Corrado accident (M40)

[NickVR6 0]

They dont grit roads in German as it damages cars! If its icey, they dont drive.

 

This whole debate is all about one thing, MONEY. If it makes money (speed cameras) the gov love it. If it cost money, eg road surface, sod it!

 

Road safety never comes into it when decissions are made i'd wager.

 

Surely a pot holed, multi surface, channeled road surface has as much affect under braking as a tyre with 1mm of tread.

[Wendy 0]

That's it, read this lot, about to get on my soap box too. :onfire:

 

I get really mad at the road conditions, as NickVR6 mentions.

 

Surely this not only damages our cars but actually causes accidents.

I was on a stretch of motorway recently where the groves caused by the lorries was so bad, it effected the steering control of the car.

Presumably the reason for so many restricted speed limits - down to 50mph in much of Oxfordshire, is due to poor quality of road surfaces

 

I often wonder what my Road Tax is paying for. I know there are more roads and therefore finances have to be stretched, but with an abundant increase in the vehicles on the roads too, surely it can't be too hard to make the books balance.

 

Off to smoke my very last cigarette.

Nicorette patches tomorrow - and that's thanks to a mail on here before Christmas. Scared the hell out of me. Guess I should say thanks, but somewhat apprehensive at the moment.

Won't get wet when in the car anymore - smokers will understand this one :lol:

[ZippyVR6 0]

Off topic a touch. But Good luck wendy. you can do it.

 

And for the record. I still drive in the rain with my window cracked open and Iquit 4 years ago. Force of habit. :)

[Blair 0]

Surely this not only damages our cars but actually causes accidents.

I was on a stretch of motorway recently where the groves caused by the lorries was so bad, it effected the steering control of the car.

Presumably the reason for so many restricted speed limits - down to 50mph in much of Oxfordshire, is due to poor quality of road surfaces

Sounds like half the stretch of the A34 Northbound to me Wendy!

 

I had a "moment" there about 1 year and a half ago, was going through a long easy right-hander on the inside lane, halfway round the grooves got a hold on the rear of the car and it gave a seriously alarming squirm. Now I just sit in the outside lane on that stretch...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah lorry ruts are a pain. I thought it was just the nature of the Corrado beast the way the front wheels weave left & right in them, but even my G/F's Rover with skinny 145 section tyres does it, and my Dad's Mondeo TDCi.....in fact they're worse!

 

Still, I'd rather suffer that than weeks of resurfacing chaos.

[craigowl 0]

Many of you seem to have really bad road surfaces - I can't relate to the lorry ruts thing at all, but I drive a lot less now, relatively speaking.

 

Another thing - and this is rare praise - is that our West Lothian Council came top in Scotland recently for upkeep of roads! They are not perfect, so you guys with bad roads must really have an axe to grind (as well as your suspension/wheel rims/sumps, etc. :roll: ).

[Blair 0]

Lorry ruts don't seem to be a widespread problem Craig, I mostly really notice it on the A34.

 

I don't know if it's poor resurfacing work or just the sheer weight of traffic - it's a major route between the Midlands (and on to the North) and central Southern coastal area (Dorset, Hampshire - including Southampton & Portsmouth, two fairly busy ports). The A34 does seem to always have a higher concentration of freight traffic than any other roads I use.

 

Having said that, I reckon some of the ruts have to be a couple of inches deep - it doesn't sound like much, until you picture your wheel sitting in a two-inch deep rut and then thinking about the effect it has on the steering when you need to get out of it!

[Mikehabis 0]

Worst rutting I've noticed is the half mile before the Botley interchange on the Southbound A34 @ Oxford. If you're unaware of it, it can really make you jiggle- but if you're in a 4x4 the ruts actually keep you in line, look! no hands! :salute:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I don't know if it's poor resurfacing work or just the sheer weight of traffic - it's a major route between the Midlands

 

Yep, very bad in the Midlands and down to the Anglian coasts as that's the main route for the lorries down to Felixstowe, the main and biggest port in the country.

 

Jump on the A14 from the M1 down and also on the A12, the ruts are horrendous, bordering on dangerous unless you're in a 4x4 with walllowy and compliant suspension.

[mch 0]

Just read the various posts re the cycling accident, being a keen cyclist i knew two of the guys who lost their lives its a terrible tragedy and one we cant begin to imagine wot those involved will go through.being local i use this road regular an as gixxerux says a its a very gentle bend.i dont think speed cameras will be placed there,and certainly wont be the answer. tho having heard there were two earlier accidents one wonders why there were no signs put up to alert drivers of the icy conditions,it may have made a difference, but at the end of the day it was a freak accident a few seconds either way an it wouldnt have happened.If anything positive can come out of this surely it has to be awareness of the vulnerabilty of cyclists on the road

[craigowl 0]

mch said

If anything positive can come out of this surely it has to be awareness of the vulnerabilty of cyclists on the road

 

I have always believed that the, mostly daily, 13 years of cycling and motor scooter experience I had before driving a car every day stood me in good stead on the roads. Not only do you take that knowledge of cycling into your car, but you also have got a sound and practical understanding of things like the physics of tyre to road surface adhesion.

 

To me, driving a car is a very sophisticated scientific procedure and I can't stop thinking of the millions of people with licences who do not have a clue about anything technical whatsoever.

