Driving After Dark

[Mimmo]

1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

I know that Bryn was closely associated with Hackney and Crayford so travelling within London was somewhat easier but to think he used  to announce (?) at the Isle of Wight  and covered meetings at both King's Lynn and Oxford was quite a feat considering he was based, I believe, in Kent (?)

Yes he did live in Kent, as did the people giving him a lift to Isle of Wight & King's Lynn, but those people were also working in the box too.

[E I Addio]

1 hour ago, steve roberts said:

I know that Bryn was closely associated with Hackney and Crayford so travelling within London was somewhat easier but to think he used  to announce (?) at the Isle of Wight  and covered meetings at both King's Lynn and Oxford was quite a feat considering he was based, I believe, in Kent (?)

I knew Bryan quite well. Lakesides General Manager , Alan Sargeant used to drive him around most of the time, but occasionally he would need a lift to somewhere like Rye House, and living in Erith he would need to get a train into London then back out to Lakeside where someone would pick him up so it would mean travelling the best part of two hours to be  picked up about a mile as the crow flies from his home, then still had another hour or so to get to Rye House. That’s what you call a speedway fan !

[Humphrey Appleby]

2 hours ago, E I Addio said:

As you say, the highest insurance risk group is for men and women under 25, when really their eyesight and reactions should be at their peak.

I seem to remember seeing a study of racing drivers that showed their reactions were little or no better than the average person, and driving ability is more down to spatial awareness.

Even though accidents amongst the 25 are probably more down to overconfidence and driving too fast, I think there is a significant element of needing to develop spatial awareness on the road which only comes with a few years of driving experience. 

[iris123]

We have one fairly posh street near me that has over the years seen quite a few crashes from OAP's parking their cars and going through the shop fronts and they have tried a few things. Now it is 600kg blocks in front of the shops. Not saying OAP's are dangerous drivers, but it seems in this one street they make up about 100% of the culprits

 

[Ray Stadia]

4 minutes ago, iris123 said:

We have one fairly posh street near me that has over the years seen quite a few crashes from OAP's parking their cars and going through the shop fronts and they have tried a few things. Now it is 600kg blocks in front of the shops. Not saying OAP's are dangerous drivers, but it seems in this one street they make up about 100% of the culprits

 

Maybe automatic gearboxes...'I thought I was pressing on the brake pedal!' 

[iris123]

Just now, Ray Stadia said:

Maybe automatic gearboxes...'I thought I was pressing on the brake pedal!' 

Yes. There have been a number of accidents in multi-storey car parks, where nearly always a pensioner has driven off the deck by getting confuddled

[Grachan]

11 minutes ago, iris123 said:

Yes. There have been a number of accidents in multi-storey car parks, where nearly always a pensioner has driven off the deck by getting confuddled

I've seen wider parking spaces for women in Germany. Maybe they should have them for pensioners too.

[martinmauger]

At the risk of stirring the pot in both directions; the last time I did '60 in a 30' was at 2:20am last year, rushing to be at the bedside of a dying relative.  Ok, well naughty but I knew there would be little to no traffic (there wasn't any), hoped any local plod would be sympathetic, I know the roads well and am, hopefuly, a good driver - no accidents, convictions, nil points on licence.  Obviously I don't reccomend or condone such, arguably, legitimate 'boy- racer hooligansim' at all, but there are times one needs to step up big style and do one's best.  Sadly didn't make it in time but I'd probably do the same again.

On the other side of the coin, one of my uncles in one eye has a condition (cateracts ?) which means he doesn't drive at all after dark as he sees 'stars' under street lights, especially if it's raining, not sure whether he just doesn't drive at night or isn't permitted to.  Irellevant really as sadly, few people will ride with him as he regularly pulls out of his, admittedly quiet, cul-de-sac without looking (!) as "no one ever comes drives down here" , well one day someone might.  In other words he can drive ok but is, a 'tad' (!)  arrogant with his driving habits and attitude....

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by martinmauger
corrected pot stirring

[Triple.H.]

5 hours ago, E I Addio said:

I knew Bryan quite well. Lakesides General Manager , Alan Sargeant used to drive him around most of the time, but occasionally he would need a lift to somewhere like Rye House, and living in Erith he would need to get a train into London then back out to Lakeside where someone would pick him up so it would mean travelling the best part of two hours to be  picked up about a mile as the crow flies from his home, then still had another hour or so to get to Rye House. That’s what you call a speedway fan !

Apologies for going off topic, but which London station does the line at Rye House go too, since Oxford closed, and a few of us went to the Launchpad for our fix we always sore a good few fans waiting for the train as we walked back to where we had parked. Even though its a long way out i bet it was cheaper and probably less stressful to use public transport from certain areas of London

[racers and royals]

7 minutes ago, Triple.H. said:

Apologies for going off topic, but which London station does the line at Rye House go too, since Oxford closed, and a few of us went to the Launchpad for our fix we always sore a good few fans waiting for the train as we walked back to where we had parked. Even though its a long way out i bet it was cheaper and probably less stressful to use public transport from certain areas of London

Liverpool street i think.

