Horrific MLM'ing

[IntriguedUser]

People who stay in the middle lane aren't doing it as a one off, they've probably been doing it since the start of their driving career, having your passenger tell you its wrong isn't going to go down a treat.

[robinessex]

Hoofy said:

Read him this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22770064

Complete waste of time. No police patrols to enforce it.

[JonRB]

IntriguedUser said:

People who stay in the middle lane aren't doing it as a one off, they've probably been doing it since the start of their driving career, having your passenger tell you its wrong isn't going to go down a treat.

It's true. I had a discussion with my ex-wife (whilst we was my wife) about block-shifting the gears once and she hotly told me "well that's not what my driving instructor taught me to do!"

[Fartgalen]

JonRB said:

It's true. I had a discussion with my ex-wife (whilst we was my wife) about block-shifting the gears once and she hotly told me "well that's not what my driving instructor taught me to do!"

Block shifting is encouraged isn't it - on the grounds of Co2 reduction, environmentally friendly bks. These days I mean. Missus' son told me that. He passed 3 years ago.

[JonRB]

Fartgalen said:

Block shifting is encouraged isn't it - on the grounds of Co2 reduction, environmentally friendly bks. These days I mean. Missus' son told me that. He passed 3 years ago.

We're both a little older than that. I passed my test in 1987. Back then, gearboxes were used as if they were sequential boxes.

[Fartgalen]

JonRB said:

We're both a little older than that. I passed my test in 1987. Back then, gearboxes were used as if they were sequential boxes.

Me too - 1985 - every gear up and down

[croyde]

I'm old so what the fek is block shifting.

Bet you youngsters don't know how to use an advance and retard lever

BTW I'm guessing it means missing out some gears.

In other words I will accelerate quickly in 2nd, realise I don't need to get up to speed so quickly as the situation has changed so change straight up to 4th or 5th, if she can take it Captain!

BTW Remember the preselect gears on the old Routemaster buses. In 2nd, preselect 3rd, accelerate then stomp on the clutch and hey presto, changes up to 3rd.

I'm showing my age

Edited by croyde on Monday 24th November 21:22

[AC43]

Triumph Man said:

It seems younger people now are awful drivers, especially on the motorway. I am only 23, but I see loads of people my age or slightly younger either looking completely terrified, or completely distracted.

I recently had a lift from a young fella back into London on the M40 from the Wycombe junction. He was straight into lane 2 and stayed there that whole way indicating 65-75 mph. Loads of people passing on the left, staring, gesticulating and so on. I was mortified and worried for my safety. He was utterly oblivious. Very very strange.

[JonRB]

croyde said:

BTW I'm guessing it means missing out some gears.

Essentially, yes. It's something that the IAM / Police training has advocated for years. It's best used on downshifting - if you're approaching a 2nd gear bend in 5th, then they would advocate braking to the speed appropriate for the bend, coming off the brakes (I never agreed with that bit and I prefer to overlap and downshift under braking) and then change directly from 5th to 2nd. What was taught at the time for the regular driving test was to move down through the gears sequentially - 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd as your speed was decreasing. It sounds ludicrous when stated now, but that's what people were taught. Perhaps it was a hangover from the days when brakes weren't so good and the gears would assist the braking. Same goes for selecting a lower gear for descending a hill. The IAM teaches that brakes are for slowing down and gears are for speeding up, and also that brake pads are cheaper to replace than gearboxes!

Sounds like the the ordinary driving test instruction is catching up with what the IAM have been teaching for the past 40-odd years.

[Spare tyre]

Lorry lane innit

[JimbobVFR]

I'm 41 and block shifting when slowing down was taught when I learnt to drive at 17, so not necessarily a new thing as such.

[northandy]

JimbobVFR said:

I'm 41 and block shifting when slowing down was taught when I learnt to drive at 17, so not necessarily a new thing as such.

Same here, in my first car I couldn't do it on up shifts as a 4 speed box and 50bhp stopped that.

[Jewelly_Boy]

To the OP,

People won't learn if they aren't told.

Then tell him you just got out of jail for bum raping someone after they lane hogged for 222 miles.

[JonRB]

JimbobVFR said:

I'm 41 and block shifting when slowing down was taught when I learnt to drive at 17, so not necessarily a new thing as such.

