Other drivers' reactions, or keeping up with the Joneses

[Milford Cubicle]

Hey its nice to buy a new car - I've done it a few times. I like shitters too mind, your post just smacks of jealousy a little. It depends what you need a car for - I do 130 miles a day and wouldn't trust an 800 to do that.

800s are usually mechanically reliable (ignoring the KV6). I'm sure a well-serviced one would be fine for doing lots of miles in.

[pandamonium]

Just to add my 2pm worth. If I am driving at 70mph (The national speed limit) Why on earth would anyone require me to move out of the way? Surely they would also be doing a maximum of 70mph, therefore I would not be hindering their progress in any way? Just a thought.

[Guest]

I can never quite understand people not wanting to use an older car on a regular basis, citing reliability. Provided the car in question is a decent example and servicing is kept on top of, why wouldn't it be reliable? People seemed to manage back in the old days and if something goes it'll probably be a simple mechanical component rather than a series of fault codes. Make the effort!Edit: Just to clarify - I can quite understand why people would want to use moderns for other reasons, even just liking them, I just don't like reliability being used as an excuse for not using an old car. Especially if it's the sort of car that would have been thrashed up and down the motorway back in the day.

[pandamonium]

Hear hear! My Mazda is my daily!

Albeit not the greatest fuel economy, but I trust it a hell of a lot more than any other car I've owned (except the Lada - that was invincible!)

[seth]

I can never quite understand people not wanting to use an older car on a regular basis, citing reliability. Provided the car in question is a decent example and servicing is kept on top of, why wouldn't it be reliable? People seemed to manage back in the old days and if something goes it'll probably be a simple mechanical component rather than a series of fault codes. Make the effort!

Indeed. By my reckoning anything desigined after the motorway system should be capable of a daily grind. And some stuff from earlier too. I also reckon that a lot of "what other drivers are thinking" is in our own heads. I doubt a rep blasting up the fast lane actually cares whether you're in an 07 plate Mondeo or a G Plate Sierra if you're going slower than he wants to. And those daft bints that pull out from side streets right in front of you do it because they're daft bints not because you're driving an Austin Ambassador.

[Lord Sterling]

[----

[j-j]

Well dunno if I'm allowed to chip in as my Citroens have no sporting pretensions! though the CX can be pursuaded to move as a 2.4 has to have some use! but yes, exacto the same - I'll get a spazz driving up my ass only to overtake too close for comfort and pull in front only then to indicate and leave the carriage way - w - t - f......What they are not prepared for is a Citroen's ability to outbrake nearly anything! It also has an immensely loud air horn that pleases me..But it's the mentality. The only other thing I could add here is that I get it less from silver German repmobiles and more from scanky maroon Fiat Brava saloons and old Meganes etc. My most hated tailgater is the Silver Mondeo/Silver Passat estate TDi. They're so far the worst drivers and they always seem to have a victorian city's worth of black soot shiting out the tail pipe - are modern cars cleaner than old shite?Of course, overtaking legitimately can be a pain in the balls too if you encounter a middle lane hog - why don't they know?! and you have to overtake them sometimes across 2 lanes while watching for muppets coming up your RH side but not looking for hazards ahead of them. People ask my why I drive Scadinavian style with the dipped beam on all day? It's because I'm giving all the poor drivers less of an excuse to 'not see me' as so many seem to..

[mnde]

Hear hear again

 

Here's my daily:

 

 

In the past 4-5 years its been to Manchester and Sheffield several times, and to Le Mans and back, 4-up, without missing a beat. Since 2001 I've racked up over 50,000 miles. It will come off the road soonish for the worst of the winter though, when I get my BX up and running.

 

I agree about tailgaters, and middle lane drivers, and people who overtake and then slow down infront of you. My other half thinks I should chill out and not get so stressed!

 

Mark.

[j-j]

Funny thinking of my old GSA, it got the usual tail gate treatment but people used to move out of the way quite promptly as it was a Pallas SE type and looked vaguely sporty with it's fogs etc. I think new BMWs etc used to move because they couldn't asses the 'threat quick enough and didn't want to chance getting razzed by some unexpected sports hatch. If only they'd known it was a 1.3 air cooled boxer!!

[Albert Ross]

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

[Volksy]

.....and sit there at 30 in the 40 limit.....

