The grumpy thread

[Zelandeth]

Just went to take the dogs out...got about 1/4 a mile before about half a dozen police appeared out of nowhere, clearly after someone and firmly ordered me to get home and stay inside.

Another day in sodding paradise.

Christ I want to move out of this place.

[paulplom]

All the best drivers fail their first test. I did anyway and I'm an amazing driver and never make any mistakes.

I took my first test in my beige x reg metro 1.0 hle. Failed.

I hired an instructors red f reg metro city and passed.

[beko1987]

4 hours ago, Fumbler said:

FFS. Failed driving test. 4 majors, 2 of which were after I knew I failed. Examiner was the most miserable bint I've ever had the misfortune to be sat in a car with. It was at rush hour too, so the town was rammed. Main failure point: bad emergency stop- "Too soft" was the examiner's reason, fair play as I don't have ABS and I need to shove the brake pedal. Fine line between skidding on the wet roads and not slowing down enough, unfortunately. She took great delight in explaining to my instructor how shit I was, and didn't take kindly to my car either. Even decided to make a jab about my test preparations, complaining about the cleanliness of the interior. The wipe was barely soiled for christ's sake.  Was it really necessary to complain about that and make me feel even more shit? I think not.

TL:DR- Failed, 4 majors, 7 minors, unsympathetic and unpleasant examiner, rush hour, nerves and a little bit of bad luck. Now I have to go back to college and pretend that nothing ever happened.

Been there done that! As soon as the car behind beeped at me 12 minutes into my first test I'd failed (would have failed by mounting the kerb to get past the van to my right too so I was fucked anyway) 

Then it snowed for 3 months (2010) and it took ages to get a retest! 

I know it's not autoshite or cool etc but can't you just smash the test out in your instructors modern? Mine changed his car 3 days before my test too (another excuse I used)! Went from a 57 plate fiesta to the new blobby shape 10 plate, everything was a fuck ton lighter with less feedback and toss visibility. Had the 4 miles to Wycombe to get used to it! 

[PhilA]

I thought I had failed my driving test, maybe 100 yards out of the test center.

I took my test in a "sad face" N reg Fiesta na diesel. The thing was dog slow.

The road from the test center went flat for a while then into a slight hill start onto a dual carriageway flyover.  I approached the give way, and there were 2 cars at the bottom of the flyover headed my way, one in each lane. I was waiting so I didn't have to rag it but the examiner said "why are you waiting? Go." So, I did. Lumpy bumpy jerk but didn't stall, pulled out into the right lane when told we'd be going right. 

I worried the whole time that was a fail. But, it got marked as a minor for not being smooth, but it wasn't considered a dangerous maneuver because I did not endanger myself or any other road users. 

So, the grumpy examiners who fail for either no reason (no, give me a good damn reason) or pile the faults on when it's not really a big issue need to be questioned as to their reasoning.

No, they are not gods, no, most of them can't drive for toffee themselves and yes, you've paid them, you should get a comprehensive reason(s) for failure.

 

 

In other news, there's another hurricane coming, due Friday. Not looking forward to that, most particularly because it will cancel Saturday's car show.

 

Phil

[clayts450]

On 10/4/2020 at 1:52 PM, clayts450 said:

Two consecutive days of having to leave home at 0230 to pick up goods and deliver, yesterday to that London (just round the corner from RobT funnily enough), today to Newcastle. That's not the grump to be fair.

No the grump came when I had to fill up this morning at an Esso station. Real old skool pumps, had to wait for the pump jockey to wake up and press the dispense button from the sales booth. Said pump then delivered fuel at a rate of 1 ml per second. Bearing in mind the van needed 40+ litres it took forever. To cap it off, the dribble of diesel from the pump was so pathetic it failed to register that the van's tank was full. Being half asleep, I then pumped what seemed like about 100 litres of diesel all over my shoes, my clothes, the forecourt and the side of the van. Yeah, wasn't dribbling then, was it, the fucker ?

Fucked my fuel economy figures right up. Plummetted from 53.6 to 41.6

Fuelly over a cliff

 

What a difference a day makes. More or less same amount of fuel went in this afternoon, last tank covered trip up to Newcastle and back, trip today down to Weston Super Mare (501 mile, plus still 14 litres left). This time the fuel stayed in the van's fuel tank, rather than drenching me, net result +7 mpg.

 

[MrBiscuits]

34 minutes ago, PhilA said:

I took my test in a "sad face" N reg Fiesta na diesel. The thing was dog slow.

Me too, It was a red N reg one, almost new at the time with all wheel trims removed for resale value.

Dog slow is absolutely right. It even made my Mini 1000 feel quick. Very hard to stall though.

