Splash someone, fail test - Why is this news?

[hugoagogo]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manches...

"A driving examiner failed a woman on her test after she splashed a pedestrian by driving through a puddle."

quite right too, the dopey cow

so why is it on the BBC website?

[kambites]

Well yes, it's a breach of the highway code (it says something like you should act courteously to other road users at all times). Sounds like a perfectly acceptable reason to fail her as long as she had a reasonable way to avoid it.

Not sure about the "sharing details" though. I guess technically the pedestrian could have claimed off her insurance for the cost of cleaning his clothes? I wonder if it's legally defined as "hit and run".

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 9th September 09:56

[turbobloke]

Clearly she should have swerved onto the opposite side of the carriageway, or, noting that the driver behind was following too close, braked hard to a crawl so the splash was minimised regardless of bodywork damage and/or injury to the occupants of both cars. These new splashtastic priorities for road driving make perfect sense, so it's crazy for sure to feature on the BBC site.

[norman156]

Most deffinately a non-story. Deffinately deserved to fail, got soaked by some tosser in a 5 series the other day who could have easily avoided the puddle.

[Eddh]

norman156 said:

Most deffinately a non-story. Deffinately deserved to fail, got soaked by some tosser in a 5 series the other day who could have easily avoided the puddle.

You got to admit its funny as hell when it happens to someone else - although it is a bit childish.

[satchbot]

Eddh said:

norman156 said:

Most deffinately a non-story. Deffinately deserved to fail, got soaked by some tosser in a 5 series the other day who could have easily avoided the puddle.

You got to admit its funny as hell when it happens to someone else - although it is a bit childish.

Childish - but funny

[R4PID]

hugoagogo said:

so why is it on the BBC website?

Think you answered your own question there.

[norman156]

Eddh said:

norman156 said:

Most deffinately a non-story. Deffinately deserved to fail, got soaked by some tosser in a 5 series the other day who could have easily avoided the puddle.

You got to admit its funny as hell when it happens to someone else - although it is a bit childish.

Quite true, although when your car's still at the garage and you have to get a bus home after a drenching, it really isn't!

[Munter]

norman156 said:

Eddh said:

norman156 said:

Most deffinately a non-story. Deffinately deserved to fail, got soaked by some tosser in a 5 series the other day who could have easily avoided the puddle.

You got to admit its funny as hell when it happens to someone else - although it is a bit childish.

Quite true, although when your car's still at the garage and you have to get a bus home after a drenching, it really isn't!

Particularly when it's the mechanic in your own car doing a "test drive" which splashs you?

[MK4 Slowride]

Munter said:

norman156 said:

Eddh said:

norman156 said:

Most deffinately a non-story. Deffinately deserved to fail, got soaked by some tosser in a 5 series the other day who could have easily avoided the puddle.

You got to admit its funny as hell when it happens to someone else - although it is a bit childish.

Quite true, although when your car's still at the garage and you have to get a bus home after a drenching, it really isn't!

Particularly when it's the mechanic in your own car doing a "test drive" which splashs you?

[SiH]

IIRC it's a 3-pointer if you go out of your way to splash someone.

[Ganglandboss]

I was reading about it in the Manchester Evening News.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1065...

The printed version seemed to side with her a bit more. What has the fact she is a mum got to do with it? She is still a silly bint who couldn't drive a greasy pole up a cow's arse!

To me it is a non-story; if she cannot spot a puddle and a nearby pedestrian, what else on the road isn't she spotting?

[Don]

SiH said:

IIRC it's a 3-pointer if you go out of your way to splash someone.

Driving without due care for other road users.

It's even a three pointer if you do so by accident. You are supposed to be a good enough driver to see puddles and nearby pedestrians, take them into account and avoid splashing - if necessary by slowing or stopping and then driving around the puddle.

Of course - if the splash won't hit anyone it isn't a problem.

Realistically few drivers are actually either good enough to anticipate splashing or considerate enough to care. Here on PH of course we aspire to better than that - but there you go.

I'm glad the examiner failed her. So he should. And no it isn't news. It's only news if you are dumb enough to think she shouldn't have failed for that.

[Jasandjules]

It's a story because most people don't have a clue it's an offence to spash a pedestrian and it's a bit of a harsh punishment when you can't always avoid it.

[AndrewTait]

Jasandjules said:

it's a bit of a harsh punishment when you can't always avoid it.

Particularly given the current standard of road maintenance.

[The Stuntman *]

Jasandjules said:

It's a story because most people don't have a clue it's an offence to spash a pedestrian and it's a bit of a harsh punishment when you can't always avoid it.

How stupid ?!?

Drive by shooting, well I can understand the uproar but a fking drive by splashing ?

Have these 'victims' of splashing got nothing more to do than stand around dripping wet, moaning about how much water is dispensed via the means of a well treaded michelin ?

Comical.

[turbobloke]

Jasandjules said:

It's a story because most people don't have a clue it's an offence to spash a pedestrian and it's a bit of a harsh punishment when you can't always avoid it.

Indeed.

That's why the press coverage of this story and others like it will always be lacking.

Of course PH drivers are all perfect at all times

But back in the real world, the idea that every action by every other road user is predictable aeons in advance is risible. Anticipation is a key skill but its limits exist inside each driver, and outside too. Other road users' actions plus context matters and so on can make for a decision between confronting oncoming traffic or being rear-ended by a tailgater - who starts just before the puddle is visible giving little time to adjust - or driving on through a puddle so splashing somebody.

In any case pedestrians should equally be fully aware of their = our surroundings and not pass a gigantic puddle when a vehicle is about to hit it - easy enough to do. So being splashed is sometimes going to happen, but as the pedestrian is going to get the motherload they should be the ones looking out most.

This is entirely practical rather than dreamworld theory, so will be dismissed as nonsense.

[hugoagogo]

perhaps the dizzy bint had a clear road with no-one behind her and should have been able to see both the puddle and the pedestrian for miles

it's easy to imagine the perfect scenario where she couldn't avoid it, but otherwise it's high tttiishness and probably deserving of a fail, along with whatever other crap she did that we don't know about

[turbobloke]

hugoagogo said:

perhaps the dizzy bint had a clear road with no-one behind her and should have been able to see both the puddle and the pedestrian for miles

Agreed

hugoagogo said:

it's easy to imagine the perfect scenario where she couldn't avoid it, but otherwise it's high tttiishness and probably deserving of a fail, along with whatever other crap she did that we don't know about

True.

However this is just 'item n' in a long and chequered history list of barely concealed anti-car emphasis regarding the regulation of road users.

They would be equally justififed in giving tickets out to pedestrians who get splashed, for being members of the walking dead.

One puddle, one car, one pedestrian - they should make a movie.

[Neil_H]

I'm wondering he knew she was a terrible driver and wanted an excuse to fail her, however technical. One less woman on the road at least . (can I say that?)