New drivers act / tailgaiters

R

rallybunny

Just reading the "Are you Micra friendly thread", and noticed Mat.T's, and other people's comments about driver's driving too close all the time.

Just wondered how many of you are still under the New Drivers Act, and stick religiously to speed limits, like I do. I don't think I would want to speed, but it would be nice to keep with the traffic sometimes. I tend to have people driving too close a lot, dunno if it's more so because I drive a modified car and they expect me to speed??? My o/h says he notices people tailgate him a lot when he drives the Micra, and he sure doesn't stick to the limits, so maybe it's just the car?

On another note, I know someone who had an RX7 for his first car....god knows how he kept his license.

PS: Think I need to join Speed Camera and Red Light Camera worriers anonymous until my 2 years are up (15 months to go!).
 
i don't often speed, but i often get tailgaters who often overtake me in a 30 limit, then i find once i hit the national speed limit zone i'm stuck behind the same people who overtook me in the 30 doing 45. These are the sort of people who keep at 45 regardless of the speed limit.
edit: it might be cos i'm driving a small car, i've driven my mates volvo 740 on a couple of occasions and people seem to stay well back :\
 
People seem to assume that because you have a Micra you have no place in the fast lane and get as close to you as possible so you take the hint. It really annoys me!

As for the New Drivers Act - mine passed on the 8th Jan, now i can "keep up with the traffic" in safety ;)
 
I gotta admit, i am guilty of driving close to the car of the person infront. I dnt really drive right up their backside but I dont really stick to a 'safe' distance. It does however annoy me when people overtake me in a 30 zone.
 
i have about 3 month to go!!

and i got 3 points for SP30 doing 55mph,like 1 month after i passed, :D i know its not a good thing ,but it was at the time! (3rd to 2nd 7k revs :D )

i dont know myself how i have kept my license until now,,,
 
The way I stop people from tailgating is to switch on my rear fog lamp but if that doesn't work, a small tap on the breaks, if they ignore that they get a jab, if they ignore that they get a stamp!

Luckily i have only needed to stamp once. Just make sure you don't lock the wheels, if you do "sorry officer there was a dog/cat/deer/child in the road" should work.

Of course the best way is to slow down, so that they pass.
 
Well past the new drivers rule now luckily hehe. :D Got 3 points just after the 2 years though lol... doh!!! :( Tend to try to stick as near to speed limits as possible, but may occasionally go slightly over accidently.
 
Occasionally go over slightly, but depends on the conditions. Tend to only break them on motorways and dual carriage ways. Ems would probably say i speed all the time but thats cos my dials overread!! she still doesnt believe me.

I never tailgate tho, if they suddently brake, i dont wanna wreck the front of my car and lose my no claims.
 
Arnold said:
Occasionally go over slightly, but depends on the conditions. Tend to only break them on motorways and dual carriage ways. Ems would probably say i speed all the time but thats cos my dials overread!! she still doesnt believe me.
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just brought somthing up in that post..

the 1.0ltr courtesy k11 i have atm reads 60mph on the clocks but 55mph on the gps,,,do people that have gps use it or do they use the car dials??
 
I've got to admit that I'm one of the "limit-stickers" still under the new drivers act. Got another 14 months of it to go :(

I think its one of the most stupid laws out there really. I spend most my time religiously checking my speedomiter and mirrors rather than looking at the road it seems. And until my 2 years is up, I probably will keep doing just that.....Scrap the new drivers act and people like me would probably become far safer drivers.

Tailgating is one of the most annoying things. It always happenning to me and my Micra is pretty standard, so I don't think its people expecting me to be any faster from the looks of the car.

I'm used to tailgaters though. I also ride a 125cc scooter with L-plates and everyone seems desperate to blast past me on that (even though its got a top speed of 65), almost forcing me off the road sometimes :mad:
 
RIK said:
just brought somthing up in that post..

the 1.0ltr courtesy k11 i have atm reads 60mph on the clocks but 55mph on the gps,,,do people that have gps use it or do they use the car dials??
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Since getting GPS, i tend to follow that but stick a few mph below for example go past a 30mph camera at 27mph and variable cameras on the motorways at around 74. I went past a mobile van the other day at roughly 77 so its borderline if they fine me or not :s
 
gam1984 said:
I've got to admit that I'm one of the "limit-stickers" still under the new drivers act. Got another 14 months of it to go :(

I think its one of the most stupid laws out there really. I spend most my time religiously checking my speedomiter and mirrors rather than looking at the road it seems. And until my 2 years is up, I probably will keep doing just that.....Scrap the new drivers act and people like me would probably become far safer drivers.

