'Operation Snap' - police want motorists' dashcam videos

[Solocle]

BertBert said:

I was initially braking, so the margin by which I could brake further was limited. And, with my current course, a greater hazard was going to arise. If they had come out into the road, the other vehicle would have been able to swerve with my course of action. If I hadn't accelerated, they would be unable to do so. By that point, the original hazard of children running out in front of me, which I was braking for, was no longer a possibility. I would be clear of them by the time they reached my carriageway.

[Solocle]

Fish said:

Again difficult to judge when not there but there are VERY few circumstances where speeding up helps especially in a Citigo.. I would suggest the emergency braking then chastise yourself for not spotting the hazard scenario earlier...

The situation transformed quickly from clear road to potential hazard. However, if you slammed the anchors every time there was a child on the other side of the road you'd be very unpopular with the people behind. At the time, there was nobody behind me, but the situation just didn't warrant a major brake when coming off the brake and a quick squeeze of the throttle (downhill) cleared the potential hazard. I'm confident that many road users wouldn't even have noticed the hazard, let alone registered that a vehicle coming the other way might swerve. If you hammer the anchors and there is somebody behind you not expecting it, that's far more dangerous than the situation at hand.

[C70R]

Engineer792 said:

C70R said:

nonsequitur said:

Sp00ks said:

nonsequitur said:

Solocle said:

This is the one I'm talking about - just West of Chicklade.

They just killed the overtaking lane by doing that - not long after, the lane ends. So, if you're overtaking, you want the freedom to speed up.

Was the word 'killed' used deliberately? The photo shows an exellent use of road management and traffic control.

If you know the place where that camera is you will know it is not excellent use of road management and traffic at all. That camera faces up hill, at a place where you need to be finishing your overtake within the next 100-200 metres or so as the lane ends and you will be facing oncoming traffic. I never even bother trying to overtake there anymore as it is too risky. But you often see a line cars overtaking a lorry/caravan and then having to slam on their brakes at the camera, before trying to speed up again and its not at all uncommon to see cars going across the hatched area and kicking up a load of dust and debris as they barely finish their overtake.

So drivers have to slow down and take it easy for a while. Definitely the Devil's work.

I want drivers using overtaking lanes to have made their moves long before the last "100m", rather than having to put the hammer down and exceed the limit to squeeze into the last couple of metres.

Except that you don't always have control over when you can make your move

Absolute b*llocks. It's my foot on the accelerator, so I ALWAYS have control over when I make my move.
If my overtaking move involves me entering the last 100m behind the car I'm passing and significantly over the limit, I've timed it badly and used very poor judgement/roadcraft.

That camera is designed to prevent exactly that scenario, and I have no issue with its placement.

Edited by C70R on Wednesday 7th June 13:09

[C70R]

Solocle said:

Fish said:

Again difficult to judge when not there but there are VERY few circumstances where speeding up helps especially in a Citigo.. I would suggest the emergency braking then chastise yourself for not spotting the hazard scenario earlier...

The situation transformed quickly from clear road to potential hazard. However, if you slammed the anchors every time there was a child on the other side of the road you'd be very unpopular with the people behind. At the time, there was nobody behind me, but the situation just didn't warrant a major brake when coming off the brake and a quick squeeze of the throttle (downhill) cleared the potential hazard. I'm confident that many road users wouldn't even have noticed the hazard, let alone registered that a vehicle coming the other way might swerve. If you hammer the anchors and there is somebody behind you not expecting it, that's far more dangerous than the situation at hand.

You're over-thinking it, and you're not half the driving god you think you are. Please just concentrate on the matter at hand, before you run into the back of a stationary car while "assessing the risks". If you want to improve your roadcraft, go and take an IAM/Passplus course.

[Solocle]

C70R said:

You're over-thinking it, and you're not half the driving god you think you are. Please just concentrate on the matter at hand, before you run into the back of a stationary car while "assessing the risks". If you want to improve your roadcraft, go and take an IAM/Passplus course.

There were no vehicles ahead, and I didn't lose focus on the road ahead. So, if there is something I can do safely to avoid a potentially hazardous situation, I do it. I arrived at my conclusion very quickly, I wasn't sitting there with pen and paper doing the physics! My initial response was to brake, but I was already considering contingencies if an oncoming vehicle appeared. My situational awareness was good at that time, and I generally have a reasonable mental picture of the road around me, especially on stretches of road like that. We all make mistakes, but I don't think that this was one of those times.

