Driving standards at Night

Discussion in 'General chat' started by mach one, Feb 12, 2019.

  1. mach one
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    mach one WARLORD

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    on Monday morning i left the east coast of Scotland and crossed the border at around midnight with around five hours of driving ahead of me and i must say it was an absolute pleasure to drive at that time of night

    the driving standards are so much better at night and the motorways were so quiet it was a brilliant run, i wasnt speeding and had cruise set at 70 and in the whole five hours i only had a handful of cars pass me and nobody was driving at break neck speeds, for my run back i went down the A1/M1 to the M62 and then across the moors towards Manchester, I did have a bit of an issue around Manchester as the M62 and the M602 were both shut for a night closure and i missed the diversion route and ended up going across the centre of Manchester but as it was 3.00am traffic was not an issue with my unplanned trip across the city

    in contrast the run up to Scotland was completey different surrounded by complete idiots on very busy motorways, one example was a Golf GTI driving through a section of managed motorway on the M6 and he was doing 90 plus and every time he saw a gantry with a speed camera sign he stood on the breaks to get down to 70 and then booting it for another 300 yds to the next gantry, his stupid driving was causing chaos for all around him with chain reaction braking it was absolutely mental as the sky light up with brake lights caused by his bad driving

    and now on to the car it was a dream to drive and really came into its own on my near 1000 mile round trip, it certainly showed why it wears a GT badge effortlessly munching the miles, it may be a bit of an ugly duckling but from the inside looking out it was a very comfortable place to be on such a long trip
     
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  2. Mieke
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    Mieke WARLORD Site Supporter

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    For many years, I've frequently opted to travel at night when I needed to cover long distance in the minimum time. No congestion, fewer idiots and far more relaxed journeys with no hold ups. The only downside being that you miss seeing the vistas and the scenic landscapes.

    Motorways are a necessary transport feature for the large traffic volumes that is part of modern living, but I've never liked driving on them.
    If we had plenty of time for a journey to Scotland, we would leave the M6 around Preston and drive up the country roads through the Trough of Bowland. Then up through the dales to north of Sedburgh, and back onto the M6 for the final stretch through the Cheviots. It might add a couple of hours to the journey, but much more enjoyable. :)
     
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  3. slim_boy_fat
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    slim_boy_fat WARLORD Site Supporter

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    You're supposed to be concentrating on your driving.....:whistling: :D
     
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  4. mach one
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    mach one WARLORD

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    that is normally the best thing to do but there seems to be to many distractions for some

    I followed a van owned by a large company and they had a hows my driving sticker on it, had i not been driving myself or if i had a passenger i would have got them to write down the number and i would have phoned to report the driver and i have never really felt that strongly about a hows my driving sticker, this guy was a total idiot and he must have been distracted by something because he was all over the road and one minute is doing 30 in a 60 limit then he is doing 70 and driving in the middle of the road straddling the white line it was not safe to pass and was very frustrating following him

    all i can imagine is he was having a text conversation as one minute he was driving fine the next minute he was all over the place and i had to follow for about 10 miles before i saw a safe opportunity to pass
     
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  5. Mieke
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    Mieke WARLORD Site Supporter

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    Or he might have been spaced out on some substance or other. It's not just drink driving that is a danger nowadays. You did the right thing - staying well clear.
     
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  6. mach one
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    mach one WARLORD

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    the van he was driving was a railway owned by contractor and i assume they had been working down here on the railway

    I know network rail have very strict laws about drink and drugs as i know a couple of people that work for them and one lad will not drink for at least 24hrs before he goes on shift in case he is random tested which happens on a regular basis so i would guess it was more than likely distracted by a Mobile phone
     
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  7. Abh29
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    Abh29

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    I gave up work about 10 years ago ,but before that I wherever possible travelled at night. My normal week started from home at around 02.30hrs on Monday morning and according to our work locations it could be north to Inverness ,or south to Folkstone or Falmouth. It could be very odd on the M6 north heading to Scotland , 15minutes without seeing another car. I found I needed the cruise control on to keep to a nearly legal speed.
    The worrying think was doing 200 miles and then thinking I never recalled the journey at all.
    Thank goodness for the Zenon lights.( thank goodness I didn't have the LCD I have now)
    A mate once rung one of the "how am I driving numbers" and got a lecture from the other end about how he should be more considerate of the lorry driver , how he has schedule to keep ,ect
    Overall I much preferred night driving.,and my ideal drive is a summer night in the Z3 with the top off.

    The comment about Network rail drivers , we carried out contract on the line and to help me being able to complete my work I had a COSS ticket for a few years. The drug and acholol testing did not only apply to work on live tracks,but even on CTRL when under construction. In fact it even applied on the Gatwick Line when the track was closed for 16 days.
     
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    Last edited: Feb 12, 2019
  8. Verbarthe
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    Verbarthe WARLORD

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    I much prefer driving long distances at night simply because the roads are quieter . That said , about forty five years ago I used to drive Taxis part time and every Sunday I used to take a Fishing Boat Crew from Buckie to Lochinver , much of the roads were single track from Ullapool onwards and in the summer it was simply a Stunning overnight drive simply because it hardly got dark (Winter was a different animal altogether ) . Used to see Deer at the roadside , beautiful scenery , it really was a great drive . Worst part was I had to be at work in Elgin for 7am but I always made it in time . The car was a MK4 Zephyr 6 ( not mine ) and latterly a Morris 1800.
     
