Bank holiday driving

[190]

I’m going to hazard a guess he’s going to say:

1. A Mercedes.
2. A really old one at that.
3. “None of this modern crap” type statement.

I suspect he means a saloon car with a boot low enough that you can hold the hose above it as opposed to perhaps a van or SUV. That has little to do with age.

 

[219]

What is a "proper car"?

Simple : a car with a boot ; not a van shaped thing with little to commend it .

 

[219]

And get my hands dirty!

I can't be bothered it's far more convienient to go to the pump with the hose on the correct side.

Not if there are queues , or cars filling up , at the pumps on that side and none at the others .

 

[219]

Why can't they park wherever they like and you get in a different queue? If this is an issue for people, they really need to get a life.

Nobody is getting upset with the length of time it takes you to organise the pipe over your car to the tank and back. It probably takes longer (start to finish) to fill a tank with the cap on the far side from the pump.

Common sense & logic says to park on the side where the petrol cap is. The hoses are usually filthy (especially diesel) and why would I want to get my hands dirty and muck around holding up a hose (and then hold everybody up while I clean my hands).

Diesel is filthy stuff , but if you find it objectionable, either use the gloves provided , get your man to do it , or go to filling stations which offer attended service ,

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Diesel is filthy stuff , but if you find it objectionable, either use the gloves provided , get your man to do it , or go to filling stations which offer attended service ,

I'm happy to patiently wait in a queue for a (petrol) pump on the correct side.

 

[zipdip]

Well I try to keep off the roads on bank holidays,and will manage that until Monday,as I have to take people to Felixstowe from Clacton on Sea,I will use back roads and then take my chance over the Orwell Bridge,I should be heading home before the rush.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I prefer to take holidays out of season.

There's less whining children for a start.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I prefer to take holidays out of season.

There's less whining children for a start.

 

[Benzmanc]

Well I try to keep off the roads on bank holidays,and will manage that until Monday,as I have to take people to Felixstowe from Clacton on Sea,I will use back roads and then take my chance over the Orwell Bridge,I should be heading home before the rush.

That's put a jinx on it

 

[219]

Well I try to keep off the roads on bank holidays ...I will use back roads and then ... over the Orwell Bridge,I should be heading home before the rush.

Clearly , some are more equal than others :-D

 

[zipdip]

Well every man and his dog hits the roads over a bank holiday,and some cars will be under maintained and so breakdowns cause traffic problems,it never ceases to amaze me that people do not plan a route to say the coast,the route I have most knowledge of is the A12 from London heading for Clacton on Sea, from theA12 you then take the A120 and then the A133 by about 11 am the A133 turn off for Clacton has backed right up onto the A12,because of a roundabout where that traffic does not have right of way and the amount of traffic,now the way round that is to carry on the A12 and turn at Lt Bentley or travel on a mile and turn right at Horsley Cross on the B 1035 if you follow that you will end up at Walton on the Naze or Frinton or if you turn off to Clacton,traffic will be light job done,as I mentioned I have to ferry two people to Felixstowe and I will come out of Clacton to Horsley Cross and then using back roads to the A14 turn right and hope for the best.

 

[baxlin]

I’ve adopted that strategy for some time : as long as I have good visibility of a clear road , and a ‘landing zone’ ahead to come back into , second gear in the SL makes them easy pickings to hop up the queue 2 or 3 cars at a time , using engine braking to drop back into the gap .

You mean the gap the driver has left to allow safe stopping distance, as per Highway Code? As in the 2 second rule?

(What makes you think I’ve recently been on a Speed Awareness Course?)

Edit: why don’t the Smiley faces that I selected show?

 

[219]

‘Safe landing zone’ means gap I can slot into without inconveniencing anyone else .

Although my 300SL-24 is nowhere near a present day performance car , it is still well beyond the comprehension of many road users, and I really don’t take risks .

 

[219]

You mean the gap the driver has left to allow safe stopping distance, as per Highway Code? As in the 2 second rule?

