What road traffic law would you introduce?

[FiF]

Frank7 said:

FiF said:

As above left is permitted in some circumstances, more here

I got honked at by a yellow cab who got quite aerated in Florida, downtown Orlando, for not turning left on a red. Felt a bit hard done to frankly, true it was into a one way street, but we were on a two way, afaik in Florida it's permitted one way to one way but not two way to one way. Still taxi drivers, eh, worldwide asshats.

You’re right about it being okay to turn left on a red from a one-way, into a one-way in Florida, a New Jersey Guy transplanted to Florida told me that, years ago.
He’d left his car in a restaurant parking lot in Brooksville, and asked me for a ride to it from Spring Hill, I stopped at a red to turn left, and he said, “Waddya waiting for, an invite in the mail?”
He then explained that it was a Florida State Law.
So you’re right about lefts on red, but as I’m an ex Black Cab driver, you’re wrong about taxi drivers.

We are going to have to disagree about taxi drivers, clearly they are not all bad, but on the percentage of absolutely dreadful drivers who have driven me then cab drivers category has been clearly THE worst, no question in my mind.

[Frank7]

FiF said:

We are going to have to disagree about taxi drivers, clearly they are not all bad, but on the percentage of absolutely dreadful drivers who have driven me then cab drivers category has been clearly THE worst, no question in my mind.

Okay FiF, I think I’ve got it now, you’ve been using the wrong taxis, or should I say it sounds like you’ve been accustomed to wannabe taxi drivers and minicab drivers.
The guys who sit at ranks in the Midlands and North, wearing taqiyahs, or turbans, are a million miles from London’s finest, and my hand to God, I care not what religion anyone is.
In fact, Sikhs are some of the nicest people I’ve met, AND they’re pretty good drivers for the most part.
In the almost 30 years that I drove a Black Cab, I was only ever in one RTA, a bus ahead of me, slowed for a zebra crossing, I was coming to a halt behind it, when I was rear-ended by a Range Rover.
In only two cities in the world did I ever feel uneasy about a taxi driver’s driving, Rome and Athens.
In Madrid I felt as if I was at home, they drove like me, if a gap appeared, the taxista took it, if he wanted to switch lanes, he did it, if he got an angry honk, he just shrugged his shoulders.

[FiF]

Frank7 said:

FiF said:

We are going to have to disagree about taxi drivers, clearly they are not all bad, but on the percentage of absolutely dreadful drivers who have driven me then cab drivers category has been clearly THE worst, no question in my mind.

Okay FiF, I think I’ve got it now, you’ve been using the wrong taxis, or should I say it sounds like you’ve been accustomed to wannabe taxi drivers and minicab drivers.
The guys who sit at ranks in the Midlands and North, wearing taqiyahs, or turbans, are a million miles from London’s finest, and my hand to God, I care not what religion anyone is.
In fact, Sikhs are some of the nicest people I’ve met, AND they’re pretty good drivers for the most part.
In the almost 30 years that I drove a Black Cab, I was only ever in one RTA, a bus ahead of me, slowed for a zebra crossing, I was coming to a halt behind it, when I was rear-ended by a Range Rover.
In only two cities in the world did I ever feel uneasy about a taxi driver’s driving, Rome and Athens.
In Madrid I felt as if I was at home, they drove like me, if a gap appeared, the taxista took it, if he wanted to switch lanes, he did it, if he got an angry honk, he just shrugged his shoulders.

Well for example, just one instance, one winter evening coming back from Manchester airport to Chesterfield. It was cold but not freezing, cold enough for them to have gritted in the previous day or so, thus you got that muddy sludge spray thrown up. Matey's headlights were so filthy that it was bad enough seeing where there were street lights, never mind out in the unlit sticks. Not helped by the fact he'd nearly run out of screen wash, so everytime he used the washers a pathetic little splash equivalent to the output from a hamster with a severe prostate issue managed to blob onto the bottom of the screen where the wipers would pick it up and clear a square half inch. Eventually the numpty got frustrated with the lack of water, and as he operated the washers for yet another hamster piss started swerving from side to side to try a slosh a bit of water near the reservoir pick up. Seeing an open filling station looming up ahead through the crud I lost patience, ordered him to stop, went and bought him some screen wash whilst he scraped the crud off the lights and windows. Nice enough chap, and he was one of the better ones.

Another Manchester airport trip, "Bet You've not been to the airport this way." grinned the fatuous oaf as we hacked down a single track road with grass strip down the middle and round blind bends without any consideration of being able to stop.

Or a people carrier overtaking on blind bends crossing Snake Pass. He got a whack round the head with the Telegraph, dangerous tt.

Then there was the German in the Merc who completely misjudged the tightening of an autobahn bend.

The Swede who span it trying to overtake snowploughs in a whiteout. He got past, Christ knows how, then ten km further we pirouetted a full 720°.

Those are just a few from the top, so yes maybe the wrong taxis. Weapons grade asshats though.

[Rude-boy]

Remove speed limits on motorways, outside specific sections of motorway network, and on all A and B class roads other than 40s and 30s.

But then again we all know that is about as likely to happen as it is to be lawful to use a TVR engined Land Rover 110 to remove MLM's from the roads...

Edited by Rude-boy on Tuesday 30th October 00:12

[ESOG]

FiF said:

San Francisco too.

Generally I find many Americans are not especially clued up on their Highway Code, for want of a better description, much like too many in UK.

Having clued up I once encountered something not seen before, and was their version of a traffic light controlled on slip to a much bigger divided carriageway. Had travelled this way before and the lights operated normally, but this morning there were flashing red lights. The locals were all of a dither not knowing wtf to do, except I'd read this was a "come to full stop, proceed if safe". No one in the office understood it either. This was a few decades back so maybe they are more common now.

I know what you mean. Sometimes during/after a storm some lights will be out and blinking red which as i always assumed was pretty obvious means caution full stop then go if safr i.e. treated like a 4 way stop sign. But i have seen many people drive through it at speed i guess because they feel they are on the main road and feel they have the instant uncautioned right away? That is not until they get t-boned one day.

And to your earlier point i agree as well that it seems Americans are not as aware of highway code or general edicit as other places around the world.

[Frank7]

Then there was the German in the Merc who completely misjudged the tightening of an autobahn bend.

The Swede who span it trying to overtake snowploughs in a whiteout. He got past, Christ knows how, then ten km further we pirouetted a full 720°.

Those are just a few from the top, so yes maybe the wrong taxis. Weapons grade asshats though.
[/quote]



Have to agree with you now, you’ve had more than your fair share of mugs by the sound of it.
I’ve had quite a few taxi rides in Germany, don’t recall any nutters, but they like to lean on the gas pedal.
I took a taxi from Münster Hauptbahnof, (main station), to Münster/Osnabruck Flughaven, (airport), and I thought I’d become telepathic.
On the short stretch of the A1 autobahn, I was looking over the driver’s shoulder, and he was closing on a double decker bus, I looked over my shoulder, and there was BMW in the Centre lane, maybe 500-600 metres behind.
I willed the driver to, ‘gun it, now’, and as if by magic the Merc slid effortlessly to the left, and sailed by the bus.
I only had a couple of taxi rides in Stockholm, Sweden, and I felt like saying, “for Christ’s sake, either lean on the gas, or let me drive.”
Maybe I was lucky, or unlucky.

[Countdown]

Frank7 said:

In only two cities in the world did I ever feel uneasy about a taxi driver’s driving, Rome and Athens.
In Madrid I felt as if I was at home, they drove like me, if a gap appeared, the taxista took it, if he wanted to switch lanes, he did it, if he got an angry honk, he just shrugged his shoulders.

Maybe you're judging taxi drivers by your own standards of driving. For example "taking a gap" doesn't mean it was safe to do so, "you" may have managed it only because the other driver braked to avoid crashing into you or (more likely) saw "Taxi" and his self preservation radar went to max. Similarly, if I got an "angry honk" my initial thought would be "what have I done to make somebody annoyed by my driving?" and not to shrug my shoulders. If somebody is blissfully disregarding angry honks, possibly because they happen so regularly, it says a lot about their attitude.

I have friends and clients who are private hire drivers. Their capability to drive is not that much in doubt. However their attitude to safety and risk stinks. Basically they couldn't give two hoots about others and drive like knobs. That's probably partially why their insurance premiums are £3k upwards.

[AstonZagato]

I had a chap, now sadly departed, who did most of my airport runs / business travel. He was constantly wound up by the poor driving of others and would point out their shortcomings in no uncertain terms. However, he would all too often drive aggressively. He failed to see the shortcomings in his own driving.

[FiF]

Frank7 said:

Then there was the German in the Merc who completely misjudged the tightening of an autobahn bend.

The Swede who span it trying to overtake snowploughs in a whiteout. He got past, Christ knows how, then ten km further we pirouetted a full 720°.

Those are just a few from the top, so yes maybe the wrong taxis. Weapons grade asshats though.

Have to agree with you now, you’ve had more than your fair share of mugs by the sound of it.
I’ve had quite a few taxi rides in Germany, don’t recall any nutters, but they like to lean on the gas pedal.
I took a taxi from Münster Hauptbahnof, (main station), to Münster/Osnabruck Flughaven, (airport), and I thought I’d become telepathic.
On the short stretch of the A1 autobahn, I was looking over the driver’s shoulder, and he was closing on a double decker bus, I looked over my shoulder, and there was BMW in the Centre lane, maybe 500-600 metres behind.
I willed the driver to, ‘gun it, now’, and as if by magic the Merc slid effortlessly to the left, and sailed by the bus.
I only had a couple of taxi rides in Stockholm, Sweden, and I felt like saying, “for Christ’s sake, either lean on the gas, or let me drive.”
Maybe I was lucky, or unlucky.

Thanks for recognising why I have the view I do, and as someone else observed you may be transferring your own skills and attitude as representative of the norm.

Just two words in final support of my case, those two words are - Addison Lee.