Parking a Mk1

[1000 PR]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK6mughv ... re=related[/url]

Just spotted so sorry if this has been previously posted

Obviously not used to having no power steering

[Boddney]

Man.... that was a marathon.
She must have been completely cream crackered after all that wheel turning.
It does make you worry when you realise that there people with that amount of incompetance on the road.
Good find though.

[DAN_REV1_TURBO]

lol Drink driver? Isnt that a double yellow line aswell?

[dylbie]

Soooo funny!!! And after all that time she still does a xxxx job!

I agree though Bod, so many really bad drivers on the road. I do a fair bit of mileage and I see some shocking stuff! I think it's about time the driving test was made much harder and compulsory to take every 5 years or something!

[Boddney]

I think it's about time the driving test was made much harder and compulsory to take every 5 years or something!

I second that. I'm a driving assessor for a logistics company and I have a strong beleif that all drivers should have a refresher every 10 years just to brush up their skills and learn the new rules and signs etc.
Not somthing you can fail, but if their really bad they should some tuition.
It is becoming a more talked about subject in the industry.

(damn, how do you do that quote just one line thingy)

[dylbie]

(damn, how do you do that quote just one line thingy)

Click the quote button at the side, then delete what you don't want from inside the quote brackets

[Boddney]

HAHA... Simple as that. What a muppet

Thanks
Bod

[Grendel]

Another 1+ for retests.
Since as a motorcyclist I see idiots most days on my commute to work.

[1000 PR]

+1 I agree about the re-tests. The amount of scary driving I see on the roads particularly by old people is frightening. And extra testing for BMW drivers. I was cut up by a blonde in a 1 series this morning who then completely slowed down and braked in front of me going around the corner!

[Lauren]

Trouble is if I re-took a test I'd no doubt fail as I refuse to use bad techniques such as wheel shuffling.

[1000 PR]

Do they really still teach that??? The IAM test is far better with a bias on driving fast but within the limits and with the emphasis on hazard perception.

[dylbie]

And extra testing for BMW drivers.

Easy! They're not all bad! Besides the BMW badge on the front of my car is an exemption from having to use indicators, looking when pulling out from junctions etc

I refuse to use bad techniques such as wheel shuffling

Lauren, by wheel shuffling, do you mean the keep your hands at 10 to 2 sort of thing? Ie not crossing your arms? I recently got advanced driving lessons for Christmas and was suprised to see that they teach wheel shuffling! :O Are there any other members of IAM on here? I'd be interested to see if this is actually what they do.

[Rubber Chicken]

Ha, +1 definately on this and on BMW drivers,lol. Had a doo with one last night which started as him thinking he was king of the road and has the right to be unsafe to everyone as they do and ended up with me receiving a hand gesture and me laughing at him coz I thought I'd be an a$$ aswell,oops!

Oh and while we're at it testing on roundabouts please.

[Polypedates]

Are there any other members of IAM on here? I'd be interested to see if this is actually what they do

I'm a member of the IAM and I have to say this idea of 'wheel shuffling' is something a lot of people seem to cite as to why they CBA to do advanced driver training but frankly it is not something I recognise.

The IAM teach 'Push-Pull' steering and tbh I find it is the most appropriate technique for the sort of conditions you are most likely to encounter on every day roads and the sort of driving you will do on a day to day basis. Anyone who describes this as wheel shuffling is obviously doing it wrong. That said I'll also use 'Fixed Input' or 'Rotational' steering depending upon the circumstances. All have their merits and all will get you into difficulty if you stick to them religiously as each is intended for a different set of circumstances.

All I can say is I am a far better driver for doing the advanced test and I enjoy my driving even more now than I did before. And obviously I am a far better driver for it.

Obviously legal compliance is the starting point but for the record I've always been an 'enthusiastic' driver but even I got marked down on my test for not going fast enough in a couple of places and not overtaking a couple of times, so it's not exactly fuddy-duddy driving!

[dylbie]

Cool thanks for that Need to get mine underway

[Boddney]

That, my friend was a brilliantly worded piece and right on the money. It is exactly what I was taught by the IAM when I was being taught to be an assessor. I was then tested on my driving and assessing technique by a class 1 Police examiner for a full day. A very tough day to say the least.
The only thing I don't think is a good idea is a retest situation. As I said in my post earlier, I think that a refresher course is what is needed every 10 years or so as most(if not all) people would fail a test after 10 years of driving and a retest would involve lessons etc to get you out of all those bad habits.
If a driver was found to be really bad on his/her refresher then a little tuition and discussion should be the order of the day by the assessor. Thats what I do with my drivers anyway.
Bod.

[Lauren]

In a nutshell the use of the push pull method is why I would never consider doing IAM/ROSPA stuff.

I just see it as a dangerously flawed method. I only use a fixed position input, so quarter to three. If I use anything else it is at a slow enough speed that it doesn't really matter.

[dylbie]

Interesting stuff

Does anyone here have any motorsport licenses? I wouldn't mind doing some of these as well. Not only so I can eventually enter my MR2 in a race, but surely it must help car control on the road as well.

[1000 PR]

Having had a race license and completed the IAM test I have to say driving on the road and racing are completely different but the hazard perception and extra awareness probably helps you avoiding a crash.

The quarter to three position is great in an MR2 but in a big car with say 4 turns lock to lock it's surely a different matter?

[Polypedates]

In a nutshell the use of the push pull method is why I would never consider doing IAM/ROSPA stuff.

That's a depressingly blinkered attitude really. For someone who claims to enjoy driving so much I would have thought you'd be more aware of different techniques or at least open to them.

Fixed input has its uses and is the technique I favour at speed on open, well sighted roads but it's useless on twisty stuff because it only allows up to ~180 degrees wheel movement either side of straight ahead, by which time your arms are crossed right over, you're starting to twist out of your seat and you are not in proper control of the vehicle. Getting into that situation is fine on a track perhaps where you know you won't be required to apply any more lock but idiotic on the road. From that point you have to go to a different technique and from that situation Rotational steering is about the only option left until you have time to fundamentally readjust your grip on the wheel or straighten out.

FI is great for fast open roads as once learned the light grip gives better feedback and it also allows rapid countersteer because you instinctively know how much lock you have applied at any given moment. That said, rally drivers tend not to use it because of the risk of kickback From what I've seen of in-car footage they appear to use a rapidly changing mix of PP, Pull and rotational, but mostly Pull because they generally have to keep a firm grasp on the wheel to keep the car on course.

FI is only sensible up to about 90 degrees turn of the wheel, by which time your hands are at 12 and 6 o'clock respectively. From then on you have to move to the PP method to apply more lock, indeed to most people it is instinctive, so to say you'd never do it is just plain silly. I can only assume you don't know what PP actually is so are not aware you are using it; or you are just being deliberately provocative.

Fact is, eveybody on the road uses some sort of PP a lot of the time. Just becaue they are not aware that is what it is or are not necessaily doing it correctly doesn't change that.