Random Irritations

[Pants]

Sadly, however, poor driving is not confined to one age group or demographic. I’ve said it times, but kids these days aren’t taught to drive. They are taught to pass a driving test.

Unfortunately, it has been thus for many, many years. Take my other half for instance. Please ....

 

[Sid Rixon IV]

We have a load of people at the club who wear shorts from April to October regardless of the conditions.....
I don't get it...
Dress for the weather not the date....

I wore shorts yesterd

 

[Sid Rixon IV]

I wore shorts yesterd

Oops! I wore shorts yesterday when the heavens opened. On the 14th we could barely see across the fairway. Tee'd off on the slightly uphill, dogleg 15th, got to ur balls and saw the river coming off the green towards us.
But, all I had was wet legs rather than sodden, clammy trousers trousers.
Luckily, it was my first outing with my new "stay dry" bag.

 

[Rlburnside]

Flying from Norwich airport and being charged £10 Airport Development fee before I could go through security.

 

[Sid Rixon IV]

I’ll be in shorts this weekend as well , prob wear shorts until about mid November

If yer got'em, flaunt 'em!
(Legs, that is.)

 

[Orikoru]

And, yes, many kids are taught to pass the test.
The test is flawed too.
They removed 2 of the "control" manoeuvres ( turn in the road and reverse left around a corner) and replaced them a front first bay park and park on the right, reverse2 car lengths and pull off......massively easier.
Out of a 34/35 minute drive 20 minutes involves following a sat-nav route...this is because " everyone" uses sat-nav these days......apparently.
The sat-nav tells them where to go - in exactly the same way an examiner does. When the independent drive first came in you had tk follow signs to somewhere..so you had to look for the sign, work out which direction you needed, work out which lane and then do it...again, dumbing down the test.
Some of the things the kids got away with on test I found staggering.
Glad I'm out of it but driving standards will. I feel, continue to fall

I understood scrapping the reverse round a corner, because who the hell ever does that? But I was shocked they got rid of them in the road (or three point turn as it used to be called). That seemed quite a common manoeuvre that people would have to do at some point.

 

[Imurg]

I understood scrapping the reverse round a corner, because who the hell ever does that? But I was shocked they got rid of them in the road (or three point turn as it used to be called). That seemed quite a common manoeuvre that people would have to do at some point.

The reverse round a corner was, originally, included as the safest way to turn around...as you say, hardly anybody ever does it but it was useful for showing car control and observation .
They were both scrapped when DVSA polled recent test passers as to how the would prefer to turn the car around.
Something like 85% or more said they'd drive, turn right, turn right, turn right, turn left rather than turn in the road or reverse around the corner
So what do you do if the road is blocked..?
The whole thing is a shambles and don't get me started on more experienced drivers and their lack of skills and knowledge.....

 

[backwoodsman]

The reverse round a corner was, originally, included as the safest way to turn around...as you say, hardly anybody ever does it but it was useful for showing car control and observation .
They were both scrapped when DVSA polled recent test passers as to how the would prefer to turn the car around.
Something like 85% or more said they'd drive, turn right, turn right, turn right, turn left rather than turn in the road or reverse around the corner
So what do you do if the road is blocked..?
The whole thing is a shambles and don't get me started on more experienced drivers and their lack of skills and knowledge.....

Blimey.

If I want to go right, rather than left, in my street and the car is facing the wrong way, that adds over half a mile to my journey before I've even started

 

[PNWokingham]

In Wilderness, Garden Route, South Africa. Woke up at timeshare we are staying in and go to make tea. And I see a whistling kettle for the stove!! Weird. Why. Mrs says there will be an electric kettle. I say there isn't as if so why would this be here. I make my tea and she mentions "load shedding". I then cast my eye to the right of the work surface and lo and behold, a nice electric kettle!! 1 down and o have only just got out of bed!!!

 

[Oddsocks]

TfL no doubt investing millions on an oyster app that only allows you to check your balance, about a useful as tits on a fish.

The point of the app was to add the card to my Apple wallet so I didn’t need to carry the bloody card!

 

[PJ87]

TfL no doubt investing millions on an oyster app that only allows you to check your balance, about a useful as tits on a fish.

