The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

GDB2222

chris_m wrote: »

But you still have to declare the incident to your insurer - which may also trigger a premium increase.

I apologise for being so vehement about this, and not very nice about it. I’m trying to be helpful but possibly just adding to the stress.

Pyxis

silvercar wrote: »

This one?

:rotfl: At first I thought you were having a laugh when I saw the Hebrew script!

Then I scrolled down and saw the Roman script and translation!
No, not that one........
I don't think we could have coped with all those words!

No, it was the spinning top one, for children!

Doozergirl

Pyxis wrote: »

Oh Lydia.
:A

I don't know what's the matter with people.


I was at a workshop all weekend, and driving home earlier today I went through several villages with 30mph speed limits. Everybody on the road was keeping to the speed limit.

Later on, on a dual carriageway, there was a short stretch of road with roadwork signs and cones. The driving behaviour couldn't have been more different.
A few hundred yards before the cones started, there were signs saying 30mph limit, and others saying the left lane was closed ahead.
So I got into the right hand lane and slowed to 30mph.
I lost count of the number of cars who pulled back into the left hand lane and sped up to pass me, going quite a bit above 30.

I even started to think that perhaps I had misunderstood the signs, but no, here was another 30mph sign, and a bit further on, yet another one, , so no misunderstanding.

So why is it that in these circumstances, some people think that the speed limit sign is just a suggestion, rather than mandatory?


Ok, the 30mph signs did seem to start quite a way before the cones, but they were still there, and they were mandatory.

When the cones did start, it became obvious......... there was another coned-off lane merging with the one I was on. There wasn't any traffic on that other lane, but that's not the point....doing more than 30 would not have been appropriate.


It's very worrying to have several people undertaking you when you are obeying road signs and keeping to the signed speed limits.

In that situation, you should 'merge in turn', like a zip. Slow to 30mph but stay in the left hand lane. The warning is that the lane shuts in 600 yards and then continues to warn as it counts down. It isn't shut yet, both lanes remain open and the cones will always facilitate you merging in turn at the correct moment - which was in 600 yards from that sign.

It also allows those who insist on driving faster to at least overtake you safely. They weren't right, but they were making a point to you that you weren't right either

LydiaJ

GDB2222 wrote: »

If the car is driveable, the least stressful option is probably just to drive it. You could take it to your garage to get it checked over, and they can tell you whether it can be driven at normal speeds.

*All* reasonable costs are the responsibility of the other driver and his insurers. You don’t need their prior permission. If you need to hire a car, then do so and charge the other driver.

The point is that you don't need to ring anyone for their say so. As to writing off the car, that’s your decision. But you can only expect the other driver to pay the lower of repair costs and value of the car. It might still be worth getting it repaired, even if the other driver does not pay 100% of the repair bill.

chris_m wrote: »

But you still have to declare the incident to your insurer - which may also trigger a premium increase.

Their HR person just rang me. He's filled in his form saying it was his fault, and they're sending it off to their insurer now.

I felt the car was OK to carry on driving at the time - I had 4 teenage girls on the way to a birthday party. But I'm not sure I feel it's safe to drive it 80 miles of mostly motorway today. There's a fair amount of damage that I can see, and the passenger door doesn't open properly, so who knows what damage there is that I can't see. I didn't mind pottering about at <30mph taking DD to the bus stop this morning, but I'd feel safer not driving it a comparatively long distance at speed.

Am going to phone my insurers now. Last time somebody hit me, they provided me with a hire car without it costing me anything, and I don't think it affected my premium. If I've got to declare it to them anyway, then I might as well get them to sort me out a hire car now rather than waiting for the other insurer to sort things out for me.

Am just feeling so happy that the man was honest. I've been crashed into before now by someone who gave false details, and this is sooo much less stressful.

michaels

Doozergirl wrote: »

In that situation, you should 'merge in turn', like a zip. Slow to 30mph but stay in the left hand lane. The warning is that the lane shuts in 600 yards and then continues to warn as it counts down. It isn't shut yet, both lanes remain open and the cones will always facilitate you merging in turn at the correct moment - which was in 600 yards from that sign.

It also allows those who insist on driving faster to at least overtake you safely. They weren't right, but they were making a point to you that you weren't right either

I thought this but didn't say so on the NP thread and think there may be a caveat.

