An epidemic of insanely slow drivers
Discussion
MKnight702 said:
Yep, black boxes are an absolute curse. They only have simple accelerometers and simple GPS to log speed, so all they measure is how fast you accelerate, how hard you corner and how hard you brake (oh and speed of course). Do any of these too much or too sharply and its a black mark on your copybook. No context at all. Brake hard to avoid a child running into the road, black mark. Swerve to avoid an idiot pulling out without looking, black mark. Accelerate away from the lights, black mark. As for speed, exceed the limit by a small margin too many times and bang, insurance cancelled. Oh, and misreporting is also a problem. Go over a speedbump and it can trigger as acceleration or braking (good job that speedbumps are few and far between eh).
My daughter had a black box once (never again) and reading the reviews, unfortunately after the fact, reported many issues for drivers. One chap had an issue with the glue holding the black box in place failing and the box falling off, this got reported by the system as a crash. The glue turned out to be a faulty batch but still the insurance company decided that it was the responsibility of the driver to pay for a replacement black box or face having the insurance cancelled.
In the quest for absolute safety (Vision Zero), mandatory black boxes must be on the horizon. Then we will all be Driving Miss Daisy My daughter had a black box once (never again) and reading the reviews, unfortunately after the fact, reported many issues for drivers. One chap had an issue with the glue holding the black box in place failing and the box falling off, this got reported by the system as a crash. The glue turned out to be a faulty batch but still the insurance company decided that it was the responsibility of the driver to pay for a replacement black box or face having the insurance cancelled.
Here's some tips on how to conduct yourself: https://www.wisedriving.com/blog/black-box-car-ins...
MKnight702 said:
Yep, black boxes are an absolute curse. They only have simple accelerometers and simple GPS to log speed, so all they measure is how fast you accelerate, how hard you corner and how hard you brake (oh and speed of course). Do any of these too much or too sharply and its a black mark on your copybook. No context at all. Brake hard to avoid a child running into the road, black mark. Swerve to avoid an idiot pulling out without looking, black mark. Accelerate away from the lights, black mark. As for speed, exceed the limit by a small margin too many times and bang, insurance cancelled. Oh, and misreporting is also a problem. Go over a speedbump and it can trigger as acceleration or braking (good job that speedbumps are few and far between eh).
My daughter had a black box once (never again) and reading the reviews, unfortunately after the fact, reported many issues for drivers. One chap had an issue with the glue holding the black box in place failing and the box falling off, this got reported by the system as a crash. The glue turned out to be a faulty batch but still the insurance company decided that it was the responsibility of the driver to pay for a replacement black box or face having the insurance cancelled.
I’m not completely convinced by this. My daughter had a black box once (never again) and reading the reviews, unfortunately after the fact, reported many issues for drivers. One chap had an issue with the glue holding the black box in place failing and the box falling off, this got reported by the system as a crash. The glue turned out to be a faulty batch but still the insurance company decided that it was the responsibility of the driver to pay for a replacement black box or face having the insurance cancelled.
All drivers will inevitably have some harsh braking, rapid acceleration and speed bumps featuring on their driving records. Instances of speeding are easy for the system to pick up via gps, but even the best new drivers might get it wrong occasionally.
As far as I know Black Box policies are not invariably cancelled, so the insurance companies must apply some sensible metrics to the data. I assume points were/are used to fit customers to a bell curve, with the poorest drivers appearing in the extremes of the right hand tail.
If someone suffers from a lot of ‘misreporting’ compared to the average in the database, then might it be possibly connected with their driving skills?
MKnight702 said:
Yep, black boxes are an absolute curse. They only have simple accelerometers and simple GPS to log speed, so all they measure is how fast you accelerate, how hard you corner and how hard you brake (oh and speed of course). Do any of these too much or too sharply and its a black mark on your copybook. No context at all. Brake hard to avoid a child running into the road, black mark. Swerve to avoid an idiot pulling out without looking, black mark. Accelerate away from the lights, black mark. As for speed, exceed the limit by a small margin too many times and bang, insurance cancelled. Oh, and misreporting is also a problem. Go over a speedbump and it can trigger as acceleration or braking (good job that speedbumps are few and far between eh).
My daughter had a black box once (never again) and reading the reviews, unfortunately after the fact, reported many issues for drivers. One chap had an issue with the glue holding the black box in place failing and the box falling off, this got reported by the system as a crash. The glue turned out to be a faulty batch but still the insurance company decided that it was the responsibility of the driver to pay for a replacement black box or face having the insurance cancelled.
Reminds me of a young lad that used to work with me. His black box showed him driving at 35moh through a river (which is about 20ft deep) doing a 180 turn, then driving back through the same river. HE showed me the GPS traceMy daughter had a black box once (never again) and reading the reviews, unfortunately after the fact, reported many issues for drivers. One chap had an issue with the glue holding the black box in place failing and the box falling off, this got reported by the system as a crash. The glue turned out to be a faulty batch but still the insurance company decided that it was the responsibility of the driver to pay for a replacement black box or face having the insurance cancelled.
