Stafford Traffic.

Raven

Raven

Well-Known Forumite
The biggest issue we have now is that unless you trigger a camera of sorts you are unlikely to be caught regardless of how reckless or bad your driving is as there are so few traffic police nowadays.
I have seen some outrageous driving in the last few years of the kind that you would have never seen a good few years back & I would not have anything but full comp & dash cam nowadays.
Many may not be aware but when driving in the city's you send more time looking out for ............ cameras / lane violations / speed changes etc designed to catch you out / loony cyclists (on occasion) and not forgetting pot holes of course, all this can & has been proven to take your attention away from what you should be doing.
 
Mudgie

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
BobClay said:
About four years ago I was done for speeding on the M5 via a speed camera. At 4am in the morning near Sedgemoor I was doing 58 mph through a 50 mph limit roadworks although the motorway was quiet and nobody was working. However ... fair cop !! I was offered the choice of penalty points or a 'Speed Awareness Course' which I chose.
I have to say I did learn quite a lot from the one morning course, not the least of which was that the highway code was no longer a pamphlet as I remembered it, but a bloody Tolstoy Novel !!! I can't deny I appreciated the course as much of my knowledge was out of date. Even though it was only for a few hours.

I did ask why I got done, and the BMW drivers going past me at Warp Factor 10 weren't there. 'They don't get the choice,' they replied. 'They get the points or worse.'
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I've never been done for speeding or any other motoring offence but that doesn't mean I'm a good driver or that I would pass a driving test now.
 
proactive

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
Raven said:
Many may not be aware but when driving in the city's you send more time looking out for ............ cameras / lane violations / speed changes etc designed to catch you out / loony cyclists (on occasion) and not forgetting pot holes of course, all this can & has been proven to take your attention away from what you should be doing.
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Really?

Well I never...;)
 
Glam

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
Corporation street is to be closed, from I think the 10th of March. I do believe they're going to slap a bit of tarmac in all the potholes. Be easier resurface the whole road!
 
BobClay

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
That seems to be the way these days, certainly around here. Slap a bit of filler into it. Takes about a fortnight for the heavy lorries to tear it out. :(
 
Cue

Cue

Well-Known Forumite
Those who call for regular retesting evidently haven’t had to take one in a long time

You can be failed for the most ridiculous of reasons, I had a major failure for slowing down on Stone Road’s 40mph length so I could turn into Crab Lane as requested... major for “forcing the person behind me to slow down”, anyone who knows that turning knows it’s an incredibly tight turn and doing it at 40 would be tantamount to suicide. It basically depends on who you get as your examiner as it can all end up being down to their mood and whether they’ve had their coffee of the day. Supposedly getting them straight after lunch means you’re more likely to pass.

You also have to wait weeks upon weeks for a test. Nobody would ever be able to get a test if you had existing drivers constantly trying to get in on testing as well as new drivers.
 
Mudgie

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
Cue said:
Those who call for regular retesting evidently haven’t had to take one in a long time

You can be failed for the most ridiculous of reasons, I had a major failure for slowing down on Stone Road’s 40mph length so I could turn into Crab Lane as requested... major for “forcing the person behind me to slow down”, anyone who knows that turning knows it’s an incredibly tight turn and doing it at 40 would be tantamount to suicide. It basically depends on who you get as your examiner as it can all end up being down to their mood and whether they’ve had their coffee of the day. Supposedly getting them straight after lunch means you’re more likely to pass.

You also have to wait weeks upon weeks for a test. Nobody would ever be able to get a test if you had existing drivers constantly trying to get in on testing as well as new drivers.
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"It basically depends on who you get as your examiner as it can all end up being down to their mood and whether they’ve had their coffee of the day. Supposedly getting them straight after lunch means you’re more likely to pass" - but that's the same with everything in life including going to the doctors or into hospital for an operation.
 
Thehooperman

Thehooperman

Well-Known Forumite
Cue said:
Those who call for regular retesting evidently haven’t had to take one in a long time

You can be failed for the most ridiculous of reasons, I had a major failure for slowing down on Stone Road’s 40mph length so I could turn into Crab Lane as requested... major for “forcing the person behind me to slow down”, anyone who knows that turning knows it’s an incredibly tight turn and doing it at 40 would be tantamount to suicide. It basically depends on who you get as your examiner as it can all end up being down to their mood and whether they’ve had their coffee of the day. Supposedly getting them straight after lunch means you’re more likely to pass.

