Car indicators

[Former Member]

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[Kevin 216]

Posted by cymaz on 06/07/2019 06:05:21:

Not been to Ankara but we have been to and through Cairo in the rush hour. In one word , bizarre.

A 3-4 lane road ( when the road was constructed the builders couldn’t make their minds up) filled with random piles of rubble. Cars with no lights at all but a serviceable horn. People on the road queuing, either for food from a street stall or a lift. Several camels that have road sense. And just for good measure 6 lanes of cars !

Here will give you a glimpse

Reminds me of Riyadh Saudii Arabia. My introduction to driving there from a colleague was

The rules of the road:

1. There are no rules.

2. It's only a game.

[Former Member]

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[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Posted by Doc Marten on 06/07/2019 09:06:00:

I remember hearing that too Percy. Are there still drivers from the previous generation in the UK that have never taken a driving test?

With the exception of impromptu testing by local bobbies during the war, all those first driving after April 1934 had to take a test, so effectively any untested driver would need to be at least 102 so the answer is possible, but fairly unlikely.

My uncle (born in 1908) never took a test and although I'm unaware of him having accidents, memories of riding in his car with him in the early 70s involved a few white knuckles!

[Former Member]

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[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Posted by Doc Marten on 06/07/2019 10:12:34:

The poo standard of reversing and parking seems to stem from the unwillingness to turn in the seat and look behind whilst steering, rather they just use mirrors and sit frozen whilst carrying out the manoeuvre. Also drivers now don't seem to understand that it's better to reverse into a parking spot than drive into it.

Modern gizmo's is definitely a factor, I know for a fact of one instructor who never taught hill starts because the car he used had a hill start feature!

Having driven many BMWs I think I get the indicator thing; if you briefly touch the stalk it automatically indicates briefly which you can't cancel, if you do try to it indicates the opposite way briefly again which you can't cancel so I reckon that rather than indicate in what appears a haphazard manner, BMW drivers would rather not indicate at all......maybe?

Edited By Doc Marten on 06/07/2019 10:18:07

I can't altogether agree with your first point - if you've driven vans or lorries you would have got very used to reversing on your mirrors and use of them in a car becomes second nature. I do remember reversing my Land Rover with a very intelligent lady passenger (a surgeon) who couldn't understand how I was reversing without looking over my shoulder!

Those indicators sound like the system fitted to Vauxhalls a few years ago - absolute purgatory to use and my wife hated hers with a passion - when I drove it on the odd occasion the indicators would be flashing in all directions while I tried to catch up with them!

[FlyinFlynn]

Last time I checked indicator signals are not 'admissible in court', they are advisory only so best not to rely on them.

Learned that lesson the hard way when I was 17.

It is only one of the bad habits that we drivers get up to... like flashing another driver to say " you go first" whereas the legal meaning of flashing your lights is " I am here"

[jrman]

Those indicators are intended for lane changing. They flash 3 times then stop. Far better than driving behind someone who has changed lanes and forgotten to cancel their indicators.

[Former Member]

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[Former Member]

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[Martin Harris - Moderator]

I suspect that a certain type of arrogant person who finds good manners and considerate driving to be beneath them (along with many others who are well rounded and intelligent people) are attracted to BMW cars and give their drivers a bad reputation.

Edited By Martin Harris on 06/07/2019 11:12:11

[Cuban8]

Tailgating...............can someone explain the thinking behind this insane but wholly widespread habit? The section of the M11 near Cambrige has separation chevrons (keep two chevrons apart) but they are ignored by 90% of drivers?

As part of driver training, I'd introduce a crash simulator to give a driver a taste of what it's like to hit something solid i.e a rear end shunt or another vehicle pulling out from a side road. Nothing too violent of course and no risk of injury, but enough to get one thinking about the risks of not paying attention or driving without due care.

[Levanter]

Tailgating is taken to an art form in Spain. You get blocks of cars that look like centipedes going down the road.

On the "motoway" going into town (Palma) there is a shunt a day at the moment often as not with a holiday makers hire car in the sandwich.

Last week two in one day and one of them was just four cars in front of me. You have to work hard to keep a safe space because anything greater than a car's length and someone fills it. I haven't worked out the maths but theoretically you could go backwards

I drive an Audi and don't like my indicators that have a mind of their own.

Levanter

[Peter Miller]

A quick way to cure tailgating. Fit a Dash Cam looking out of the rear window.

