Confrontation with reckless driver

Strider590

Well, this thread took a strange turn didn't it?

Overtaking is about skill and observation, power is less than 25% of it.
Sure you have more overtaking opportunities and you can dispatch idiot drivers who put their foot down, but point and squirt overtaking is just plain dangerous.

Or I could just describe how my 1700cc kit car will blow an M3 out of water and state that anything weighing more than 600kg should be banned from overtaking.
Lets ban Formula 1 too, those pathetic 1.6l engines are a danger!!

darkmatter101

Joe_Horner wrote: »

I think you might find that the couple of hundred people running 2002s in various forms (including Tii and turbo) might disagree with you on that :beer:

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

Hmmm, Mazda RX8, only 1300cc and as fast as an M5 round the Top Gear track.

His brain would explode if he went on a track day lol

I have been on several track days and I actually use to own a 231bhp RX8 some years ago for a short while. It's a great car but in no way is it in the same league as an M3. Also if you had the facts right the RX8 is equivalent to a 2600cc piston engine.

http://fastestlaps.com/comparisons/mazda_rx-8-vs-bmw_m3_e92.html

http://fastestlaps.com/comparisons/bmw_m5_e60-vs-mazda_rx-8.html

Strider590 wrote: »

Lets ban Formula 1 too, those pathetic 1.6l engines are a danger!!

Really? How can anyone extrapolate a thread on ROAD cars to RACING cars. Comparing a race engine to a road engine? A naturally aspirated 1.6 race engine is probably equivalent to my V8 M3 engine.

I think I have made it clear several times that I do not count PERFORMANCE cars such as the Honda s2000, Subaru and Evo 2 litre turbos etc with their smaller engines as 'mediocre' cars and definitely do not see them in the same light as the typical 2 litre diesel mondeos/vauxhalls etc. Same goes for the Mazda RX8, (which by the way I use to own and the s2000). Of course these cars are more than capable of overtaking.

Also, I am not solely talking about engine size and power. Handling and steering dynamics are as important if not more so than straight line acceleration and this is where I believe PERFORMANCE cars (regardless of engine size) are much much safer than your subpar cars in the hands of an experienced driver.

I have personally witnessed first hand, people over steering into ditches as they do not realise the capabilities of their subpar cars in sharp turns. An M3 and S2000, RX8 etc could easily take these turns without crashing into a ditch. Further, braking distance, instant throttle response in dangerous situations at roundabouts, all help with safety.

All I am trying to say is treat your car as how it was designed to be driven. Do not take risky manoeuvres. My second car is a Yaris. I never take a chance with that car, whether it's overtaking, roundabouts, sharp turns etc, let alone driving it on a motorway. I only just use it for short journeys around town.

darkmatter101

Idiophreak wrote: »

Wonder what darkmatter101 makes of the tesla roadster. 0-60 in 3.7 seconds....but 2 litres short of being allowed to overtake.

Well anyone who has a slight clue on cars would know the Tesla is still in it's premature days. It has not got the range and it's too expensive for what it is. Also, it doesn't have the handling of a proper sports car because of all that weight of the batteries. Don't believe me? Check it's lap times against my M3.

http://fastestlaps.com/comparisons/bmw_m3_e92-vs-tesla_roadster.html

Idiophreak

darkmatter101 wrote: »

Well anyone who has a slight clue on cars would know the Tesla is still in it's premature days. It has not got the range and it's too expensive for what it is. Also, it doesn't have the handling of a proper sports car because of all that weight of the batteries. Don't believe me? Check it's lap times against my M3.

http://fastestlaps.com/comparisons/bmw_m3_e92-vs-tesla_roadster.html

So, just to be clear, you're sticking with the position that in your utopian society Teslas would be *banned* from overtaking other cars?

darkmatter101

Idiophreak wrote: »

So, just to be clear, you're sticking with the position that in your utopian society Teslas would be *banned* from overtaking other cars?

No of course not. A Tesla is still much more of a performance car than the average car on UK roads.

And I stand my ground that certain cars should be banned from overtaking in circumstances in which there is a gap of less than a mile between them and oncoming traffic at speeds of >30 mph. Overtaking for these kind of cars, there should be a gap of at least 1.5 miles and speed restricted to 40mph.

