45mph for all occasions

[swisstoni]

45 suits them just fine. They are never too sure what the speed limit is for the road they are on so 45 is not too fast and not too slow. It's just as well they don't go out in the dark too much; that's when the cataracts really kick in

[ferrariF50lover]

alecescolme said:

Skodas are great cars!

Let's not go overboard. They're perfectly adequate cars and their general acceptability is aided by the fact that they are relatively inexpensive. Great? No, not even slightly. They're well made and jolly comfortable, but they're typically fairly poorly appointed and dreadfully dreary to drive and to look at.

alecescolme said:

would happily own one instead of 5 series/A6.

I'm biased against BMWs since I've never really got on with them, but an Octavia and an A6 are so far apart that they aren't even slightly comparable. The A6 does things that the Skoda couldn't even dream of and the difference in price really is more than demonstrated in the difference between the vehicles.

If you need something with a boot big enough to house a family of the sort of people Nigel Farage blows a blood vessel about, comes with the basics and isn't a bloody Vauxhall, then the Skoda equivalent is a pretty good bet. However, if you're looking for a premium product, look elsewhere.

Top, top ranting in the first instance. Genuinely laugh out loud funny.

Mr 40-or-so everywhere? Pah, you lot are amateurs. Devon's where it's at. 40mph marks out the local nutters here, the sorts of people who are a danger to themselves and others. Mr 25-everywhere is King down our way.

[mph999]

I get some f***** in a ******* Toyota ******* Prius which, if I time it wrong in the morning I get stuck behind on a NSL A road at ******* 38 ******* miles per hour.

I class that as driving without consideration.

[siovey]

I experienced one of these types yesterday. She was doing 60 in the middle lane of the motorway and then decided to move over to the outside lane after I had gone past and just sat there at the same speed with a queue forming behind her, oblivious! WTF????

[The Mad Monk]

AndrewJG said:

Is there a national 45mph club?
What's so great about 45mph is it's either illegal or an inconvenience no matter where you are.
Even a 50 limit. Come on if the limit is 50 and you're doing 45. Why?

Because the limit is a limit, not a target.

[The Mad Monk]

btcc123 said:

A lot of older people have their cruise control set at 45 and dont know how to cancel it.

A lot of younger people have their cruise control set to 90 and don't know how to cancel it.

[The Mad Monk]

Jon1967x said:

Judging by one old bloke on the SAC I went on, they drive at the slowest speed they can in top gear.

How did he manage to break the speed limit then?

[The Mad Monk]

V8forweekends said:

I remember reading a report in the local paper in the 1980s about a bloke who rolled his Cortina while drunk and died. He was at least 3 times over the limit. His wife was interviewed and said "he was a very safe driver who never went anywhere at more than 40mph".

There you are then!

There is the absolute proof!!

A bloke 30 years ago did something with certain consequences.

QED.

[Conscript]

The Mad Monk said:

Because the limit is a limit, not a target.

Going by the driving tuition that I and many people my age received, I am not entirely sure this is true.

We were always taught never to exceed the speed limit, but were expected to drive as close to it as safely and practically possible.

Otherwise you may hold up other road users, which again, is something I was taught we were to try and avoid. At best it's discourteous, and at worst, you may impede traffic flow.

Edited by Conscript on Saturday 11th April 09:25

[Ahimoth]

Had a fun experience with one last night, but he was the rare beast that drives a decent car. Z4.

Dual carriageway: 40-brief 50-60-40. So he pulls off in the 40 and accelerates to 45, sitting in the right lane. He then stays there, doing 45. Nothing to the left, just sits there doing 45. I did two things I never do, flashed and pointed to the left and eventually then undertook.

The worst bit near me goes 40mph, briefly into two lanes for some traffic lights and a merge after, then up to 50 for a couple of miles with tight-ish turns, then 60 and then 40mph dual carriageway, merge, 50mph and then 60mph. You can imagine what happens, 40mph down to 25 for the bends, back to 40mph until the dual carriageway section when they accelerate up to 50mph, so unless the lights there stop them and you can pull off quicker you're stuck behind them when they slow back down to 40mph in the 50 and 60.

I really don't mind seeing a camera van in the 40mph dual carriageway section, it'll catch a lot of thoughtless idiots.

Edited by Ahimoth on Saturday 11th April 09:11

[The Mad Monk]

gamefreaks said:

On my commute, it is always, always a nearly new Skoda. I fking hate them. My heart sinks when I see one pull out in front of me. (usually forcing me to brake!)

It's either a taxi driver and he's on an economy run, or its an old person who hates cars, hates driving, hates fun, hates life and just bought something cheap and reliable in dog-turd brown.

Unless you are a taxi driver, I have no idea why anyone would buy a skoda. I will never comprehend why anyone would buy something so absolutely bland and boring with their own money! If they were free I could understand it. But they cost money. Real actual money. 14,000 of it. That's about 1,000 hours of labour for someone on the average wage. Every time you see a god-damned Skoda it means someone has (or will in the future) work for 26 weeks to pay for it. 26 weeks of your life so you can put that on the drive and twitch the fking curtains every time a kid walks past.

I mean even if you don't like driving or cars, you'd at least buy something that looks good? Or just buy a £1000 Volvo or something on eBay and spend the 'just £200 a month for all eternity' on something you actually like? It's like eating eating flour for lunch because it's cheaper than a sandwich. It's like going home and staring at the wall until it's time to go to bed because it's cheaper than having the telly on.