Edited April 1, 2021 by racers and royals

[Triple.H.]

5 minutes ago, racers and royals said:

Liverpool street i think.

Thanks, just had a look on trainline, just over half an hour journey, If Liverpool St or any other stations enroute were close to home you'd be daft to drive

[E I Addio]

1 hour ago, Triple.H. said:

Apologies for going off topic, but which London station does the line at Rye House go too, since Oxford closed, and a few of us went to the Launchpad for our fix we always sore a good few fans waiting for the train as we walked back to where we had parked. Even though its a long way out i bet it was cheaper and probably less stressful to use public transport from certain areas of London

Yes , it is Liverpool St. Parking could be bit of a hassle at Rye House the train was not a bad bet if you were coming from Central or North London, especially if you had a few beers at the track ! I liked Rye House. The racing was usually rubbish but it was a nice little stadium to be at on a summer evening. Such a shame it’s gone. 

[Skodaman]

18 hours ago, martinmauger said:

At the risk of stirring the pot in both directions; the last time I did '60 in a 30' was at 2:20am last year, rushing to be at the bedside of a dying relative.  Ok, well naughty but I knew there would be little to no traffic (there wasn't any), hoped any local plod would be sympathetic, I know the roads well and am, hopefuly, a good driver - no accidents, convictions, nil points on licence.  Obviously I don't reccomend or condone such, arguably, legitimate 'boy- racer hooligansim' at all, but there are times one needs to step up big style and do one's best.  Sadly didn't make it in time but I'd probably do the same again.

On the other side of the coin, one of my uncles in one eye has a condition (cateracts ?) which means he doesn't drive at all after dark as he sees 'stars' under street lights, especially if it's raining, not sure whether he just doesn't drive at night or isn't permitted to.  Irellevant really as sadly, few people will ride with him as he regularly pulls out of his, admittedly quiet, cul-de-sac without looking (!) as "no one ever comes drives down here" , well one day someone might.  In other words he can drive ok but is, a 'tad' (!)  arrogant with his driving habits and attitude....

 

Whilst being sympathetic towards the reason you were speeding, the time that you were speeding is probably more dangerous because when there is little or no traffic about, there is more likely a surprise in store such as a driver doing similar.

[bruno]

On 4/1/2021 at 1:09 PM, steve roberts said:

Reminds me many years ago I had visions of becoming a Driving Instructor and passed the inital test but I backed out at the last moment...don't think my patience would have sufficed!

Same here , I passed a few exams and advanced driving test but then my teacher took me out where he pretended to be my pupil. He was an excellent driver and at one point pretended to mow down some pedestrians and children. They were totally oblivious to what he was doing and he was quite a distance from them but I should have reacted but froze. When we finished the lesson I got out the car and thanked him from saving me from a stressful profession. Never regretted my decision

[martinmauger]

4 hours ago, Skodaman said:

Whilst being sympathetic towards the reason you were speeding, the time that you were speeding is probably more dangerous because when there is little or no traffic about, there is more likely a surprise in store such as a driver doing similar.

Without getting into anything, I knew what I was doing, which I'm aware can turn easily into 'famous last words': mostly straight road, LED headlights on full - they literally do almost turn nite into day, a calculated risk one might say.  Plus I am too familiar with at particular stretch of road having made too many similar desperaste, nite-time dashes (put the tiny violins away, sometimes shoot just happens).  Plus, plus I am WAY too scared of my mum, whose car it is, to take any risk in stuffing it , but seriously, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

A friend who used to be a driving instructor, asked one pupil to go straight across a roundabout without turning left or right, they did exactly that and drove right over it.  Another was asked to turn right at a roundabout, and did so, turned immediately right, the wrong way around with the roundabout on their left hand side.  Another kept the car screaming in 2nd gear at 7,000 RPM for ages as they waited for the instructor to tell tell them to change up.  What finally caused him to give up being a DI was the number of people who had numerous near misses, or actually hit someone or something, didn't realise why and scaringly didn't seem to even care....

Edited April 2, 2021 by martinmauger
correct risk taking

[Tsunami]

On 4/1/2021 at 11:26 AM, Mimmo said:

Bryn seldom used public transport, 99.9% of the time it was lifts from friends.

I remember once Bryn came up to Newcastle, and Nigel Wagstaff had drove him up. Possibly when Waggy had Oxford and Nicki P.  Probably about 2003.

[Mimmo]

14 hours ago, Tsunami said:

I remember once Bryn came up to Newcastle, and Nigel Wagstaff had drove him up. Possibly when Waggy had Oxford and Nicki P.  Probably about 2003.

Chris Golding used to drive him to Isle of Wight and King's Lynn too.