Tailgating is one of the most annoying things. It always happenning to me and my Micra is pretty standard, so I don't think its people expecting me to be any faster from the looks of the car.

I'm used to tailgaters though. I also ride a 125cc scooter with L-plates and everyone seems desperate to blast past me on that (even though its got a top speed of 65), almost forcing me off the road sometimes :mad:
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Don't agree with that. I think that its a good idea. The majority of new drivers tend to drive silly when they have just passed. This either takes some of these road users off the road altogether or makes them think twice about speeding again which can only be a good thing. Many people with a lack of experience can not judge situations as well as someone who has been driving for a long time. This is also reflected in insurance claims and prices, yeah ok most people at some point after they pass think that they are invincible and may well speed, but its those who continue to speed who could potentially be a danger and who are more likely to lose their licenses within the first two years of driving. I think its a good idea, and is more likely to make the road a safer place for everyone. :)
 
You've got a valid point Micra man, and I agree it can only be a good thing having new drivers who behave stupidly taken off the roads. But I think that this law gives some people an excuse to say "ok, I'll take it easy the first 2 years and then I'll let rip".

My worry isn't so much about speeding intentionally, I know there may be times when I go a couple of mph over the limit by mistake (everyone does it), but I'm just as likely to do that now as I am 30 years from now.

My problem is that people like me become so nervous about doing that within the first 2 years after passing their test, getting caught (just twice with the 6 point limit remember), and loosing their licence. I don't think thats helping me, or other road users really. I think overlly nervous drivers can be just as dangerous as speeders in the wrong circumstances.

I think its a law created with the right intentions, but its just counter-productive really. Although I see your point :)
 
Yeah I see your point also, and I agree that sometimes you do pay alot of attention to your speed when driving, particularly in built up areas with cameras, but there's no real easy way of making that divide I don't think. Still think that it is quite a good idea though lol. :) Plus it makes less road users and less congested roads hehe. ;)
 
Arnold said:
Occasionally go over slightly, but depends on the conditions. Tend to only break them on motorways and dual carriage ways. Ems would probably say i speed all the time but thats cos my dials overread!! she still doesnt believe me.
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Errrrr........what did your GPS read last Fri?!!!!!!!!!!!

And i admit i do over on fast roads!!!!! But i never tailgate, i prob actually stay further back than the recommended distance lol!! I've been driving for.............errr........hang on i'll check!!!

Got it!!!!! Passed on 29/09/04!!! :D
 
Ems said:
Errrrr........what did your GPS read last Fri?!!!!!!!!!!!
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Umm 100

not bad for a 1.0 moving timebomb with a heavy stereo. Definitly not going to be doing that again, gonna start behaving when it comes to speeds.
 
i tailgate drivers that do 40mph in a 60mph zone

its the most annoying thing on earth,,40mph in a 30 and then carry on doing 40mph in a 60!!! and its allways on a road that you cant overtake on grr
 
ive been driving for bout 1 and a half and tbh unless im goin somewhere i dont know i dont tend to stick to speed limits, i know its bad but i never speed anywhere stoopid, past schools, housing estates etc. i have a clean liscence *touches lots of wood* but i oly tend to drive places i know like to and from uni etc. i agree bout the tail gating, i tend to jsut continualy wash my wipers so they eventually get annoyed bout the spray and back off, i even made a game of it, see how many people wash there windscreens after you
 
Ems said:
Your officially banned from coming to Oxford, i'm not goin to be responsible for your death!!! :p
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Dont worry im behaving myself as of now. See you friday ;)
 
RIK said:
i tailgate drivers that do 40mph in a 60mph zone

its the most annoying thing on earth,,40mph in a 30 and then carry on doing 40mph in a 60!!! and its allways on a road that you cant overtake on grr
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you shouldn't do that, if thats the speed they feel safe at. Although it does annoy me when they go back to a 30 road and dont slow down. People that tail gate me get a slam of the brakes. If they go in the back of me its their fault, not mine :)
 
Im still in that new drivers act. Although you wonder how some people even get a drivers licence. I hate people that tailgate me, simple way to get them to stop, just drive along n gently press the brake with your left foot, soon annoys them and they drop back.
 
