I really feel sorry for you all

[vanordinaire]

I've lived in the middle of nowhere for a number of years, my daily driving is mostly on single track country roads. Usually when I venture into the big bad world it's at the weekend or on a holiday but tonight I had the 'pleasure' of Edinburgh to Glasgow on the M8 at rush hour. Oh what a misery! Middle lane hoggers, tail gaters, road spray, elephant racing, all the things that I hear people complaning about on here every day. Sorry for dismissing you all as moaners. Much as I love driving I really think I'd give it up if I had to put up with that every day. My heart goes out to you all and well done for remaining enthusiastic PHers.

[DUMBO100]

The M8 is pretty bad but you should try the M6 or M25

[mybrainhurts]

One has to be skilled at not getting one's dander up, yes.

[jamieduff1981]

vanordinaire said:

I've lived in the middle of nowhere for a number of years, my daily driving is mostly on single track country roads. Usually when I venture into the big bad world it's at the weekend or on a holiday but tonight I had the 'pleasure' of Edinburgh to Glasgow on the M8 at rush hour. Oh what a misery! Middle lane hoggers, tail gaters, road spray, elephant racing, all the things that I hear people complaning about on here every day. Sorry for dismissing you all as moaners. Much as I love driving I really think I'd give it up if I had to put up with that every day. My heart goes out to you all and well done for remaining enthusiastic PHers.

+1 It's easy to see how PHers can be reduced to thinking crap cars are more than enough "in the real world" when all they see is traffic all the time.

I love where I live and I love being able to choose what time of day I drive to and from work.

[PositronicRay]

vanordinaire said:

elephant racing

I just had to look that up.

I thought it must be some wierd sweaty thing but I understand now

[mgtony]

PositronicRay said:

vanordinaire said:

elephant racing

I just had to look that up.

I thought it must be some wierd sweaty thing but I understand now

Most likely to be seen on trunk roads.

M25 Northern stretch last night, 2 accidents within a couple of miles between J24 - J25. At least the gantry signs gave some info before it was too late to take another route.

[jmorgan]

People have cars, they drive them on the roads. Usually. So with lots of people having cars, this is what we get. Unless there are some drastic restrictions and we would have to accept them, it is the norm so I find it best to calm down and go with the flow.

[M3DGE]

vanordinaire said:

I've lived in the middle of nowhere for a number of years, my daily driving is mostly on single track country roads. Usually when I venture into the big bad world it's at the weekend or on a holiday but tonight I had the 'pleasure' of Edinburgh to Glasgow on the M8 at rush hour. Oh what a misery! Middle lane hoggers, tail gaters, road spray, elephant racing, all the things that I hear people complaning about on here every day. Sorry for dismissing you all as moaners. Much as I love driving I really think I'd give it up if I had to put up with that every day. My heart goes out to you all and well done for remaining enthusiastic PHers.

I know it's not exactly the middle of nowhere, but a couple of weeks ago I tried to get from Glasgow to Fort William. A82 shut due to landslides. Very wet plod :- sorry sir, it's a 170 mile diversion. Yep, no other roads at all, you have to go east, north, west and then South to come in at FW from the top. And it was closed for three days. 'off the beaten track' still has it's challenges....although at least the scenery is good.

[soad]

Rush hour in the city is a pain too.

[daemon]

jamieduff1981 said:

+1 It's easy to see how PHers can be reduced to thinking crap cars are more than enough "in the real world" when all they see is traffic all the time.

I love where I live and I love being able to choose what time of day I drive to and from work.

Its not that people are "reduced to" thinking this - its actually true for the vast majority of people. Who really needs more than a Focus / Golf / Passat / Mondeo in standard form when the bulk of their driving is commuting, running the kids to school and family activities at the weekend?

I try to keep "something for the weekend" as it were (over and above wifies z4 being our "main" car) and when i'd a MX5 earlier in the summer i commuted some days in it. The novelty wore off VERY quickly and moreoften i arrived home a lot less relaxed and more tired than i otherwise would have.

A more extreme example - would a semi auto 500BHP M5 mean i'd get to work any quicker? Nope. Would it dramatically increase my fuel bill so i've less money for things i really want to do? Yes.

I love where i live too - out in the country in a home we designed and built- but the downside to that is a 45 mile each way commute into the city as its the closest place i can get a decent wage - I'd be taking a £20,000 bath every year if i was to take a local job.

