Waterford Drivers and only Waterford Drivers

Cabaal

gscully wrote: »

Let's move on. This was a ridiculous thread from the start and has turned into a farce.

Couldn't agree more,

Stan Nangle

Sully wrote: »

OP, there are statistics available to show that women drivers are in a lot less accidents then men. This is why they get cheaper insurance.

That is the common perception, but in actual fact women have more accidents than men, but the severity of the accidents is much less. They have more fender benders, but men have more write offs.


People with Fog lights on should be done for driving without due care and attention. What really annoys me is seeing Garda checkpoints where they don't tell drivers to turn them off - never mind write them a ticket for it.

They are bad enough in normal circumstances*, but on a wet road the glare off the surface from foglights gives me a headache. I can understand the temptation to put the full beams on when you meet one of these inconsiderate muppets - just so you can see the road - but that is illegal, and could cause an accident.


*= except Micras. Their foglights are worse than full beams. Cut they eyes out of me!

old gregg

LMAO! Multivan got his ass whooped, by a girl

seanybiker

lynnemc wrote: »

Hey Multivan if you don't bother coming over the bridge and stay in KK then you wont have to worry about us bad WOMEN drivers that don't use our indicators and always have our fog lights on !:D
We probable have our fog lights on cos your driving up our arses with your full beams on !

How ya lynne. Im agreeing with Lynne cos if ya dont she might kick the bejaysus outta me

echosound wrote: »

And seanybiker, I'll challenge your lack for the title of "competent driver who is not a man". I've been driving a LWB commercial 4x4 for a few years, and can reverse park better in it than my aul dad (who's currently driving it), and he drives commercial vehicles for a living. So nyah :pac:

She would whip your ass, actually, Ill set it up hehe. You can be joint number 1. she is only 5 foot so there is room for you on the number 1 pedastal beside ehr

old gregg wrote: »

LMAO! Multivan got his ass whooped, by a girl

baaahahahhahaha.

magick

Drivers in Ireland are generally bad but not awful, however as for the indicators issue, yup it is shocking the amount of people who dont use them, im starting to think they should be offered as extra options on cars since no one uses them!

Boskowski

Since this is a 'generalizations' thread I'd like to add that in my opinion the standard of driving in Ireland is pretty poor over all not just in Waterford. Can't blame ye since the rules of how you went on to obtain a license were and still are pretty poor, too. This leads to Irish drivers doing a lot of stuff they are convinced is right but it's not and also being unable (ignorant) to do other things as they simply don't know about them.

A few things spring to mind:

- Indicating: Indicating still seems regarded as optional, also if indicators are used they indicate most of the time what the driver is doing rather than what the driver intends to do.

- Lights: Fog lights are irritating and that's why they must be used only in very dense fog. They're not there to make you look cooler (front) and they don't give you 'extra safety' (back) when you're scared **** driving at night to begin with (at a snails pace I may add). The former applies mostly to 'dudes', the latter applies mostly to older people. Parking lights are for parking, like when you are for a very brief time in a dodgy spot and you're worried your unlit vehicle might endanger the traffic. Parking lights are not for twilight or even daylight driving. They are irritating.

- Turning: (left & right). When you turn left you do that from the left lane and you don't swing out to the right as if you were driving a 38 ton truck or one of them really long buses. It's a car you're driving and it's small and it's arse is not swinging in or out when you're turning so unless you're turning with the spacial awareness of a blind mole you're not going to scrape your alloys on the curb either. When you turn right you do that from the right lane and if there isn't any lane you do it from the most centric position on the road you can get to without actually going onto the wrong side of the road. That leaves most of the time enough space for other cars to pass you on the left. Of course for the driver behind such a car that requires the ability of veering over to the left and simply pass the turning car and not having a major panic attack, starting to indicate and brake and swerve all at the same time and then come to a halt behind the car at the last possible moment anyway.

- Roundabouts: They are are confusing and utmost care is needed mostly due to lack of indicating or wrong indicating which is due to the ROTR being actually somewhat confusing on this. Better rule on the continent I believe but even those would require people to indicate.

