Bad weather fat car?

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Stuart McB
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Bad weather fat car?

Post by Stuart McB »

Is it me or have any of you guys noticed that at the slightest bit of bad weather (fog this morning) that some vehicles are driven as though over night they have gotten fatter (wider) by at least 2 feet [?] On the way to work this morning after driving 20 miles being dazzled by front fog / driving lights (none on the rear [V]) as the fog was that thick and visablity must have been down to at least a few miles, it became apparent that evrey car I came across not matter the model was unable to drive on only one side of the road, this goes for on coming traffic aswell. In fact one Pug 106 went from left to right to left to right to left to right to left to right with in a mere 20 yards ([:o)][:o)][:o)]). It then slammed on the brakes as a parked car came in to view on the right hand side on the road again some distance away. I've never been so glad to get off the road this morning all be it parked up at work [:(].
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uhn113x
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Post by uhn113x »

Around here, Stuart, they drive them like that all the time, especially school-run mums in their Tonka Toys, which are driven as though they are two Tonkas wide. I wonder if it is the blobbiness of EuroJapBoxes that is responsible for this, coupled with the very poor visibility in new cars with tiny windows cf Audi A4 (safety nannies, where are you when we need you?) [}:)]
Or maybe it is because they are just too darn lazy to wipe the rain from their windows and mirrors before they set off?
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Post by Stuart McB »

Don't start me on that. Hoe hard is it to scrape off a bit of frost and put the de-mister on before you set off?
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Post by tomsheppard »

YES! Modern cars are Vans with slots to fire the arrows out. Mike will doubtless remember when Autocar road tests MEASURED visibility.
Naturally in these modern times with airbags, ABS and BMW badges, there is no need to look where you are going.
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Post by ACTIVE8 »

Yes it's amazing the amount of people that forget to turn off their fog lights front, and rear. Inevitably they probably did not require them on in the first place, I.E there is normally never that much fog around, usually the fog is in their head, and they lack the intelligence about how their car works, what the switches do, and the blinding effects of fog lights. In my experience a lot of the fog light use, and abuse is down to the belief that it's cool to have the front fogs on, even during the day!!!!! Looking at the driver, they are usually very young, not very experienced, and prone to driving erratically, due to their over inflated ideas of their driving abilities. Which tend to be very low, matching their low I.Q.
Also note some car designs like Mercedes, with their main light switch control, mean that all the lights are turned off, when the switch is turned off, ensuring that the fog lights are not on.
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Post by ACTIVE8 »

Sounds like that the 106 driver could do with a lane departure warning system as fitted to the C5[:D] Only problem I suppose is that the driver would have to be going fast enough for it to work, and they could be a danger at any speed!!![:0]
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TomH
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Post by TomH »

if it has been raining heavily there can be a lot of water at the side of the road! hence the swerving to avoid
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Post by Stuart McB »

No water on the raod possibly just in the drivers head. It dose annoy me but then again I'm a part of that forgotten part of society, male and 30 plus years old.
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reblack68
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Post by reblack68 »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by TomH</i>

if it has been raining heavily there can be a lot of water at the side of the road! hence the swerving to avoid
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True, but some people seem to think hitting a Renault Savanna head-on is preferable to hitting a puddle.
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Post by ACTIVE8 »