 

Clearly, if you have a good understanding of the difficulties a cyclist faces in, say, windy or slippery conditions you will give them more clearance.

(I will never fully understand how that woman in a car managed to clip my offside wing mirror when she overtook me on Honda 50 on a modern dual carriageway many years ago, but I have a couple of ideas!)

 

Not suggesting this particular tragedy in Wales was due to the Corolla driver not having an understanding of cycling or being aware of the possibility of black ice on a gently curving road on a cold morning, but one is tempted to use one's imagination. I accept I may be adding two and two and getting five, though.

 

Anyway, my main point is that many drivers do not give cyclists enough consideration because (like overgrown schoolboy pr@t J Clarkson appears to) they hate cyclists and/or they have not ridden a bike other than in mummy and daddy's driveway since they were six years old, if at all.

[scarlett 0]

I get quite wary of passing cyclists on town roads, am always scared I dont give them enough room... :oops:

 

Can't speak from a cyclists point of view but I know as a horserider that there are some idiots out there on the roads who won't take 3 seconds to just slow down to pass you or give way in any way!!! last time I had my horse out on the roads I was passed by a 3 series BMW who only slowed slightly and passed so close that the long whip I was carrying actually touched all along the side of the car.... bit scarey!!! :(

 

I do get annoyed however if a cyclist or rider doesn't say thank you either by a smile or a nod or a wave when I have gone out of my way and had to stop or slow right down... :roll: I believe that if someone does show some courtesy towards a bike or horse and rider and isn't thanked then the next time they come across one they will just not bother to slow down or whatever... am not saying the driver who had the accident wasn't planning to get out of the cyclists way before he hit the ice but with the amount of accidents involving bikes and horses on the roads each year obviously there are some drivers who still dont like or know how to pass properly... (tho I am sure no one on here is like that!!!.... :) )

[craigowl 0]

scarlett said

I believe that if someone does show some courtesy towards a bike or horse and rider and isn't thanked then the next time they come across one they will just not bother to slow down or whatever...

 

Too true, scarlett.

Good karma and bad karma.

Believe in the good stuff, folks, you know it makes sense.

Dont let your temper get the better of you.

I'm no angel - I'm Mr Grumpy hereabouts but I realise the good sense of good, courteous actions and try hard to remember that, but still too often fail.

[Jim 2]

I always slow down for horse riders.. its not just courtesy but its bloody dangerous to belt past at speed! Horse gets spooked, horse throws rider into road.. its just common sense!

 

Not really surprised to hear that the last car to do that was a 3 series! BMW drivers living up to their reputations! Of course not all BMW drivers are twits (I know Kev is an ex owner, biggerbigneil has one, etc) but the vast majority of BMW driving reps are!

[Blair 0]

One factor nobody has raised yet is the simple fact that the driver may well have been preoccupied and not really had their mind 100% on driving.

 

I can't imagine there are many (if any!) of us on here who have driven a few miles and have absolutely NO recollection of it - we've been preoccupied with our own thoughts and have comfortably slipped into autopilot mode.

 

The pace of life these days certainly doesn't help - work just seems to get more and more hectic, and since starting my technical sales role I now have the added distraction of potential business calls to throw into the equation. There are times (even when hands-free) where I have answered a call when I really shouldn't have. There are probably more times where I've actually ignored calls because I needed full concentration, but it only takes one moment of bad judgement (possibly induced by work-related stress) and you've got a catastrophe on your hands.

 

Going back to Craig's point about there being too many drivers who are technically unaware, I think he's absolutely right - and there are also too many drivers who just don't realise they should give their driving all of their attention whenever possible.

 

And anyone who says "I'm a very good multitasker" - well, I just don't swallow that when it comes to driving. As far as I'm concerned your brain can only process so many things at once - the more activities you share that "bandwidth" across, the thinner it's spread. Couple that with basic ignorance about car/bike physics and you're an accident waiting to happen!

[Yandards 0]

And anyone who says "I'm a very good multitasker" - well, I just don't swallow that when it comes to driving. As far as I'm concerned your brain can only process so many things at once - the more activities you share that "bandwidth" across, the thinner it's spread. Couple that with basic ignorance about car/bike physics and you're an accident waiting to happen!

 

Unfortunately women are better than men at this, men are really incapable of multitasking but we are better at prolonged periods on a single task.

 

I agree with all the major points raised in ths post, driving is a skill and you need to concentrate on what you are doing.

 

Lorry ruts are a pain in the ass - but they seem to be more of an issue where there are no kerbstones to stop the road creeping out over time.

 

The government take a huge amount of tax from road users in many different forms but very little is re-invested into the network; around 3.5% I think. I read an article in one of the car mags a while ago and I think I am correct in saying that 40% of the roads are in a condition that would fail a skid test due to poor maintenance. Another issue is compensation due to suspension/tyre/wheel damage has increased by 1/3 over the last year and that councils prefer to pay the compensation instead of resurfacing properly (That loose chippings crap, surface dressing, doesn't count)

 

Due to the way society works, an accountable paper trail, people have to die instead of someone being allowed to use their common sense to say 'This bit of road is dangerous, lets fix it.' :cry:

[Walesy 0]

With regards to going around cyclists i've always been wary too, they aren't the most stable of vehicles! I remember my driving instructor telling me that's it's always better to go over the line, than over the cyclist....a rule i've tried to stick by :wink: .