[Engineer792]

C70R said:

Engineer792 said:

C70R said:

nonsequitur said:

Sp00ks said:

nonsequitur said:

Solocle said:

This is the one I'm talking about - just West of Chicklade.

They just killed the overtaking lane by doing that - not long after, the lane ends. So, if you're overtaking, you want the freedom to speed up.

Was the word 'killed' used deliberately? The photo shows an exellent use of road management and traffic control.

If you know the place where that camera is you will know it is not excellent use of road management and traffic at all. That camera faces up hill, at a place where you need to be finishing your overtake within the next 100-200 metres or so as the lane ends and you will be facing oncoming traffic. I never even bother trying to overtake there anymore as it is too risky. But you often see a line cars overtaking a lorry/caravan and then having to slam on their brakes at the camera, before trying to speed up again and its not at all uncommon to see cars going across the hatched area and kicking up a load of dust and debris as they barely finish their overtake.

So drivers have to slow down and take it easy for a while. Definitely the Devil's work.

I want drivers using overtaking lanes to have made their moves long before the last "100m", rather than having to put the hammer down and exceed the limit to squeeze into the last couple of metres.

Except that you don't always have control over when you can make your move

Absolute b*llocks. It's my foot on the accelerator, so I ALWAYS have control over when I make my move.
If my overtaking move involves me entering the last 100m behind the car I'm passing and significantly over the limit, I've timed it badly and used very poor judgement/roadcraft.

That camera is designed to prevent exactly that scenario, and I have no issue with its placement.

Edited by C70R on Wednesday 7th June 13:09

I wouldn't normally respond to such incivility, but, as it's election time and you've probably more pressing things on your mind, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

You've evidently not considered the all-too-common scenario of being stuck behind a string of other drivers, each of whom is taking their own sweet time to pass the slow-moving vehicle up front (a situation exacerbated by the presence of a camera), leaving you with the choice of either hoofing it in the last 100 metres or so (when you're already well clear of the camera, incidentally), or remaining stuck behind the slow-moving vehicle for the foreseeable future.
Or the increasingly common scenario of said string of drivers not bothering to overtake (one again, thank you camera!) but instead choosing to remain sitting nose-to-tail behind the slow vehicle, leaving you an uncomfortably long queue of vehicles to get by.

Neither have you considered the very common case of the lorry ahead of you pulling out to pass the slower lorry in front, and using almost the whole length of the passing lane to do so - at the same time masking the camera from the view of some unfortunate driver who's not familiar with that road.

Or even the more everyday case, on an otherwise empty road, of only catching up with a slow vehicle when it's already more than halfway up the hill, and the camera then discouraging you from putting on the bit of extra speed required to get past cleanly.

Do try to think a bit further than the end of your nose next time.

Edited by Engineer792 on Thursday 8th June 10:22

[C70R]

Engineer792 said:

C70R said:

Engineer792 said:

C70R said:

nonsequitur said:

Sp00ks said:

nonsequitur said:

Solocle said:

This is the one I'm talking about - just West of Chicklade.

They just killed the overtaking lane by doing that - not long after, the lane ends. So, if you're overtaking, you want the freedom to speed up.

Was the word 'killed' used deliberately? The photo shows an exellent use of road management and traffic control.

If you know the place where that camera is you will know it is not excellent use of road management and traffic at all. That camera faces up hill, at a place where you need to be finishing your overtake within the next 100-200 metres or so as the lane ends and you will be facing oncoming traffic. I never even bother trying to overtake there anymore as it is too risky. But you often see a line cars overtaking a lorry/caravan and then having to slam on their brakes at the camera, before trying to speed up again and its not at all uncommon to see cars going across the hatched area and kicking up a load of dust and debris as they barely finish their overtake.

So drivers have to slow down and take it easy for a while. Definitely the Devil's work.

I want drivers using overtaking lanes to have made their moves long before the last "100m", rather than having to put the hammer down and exceed the limit to squeeze into the last couple of metres.

Except that you don't always have control over when you can make your move

Absolute b*llocks. It's my foot on the accelerator, so I ALWAYS have control over when I make my move.
If my overtaking move involves me entering the last 100m behind the car I'm passing and significantly over the limit, I've timed it badly and used very poor judgement/roadcraft.

That camera is designed to prevent exactly that scenario, and I have no issue with its placement.

