Random Irritations

[RichA]

Picked up Dad's new hearing aids yesterday. He lives in a residential care home. I've spent an hour on the phone this morning getting a quote from a company that offers contents insurance for care home residents.
All I want is cover for theft, accidental loss and damage for the hearing aids - nothing else. I still have to be asked if the building is listed, within 400m of a watercourse, has suffered from subsidence and all the other obviously pointless questions.
And the final quote was £200 per year with a £300 excess. More than I paid recently to insure his entire unoccupied house and contents.

 

[Old Colner]

Interesting but a little dangerous?

It would only be dangerous if some knob was undertaking the lane hogger as you move back across to the left hand lane.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Spanish railways. I'm going away at the weekend and intend using the train to get into Barcelona and also visit my cousin who is on holiday at the same time a little further down the coast. I've look at the ticketing websites in Spain, in English and Spanish, checked out tripadvisor and others, and no one can show a simple timetable, certainly not one that works. The national rail website, Renfe, is useless. People on forums keep saying there are lots of trains but no one can show an actual timetable.

I'll end up just walking to the train station where we are staying and working it out then but I'd rather be prepared.

 

[Billysboots]

It would only be dangerous if some knob was undertaking the lane hogger as you move back across to the left hand lane.

Which is precisely why undertaking at motorway speeds is classed as careless driving at the very least.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Which is precisely why undertaking at motorway speeds is classed as careless driving at the very least.

I've driven in the US where undertaking is legal and widely done on freeways. It all works very well. Is it simply classed as careless here because it isn't allowed? I know that might sound obvious but hopefully you understand what I am getting at.

 

[Billysboots]

I've driven in the US where undertaking is legal and widely done on freeways. It all works very well. Is it simply classed as careless here because it isn't allowed? I know that might sound obvious but hopefully you understand what I am getting at.

I’m in the US at the minute and whilst it may be legal to undertake the driving on interstates and freeways is generally horrific. It may also explain why interstates in particular are crawling with police.

I do understand what you’re getting at but my view about the majority of UK traffic law, especially when it relates to the standard of driving, is that it’s intended and enforced for reasons of road safety.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I’m in the US at the minute and whilst it may be legal to undertake the driving on interstates and freeways is generally horrific. It may also explain why interstates in particular are crawling with police.

I do understand what you’re getting at but my view about the majority of UK traffic law, especially when it relates to the standard of driving, is that it’s intended and enforced for reasons of road safety.

I think changing it would be problematic because culturally, we haven't been brought up with it. My experience in the US is that people came up the inside at a relatively gentle pace, accelerating more sharply if they wanted to after passing. Everyone also knows to look behind using both mirrors. I can imagine cases here of people just bombing up the inside, those being under passed not remembering it is allowed and carnage ensuing. I enjoyed it out there but I would not call for it here.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I've driven in the US where undertaking is legal and widely done on freeways. It all works very well. Is it simply classed as careless here because it isn't allowed? I know that might sound obvious but hopefully you understand what I am getting at.

I often go past people sitting in lanes 2,3 or 4 when I'm in lanes 1,2 or 3. I won't have changed lane to do so, but the lane I am in will be flowing faster.. If that means being in the inside lane and doing around 60 or 70, and they are sat in lane 3 doing 50 tough on them.
I won't weave between lanes, but have no fear about passing people on their inside because they are too stupid to read the road and use the lanes correctly.

 

[Hobbit]

Spanish railways. I'm going away at the weekend and intend using the train to get into Barcelona and also visit my cousin who is on holiday at the same time a little further down the coast. I've look at the ticketing websites in Spain, in English and Spanish, checked out tripadvisor and others, and no one can show a simple timetable, certainly not one that works. The national rail website, Renfe, is useless. People on forums keep saying there are lots of trains but no one can show an actual timetable.

I'll end up just walking to the train station where we are staying and working it out then but I'd rather be prepared.

