Arrrrrrgh !!!

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Post by davetherave »

You have my sympathy witht eh uni parking attendents chris, in my first year i got clamped when i came to visit my girlfriend!

That was a nightmare to sort out and involved writing many letters to the head security guy to avoid the £80 fine, all because they did not get the permit ready whne they said they would!
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Post by Paul-R »

I like the way this thread is developing!

Perhaps we could do with an area to vent our spleen in?

Some possible titles:

1) Spleen Venting Time (sounds like one of the failed alternative names for Monty Python - Owl Stretching Time - but I digress - again)
2) Nil Illegitimus Carborundum
3) Safety Valve

Any other offers?
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Post by addo »

Paul-R wrote:Yes but if the m/way's nearly empty would you still do that?
Absolutely. You have more room to avoid Skippy! (There are any number of theories on how to not hit a 'roo, but maxing your space on both sides is a good start.)

Other drivers may constitute similar numpties to those you find in the UK, but wildlife hazards are quite different.
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Post by ACTIVE8 »

Tailgating!!!

GRRRR!!!

Which is made worse, by the type of muppet that not only wants to get too close to the car in front, positioning their car at least half a car width to one side, and no it's not the kerb side!

Who do they think they are Jensen Button!

It's as if they are waiting to pounce with an overtaking manoeuvre.

So, if a car is driving along a road with one lane each side, then the muppet mentioned above is actually over the white line while hanging off the bumper of the car in front.

Worse still if it's at night the driver in front gets the rear car front lights in their side mirrors constantly.
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Post by myglaren »

A light press of the brake pedal, not enough to activate the brakes, just enough to put the brake lights on, usually fixes that problem.

The look of shock/horror on the driver's face is priceless.
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Post by reblack68 »

I've ranted before about HiDs and indicators inside headlights.

Something else I've noticed about HiDs is that they are very difficult to spot from the side, like when the car is waiting to come out of a side road. Has anybody else noticed this?

I didn't like it when they moved the indicators to what we would now call the conventional position on the front edge of the wing but indicators inside headlights are insane, they cannot be seen from anywhere except straight ahead- whether the light is on or off.

Another thing, I think I've worked out why the headlights on the C5 are so poor, apart from the stupidly small reflectors. The reflector is set so far back in the unit that there is a shadow in between the two headlamp beams, right where you need to see.

Form over function. :evil:
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Post by CitroJim »

Fully agreed Richard, especially on indicator placement. Have you noticed how some more recent Germans now have the most tiny indicators at the rear, barely pin-pricks of light. One German appears to have tiny slits for indicators.

I know the drivers of these particular cars are well-known for never using indicators but I wonder how these ever passed the relevant lighting regulations/legislation :?

Lighting function should come first. I can now understand what was behind the Yank's thinking years ago when they demanded all cars had a standard set of headlights fitted even if they did for the looks (as in the case of the SM).
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Post by HDI »

Then there are those that sit parked at the side of the road with their headlights on !! What is it with some people who need to be a mobile version of Christmas illuminations !!
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Post by MikeT »

myglaren wrote:A light press of the brake pedal, not enough to activate the brakes, just enough to put the brake lights on, usually fixes that problem.

The look of shock/horror on the driver's face is priceless.
Except when....

I was going to Poole last week to assist Tim, and on the bypass, keeping a good 2 second gap from the lane hogger in front doing about 55mph in an unrestricted zone, waiting for him/her to (hopefully) move over when/if he/she ever overtook the car he/she was barely passing when the car behind decided to be not so patient and tailgated me so close I could not see his bonnet.

I first made positive, animated, concerned looks to him in my mirrors but that was ignored so I gesticulated he backed off but that too was ignored.

As you say myglaren, I touched the brakes as it usually has the desired effect but this time was also ignored so had no choice (because I felt vulnerable) but to remove my foot from the accelerator and what did he do? Stayed there, as we slowed all the traffic in unison, right on my tow bar!!!

I couldn't believe it, from ~55mph down to 40, 30 and eventually ~25mph.... I thought, how far do I have to take this??

A van I'd earlier overtook had to brake to avoid undertaking me at which point I felt somewhat stupid and guilty for having to act so extreme, so dropped a few gears in anger and floored it, leaving said tailgater a comfortable distance behind, overtook another vehicle and moved over to calm down and slow for the upcoming junction. Eventually the tailgater (who had his wife? in the passenger seat) passed me and we exchanged hand signals - me tapping my head with my finger - he giving me the finger which was promptly slapped away by said wife. (Estimated in their late 50's early 60's).

