Viewing 9 posts - 81 through 89 (of 89 total)
  • Are you actually a good driver ?
  • jambourgie
    Free Member

    Yes. I am actually the best driver.

    Dales_rider
    Free Member

    Jumped from first post to most recent, put your foot down get past all these slow idiots who think they are good drivers.

    mrhoppy
    Full Member

    I make Surfmat look average.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Points don’t mean much, I’ve never had a single point, but on country roads I used to drive like a man possessed and scared myself shitless on numerous occasions when I almost lost it at well over 100 on corners. Amazingly I’m still here and still point free….

    PeterPoddy
    Free Member

    Depend on your definition of ‘good’ really I suppose.

    See, due to buying a car early on in life and driving company vehicles of all kinds (From small vans to 26tonne loading shovels) from the age of 20, I learned how to abuse them. I can slide, handbrake, drift, J-turn and reverse flick if I need to. I once managed a 360 degree spin (trying for it) in my Nova in a quarry I worked at. It’s not hard to learn if you’ve got the chance. This means I can, if the fit takes me, drive like a rally driver pretty much anywhere.
    But I don’t. I know I can, so I don’t need to prove it, and I wouldn’t do it with anyone else around.
    It also comforts me to know that if something goes a bit Pete Tong, there’s a chance I’ll know what to do and I’ll come out unscathed.
    So if ‘good’ is being able to control a sliding vehicle like it’s second nature, then yeah, I’m not too bad I reckon.

    However….
    There’s more to it than that. I used to drive flat out quite a lot. I’ve never had even a moderately quick car, so this wasn’t really a problem. I’d do 80-90 on the motorway, that sort of thing.
    But driving a lot for work made me give that up. You just can’t do it and get away with it forever, either from a legal or safety point of view. You’ll crash or get points, won’t you.
    So, I gave it up. I just cruise round gently, trying not to brake, trying to be smooth, trying to use the throttle as little as possible to save fuel. That’s what it’s all about now, isn’t it?
    65-70mph on the motorway is fine. I set the cruise, get some tunes on and relax. Everyone goes blabbering past at 90, and I don’t get involved. I don’t have to concentrate as hard as my speed is lower and I’m not constantly looking out for The Law. Being ‘a good driver’ is neither here nor there like this, really. I find I don;t get wound up by others as much. I just chill.
    I’m also commuting 50 miles return by motorbike in heavy traffic every day, and you CANNOT do that at full tilt and live long. Nice’n’easy does it. There’s no rush.

    So, TBH, I don;t really know if I’m any ‘good’ as such, and nor do I compare myself to others. What I do know is this:
    1) I’m smooth. That’s how I was taught. I like to see a racer with a smooth style and I’ve had 2 instructors tell me I’m smooth. I like to drive/ride like that.
    2) I’m better than I was. I’m more chilled and safer for it, and I’ve had some advanced training, some track time, and I’ve got the naughty stuff out of my system early on.

    Don’t get me wrong, give me an empty road and an Italian v-twin and I’ll give it a proper thrashing, purely for my own enjoyment you understand…. 😉

    mildred
    Full Member

    For the past 13 years I’ve been a Police Grade 1 advanced driver trained and authorised in Tactical Pursuit And Containment (TPAC). I’m further trained in anti-hijack, offensive and evasive techniques, VIP & Cat A/Special Escort, though I no longer do this. I do track days as often as I can afford, and my driving is assessed at work on a yearly basis. I’m supposed to set an example, but I’ve no idea if I do; I actually think most drivers are oblivious to everyone else around them and only look at the road they can see just past the end of their bonnets. I have a bee in my bonnet about crap driving, but more about attitudes towards driving. I’ve had to pass more death messages than I want to recall and have seen people at the very bottom of their existences as a result of losing a loved one in one of the most violent and sudden ways to die, due to poor driving.

    I’ve found that a lot of people who believe they’re a good driver simply aren’t. They seem to be the ones who are complacent, lazy, and less tolerant of other road users. Real kings of the road..!

    milky1980
    Free Member

    Most use accelerometers with the emphasis on braking, acceleration and cornering, so smooth driving is rewarded.

    We’ve got one of them fitted to the vans at work. Easiest way to get a low score is to straightline everything and jump traffic lights if they’ve just turned. The scores have nothing to do with being safe, it’s all about low fuel consumption and not wearing the van out. Although you can get some serious air over speed bumps and it won’t go off!!

    Dales_rider
    Free Member

    mildred – Member

    For the past 13 years I’ve been a Police Grade 1 advanced driver trained and authorised in Tactical Pursuit And Containment (TPAC). I’m further trained in anti-hijack, offensive and evasive techniques, VIP & Cat A/Special Escort, though I no longer do this. I do track days as often as I can afford, and my driving is assessed at work on a yearly basis. I’m supposed to set an example, but I’ve no idea if I do; I actually think most drivers are oblivious to everyone else around them and only look at the road they can see just past the end of their bonnets. I have a bee in my bonnet about crap driving, but more about attitudes towards driving. I’ve had to pass more death messages than I want to recall and have seen people at the very bottom of their existences as a result of losing a loved one in one of the most violent and sudden ways to die, due to poor driving.

    I’ve found that a lot of people who believe they’re a good driver simply aren’t. They seem to be the ones who are complacent, lazy, and less tolerant of other road users. Real kings of the road..!

    Aha a plod, who are never wrong. I wont bother correcting as it would be a complete waste of time.

    mildred
    Full Member

    Aha a plod, who are never wrong. I wont bother correcting as it would be a complete waste of time.

    Correct what? I’m offering my opinion not fact. I’ve put my opinion in context, if there’s bias then there is – I can’t help that. What’s up, did you once get a ticket?

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