For one lesson we went to a NSL dual carriage way I was instructed to floor it but we ran out of road before it got to 70 😀

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, beko1987 said:

I know it's not autoshite or cool etc but can't you just smash the test out in your instructors modern?

This all day long.  I asked my instructor about taking the test in my own car, his advice was that doing that was a 99.9% certain route to a solid fail.  He always strongly, strongly discouraged anyone from using their own car for the test.

[beko1987]

33 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

This all day long.  I asked my instructor about taking the test in my own car, his advice was that doing that was a 99.9% certain route to a solid fail.  He always strongly, strongly discouraged anyone from using their own car for the test.

Something to do with them knowing the instructors car is going to be to a certain standard, and they'll have the dual controls their side. And a big part will be familiarity, if you've done many hours behind the wheel of it one more will be a piece of piss. 

Then that's the test passed and you can enjoy learning to drive for real in an old car! (you'll have to play with the brakes and work out the best pressure for a firm but no skid stop at some point, ideally not at 80mph on the m4 (seems my laguna 2 phase 1 didn't have abs, or if it did it didn't work and the bulb was removed from the dash!) 

[Lord Sterling]

Bollocks 😡 DVD player has decided to give up the ghost. Put in a disc that I have played many times over the years and all I get is an "INVALID REGION" warning and disc won't play. Its actually a multi-region from factory DVD player (Hitachi DVP345) despite settings/resetting thebstettings, putting in codes from DVD hack sites etc... it just doesn't want to know so has now been ripped out from its home ready for the bin.

Best thing is, I can't afford a replacement until I get paid at the end of the month or even until December because: other stuff needs paying for.

I'm not too bothered as I mainly use my Roku box, but my OCD is focussing on that area now and I'm fucking fed up of this random money-needing shit going wrong. ALL.THE.FUCKING.TIME.

[mitsisigma01]

On 10/4/2020 at 2:04 PM, paulplom said:

But like what haplened to @dozeydustman, you don't actually have to be touching it for it to explode.

Must of been that high pitched scream of agony that shattered it 😯😯😯

[Floatylight]

1 hour ago, MrBiscuits said:

Me too, It was a red N reg one, almost new at the time with all wheel trims removed for resale value.

Dog slow is absolutely right. It even made my Mini 1000 feel quick. Very hard to stall though.

For one lesson we went to a NSL dual carriage way I was instructed to floor it but we ran out of road before it got to 70 😀

Mate of mine had the same engine in an Orion, absolutely shocking performance at the time I had a Cavalier 1.7td and another friend had a 309 Grdt, both left it for dead..

[dozeydustman]

@Fumbler sorry to hear you didn’t pass today. Test examiner shouldn’t have been disparaging about your car and vocally expressing your driving; even if you had passed the remarks about the car would have still been cause to complain. She should have made an allowance for an old car with old brakes and no ABS so if it was your only major I would think grounds to appeal.

On my second test, when my examiner came out my instructor told me when I got back that he’d “never had a pass from that guy” and examiner remarked to my instructor that I was a “boy racer” despite having no faults for unsuitable speed (I failed reverse round corner on observation). I guess some testers are just arseholes.

Lots of people take their test in their own car and the examiner should make allowances for use of an older vehicle which may not have the same features as something modern.

I passed in my own car after 2 fails with the instructor’s vehicle, but I had far more experience behind the wheel of my little Samba than I did with the learning school’s Vitara as I’d be out with mum, dad or granddad at least once a day for 2-3 hours at a time plus every other lesson with the instructor in it.

Speak to your instructor to see what (s)he recommends; if you’re adamant in taking the test in your own vehicle again then you need to take the rest of your paid lessons in it, if you’re not doing so already. A good instructor will know how to do an emergency stop in a non-ABS car (inc in poor weather) and how to do XYZ in your particular car which may be done a bit different from his school car. If your instructor won’t do lessons in your car you really ought to take the test in his/hers.

[myglaren]

51 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

Bollocks 😡 DVD player has decided to give up the ghost. Put in a disc that I have played many times over the years and all I get is an "INVALID REGION" warning and disc won't play. Its actually a multi-region from factory DVD player (Hitachi DVP345) despite settings/resetting thebstettings, putting in codes from DVD hack sites etc... it just doesn't want to know so has now been ripped out from its home ready for the bin.

Best thing is, I can't afford a replacement until I get paid at the end of the month or even until December because: other stuff needs paying for.

I'm not too bothered as I mainly use my Roku box, but my OCD is focussing on that area now and I'm fucking fed up of this random money-needing shit going wrong. ALL.THE.FUCKING.TIME.

May not be viable for you but you can download and install Linux Mint free and it is easy to do.

I discovered after having to buy a region 1 player that Mint (that I had on three computers at the time) plays them with no problems, possibly other regions too.

Will dual-boot with Windows.