Edited by C70R on Wednesday 7th June 13:09

I wouldn't normally respond to such incivility, but, as it's election time and you've probably more pressing things on your mind, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

You've evidently not considered the all-too-common scenario of being stuck behind a string of other drivers, each of whom is taking their own sweet time to pass the slow-moving vehicle up front (a situation exacerbated by the presence of a camera), leaving you with the choice of either hoofing it in the last 100 metres or so (when you're already well clear of the camera, incidentally), or remaining stuck behind the slow-moving vehicle for the foreseeable future.
Or the increasingly common scenario of said string of drivers not bothering to overtake (one again, thank you camera!) but instead choosing to remain sitting nose-to-tail behind the slow vehicle, leaving you an uncomfortably long queue of vehicles to get by.

Neither have you considered the very common case of the lorry ahead of you pulling out to pass the slower lorry in front, and using almost the whole length of the passing lane to do so - at the same time masking the camera from the view of some unfortunate driver who's not familiar with that road.

Or even the more everyday case, on an otherwise empty road, of only catching up with a slow vehicle when it's already nearing the top of the hill, and the camera then discouraging you from putting on the bit of extra speed required to get past cleanly.

Do try to think a bit further than the end of your nose next time.

Edited by Engineer792 on Thursday 8th June 10:05

So, essentially, in all those cases you're citing frustration with other drivers and some kind of odd compulsion to overtake? I appreciate that sitting behind slower-moving vehicles can be boring, but forcing overtakes that aren't on for the sake of getting past someone is poor driving.
I would suggest applying a bit of patience to your driving, particularly overtaking.

[Engineer792]

C70R said:

Engineer792 said:

C70R said:

Engineer792 said:

C70R said:

nonsequitur said:

Sp00ks said:

nonsequitur said:

Solocle said:

This is the one I'm talking about - just West of Chicklade.

They just killed the overtaking lane by doing that - not long after, the lane ends. So, if you're overtaking, you want the freedom to speed up.

Was the word 'killed' used deliberately? The photo shows an exellent use of road management and traffic control.

If you know the place where that camera is you will know it is not excellent use of road management and traffic at all. That camera faces up hill, at a place where you need to be finishing your overtake within the next 100-200 metres or so as the lane ends and you will be facing oncoming traffic. I never even bother trying to overtake there anymore as it is too risky. But you often see a line cars overtaking a lorry/caravan and then having to slam on their brakes at the camera, before trying to speed up again and its not at all uncommon to see cars going across the hatched area and kicking up a load of dust and debris as they barely finish their overtake.

So drivers have to slow down and take it easy for a while. Definitely the Devil's work.

I want drivers using overtaking lanes to have made their moves long before the last "100m", rather than having to put the hammer down and exceed the limit to squeeze into the last couple of metres.

Except that you don't always have control over when you can make your move

Absolute b*llocks. It's my foot on the accelerator, so I ALWAYS have control over when I make my move.
If my overtaking move involves me entering the last 100m behind the car I'm passing and significantly over the limit, I've timed it badly and used very poor judgement/roadcraft.

That camera is designed to prevent exactly that scenario, and I have no issue with its placement.

Edited by C70R on Wednesday 7th June 13:09

I wouldn't normally respond to such incivility, but, as it's election time and you've probably more pressing things on your mind, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

You've evidently not considered the all-too-common scenario of being stuck behind a string of other drivers, each of whom is taking their own sweet time to pass the slow-moving vehicle up front (a situation exacerbated by the presence of a camera), leaving you with the choice of either hoofing it in the last 100 metres or so (when you're already well clear of the camera, incidentally), or remaining stuck behind the slow-moving vehicle for the foreseeable future.
Or the increasingly common scenario of said string of drivers not bothering to overtake (one again, thank you camera!) but instead choosing to remain sitting nose-to-tail behind the slow vehicle, leaving you an uncomfortably long queue of vehicles to get by.

Neither have you considered the very common case of the lorry ahead of you pulling out to pass the slower lorry in front, and using almost the whole length of the passing lane to do so - at the same time masking the camera from the view of some unfortunate driver who's not familiar with that road.

Or even the more everyday case, on an otherwise empty road, of only catching up with a slow vehicle when it's already nearing the top of the hill, and the camera then discouraging you from putting on the bit of extra speed required to get past cleanly.

Do try to think a bit further than the end of your nose next time.