Ian said:
you shouldn't do that, if thats the speed they feel safe at. Although it does annoy me when they go back to a 30 road and dont slow down. People that tail gate me get a slam of the brakes. If they go in the back of me its their fault, not mine :)
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i feel safe at 70mph on some roads,,,doesnt make it right

going slow can cause accidents too..i was taught to "make progress" in my journey,meaning build my speed to the limit(not over) and if you get stuck and its safe to overtake do so...how am i suposed to make progress when a doddring old git is doind 10mph under the limit grr,the less time on the road the less chance of accident

it is safe to do the speed limit and if anyone feels unsafe to do 60mph on a 60mph road,,well they shouldnt have a license...i wouldnt have passed my test if i didnt build my speed upto the limit!

my mate got 6 points for doing 110mph on the motorway,,he then statred to drive like his(20mph in 30) and got pulled for going slow!
 
Might be the end of me one day but I assume every other driver on the road can drive, so if they're tailgating me they must know their can will stop just like I know mine, I leave big gaps for my own piece of mine whether on motorway or main roads, but obviously this must mean I'm letting every tom, **** and harry out cause thats what happens and i have to keep testing my 1.6 brakes.

The motorway is fun too, I can't wait for the days when I get to play lets p1ss the Micra driver off because a Micra can't go over 40mph, even though I'm keeping up with the Audi TT in front of me, so ye, please speed up so you get a good luck of my bumper, I'll obviously move out the way because you now want to see the Audi in front of me that is also following a BMW.

I love driving, everyday's an adventure!
 
RIK said:
i feel safe at 70mph on some roads,,,doesnt make it right

going slow can cause accidents too..i was taught to "make progress" in my journey,meaning build my speed to the limit(not over) and if you get stuck and its safe to overtake do so...how am i suposed to make progress when a doddring old git is doind 10mph under the limit grr,the less time on the road the less chance of accident

it is safe to do the speed limit and if anyone feels unsafe to do 60mph on a 60mph road,,well they shouldnt have a license...i wouldnt have passed my test if i didnt build my speed upto the limit!

my mate got 6 points for doing 110mph on the motorway,,he then statred to drive like his(20mph in 30) and got pulled for going slow!
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Totally agree here. Alot of drivers lack confidence and common sense when driving also. When I was doing my lessons I got told to take it to roughly 55 in a 60, incase a hill was encountered. If the conditions and road allow, the speed limit should be kept too.

It is annoying when you come across people who do 45 in a 30, then continue it into 60, then when you pass, they decide to flash lights at you and not be happy.
 
i use GPS "roadpilot" for speed. I speed, Who Doesnt. But i normally speed on motorway if theres nothing infront of me and its clear vision. max ive done in the car is 97mph and i never get it any faster lol and thats downhill :( still i like people to see the car than see it go wizzing past lol
 
Actually, theres some good points there.

I mean, the road safety education until recently used to be along the lines of "drive at a speed thats safe for the road and the conditions, don't drink & drive and always wear a seatbelt". Common sense stuff.

Its only recently since these bloody speed cameras and the "speed kills" line that the government have now taken that we've moved away from that.

Speed doesn't kill, its idiots behind the wheel who don't know how to use speed correctly that kill people. And make motorists like me pay with things like the new drivers act :mad:

Theres times when I won't even attempt to do the speed limit, even in a 30 zone. Doing more than 20 in a busy side street with parked cars and people everywhere is mental.

But theres also times at 2am on an empty motorway with good weather when sticking to 70 seems equally stupid.

A perfect example of this was when I was driving home at midnight last night. There was a temporary 30 limit with part-time speed cameras (vans) on a dual carriageway for roadworks (which hadn't even taken place yet).

