Ive tried telling her....
Discussion
Hey guys,
Just want to get an opinion on here.
Basically, my girlfriend was taught to drive by an instructor, but she also got some practise with her Dad in her own car (1.2 Corsa). Her Dad never let her go above 50mph. She passed her test a few months ago and now drives everywhere at 50mph or less - ive tried to tell her that whilst this is appropriate under some circumstances, it can sometimes be dangerous.
E.g. we were driving along the other day, NSL, steady 45mph - car sat right up her arse, really close, and weaving to try and overtake the whole time. Eventually he got hacked off and overtook in a stupid place, on a corner and nearly collided with an oncoming car that appeared around the corner.
When another car got right up behind her (a Vectra) i urged her to accelerate to 60mph to see what happened - as i expected, the Vectra backed right off, gave her some space and stopped weaving around trying to get around her. I've tried to tell her that its a psychological thing - if you're doing less than the limit, many drivers just have to get around, even if it involves taking risks.
She wont listen though - she still drives everywhere at 45/50mph as thats the way her Dad drives and he wont let her do more than 50mph when hes in the car.
To my mind shes more dangerous driving at that speed than i am crusing along at 70mph on clear NSL roads - she gives me a roasting if i break any speed limits though - speed kills apparantly.
Just want to get an opinion on here.
Basically, my girlfriend was taught to drive by an instructor, but she also got some practise with her Dad in her own car (1.2 Corsa). Her Dad never let her go above 50mph. She passed her test a few months ago and now drives everywhere at 50mph or less - ive tried to tell her that whilst this is appropriate under some circumstances, it can sometimes be dangerous.
E.g. we were driving along the other day, NSL, steady 45mph - car sat right up her arse, really close, and weaving to try and overtake the whole time. Eventually he got hacked off and overtook in a stupid place, on a corner and nearly collided with an oncoming car that appeared around the corner.
When another car got right up behind her (a Vectra) i urged her to accelerate to 60mph to see what happened - as i expected, the Vectra backed right off, gave her some space and stopped weaving around trying to get around her. I've tried to tell her that its a psychological thing - if you're doing less than the limit, many drivers just have to get around, even if it involves taking risks.
She wont listen though - she still drives everywhere at 45/50mph as thats the way her Dad drives and he wont let her do more than 50mph when hes in the car.
To my mind shes more dangerous driving at that speed than i am crusing along at 70mph on clear NSL roads - she gives me a roasting if i break any speed limits though - speed kills apparantly.
Mad Dave said:
She passed her test a few months ago and now drives everywhere at 50mph or less.......
E.g. we were driving along the other day, NSL, steady 45mph ..........
She wont listen though - she still drives everywhere at 45/50mph ...........
she gives me a roasting if i break any speed limits though - speed kills apparantly........
Dismiss her from her current role and get a new one.
ting driver off the road.Book her into a RideDRIVE session, maybe she'll listen to a policeman..?
It is sometimes hard with girls, they take what daddy says VERY seriously...... I've seen it before! DOn't keep on at her, she won't listen i'd expect. Some form of advanced training wouldn't go a miss.
My father was the complete opposite - wouldn't let me in our car until the instructor could prove to him i wasn't gonna do something foolish, even then it was hard to convince him i knew what i was doing. IMO parents should not teach kids to drive....
It is sometimes hard with girls, they take what daddy says VERY seriously...... I've seen it before! DOn't keep on at her, she won't listen i'd expect. Some form of advanced training wouldn't go a miss.
My father was the complete opposite - wouldn't let me in our car until the instructor could prove to him i wasn't gonna do something foolish, even then it was hard to convince him i knew what i was doing. IMO parents should not teach kids to drive....
If she is comfortable not going above 50mph, so be it. If other experienced drivers are so impatient that they cannot wait for a safe opportunity to pass, then any resulting drama will be down to their bad judgement and not to this girl. I think she is very sensible in not pushing her own abilities and thus her comfortable parameters until she is a lot more experienced.
How would you feel if she crashed at 60mph or 65mph because she was not happy about things that were happening at that speed because of your comments which are designed to meake her feel inadequate at the very least?
>> Edited by madcop on Wednesday 24th September 19:21
How would you feel if she crashed at 60mph or 65mph because she was not happy about things that were happening at that speed because of your comments which are designed to meake her feel inadequate at the very least?