Well, perhaps it was going out of fashion even by then, but it was definitely still being taught by many driving instructors.

Anyway, no matter. The point was that many people continue to drive how they were first taught and if they were taught badly to begin with then many do not change.

[boma]

i've actually had a very experienced mechanic, garage owner and trackday / AMA driver tell me he won't use lane 1 as the surface is too bad, and the ruts and potholes are dangerous and uncomfortable.

I have experienced some pulls in the ruts myself, but i don't consider them an excuse.

[Pit Pony]

http://pathetic.org.uk/regions/midlands/

You need some motorway facts ? above link will improve any motorway conversation.

I'd have phoned my wife from the messenger seat with speaker on, and refer to his crap driving as if he were not present.

A couple of years ago I was doing a contract at a well known East Midlands Aerospace company which makes gas turbines. I had occasion to visit their Bristol Site with another bloke. Him being an employee, he could get a pool car, and I wasn't allowed to drive it. Him being an employee, he ignored my suggestion that if the meeting started at 9, we'd need to leave at 5 am and stop for breakfast at the last services before Bristol, and insisted he couldn't leave before 7:30.

He drove like a cock. He never used any lane but the "fast lane", and used the pedals as ON-OFF switches. Either we were accelerating towards the car in front, and ignoring the brake lights. OR we were using the ABS to save our lives.

Turned out he had passed his test 4 weeks before, and being under 25 believed himself immortal.

We reached the M5 at about 9 am and eventually reached Bristol by 11am.

The return trip was better, after I took the piss out of him in front of his peers, and then explained, that I would be grateful if one of them could give me a lift to the station. I did return in the car, but gave him the same "training" I gave my son and daughter after they past their tests.

[JonRB]

boma said:

i've actually had a very experienced mechanic, garage owner and trackday / AMA driver tell me he won't use lane 1 as the surface is too bad, and the ruts and potholes are dangerous and uncomfortable.

I have experienced some pulls in the ruts myself, but i don't consider them an excuse.

Some cars are very susceptible to tramlining and if the inner lane is rutted it can be pretty uncomfortable and frenetic when driving one.

If the motorway is clear behind you then it makes no difference which lane you are in, and if the inner lane is indeed rutted and uncomfortable then there is no reason not to move into a better lane provided that when a car approaches you from from behind you move into the inner lane so as not to inconvenience them.

Staying out in the middle lane and forcing them to take to the outer lane to pass you, though, is a different matter and I don't condone that at all.

[Leptons]

boma said:

i've actually had a very experienced mechanic, garage owner and trackday / AMA driver tell me he won't use lane 1 as the surface is too bad, and the ruts and potholes are dangerous and uncomfortable.

I have experienced some pulls in the ruts myself, but i don't consider them an excuse.

There are some sections of M62 where I will actively avoid lane 1. If it means doing 85+ in lane 3 so be it. An e36 and lorry tracks is not the one.

[DonkeyApple]

JonRB said:

Some cars are very susceptible to tramlining and if the inner lane is rutted it can be pretty uncomfortable and frenetic when driving one.

If the motorway is clear behind you then it makes no difference which lane you are in, and if the inner lane is indeed rutted and uncomfortable then there is no reason not to move into a better lane provided that when a car approaches you from from behind you move into the inner lane so as not to inconvenience them.

Staying out in the middle lane and forcing them to take to the outer lane to pass you, though, is a different matter and I don't condone that at all.

I wondered which TVR owner was going to respond.

There are definitely some motorway stretches where the first lane is just a shocker. Plenty that you can never go in during a downpour which is a real pain.

[clonmult]

northandy said:

JimbobVFR said:

I'm 41 and block shifting when slowing down was taught when I learnt to drive at 17, so not necessarily a new thing as such.

Same here, in my first car I couldn't do it on up shifts as a 4 speed box and 50bhp stopped that.

45, learnt to drive when I was 17. Block shifting was effectively impossible, or at least impractical on a typical learners car back then - 4 speed box and 50hp were typical.

With these modern pocket rockets with 200hp and 17 speed boxes I can understand block shifting. But back in my day, no, it wasn't the norm as cars couldn't really do it.