Spot on LHM.
My favourite ever motoring idiocy moment was in Birmingham. A chap in a Zafira was in a queue of traffic moving fairly efficiently as it merged into another road. He was shouting "if everyone drove properly there wouldn't be a queue" and waving his arms about and getting redder and redder. Now, I am fairly convinced that there is a queue on that road every day, and basically his attitude says "what I am doing is more important than all these other idiots". It's what we're becoming conditioned to think, and it scares me. Other people are carrying out everyday tasks, and yes, it's annoying when they dither about, but in this situation, there was nothing to be done, and Mr Zafira will shuffle off his mortal coil very early if he doesn't grow up and learn to accept it. If you don't like traffic don't live in a city!
Believe it or not, I am smiling as I write all my rants. It's very cathartic!
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stevied - A favbia vrs very nice! Most skoda/audi/vw/seat driven round here are ones on the bentley scheme. You can tell by the number plate prefix, and the way they all tailgate you/pull out in front of you and dont bother to indicate!
Funnily enough I drive a Corsa, but its not modified in any way, in fact it is my girlfriends car, I sold my ka, as we have just bought our first property (a new build in nantwich!) and cant afford 2 cars.
Might see you around town!
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Muttley, Promise I won't ever tailgate you, or indeed anyone else!!
It is odd how people drive their Bentley scheme cars, because the penalties for damage are immense! Certainly a moneyspinner for VW Group....
Well done for buying a house in Nantwich.... if I was buying mine now, I couldn't, if you see what I mean!
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It is odd how people drive their Bentley scheme cars, because the penalties for damage are immense!!
Please excuse the apalling from a Suvverner (typical!) but what is a Bentley scheme?
Is that where you plan to buy a Bentley, but, at the last minute, buy a, er VW instead.
Did you see the piece on Traffic Cops last night, where someone had allegedly been selling Bentley bits er, illicitly on Ebay?
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I missed out the word ignorance, after the word apalling.
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> but what is a Bentley scheme?
I do not know either, Would like to know. Anyone ? Please.
Phil I
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"all the rude, aggressive, ignorant, selfish people you meet every day at work, at the supermarket"
The problem is that there are now so many of these people about, that the 'rest of us' have decided that if we can't beat them ...
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"all the rude, aggressive, ignorant, selfish people you meet every day at work, at the supermarket"
SWMBO is a teacher and it always amazes her that the dim, the lazy, the inconsiderate, the aggressive etc - ALL seem to get their acts together to pass the driving test. She (like all teachers I know) spots them in the 'Magistrates Briefs' in the local paper and says 'I could could have told you that, when they were nine years old!'
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'I could could have told you that, when they were nine years old!'
Having been in my line of work for 30 yrs I've seen three generations of the same families go through the courts. It's getting worse it really is. (Retirement now less than three years away !)
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"The Bentley scheme" is a lease scheme for employees of Bentley in Crewe! It offers all VW Group marques, hence the ridiculous amount of TTs in Crewe and Nantwich!
I did like the idea of buying a Bentley, then ending up with a Golf.....
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Are they owned/leased and what happens when they're moved on Auctions, local outlets ?
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Leased for 6 months, then they go back to the importers, think they're put into dealers.
No doubt there'll be a huge amounts of Eoses (or Eii) in Cheshire very shortly!
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PS, drbe I know ALL about the ebay thing through my "contacts"! It's all very amusing. Quite how he thought he would get away with it is beyond me!!
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Mmmm interesting I was talking to a trader in work (don't ask) who mentioned a closed VAG Auction last month.....he was picking up 6 month old Polos for a grand less than forecourt prices..he said there were 1000 odd VAGs there. All sold.
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Interesting! I believe the scheme is open to all VAG employees, that's a lot of people.... meaning a lot of 6 month old cars!
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Yep, I've known this guy a long time and the conversation turned to VW when he (how can say ?) "turned up" in a lovely little Polo...immaculate 6mth old, average miles and blalnce of warranty. He buys them turns them out for a 500 profit. No work required only collecting from auction.