Edited by Engineer792 on Thursday 8th June 10:05

So, essentially, in all those cases you're citing frustration with other drivers and some kind of odd compulsion to overtake? I appreciate that sitting behind slower-moving vehicles can be boring, but forcing overtakes that aren't on for the sake of getting past someone is poor driving.
I would suggest applying a bit of patience to your driving, particularly overtaking.

And I would suggest that you stop trying to manufacture motives on the part of others to suit your narrative, and instead treat them as equals and try to understand what they're saying.

On second thoughts, I don't really give a flying fig what you think.

[C70R]

Engineer792 said:

C70R said:

Engineer792 said:

C70R said:

Engineer792 said:

C70R said:

nonsequitur said:

Sp00ks said:

nonsequitur said:

Solocle said:

This is the one I'm talking about - just West of Chicklade.

They just killed the overtaking lane by doing that - not long after, the lane ends. So, if you're overtaking, you want the freedom to speed up.

Was the word 'killed' used deliberately? The photo shows an exellent use of road management and traffic control.

If you know the place where that camera is you will know it is not excellent use of road management and traffic at all. That camera faces up hill, at a place where you need to be finishing your overtake within the next 100-200 metres or so as the lane ends and you will be facing oncoming traffic. I never even bother trying to overtake there anymore as it is too risky. But you often see a line cars overtaking a lorry/caravan and then having to slam on their brakes at the camera, before trying to speed up again and its not at all uncommon to see cars going across the hatched area and kicking up a load of dust and debris as they barely finish their overtake.

So drivers have to slow down and take it easy for a while. Definitely the Devil's work.

I want drivers using overtaking lanes to have made their moves long before the last "100m", rather than having to put the hammer down and exceed the limit to squeeze into the last couple of metres.

Except that you don't always have control over when you can make your move

Absolute b*llocks. It's my foot on the accelerator, so I ALWAYS have control over when I make my move.
If my overtaking move involves me entering the last 100m behind the car I'm passing and significantly over the limit, I've timed it badly and used very poor judgement/roadcraft.

That camera is designed to prevent exactly that scenario, and I have no issue with its placement.

Edited by C70R on Wednesday 7th June 13:09

I wouldn't normally respond to such incivility, but, as it's election time and you've probably more pressing things on your mind, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

You've evidently not considered the all-too-common scenario of being stuck behind a string of other drivers, each of whom is taking their own sweet time to pass the slow-moving vehicle up front (a situation exacerbated by the presence of a camera), leaving you with the choice of either hoofing it in the last 100 metres or so (when you're already well clear of the camera, incidentally), or remaining stuck behind the slow-moving vehicle for the foreseeable future.
Or the increasingly common scenario of said string of drivers not bothering to overtake (one again, thank you camera!) but instead choosing to remain sitting nose-to-tail behind the slow vehicle, leaving you an uncomfortably long queue of vehicles to get by.

Neither have you considered the very common case of the lorry ahead of you pulling out to pass the slower lorry in front, and using almost the whole length of the passing lane to do so - at the same time masking the camera from the view of some unfortunate driver who's not familiar with that road.

Or even the more everyday case, on an otherwise empty road, of only catching up with a slow vehicle when it's already nearing the top of the hill, and the camera then discouraging you from putting on the bit of extra speed required to get past cleanly.

Do try to think a bit further than the end of your nose next time.

Edited by Engineer792 on Thursday 8th June 10:05

So, essentially, in all those cases you're citing frustration with other drivers and some kind of odd compulsion to overtake? I appreciate that sitting behind slower-moving vehicles can be boring, but forcing overtakes that aren't on for the sake of getting past someone is poor driving.
I would suggest applying a bit of patience to your driving, particularly overtaking.

And I would suggest that you stop trying to manufacture motives on the part of others to suit your narrative, and instead treat them as equals and try to understand what they're saying.

On second thoughts, I don't really give a flying fig what you think.

Stop frothing, and then telling me that you don't care - it doesn't stack up.

The bit I've bolded is the only bit that matters. You're basically making up scenarios to justify poor driving/planning/roadcraft.

[Ken Figenus]

Engineer792 said:

And I would suggest that you stop trying to manufacture motives on the part of others to suit your narrative, and instead treat them as equals and try to understand what they're saying.

I agree - a real world, practical approach with roads designed to minimise frustration (and frustration driven risk by the odd clown - we have all seen them haven't we...its quite real...) and (dare I say it) assist safe timely progress would be my preference.