- Awareness: While you're driving you don't fixedly stare at a spot 15 yards in front of your car like a rabbit in the headlights. You're supposed to look ahead, have a glimpse at the dashboard, watch the mirrors occasionally, watch the car not just in front of you but also the one in front of that, watch the traffic lights your going to approach in 200 meters etc. If you did all that then maybe then you wouldn't have to come to a full stop at every roundabout even when there's no cars in sight for miles (especially women) or you would notice the car in front of you that's indicating to make a right turn so that you have ample time to move to the left in proper order rather than have a panic attack and so on.

I could go on for a while...:rolleyes:

merlante

This is a little off topic, but...

I hear a lot of people complaining about the standard of testing in Ireland compared to other countries, but imho, even though we don't pay for Y obligatory lessons and do X hours on the road, etc., in order to pass the driving test you absolutely have to know to use roundabouts, how to turn, who has right of way in all situations, how to observe what is going on around you, etc., etc. And not in a common sense kind of way like your dad giving you a few tips either, it is very difficult to pass a driving test (perhaps impossible) without getting professional lessons.

Someone passing a test now has to pass a theory test, which is much more difficult than it was when it was first introduced. They must then pass another short theory test before the driving test itself. Those sitting the test these days are required to know how to change the oil (in theory) and where everything under the bonnet is. Then they have to drive about for 40 minutes without making more than 8 mistakes. Where a mistake can be for something as trivial as leaving an indicator on a bit too long, road position on a strange road you've never driven on, driving too close to parked cars on a tight suburban street, responding to a hazard (could be anything on the day) in a way that the tester does not consider optimal, or not observing sufficiently on a maneuver. As many will attest, this is no mean feat in this day and age. In order to pass this driving test, you must have a lot of hours on the road and you must have a bare minimum 10 professional lessons imho, and probably a lot more, unless you have somehow been driving for years with good practices.

Where the state falls down is in facilitating driving lessons in schools, etc. But the standards are there, and they are tough to meet these days, unless you're lucky enough to find one of these mysterious friendly, talkative testers.

The state also falls down in that most of the people on the road haven't done their test in the past 10 years, because those who did their test that long ago or longer may as well have not done their test at all because the standard of driving and driving knowledge required now far exceeds what was required back then, and there is a lot more traffic on the road now to boot. Waterford roads are not perfect German roads: they are dangerous and tricky because they weren't built for cars. Anyone who has done their test in the last 10 years, and particularly since the theory test came in and the media started going nuts about road deaths, will know that their driving ability far exceeds the average on the road.

The other problems are cultural: this business of "as soon as you get your test you never drive that way again" chuckle chuckle, is bull****. There is nothing that you do for the test that you shouldn't do every day for the rest of your life. It's maybe a case of the older crap drivers corrupting the young. But luckily younger people seem to think that road safety is important. At the next mixed (age group) gathering you're at, bring up indicating on roundabouts and witness the age divide.

It is drivers who are, say, 35+ that are making the roads unsafe, and no amount of testing in the future is going to catch them. It'll take a major crackdown, re-testing, or another 30 years before they are off our roads. So I'd say we have a bit of a wait...

Sully

Ths topic really has run its course I think. Its no longer (not that it ever was going to be) Waterford related. This is why I closed your first one OP

Ill give the thread 24hours and if we can somehow discuss something unique to Waterford then thats great but if not then best place to take this discussion (and I wont move it, cause they will kill me!) is to the Motors forum.

longshanks

Sully wrote: »

Ths topic really has run its course I think. Its no longer (not that it ever was going to be) Waterford related. This is why I closed your first one OP

Ill give the thread 24hours and if we can somehow discuss something unique to Waterford then thats great but if not then best place to take this discussion (and I wont move it, cause they will kill me!) is to the Motors forum.

i cant believe the amount of people driving while eatin hang blaas and drinking large bottles off the cooler and not indicating on roundabouts boy

ziedth

longshanks wrote: »

i cant believe the amount of people driving while eatin hang blaas and drinking large bottles off the cooler and not indicating on roundabouts boy

Damn it Man you got in there before me, I had a similar post in mind.

takola

Sully wrote: »

Ths topic really has run its course I think. Its no longer (not that it ever was going to be) Waterford related. This is why I closed your first one OP

Ill give the thread 24hours and if we can somehow discuss something unique to Waterford then thats great but if not then best place to take this discussion (and I wont move it, cause they will kill me!) is to the Motors forum.

I'm over-ruling you little man (Because I feel like it mostly.)

This thread has run it's course! Locked