You also have to wait weeks upon weeks for a test. Nobody would ever be able to get a test if you had existing drivers constantly trying to get in on testing as well as new drivers.
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So would you say that the standard of other drivers' driving skills is in any way acceptable?

I personally think it is appalling and something needs to be done whether it's retests, prosecutions, re-education or something else.

Retests or courses seem to be the most logical solution to retain competences.
 
Jonah

Jonah

Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
Whether you fail or pass your test depends on if the instructors have filled their pass quota for the the month. If you have, then tough, you’ve failed.
 
Jonah

Jonah

Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
As for whether driving standards are better or worse now - I don’t think it’s that. I think it’s down to a hell of a lot of drivers thinking their journey is much more important than everyone else’s and also not giving a shit about other people.
 
Gramaisc

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Jonah said:
As for whether driving standards are better or worse now - I don’t think it’s that. I think it’s down to a hell of a lot of drivers thinking their journey is much more important than everyone else’s and also not giving a shit about other people.
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That is a huge part of it. Where I am, I often find myself slightly embarrassed by how overly courteous drivers are - and how long they will wait to pull out at a junction.

It is a societal issue, even down to those with the power to enforce it just not bothering.
 
BobClay

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
I drove a Reliants on a bike licence for several years before I took the car test. I came home on leave and was able to get a car driving test booked in less than six weeks (my leave time) because they jumped you up the queue at that time if your occupation demanded it. I had a mate who was a driving instructor who agreed to prep me for the test and after the first lesson he said: 'You've been driving a Reliant for so long you've got all the bad habits of most experienced drivers. You've got to be 'test' brainwashed.'

He must have been right, because I passed first time (I was in my 30's by then.) But I do remember the peculiar habits you had to develop to pass the test. (No crossing arms, head rotating through a full 360 degrees every other minute, more time looking into the mirror with exaggerated head movements.) Strangely the examiner on the test said: 'I can tell you're a biker, you keep examining the road in front of you for potholes and obstacles. I notice that because I'm biker myself.'

Maybe I got lucky. :eek:
 
E

EasMid

Well-Known Forumite
I remember my driving instructor telling me (5 weeks after my 17th birthday) "You've passed your test, now is when you learn to drive".
I drive 20,000+ miles annually & If I had to take my test with no advance warning I don't know whether I'd pass & I consider myself to be a safe, courteous driver.
I've always though that everyone should take some sort of assessment every 10 years or so just to make sure everyone is competent. There's a lot of drivers out there who have never had a conviction or been involved in an accident that should never be allowed behind a wheel. I have a family member who passed her test at 18 but then never drove again until she bought a car in her late 40's. She was a danger to herself & others until she was convinced to have a few driving refresher lessons. Another elderly relative hadn't driven since the sixties, her husband passed away 6 years ago (he did all the driving) & she expected to jump behind the wheel in her 70's.
 
c0tt0nt0p

c0tt0nt0p

Well-Known Forumite
Personally I think we should adopt a similar system to that in Australia where people who have passed their test should display a P symbol on their car for a set period of time and have restrictions on alcohol/blood level whilst driving, size of engine in the car being driven and time of day restrictions (unless driving to and from work or study)...
 
Lucy

Lucy

Well-Known Forumite
My OHs grandad drove his reliant until he was 90. None of us would go with him, he was a danger on the road yet because he didn't have a crash he kept his license. There needs to be lots of changes.
 
BobClay

BobClay

Well-Known Forumite
I remember watching Jeremy Clarkson driving a Reliant on Top Gear. I've always known he was a complete knobhead, and watching him whinging about the stability of it confirmed this to me.

You drive a vehicle, be it a bike, car, three wheeler or even a f***ing ship, according to it's abilities. Not to show how clever you are.
 
Jonah

Jonah

Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
I’m sure you realise that Clarkson drives like that on Top Gear purely for entertainment purposes. It is a entertainment TV show* and not a “reality” show.







* whether you think it is entertaining or not depends on your point of view.
 
rudie111

rudie111

Well-Known Forumite
I once worked with someone who had 15 driving penalty points or more (i believe most were due t o speeding). Didn't lose his license as it was needed for work. I doubt retests will ever come into force as I suspect many of us would fail and would be unable to attend work
 
Mudgie

Mudgie

Well-Known Forumite
rudie111 said:
I once worked with someone who had 15 driving penalty points or more (i believe most were due t o speeding). Didn't lose his license as it was needed for work. I doubt retests will ever come into force as I suspect many of us would fail and would be unable to attend work
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So being able to attend work has a higher priority than the safety of the general public.
 
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