His insurance company would simply NOT have it that he hadn't driven that route! They were fking disgusting! And I have a degree of sympathy for the kids forced to use them just to get insurance at all!
I was joining the M11 northbound at the new(ish) Junction 7a at around 5pm today, single lane slip road.
All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
OzzyR1 said:
I was joining the M11 northbound at the new(ish) Junction 7a at around 5pm today, single lane slip road.
All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
I sometimes identify such people early and if there's no overtaking space on the slip may go around a roundabout again before joining to avoid being right behind them.All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
OzzyR1 said:
I was joining the M11 northbound at the new(ish) Junction 7a at around 5pm today, single lane slip road.
All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
I share your pain - WTF is wrong with people like that? All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
What you did was probably not exactly legal, but as two cars behind you did the same it was probably the safest option!
I've never understood why people don't seem to realise the safest way to join a busy road is to get up to the same speed on the slip road so you don't need to try to look for a huge gap that probably doesn't exist.
OzzyR1 said:
I was joining the M11 northbound at the new(ish) Junction 7a at around 5pm today, single lane slip road.
All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
100% illegal and unsafe, what if the "danger causing" car was having a medical emergency and needed to get in the hard shoulder at the time you and your pals decided to use 200m of it to skip traffic instead of adding a few seconds to your journey?All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
Saudade said:
OzzyR1 said:
I was joining the M11 northbound at the new(ish) Junction 7a at around 5pm today, single lane slip road.
All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
100% illegal and unsafe, what if the "danger causing" car was having a medical emergency and needed to get in the hard shoulder at the time you and your pals decided to use 200m of it to skip traffic instead of adding a few seconds to your journey?All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
KAgantua said:
Saudade said:
OzzyR1 said:
I was joining the M11 northbound at the new(ish) Junction 7a at around 5pm today, single lane slip road.
All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
100% illegal and unsafe, what if the "danger causing" car was having a medical emergency and needed to get in the hard shoulder at the time you and your pals decided to use 200m of it to skip traffic instead of adding a few seconds to your journey?All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
I was following someone doing 18mph in a 20 zone. Technically fine but they'd drop down to 16 on vague corners. It was tedious and such a waste of petrol as my car was in 3rd gear at 2000rpm. If they did 20, it would drop into 4th.
Thing is, I read this on another thread re black boxes for insurance purposes.
Driving Behaviour Score and Extreme Event Notifications
Some factors we use to interpret how safely the insured vehicle is being driven are speed, braking and time of day.
1. Speeding – frequently driving above the speed limit increases the likelihood of you having an accident. Driving not only in accordance with the speed limits but also at a speed appropriate for the road and conditions is the safest approach.
I'd probably drive at 15mph to avoid breaching 20mph!
Thing is, I read this on another thread re black boxes for insurance purposes.
Driving Behaviour Score and Extreme Event Notifications
Some factors we use to interpret how safely the insured vehicle is being driven are speed, braking and time of day.
1. Speeding – frequently driving above the speed limit increases the likelihood of you having an accident. Driving not only in accordance with the speed limits but also at a speed appropriate for the road and conditions is the safest approach.
I'd probably drive at 15mph to avoid breaching 20mph!
A long thread now! I posted early on and am now more convinced of the reason: overcrowding and bad road surfaces, particularly crumbling edges. Thus many drivers have become resigned to driving more slowly, and even apathetic. Yes, there will be those on a forum like this who tell of early morning blasts in a Caterham, or whatever, but many, many drivers have lost the will to drive rapidly. Average journey times in a good but unexceptional vehicle are increasing
OzzyR1 said:
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
Your junction has space to do that, try the A34, where the acceleration lanes are very short.Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3633749,-1.35804...
M4cruiser said:
OzzyR1 said:
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
Your junction has space to do that, try the A34, where the acceleration lanes are very short.Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3633749,-1.35804...
Hoofy said:
I was following someone doing 18mph in a 20 zone. Technically fine but they'd drop down to 16 on vague corners. It was tedious and such a waste of petrol as my car was in 3rd gear at 2000rpm. If they did 20, it would drop into 4th.
Thing is, I read this on another thread re black boxes for insurance purposes.
Driving Behaviour Score and Extreme Event Notifications
Some factors we use to interpret how safely the insured vehicle is being driven are speed, braking and time of day.
1. Speeding – frequently driving above the speed limit increases the likelihood of you having an accident. Driving not only in accordance with the speed limits but also at a speed appropriate for the road and conditions is the safest approach.
I'd probably drive at 15mph to avoid breaching 20mph!
Why not just drive at an indicated 20?Thing is, I read this on another thread re black boxes for insurance purposes.
Driving Behaviour Score and Extreme Event Notifications
Some factors we use to interpret how safely the insured vehicle is being driven are speed, braking and time of day.
1. Speeding – frequently driving above the speed limit increases the likelihood of you having an accident. Driving not only in accordance with the speed limits but also at a speed appropriate for the road and conditions is the safest approach.
I'd probably drive at 15mph to avoid breaching 20mph!