You hear about people who live miserly, stingy, miserable lives. They re-use teabags, they only buy from the damaged goods aisle of Asda, everyone hates them because they scowl and complain all the fking time. These people are the reason Skoda (a trading style of Führer Automobil AG.) still exist.

Money is simply a transient intermediate state of labour. Convert it to things you need, like shelter, clothes and food. Put some away for when you are old. With the rest, turn it into FUN. Blow it on coke and hookers, host swinger parties, go on holiday, turn it into shiny crap you don't need, just do something that puts a smile on your face with it. Get busy living or get busy dying. I don't care.

Whatever you do, don't turn 26 weeks of your life into a 4 wheeled box of misery and use it to hold me up every fking morning. Please.

7/10.

Must try harder with the swearing. More variety required.

See me.

[alpha channel]

The Mad Monk said:

How did he manage to break the speed limit then?

Maybe he got pulled for going too slowly? I know my line manager did (though he was sent on his way with a flea in his ear)

[The Badger]

I'm so glad so many of us hate these ignorant, oblivious, feckless, bds. When I evetually manage to overtake them I engage the horn for the duration of the overtake, hoping to induce cardiac arrest on them and freeing the roads for more enlightened users.

[folos]

The Badger said:

I'm so glad so many of us hate these ignorant, oblivious, feckless, bds. When I evetually manage to overtake them I engage the horn for the duration of the overtake, hoping to induce cardiac arrest on them and freeing the roads for more enlightened users.

I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of the horn, as to them it probably makes them feel justified in holding up somebody that wants to go faster than them thus making the roads 'safer' in their mind.

I just blast past in my very noisy car, no fuss.. probably winds them up more!

[DonkeyApple]

AC43 said:

Moonhawk said:

I see loads of them round my way too. Usually associated with other indications of poor driving (e.g. poor lane discipline, straight lining roundabouts, poor or no signals, undue hesitation at junctions)

I came across one of these people last Friday on the way from London to Wiltshire. He did all of the above plus slow down far too much waaaaay before junctions (really confusing, that one) and he also had an unnerving habit of braking and swerving left when large vehicles approached in the opposite direction. I suspect he also did that rythmic but random braking thing on motorways too.

Anyway after a mile or two of this me, the Mrs and kids were getting really irritated. Luckily there was a set of lights followed by an uphill two-lane section and I took the chance to give it some beans and watch various needles swing over to the right. A mile or so later, back on the regular A road he was a spec in the distance. Followed by about 30 cars.

Thunderc*nt

Edited by AC43 on Friday 10th April 16:40

I could never quite comprehend these driving characteristics until I married an Italian.

My wife displays all of these characteristics plus the absolutely infuriating one of dawdling at 40 on the double white line sections of an NSL and then increasing speed at the exact points where those trapped behind should be free to pass.

Now, I have a theory on this. First of all, part of my wife's behaviour is due to the fact that she never driver after passing her test and so is technically learning how to drive now, twenty years later. So, we are dialling out the nervous twitching left at incoming vehicles and random braking and speeds. But it is a huge works in progress as Italians don't naturally take to learning and prefer to instead inform you from a position of absolute ignorance that you are wrong.

But, beyond this there is an underlying Italian characteristic of Italian nature that defines their national driving style and that is no natural consideration of others. It just doesn't happen. There is no embedded thought process that checks whether what you are about to do will have any negative impact on others around you.

My belief is that the reason we are now seeing so many offenders in the UK is down to army of self entitled and self important Brits who have stopped all forms of consideration of others and live 'mememe' L'Orial lifestyles. These are the people who have been handed everything on a plate and never had to struggle for what they have and whose social behaviour has collapsed.

They all need a holiday in Cambodia.

[Morningside]

The biggest culprit seems to be the Vauxhall Agila in that odd bronze colour.

[anonymous-user]

Had one of this brigade follow me through a local village yesterday itching to overtake all through the 30 zone

Pulled out to pass me at exactly this spot, which didn't leave a lot of time for the approaching bend, but he was fortunate and nothing was coming.

https://goo.gl/maps/J6ah9

He pulled away from me through the 40 zone at his default 45 and then, just a few clicks forward on google maps, this happens

https://goo.gl/maps/CqiDC

and I take the opportunity of a clear, straight, well sighted downhill road to get past at 60

cue flashing of lights and gesticulating from Lord 45 of Miles per Hour Everywhere

[Conscript]

JPJPJP said:

Had one of this brigade follow me through a local village yesterday itching to overtake all through the 30 zone

Pulled out to pass me at exactly this spot, which didn't leave a lot of time for the approaching bend, but he was fortunate and nothing was coming.

https://goo.gl/maps/J6ah9

He pulled away from me through the 40 zone at his default 45 and then, just a few clicks forward on google maps, this happens

https://goo.gl/maps/CqiDC

and I take the opportunity of a clear, straight, well sighted downhill road to get past at 60

cue flashing of lights and gesticulating from Lord 45 of Miles per Hour Everywhere

So, he overtook you somewhat riskily, then you do the same thing to him seconds later in a much safer manner and he gets upset about it?

Jesus. How can anyone be so arrogant to assume that only they are allowed to overtake.

[Diderot]

Morningside said:

The biggest culprit seems to be the Vauxhall Agila in that odd bronze colour.

Honda Jizz in light metallic blue.

[callahan]

Diderot said:

Morningside said:

The biggest culprit seems to be the Vauxhall Agila in that odd bronze colour.

Honda Jizz in light metallic blue.

Anything small and st - aforementioned Agila and Jazz, but any Hyundai can be added to the list. As well as various 'what the hell is that?' cars from the Pacific (aptly named) Rim.