The grumpy thread

[jakebullet]

Just realised Ma's been doing her special skill of "The sideation" again while I was away at the weekend. That's her word for throwing things away that don't belong to her / she thinks are worthless / old / doesn't know purpose of, to make space for super valuable* things to be stored in the original items place.

So there's a box of old crap* relating to my (rather dead) father gone. In it's place there's a fine collection of 99% empty aerosol cans, and some VHS tapes of "Catherine Cookson's really miserable Tyneside tales". Be handy if we ever want to waterproof 1/10th of a shoe while reminding ourselves that Sean Bean should not attempt accents. 

[sheffcortinacentre]

Try living in a 20mph zone you get tailgated everywhere or cut up by the ones that can't be bothered to tailgate you.

Any obstruction is over come by the might is right philosophy ,speed bump are used as timed acceleration markers with the more bangs from your revlimiter the better.

Most of this from the yummy mummy school runners.

[Zelandeth]

Had just about finally got to sleep.  Then from roughly a foot to my right and about two feet down I hear *clunk...dugdugdugdugdugdug....* Took several seconds for my half asleep brain to figure out what he was hearing.

Yep, some idiot forgot to turn the compressor off last time he used the air line didn't he?

Thankfully it's only my bedroom that's directly above the garage so hopefully won't have bothered anyone else.  I really do need to add a really obvious power indicator that I can't miss from the garage door as this isn't the first time I've forgotten about it.

[LightBulbFun]

4 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Thankfully it's only my bedroom that's directly above the garage so hopefully won't have bothered anyone else.  I really do need to add a really obvious power indicator that I can't miss from the garage door as this isn't the first time I've forgotten about it.

one of these mounted to the top? can also be used as a localised warming station, cup your hands around it during these cold winter days  

[Neil clark]

15 hours ago, cobblers said:

I'm lucky enough to only ever have had to drive in one 20mph limit and that's the one going into Matlock. If you actually slow down to 20mph there, someone will crash into you. Anyway, that's my anecdote, please subscribe for more useless motoring observations.

 

Drive into matlock a fair bit and I've never noticed a 20 zone lol, I feel a speed awareness course coming......

[cort1977]

8 hours ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

Try living in a 20mph zone you get tailgated everywhere or cut up by the ones that can't be bothered to tailgate you.

Any obstruction is over come by the might is right philosophy ,speed bump are used as timed acceleration markers with the more bangs from your revlimiter the better.

Most of this from the yummy mummy school runners.

Currently in London and driving my mother's Ka about. People get really shirty if you drive at 20 in a 20 zone and make the slightest hesitation because they have changed the roundabout since 1997. 

[3VOM]

And my broadband is out. Probably 100 gallons of rainwater in a cabinet nearby

 

[Yoss]

2 hours ago, cort1977 said:

Currently in London and driving my mother's Ka about. People get really shirty if you drive at 20 in a 20 zone and make the slightest hesitation because they have changed the roundabout since 1997. 

I used to drive around West London a lot and now don't but had to go to Hendon a couple of months ago. I was refamiliarising myself with old shortcuts and trying to stick to 20 whilst also making sure I didn't accidentally stray in to the ULEZ. Great fun.

As you say nobody was really paying attention to the limit but I did see one camera, I think on Ealing Road between the M4 and Brentford McDonald’s. I've no idea if it was enforcing the 20, it may have been there already when it was a 30 limit but I did have to brake suddenly just in case. Doesn't make driving pleasant, you spend half the time looking at your speedo and half looking for cameras and don't really pay attention to what's around you. 

[dave j]

There is a 20 mph zone in Plymouth that has average speed cameras on it. It's awful to drive that road! There are 2 mini roundabouts and hills to tackle as well so I try to avoid going that way

[andyberg]

The village next to mine has a blanket 20mph limit. Every approach road entry to it has the signs up.  If you dare to do the speed limit you get tailgated and over taken. Sure enough the centre of the village has narrow roads and a tight mini roundabout, but on those roads it's impossible to get any where near 20 but to cover the entire village is just a piss take.

