Are modern cars slow on "A" roads?

[oldelanman]

A few more points for consideration..........

Why is it only other people who drive badly ?

At what age do you become the doddery old fart that you currently despise - and who will tell you ?

The most dangerous driver is the one who thinks he has no faults.

[StoatWithToast]

A few more points for consideration..........

Why is it only other people who drive badly ?

At what age do you become the doddery old fart that you currently despise - and who will tell you ?

The most dangerous driver is the one who thinks he has no faults.

I've never been sure why so few other people can drive 'properly', I must have just had a good teacher and never picked up and bad habits or maybe I don't like introspection or self evaluation

Another one which is only really disconcerting as a passenger is drivers who press down and lift off the accellerator every second or so; a mate does it and it can feel hairy when going through a bend. Also had a couple of taxi rides too. I'm a pretty relaxed passenger, but it really unsettles me and make me a bit travel sick. I can't really understand why they do it.

[Craig Elliott]

Given the handbrakes on elans I'd be suprised if anyone here wasn't guilty of this at least some of the time:

Sitting at traffic lights with your foot on the brake pedal thus dazzling the driver behind. Use your handbrake!

...but then again I'd also be suprised if anyone could ever be dazzled by Elan brakelights.



C

[gordont]

Hmm mental note to have a look at making my handbrake work........

[reb53]

"At what age do you become the doddery old fart that you currently despise "

I don't think you slowly regress from being a good driver into a bad one as you get older.
You might slow a little but still regard driving as something that requires work and thought.

I've driven with a few old people whose earlier driving history/style I had some knowledge of.
In each case their driving when older reflected their driving when younger.An uncle would be a case in point. When young a lot of quick driving around the country in his job, and several hill-climb cups on his mantle piece. When older still nice tidy corner lines, and a no mess around attitude, but no risky or inconsiderate behaviour.

In each case the over riding factor has been that driving requires your full attention.

Cheers
Ralph.

[elansprint71]

Well, it seems like I'm not the only one getting frustrated then! I had a very quick Google search and came up with a list of peoples pet hates as follows:

Leaving rear fog lights on when not foggy, particularly in the rain
Using front fog lights at the same time as headlights when not foggy
Using front fog lights without headlights
Having badly adjusted, dazzling headlights
Those people (and I have come across them) who drive around in all conditions with headlights on full beam
People who drive on unlit rural roads at night on dipped beams, making it very difficult for those following them to see the road ahead properly, particularly if they're looking to overtake
Parking with headlights on, particularly on the wrong side of the road
Driving with headlights on in broad daylight (particularly if not a Volvo owner)
Sitting at traffic lights with your foot on the brake pedal thus dazzling the driver behind. Use your handbrake!
Driving far too close to your back bumper
Other drivers crawling all over the back of you when you're maintaining a cautious, safe speed in a busy urban environment and there's no prospect of overtaking anyway
Cars behind moving as if to overtake on the left if you move more than two feet from the kerb to get better visibility
Driving at 40 mph on roads where 60 is a perfectly sensible and legal speed, then maintaining that speed unchanged when entering a 30 limit
Other drivers who pull out into a very marginal gap right in front of you and then proceed at a speed well below the posted limit - what on earth was the hurry?
Parking your car on the road when you have a driveway and a garage
People who insist on keeping Transits and box vans parked on the road overnight in residential areas
Parking on the pavement - occasionally excusable, but generally just thoughtless and selfish
Believing that using hazard flashers gives you the right to park anywhere for whatever reason
Drivers who brake to well below the posted limit when passing a speed camera
And those who brake for Gatsos pointing in the opposite direction that can't possibly catch them
Staying in the middle lane on the motorway when the inside lane is clear for half a mile ahead
But the driver who ostentatiously cuts across the bows of a middle lane hogger into Lane 1, and then has to pull out a few seconds later, is just as bad, and arguably more dangerous
Queues of tailgaters in Lane 3 of the motorway - although now I can normally take advantage of Highway Code Rule 242 and pass them on the inside
Abruptly changing lanes at the last possible moment at motorway exits - sometimes leaving it too late and crossing the hatched area
Lorries overtaking each other with a negligible speed differential (although given that they are compelled to have speed limiters this is not entirely the fault of the drivers)
And car drivers who catch up with a slower lorry on the motorway and then realise at the last minute that they want to overtake it. Have they never heard of looking well ahead?
Drivers who regard your carefully-created two second gap as a convenient space to slot into
Applying the brakes whenever a vehicle approaches in the opposite direction
Driving while using a hand-held mobile phone. This really does annoy me, particularly after the recent case where a lorry driver killed a man standing by his car in a layby because he was distracted by composing a text message on his phone. It's good to see the government have grasped the nettle of making this a specific offence, at least when done at normal road speeds, not sitting in a queue, punishable by 3 penalty points as with speeding.
The three drivers who follow you through after you've made what you think is a fairly marginal decision to go through an amber traffic light
Aggressive tailgating and risky overtaking in urban areas where any advantage gained will be at best minimal
Allowing a large queue to build up behind but remaining completely oblivious of it
Following another vehicle with no intention of overtaking it, but failing to leave a gap to allow others to do so
Extremely slow drivers reacting with annoyance when overtaken
Driving for miles a few feet from the back bumper of an HGV - not only is this dangerous, it gives an appalling view!
Car drivers who are overtaken by HGVs on the motorway - if you or your vehicle can't maintain a cruising speed of 56 mph, you shouldn't be on the motorway in the first place
And how many times do you see a queue of cars on a single-carriageway road following an HGV, only to find some numpty in a Nissan Micra dawdling along in front of the HGV? I am reluctant to stereotype the drivers of particular types of car, but Micra drivers must be the worst on the road for general slowness and lack of awareness of what is going on around them
Other drivers who follow you for miles on the motorway sitting one lane to the right in your blind spot
Any driver who thinks it is his business to force others to adhere to the rules of the road
Inching forward riding the clutch at red traffic lights
Blowing the horn if cars ahead at a junction fail to move out into a constant stream of traffic
Failing to indicate where it is necessary
Driving with your right arm resting on the window sill - usually a sign of a mind in cruise control
Likewise driving hunched forward over the steering wheel generally indicates an extremely timid and nervous approach
Driving out of the McDonalds drive-thru chomping on a Big Mac (the police could profitably spend more time lurking outside McDonalds rather than country pubs)
Men sitting in cars in freezing weather in their shirtsleeves. Look, mate, it just isn't that warm, particularly in the first few miles. You never see women doing that. Stop the macho posturing and put your jacket back on!
(This may sound a trivial, fussy point, but it has a sound scientific basis. Apparently getting into a freezing car without warm clothing can cause traumatic shock, greatly increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack. Far safer to be too warm in the latter part of the journey than too cold early on)
Pedestrians crossing the road very slowly making imitation running movements
Aggressive loitering in the road by pedestrians, especially teenage boys
Pedestrians who seem totally confused when trying to cross a side road where a car is waiting to turn into the main road
Playing deafeningly loud dance music in cars (not only is it dangerous and offputting both to the driver and others, it's also crap music - what's wrong with "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf?)
Special Cycling Section:

Cycling at night without lights
Going through red lights
Cycling on the pavement
Going the wrong way down one-way streets
Pulling out to overtake parked cars without checking behind
Tucking close in to the left and emerging at speed from side roads without looking
Cycling when drunk - they may abhor drink-driving, but they seem to think this is OK, despite Highway Code Rule 53

Done all of that today. Wass yer problem; old git?

And; serious question, what is a "bug-bear"?

[reb53]

bug?bear/?b?g?be(?)r/Noun
1. A cause of obsessive fear, irritation, or loathing.

Or

b?te noire/?b?t ?nw?r/
Noun: A person or thing that one particularly dislikes


This post of course demonstrates that not only am I hugely literate,
but that I can "Google".......

Ralph.

[Steve G]

You have noticed the phenomena that is known as the '45mph zombie'. These drivers, as the name suggests, drive at the same, often inappropriate speed no matter what the road or conditions. They will drive at 45mph through a village at school kicking out time and then stay at this speed when past the derestricted sign onto a clear, well sighted country road or dual carriageway. It is because this is the speed at which their 'brain' can cope with the information from the road subconsciously, without any level of conscious decision making, awareness or forward planning. This means that they can happily drive to work without having to engage their brain at all in the process of driving. This condition is compounded by the cars that these people always drive. The modern shopping trolley has had deliberately engineered out, any feedback or emotional connection between man and machine so as to make the act of piloting a vehicle at a steady 45mph as simple and uninvolving as possible. This is why my heart sinks when I see a Kia Pimento or Mitsubishi T-box on the road ahead, you already know the type of person behind the wheel, and that they are going to be a moving roadblock until you can find a safe place to overtake, as said, increasingly difficult on today's congested roads. Especially as these zombies like nothing more than to create a 'zombie train', where the automaton at the front can use his decaying brain stem to control all 15 zombie carriages.

The remarkable thing is, the undead passenger in the driver's seat will suddenly wake up the moment you pass, and probably swerve as if they're about to be run off the road. Then, after the near life experience has had time to soak into their rotting cranial mass, flash their lights and/or beep their horn in an effort to share their horror at having being woken up so violently while just trying to sleep drive to their job at B&Q.

