is maybe 100 feet between me and the driver in front of me and we are going at 40-50 MPH. They have to get on the road in front of me and I have to stop suddenly to avoid hitting them. Meanwhile, there are no cars behind me for 1/4 mile or better. Why can't they wait 5 seconds and avoid any possible accidents? Any one else have this, is it it just a regional stupidity?
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Post by the light works on Dec 24, 2013 17:30:44 GMT
One thing I see a lot is you will have some one wanting to turn onto the main road. There is maybe 100 feet between me and the driver in front of me and we are going at 40-50 MPH. They have to get on the road in front of me and I have to stop suddenly to avoid hitting them. Meanwhile, there are no cars behind me for 1/4 mile or better. Why can't they wait 5 seconds and avoid any possible accidents? Any one else have this, is it it just a regional stupidity? we have them too. and then they drive a quarter mile in no particular hurry and turn off again.
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Post by kharnynb on Dec 24, 2013 17:37:40 GMT
We have two flavours of those. -the ones that ram onto the road 5 meters before you and then try to accelerate to lightspeed asap. -the ones that enter the road 10 meters before you and then accelerate at ford T speeds till the other side of town.
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Post by the light works on Dec 24, 2013 17:44:17 GMT
We have two flavours of those. -the ones that ram onto the road 5 meters before you and then try to accelerate to lightspeed asap. -the ones that enter the road 10 meters before you and then accelerate at ford T speeds till the other side of town. as long as they can get the velocity to not obstruct me, I am okay with the jump and run ones.
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Post by alabastersandman on Dec 26, 2013 8:52:48 GMT
Road fools? How about those stupid boxes insurance companies are trying to stuff in everyone's vehicle? You get to save money on insurance if you don't anger the little black box? It records things such as: Number of journeys made Distances traveled Types of roads used Speed Time of travel Levels of acceleration and braking Any accidents which may occur Ever since these stupid things came out, I've noticed a marked difference in how people drive. I've noticed even fewer people make it through the light before it turns red again. People are lagging way behind other drivers so that they won't anger the electronic brake police when the car in front of them slows. People accelerating/creeping ahead at a snails pace. Traffic just is not moving like it did before, and it wasn't exactly optimal before, but it wasn't heading (stalling) toward abysmal either. I can appreciate what they are trying to accomplish with these black boxes but I am seeing (hopefully) unintended consequences. Generally, people should not be concerning themselves with how they are being gauged by some gizmo when they are driving, they should be paying attention to their surroundings and driving accordingly. I would go so far as to say that this box is discriminatory to large groups of people. We have a system already in operation that tells us who needs to pay higher rates, it's not perfect but it has the basics down quite well. You crash into someone, you pay higher rates. You don't crash into someone/file a claim, you are not costing the insurance companies a dime, you are an asset to them. Why should someone who has never hit anyone/anything/filed a claim, but drives a bit harder, farther, at a different time then you, etc. be penalized? Data recorders could serve a good purpose if used to actually improve one's ability to drive. However the average driver already thinks they are a good driver and they won't learn a thing with one of these devices on-board, all it will do is make them even less responsive as a driver. The only way to better your driving with a black box is to record driver performance as in pushing the vehicle to its limits. That is the only way to get hard data. Using it to save a couple dollars on insurance, against some vague, mostly undefined confines learns you nothing.
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Post by OziRiS on Dec 27, 2013 0:25:57 GMT
In much of europe, especially the UK, even PSV, PCV, or whatever they call a Bus licence these days, comes in class "D", or Da.... (Not sure of the exacts, mine is s straight Manual... But I passed the bus the first time as on straight manual class 3, at that time, you could get 3a, which is Automatic. Yes there were class 1 buses Automatic transmission... or semi-auto pre-select box. Never saw the point of a Automatic Bus licence.. Or Heavy goods... If you cant drive Manual at that size, you shouldnt be on the road?.... What happens if the only vehicle in the yard is a Manual?... "Can drive today boss, no auto's left"?..... For that reason, Automatic licence holders get paid less. Automatic Trucks... Heavy goods. ..they are getting there. I drove a truck with semi-auto recently... you just dont get to miss a gear, priceless..... But I had it set to SEMI-Auto. I just cant let any vehicle decide for me when to change gear... especially when I am trying to hold a gear, say on a steep climb?.... The UK licence is different for every class of vehicle with Automatic gearbox, even if you have a full manual lower class, if you pass with an Auto box on the higher class you are restricted to automatic on that higher class. You think automatics are bad when going up or down hill? The Danish Army got this brilliant idea of buying some armored all terrain trucks (MAN HX and MAN SX) about 8 years ago, but made the fatal mistake of buying them with auto gears. When we had to learn to drive these bad boys, we needed to learn how to drive them in terrain, of course. Try getting around in a gigantic sand pit in a 30 ton vehicle that repeatedly shifts up and down every time a wheel loses/gains traction! You basically had three options: 1. Go slightly faster than your average disabled hedgehog 2. Go full throttle, full time at the risk of suddenly plowing into something unseen on the other side of the sand dune you're trying to get over 3. Try to work with the gears intead of against/around them (which both of the above options require you to), end up stuck in a pit of loose sand somewhere and get laughed at by all the guys who think it's a fantastic new vehicle - mainly because they haven't driven it off road themselves yet I've driven pretty much anything with four wheels or more that the Danish Army had standing around into that particular training area while I was in the service, and I can honestly say that I'd rather wade through the Sahara on roller skates, wearing a snowsuit than ever having to drive that stupid vehicle through anything rougher than a golf course again!
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