Yer, those who do 25 - 30 in a 40 zone, which you get a lot of with the prevalance of speed cameras.... Really winds me up.. Now i dont generally tailgate, despite living and driving for years on the continent where it is the accepted norm, but when i'm having to keep even the Fiat 'iced jem' Shitcento in third burning excess fuel to stop it slogging the engine it does infuriate me a bit and I tend to get a bit close! Grr

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I drive a thoroughly repulsive, filthy and battle scarred L reg 540i V8 manual which hasn't been cleaned in the 5 months I've had it. It sports a 520i boot badge - my Word how that upsets other road users. I usually potter along at a steady 80, but when baited I unleash the beast.I felt compelled to shut down a 300C the other day - handed him his arse on a silver platter on the Dronfield bypass. Not bad for a £150 car really.

[Milford Cubicle]

Excellent work on the down-badging Rev', I yearn to buy something rapid and down-badge it to upset people...Rover 420 GSi Turbo with a 414i badge and steels would be qual.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

An F plate galaxy blue 1.8L Sierra Estate sporting Cosworth running gear does it for me. 300 bhp, standard zorst with a crafty downturned tailpipe and a 1.8D badge. Stealthy. Mind you, the 540i engine and box in a four door L plate E36 wouldn't cost a fortune. I reckon it could be done for about a grand. It would be rude not to badge it up as a 318tds.

[mk2_craig]

Funny thinking of my old GSA, it got the usual tail gate treatment but people used to move out of the way quite promptly as it was a Pallas SE type and looked vaguely sporty with it's fogs etc.

I think a late model SD1 Vitesse would be just the job for exactly this sort of thing, for the full win lob the 3500 in t'bin and wang in a bigger capacity Rover V8 from something a bit newer.

[Pete-M]

Just to add my 2pm worth. If I am driving at 70mph (The national speed limit) Why on earth would anyone require me to move out of the way? Surely they would also be doing a maximum of 70mph, therefore I would not be hindering their progress in any way? Just a thought.

Doesn't work that way though. In the real world people break limits, and if you're sitting there doing exactly the 'limit' you're likely to cause as many problems as the people who're going faster than you.I doubt there are many people on this forum who've never driven at above 70 mph. I know that on a dry, clear motorway it's perfectly safe to do a fair bit more than 70 mph - but it can get dangerous if someone is dawdling along at exactly 70 in the 'fast' lane as it causes bunching of the cars cruising at 75-80, meaning people have to brake, which starts a domino effect of cars all slowing down until eventually the motorway ends up stationary So there you go, motorway congestion is caused by people dawdling along in lane 3 at exactly 70 mph. It's all your fault.

[Justin Case]

This all of course assumes that the speedo is working correctly. Most new ones are out, so a few years on they could be about as accurate as a weather forecast. Even Mrs A's modern Nissan will read 62 mph while waiting to overtake a truck limited to 56 mph, so perhaps egg timer and mileposts is the way.

[Guest greenvanman]

I know where most of those came from too! Possibly the best stealth weapon I ever had. Wanna swap it for a Sierra?

I couldn't! It's going on a scooter shite rescue mission to Scotland next week (if all goes to plan) and I don't think it'd fit in a Sapphire Are you bored with the Dagenham Dustbin already then?

[retrogeezer]

Naturally I'm one of those people who, if someone tailgates me, I'll slow right down, then speed up again, quite often they'll get the message, those who dont, I repeat the process only a little more severe until they do get the message.

Sorry, but this is actually dangerous driving. You could easily cause a major pile-up behind you and this kind of thing is also the cause of phantom traffic jams on motorways.If you can't be bothered to accelerate to overtake then why bother. I hate this mentality of 'I'll show him thats in a hurry' - why not just let them get on with it, it makes for a far less stressful journey.And it might not be a rep on his way to a meeting, it could be someone rushing to his wife giving birth in hospital, or needing to get to hospital quickly to see a dying relative.Fair enough, continue in that lane at the speed you were doing until it's safe to pull in again (assuming you didn't pull out in front of someone to 75mph in the first place) but deliberately braking/slowing down is reckless and dangerous, hopefully you will do it to an unmarked police car one day and get booked for it.And as for the whingers about people undertaking, if there is room for someone to undertake, then there is room for you to have pulled over - it doesn't matter that you have to pull out again...so what?