The thing is, I've got spinal damage from a tailgater (decades ago) that had no room to stop and it's a painful (literally) daily reminder of how irresponsibility can lead to life-long misery and regret. I wish people would see outside their tiny bubbles and realise we share our lives with each other, like it or not. We can all be horrible, selfish, greedy idiots if we chose but some just don't get how much better life can be if we chose to be more considerate.

I have also memories of friends lost to such drivers so forgive me if I've gone on a bit. Incompetence is a bug-bear of mine and especially so when it has repercussions on innocent parties while the governing bodies seem hell bent on encouraging it! More tax for them I suppose :twisted:
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Post by HDI »

Sadly , this seems to be a major blight of modern society , complete lack of consideration or concern for others by the vast majority of people.

Earlier this year a friend of mine ,now an ex-friend , caused an RTA in which a retired man in his early 70's was killed and his wife seriously injured. This ex-friend was drunk , as in almost 3 times over the legal limit and driving his recently acquired Evo 7 at speeds upto an estimated 130 mph during the miles leading upto the accident. He had 3 girls in the car , all under the age of 20 , at the time , as he had been giving demo rides all afternoon at a wedding reception where he was a guest.

The unfortunate victim was stationary waiting to turn right against oncoming traffic , in a blind dip in the road. Evo 7 ex-friend didnt have time to stop from an estimated 90 mph due to the concealed dip and ploughed straight into the side of the victims car as he was turning.

Ex-friend and all three girls miraculously survived with only minor injuries.

Now for the relevant bit , ex-friend immediately tried to evade responsibility and blame the victim !! And , he tried to persuade the girls to back him up !!

The offence and consequences were bad enough , imo drink driving cannot be acceptable at all , but his complete lack of remorse and him displaying concern only for himself is deplorable. He was actually moaning that his car was a right off and the insurance were declining to pay out !! I made it clear he was on his own and that I never wanted any future association with him.

Even more amazing is other friends and acquaintances trying to defend him !!

The case has still not gone to court and amazingly he was released on bail despite being charged with causing death by dangerous driving and driving under the influence ! If there is any justice he will do time for this.

How can someone be so morally destitute ??!!
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Post by citronut »

exactly what i do MikeT,

but i think the flash of the brake lights is like showing a red rag to a bull,
and it seems to upset them to the extent they realy belive its your driveing thats cause the problem in the first place,

i keep toying with haveing some stickers printed to sell saying why's your s**t driveing my fault, but the problem there is they more than likely cant read anyway,

regards malcolm
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Post by HDI »

I was thinking of installing one of those LED scrolling message displays in the rear window with a selection of choice messages to display depending on the offenders crime :twisted:
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Post by ACTIVE8 »

HDI wrote:Then there are those that sit parked at the side of the road with their headlights on !! What is it with some people who need to be a mobile version of Christmas illuminations !!
The thing is there is a lack of common sense with this, as they are parked they can now turn their PARKING LIGHTS on, but do they NO so they sit there, and if they are on the wrong side of the road while parked up then, the dipped beam aim is not where it's intended to be, but instead glaring at the cars trying to drive along the road.

They should sit an I.Q. test, with the first question being, when and in what situation should the parking lights be used?
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Post by Kowalski »

citronut wrote:exactly what i do MikeT,

but i think the flash of the brake lights is like showing a red rag to a bull,
and it seems to upset them to the extent they realy belive its your driveing thats cause the problem in the first place,

i keep toying with haveing some stickers printed to sell saying why's your s**t driveing my fault, but the problem there is they more than likely cant read anyway,

regards malcolm
Less provocative and perhaps more effective is varying your speed gently up and down by about 5 or 10mph, the emphasis being on doing it gently and "accidentally".
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Post by OwenP »

I had a "fun" trip through a set of roadworks at one point with a lorry sitting on the towbar, he didn't like me sticking to the roadworks speed limit.

He had full beams on all the time he was behind me, and was probably close enough that he wouldn't have been able to see brake lights had I used them.

At some points I felt I was left with no option but to speed up or have him run into the back of me.

When the roadworks came to an end I made sure he was able to pass me and made a note of his number plate, and promptly reported him to the police for dangerous driving.

Surprisingly it was taken reasonably seriously by them (was asked would I go to court etc.), had a phonecall later on from a sergeant who said we can't really do anything, but we know where the lorry was from so I'll go and have a quiet chat with the boss. My response was along the lines of fair enough I wasn't expecting much, but thought I would report it in case they were doing it repeatedly, final straw and all that.

@Kowlaski, I find a lot of people do that anyway on the road, whether they are being tailgated or not, I frequently find that the person I was once a sensible distance (2-3 secs) from is now to close in front with no change in road conditions or speed on my part, and when I go to overtake to maintain my own speed suddenly they speed up.
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