Speed Cameras

[jimmy4321]

Radio stations reporting Photo radar is even better than a store bought radar detector.
For those who speed , they act like *bleep* till they are in the area of a reported photo radar then they go back to driving wrecklessly.

[neilsimon]

We have:

- Treacherous weather conditions
- Mountain passes
- High elevation mountain highways

Sounds like Sweden to me, who are even safer than the UK

- A Wild West yee haw drink driving culture*

Yes, this is a major problem.

* 34% of accidents v 15% maximum in EU countries. The second highest of all developed countries in the world. Something to be ashamed of.

It's not a like for like comparison.

True, there can never be a real like for like comparison, but that doesn't mean that we can't see if they have something to teach us. They do also have far more cameras, for instance, and they tend to be well sign posted when they do. It is also quite normal to drive 140+km/h on the motorways in the UK and Ireland. They also have lots of roundabouts, including multi-lane ones, which I have a bit of a pet theory about making you a better driver. They force much greater road awareness, especially if you wish to navigate them at all quickly. And by doing this at a fairly safe speed, you learn to be an aware driver, with and understanding of speed, distance, gaps, etc. without having to deal with dangerous accidents when you screw up.

Anyway

[lightspeed]

We have:

- Treacherous weather conditions
- Mountain passes
- High elevation mountain highways

Sounds like Sweden to me, who are even safer than the UK

It must be all those Volvos.

[Dizzy1]

Still by far one of the most accurate and informative videos out there ...

[JennParker]

Still by far one of the most accurate and informative videos out there ...

The only issue with comparisons to Germany and other countries outside of North America, the vehicles. When you drive in many other places around the world you rarely see 1 tonne trucks. If I decided to drive a dodge 1 tonne, and for added *bleep* syndrome I will also flip my tow mirrors up.... drive 80 in a 50 and I hit your VW Jetta going the speed limit.... one of us is going to be seriously hurt... and I have a sneaking suspicion it will not be me. We have big heavy vehicles sharing the road with compacts. Every time I am out and about (yes I drive a big truck, and no it is not a tow-mirror-up dodge) I am flabbergasted by the small cars that have no problem cutting off a moving beast. I wonder if they realize the damage my truck will do to them inside their compact. Air bags won't save them. Petlzman's theory comes into play. Make people feel safe and they will engage in riskier behavior.

[Bsuds]

Every time I am out and about (yes I drive a big truck, and no it is not a tow-mirror-up dodge) I am flabbergasted by the small cars that have no problem cutting off a moving beast. I wonder if they realize the damage my truck will do to them inside their compact. Air bags won't save them. Petlzman's theory comes into play. Make people feel safe and they will engage in riskier behavior.

They cut me off all the time when I'm driving my F350 DRW and towing a 34' 5th wheel. They have no clue how much room I need to stop!

[neilsimon]

Every time I am out and about (yes I drive a big truck, and no it is not a tow-mirror-up dodge) I am flabbergasted by the small cars that have no problem cutting off a moving beast. I wonder if they realize the damage my truck will do to them inside their compact. Air bags won't save them. Petlzman's theory comes into play. Make people feel safe and they will engage in riskier behavior.

They cut me off all the time when I'm driving my F350 DRW and towing a 34' 5th wheel. They have no clue how much room I need to stop!

So, can you explain to me why so many pickup truck drivers like to tailgate? Maybe it's time we had a special licence for those who drive larger and more dangerous vehicles to at least encourage them to be of an appropriate standard.

[lightspeed]

So, can you explain to me why so many pickup truck drivers like to tailgate? Maybe it's time we had a special licence for those who drive larger and more dangerous vehicles to at least encourage them to be of an appropriate standard.

I'd be in support of that. Johnny gets his full licence and can then go and haul a pickup and trailer around despite the fact that he can't even park properly at Costco (however - can anyone?). Sensible? Probably not.

Bubba packs his pickup bed full of junk and hauls it off to the dump. Half of it falls out onto Glenmore Road. OK this helps keep City of Kelowna wage slaves employed, but it's not good.

Susie gets her N and can legally drive a Ferrari despite the fact that she has nothing more than the bare basics of driving ability. Smart? Maybe not.

[Dizzy1]

Still by far one of the most accurate and informative videos out there ...

The only issue with comparisons to Germany and other countries outside of North America, the vehicles. When you drive in many other places around the world you rarely see 1 tonne trucks. If I decided to drive a dodge 1 tonne, and for added *bleep* syndrome I will also flip my tow mirrors up.... drive 80 in a 50 and I hit your VW Jetta going the speed limit.... one of us is going to be seriously hurt... and I have a sneaking suspicion it will not be me. We have big heavy vehicles sharing the road with compacts. Every time I am out and about (yes I drive a big truck, and no it is not a tow-mirror-up dodge) I am flabbergasted by the small cars that have no problem cutting off a moving beast. I wonder if they realize the damage my truck will do to them inside their compact. Air bags won't save them. Petlzman's theory comes into play. Make people feel safe and they will engage in riskier behavior.