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"all the rude, aggressive, ignorant, selfish people you meet every day
by coincidence, the study published yesterday - see
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5049610.stm
explains "... impulsive aggressiveness which are grossly out of proportion to the situation, such as that seen in cases of road rage or domestic violence. ..."
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In terms of relative driving standards around the UK, I recently drove from Surrey to Aberdeen and back in a weekend, which gave me a good chance to compare driving styles.
I found Scottish drivers far better at motorway driving than their English nieghbours. This covers things like
- returning promptly to left lane
- indicating lane changes
- forward planning: getting in/out of a lane before a glut of lorries
- reacting to other traffic: getting in/out of a lane as a car approaches from the rear (in this case me)
etc.
It was a marked shift to middle lane crusing, driving in a trance as I crossed back into England from Scotland, with the worst driving being on the 4 lane M25 around M4 and M3.
I think it's down to both less traffic and the majority of M-way and principle roads being 2 lane up North - you have to leave the outer lane clear more.
Down here with 3 lanes, it's more tempting to dismiss lane 1 as the lorry territory, and stay in lane 2. Which rapidly clogs up lane 3 for peopel wishing to stretch the speed limit slightly.
And on 4 lane sections this is just worsened - lane 1 and 2 are often deserted, as if they're infected by a plauge. Then, it takes only 1 or 2 drivers scattered in lane 3 or 4 to result in a queue of cars wanting to go 80ish stacking back in lane 4.
The inevitable result is someone dashing up the left in lane 1 and 2, with the depressing and enevitable reaction of lane 3 and 4 drivers bunching together "not to let them in".
Very depressing. Solutions I think could be
1) enforcement such as pulling drivers over by Police / Highways Agencey patrols (2nd one controversial I know!) and
2) dual carriage way/M-way being included in a stricter driving test.
Ultimately, I think it's caused by people in cars being utterly isolated/ indifferent as to how their actions impact on others.
Not sure how to stop this though..?
Ian
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I agree. Noticed that very thing - nearside two lanes virtually empty - on a 4-lane stretch of M25 just the other day.
Part of the problem with this sort of thing is it's infectious. Press-on drivers who might normally be good about returning to lane are afraid of being baulked by the dreaming, slack-jawed mimsers (or in many cases tense and terrified slow drivers jerking around in utter funk) and so stay in the outer lanes. Yes, I am speaking for myself.
.**********
The Belgians who are thought to be quite dangerous drivers are very prompt at returning to lane on their 2-lane motorways. It's the law there.
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Sorry mods.
I was censored for saying that if the police gave people roadside scoldings for this behaviour, and the media backed them up, something might come of it. I don't see anything wrong with a lane discipline drive. But it would take political will and road brains on the part of some minister, and the safety twonks and anti-car people would try to sabotage anything sensible.
For the curious: used an improper synonym for 'scoldings' in last post.
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couldn't agree more that most motorway drivers, down south can't drive on motorways correctly, and I live near JUCT 11 M25, so a very busy area. Prehaps if undertaking was legalised it might change driving habits, it works ok in other countries.
The worst drivers, slow and as if in a daze, I've encountered were in Eire, and Norfolk/Lincolnshire area, but that's only to be expected
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couldn't agree more that most motorway drivers, down south can't drive on motorways correctly, and I live near JUCT 11 M25, so a very busy area.
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On the M3 between J1 & M25 yesterday morning about 09:00.
I was in the middle lane overtaking a vehicle in lane one with someone overtaking me.
An old large Alfa saloon just a little further back swept from lane 3 across to the hard shoulder, used that for a short distance and then back into lane 3. It must have been doing well in excess of 90 and rapidly disappeared from sight.
A crazy way to proceed.
As anyone who uses this part of the M3 knows, there is so little traffic on it which makes this action even more amazing.
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I actually knew someone who was pulled over for middle lane hogging, on the M57 iirc.
He was quite a new driver at the time, so the police just gave him a warning. Unfortunately they also impounded his car, as apparently it was two Orion 1.6i Ghias welded (badly) together!
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