Safe Speed Forums

Came across this in the "Sexpress" today. By Jo Macfarlane on page 7



Hang on! I thought each year on year our fishy oiled fed kids were getting ever brainier with all those A /A* Grades.. and no one failing these exams.






OK .. some have been known to picnic on the hard shoulder and I was once asked for directions whilst reading the riot act to one hapless idiot on the M1 when based with the MET .. He was in L3 and I got a yoo hoo. I was so incensed -- I let the speeder of many mph over 70 mph off with a "don't do it again" and sped off to the next exit to try to find this muppet - whom I did catch and I doubt if he ever did this again by the time I'd finished being the cop from his worst ever nightmare



Oh.. the rot did set in when the trendy lefties took over the asylum on education back in the 70s and we are reaping the result of badly educated child of the 70s/80s bog standard comprehensive education.

Discussions on the merits of Grammar School/Vocational School and Secondary and setting are a soap box issue.. but perhaps our current problem over driving standards is linked as this survey suggests



I have never ever run out of petrol. POWER works for me before each drive



Not being picky here .. but you do have Rule 105 which suggests keeping a two second gap

Plus rules 136; 139; 188; 207; 210; 197; 234; which talk of separation distances

But .. then not dim enough to get pinged .. but dim enough to get pulled .. by us

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I have never ran out of petrol. I've driven a car without a working fuel gauge (every day for two years) and not ran out. I'd go on to say how stupid one must be... but i did once splutter to a halt after running out of diesel... about 15 feet from the pump. But that I can wholeheartedly blame on the appauling ldv/sherpa van, in particular the wedge shaped fuel tank with a fuel gauge that doesn't compensate, meaning you get about 25 miles out of an indicated "quarter" tank. that only happened once though- then I understood 3/4 meant 1/2, 1/2 meant quarter, quarter meant red alert.

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Unlucky mate, running out of diesel is a bigger deal than running out of petrol, as I'm sure you became aware!

I don't understand how people manage it in modern cars. These days you are never more than 30 miles from a filling station, and thats about the range you should get from a tank that's just hit empty on the gauge.

As for the rest of it, perhaps the septics have got it right for once, having driver studies in school. Noone who cannot check tyre pressures or oil/coolant/washer fluid levels should be allowed custody of a motor vehicle!

EDIT: Add changing a wheel using the onboard tools to that previous list as well!

I've been well caught out twice. Once in a loan car which ran out in L5 of Park Lane southbound with 1/4 tank showing on the gauge. And once driving to somewhere in East Anglia in the middle of the night in the 1970s. We'd left London with a 1/4 tank, expecting to be able to fill up along the way, but I swear we didn't pass a single petrol station that was open. We ended up parking on the forecourt of a closed petrol station at about 4am and waiting for them to open in the morning.

There are places hereabouts (in the Highlands) where I reckon you can be a good 70 miles from an open petrol station at certain times of day. I live about 17 miles from 24 hour petrol, but on certain holidays - notably Christmas day - that filling station closes and the nearest is then 35 miles away in Inverness.

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Paul Smith
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so people tell me, after pushing it to the pump (with kind assisstance) it fired after a min of turning! I guess the luck of the stupid was with me on that day.

although bear in mind we are talking about a yr 2000 sherpa van, which bears little resemblance to any modern vehicle/engine system.

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Fear is a weapon of mass distraction

RobinXe wrote:
I don't understand how people manage it in modern cars. These days you are never more than 30 miles from a filling station, and thats about the range you should get from a tank that's just hit empty on the gauge.


But then - some firms - like mine isue fuel cards that are only valid at certain stations,find the wrong one and you pay- up to £70 --and then wait for months to get it back.

If one is restricted in such a way then clearly the establishment providing you with such a facility has faith in your aptitude to conduct the additional planning required to ensure you are able to avail yourself of said facility.

If one cannot find a suitable station to accept one's particular fuel card, and opts to carry on, and subsequently runs out of fuel, in preference to filling and claiming back the cost, then I stand by my earlier statement that one is not quite bright enough to be allowed custody of a motor vehicle!

The point should also be made that a large number of rural filling stations have closed down in recent years. I haven't carried out a detailed survey, but I'm sure that even in England there are plenty of places where you can drive for 20+ miles on A-roads, probably 30+, and not find a petrol station.

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Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Yep!
All our local stations close by 10.30 pm.
Our nearest 24 hour is Burton Services down the M6.
If you were in Langdale or Grasmere, that's 30+ on roads which are not conjusive to economical driving!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Not all are too dim - some are just too clever for their own good....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MkttxeF-oo

Not only is the scooter rider an idiot, but the car driver following so closely is simply not aware that the scooter could go down under his wheels in an instant!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

And I thought that was what the AA was for!

Why pay £70, why not put enough in to get you to a station that accepts your card?

If you are expected to use certain stations, do you not have some sort of map which tells you where these station are?

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Thats no joke!

A Flat (and in particular An offside flat) on a motorway or DC will result in my evacuating the vehicle and waiting for the AA!

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agreed. Life is a little different for us simple country folk I rather think that we apply our local savvy and our tourists might get caught out here. But .. I think a case of knowing our cars and when they are about to splutter on fumes.

I have a rule of thumb.. if the needle in any car is at the quarter tank mark.. tank it up. I note the mileage and amount I filled with.. keeps me a bit more aware of how whatever car is performing .. with due account taken of traffic conditions. However.. very naturally .. I find my more mature members of my harem of raving four wheeled beauties ..have a thirstier approach to their "lives". But I suppose a case of knowing a car.

As for punctures.. I will fix if I think "safe". I think I would tend to call on the services I have paid good money for if on the motorway.. offside tyre and our kids with us. (I would probably move our kids to behind the crash barrier if fine.. and ensure all lights and hazards are blasting away if wet and dark.)

However, since I do POWER before we set off and do check around on pitstops en route.. so far.. so good. But you can never rule out anything with a mechanical beast.

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Surely a better solution would be to park as far left as possible, get passengers out and clear, deploy your red triangle 'upstream' (you carry one of those right), activate rearward facing lights and hazards, and change the wheel yourself!

I was under the impression that the motoring organisations charged members for stupid call-outs like run out of fuel or changing a wheel for a spare. I certainly hope they do.

I stand by my point, if someone is unable to change a wheel for the spare, using the onboard tools, then they are not fit to command a motor vehicle.

Robin

Lets be fair. Have you considered that a person who is fit to drive might have a medical condition (perhaps heart) that would make changing a tyre not advisable?

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Malcolm Cooper

Its not running a marathon mate! I presume you have done it before, and therefore know that it is far from strenuous!

I keep a hydraulic jack in the car for just such a purpose (bargain from ALDI). It makes it so much easier and faster, hence safer to do such work in such an environment.

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Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign

I suppose it all comes down to what you prefer



Putting on your high vis jacket (Mine are under the mats in my car) deploying your triangle, changing your tyre and getting out of there in less than 5 min, finding the nearest garage (time dependent)

Or putting on your high vis jacket, deploying your triangle, them walking to the nearest phone (I believe they advise you to use them) and walking back and waiting behind the crash barrier for however long.

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Oct 11 Birmingham Half Marathon. I am running for the British Heart Foundation.
http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Taylor

Finding super/vpower can be tricky in rural locations, I have never run out but have been within 10 miles of putting in a gallon or two of straight unleaded. I use the lists on the Shell site but sometimes they are wrong.

Robin, I had to change a nearside rear on the motorway once, with two of us it only meant being without a wheel with at least one nut for 10 seconds but the way the van swayed when a lorry went past was not fun. I can see why some people would not want to attempt it.

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