[daemon]

jamieduff1981 said:

+1 It's easy to see how PHers can be reduced to thinking crap cars are more than enough "in the real world" when all they see is traffic all the time.

I love where I live and I love being able to choose what time of day I drive to and from work.

Its not that people are "reduced to" thinking this - its actually true for the vast majority of people. Who really needs more than a Focus / Golf / Passat / Mondeo in standard form when the bulk of their driving is commuting, running the kids to school and family activities at the weekend?

I try to keep "something for the weekend" as it were (over and above wifies z4 being our "main" car) and when i'd a MX5 earlier in the summer i commuted some days in it. The novelty wore off VERY quickly and moreoften i arrived home a lot less relaxed and more tired than i otherwise would have.

A more extreme example - would a semi auto 500BHP M5 mean i'd get to work any quicker? Nope. Would it dramatically increase my fuel bill so i've less money for things i really want to do? Yes.

I love where i live too - out in the country in a home we designed and built- but the downside to that is a 45 mile each way commute into the city as its the closest place i can get a decent wage - I'd be taking a £20,000 bath every year if i was to take a local job.

Edited by daemon on Friday 7th November 08:17

[jamieduff1981]

daemon said:

jamieduff1981 said:

+1 It's easy to see how PHers can be reduced to thinking crap cars are more than enough "in the real world" when all they see is traffic all the time.

I love where I live and I love being able to choose what time of day I drive to and from work.

Its not that people are "reduced to" thinking this - its actually true for the vast majority of people. Who really needs more than a Focus / Golf / Passat / Mondeo in standard form when the bulk of their driving is commuting, running the kids to school and family activities at the weekend?

I try to keep "something for the weekend" as it were (over and above wifies z4 being our "main" car) and when i'd a MX5 earlier in the summer i commuted some days in it. The novelty wore off VERY quickly and moreoften i arrived home a lot less relaxed and more tired than i otherwise would have.

A more extreme example - would a semi auto 500BHP M5 mean i'd get to work any quicker? Nope. Would it dramatically increase my fuel bill so i've less money for things i really want to do? Yes.

I love where i live too - out in the country in a home we designed and built- but the downside to that is a 45 mile each way commute into the city as its the closest place i can get a decent wage - I'd be taking a £20,000 bath every year if i was to take a local job.

Depends on the roads you're using I suppose. My commute is a bit shorter at just under 30 miles each way but it's all B-roads. I'm not driving an M5 but I am driving an equivalent sometimes and I definately get to and from work a little quicker when in that compared to the lethargic 3.0 S-Type. Not because I'm speeding everywhere, but because so many more clear stretches pass my "what if a motorbike comes the other way?" pre-overtake test so I can do the majority of the commute at or near the speed limits rather than at 40mph 1 car back from the slow-coach looking for a combination of big long straight with no junctions on it and nobody coming the other way. The 500+bhp semi-auto does shave a bit off the space needed to overtake cleanly and safely. Not as much as a 17yr old might assume but not needing the first 600 yards to build up the speed differential does help a lot. It does increase my fuel bill a little though - I'll give you that

[p1doc]

same here live middle of nowhere so 5 miles to nearest a road,on occasional courses in big cities walk from train station past all of the standing still traffic-would do my head in
martin

[daemon]

jamieduff1981 said:

Depends on the roads you're using I suppose. My commute is a bit shorter at just under 30 miles each way but it's all B-roads. I'm not driving an M5 but I am driving an equivalent sometimes and I definately get to and from work a little quicker when in that compared to the lethargic 3.0 S-Type. Not because I'm speeding everywhere, but because so many more clear stretches pass my "what if a motorbike comes the other way?" pre-overtake test so I can do the majority of the commute at or near the speed limits rather than at 40mph 1 car back from the slow-coach looking for a combination of big long straight with no junctions on it and nobody coming the other way. The 500+bhp semi-auto does shave a bit off the space needed to overtake cleanly and safely. Not as much as a 17yr old might assume but not needing the first 600 yards to build up the speed differential does help a lot. It does increase my fuel bill a little though - I'll give you that

Its horses for courses really. My commute is a dull 55mph drudge with little opportunity / reason to overtake as you just end up a few cars up - in fact you just end up less relaxed by the time you get home if you try to.

Certainly in the past with different job roles and commutes i've had more "performance" oriented cars and some v6 cruisers but i guess my priorities this time were reliability, no unexpected bills, high fuel economy, hence the golf.

If you're doing smaller miles, the worlds your lobster really.