[Markeh]

There's a 20 stretch of road near me that's quite wide, goes to 30 towards the end. Never seen a soul doing 20 on it - including the local police. Drivers undertaking on that stretch to do even faster is not unheard of either.

[Metal Guru]

52 minutes ago, Markeh said:

There's a 20 stretch of road near me that's quite wide, goes to 30 towards the end. Never seen a soul doing 20 on it - including the local police. Drivers undertaking on that stretch to do even faster is not unheard of either.

Some councils wanted to go to 15mph but were advised that prosecutions were difficult as speedometers on most cars aren’t accurate at that speed.

[PhilA]

5 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

Some councils wanted to go to 15mph but were advised that prosecutions were difficult as speedometers on most cars aren’t accurate at that speed.

Funny, 15 is common here. You'll get stopped also for 20+ in a 15 if the cops are running a trap down a complaint street.

[sheffcortinacentre]

9 hours ago, Yoss said:

I used to drive around West London a lot and now don't but had to go to Hendon a couple of months ago. I was refamiliarising myself with old shortcuts and trying to stick to 20 whilst also making sure I didn't accidentally stray in to the ULEZ. Great fun.

As you say nobody was really paying attention to the limit but I did see one camera, I think on Ealing Road between the M4 and Brentford McDonald’s. I've no idea if it was enforcing the 20, it may have been there already when it was a 30 limit but I did have to brake suddenly just in case. Doesn't make driving pleasant, you spend half the time looking at your speedo and half looking for cameras and don't really pay attention to what's around you. 

Yes but think how safer the roads are & the bonus of someone to blame  without having to even leave the police station.

[New POD]

14 hours ago, Neil clark said:

Drive into matlock a fair bit and I've never noticed a 20 zone lol, I feel a speed awareness course coming......

I'm doing my second one* of those tomorrow. In Wolverhampton. Gone to never 62 mph in a 50.  Dual carriage way, that links the Runcorn Bridge to the M56.  

So you are on the Widnes side of the bridge and it's NSL, where there's one fixed camera and everu fucker breaks to 50. As you enter the toll part it drops to 60. After you leave the bridge it's still 60 for a while, before dropping to 50. And on that particular dry warm Saturday in November with zero traffic, I was on my way to visit my Dad in Ynys Mon. Slipped my mind that it's 50. I actually went.past the van thinking "well you can fuck off, because I'm.doing the speed limit.....Oh fuck" 

Anyway no excuses.  At least they didn't get me at 130.  

I have to remember to play the game and not argue the toss tomorrow. 

*my first one was a few years ago in a mk4 Astra, and "unfair" too. 

[Pieman]

I think I'd refuse the course and just take the points, but that's because of my nature and my refusal to sit and be talked to like a disobedient 5-year old.

[New POD]

5 hours ago, Pieman said:

I think I'd refuse the course and just take the points, but that's because of my nature and my refusal to sit and be talked to like a disobedient 5-year old.

But then I'd have 6 ☹

[horriblemercedes]

Yeah, I'd take the course and not the points. It's just pragmatic

[chadders]

That's what I did, twice, and I'll do again if necessary. It's no big deal.

[Metal Guru]

5 hours ago, New POD said:

But then I'd have 6 ☹

I take it you just have to nod and agree that speed is bad rather than have an adult discussion about it.

[Kevin-TIB]

How long are the courses? All day? Couple of hours?

The answer to that would determine the direction I'd go. 

[Talbot]

3 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

I take it you just have to nod and agree that speed is bad rather than have an adult discussion about it.

The entire premise of a speed awareness course is exactly that, making people aware of what speed they should be doing.  The basic assumption is of incompetence rather than malicious intent, so they are looking to educate.  There's nothing in there that isn't in the highway code, or indeed that you should/needed to know for passing your test, it's better described as a "bringing you back up to standard" course.