[Fumbler]

18 minutes ago, dozeydustman said:

@Fumbler sorry to hear you didn’t pass today. Test examiner shouldn’t have been disparaging about your car and vocally expressing your driving; even if you had passed the remarks about the car would have still been cause to complain. She should have made an allowance for an old car with old brakes and no ABS so if it was your only major I would think grounds to appeal.

On my second test, when my examiner came out my instructor told me when I got back that he’d “never had a pass from that guy” and examiner remarked to my instructor that I was a “boy racer” despite having no faults for unsuitable speed (I failed reverse round corner on observation). I guess some testers are just arseholes.

Lots of people take their test in their own car and the examiner should make allowances for use of an older vehicle which may not have the same features as something modern.

I passed in my own car after 2 fails with the instructor’s vehicle, but I had far more experience behind the wheel of my little Samba than I did with the learning school’s Vitara as I’d be out with mum, dad or granddad at least once a day for 2-3 hours at a time plus every other lesson with the instructor in it.

Speak to your instructor to see what (s)he recommends; if you’re adamant in taking the test in your own vehicle again then you need to take the rest of your paid lessons in it, if you’re not doing so already. A good instructor will know how to do an emergency stop in a non-ABS car (inc in poor weather) and how to do XYZ in your particular car which may be done a bit different from his school car. If your instructor won’t do lessons in your car you really ought to take the test in his/hers.

Instructor loves my car so I've been learning in it for all the time I've been able to drive. It seems I was unlucky in my examiner lottery and got someone who doesn't seem to like pre-05 cars.

4 hours ago, beko1987 said:

I know it's not autoshite or cool etc but can't you just smash the test out in your instructors modern? Mine changed his car 3 days before my test too (another excuse I used)! Went from a 57 plate fiesta to the new blobby shape 10 plate, everything was a fuck ton lighter with less feedback and toss visibility. Had the 4 miles to Wycombe to get used to it! 

It's tempting, yes, for the reasons above. However, my friend (who passed his retest last week) says that the majority of them are nice and sympathetic (and allow for older cars so I'm told) and definitely a lot more enthusiastic than my examiner. As I am now living away from home in Somerset, I'm heavily considering weekend lessons here (instructor's car) and seeing where it takes me, as the more tuition I get, the better, with a trade-off of it not being in my car which I'm familiar with. Not all that bad really! I'm chalking this one up to experience but man do I feel awful! It's been a long day and I need a good sleep.

Thanks everyone for their kind words- it really does help the old brain a bit. I look forward to my retest with a fresh pair of eyes and some more experience under my belt.

 

[Lord Sterling]

34 minutes ago, myglaren said:

May not be viable for you but you can download and install Linux Mint free and it is easy to do.

I discovered after having to buy a region 1 player that Mint (that I had on three computers at the time) plays them with no problems, possibly other regions too.

Will dual-boot with Windows.

Thanks. I am considering it after chatting with another shiter shortly after buying my TV but simplicity is what I'm looking for. The Multi-region players available on eBay is immense at low money (£30 for a black Sony multi-region player which I am heavily considering given that everything else is Sony) but for now I have to wait until payday and keep my OCD in check. 

Until then, if I really need a DVD player I have my Playstation 3.

[Talbot]

4 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

I asked my instructor about taking the test in my own car, his advice was that doing that was a 99.9% certain route to a solid fail.  He always strongly, strongly discouraged anyone from using their own car for the test.

No surprise, as it means he can then charge you for the use of his car during the test.  The whole thing about failing if you use your own car is demonstrably bollocks:

I taught my wife to drive.  She had zero professional lessons.  We fitted the required additional rear-view mirror to a 1995 ZX N/A Diesel and she went off to do her test.  I found out while waiting at the test centre (from a driving instructor who was waiting there while his pupil was on a test too) that she had gone out with the chief examiner.  Result:  Pass first time,  2 minors.  Chief examiner even spoke to me afterwards as he couldn't work out if I was a driving instructor or not, as he'd not seen me before.  I explained no, I wasn't.  He was complimentary about both her driving and my tuition.  I took that as a win.

I also taught my sister to drive.  She took her test in her own 1993 BX TZD turbo.  First time pass, 1 minor.

I then also taught a friend-of-my-landlords-son (long story) to drive in his own car.  I fail to remember what it was (clearly very noteworthy vehicle) but he also passed first time with just a couple of minors.

At the moment I have a 100% pass rate for pupils I have put in for a driving test.  All 3 of them.  All in their own cars.

