1st time driving van

Iceweasel

jblack wrote: »

Watch out for idiots pulling out of side roads with the "I must beat the van" attitude too.:mad:

But be ready for other similar size vans helping you by giving way.

It's quite an eye-opener.

Some days at various times I can be driving:

a 2.8 tonne Sprinter (white-van-man)

a 7.5 tonne M-B 816 (the classic bread-van)

a LandRover

or a BMW

Each one has it's haters and followers.

For any consideration or co-operation you need to look to drivers of similar vehicles to your own, and expect no quarter from the others.

If that makes driving sound like a gladiatorial contest - that's because most days in our inner cities and motorways it is.

I'm saying that with tongue firmly in cheek as there are loads of courteous drivers out there, but you tend only to remember the ones that bother you, or leave you sitting waiting to exit from a side road for ages.

Lum

I reckon that one is more nuanced than just vehicle type.

I remember switching from a red 3 door Mk4 Escort to a blue 5 door Mk4 Escort. They were otherwise identical, they had literally the same engine* but I got a lot more courtesy from other road users in the blue one.

* Yes I do know what literally means. After someone drove into the side of the red one, I bought the blue one cheap with a blown engine and created a working car from the pair

rev_henry

Do not do what I did today, upon driving a minibus for the first time in months - took the junction too sharp and clipped one of those flappy signs shops put out on the very edge of the pavement, thus dragging it into the road. Fortunately no damage done, my passenger hopped out at the lights and put the sign back!

bugslet

Bit of dmage done to the old pride, rev:p:rotfl:

A couple of years ago I used to have a black VX220 turbo and a Y reg ex Jarvis railtrack van in maroon. Used to tootle along the motorway at the same speed in both ( though getting from 0-whatev took longer in the latter). The VX, people would all but jump into the inside lane to let me pass, tatty van, they'd sit there rather than let me pass. It got almost comical;)