The lady running the one I went on was rather put out (indeed accused me of cheating, somehow) because I knew the answer to everything she was asking.  I ended up not answering questions in the end as it got rather embarrassing that no-one else knew the answers to really fucking basic road questions.  She also didn't like the fact that I told her that I was completely aware of the speed I was doing, what the limit was, and that there was a very high chance of an awareness course at the speed I was traveling, that I was taking a calculated risk rather than not knowing what the hell I was doing.  I probably should not have said that, as another course provider might have kicked me off for that sort of admission.

If you actually know what you're doing on the road, the course is somewhat simple, but £85 and a few hours is far better than £100 and 3 points.  I am absolutely sure that some people learned a lot on the course I was on.  That in itself is bloody scary.

[omegod]

13 minutes ago, Kevin-TIB said:

How long are the courses? All day? Couple of hours?

The answer to that would determine the direction I'd go. 

4 hours if I recall , to be honest I did learn a bit from it and it's changed my driving as a result 

[Markeh]

A former colleague of mine actually drove faster as a result of his speed awareness course - he didn't realise NSL on a dual carriageway meant 70 not 60!

[Rust Collector]

1 minute ago, Markeh said:

he didn't realise NSL on a dual carriageway meant 70 not 60!

Did a slower limit on dual carriageways use to be a thing? I remember arguing with my parents about it a little while back, they were adamant NSL was 60 on a dual carriageway and the only 70 limit was on a motorway and that I must be confused as I hadn't been driving for as long as them so couldn't possibly be right 😅

[Kevin-TIB]

1 hour ago, omegod said:

4 hours if I recall , to be honest I did learn a bit from it and it's changed my driving as a result 

Probably worth saving 3 points if the presenter has a little cop-on. 

[Kevin-TIB]

1 minute ago, Rust Collector said:

Did a slower limit on dual carriageways use to be a thing? I remember arguing with my parents about it a little while back, they were adamant NSL was 60 on a dual carriageway and the only 70 limit was on a motorway and that I must be confused as I hadn't been driving for as long as them so couldn't possibly be right 😅

Back in the 90s, I was convinced that a dual carriageway with a barrier was 60 mph unless otherwise notified. I've no idea when I was aware that it's actually 70.

[cort1977]

Just had a NIP in the post, no speed courses in Scotland so at least £100 and three points.  I actually saw the camera and slowed right down but then stupidly assumed I was out of range and accelerated away.  I am such a twat.

I did a course a few years ago in England, did learn a few things that had changed like 20mph limits so not a total waste of time.

[sierraman]

3 hours ago, Talbot said:

The entire premise of a speed awareness course is exactly that, making people aware of what speed they should be doing.  The basic assumption is of incompetence rather than malicious intent, so they are looking to educate.  There's nothing in there that isn't in the highway code, or indeed that you should/needed to know for passing your test, it's better described as a "bringing you back up to standard" course.

The lady running the one I went on was rather put out (indeed accused me of cheating, somehow) because I knew the answer to everything she was asking.  I ended up not answering questions in the end as it got rather embarrassing that no-one else knew the answers to really fucking basic road questions.  She also didn't like the fact that I told her that I was completely aware of the speed I was doing, what the limit was, and that there was a very high chance of an awareness course at the speed I was traveling, that I was taking a calculated risk rather than not knowing what the hell I was doing.  I probably should not have said that, as another course provider might have kicked me off for that sort of admission.

If you actually know what you're doing on the road, the course is somewhat simple, but £85 and a few hours is far better than £100 and 3 points.  I am absolutely sure that some people learned a lot on the course I was on.  That in itself is bloody scary.

Fuckin hell, I hope I’m never on one with you! We’d still be on till 7pm! 🤣

Like anything else involving a bollocking, turn up, minimum interaction, just nod at the right points and get out of there as quickly as possible. Like Fire Marshall courses they’re always run by some Keith Lard type that revels in the idea of giving people a telling off. 

[Wack]

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