speeding is fun and gets you places more quickly

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:33, 1 reply, 12 years ago)

I'm safer driving at 100 than 75% of the people on the road in this country are driving at 50
Turns out that's a fucking useless defence in court, though.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:35, Reply)

It also transpires that something like 80%* of the public believe theey are better than average at driving
the mathematically possibility of this is lost on people

*totally made up number but it is certainly something over 50%
( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:37, Reply)

Everyone thinks they are a great driver
but hardly anyone actually bothers to go and get training and any sort of advanced driver qualification.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:38, Reply)

I did pass plus, mainly to try and reduce my insuarnce premium

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:39, Reply)

Did it work?

(Bazongaloid, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:41, Reply)

yes, but the cost of the course was about the same as the saving on my first year of insuarnce
also the course is only 2 sessions maybe to practice some motorway driving etc that you can't do as a learner. this 12 years ago so i doubt it makes a jot of difference now
( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:45, Reply)

I've done various car control courses
and rally and track stuff, but I won't touch IAM qualifications because at least two of things they teach you are arguably bad practice at best and extremely dangerous at worst.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:41, Reply)

What are they then?

(Bazongaloid, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:41, Reply)

they teach you to drive in silence
no radio, no conversation - because distractions are bad. Horseshit. You need to be able to focus on different levels, certain parts of driving should be backround instinct. Excessive distraction is bad, of course, but if you need to focus that hard to drive and avoid accidents you shouldn't drive at all.

And they still teach passing the wheel, which is a lethal thing to do if you lose control of a car. Always one hand or the other locked at a fixed position, so that you can pull the wheel back to straight without thinking or looking.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:45, Reply)

That shuffl9ing hand thing is fucking ridiculous

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:45, Reply)

It's not shuffling so much, although that is retarded
IAM say your hands should be in a fixed position relative to the wheel - 10 to 2 or whatever. If you don't want to die on fire in a hedge, hold at least one of your hands fixed ON the wheel.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:48, Reply)

I used to drive with my kness whilst skinning up...does that count?

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:51, Reply)

hell yeah.

( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:11, Reply)

I'm seriously considering taking an advanced driver's course.
I love everything about cars including driving them quickly. I want to get a rear wheel drive car, but the way they behave isn't at all intuitive compared to front wheel drive. I don't want to not be confident in my ability to control the thing.

I also want start rallying.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:44, Reply)

rear wheel drive cars are easier to drive than FWD by a mile
rear wheel drive cars ARE intuitive. It's front wheel drive that isn't.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:46, Reply)

What I mean is, if you start sliding, your instinct is to take your foot off the accelerator
in a FWD car, that'll counteract the understeer, in a RWD car, it'll aggravate the oversteer.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:52, Reply)

chances are
that in a modern RWD car there are enough gadgets on there to stop teh back end going all over the place... that said I did enjoy the icey conditions in mine... You do get used to it very quickly
(Bonzodog29 is an unemployed sponge of the worst kind, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:03, Reply)

Gadgets can't change the fundamental physics of the car

( Kroney, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:25, Reply)

They can if they are heavy enough

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:27, Reply)

very late reply
Actually that is exactly what they do...
(Bonzodog29 is an unemployed sponge of the worst kind, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 13:45, Reply)

not necessarily
a lot of RWD cars have lift-off oversteer. Accelerating in a car throws the weight back, which often improves rear end grip in a RWD. Particularly true of things like 911s. Of course, if you hit the accelerator too hard you might make the rears spin, which does bugger up grip.

I guess it depends on how you got your instincts, though - I guess I was lucky in that my first car was RWD.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:11, Reply)

That's what I mean, if your back end goes in a RWD car
and you lift off on instinct, the weight shifts forward and the back end goes out further, usually resulting in a spin.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:24, Reply)

Or if you mash your foot onto the accelerator thaen the back wheels will spin and you'll spin
so should accelerate or ease off, it's so confusing
( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:26, Reply)

sorry, I totally misread the second half of your post for some reason.
yes.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:28, Reply)

Having only driven a rear wheel car once I can't say I noticed a massive difference
I reckon most people would only notice the difference if you were trying to do something a bit more taxing that driving up and down the motorway.
(Bazongaloid, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:52, Reply)

Oh, totally.

( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:08, Reply)

mine is rear wheel drive
you notice a BIG difference in snow/ice. and once when it was slippery wet and i was being a twat on a roundabout (although in my defence it turned out the rear tyres were bald).
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:25, Reply)

Bald tyres are your fault really

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:29, Reply)

although getting the back end out in an SLK is a fair effort.
just sitting in the driver's seat is usually enough to turn your right foot gay.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:31, Reply)

I wouldn't mind a 55 AMG

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:35, Reply)

yeah, but why bother with the SLK version?
I'm looking at an AMG CL65 for shits and giggles at the moment. Pity I can't afford the fuel.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:39, Reply)

i went to an end-of-season hockey bash on sat night
player of the season for the mens first - broken thumb, mens seconds - broken ankle, mens thirds - stitches in his face etc etc. the women were unscathed. so either hockey is dangerous or men are worse at it?!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:40, Reply)

ball travels faster in men's hockey.
damages more and harder to get out of the way.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:40, Reply)

i have 2 X chromosomes
this makes me constitutionally incapable of either checking whether tyres are bald or changing them.

however, it means that men do it for me, which is great.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 11:38, Reply)

totally.
However I'm basing my statement on mathematically measurable things like reaction times, car control skills and me not being the kind of mouth-breathing slow-witted prick that watches big brother.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:39, Reply)

its a shame they cant make a law fpr one and not for anyone else.
Id get laid every day if that was the case
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:40, Reply)

there's no law preventing you get laid, man
well, there are some rape ones, granted.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Mon 2 Apr 2012, 10:48, Reply)