I’m sure people are over-thinking the Black Box thing. Extreme speed limit infractions possibly do get flagged and will lead to disciplinary action. Otherwise the metrics will be used to just build up a picture of that particular driver compared with the average on their databases (which will be refined more and more as time goes on).
The GPS tracker will have an instantaneous error of 2 or 3 mph either side of the true value anyway and the insurers will know they have to take this into account.
Saudade said:
KAgantua said:
Saudade said:
OzzyR1 said:
I was joining the M11 northbound at the new(ish) Junction 7a at around 5pm today, single lane slip road.
All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
100% illegal and unsafe, what if the "danger causing" car was having a medical emergency and needed to get in the hard shoulder at the time you and your pals decided to use 200m of it to skip traffic instead of adding a few seconds to your journey?All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
BunkMoreland said:
Reminds me of a young lad that used to work with me. His black box showed him driving at 35moh through a river (which is about 20ft deep) doing a 180 turn, then driving back through the same river. HE showed me the GPS trace
His insurance company would simply NOT have it that he hadn't driven that route! They were fking disgusting! And I have a degree of sympathy for the kids forced to use them just to get insurance at all!
My employers fleet vehicles have a black box fitted. I was called into the office for a rollicking. After I denied I was driving badly one of the Managers showed me the GPS trace from the black box… I said I’m not accepting that when it showed me driving through houses and a forest. Would that standard of evidence be accepted in court? His insurance company would simply NOT have it that he hadn't driven that route! They were fking disgusting! And I have a degree of sympathy for the kids forced to use them just to get insurance at all!
Foss62 said:
Hoofy said:
I was following someone doing 18mph in a 20 zone. Technically fine but they'd drop down to 16 on vague corners. It was tedious and such a waste of petrol as my car was in 3rd gear at 2000rpm. If they did 20, it would drop into 4th.
Thing is, I read this on another thread re black boxes for insurance purposes.
Driving Behaviour Score and Extreme Event Notifications
Some factors we use to interpret how safely the insured vehicle is being driven are speed, braking and time of day.
1. Speeding – frequently driving above the speed limit increases the likelihood of you having an accident. Driving not only in accordance with the speed limits but also at a speed appropriate for the road and conditions is the safest approach.
I'd probably drive at 15mph to avoid breaching 20mph!
Why not just drive at an indicated 20?Thing is, I read this on another thread re black boxes for insurance purposes.
Driving Behaviour Score and Extreme Event Notifications
Some factors we use to interpret how safely the insured vehicle is being driven are speed, braking and time of day.
1. Speeding – frequently driving above the speed limit increases the likelihood of you having an accident. Driving not only in accordance with the speed limits but also at a speed appropriate for the road and conditions is the safest approach.
I'd probably drive at 15mph to avoid breaching 20mph!
I’m sure people are over-thinking the Black Box thing. Extreme speed limit infractions possibly do get flagged and will lead to disciplinary action. Otherwise the metrics will be used to just build up a picture of that particular driver compared with the average on their databases (which will be refined more and more as time goes on).
The GPS tracker will have an instantaneous error of 2 or 3 mph either side of the true value anyway and the insurers will know they have to take this into account.
Saudade said:
OzzyR1 said:
I was joining the M11 northbound at the new(ish) Junction 7a at around 5pm today, single lane slip road.
All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
100% illegal and unsafe, what if the "danger causing" car was having a medical emergency and needed to get in the hard shoulder at the time you and your pals decided to use 200m of it to skip traffic instead of adding a few seconds to your journey?All 3 lanes busy as expected at rush hour on a Friday, but would be no issues with merging into Lane 1 if doing 50-60mph as normal.
Car in front got slowly to 45mph halfway down the slip, then stopped accelerating.
By the time we were going past the hatched markings, their speed was down to 35-40mph.
Genuinely thought I was going to get caught up in a bad accident as it was obvious from weight of traffic that HGV's had no way of moving into Lane 2 to avoid a vehicle doing 20mph less pulling out in front of them.
Took a snap decision to undertake on the left & join the hard shoulder for 200m so I could get to a speed that allowed me to safely join the main carriageway.
Not sure of the legalities of this manoeuvre, but I'd do the same again as it seemed a seriously dangerous situation at the time.
The two cars behind followed me, no idea what happened to the idiot who thought attempting to join a busy motorway at under 40mph was a good idea.
The junction in question, but with a lot less traffic than earlier today.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7898514,0.170866...
OzzyR1 said:
I was there, you were not but feel free to invent any variety of potential scenarios you wish.
Yeah, you're right, because I've never driven down a slip road where someone has slowed/stopped at the end before. I'll slot down the hard shoulder if I ever do experience such a dangerous situation myself. I doubt with only 10s of cars that anyone would go in it anyway and if they need to, stuff em, I've got somewhere to be.swisstoni said:
What would you have done?
Usually I don't tailgate down the slip road so I'm not sure, but I think I would have used the brake pedal, but now I'll drive down the hard shoulder after thinking about it some more.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff