Stupid and Uninformed Drivers

[Mr J]

Oh how quickly oldies forget their younger selves. Younger drivers and inexperienced at driving and at life. Many of you were like that too, so perhaps you should give them a break. Getting cut up in traffic isn't really a reason to get angry, as it will happen often and there's nothing we can do about it. Yes, there are many bad drivers, but most are okay.

 

[nunthewiser]

Oh how quickly oldies forget their younger selves. Younger drivers and inexperienced at driving and at life. Many of you were like that too, so perhaps you should give them a break. Getting cut up in traffic isn't really a reason to get angry, as it will happen often and there's nothing we can do about it. Yes, there are many bad drivers, but most are okay.

hey i havent forgotten anything . in fact im still a bleedin hoon ......... and thats when those stupid and uniformed drivers show up and pull me down a peg or two with yet another speeding fine to add to the collection .........

 

[prawn_86]

Yes, there are many bad drivers, but most are okay.

Yeh, my uni lecturer one time did a test like this. He asked everyone who thought they were in the top 10% of drivers to put their hand up (more than 10% did), then worked his wayt down, and by the time he asked who thought they were in the top 50% of drivers, virtually everyone had their hand up.

Point is, most people think they are better at driving than they actually are.

 

[awg]

I want one.... WITH the gun.

many of the CCKWs were fitted with M2 50 cal machine guns, as in the attached pic.

Operated by the passenger, would cause tailgaiters to back off!

They were also fitted with a variety of truck based rockets, fired directly.

Unfortunately, you cannot use live arnaments on the vintage trucks

 

[glenn_r]

I would prefer to fire a rocket assisted 155mm HE round 30 odd clicks away using charge super to propel it...

 

[Mr J]

Point is, most people think they are better at driving than they actually are.

That's to be expected, but that doesn't address my point that most Sydney drivers I come across are okay, and this is coming from a motorcyclist. The bad drivers just stand out more, and we tend to remember the negatives far more strongly than the positives.

 

[mini696]

On the subject of indicators, a very misunderstood area. I recently travelled down South Road and as I approached roadworks there was a sign saying left lane closed, merge right. I put my right indicator on to indicate that I was merging right when the car that was about a car length behind in the right lane sped up to cut me off and then started beeping at me.
What this clown does not realise is that in that situation my indicator does actually give me right of way even if my car is only one inch in front of his he legally has to let me in (I wouldn't force my way just to be silly).
Lack of education of the road rules again, see diagram below. (Road traffic act rule 149).

Actually this is incorrect. Your indicator does not give you any more right of way.

If the merging lanes have a line dividing them the merging car must always give way, so in your case (at roadworks) I would suggest there was a white dashed line dividing the lanes, therefore the through traffic had right of way over you.

If there is no line dividing the lanes, the car in front has right of way.

 

[trinity]

The other interesting area at the moment is that the police are having a field day collecting $149 from all the clowns that drive around with their fog lamps on in a built up area (illegal as of Jan 25th 2009).

Hi, clarification needed on having fog lamps lit in "built up" areas? Why is that illegal? The plastic covers on our car was recently stolen and, and I couldn't believe how those plastic things are actually expensive, at any rate, was thinking if I was gonna spend so much, might as well have fog lamps installed.

Thanks.

Sorry to hear about your Honda Boggo. I find that, people can fake and pass the license exams somehow, then revert to their horrible driving habits.
I took driving lessons when I first arrived, the first instructor I had, did not explain much to me, just focused on getting me to pass the exam. The next instructor, John, was a a sweet and lovely guy, he did not only show me the exam routes, but, we went through day to day practical things on the road and gave me a lot of tips and pointers. (E.g., wave "thank you" when possible when someone lets you through ).


Cheers.

 

[Smurf1976]

yep and trying to turn left into bunnings from the brooker when u got a mini brocky up ya bum certainly makes for intresting emergency braking on their behalf

Even better when I've got a sturdy steel tray and they've got a fibreglass bonnet and bar, it gets them standing on the brakes real hard.

 

[Smurf1976]

That's to be expected, but that doesn't address my point that most Sydney drivers I come across are okay, and this is coming from a motorcyclist. The bad drivers just stand out more, and we tend to remember the negatives far more strongly than the positives.

That's probably to do with how busy it is in Sydney. I've often noticed that the worst drivers are usually found in free flowing traffic especially at high speeds, conditions that are less common in a large city.

 

[Awesomandy]

I took driving lessons when I first arrived, the first instructor I had, did not explain much to me, just focused on getting me to pass the exam. The next instructor, John, was a a sweet and lovely guy, he did not only show me the exam routes, but, we went through day to day practical things on the road and gave me a lot of tips and pointers. (E.g., wave "thank you" when possible when someone lets you through )

Getting a good instructor is the luck of the draw, really. My first (and only) instructor from a large driving school taught me to floor it and overtake a truck from the left lane. At that age, I didn't know better to get a new instructor.

 

[drsmith]

I want one.... WITH the gun.

Tow this to the Snowy's with the truck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRHA9W-zExQ

 

[Boggo]

If there is no line dividing the lanes, the car in front has right of way.

