Safe Speed Forums

I've never driven anything bigger than a Vectra and my only van experience is a VW Caddy SDI, with that in mind I've just gone and hired a Ford Transit with a 2.8 litre diesel engine (but only 100bhp, huh?)

I've had a play with it around town today to get used to it, and I quite like it to be honest, it's not as wide as you think it is (I can still fit in a single lane when approaching the gyratory, something the Micra / Yaris crowd often fail to manage) and the mirrors are excellent, apart from the rear view mirror which isn't there, probably due to the lack of rear windows.. reversing is fun.

I also like how in situations where priority is questionable, people tend to yield even before I have had the chance to even think about the possibility of maybe doing something stupid or agressive. There's just no need. I have no intention of bullying any road users through my vehicle's size, but people seem to be conditioned to be self-bullied upon seeing a white van. I have no idea why this is but I'm not going to complain about it

Anyway, as of tomorrow I will be taking it long distance every day for a week, about 30 mins worth of SC, 60mins worth of DC then a couple of hours of motorway, then a bit more DC. I'll probably be being quite gentle on the outbound trips in order to protect my cargo. The return trips will be unladen.

I'm aware that the speed limits are :60::70: for SC/DC/MWays respectively, but is there anything else I should know, any tips or advice from those more experienced in these thing?

1) - if Long wheel base - don't forget to allow for corners - wait to gt past before turning.
2) - look at mirrors - top set (properly adjusted will let you see things around, let you reverse on mirrors) ---lower set will let you see things overtaking you on Mway /DC .Don't forget - reversing on mirrors - it's an art - but the blind spot is blind -ask HGV blokes to explain , how we ger around his.
3) on overtake - mirror - signal , look over shoulder ( not possible ) - thats when the lower mirror comes in ( and you must learn to trust it , and learn how to use it )
4) if LWB transit - it's almost certain to be RWD - LEARN HOW TO APLY POWER
bEST OF LUCK - it's a nice forgiving van - brakes are goood - visibility is good ,and it's comfortable, and after a fortnight - you might ust get to like it .
And - the front seats are wide enough for most folk to get a kip accross- i do on lot of weekends.---pillow on passenger side - spread out.

Of course its possible, try leaning forward. The mirrors may be better than a car, but they still don't offer as broad a field of view as your eyes!

[quote="RobinXe
Of course its possible, try leaning forward. The mirrors may be better than a car, but they still don't offer as broad a field of view as your eyes![/quote]

Robin - you fly helicopters - i daily drive transits-the side view is not as good as your helicopter, and i din't want to advise you on copter flyinng - last lot i met , had problems with a computer game - on flying copters.

Once again your English leaves me a little baffled, but are you suggesting that because I fly a helicopter I can't drive a transit (or play a computer game, which seems a little irrelevant, not to mention incorrect)?

I have driven a Transit on many occasions, and I always seem to have been able to lean forward a bit and look rearwards before pulling out to overtake.

Are you suggesting that driving a transit on a daily basis renders one unable to perform this manoeuvre?

A transit isn't much different from a car really, but I'd suggest that the two most likely things to 'catch you out' are:

1) Something behind when you reverse. You can't see that space immediately behind and you cannot afford to assume that it's clear. There's nothing wrong with getting out and having a look if you haven't seen into the space for a while.

2) The 'look left' view can be badly affected for shoulder checks (as someone else mentioned), but also for pulling out. If you're pulling out right from a shallow angled side road sometimes the oncoming traffic appear behind the bodywork. That's not good! The usual fix is an armful of left lock just before you stop. It's a bit hard to describe without a diagram, but I expect you get the idea.

_________________
Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

I'ts not an LWB and I'm fairly sure it's FWD, unless the propshaft is well hidden on these things.

I don't intend on reversing it much, only into the road outside my house really, and even then only if a certain annoying neighbour has parked his crappy mazda on the inside of the corner that everyone uses to 3 point turn when he isn't there. Tempting though it is to ram the mazda onto the path, I think I'll try to avoid doign that.


I actually quite like the mirrors, though I haven't found the adjuster thingy yet. I suspect this is because it's a base model and I have to adjust them the old fashioned way, luckily the default position was fine.


One thing that's really bugging me is a toggle button a little below the heater controls, the icon is sort of a round thing with an arrow coming out. If they'd drawn a fan in the middle I would have said it was a turbo icon. I have no idea what this button does.