[UAB807F]

You've got fast 'uns. Ours are stuck at 40mph unless it's raining, in which case it's 35mph.

[Spyder fan]

I keep seeing articles about the lack of speed on roads since I started this thread and loads of you are confirming your own frustrations.

The often used sales phrase "Keeps up with modern traffic" when used to describe a classic car for sale seems to be a bit redundant now. The editorial in the new issue of Octane mentions a wealthy car collector in Australia who uses a 1950's Bentley shooting brake in preference to a modern car because of the speed issue with slow moving traffic and also quite Draconian speed limits everywhere of 60mph on otherwise totally empty Australian roads, the Bentley more than keeps up and he can sling all the grandchildren and their gear in the back and still have room for his golf clubs, and it's a real cool car for the beach.

[ardee_selby]

...And how many times do you see a queue of cars on a single-carriageway road following an HGV, only to find some numpty in a Nissan Micra dawdling along in front of the HGV? I am reluctant to stereotype the drivers of particular types of car, but Micra drivers must be the worst on the road for general slowness and lack of awareness of what is going on around them

Came across this Lotus Micra...

They've ruined a good little runabout!

http://www.lotusbits.com/micra_rally_car.html

Richard

[rgh0]

You got me looking at all their ideas on developing 9xx engines which they have published more on in the last couple of years since I last looked. I have enough twin cams to build and dont need the interesting distractions !!!! I have a spare 907 and 912 engine here for my Esprit wiating for time and decisions on how much HP versus $ I want. Wish I did not have to have a day job to pay for it all but that takes all my time.

cheers
Rohan

[Tahoe]

You have noticed the phenomena that is known as the '45mph zombie'. These drivers, as the name suggests, drive at the same, often inappropriate speed no matter what the road or conditions. They will drive at 45mph through a village at school kicking out time and then stay at this speed when past the derestricted sign onto a clear, well sighted country road or dual carriageway.

Don't get me started on the 45mph zombie! First of all it's good to know that no matter where we are in the world we all face the same frustration and that drivers everywhere are pretty much the same (stupid). I drive 130 miles each and every day going to work and back, and I've seen just about everything and I have a list of pet pieves a mile long. I have a great drive every day though even with the idiots, zombies, and texters. My drive is through twisting mountain roads, 2 and 4 lanes, and through a couple of cities, but not very much congestion. I feel that I've become the worlds best defensive driver (no ego here) and I can pretty much read the ignorant thing the driver around me is going to do before he/she knows they'll do it. About the only thing that scares me more than anything is hitting a deer, bear, coyote, or other wildlife. As far as humans go the worst driver I came accross in the last year was a middle aged women with a large cup of coffee and a cigerette in one hand, and a phone wedged between her shoulder and cheek doing 25mph in a 50mph zone and stradling the centerline. I almost lost it when that happened, and for a brief moment I fantazised about running her off the mountain cliff and reading about the car discovered 1 year later by hikers. I didn't run her off the road of course, but scared the crap out her as I passed her on the shoulder blowing my horn. We do of coarse have very good drivers here as well and I regularly see compenent drivers going at a fast pace through the mountains. My closest calls have actually been with Deer who love to run at full speed out of a ditch and accross your path. I recently had 3 come in front of me, and with some aggressive braking missed all 3, but one actually jumped over my hood just in time or I'd have hit him for sure.
In closing I feel and understand everyones frustration.

[twincamman]

Well Over ere the police have created a' slower is safer ' mentality with confiscation of your car for 20 Km over and road side licence suspensions etc etc . Nobody merges any more they stop abruptly and gaze fearfully until an opening appears and then proceed on the highway slowly . There is a new breed of timid and terrified drivers to contend with along with the 90 year old Turd who has to contend with Wifely advice 'your going too fast ' at 40 in an 80 ----. I followed an old git doing 30 in a 80 zone , I had to put my 4 ways on to avoid being punted up the rear from closing traffic . The cops here wont be happy until everyone drives a 5 hp Briggs and Stratton and is a 'safe driver ' by their standards .

[Spyder fan]

Seeing as this old thread has been ressurected, I decided to read through from the start to see what sort of angry younger man I was a year or so ago. I noticed at least two names that no longer appear here, Mr Bill Will and Mr Derek "John" Pelly and a couple of names who no longer lower themselves to banter with me (Mark, Elan in the Forest and Mr T Wilkes).

My question to Mr D J Pelly is .... what do you mean by 1 - 2 -3 ? Go on, answer this thread, no personal emails accepted you grumpy old bodger!

My question to Mark Elan in The Forest is: have I written something you agree with so that you won't feel the need to reply disparingingly?

My question to Mr Tim Wilkes is: Are you too busy with CLES to play and have fun?

My Question to Mr Bill Will is: Why the long pause?