The son of a local shop keeper worked as a guard at a local prison. Some idiot was tailgating him so he put on his guard's hat which looked like a policeman's cap.

The tailgater backed off very quickly.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Posted by Levanter on 06/07/2019 12:04:44:

On the "motoway" going into town (Palma) there is a shunt a day at the moment often as not with a holiday makers hire car in the sandwich.

Cash for crash scam targeting hire cars?

[Peter Christy]

Back in the 60's, the idiot that didn't indicate, and was usually tail-gating and flashing his lights at someone who couldn't possibly get out of the way, was usually driving a Jag! During the late 70's and 80's, these types seemed to migrate to BMWs. Nowadays, they seem to be migrating again, to Audis!

Don't get me wrong, I have come across courteous BMW and Audi drivers, but they are very rare and should be a protected species!

--

Pete

[Levanter]

Posted by Martin Harris on 06/07/2019 13:20:49:

Posted by Levanter on 06/07/2019 12:04:44:

On the "motoway" going into town (Palma) there is a shunt a day at the moment often as not with a holiday makers hire car in the sandwich.

Cash for crash scam targeting hire cars?

Risky scam Martin seeing all that bent metal.

The other thing I find curious here is that only the police and the Guardia Civil have flashing blue lights. The ambulances (which are mainly run through private clinics) and fire service only have flashing orange that doesn't show up anything like as well. Equal status to a digger, crane, oversized load etc. Must be a macho thing but I am sure it costs lives.

Levanter

[Martin McIntosh]

I once drove a Vectra `C`, a police car as it happened because a company I worked for at the time fitted CCTV cameras to them ( you can have great fun in one of those, no other cars even come near you). No way to cancel an indicator once operated and putting it on the other way just made matters worse, so I can sympathize with BMW drivers in this respect. I drive an Audi and none of the ones I have ever driven suffer from this.

Tailgating is one of my pet hates and at the risk of upsetting any ladies reading this, if you look at the driver doing it, it is nine times out of ten a woman. They really do not in general have much depth perception. Brick bats expected now!

[FlyinBrian]

"I once followed a police car round a roundabout, he took the third exit as I did."

Was it a BMW?

[Peter Miller]

Talking of Police cars, a little story.

Back in the 50s on RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall a couple of lads from the fire section bought an ex police Wolsey. Nice car. These two clowns fitted a bell (possibly aquired from some redundant bits of fire engine?)

One weekend they drove up to London and as they came into the suburbs on the main road a small van went rocketing past the closely followed by a car.

Our heros decided to give chase so they switched on the bell and shortly forced the car to a stop, They climbed out and walked over the car.

"We are police officers" they said.

The two men in the car looked at them and then said "So are WE!!"

The two idiots got done for impersonating police officers, impeding a police officer in the course of their duty, Having an illegal bell on their car and one or two other things.

They were fined £40 each, (Their weeks pay was probably about £5 if they were lucky)

They were allowed to keep the car minus bell. This story made the Daily Mirror and created great hilarity round the station for a long time afterwards.

[Former Member]

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[J D 8]

I was returning home from a Coastguard training course and was being aggresivly tailgated along the two lane section of the M4 near Port Talbot.

Coastguard uniform is very like police and I made sure he saw it as he over took. He then slowed back to the speed limit. Just before the next junction I pulled along side and pointed for him to take the next exit which he did with a glum look on his face, I just carried on along the motorway.

[Former Member]

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[Barnstormer 52]

I passed my driving test on 1st July 1969 having achieved the ripe old age of 17 on the 4th of April.

The test was at Acton which was considered, by my class mates at Holland Park School, to be the graveyard - you were sure to fail.

On the advice of my driving instructor, Victor Nagel of BSM South Kensington, I used indicators throughout the test and performed hand signals virtually all the way through it, the theory being that the examiner was then unlikely to ask you to perform hand signals which may have come at a difficult point in the test.

While doing a right turn in Acton High Street I had wound down the window and had my arm out of it giving a right turn signal and I noticed that I had forgotten to put the indicator on, I momentarily took my left hand off the steering wheel to put the indicator on which must have gone unnoticed as I passed.

[BOB Tucker]

I owned a 2006 320d BMW for several years....but didnt really like it.

I especially hated the left, right, left attempts to cancel the indicators

But after much tinkering I found that to cancel a left indicator, you only had to hit left again, same with the right.

The switch is electronic not mechanical, so it works sequentially.