New Drivers.

I disagree with limiting young drivers to cars with smaller engine sizes....there aren't many young drivers out there with large powerful cars as they can't afford the insurance on them! Most young drivers inc 'boy/girl racers' are limited to 1.4 or smaller due to costs anyway. Those with large powerful cars tend to be the ones driving with no insurance...as I found to my peril when I was hit by one!
As for the 6 points and retake your test I totally agree with that..I also believe everyone should have refresher training every 10/15 years regardless of age as the bad habits picked up in some people are dangerous and rules/regs change so much it's hard to keep up.
 
its not just the young uns in high powered cars that are too blame,

on many occasion over the last few weeks, sometimes every day, iv'e come accross "old people" in big chuff off range rovers, mercedes benz, bmw and such like doin 50 mph in the fast lane on a motorway.

now you tell me is that safe driving ??? :confused: :confused:

in my opinion this is far more dangerous than driving too fast
 
BLACKBURN RAVER said:
its not just the young uns in high powered cars that are too blame,

on many occasion over the last few weeks, sometimes every day, iv'e come accross "old people" in big chuff off range rovers, mercedes benz, bmw and such like doin 50 mph in the fast lane on a motorway.

now you tell me is that safe driving ??? :confused: :confused:

in my opinion this is far more dangerous than driving too fast
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that makes me laugh your right they do,it also makes me laugh when you see pensioner buying a car thats high powered,why when they are only going to do 50mph on the motorway,they shouldnt waste there money,my grandad did and when it came for his mot,he was told to go up and down the motorway doing 70 because he had never gone fast enough for his cat/converter to work properly for it to pass the mot
 
Tell you what jacky, your car got a hammering in county Durham that day I came to yours...............:D

OMG that was funny!!!!! LOST?? NO not us :Banane20::Banane20:
 
lol i cant find my way out of my front door,its clean now slinky,and ive found a quicker route only took me five attempts
 
jackyalex said:
lol i cant find my way out of my front door,its clean now slinky,and ive found a quicker route only took me five attempts
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FANTASTIC.............. but I hope the next time I come to yours you find somewhere else to get us lost.......cos that was a right giggle ;):D
 
lol well i still havnt been right to the top of the street yet,i hear it takes you straight to penrith,we will have to have a girly drive out
 
jackyalex said:
lol well i still havnt been right to the top of the street yet,i hear it takes you straight to penrith,we will have to have a girly drive out
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OMG we could have ended up in penrith that day?? :eek: omg how funny would that have been " hmmmm yeah hiya love, what do you mean where are you two?? :mad: hmmmm well the signs say PENRITH" :D:D:D:D:D;)
 
jackyalex said:
ah yeah well we were prob almost there only a few more miles of single dirt track roads to go
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yeah but it was funny..........even the whip lash the next day was worth it :banlama:
 
It’s not the engine capacity that makes a car powerful Silver but the brake horsepower the engine develops.

“Refresher Training every 10/15 years” – now that’s an interesting notion but sadly not practical. There are just too many drivers. As for re-tests after gaining 6 points – that too is unlikely to be practical – too many drivers.

The only people who should have to take a re-test are those who lose their license be it an outright ban or an accumulation of 12 points. After all they got the points for breaches in the driving rules and thus are a proven hazard on the road.

Yes you will come across some idiot (of any age and sex not just old people) hogging the outside lane at less than 70 mph BLACKBURN RAVER but it doesn’t happen very often. In fact the only vehicles in the offside lane should be those who are actually overtaking cars in the other lanes. Once the overtaking manoeuvre has been completed they should ease into the next lane inwards thus leaving the outside lane clear for others to use to overtake. At times the congestion on the motorway is such that the overtaking lane (outside lane) has to be used as a normal travelling lane. Sadly you get someone driving at the legal motorway limit with some idiot a couple of yards behind them flashing his lights. Now THAT is dangerous driving. And who are the flashers? Well it ain’t the old guys.

Why shouldn’t a pensioner buy a car that has some grunt jackyalex? After all they have been driving for more years than many people have lived and are probably replacing their old high grunt car with a newer model. Why shouldn’t anyone drive at 50 mph on a motorway? Providing of course that they keep to the nearside lane. Just because the motorway maximum speed limit is 70 mph it doesn’t mean that is the speed that every one should travel at. In any case driving at about 56 mph in top gear uses the least amount of petrol and causes least pollution.

A catalytic converter will work properly when it has to reach a particular running temperature and that can be achieved by the engine ticking over for a period of time. The MOT station doesn’t take a car for a high speed spin before testing the cat. It has absolutely nothing to do with speed so if some mechanic told your granddad to dash up and down a motorway he was talking a load of old rot.
 
Why shouldn’t a pensioner buy a car that has some grunt jackyalex? After all they have been driving for more years than many people have lived and are probably replacing their old high grunt car with a newer model. Why shouldn’t anyone drive at 50 mph on a motorway? Providing of course that they keep to the nearside lane. Just because the motorway maximum speed limit is 70 mph it doesn’t mean that is the speed that every one should travel at. In any case driving at about 56 mph in top gear uses the least amount of petrol and causes least pollution.

just to let you know when i was on my driving lessons i was told to drive at the max speed of road,also i got 3 minors on my test for doing 25mph in a 30 and im not the only one,i dont know can you get pulled for driving too slow?
 
I find it hard to believe that a qualified driving instructor would tell you to drive at whatever the maximum is allowed on the road.

You should drive at a speed that you are comfortable with taking into account the prevailing conditions but only up to the speed limit of that road. However you should also ‘go with the flow’ but not if it exceeds the speed limit of that road, except that sometimes in heavy traffic, it is safer to just ‘go with the flow’. If you are not comfortable ‘going with the flow’ then you should pull over at the first opportunity and get out of the way. This can happen in adverse weather conditions where visibility is reduced and your interpretation of what is a safe speed to travel at differs to other drivers.

I guess you got 3 minors during your test because you didn’t ‘go with the flow’.

You can get pulled for driving too slow if in doing so you are creating a hazard behind you, but it is called ‘driving without due care and attention’ although I have never come across such a situation.
 
Anyone over the age of 65 should take a re test as there eye sight and other reactions start to slow i say 65 as then as people go on the pension they can check if they drive or not and if they do have to take a re-test
 
When you reach 65 Mick I suspect that your opinion will change.

However at what age does people’s eyesight and reactions start to slow? For some it might be before 50 whilst others it could be well past 70.

I’m pushing 70 yet I can comfortably read a car number plate at twice the required distance. As for reactions – with age comes wisdom and we all know that as life progresses the body ages. As far as I can tell my reactions are not too different to what they were 10 years ago but I accept that they could have slowed down a bit. So I make greater allowances for other road users. I back off an extra few yards from the car in front except when stationary at traffic lights. Which is more than some youngsters do. They stop ten yards from the car in front and then as someone comes to a stop behind them they creep forward a yard or two. Why?

How many old timers have you seen tailgating? How many old timers go bombing around the streets? The insurance companies are not noted for being stupid so why are older drivers charged a lesser amount for insurance than younger ones. It couldn’t possible have anything to do with the fact that most old timers behind the wheel are a darned site safer and more considerate of other road users than those under 50 and especially under 25.

As I understand it, prior to my 70th birthday I will receive a letter/form from the DVLA to take to my doctor who will, after an examination, decide whether I am fit to continue to drive safely. I would rather take his word than some arbitrary call for re-test at 65.
 
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