New driver - long distance advice needed
Discussion
imbecile said:
I have a feeling that in northern ireland new drivers are limited to 90 kph _EVEN ON MOTORWAYS_; I'm not sure if this applies to you, but it may be worth checking. If you do have to do such a speed it might make things a lot more exciting 
Thanks for pointing that out...it was something I was blissfully unaware of the last time I drove through Northern Ireland (Perhaps I was just used to being able to take full advantage of motorways over in the mainland UK after passing my test.) I'll go check it out asap
The main annoyance I found last time I travelled across on a short trip to Donegal was actually having to stop and change the digital dashboard on my grans Picasso over to kph
Fortunately not an issue on the standard analogue dual-scale dashboard I'm used to driving Edited by BonzoGuinness on Monday 26th June 06:03
Thanks for all the responses
It is an understandably daunting task and that's why I'm trying to make sure in every way possible that I am fully prepared for what lies ahead I've agreed with my grandad that I'll take care of the night driving and as much of the long-distance stint that we both feel is safe. He'll be rested and ready to take over during the day, so we'll hopefully be sharing a lot of the task.
Rest stops will be pretty much neccesitated not only by common sense but also by the car itself - I occasionally drive the Picasso we'll be taking and spent a lot of time today trying to re-familiarise myself with it. It's a very hard car to get comfortable in due to the lack of a reach-adjustable steering wheel, combined with the feeling of almost pressing from above the pedals whilst driving it (Perhaps down to my somewhat awkward figure
) . The '06 Vectra SRI I normally have access to is much lower, with a more comfortable driving position. With regular stops to stretch the legs and take a breather, it should be workable, but I won't be pushing it any further than I feel safe doing so.
The 1.6 engine is also quite pokey compared to the 2.2 I'm used to, so I expect to be using a lot of the crawler lanes on the way to the ferry through Ayrshire
Stamina wise, I remember driving for literally hours on end on the days just after passing my test - but this was never beyond around 100 miles or for more than 8 hours in the car in one go (
) - so I have very little experience of montonous long distance motorway driving 
- although I am quite comfortable with their general useage ie the do's and don'ts, etiquette etc.
Finally the car has also just had its main regular service (annual I think - not sure of the period set), and is sitting on a new set of tyres (all wheels balanced). I'll be checking the pressures etc before we leave of course, and we have a puncture kit and 12VDC compressor in the boot as well as the spare slung underneath (chained to avoid it getting nicked - best remember to attach the padlock key to carkeys!)
It is an understandably daunting task and that's why I'm trying to make sure in every way possible that I am fully prepared for what lies ahead
I've agreed with my grandad that I'll take care of the night driving and as much of the long-distance stint that we both feel is safe. He'll be rested and ready to take over during the day, so we'll hopefully be sharing a lot of the task. Rest stops will be pretty much neccesitated not only by common sense but also by the car itself - I occasionally drive the Picasso we'll be taking and spent a lot of time today trying to re-familiarise myself with it. It's a very hard car to get comfortable in due to the lack of a reach-adjustable steering wheel, combined with the feeling of almost pressing from above the pedals whilst driving it (Perhaps down to my somewhat awkward figure
) . The '06 Vectra SRI I normally have access to is much lower, with a more comfortable driving position. With regular stops to stretch the legs and take a breather, it should be workable, but I won't be pushing it any further than I feel safe doing so. The 1.6 engine is also quite pokey compared to the 2.2 I'm used to, so I expect to be using a lot of the crawler lanes on the way to the ferry through Ayrshire
Stamina wise, I remember driving for literally hours on end on the days just after passing my test - but this was never beyond around 100 miles or for more than 8 hours in the car in one go (
) - so I have very little experience of montonous long distance motorway driving - although I am quite comfortable with their general useage ie the do's and don'ts, etiquette etc. Finally the car has also just had its main regular service (annual I think - not sure of the period set), and is sitting on a new set of tyres (all wheels balanced). I'll be checking the pressures etc before we leave of course, and we have a puncture kit and 12VDC compressor in the boot as well as the spare slung underneath (chained to avoid it getting nicked - best remember to attach the padlock key to carkeys!
) Edited by BonzoGuinness on Monday 26th June 13:33
Glad to report that we made it there - and back - safely
Driving in the Republic, it seems much easier to make progress than here in the UK - generally due to the shoulders on almost every main road and the willingness of freight drivers and tractors to move into them and let you past
The return trip was somewhat marred by the ferry company deciding to delay the boat for an hour so a few hundred drunken rangers fans could catch the last boat. The bars unfortunately remained open and after disembarking, it was clear a few drivers were "under the influence", so to speak, with some overtaking on the craziest of blind bends, and one or two generally having a hard time avoiding the kerbside - one was all over the road
They didn't seem to understand the concept of average speed control zones either - I'm sure a few will be recieving a NIP or two for only slowing past the SPECs cameras, then speeding up again in-between 
.
Again, thanks for all the advice.
Driving in the Republic, it seems much easier to make progress than here in the UK - generally due to the shoulders on almost every main road and the willingness of freight drivers and tractors to move into them and let you past
The return trip was somewhat marred by the ferry company deciding to delay the boat for an hour so a few hundred drunken rangers fans could catch the last boat. The bars unfortunately remained open and after disembarking, it was clear a few drivers were "under the influence", so to speak, with some overtaking on the craziest of blind bends, and one or two generally having a hard time avoiding the kerbside - one was all over the road
They didn't seem to understand the concept of average speed control zones either - I'm sure a few will be recieving a NIP or two for only slowing past the SPECs cameras, then speeding up again in-between . Again, thanks for all the advice.
Edited by BonzoGuinness on Friday 7th July 03:54
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