The point of the app was to add the card to my Apple wallet so I didn’t need to carry the bloody card!

Why aren't you using your contactless card as an oyster card out of interest? The need for an actual oyster card are very rare these days you can just use tap tap on the phone and then you have it on your phone and no need to carry a card

 

[jim8flog]

The Theory test is a pile of dog poo. The questions can be worded very strangely and there are also questions that have answers that are, at best, vague and, at worst, simply incorrect.
The one that sticks in my mind is " what must a newly qualified driver have?"
The answer is....Valid motor insurance......but only if you have a car..? No car, no insurance needed....
Originally, the bank of questions was published and people could learn the answers. Then they introduced questions based on a kind of short story.
Again, the wording , at times, was vague.
The video game - The Hazard Perception test is the worst bit
When it was first introduced all current Instructors had to take and pass the test - their pass mark was much higher than the learners.
They had 3 attempts to pass and if they failed 3 times their teaching badge was taken away.
Many very, very good instructors took 3 times too pass..
It's a very flawed test and it has never really explained what it wants from the candidate.
Being called Hazard Perception it implies that it wants you to spot all hazards when all it wants is " developing " hazards - something that will make you change speed for direction.
So an old woman walking down the pavement is a potential hazard ( instructors were clicking the mouse for that) but she won't make you change anything - until she veers towards the road..then she becomes a developing Hazard and that warrants a click
Click too many times and you get "cheated" out of that clip - there are 14 individual clips with 1 clip having 2 hazards.
I did a practice one about 5 years ago...me driving down a country lane with a hedge to my left.
Over the hedge you can see a tractor. As you proceed that tractor gets closer but is still on the other side of the hedge.
50 yards further on the hedge ends and the track the tractor is on joins the road
That is where the tractor becomes a developing hazard but, when I looked back at the scoring window ( 5 points for a quick reaction, 0 points if you missed it) I scored 1 point.
The 5 point mark was about 3 seconds after I fist saw the tractor...when it's on the other side of a hedge....
The whole Theory test is badly flawed, does little to improve knowledge or experience and should be binned and replaced with a longer practical test.
And I wonder why I jacked it in 2 years ago

I remember do that with my children, DVD on the comp, watched it many times and still did not get 100%.

 

[jim8flog]

The reverse round a corner was, originally, included as the safest way to turn around...as you say, hardly anybody ever does it but it was useful for showing car control and observation .
They were both scrapped when DVSA polled recent test passers as to how the would prefer to turn the car around.
Something like 85% or more said they'd drive, turn right, turn right, turn right, turn left rather than turn in the road or reverse around the corner
So what do you do if the road is blocked..?
The whole thing is a shambles and don't get me started on more experienced drivers and their lack of skills and knowledge.....

I think that is one of the fundamental flaws in the 'system'. How many drivers have keep up with the changes in the highway code/ driving manual once they have passed their test. One of the most common things I see is drivers indicating a right turn at a roundabout when they are going straight ahead.

 

[Beezerk]

I can’t find my passport

 

[KenL]

I can’t find my passport

It’s where you left it.

 

[Beezerk]

It’s where you left it.

Ha ha that is the key bit of information I’m lacking

 

[AmandaJR]

I can’t find my passport

Oopsie. Last travel bag you used??

 

[Slime]

I think that is one of the fundamental flaws in the 'system'. How many drivers have keep up with the changes in the highway code/ driving manual once they have passed their test. One of the most common things I see is drivers indicating a right turn at a roundabout when they are going straight ahead.

I see a maximum of around 10% of people correctly indicating at roundabouts.
How can anyone, let alone the so many I see, exit a roundabout indicating right?
We're not in France!!

 

[Imurg]

I see a maximum of around 10% of people correctly indicating at roundabouts.
How can anyone, let alone the so many I see, exit a roundabout indicating right?
We're not in France!!

I think the last research I saw reckoned about 20% get it right but that was a good few years ago..nowadays 10% might be generous.
In a way I'm all for ditching indicators completely...hardly anyone uses them properly and it would mean you have no idea where another car is going so you'd have to wait until it's gone before you move..
Impractical but....

 

[Slime]

If everyone understood how roundabouts work, there'd be no need to indicate right at all.