The announcement for free tickets on Renfe came out a couple of days back. I’ve used their website before without problems.. the website is clunky, a lot, but I’ve just been on it and been able to configure a number of journeys in and out of Barcelona. Message me your dates- don’t put them on an open forum!! And I’ll have a play

 

[Lord Tyrion]

The announcement for free tickets on Renfe came out a couple of days back. I’ve used their website before without problems..

You have more talent than me then . Just simply trying to find times for a train in 2 days time between point A and point B is proving impossible. Sitges to Barcelona, the only train is 22.37 apparently. According to locals, travel guies etc there are 3 per hour for most of the day

 

[Hobbit]

You have more talent than me then . Just simply trying to find times for a train in 2 days time between point A and point B is proving impossible. Sitges to Barcelona, the only train is 22.37 apparently. According to locals, travel guies etc there are 3 per hour for most of the day

Don’t use google translate before you do the search. I don’t know why but it won’t let you do a search in English - it can’t cope…

 

[Neilds]

I think changing it would be problematic because culturally, we haven't been brought up with it. My experience in the US is that people came up the inside at a relatively gentle pace, accelerating more sharply if they wanted to after passing. Everyone also knows to look behind using both mirrors. I can imagine cases here of people just bombing up the inside, those being under passed not remembering it is allowed and carnage ensuing. I enjoyed it out there but I would not call for it here.

People in the UK can’t get their heads round ‘merge in turn’ so undertaking will just blow their tiny minds

 

[Orikoru]

I often go past people sitting in lanes 2,3 or 4 when I'm in lanes 1,2 or 3. I won't have changed lane to do so, but the lane I am in will be flowing faster.. If that means being in the inside lane and doing around 60 or 70, and they are sat in lane 3 doing 50 tough on them.
I won't weave between lanes, but have no fear about passing people on their inside because they are too stupid to read the road and use the lanes correctly.

Agree here. If someone is doing 50 in the lane to my right, am I supposed to slow down to 50 so I don't undertake them? Or slow down to 40 so I can slot behind them, before accelerating ahead of them, before pulling back across into the left lane I was already in?? I've only been driving for two years but some of the old motorway customs do baffle me still.

Doesn't really bother me if someone undertakes either, simply because their lane is moving quicker - if I'm changing lanes I check my mirrors no matter whether it's left or right, so I'm not going to hit someone who's undertaking me.

 

[Billysboots]

Agree here. If someone is doing 50 in the lane to my right, am I supposed to slow down to 50 so I don't undertake them? Or slow down to 40 so I can slot behind them, before accelerating ahead of them, before pulling back across into the left lane I was already in?? I've only been driving for two years but some of the old motorway customs do baffle me still.

Doesn't really bother me if someone undertakes either, simply because their lane is moving quicker - if I'm changing lanes I check my mirrors no matter whether it's left or right, so I'm not going to hit someone who's undertaking me.

I absolutely understand what you and others are saying here, however, there is a very good reason why what you suggest may be problematic.

If you undertake someone who is crawling in a lane to your right at the same time someone is overtaking them correctly on their offside, then if the car performing the manoeuvre correctly then returns all the way to your lane at the same time you emerge from alongside the car you have undertaken, you are very likely to have a coming together.

Because undertaking at speed is technically illegal in the UK, many drivers will not be expecting others to do it. Add to that the fact that you will very likely be in the blind spot of the driver correctly returning to your lane, and I hope you can see the issue.

I dealt with literally dozens of collisions on the motorways when I worked on them which happened in exactly these circumstances and on most occasions the undertaking driver, and the “lane hog”, were prosecuted for careless driving.

 

[Orikoru]

I absolutely understand what you and others are saying here, however, there is a very good reason why what you suggest may be problematic.

If you undertake someone who is crawling in a lane to your right at the same time someone is overtaking them correctly on their offside, then if the car performing the manoeuvre correctly then returns all the way to your lane at the same time you emerge from alongside the car you have undertaken, you are very likely to have a coming together.

Because undertaking at speed is technically illegal in the UK, many drivers will not be expecting others to do it. Add to that the fact that you will very likely be in the blind spot of the driver correctly returning to your lane, and I hope you can see the issue.