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  9. Mieke
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    Mieke WARLORD Site Supporter

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    I take it from that comment you prefer the Zenons? Won't the lights on your car be LED's rather than LCD's?
    I like that. (y) It reminds me of when I had Austin Healey 3000's. I hardly ever had the hood up, even in the rain. :driving:
     
  10. Abh29
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    Abh29

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    Drove over part of the EVO late one night last year got talking to a couple out with a 100/4 and 100/6 unfortunately the 100/4 was not running very well so they were taking it rather steady.The Z3 is really very warm ,being small with the normal e36 size heater,electric seats were standard.and if cooler I have the rear up.
     
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    Last edited: Feb 13, 2019
  11. pinewood
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    pinewood

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    Now you got me thinking about the NC500 in the Boxster #todolist
     
  12. slim_boy_fat
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    slim_boy_fat WARLORD Site Supporter

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    Choose your time of year carefully then, or you'll find progress frustratingly slow. Tourists [many foreign] in campervans, Club rallies [not the fast kind....the "admire my example" sort......:mad:] driving nose-to-tail et al. There was a press report last year where a Mini Owners' Club rally were doing just this, completely ignoring the very necessary passing places and growing a tail of frustrated motorists behind them - until they encountered a campervan coming the other way, the driver of which couldn't/wouldn't reverse. Result? Log jam. :frustrated: I have friends who live in Achmelvich [single-track, dead-end road] and they've given up trying to go out in high season unless it's absolutely necessary, such is the congestion on their stretch(es) of road.

    Don't get me wrong, it has bought business to the NC area, but only to those who offer accomodation and food [and a lot of the campervan van ones bring all their supplies with them, needing only toilet emptying facilities, newspapers, milk & bread] - folk who have to get around for work purposes think otherwise.

    I'm aware that a few Members on here have driven the route, see @Spuffington 's excellent report, so perhaps I'm just a grumpy auld fella.......:getmecoat:
     
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  13. K777
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    K777 WARLORD

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    he was probably in the back sorting his parcels, and his lane guidance not working o_O
     
  14. mach one
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    mach one WARLORD

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    @slim_boy_fat

    My other half keeps going on about doing the NC500 and is trying to talk me into doing it in Sept this year, i was quite keen at first but am not so sure now, i drive on narrow single track roads around rural mid wales and certainly know how to reverse but i would get frustrated by other people who have clearly never driven anywhere other than on city roads and motorways, it is easy to look down the road to see what is coming adjust your speed so that you meet a a point wide enough to pass or wait in the passing place

    many years ago i was staying near inverness and set off one morning to drive to john o groats, looking at the map it was about 140 miles so off we set and after two and a half hours we still had about 70 miles to go, i said this is crazy it is going to take us hours to get there at this pace so turned around and went back to where we were staying so we never got to JOG

    when were on sky everybody says how nice it is and i thought this looks the same as it does at home, I live in the hils and mountains and spend my working life trudging up hills so i dont get that excited with the Scottish highlands, I sound like a grumpy old man now :LOL::LOL:
     
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  15. Mieke
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    Mieke WARLORD Site Supporter

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    Pete McCarthy, the well known travel writer, sadly no longer with us, said one of his rules of travel was "Never bang on about how wonderful some unspoiled place is, because next time you go there, you won’t be able to get in". I think that is Illustrated very well by what has happened to the NC500. :(

    Far better to keep it to oneself and close friends. :whistling:
     
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  16. mach one
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    mach one WARLORD

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    no parcels to sort, it was a rail contractor working for Network Rail
     
  17. Mieke
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    Mieke WARLORD Site Supporter

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    Well you didn't miss much. The only thing at John o' Groats is a hotel, a sign post with the mileage to Lands End and a souvenir shack selling junk memorabilia to tourists.
     
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  18. slim_boy_fat
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    slim_boy_fat WARLORD Site Supporter

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    I actually have a dashcam video of the road into their place I could let you see....if I could find it and work out how to get it to show. But, here's a few screenshots of part of it - imagine meeting either a campervan or caravan on it with a driver who can't reverse.....:rolleyes:

    upload_2019-2-13_17-26-1.png

    upload_2019-2-13_17-29-35.png

    And just round the cover from their house.......

    upload_2019-2-13_17-35-13.png


    Exciting, eh? Especially if you're doing anything approaching 40 mph on the straight bits......:whistling: :D
     
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    Last edited: Feb 13, 2019
  19. slim_boy_fat
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    slim_boy_fat WARLORD Site Supporter

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    Aye, it's really been a victim of its own success. :(
     
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  20. mach one
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    mach one WARLORD

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    those roads are like motorways, we have sections where the stone walls are that close to the road you have to pull the wing mirrors in so you dont scratch them, i am sure you have the same up in the highlands

    a couple of years ago we stayed in Gweek in cornwall and my sister hated the roads around there as they were to narrow and she was not happy driving on them, i took the E60 down one road where the hedges were that tight they were brushing the sides of the car and that was it i never went down that road again as a week of driving up and down that lane the car would have had no paint left
     
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