(What makes you think I’ve recently been on a Speed Awareness Course?)

Edit: why don’t the Smiley faces that I selected show?

If someone slots into gap ahead of me , I genuinely don’t take umbrage.

When on motorway, even years ago , if a faster car (Ferrari etc ) came up behind , even if I was doing 3 figure speed , I would get out of way asap .

Remember one time I was doing circa 130 and BB512 came up on ramp , I moved over , and with puff from his 4 exhausts , he left me for dead ; warp factor . 30+ years ago , so safe from prosecution , but indicative of attitude.

No problem with others faster than men.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

You mean the gap the driver has left to allow safe stopping distance, as per Highway Code? As in the 2 second rule?

(What makes you think I’ve recently been on a Speed Awareness Course?)

Edit: why don’t the Smiley faces that I selected show?

Safe stopping distance can always be opened up again.....problem is most drivers drive too close together and do not give others, who want to overtake, any room to do so (leap frog).

Looking at how most people drive up the @r$$e$ of lorries etc, I wonder how many people on the roads know or understand the 2 second rule.

 

[219]

Safe stopping distance can always be opened up again.....problem is most drivers drive too close together and do not give others, who want to overtake, any room to do so (leap frog).

Looking at how most people drive up the @r$$e$ of lorries etc, I wonder how many people on the roads know or understand the 2 second rule.

Only a fool ...

 

[zoros]

This 'generalism' is just that - a general rule. It doesn't work, the faster you go and if you do the maths you will find that just shy of 60mph, the 2 second rule does not work. At speeds above 57 - 58mph ish - the 2 second rule will cause you to hit the car in front (albeit at a snails pace), but you will collide. And the faster you go above this speed, the harder you will hit the car in front...and around 80+ mph, you will cause severe damage during the collision.

So be very very careful when discussing this 'general' rule, it isn't a rule perse, it is a suggestion, a guideline and many factors come into play....not least....speed.

 

[clk320x]

Not if there are queues , or cars filling up , at the pumps on that side and none at the others .

So then you can use the pumps which are unoccupied? Why is it such a big deal?

 

[Deleted member 126251]

This 'generalism' is just that - a general rule. It doesn't work, the faster you go and if you do the maths you will find that just shy of 60mph, the 2 second rule does not work. At speeds above 57 - 58mph ish - the 2 second rule will cause you to hit the car in front (albeit at a snails pace), but you will collide. And the faster you go above this speed, the harder you will hit the car in front...and around 80+ mph, you will cause severe damage during the collision.

So be very very careful when discussing this 'general' rule, it isn't a rule perse, it is a suggestion, a guideline and many factors come into play....not least....speed.

Not sure I follow your reasoning. The greater the speed, the further away you will be from the car ahead (following the 2 second rule). i.e. the distance you would cover in 2 sec at the speed you are travelling. Easy to do - when the car ahead passes a fixed object (e.g. goes under a bridge, passes a sign) it should be at least 2 sec before you pass that object.

At 70 mph you should be about 32yards away from the car ahead & ditto for that car etc (so only 3 cars for every football field length at 70mph).

While the performance cars will be able to come a complete standstill in that distance (70 to 0 in ~33 yards) most cars cannot.

FROM 100 TO 0 KM/H: THE 50 BEST-BRAKING CARS (scroll down a bit)

If you stay two seconds away from the car ahead you will have enough time to stop unless, the car ahead is a performance car and stops in 33yds from 70mph and you have nowhere to go to avoid hitting it.

Problem is: a) people drive too close to the car ahead, b) they don't know how to brake in an emergency using ABS, c) don't actually understand the 2sec rule, d) drive as if they are in a coma with zero situational awareness etc etc

 

[190]

I've just driven 244miles on a bank holiday Monday and hardly seen any traffic or remotely needed to worry about the 2 sec rule. Took the M60,M61 and M6 up to Scotland and I can't remember when I've driven on motorways that were so quiet. Car returned 53 MPG which is not bad for a petrol.