>> Edited by madcop on Wednesday 24th September 19:21
madcop said:
If she is comfortable not going above 50mph, so be it. If other experienced drivers are so impatient that they cannot wait for a safe opportunity to pass, then any resulting drama will be down to their bad judgement and not to this girl. I think she is very sensible in not pushing her own abilities and thus her comfortable parameters until she is a lot more experienced.
How would you feel if she crashed at 60mph or 65mph because she was not happy about things that were happening at that speed because of your comments which are designed to meake her feel inadequate at the very least?
>> Edited by madcop on Wednesday 24th September 19:21
Supposing she continues driving at 50 past a school cos she "thinks" its safe tho MC?
If she cant drive at appropriate and sensible speeds for the prevailing conditions at various locations, then she is a danger.
But Deltaf, the original post says '...she drives at 50mph or less!'
It does not say she drives everywhere at 50mph.
If she did so in any areas that were not safe, then she would be a significant danger and would undoubtedly come unstuck very soon.
The first 2 years of a new drivers release on the roads is the most dangerous. If she is unhappy about going above 50mph in that time until she is more experienced, then so be it. No one should try to belittle her into travelling faster than she is ready for because of some inconsiderate prat who happens to be in a hurry behind her!
It does not say she drives everywhere at 50mph.
If she did so in any areas that were not safe, then she would be a significant danger and would undoubtedly come unstuck very soon.
The first 2 years of a new drivers release on the roads is the most dangerous. If she is unhappy about going above 50mph in that time until she is more experienced, then so be it. No one should try to belittle her into travelling faster than she is ready for because of some inconsiderate prat who happens to be in a hurry behind her!
Fair comments madcop but maybe if she cannot follow the minimum speed limits which are fairly easy to achieve in a stable modern car, then maybe she should not be allowed to drive?
We let just about anyone on the roads and once they are there only monitor how fast they go. As long as they dont exceed the speed limit they could be f**king terrible drivers and go totoally unnoticed.
We let just about anyone on the roads and once they are there only monitor how fast they go. As long as they dont exceed the speed limit they could be f**king terrible drivers and go totoally unnoticed.
madcop said:
But Deltaf, the original post says '...she drives at 50mph or less!'
It does not say she drives everywhere at 50mph.
If she did so in any areas that were not safe, then she would be a significant danger and would undoubtedly come unstuck very soon.
The first 2 years of a new drivers release on the roads is the most dangerous. If she is unhappy about going above 50mph in that time until she is more experienced, then so be it. No one should try to belittle her into travelling faster than she is ready for because of some inconsiderate prat who happens to be in a hurry behind her!
Point well taken MC.
gh0st said:
but maybe if she cannot follow the minimum speed limits
SH1T!!!!
I've passed my test, passed IAM, done 2 RideDrives and been driving 40k miles a year for the last 20 years, and I never realised we had minimum speed limits.
Thanks for letting me know Ghost - will check what they are now
rude girl said:
gh0st said:
but maybe if she cannot follow the minimum speed limits
SH1T!!!!
I've passed my test, passed IAM, done 2 RideDrives and been driving 40k miles a year for the last 20 years, and I never realised we had minimum speed limits.
Thanks for letting me know Ghost - will check what they are now
wouldn't want to get this one wrong, but I think if you look at your highway code you will find that in some places (albeit not very many) there are minimum speed limits.
I'll stop being a smartarse now shall I?
>> Edited by samwilliams on Thursday 25th September 00:56
Well MC makes a good point but all the same: Driving at a speed well below the limit will cause frustration in the drivers behind which could (and you report *did*) lead to driving which could cause an accident.
She would not pass an IAM test if she is unable to make progress up to the speed limit if conditions are appropriate.
Having said that travelling faster than she is comfortable is not sensible either...
Buy her an IAM Skill For Life pack (training and test for £80 or so). She'll respect the Observer and perhaps listen to what they say. You never know - she may speed up on some roads. But be prepared to need to pass the thing yourself (else you'll never be allowed to forget it..
)
She would not pass an IAM test if she is unable to make progress up to the speed limit if conditions are appropriate.
Having said that travelling faster than she is comfortable is not sensible either...
Buy her an IAM Skill For Life pack (training and test for £80 or so). She'll respect the Observer and perhaps listen to what they say. You never know - she may speed up on some roads. But be prepared to need to pass the thing yourself (else you'll never be allowed to forget it..
)Stupid girl, doesn't she realise that once she has passed her driving test she's better than any other driver on the road? She should be belting around at the highest speed her car can go, after all, those drivers that she can now call numpties, you know, the ones with all that experience, will get out of her way. If passing the test didn't make you the best driver in the world, wouldn't most people take additional, advanced drivers' courses?