Yes it's amazing the ability or lack of it that you can encounter on the roads now. The opportunity to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonne on a car licence changed some time ago, and it's no wonder when people lack spacial awareness, and find it difficult to drive even the smallest of cars on the road. They changed the regulations because of too many accidents with the larger vehicles, and have limited it to 3.5 tonne. Although now we have the problem with muppets in 4 x 4's who only venture off road when they cross over the pavement (like the rest of us) to the their off street parking. Why they feel the need for a Chelsea tractor in their life is a source of great amusement to me, because other vehicles are just as safe, offer more interior space and are more economical etc. The issue that junior is safer in said car/big barge is often mentioned, but they will be just as safe in another recent suitable vehicle. Note that the reports about how much worse the other driver comes off in an accident were in the press a lot when I visited America in 1994. Also if you are NOT EVER going to take it off road seriously what is the point of buying one!!!!
People in general do not carry out a risk assessment, and work out that crossing the white line, and driving towards oncoming traffic too far away from the parked cars which are usually empty is very dangerous, and threatens the other oncoming driver with a distinct possibility of a head-on collision.
If the driver swerves out because of a small amount of water, another driver (oncoming) cannot be expected to be a mind reader, and take avoiding action in relation to their capricious driving style. I also would not copy the actions of that swerving driver,(if driving behind them) because you could put yourself in danger following the actions of a moron.(Lemmings and cliffs springs to mind here.)
The best way is to always assess it yourself, and not trust the actions of others.
At night if you imagine the swerving driver as being the type who would have his/her front fog lights on, as well as their legally required dip beams, and they were to indicate (unlikely) then there is the issue that the oncoming driver can be blinded. Dipped beams can be 55/60w x 2 and fog lights can be 55/60w x 2 I am being conservative with these figures, and excluding xenon discharge lamps which can be very bright, but if you do the maths then it becomes apparent that someone posing with their front fog lights on, is hoping for a lot for another driver to notice a tiny 21w bulb when they have been blinded by over 200w from the excessive amount of other unecessary illumination.
Ultimately, I would like many others I guess, prefer the driver to be bright, and not their lights, but maybe that's asking too much on the roads today!!!
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uhn113x
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Post by uhn113x »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by ACTIVE8</i>

Although now we have the problem with muppets in 4 x 4's
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I <b>like</b> muppets! 'Specially Animal.....
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Why they feel the need for a Chelsea tractor in their life is a source of great amusement to me, because other vehicles are just as safe, offer more interior space and are more economical etc. The issue that junior is safer in said car/big barge is often mentioned, but they will be just as safe in another recent suitable vehicle.
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Possibly safer in a vehicle that the driver is capable of controlling!
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
Also if you are NOT EVER going to take it off road seriously what is the point of buying one!!!!
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A triumph of marketing over common sense!
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Post by vanny »

On the fog lights left on trend, anyone ever driven a Ford Escort? Now i dont want to stick up for them cos well there a Ford, but the design for the fog light button is shocking. Its pretty much impossible to tell whether the fogs are on or off, in the past i've resorted to getting out and seeing if there on or not! Bloody stupid and the same for the old transits and fiesta's.
Im glad my BX has a huge big button that lights up and tells me when the front fogs are on. Then again the BX headlights are so weedy its pretty obvious, if you can see the fogs are on, if you cant the fogs are off! [:D]
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Post by DervDonkey »

I agree with that observation, vanny. I had an Escort a few years ago, the last version before they stopped making them, and the fog lamp button and telltale was perfectly hidden by the steering wheel rim. Add to that the little problem it seemed to have of switching on by itself, seemingly without human intervention... If you see a late model Escort with fog lamps blazing, chances are the driver is completely unaware!
Of course, if somebody flashed their lights at me the first thing I'd do was crane my neck around the wheel to see if the fog lights were on - they usually were. Embarrassing. Ghastly car anyway, swapped it for a Xantia.
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Panjandrum
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Post by Panjandrum »

But you need to think like an SUV driver.
Think the world revolves around me.
Think selfish.
This is not a logical argument.
If I am in a huge big SUV then I will be able to see better than I would in a wee car - and be seen better, of course.
Doesn't matter that anyone I hit will be squashed.
Doesn't matter that people won't be able to see through my SUV like they could see through a normal car.
If I keep my rear foglights on then everyone will be able to see me - I know that for sure because they keep flashing their lights at me and blowing horns and waving in that friendly manner.
Doesn't matter if they are being blinded - if my lights bother them they should keep further back shouldn't they.
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Post by VisaGTi16v »

I think the reason so many mothers buy 4x4's for the school run is because it makes them feel safer in a big car and up higher etc. Problem is that now ~97.34% of mothers buy 4x4's to take their kids the 100metres to school they are no safer as the other vehicles around them are the same height etc
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