European roads are littered with cargo vans which are of equal weight.

[JennParker]

European roads are littered with cargo vans which are of equal weight.

I have a hard time believing "Johnny White Sunglasses" is driving a cargo van in Europe... I do not think the average person is using a cargo van to commute for personal reasons.

[JennParker]

So, can you explain to me why so many pickup truck drivers like to tailgate? Maybe it's time we had a special licence for those who drive larger and more dangerous vehicles to at least encourage them to be of an appropriate standard.

I cannot explain why... I do not tail gate. The only time I tail gate is when a smaller vehicle pulls into my gap and then I am forced to slow down. If it is a real d-bag move I will let them look at grill for a few seconds while my horn is reminding them they could have waited for me to back off and let them in. Normally the use of a signal is a great way to show intent... I guess when they bought their car the signals were not included. Damn options. A/C --- yep, Power windows --- yep, Bluetooth ---
yep, Signals --- nah.

If I were to make a guess as to why, there comes a point where you get so tired of cars cutting you off, you just drive like a jerk. Why do cars feel like they can squeeze into the gap? Maybe all drivers of cars should have to drive larger and more dangerous vehicles so they can drive their little cars to an appropriate standard that keeps everyone safe.

[neilsimon]

...
I have a hard time believing "Johnny White Sunglasses" is driving a cargo van in Europe... I do not think the average person is using a cargo van to commute for personal reasons.

True to a point. There are lots of vans on the road, but they tend to be driven by people who need them for work and not just as general transport. There still are those who do, but in general in Europe, utility vehicles, like trucks and vans, tend not to be driven as personal transport. It almost certainly makes the roads somewhat safer and is quite smart (better on fuel and cheaper to run)

[neilsimon]

...
I cannot explain why... I do not tail gate. The only time I tail gate is when a smaller vehicle pulls into my gap and then I am forced to slow down. If it is a real d-bag move I will let them look at grill for a few seconds while my horn is reminding them they could have waited for me to back off and let them in. Normally the use of a signal is a great way to show intent... I guess when they bought their car the signals were not included. Damn options. A/C --- yep, Power windows --- yep, Bluetooth ---
yep, Signals --- nah.

Yes, it is a dangerous move to do, and like yourself, I hate when people pull into my braking zone. That said I do understand why they don't often indicate for more than a second before doing so as all too often I have had people accelerate hard to prevent me pulling out. It is tempting to just pull out as it reduces the risk associated with a jerk trying to stop you doing so in a safe manner.

If I were to make a guess as to why, there comes a point where you get so tired of cars cutting you off, you just drive like a jerk. Why do cars feel like they can squeeze into the gap? Maybe all drivers of cars should have to drive larger and more dangerous vehicles so they can drive their little cars to an appropriate standard that keeps everyone safe.

I can understand it in the situations you describe, but to be clear, I'm not talking about pulling out into a small gap, in my situation it is usually when I am in the overtaking lane, in a queue of traffic waiting to pass other vehicles, and I find a pickup firmly planted on my bumper. It's as if they think trying to intimidate me into pulling over and letting them pass will work. Do they not realise that the closer one sits to a vehicle ahead, the slower it has to go to be able to stop safely?

[dodgerdodge]

True to a point. There are lots of vans on the road, but they tend to be driven by people who need them for work and not just as general transport. There still are those who do, but in general in Europe, utility vehicles, like trucks and vans, tend not to be driven as personal transport. It almost certainly makes the roads somewhat safer and is quite smart (better on fuel and cheaper to run)

Not sure this is completely true. There are a large variety of vans being driven by courier/delivery guys who really don't care how they get from a to b so long as its quickly. Hence the bad rap many van drivers got as they were all labelled "white van men" because most seemed to drive like complete "beeps"
I was in UK recently and saw lots of bad driving, tailgating, cell phone use while driving, excessive speeding and cutting up others on motorways in particular. One guy tried to change lanes and almost hit me, he then swung in behind me and got so close it was ridiculous yet up ahead all lanes were stopping so i just eased right off and tapped the brakes, he didn't get it as i moved over he started to come flying past and then realized everything ahead was stopped, he hit the brakes and kind of waved an apologetic hand.

[Dizzy1]

I have a hard time believing "Johnny White Sunglasses" is driving a cargo van in Europe... I do not think the average person is using a cargo van to commute for personal reasons.

Cargo vans are the equivalent to our pick ups. Lots of contractors use them for work and running around on the weekends. Put the tools in during the week and the motorbikes in on the weekend and head down to the Eifel for a weekend on the Nürburgring or Hockenheim.

Difference between here and there is that there, those vehicles are limited to max 120km/h in some countries.