Tell her not to be silly, to put on her front foglights, and to drive at high speed. After she's had a few accidents she can then laugh with others in the pub and say how stupid the other drivers were.
Driving within her limits? Ha! That will never catch on.
Derek
Tell her not to be silly, to put on her front foglights, and to drive at high speed. After she's had a few accidents she can then laugh with others in the pub and say how stupid the other drivers were.
Driving within her limits? Ha! That will never catch on.
Derek
madcop said:
But Deltaf, the original post says '...she drives at 50mph or less!'
It does not say she drives everywhere at 50mph.
If she did so in any areas that were not safe, then she would be a significant danger and would undoubtedly come unstuck very soon.
The first 2 years of a new drivers release on the roads is the most dangerous. If she is unhappy about going above 50mph in that time until she is more experienced, then so be it. No one should try to belittle her into travelling faster than she is ready for because of some inconsiderate prat who happens to be in a hurry behind her!
Well said MC..... but it does appear she may need extra tuition at a later date!
Don said:
Well MC makes a good point but all the same: Driving at a speed well below the limit will cause frustration in the drivers behind which could (and you report *did*) lead to driving which could cause an accident.
I am afraid this is all too often the case. However, if an accident is caused because someone is impatient and takes a risk which goes wrong, then the blame for that decision lies solely with the person taking the risk and not the driver who happens to be travelling along at 10mph under the permitted limit.
Experienced drivers have a duty to manage their progress sensibly. Not everyone wants to drive around at spot on every limit. Even on occasions, I drop below the national limit if I am in no particular rush to get anywhere.
With regards to your other comments about 'skills for life package', I agree that she would benefit from them. So would anyone else regardless of the experience they had under their belt. I agree that she would not pass an advanced test if she didnt make the maximum progress she could within legal perameters. That does not make her a significant risk to other drivers, They are the risk to themselves and anyone else.
There are three questions she should ask herself.
1. Why should I drive faster than I want to for a few other peoples benefit?
2. Am I capable without putting anyone at risk?
3. Do I actually want to?
I suspect at the moment, the answers to these questions would be 'No'
madcop said:
Well MC makes a good point but all the same: Driving at a speed well below the limit will cause frustration in the drivers behind which could (and you report *did*) lead to driving which could cause an accident.
I am afraid this is all too often the case. However, if an accident is caused because someone is impatient and takes a risk which goes wrong, then the blame for that decision lies solely with the person taking the risk and not the driver who happens to be travelling along at 10mph under the permitted limit.
Experienced drivers have a duty to manage their progress sensibly. Not everyone wants to drive around at spot on every limit. Even on occasions, I drop below the national limit if I am in no particular rush to get anywhere.
With regards to your other comments about 'skills for life package', I agree that she would benefit from them. So would anyone else regardless of the experience they had under their belt. I agree that she would not pass an advanced test if she didnt make the maximum progress she could within legal perameters. That does not make her a significant risk to other drivers, They are the risk to themselves and anyone else.
There are three questions she should ask herself.
1. Why should I drive faster than I want to for a few other peoples benefit?
2. Am I capable without putting anyone at risk?
3. Do I actually want to?
I suspect at the moment, the answers to these questions would be 'No'
Morning Madcop,
Thanks for your comments. I agree completely about her driving within her limits - she feels perfectly comfortable driving at the limits when appropriate (she doesnt stick at 50 in 30s etc either, she obeys the limits). I'd also much rather she drove too sensibly than display driving akin to your average neon-lit novaboy. I only worry as her driving scares the bejesus out of me - dont get me wrong, shes a very considerate, observant, good, driver - she's just been convinced by her Dad that the slower you go, the safer you are, and that theres no need to drive faster anyway. The Vectra incident was not an isolated one - at some times there have almost been accidents that we would not have been able to avoid - theyve almost crashed into us trying to cut back in after a foolish manouvre. IMO driving at 45mph on well lit, open, NSL roads in clear daylight and dry conditions can at times be dangerous. Her Dad does the same - we drove back from somewhere, all NSL roads and he didnt go above 45mph ONCE - 45minute journey! The number of people who overtook dangerously was unbelievable.
Anyway, im rambling - thanks for your comments Madcop, all taken on board and appreciated.
Dave
PS - my comments to her were merely to point out that under some circumstances its safer to drive faster (up to the limit anyway). I wasnt intending to belittle her, i wouldnt want to do that.
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