Everyone else was flying past at 60 or 70 and I'm there looking like a prat trundeling along at 30, on the off chance that there may be camera van parked up somewhere. And I couldn't afford to take the risk of safely keeping up with the other traffic because I'm a new driver. The experienced drivers with 12 points to spare couldn't care less. Theres just no common sense to it anymore.

*rant over*
 
Arnold said:
Umm 100

not bad for a 1.0 moving timebomb with a heavy stereo. Definitly not going to be doing that again, gonna start behaving when it comes to speeds.
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Got 104 out of mine last week in my 1.0. That was going downhill though.
 
Been driving about 8 years now, and covered in excess of 200,000 miles. (god only knows how much fuel that would be) In any case, the new drivers act is I feel a good idea. Its obviously slowing new drivers down, as I can see here which is a good thing. Other than that tailgater's are the most stupid idiots on the road followed by people who test break tailgater's - Seriously stupid stuff. Why on EARTH anyone would want to put themselves in immediate and direct danger I have NO IDEA. I'm sure you will feel it was justified when one day you over do it and the car behind ploughs into your car sending you spinning into a lamppost or something.. If your really being tail gated that bad pull over and let them pass. Life is just too short to play dangerous games with other road users. New drivers generally do drive too close, you only have to look at all the wrecked K11s at scrapyards to realise how most of them have no front ends left..



I also drive to GPS speeds, not speedo..
 
i drive up and down the country a lot (dundee-newcastle and back again!) and people on the motorway are the biggest pain in the bee-hind ever! there was one time, i was doing 80 to overtake a lorry, and was in the right hand lane, and some GENIUS in his BMW came flying up my ass, then sat there flashing his headlamps at me! jeez dude, what am i supposed to do? crash into the lorry for you so you can carry on your 100mph+ rampage? bite me

basically, manda's motto for the week:

If you aren't a haemorrhoid, get off my ass
 
Ed said:
god only knows how much fuel that would be
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Based on March ST economy (i used 24mpg as a reference to cover the miles you've done in your normal K10), It works out at about 8300 gallons (37,732 litres) :eek:

Thats quite insane!
 
gam1984 said:
I spend most my time religiously checking my speedomiter and mirrors rather than looking at the road it seems.
Click to expand...

Exactly the same as me. :down:

59 bhp is more than enough said:
i tend to jsut continualy wash my wipers so they eventually get annoyed bout the spray and back off, i even made a game of it, see how many people wash there windscreens after you
Click to expand...

This is one of my favourite games too. :grinning:

I have a Snooper with GPS speedo, which I use less than the car's speedo. Instills a lot more confidence in having both. When I'm at 30 on the car's speedo, the GPS shows 27. I usually stick to just a needle's width over 30 on the car's display. A happy medium.
 
I tend to try and stick to the speed limits, but at night around my local area i'll usually go a bit faster.

Tailgaters really annoy me, so usually i'll gently break until i've got a fair bit of distance from the car in front.

I had a bloke a couple of days ago tailgate me for a couple of miles until he managed to go past, then when we got to the traffic lights he stuck his head out of the window and started f'ing and blinding at me, so I ended up following him for about 10 miles :D He ended up parking outside a police station and lodging a complaint, fortunatly nothing happened. :glance:

What really annoys me tho is all the drivers who've had their licenses for ages and don't know that road rules change, especially when they dont know what the national speed limit is. My mom's guilty of it to, doing 40 on a dual carrigeway. It wasn't until she had a policeman explain to her why going slowly was a bad thing that she changed her habits.
 
i would say if you are being tailgated, dont let them do it. it is dangerous for it to continue, as soon as you spot it it must be stopped. but instead of braking sharply which may cause them to go into the back of you, brake slowly, but not on and off, once on the brakes keep braking until the car behind is at a safe distance. it may have overtaken by this point or a space maybe available on the nearside if you have been on an outside lane.
 