Yep, no lines, new road surface and underpass.

Hi, clarification needed on having fog lamps lit in "built up" areas? Why is that illegal? The plastic covers on our car was recently stolen and, and I couldn't believe how those plastic things are actually expensive, at any rate, was thinking if I was gonna spend so much, might as well have fog lamps installed.

Thanks.

Sorry to hear about your Honda Boggo.
Cheers.

Ta trinity.
This is the rule on fog lamps...

217 Using fog lights
(1) The driver of a vehicle fitted with front fog lights or rear fog lights must not operate the fog light unless the driver is driving in fog or other hazardous weather conditions causing reduced visibility.

Offence provision.

(2) In this rule:
front fog light means a light (other than a headlight) fitted to the front of a vehicle to improve illumination of the road in fog, snowfall, heavy rain or dust clouds.

 

[Boggo]

This is the current penalty for using fog lights unnecessarily in SA...

217(1) Using fog lights when not driving in fog or other hazardous weather conditions $146

 

[CanOz]

Wow, where do i start with this thread??? This sounds like my adventires driving in Northern China everyday. Boggo, your accident sounds like my near miss ever 5 km.

I leave home early for work to avoid the traffic and a huge number of new drivers on the road. The idea of rear view mirror is this:

Why do i look in them? That's the PAST!

Driver's entering onto main roads without looking 70% of time, knowing that the on coming traffic will yield or break hard.

Picture what you are going through, only in a city that is adding up to 400 new cars per day.

Last night i had to drive back into work at night, the most terrifying time to be on the road. Large multi-axle dump trucks rule the road. Driving with high beams, facing not just front but back as well, blinding everyone. They drive at insane speeds while loaded to the sideboards, tyres bulging, and at even crazier speeds when heading back for another load. They destroy the roads, their equipment, and anything that gets in their path.

The first time you see this behavior you wonder what the police are doing....the answer is pretty simple....SFA!

Cheers,


CanOz

 

[Boggo]

Amazing stuff can, how do you handle it, keep half a dozen old bombs in the back yard to get you around and hope you live long enough to tell the tale ?

I was going to suggest getting something like the truck in awg's pics but I seem to recall that they have an endless supply of something similiar up that way

 

[CanOz]

Amazing stuff can, how do you handle it, keep half a dozen old bombs in the back yard to get you around and hope you live long enough to tell the tale ?

I was going to suggest getting something like the truck in awg's pics but I seem to recall that they have an endless supply of something similiar up that way

I drive a 4 year old Honda CRV, and so far not a mark on it.

After the first 6 months i had to take a week off work just to de-stress from the driving. Now, i just "go with the flow"....tooting the horn when someone gets in my way....they actually respond to that!

More large new SUVs on the road here, and during the day they get respect. Lots of Hummers, Landcruisers, Porche Cayenne's etc., mostly with drivers to negotiate the traffic for their employers.

I was home in Canada recently, and the peace on the road was mind numbing.

Cheers,


CanOz

 

[wayneL]

Now, i just "go with the flow"....tooting the horn when someone gets in my way....they actually respond to that!

I found that driving around SE Asia. Drive politely and you will be frustrated to death. Go as fast as possible with hand on the horn and everybody just casually moves out of the way. I used to LMAO at that.

 

[CanOz]

I found that driving around SE Asia. Drive politely and you will be frustrated to death. Go as fast as possible with hand on the horn and everybody just casually moves out of the way. I used to LMAO at that.

LOL! Exactly, drive politely and you are the one at the brunt of everyone else's car horn!

Cheers,


CanOz

 

[glenn_r]

Wow, where do i start with this thread??? This sounds like my adventires driving in Northern China everyday. Boggo, your accident sounds like my near miss ever 5 km.

I leave home early for work to avoid the traffic and a huge number of new drivers on the road. The idea of rear view mirror is this:

Why do i look in them? That's the PAST!

Driver's entering onto main roads without looking 70% of time, knowing that the on coming traffic will yield or break hard.

Picture what you are going through, only in a city that is adding up to 400 new cars per day.

Last night i had to drive back into work at night, the most terrifying time to be on the road. Large multi-axle dump trucks rule the road. Driving with high beams, facing not just front but back as well, blinding everyone. They drive at insane speeds while loaded to the sideboards, tyres bulging, and at even crazier speeds when heading back for another load. They destroy the roads, their equipment, and anything that gets in their path.

The first time you see this behavior you wonder what the police are doing....the answer is pretty simple....SFA!

Cheers,


CanOz

We just spent a few days in Xiamen, China and I can confirm what CanOz has said, I wasn't game to drive so we used Taxi's and OMFG even on the main roads pedestrians just walk out in front of the traffic which somehow slows and misses them.

The pedestrians using the pedestrian crossings have to dodge turning traffic even though you have a green walk sign, also one the better things I thought was that they have second clock on the traffic lights showing you how long until the lights change, a bit like the start of a Formula 1 race...

Traffic entering from the side roads just drive onto the main road making traffic on the main road to either brake hard or change lanes using the horn but strangely enough the traffic does flow quite well and we never saw a crash.