[Zelandeth]

Fair enough.  My instructor didn't charge for rental for their vehicle for the test though, their take was that the test was all part of the training service.  Granted, this was back in 2003, in a small town in northeast Scotland...so things generally worked a bit differently to down here.  I passed on the first attempt with two minor errors.  One for not slowing quite as much as the tester would have liked at one roundabout (which was mainly because I was usually too cautious so was trying to get a move on), and the other I honestly cannot for the life of me remember!  I *do* remember thinking I'd made a royal mess of it though from square one...managed to bump the windscreen wiper stalk while backing into a parking space about two minutes in and scared myself half to death, nerves were on overdrive from that second on!

I did have a chat about this with a friend a good few years later (who was a PCV driver trainer at the time) and his take was that if he was examining he would expect a higher standard from someone driving their own car.  If you're taking the test in a car you drive for an hour or two a week, have to reset your seat, mirrors and wheel position every time you get in, you're bound to make more small mistakes.  If you're in your own car that you have almost certainly driven for ten or more times longer, you should be a lot more comfortable and minor things like where controls are should be second nature.  Therefore your mind should be more clearly on the test.  You're also more likely to be more self conscious in a foreign car so it's easier to keep bad habits at bay.   Crossing my hands on the wheel was one I struggled with a lot in my first few lessons...it was something I'd never thought about despite having been behind the wheel of many things around the farm, and indeed my folks car courtesy of my father's rampant drink problem, from age about twelve.  It took me a long, long time to stop doing that in my own car, but didn't take long to cut it out in the instructors car.

Have to admit that I tend to lean on that side...if I was assessing someone in their own car I probably would - consciously or otherwise - put the bar higher than if they were driving something belonging to someone else.  That is probably totally unfair though as I've no idea whether they have ever actually driven it prior to the test!

I don't personally know anyone in my immediate circle of friends who has ever taken the test in their own car, so I don't know if that's maybe a less common thing in the area I grew up or 20 years ago.  Can only quote based on my own experience.

[dozeydustman]

someone’s put the heating on. Not a grump, it’s been rather wet and windy outside for the last few days.

Stat has been cranked up to 30. I’ve woken up more dehydrated than a prune 🥵

[Aston Martin]

I'm on the M1 at 4am heading north....

 

"20 MPH ONCOMING VEHICLE"

 

😕😟😮

 

Anyway, few Miles later there was an 18 tonner.... On the hardshoulder of the southbound M1, facing the wrong way and 20 coppers surrounding him.

[omegod]

Everything that’s wrong with urbex , I’ve given the twat a lashing 

[andy18s]

48 minutes ago, omegod said:

Everything that’s wrong with urbex , I’ve given the twat a lashing 

Some of the comments are a bit of an eye opener!

[Bren]

Hermes. My other half ordered a star wars mug.  Hermes driver thought it acceptable to throw it over the gates. Suffice to say it is fucked.

However, dishonest Hermes driver took a picture of the parcel by the gates before tossing it.

I swear people's behaviour is getting worse.

[andy18s]

Said goodbye to this guy Sunday night

Got bitten on a leg by a rat he managed to catch and kill a couple of weeks ago 

Thought we had the resultant infection under control with medication but it all literally blew up and exploded on Saturday 

Got it all cleaned up and stuff but he had just been diagnosed as being diabetic as well,and he was showing signs of his PolyradiculoneurItis returning 

Around 8pm he decided enough was enough,went to sleep and was gone within a few minutes 

[Bren]

3 hours ago, andy18s said:

Said goodbye to this guy Sunday night

Got bitten on a leg by a rat he managed to catch and kill a couple of weeks ago 

Thought we had the resultant infection under control with medication but it all literally blew up and exploded on Saturday 

Got it all cleaned up and stuff but he had just been diagnosed as being diabetic as well,and he was showing signs of his PolyradiculoneurItis returning 

Around 8pm he decided enough was enough,went to sleep and was gone within a few minutes 

Gutted for you.

[Tamworthbay]

Eddie Van Halen has died of throat cancer 😔

[Cavcraft]

Sorry to hear that, Andy.

[High Jetter]

Big guy, huge loss. Rats.

[dozeydustman]

@andy18s sorry to hear fella.

[puddlethumper]

Three days ago I was using my debit card and the pin number had disappeared from my brain. SHIT !! I've been trying to remember it since and today I went to the bank to see about a replacement. Just as this was about to proceed I thought I would try it one more time. Bingo ! Got it. This is not the grump.

This is. When I got back to where I'd parked, on the street, I discovered this. FFS. No note of course. Luckily I have a spare one.

[DoctorRetro]

It's been a shit day today. 

It's my Grandma's funeral, which I couldn't attend due to Covid19 rules. 

Then I found out that due to a restructure at work, my current job role will not exist by next month. I'll have a new role, but I'll be back in the office, which I'm not happy about. 

Then came out to move the Fenlander off the main road being as the Corsa goes tonight. What reward do I get for being a considerate neighbour and not clogging the car park with my shite?