I dealt with literally dozens of collisions on the motorways when I worked on them which happened in exactly these circumstances and on most occasions the undertaking driver, and the “lane hog”, were prosecuted for careless driving.

I guess so but it feels difficult to apportion who's to blame there. The guy sitting in the middle lane and dawdling at 50mph could be said to have caused it (but if not part of a collision he'll get away scot free). The chap overtaking and then going left over two lanes should be taking care to look in his mirrors rather than crossing straight over two lanes in one swoop? Plus the person (me) who is technically undertaking, but only because the person on their right was unreasonably slow. It just feels strange that I'd be 'breaking the law' by driving within the speed limit in the correct designated lane - just because there's a very slow car to the right of me??

 

[Billysboots]

I guess so but it feels difficult to apportion who's to blame there. The guy sitting in the middle lane and dawdling at 50mph could be said to have caused it (but if not part of a collision he'll get away scot free). The chap overtaking and then going left over two lanes should be taking care to look in his mirrors rather than crossing straight over two lanes in one swoop? Plus the person (me) who is technically undertaking, but only because the person on their right was unreasonably slow. It just feels strange that I'd be 'breaking the law' by driving within the speed limit in the correct designated lane - just because there's a very slow car to the right of me??

It may well seem strange but that’s the law. And as for the driver in the middle lane, if they are there when they have absolutely no reason to be (ie not overtaking anything) then, whilst possibly not directly involved in the collision, it is perfectly possible to assert that they contributed towards it. Even if not contributing towards the collision, their actions are careless in themselves.

It is far more difficult to suggest the one driver acting otherwise correctly has been careless, especially if they have failed to see a vehicle being driven carelessly because it has emerged from a blind spot, and from somewhere they really shouldn’t be in the first place.

 

[Orikoru]

It may well seem strange but that’s the law. And as for the driver in the middle lane, if they are there when they have absolutely no reason to be (ie not overtaking anything) then, whilst possibly not directly involved in the collision, it is perfectly possible to assert that they contributed towards it. Even if not contributing towards the collision, their actions are careless in themselves.

It is far more difficult to suggest the one driver acting otherwise correctly has been careless, especially if they have failed to see a vehicle being driven carelessly because it has emerged from a blind spot, and from somewhere they really shouldn’t be in the first place.

Not arguing - just asking genuinely as someone who's not been driving for a huge amount time as I mentioned: So if I'm the car who has overtaken the 50mph car properly, then I go back across in front of them, surely I'm still obligated to pause and look in my left mirror before pulling across another lane to the left? I can't see much likelihood that you would just plough straight across two lanes and not see them. Remember the undertaking car isn't necessarily speeding, they're just driving at the normal limit.

 

[Billysboots]

Not arguing - just asking genuinely as someone who's not been driving for a huge amount time as I mentioned: So if I'm the car who has overtaken the 50mph car properly, then I go back across in front of them, surely I'm still obligated to pause and look in my left mirror before pulling across another lane to the left? I can't see much likelihood that you would just plough straight across two lanes and not see them. Remember the undertaking car isn't necessarily speeding, they're just driving at the normal limit.

It’s really subjective and there’s no one size fits all answer. But even if that driver was to pause briefly in front of the overtaken car, you are still emerging from somewhere you should not be, and very likely from a blind spot.

A half decent defence lawyer defending that driver won’t have too many problems introducing reasonable doubt, especially if you are shown to have been driving unlawfully.

 

[AmandaJR]

Dental hygienists. New one today and by far the least unpleasant I've had - still not nice. They are all the same though and work bottom teeth side to side, top teeth side to side...phew thinks I we're done. But no they go back over some teeth and then again I think we're done and they do a random few more for the 2nd or 3rd time. At this point it's like I've got tourettes and all I can hear in my head is my voice shouting "STOP for crying out loud"...

Work on each tooth once please and then let me escape.

 

[rulefan]

Because undertaking at speed is technically illegal in the UK,

It is not illegal.
There’s no specific law against undertaking, or overtaking a car on its left-hand side, on the motorway or on a dual carriageway.
It is only advised against in the Highway Code, which states:
“Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake.”
“In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right.
“In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right.