mikes1988 wrote:
I've got a wee thought about this all... The majority of accidents over here involving young drivers occur on back roads. These are the roads with the least chance of having a traffic cop sitting waiting. They are also the roads less suited to speed (in general).
Very true.
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Younger drivers tend not to see this, and will drive at their limit, thinking it's safe. I find myself more inclined to drive at 60 on a decent NSL road,
Not just the young who will drive at the speed limit - thinking it is "safe" when the safe speed may well require a lower speed. We need to really focus more attention on the need to "read a road and its conditions" more accurately....er - - back to COAST again
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than I would on the motorway, where I stick rigidly to 50 unless something is happening. This is a road where it would be safer to do 60 or 70, yet I won't because the chances of me getting stopped are greater.
Limiting probationers to 50 mph on 70 mph roads does seem a strange way of keeping the motorways safe. I think safer to keep within the normal and legal flow of the traffic. I do worry in case these new drivers are more focussed on keeping to the lower speed than what is going on well into the limit point of view in the road ahead of them and in their mirrors coming up behind them.
New German drivers are restricted to their national limit.. and it should be pointed out that the German drivers do pay a surcharge on their inusrance to be covered at above 80 mph on the derrestricted A/bahn.
If they crash at over 80 mph - they are then covered - and they have to be over the proabtionary and over - I think - 25 years to be eligible to insure themselves for any "envelope pushing"
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I also find that the R plates draw a lot of attention to myself, and if I have a car full of people I'll drive at the limit, because a car full of people with R plates up sort of sets alarm bells off for the police...
I think though that the R and P plates do alert others that the person is new to the roads and they should be more courteous. As hinted in another thread concerning the Auto Express report on child seats.. our lads and lasses would be having a word with anyone driving an overloaded car. In the case of a car load of 4 youngsters - possible we would just "escort at a distance so as not to put off" just to make sure they are OK. We do not go around stopping folks just because they are out with their mates - and like myself as a youngster when followed by a cop (in my case sometimes my Dad!
I followed a family tradition
) - you see a visible concentration set in and that's when you can smile to yourself and know they will be fine.
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I still don't really agree with restrictions in speed, it causes unnecessary wastage of time... I find that a byproduct of being restricted in speed will discourage me from using the motorway, and I will often choose the backroads to get home from certain places...
I agree - you need to keep up in flow and it helps you judge and match speed to blend in safely with the flwo on entry to motorway and any overtakes whilst on it.
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I get my R plates off at the end of the month, and I'm really happy about that because I feel that I've gained enough experience of driving in the last year to start driving a bit quicker on the motorway...
It's quite scary how much I've learned over the past year... You guys have been a great source of information and stuff... I'm going to try and get in contact with my instructor and see if he will bring me out once or twice to check how my driving is... In my opinion my only real bad habit is that I coast coming up to a junction or traffic lights... Not for a mile or 2 though, just the final hundred or so yards I'll depress the clutch...
Mike - you sound to me like a very mature young man and one who really disproves the media myth of "youth today" Common fault .. I think you overstimate the distance perhaps of this "coasting"
OK try developing "progressive braking" - you can do this on any empty car park or very quiet road
Choose a point at which you would like to stop and try to stop as close as possible to it.
Both hands should be on the steering wheel
Put light pressure on the brake initially
gradually increase the pressure and "feel" the slow down. Too jerky and you are doing it too roughly
When the vehicle is almost stopped - ease off the pressure so that it stops smoothly.
You can also try this one to practise stopping neatly at the kerb without "kerbing or hitting the kerb"
(I had to do this with a bowl of water on the bonnet to get it "perfect"
at Hendon)