I normally do speed a little bit. but one time that really peeved me off was i was on my bike doing 45 in a 30 (i know naughty naughty). then some wally came up my a** flashing and beeping so i slowed to 30 to annoy him. now so close i couldnt see his headlights in the mirrors, i slowed to 25. he then went into the wrong side of the road to overtake. as he came along side me i accelerated and kept pace, forcing him into oncoming traffic (which was a bus), i let him get in front of me JUST and then he bombed off at a silly speed. about 700 yards later... hes stuck in a massive traffic jam.. now was it worth all that fuel (big v8 car) to get round me?? at this point i was seriously annoyed and battered his car with my bar ends, it was a shiny new merc. i tried to open the door to hit him (i had never felt like this in my life) but he locked it. left 2 holes in the door and took the mirror and front bumper off. felt much better after that :)

*rant over*

oh and my micra has a sticker in the rear window "This car may be OLD... but its in FRONT of you!!" hehehe
 
Courior said:
I normally do speed a little bit. but one time that really peeved me off was i was on my bike doing 45 in a 30 (i know naughty naughty). then some wally came up my a** flashing and beeping so i slowed to 30 to annoy him. now so close i couldnt see his headlights in the mirrors, i slowed to 25. he then went into the wrong side of the road to overtake. as he came along side me i accelerated and kept pace, forcing him into oncoming traffic (which was a bus), i let him get in front of me JUST and then he bombed off at a silly speed. about 700 yards later... hes stuck in a massive traffic jam.. now was it worth all that fuel (big v8 car) to get round me?? at this point i was seriously annoyed and battered his car with my bar ends, it was a shiny new merc. i tried to open the door to hit him (i had never felt like this in my life) but he locked it. left 2 holes in the door and took the mirror and front bumper off. felt much better after that :)

*rant over*

oh and my micra has a sticker in the rear window "This car may be OLD... but its in FRONT of you!!" hehehe
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oh dear i think somebody needs to go see the men in white coats

sorry but we need less psycos on the road, yeah the guy in question was a nut but you are a bigger one, unless i serioulsy mis-read that.
 
well i do speed quite abit. i not going to lie, i genral stick to the speed limits around the town etc. but as for country roads if the clear and i know them the foot goes down. i feel the same about tailgters and found the best bet FOR ME is to do genral a high speed round corners than normal traffic hince no real breaking or need to speed. however before you go and try this my car has had the antiroll bars uprated and i know how my car handles. and i would never think about driving someone else car or my work's van anywhere near i drive mine.
 
I want to get a sticker for the back of my car:

"If you can read this, you'll need a condom before you get any further up my arse."

grr

Might give people the wrong idea tho.
 
i know a guy whos a police man, he caught someone doin 60 in a 30 ! my mate said to the guy you know what speed you were doing?? the guy sed he was doin the speed limit by addid the to 30 signs together lolool wat a guy
 
Courior said:
about 700 yards later... hes stuck in a massive traffic jam.. now was it worth all that fuel (big v8 car) to get round me??
Click to expand...

yes it probably was worth it..going fast is a good feeling you know :)

people dont buy big powerd cars to tootle behind a k10
 
lol. that was a one off, i have never been that angry in my life!! also the fact that as he zoomed off he almost took out the 2 motorbikes in front of me.. saying that.. if a car has endangered my life or looked in the mirror then purposly blocked my path then they get a boot print/dent in the door. if they dont look in the mirror and nearly knock me off my bike i remove the mirror free of charge, they obvioulsy dont need/use it. their car will be lighter, and use less fuel so im saving them money!
 
some people on the road are total twats, thats both car drivers and bikers, full on road rage like that is something i prefer to avoid tho, and if somebody smashed my car up at some lights they'd see a nice claim on their insurance, plus its people who try and start fights becuase of things that happen on the road i want to keep a big metal pipe under my seat, you wouldnt want to start on someone one day and get whacked with a big metal pole would you?

dont rise to it.
 
lol totally agree with u rlees. but once a month it just gets to me and have to vent it. normally shouting under my helmet does the job, but for the REAL #### they get a bit extra. i carry a 15Kg 2 meter long chain round one shoulder and im fully armoured! so against someone metal pole should be no problem ;) .. but seriously i try not to rise to it. people who know me couldnt even imagine me angry, but sometimes, some people annoy me that 1 bit too much! on the whole im calm and careful, or i would be dead by now!
 

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