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Hedge and bits of shrubbery scattered in verge. Tractor up ahead hedge cutting.
Also try to keep clear of debris, possible puncture.
Same with smells. New mown grass smell. Verge cutting.
Diesel smell, possible spillage.
Damp road, artic or heavy approaching, get ready for road spray and need for wash/wipe.
Also try to keep clear of debris, possible puncture.
Same with smells. New mown grass smell. Verge cutting.
Diesel smell, possible spillage.
Damp road, artic or heavy approaching, get ready for road spray and need for wash/wipe.
Smells are a good one!
Motorcyclists are particularly aware of the smell of diesel.
Your other senses shouldn't be ignored either. When it's freezing, listen to your tyres. If you drive onto sheet ice (black ice), one of the first things you'll notice is that there is virtually no tyre noise.
Put your windows down at a badly sighted junction and your observations will be assisted by the sound of approaching vehicles.
When you drive a convertible, one of the first things you notice is how much of the outside world you can hear, and how useful some of those sounds can be in your driving plans.
Motorcyclists are particularly aware of the smell of diesel.
Your other senses shouldn't be ignored either. When it's freezing, listen to your tyres. If you drive onto sheet ice (black ice), one of the first things you'll notice is that there is virtually no tyre noise.
Put your windows down at a badly sighted junction and your observations will be assisted by the sound of approaching vehicles.
When you drive a convertible, one of the first things you notice is how much of the outside world you can hear, and how useful some of those sounds can be in your driving plans.
R_U_LOCAL said:
Put your windows down at a badly sighted junction and your observations will be assisted by the sound of approaching vehicles.
A refinement - if vision is restricted on one side only, put down the window on just that side to make it easier to distinguish sounds from that direction.R_U_LOCAL said:
When you drive a convertible, one of the first things you notice is how much of the outside world you can hear, and how useful some of those sounds can be in your driving plans.
An incredibly good point. Makes you realise how cocooned and insulated you are in a modern, refined saloon. Lorries have a mirror mounted horizontallly above the passenger window so the driver can see down to the kerb for parking. If you are planning to pass a lorry on a motorway/dual carriageway and can see a kerbing mirror on your side then the Lorry is left hand drive even if it has a UK registration with all the risks of being stuck in his blind spot entails. In heavy traffic ŷou can often see this mirror when you can't see a number plate and you can stay back until it is clear to pass. A lot of UK fleets run left hand drive lorries these days. So a registration plate is no guide.
R39S1 said:
Lorries have a mirror mounted horizontallly above the passenger window so the driver can see down to the kerb for parking. If you are planning to pass a lorry on a motorway/dual carriageway and can see a kerbing mirror on your side then the Lorry is left hand drive even if it has a UK registration with all the risks of being stuck in his blind spot entails. In heavy traffic you can often see this mirror when you can't see a number plate and you can stay back until it is clear to pass. A lot of UK fleets run left hand drive lorries these days. So a registration plate is no guide.
Good one, it's also worth looking for this mirror when on a roundabout and a truck is trying to join ahead.jaf01uk said:
Never ever trust anyone driving a car with a hat on, any kind of hat...
On page 1 R_U_LOCAL said:
Beware of hats. Any type of hat. Honestly - if a driver is wearing a trilby or a baseball cap, or even if there is a hat on the rear parcel shelf - beware.
Anyway, when driving at pace on an NSL rural road, look out for roofs, church spires etc in the distance which indicate a village or settlement up ahead, which, in turn means you're likely to be approaching a reduced speed limit.School sign? Check the time of the day & the day of the week for the likelyhood of randomly abandoned cars blocking the road and little darlings crossing carelessly.
Keep an eye on road furniture on unfamiliar roads - the line of street lamps can indicate the direction the road is going, clumps of street lights ahead indicate a roundabout and a single, solitary street lamp is often positioned directly opposite a "T" junction. Be careful of telegraph poles though - they sometimes make it look like there is a bend ahead, but then you find that the line actually crosses the road.
If you're on a road which runs parallel to a railway line for any distance, it will almost certainly go over or under the line somewhere up ahead. So if the train line is to your right, expect a right-left double bend ahead, and if it's to your left, expect a left-right double bend.
R_U_LOCAL said:
If you're on a road which runs parallel to a railway line for any distance, it will almost certainly go over or under the line somewhere up ahead. So if the train line is to your right, expect a right-left double bend ahead, and if it's to your left, expect a left-right double bend.
Ditto for canals, except you can also expect a hump backed bridge.
Not even this one.....
wildcat45 said:
On country roads, especially in the summer, motorcyclists are often in company. You see one, more than likely there will be another, or more along in short order.
The second, third, fourth etc biker in an approaching convoy from the opposite direction will make the dangerous overtake to keep up with his mates.Paul.B said:
wildcat45 said:
On country roads, especially in the summer, motorcyclists are often in company. You see one, more than likely there will be another, or more along in short order.
The second, third, fourth etc biker in an approaching convoy from the opposite direction will make the dangerous overtake to keep up with his mates.Memo to the impatient driver of a pale coloured light commercial vehicle I saw In High Wycombe this morning.
If a car is stationary in front of you a few yards short of a side road on the right it might just turn right, so even if it isn't strictly in position for a right turn overtaking through the junction is more inadvisable than usual.
Especially if it's giving a right turn signal.
And it has 'L' plates.
And the side road leads straight to the local driving test centre.
If a car is stationary in front of you a few yards short of a side road on the right it might just turn right, so even if it isn't strictly in position for a right turn overtaking through the junction is more inadvisable than usual.
Especially if it's giving a right turn signal.
And it has 'L' plates.
And the side road leads straight to the local driving test centre.
Young lad at work just bought his first car, having never driven since passing his test 5 years ago. I'm the 'car guy' at work so he asked me to look it over & give him some help getting used to driving. I've spent the morning with him driving around the local area trying to give him a few bits of simple advice that might stick.
'More paint = more danger' is brilliantly simple, he got this straight away.
'Drive to the distance you can see to stop' helped prevent him constantly checking the speedo, and he actually ended up driving a little more slowly, but with much more confidence.
I gave him a few words about 'body language', how the positioning and speed of your car should be able to tell other road users everything they need to know about your intentions even without lights or indicators, and he started to pick up on other road users' actions (letting him out of junctions, planning to turn whether indicating or not).
This exercise also helped me see a few places where I was becoming complacent on familiar roads but at a different time of day to when I usually use them.
'More paint = more danger' is brilliantly simple, he got this straight away.
'Drive to the distance you can see to stop' helped prevent him constantly checking the speedo, and he actually ended up driving a little more slowly, but with much more confidence.
I gave him a few words about 'body language', how the positioning and speed of your car should be able to tell other road users everything they need to know about your intentions even without lights or indicators, and he started to pick up on other road users' actions (letting him out of junctions, planning to turn whether indicating or not).
This exercise also helped me see a few places where I was becoming complacent on familiar roads but at a different time of day to when I usually use them.
R_U_LOCAL said:
Be careful of telegraph poles though - they sometimes make it look like there is a bend ahead, but then you find that the line actually crosses the road.
Or the opposite, especially in the Lincolnshire Fens at night - http://goo.gl/CLkvun - the furthest pole is well beyond where the road does a 90 degree turn across the bridge!Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff