Abysmal Traffic Calming

[Solocle]

Mike335i said:

That is the problem. You should be lacking confidence at this stage.

Seriously, there would not have been an accident as you would both have been doing 20mph and the road would be clear at the point of you committing to the maneuver. He would have seen you passing the chicane and slowed. You created the risk by speeding like that.
I suspect you were not prepared to come to a stop at the chicane and 'commited' to this some way before. What would you have done if a delivery van was parked there?

If you car is so slow you can't do a hill start (it isn't), then the problem is with you. I have driven the 60hp 1.0 engine and it is nippy enough in that car.

Just take it easy behind the wheel of the car, it's driving like what you describe that causes the need for traffic calming. We have all been there, thinking we are God's gift to driving. But eventually we learn we aren't and then we become safer drivers.

I have done more miles than you probably expect, so am more experienced than many of my age. I can definitely hill start, it just feels slow and sluggish when you start moving (of course I have to stop if there were vehicles coming through). I generally approach at 20, prepared to stop, then pass beyond the point of no return - doing so enables you to spend less time in the pinchpoint. I understand that other drivers should slow once you're committed, I just don't like putting my safety in the hands of somebody who could be a psycho who sees "priority over oncoming vehicles" as a carte blanche, or somebody who could be speeding and not realise that their brakes have failed... My point is that this pinchpoint is so unnecessary, there are several just a bit further along the road that aren't a problem (although they do have ed up priorities that could cause a traffic jam), and just behind the pinchpoint in the photo there is always a row of parked cars that act as natural calming and has been there since time immemorial. This scheme wasn't implemented due to collision, this scheme was implemented to "protect" a pedestrian crossing. Because traffic lights aren't enough? They threw in a 20 zone and build outs too. If the build out were a parked car, it'd be too close to the brow of a hill and I'd toot my horn preparing to pass it. I just don't think that is fair on residents who haven't gone and parked a car in a stupid place. The same residents who recognise that the road is now more dangerous than it was.

[xjay1337]

That junction isn't the best but isn't the worst by far, we had a basically blind bridge as priority and people managed fine.

[herewego]

Solocle said:

herewego said:

I think you should take somebody out with you when you drive for a while as you don't seem to have much confidence, or maybe do a passplus course and show the instructor the locations where you struggle.

A lot of the time I have parents beside me... but I'm not lacking confidence, I just resent a "safety scheme" that forces you onto the wrong side of the road with a give way, when you can't see that it is clear to do so - making another vehicle slow down is against they highway code and unsafe if they are distracted. If there was a collision, it would likely be 50:50. The alternative is to speed up once committed and flout the law.

It seems you are nervous about meeting someone coming towards you at too high a speed so you are actually learning a good lesson here which is to be careful of driving at speed on rural roads if you don't know what is around the bend.

[JM]

You complain about your underpowered car, but also say you accelerated from 20mph to 40mph in about 6 Meters.


If you are struggling to get a clear view ahead of oncoming traffic then you should if clear pull out to the centre line or across it to give a clearer view round the bend.

[Solocle]

JM said:

You complain about your underpowered car, but also say you accelerated from 20mph to 40mph in about 6 Meters.


If you are struggling to get a clear view ahead of oncoming traffic then you should if clear pull out to the centre line or across it to give a clearer view round the bend.

At least 20m, as I had to leave stopping distance as I pulled out. I also kept on the throttle longer than my manoeuvre took (only slightly, but probably 30->37 mph). Doing the physics yields 2.5 m/s^2 acceleration in 1.8s. If I had come to a halt, it would have taken me at least 2 seconds to clear the hazard (that's not counting getting the clutch right).
And yes, I know the centre line thing... I did. With the brow of the hill, it doesn't help too much.

[magpies]

Solocle said:

A lot of the time I have parents beside me... but I'm not lacking confidence, I just resent a "safety scheme" that forces you onto the wrong side of the road with a give way, when you can't see that it is clear to do so - making another vehicle slow down is against they highway code and unsafe if they are distracted. If there was a collision, it would likely be 50:50. The alternative is to speed up once commited and flout the law.

I think you are wrong there. If there is nothing coming towards you when you start to go forward then it does not matter if a vehicle then approaches and has to slow down to allow you to complete going through the gap. Think of a slow heavy vehicle like a lorry / bus and not just car ( could be someone just passed their driving test or parents with children in their car) not everyone is a racing driver in a fast car.

[Mike335i]

It does seem like speeding up is precisely the opposite of what you should do if another car comes towards you in that situation, especially if there is any doubt about your cars performance. If you slow down, you have the option of stopping. If you speed up, you loose that option.

[Solocle]

Mike335i said:

It does seem like speeding up is precisely the opposite of what you should do if another car comes towards you in that situation, especially if there is any doubt about your cars performance. If you slow down, you have the option of stopping. If you speed up, you loose that option.

I see it the other way with my car's performance characteristics - if I initially brake, I can't build up speed. If I initially accelerate, I can still hammer on the anchors if necessary. In this case, I very quickly arrived at the conclusion that hitting the throttle would clear the hazard, so that's what I did. And that's what happened. However, the speed I achieved in doing so was illegal.

[Markbarry1977]

OP, if that situation is causing you concern then god help you if you ever have to drive in an unfamiliar large city during rush hour.

Seriously do the world a favour, get some more training or give back your license. You come accross as about as good a driver as my 70 year old gran was when she passed her test at 70 after my grandad died and she needed transport (bloody awful and dangerous)

[Solocle]

Markbarry1977 said:

OP, if that situation is causing you concern then god help you if you ever have to drive in an unfamiliar large city during rush hour.

Seriously do the world a favour, get some more training or give back your license. You come accross as about as good a driver as my 70 year old gran was when she passed her test at 70 after my grandad died and she needed transport (bloody awful and dangerous)

I just think that it's stupid to build a supposed safety feature on a blind hill. I've done rush hour, it's a cakewalk. The key is to not get annoyed about going slowly. It also gives you more time to read the signs if you're unfamiliar....

[JM]

Do you notice other drivers struggling to negotiate this hazard?
E.g. if you are going in the opposite direction do you often have to slow down for cars coming towards you, or at busy times does a queue form waiting at the give-way line?

[Solocle]

JM said:

Do you notice other drivers struggling to negotiate this hazard?
E.g. if you are going in the opposite direction do you often have to slow down for cars coming towards you, or at busy times does a queue form waiting at the give-way line?

I slow down before I reach the pinch-point coming the other way, but I'm not generally there at busy times. From what I gather, there are regular traffic jams.