Mr Whyte Van Mann

[AndyS]

Oh great. Another WVM bashing thread

Don't you know they are human too? And like the rest of the human race some are good and some are bad. A lot of them are just decent caring people trying to make the world a better place by getting your important parcels to you on time.

I was lucky enough to be invited to spend the day in a white van once and it was a real eye opener to first-hand see the sorts of stress they go through and the abuse they suffer from the GBP.

One such instance was where the driver was late for a delivery of a very important LCD TV, the customer needed that TV to watch the football. The poor driver was delayed constantly by old ladies in Metro's and particuarly by a volvo driver who stopped without indicating!! By the time we got to the cafe for bacon rolls it was shut and we had to go to a McDonalds drive-thru!!

By the time the driver delivered the TV he was an hour late and the customer was really quite grumpy, he didn't go as far as complaining but didn't offer a cup of tea and no tip!!

 

[Benzowner]

I was travelling at a steady 40 mph on a country lane which is a 40mph limit, and on which it's pretty difficult to do much over 40.

A recorded speed of 40mph is probably only 37ish. The white van man will almost certainly have a sat nav that may be indicating a truer speed

If I see an emergency services vehicle approaching from behind, i will do all I can to help him pass as soon as possible. If I see a boy racer in an Astra Van, cornering out of control, I will watch him like a hawk for my own safety and that of other road users.

Thus diverting your eyes from where you are going which could make you the cause of the accident

Bear in mind, the white van man keeps the wheels of industry turning for if it were not for him, we would have to rely on the Royal Mail

 

[Meldrew2]

A recorded speed of 40mph is probably only 37ish. The white van man will almost certainly have a sat nav that may be indicating a truer speed

When I was taught to drive for the second time, I was taught to lay the bottom edge of the speedo needle at the top of the line on the scale to take account of this. Of course, you are assuming (wrongly) that I do not have a sat nav - and I have learnt to drive at the accurate road speed, not necessarily the indicated (incorrect) one.

Thus diverting your eyes from where you are going which could make you the cause of the accident

Thus being aware of following vehicles actions in order to allow for them by indicating sooner, braking earlier and otherwise allowing for a boy racer behind me.

Bear in mind, the white van man keeps the wheels of industry turning for if it were not for him, we would have to rely on the Royal Mail

The white van driver behind me was in an R regd AstraMax. I seem to recall that they were discontinued some years ago and indeed many have trouble turning their own wheels, never mind the wheels of industry. The fact that it became a small dot in my rear view mirror when on the dual carriageway at 70 ( and stayed such for several miles) shows the condition of the engine.....

In the rural area where I live and work, AstraMax vans are inevitably driven by 16-17 year old lads whilst wearing blue overalls and backwards facing baseball caps.

They are often observed, in the early hours, either upside down in hedgerows, or being towed by a borrowed tractor after such an excursion. They are never, ever, observed obeying the speed limit or displaying valid road tax, and it is believed that none have been observed inside an MOT station since 2001.

The point of my original post was not "I held up a van for miles and miles...."

The point was "boy racer in van assumes that driver who drives at the legal speed limit will not speed up when the speed limit increases"

Boy - this has got serious!