Sheppley Crossing + Fog = No Lights?

Ratboy

I would say that 95% of people that drive, don't know how to drive or unsafe to drive.

I know someone that has passed the Advanced driving test, Motorbike test, Forklift test, but is the worst driver ever.

He got a new car, and immediatelly reversed it into a skip.

I've been in heavy fog on a motorway bridge, and cars were speeding past, unti we came across a 30 car pile up.

Using your headlights in fog, is actually a distraction, because the beam reflects, and makes it harder to judge distance, it's a trick of the mind, dip the fronts, but use the fog light at rear.

The majority of people in this incident are fools, because some of the crashes look well in excess of 40mph. If you can't see..Don't drive!

I've also been in fog couldn't see the end of the bonnet. Hit the kerb at 5mph. STOP DRIVING!

cambermam

I know it's not related to the lights issue but the thing i noticed when reading about this was someone said they'd stopped and knew something would go into the back of their car so they took the baby into the front. Wouldn't the baby be safer with its still seat strapped into the car?

I can't decide how i'd have reacted, possibly the same way because your instinct would be to get the baby away from the impact wouldn't it? But it could have been a bad enough impact that the child ended up through the windscreen.

victor2

cambermam wrote: »

I know it's not related to the lights issue but the thing i noticed when reading about this was someone said they'd stopped and knew something would go into the back of their car so they took the baby into the front. Wouldn't the baby be safer with its still seat strapped into the car?

I can't decide how i'd have reacted, possibly the same way because your instinct would be to get the baby away from the impact wouldn't it? But it could have been a bad enough impact that the child ended up through the windscreen.

It's a split second decision isn't it? Instinct would probably mean you'd want your baby close to you and as far away as possible from an almost inevitable impact - you hardly have time to weigh up the odds and make a rational decision.

arcon5

victor2 wrote: »

Agree with that, although the high level/centre brake lights most cars now have does help considerably. Quite a few newer cars also now flash the hazard lights if the driver brakes hard, so maybe it's more a requirement for technology to catch up and improve the situation. Will of course take many years, but a vast majority of cars now have airbags...

Technology can never be a substitute for safe driving. Maybe it's actually because technology means we are now much more comfortable driving at higher speeds that actually contributed to this.

I know if I get out of my Mondeo and in to a Picasso my speed falls dramatically and gaps go from 2 to about 4 seconds because the car has not been designed very ergonomically my perceived safety is much lower.

alastairq

it's all about...''so far, so good...so far, so good'' mentality.

9 times out of 10, driving in such a manner as described above results in nothing untoward happening.

Therefore people become lulled into a false sense of security.

Which is why people think that 'driving on a test' isn't what one does 'in the real world'...

For example palming the steering wheel is fine to most people, ...because they find it easier, and nothing goes wrong..they will adamantly maintain they are 'in control'....!

And for 99% of driving situations, nothing untoward occurs.

The fact that the ability to palm the steering wheel relies 100% on the presence of fully-functioning power steering escapes their reasoning.

They've never suffered a catastrophic failure of that system.....which inevitably results in the vehicle going [even a short distance] entirely in a direction the driver did not intend.

So, they carry on doing it....viewing the steering method taught them by the Instructor as just one more piece of buell-!!!!!!.

The same goes with every other leery driving technique...whether it concerns vehicle control, or interaction with other road users.

So far so good?

Until one day, it all falls apart.

Iceweasel

You're spot on there, alastairq.

They don't even recognise that its 'so far so good'.

Their entire experience up to the point of catastrophe 'proves' to them that their approach is correct and others are foolish to do differently.

Same with winter tyres - we hear that folks 'manage fine' or 'have no problems' or 'they are not needed'.

Another perfect example of 'so far, so good'.

Also applicable to fog, tailgaiting, indicating, everything really.

Ratboy

I believe in Russia especially, if they have a national day, and the weather is bad, ie fog/low cloud/rain,

They send up their high altitude bombers, and drop bags of cement(!), this dissipates the cloud, due to the moisture sucked to the cement dust, but lays down a thick layer of dust/grit on cars. Due to a Western wind, people in the UK get this dust covering on their cars.

So it doesn't rain. But your car gets covered in dust.