Strider590

I think blaming the car is not the answer, the fault is the driver. We have too much of this going on.
DRLs so that incompetent drivers don't need to be punished for forgetting to put their damn lights on.
Reducing limits where accidents have been caused by people overtaking slow drivers.

Instead of tackling the cause (incompetence) they're attacking everyone.

My Vectra 1.8 will happily overtake, but I know the car inside out and I know it's limits. It never fails to surprise me how many people don't know the simplest of things, like how wide their damn vehicle is!!! Drivers of tiny little cars, stopping for oncoming traffic on country lanes, despite their being enough room to squeeze through in a Challenger II. Again it's the drivers, not the cars......

Idiophreak

darkmatter101 wrote: »

No of course not. A Tesla is still much more of a performance car than the average car on UK roads.

And I stand my ground that certain cars should be banned from overtaking in circumstances in which there is a gap of less than a mile between them and oncoming traffic at speeds of >30 mph. Overtaking for these kind of cars, there should be a gap of at least 1.5 miles and speed restricted to 40mph.

I quite like your vision, actually....

On your estimate, you'd have around 85 seconds to get the pass done. Could wave at the other person, check the time, exchange business cards....All very....polite.

Car_54

Strider590 wrote: »

I think blaming the car is not the answer, the fault is the driver. We have too much of this going on.
DRLs so that incompetent drivers don't need to be punished for forgetting to put their damn lights on.

Moving ever further from the original subject ...

Do DLRs really remove the legal requirement to use headlamps in certain circumstances? I don't think so, not least because they don't show any light to the rear.

Strider590

Car_54 wrote: »

Moving ever further from the original subject ...

Do DLRs really remove the legal requirement to use headlamps in certain circumstances? I don't think so, not least because they don't show any light to the rear.

Legally? No.....
However, I can't see the Police pulling over a drivers in fog with just DRLs on.
But then we're coming to that time of year where we see darkness/fog/snow and the authorities do sweet FA about the idiots with no lights anyway.

Essentially, DRLs are going to put an end to the dark blob of a car looming out of the fog on it's way toward you, but not from the idiot parked at the side of the road trying to answer their phone in dense fog. Remember if you hit them, then it's your fault for driving too fast. It all feeds into the "only speeding kills" BS they like to feed us....

What they should do is punish incompetent drivers, instead of wrapping them up in cotton wool.

almillar

darkmatter101

I have been on several track days and I actually use to own a 231bhp RX8 some years ago for a short while. It's a great car but in no way is it in the same league as an M3. Also if you had the facts right the RX8 is equivalent to a 2600cc piston engine.

I had one too. Fantastic cars. Nowhere near as fast as an E46 M3. Nodding donkey wasn't talking about equivalents. It IS a 1300 (ish) engine. That's the displacement! Often said it's as fast as, and drinks like, a 2.6 petrol though.

I have personally witnessed first hand, people over steering into ditches as they do not realise the capabilities of their subpar cars in sharp turns

Which sub par cars are RWD (oversteer) and powerful enough to get into a ditch?! M3 would be the prime candidate for this kind of accident.
Your Yaris is perfectly capable of 'overtaking'. Can it do the same overtakes as your M3? No. Should it be banned from overtaking? No. I'm sure you've taken your Yaris to the red line to try to get the power out of it. The people you've watched overtaking badly, AREN'T doing this! They're cruising past and not actually USING the power in the engine.

And I stand my ground that certain cars should be banned from overtaking in circumstances in which there is a gap of less than a mile between them and oncoming traffic at speeds of >30 mph. Overtaking for these kind of cars, there should be a gap of at least 1.5 miles and speed restricted to 40mph.

Utter rubbish as above, and impossible to police. Do you know how far a mile is?! Thanks for doing the maths Idiophreak. With 85 seconds to get the move done, you could do it from a standing start in your M3!

In darkmatter's defence, he did exclude some sub- 2.0l cars in his mental plan to stop all you plebs in 'slow' cars from overtaking.

Car 54 - DLRs should be treated as sidelights that are always on. The LED ones have got brighter these days, and do now help you be seen, but no rules have changed about the use of your other lights.