I have to admit to mimsing in certain conditions. Let me first point out that I drive in the north of Spain, which is, of course, nothing like driving in the UK. (There are tolls everywhere, M'way cameras are mounted behind gantry-mounted LED panels the size of a tennis court and traffic police, apart from in the Basque Country, are all over the place.)
Returning from a business trip last Thursday afternoon, I found myself on a quiet stretch of motorway. What the heck, on with the cruise (100/60) and it stayed on nearly all the way to the outskirts of Bilbao. Whenever I saw a huddle of cars darting onto the motorway from a sliproad I would gently accelerate up to the max. 120/75 and when all was clear again I let the car slow down to 100/60. This happened four times in an hour and a half. I was, naturally, in the nearside lane. I can honestly say that I got in nobody's way, never caused anyone to slow down, took barely an extra 20 minutes for the journey and the trip computer was showing over 60 mpg when I reached home.
(It's the FULL TIME mimsers who deserve to be taken off the roads permanently, preferably by bazooka.)
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 20/10/2008 at 13:30
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I thought motorway mimsers were those who stayed in the middle lane, which you clearly didn't do. hurrah! you're not a mimser!
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I thought a mimser was someone who peered futively though net curtains.
Edited by Sofa Spud on 20/10/2008 at 15:01
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I'm afraid bilboman can't even claim to be a part-time mimser: unless you get in everyone's way and cause the blood pressure of others to rise, you're unworthy of the name.
I've always thought that mimsing wasn't in the nature of Spaniards unless very, very old, deaf, and mostly without sight, in which case they always seem to drive small, rusted Seats at 15 kph in town centres and are to be regarded as part of the local colour.
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Not mimsing in my book.
I met plenty in London yesterday. They wait until the lights turn green and then unwrap a Werther's before putting it in gear and moving off. They sit in the RH lane at 20MPH with a clear road in front. And coming up the A1 there was a convoy of three of them sitting in the middle lane at 50MPH with a clear inside lane and not a truck in sight.
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You're no mimser by your description Bilboman. Optimist and bt have it right. Mimsers get in the way and are dangerous, or dangerously annoying. They don't know what is going on around them, or react to it correctly and in good time.
Driving in a relaxed fashion is not mimsing.
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It's a funny thing, but I have seen several people on here admit to being a mimser - and in every case they have not been at all, they've just misunderstood the definition.
Similarly, I know several people in real life who have admitted to being what they would have called a mimser if they'd known the term. None of those were either.
Not one of the actual mimsers I know of would imagine describing themselves as such.
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You are not " mimsing" - all those "expert" drivers who happen upon you, are more than capable of driving around you aren't they, ( Lewis Hamilton) ? and so you are of no consequence to them at all. They do not even notice you, anyway, you are driving your vehicle - not theirs, so it,s none of their business is it ? If everybody was the same we would all be ... the same ( heaven forbid) ! ( or robots ), and we would be discussing .... well, the mind boggles ! Insert something interesting for pete's sake ! ... [ the fastest driver is always at the back of the queue ]
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I will have to put my hand up and admit I am NOT a proper mimser. Some clear definitions are clearly in order. Apart from the blindingly obvious (male driver of a certain age, annoying habit of being in MY lane instead of HIS lane and proceeding along the Queen's Highway in 1950s style of driving at least 30% below the speed limit) a modern day mimser can be identified by...
1. Endless supply of Werther's Original (from previous post) Excellent starting point!
2. Type of car. Used to be easier to spot than now in the glory days of the Triumph Toledo, 1980s Lada, Morris Ital, any small Honda or Daihatsu, anything in hearing-aid beige (Metro, Chevette, Skoda 120, Escort Popular Plus,...) The Ford Ka is said to be the modern reincarnation of the Mimsemobile
3. Really keeps gloves in the glovebox, when not actually mimsing along. Never removes flat cap.
4. 30 minute parking manoeuvre - makes mimsers easier to spot in town. Conscientious drivers should take advantage of this fact and do everything possible to double park and box the mimser in to spare the rest of us the agony of being mimsed.
More definitions to follow. Now, where did I leave that army surplus bazooka....?
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Other great mimses:
* On a quiet road, indicating and moving to the RH lane at least 2 miles before the right hand turning you havwe to take.
* sitting waiting for a car car to come out of a particular parking spot, when there are at least 10 empty parking spots in the immediate vicinity.
*On approaching a traffic light, if there is ONE car in his lane, and NONE in the lane next to it, will move across to the emptier lane. And then when the light changes, will dawdle down the road at about 12mph.
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I don't go along with this stereotyping of mimsers by make of car, sartorial style, age or gender. In the real world the only way to spot one is by the body language of their vehicle rather than its make or presumed condition.
Mimsers come in all shapes and sizes, and so do their cars. Obviously though there are regional variations.
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