Otherwise, yes, I quite like it, only real problem is the handbrake which requires me to slouch my back and shoulders, neandarthal-style, in order to reach the damn thing. Still, it's a diesel so the clutch is an acceptable substitute in most circumstances.

What a conundrum! I take it the handbook doesn't elaborate?

The only thing that springs to mind is that, in the absence of a cigarette lighter (?), perhaps it switches the 'power outlet'?

Do let us know if you figure it out, I love a good mystery!

You don't say anything about where you might have to park it, but it would be a good idea to know how wide and how tall it is.

Apologies if any of this repeats the above.

1. As said, check the height. Probably not as much as you think, but worth knowing.
2. Reversing isn't as bad as you expect, as the mirrors are very good, and the corners of the rear bumper give you a good idea of where the back end is. certainly easier than a Caddy!
3. If it's LWB or ELWB like mine, be aware how much the back end swings out the other way when you steer, ie when you pull out of a parking space, the back end swings over the pavement.
4. Be aware how much the top tips over when you park on a cambered road - more than you expect.
5. THE GOLDEN VAN RULE: When you approach a T-junction to turn right, try and approach at as much of a right angle as you can to improve leftward visibility.
6. Overtaking in a 100HP Transit won't be impossible, just woirk the revs, despite it being a diesel.

Ahh yes. When overtaking with low power on faster roads - hills are everything. I'd suggest NEVER overtake going up hill unless you're starting with lots of differential speed. And downhill overtakes are always your best bet.

_________________
Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

I haven't measured the height, but I know the route well enough to confirm that it's suitable for HGVs. The lowest bridge is something like 4.4 metres, so a Transit will be fine. I will measure it though, in case of detours.

It will be parked in the street so no issues there.

The point about T junctions is a very good one, thanks.

Or get the 137hp one like I did

Mine is the tallest panel transit and it's about 8.5'/2.6m. Just worth noting vehicle height in advance of arriving somewhere and needing to know!

Well that was easy enough, only real problem was the lower speed limit, which made the drive so monotonous I was falling asleep, solved with red bull and mini cheddars.

Other than that, I quite liked driving it, no incidents to report, apart from a few muppets who still managed to dazzle me with misaligned headlights even that high up.

They're quite fun to drive though, aren't they?

Yes, though I wish I had aircon.

They do bring out the nutters though, for example last night, I encountered a person riding a motorbike (I will not call them a biker for fear of offending the likes of Gixxer and Sixy) on the M4 around midnight in jeans and a tracksuit top, with an apparent top speed of 80, at first I was cautious as I thought it might be a copper but it soon became apparent from their riding that this was not the case.

Every uphill he would slow down and I'd overtake him, then on the downhill he'd overtake me again, very slowly, staying in my blindspot for an extended period of time (I timed it as 4 minutes once, as an exercise) even when there is slower traffic ahead in my lane. The only clue as to his presence was his front wheel was just visible in the blind spot eliminator mirror.

Yes, I know that it is my responsibility to be aware that he is there, and I was, but I'm not the one going to going to get ground into bacon slices by the armco. I'm sure the bikers here know full well that most car and van drivers are idiots and that you really dont want to be here.

This action tipped me over from the state of "idiot detected in the vicinity, be careful" to "I don't want to be near this moron when he has a crash, can't be bothered with the hassle", so I decided that given his top speed of 80, I would accelerate to 90 and leave him behind, so what does he go and do? he slipstreams me so that he can do 90 as well.

Good move, you're tailgating an empty transit van with suprisingly good brakes, the driver cannot see you because you are centrally positioned, you cannot see ahead because you're less than a car length from the back of the transit van.. oh and lets not forget the jeans and tracksuit top here.

So, I slowed down to 80, checked that there was no one else around and that he hadn't moved anywhere, changed lanes and floored it, bye bye moron.

Do you think this was a suitable cause of action? I figure that by removing myself from the equation there's less things for him to crash into.

Disclaimer: All speeds mentioned in this post are in kilometers

I saw one today riding a big bike in shorts and long untied shoelaces.... Dick!

Well the van has gone back and I'm kind of glad to be rid of it.

Whilst it is fun, Ford seem to have designed a seat that is impossible to adjust to a comfortable position, and managed to put useful things like the radio, cup holder and handbrake just out of reach with the driver, oh and getting metal splinters stuck into your fingers when using the handbrake was a nice touch!

My car feels weird though now, I'm sat too low, the steering wheel is too high (though I'm glad that it's back at a sensible angle) and I have to actually do proper blindspot checks again.. are those stick-on blindspot eliminators for car mirrors any good?