[M'coli]

Retro, I agree about the undertaking - if someone can undertake you without taking the piss, then you're in the wrong lane. If on the other hand, you're coming up to the Chorleywood junction of the M25 in a group of three overtaking a car stuck in the middle lane doing, for example, 65 and slowly coming up itself to overtake a wagon, and are undertaken by a 56-plate Porsche Carrera who has to then cut in front of the other car and then yourselves before weaving through more traffic, then I don't think you've done anything wrong. I was pootling about with the trucks on the "slow" lane, and enjoying having it pretty much to myself, car-wise when afforementioned tosser int' Porsche decided that he did own the road...

[Guest]

I once undertook a woman in a Mercedes who was in the middle lane doing 50mph, seriously! It was causing mayhem with everyone trying to get around her. She was going so slow that it caused a huge queue in the middle lane as the people stuck behind her couldn't get enough speed up to get into the rightmost lane safely. I was in the leftmost lane behind a lorry and after a while he blasted the horn and undertook her and all the other vehicles in the lane (including me) followed their lead. She looked really angry.

[Ross_K]

It does my head in to see one of those self-appointed "traffic cops" hogging the outside lane at the speed limit.Thankfully they're usually so absorbed in muttering to themselves and checking the length of the queue in the mirror that they're very easy to undertake.Seriously though, what motivates them? Do they think they're keeping the world safe? Or is it that they've paid their road tax and they'll drive in what lane they want? Or is it just a sexual gratification thing?

[pogweasel]

It's the ones sat in the Middle lane 4am, 60mph.... WHAT ON EARTH? WAKE UP YOU DONKEY. There's no other cars around, so why not (1) move left and (2) DRIVE FASTER, so irritating to come up behind someone at *ahem* 70mph and then have to go across three lanes and back again, while they usually sit there oblivious. Though I did once have a chap take offence at this , and proceeded to try and drive 1in off my back bumper with his full beams on. Still, he had a diesel C4, so chances of him being able to keep pace with my BMW were NONE AT ALL. ta'ra!

[retrogeezer]

You go past these middle lane hoggers (I usually give them a blast of the horn and then pull across to the inside lane in a vain attempt to make a point) Trouble is, you can see they are driving along totally oblivious to all that is going on about them and are in their own little world.The police really should fine people for this as it is driving without due care and attention as far as I am concerned.

[Pete-M]

You go past these middle lane hoggers (I usually give them a blast of the horn and then pull across to the inside lane in a vain attempt to make a point) Trouble is, you can see they are driving along totally oblivious to all that is going on about them and are in their own little world.The police really should fine people for this as it is driving without due care and attention as far as I am concerned.

But 70 is the limit. Can't go any faster than that... etc, etc, etc...

[retrogeezer]

But 70 is the limit. Can't go any faster than that... etc, etc, etc...

Who said anything about them doing 70mph.....they are usually sat in the middle lane at 55/60mph looking straight ahead and seem unaware their car is even equipped with mirrors or what they are for.You should only be in the middle or outside lane (actually, both are called overtaking lanes) if you are overtaking. Not sitting there because there is a lorry 2 miles ahead you need to overtake. You overtake, pull in, then pull out again further up the road.....to coin a phrase that always makes me laugh - 'it ain't rocket science'

[Mr Lobster]

Worst are those who on joining a three lane motorway will automatically pull into the middle lane on the theory that it is 'safest' in that they don't need to worry about other vehicles joining or going slowly in lane 1 or vehicles overtaking in lane 3 and will sit in the middle lane until the point that they leave the motorway some time later.Arrrgghhhh

[pogweasel]

Well if we are going all out for vitriol.... when the motorway junction slip road becomes a lane in it's own right - a glorious piece of design which should be genuinely celebrated. If it were for all those PRICKS who have sailed oblivious past several signs indicating this (and that all they therefore need to do is proceed forward) charge down the ramp and try to merge with the faster flowing traffic, causing everyone to slow down without good reason. Twunts.

[retrogeezer]

Worst are those who on joining a three lane motorway will automatically pull into the middle lane

Someone did this to me at 2am on the M3 one morning...nothing else on the road, I see them coming out of the services slip road so move to the middle lane doing 70-75mph, get within 20 feet of them and they pull from the slip lane straight across lane one into lane 2 at 40 mph directly in front of me. Thats how accidents happen on a virtually empty motorway in the middle of the night.

[Lord Sterling]

[----