If all other drivers were exceeding the speed limit through the pinch point traveling in the RH lane then it might actually have been hard/dangerous to merge at 30mph into a lane of traffic traveling considerably faster.

LydiaJ

michaels wrote: »

I thought this but didn't say so on the NP thread and think there may be a caveat.

If all other drivers were exceeding the speed limit through the pinch point traveling in the RH lane then it might actually have been hard/dangerous to merge at 30mph into a lane of traffic traveling considerably faster.

That's what I thought.

Doozergirl

michaels wrote: »

I thought this but didn't say so on the NP thread and think there may be a caveat.

If all other drivers were exceeding the speed limit through the pinch point traveling in the RH lane then it might actually have been hard/dangerous to merge at 30mph into a lane of traffic traveling considerably faster.

I think that those naughty drivers start to slow down when they start to perceive the hazard. Sometimes you're driving at an enforced speed limit with no perceptible hazard at all. 600 yards is a fair way at 30mph.

Many times I've noticed similar but I wouldn't dare go quickly down to 30 from 70 and position in the right hand lane. People generally slow down as a whole very gradually until they're all at the right speed in time for the first speed camera . If you stick to the rules then the best thing to do is to do everything correctly. Stay in lane, slow down, merge at the appropriate point.

I'm driving at least 80 miles a day on the motorway every day at the moment. Roadworks have been constant for over two years, with another batch just started on another stretch. The middle lane hoggers of our shiny new four lane motorway have been replaced by "lane three hoggers". There's at least two on every stretch that I do, four times a day. No one in lanes one and two, most people in lane 4 waiting. It's absurd!

Doozergirl

No rest for the wicked. Phone call from Worcester, last lesson is cancelled. Off down the motorway again!

Pyxis

Doozergirl wrote: »

In that situation, you should 'merge in turn', like a zip. Slow to 30mph but stay in the left hand lane. The warning is that the lane shuts in 600 yards and then continues to warn as it counts down. It isn't shut yet, both lanes remain open and the cones will always facilitate you merging in turn at the correct moment - which was in 600 yards from that sign.

It also allows those who insist on driving faster to at least overtake you safely. They weren't right, but they were making a point to you that you weren't right either

I did wonder whether I had pulled into the right hand lane too early.

On th other hand, if everyone was obeying the speed limit, it wouldn't have mattered.

I do take your point, though. Better to assume everyone is an idiot, and manoeuvre accordingly!

CKhalvashi

Doozergirl wrote: »

I think that those naughty drivers start to slow down when they start to perceive the hazard. Sometimes you're driving at an enforced speed limit with no perceptible hazard at all. 600 yards is a fair way at 30mph.

Many times I've noticed similar but I wouldn't dare go quickly down to 30 from 70 and position in the right hand lane. People generally slow down as a whole very gradually until they're all at the right speed in time for the first speed camera . If you stick to the rules then the best thing to do is to do everything correctly. Stay in lane, slow down, merge at the appropriate point.

I'm driving at least 80 miles a day on the motorway every day at the moment. Roadworks have been constant for over two years, with another batch just started on another stretch. The middle lane hoggers of our shiny new four lane motorway have been replaced by "lane three hoggers". There's at least two on every stretch that I do, four times a day. No one in lanes one and two, most people in lane 4 waiting. It's absurd!

We do similar, and seemingly have similar driving styles.

I try to position the car so I'm thinking ahead, thus being able to do things at a safe speed for everyone behind. That's one of the things I miss about being 'higher up' in an MPV compared to an Execmobile if I'm honest.

My current car is just over 2 years old with around 95000 miles, so probably when I'm shopping again the extra investment in either a mini-SUV or another 7 seater may be worth the slightly worse fuel economy. I'm keeping the one I've got until I know what we're doing long-term though as I don't want to suffer another chunk of depreciation by changing it again, even though I shopped around for the best price when shopping for it and managed to get a decent enough discount to offset a chunk of the depreciation I'll suffer.

I'm going to be on the phone to company liquidators for the majority of the afternoon and hopefully will be analysing the last known accounts of 2 companies, so will hopefully be around tonight. Take care guys, it's a lovely afternoon here still, so hopefully it stays like that.