how is it?

by **nodigitsever** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 12:30 am

that we keep hearing of Foreign HGV drivers causing Death and mayhem over here in Great Britain yet never hear about British HGV drivers causing mayhem over in Europe?

Driving standards maybe?
if so then i for one do NOT want Foreign drivers over here threatening my Life thank you very much!

if this is the case our Government have Blood on their hands!

by **ROG** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 4:37 am

Thought - are UK drivers taking right hand drive trucks abroad or left hand drive ones :?:

by **ExadiNigel** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 10:30 am

If we stop allowing foreign drivers to drive over here, then they will retalliate and not allow British drivers to drive over there! Bit pointless really!

The EU is improving standards across Europe.

Nigel

by **Red Herring** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 12:42 pm

Just as a matter of interest how often do you tune into the Polish national news channel, or read the Spanish daily? The point being how do you know British drivers are not involved in crashes abroad? A nasty incident involving a foreign driver my be newsworthy over here but is it reported in their home country? Likewise if an Italian coach rolls down a hill in Sardinia killing British tourists it makes the news here, but a British lorry driver falling asleep in Greece.....I doubt it.

by **MGF** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 3:19 pm

adiNigel wrote:The EU is improving standards across Europe.

Nigel

That is true but has harmonisation had a detrimental effect on road safety in the UK in that the minimum standard for harmonisation is never the highest?

Also different member states have had different attitudes towards, for example, drinking and driving. In the UK our limit is higher than most but enforcement is much more strict.

So although road safety is improving in the EU as a whole the UK, with traditionally very good road safety, has probably suffered a bit in the process.

by **martine** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:07 am

I think it's very wrong that EU car drivers can live in this country and automatically qualify to drive in the UK until aged 70. I don't believe driving standards in some EU countries are anything like those in the UK.

I think every car driver in the UK (who is not a tourist) should take a UK driving test (thery and practical).

I would like to see accident stats for foreign licence holders driving in the UK - anyone know if it's public?

by **ROG** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:07 pm

Wouldn't the easiest way to avoid all this be for the UK to drive on the right :?:

by **daz6215** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:35 pm

ROG wrote:Wouldn't the easiest way to avoid all this be for the UK to drive on the right

Or them on the left! :twisted:

by **MiniClubmanEstate** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:06 pm

ROG wrote:Wouldn't the easiest way to avoid all this be for the UK to drive on the right

A great deal of non U.K. European drivers employed by my previous employer had difficulty differentiating between the pavement to the road, never mind what side of the road they are on. The other one a great many of this group have difficulty with is that to slow down you use your own brakes and not those of the bus in-front, there were many rear ended buses through using an alternative slowing down technique used predominantly by this group. :roll:

by **ROG** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:09 pm

daz6215 wrote:
ROG wrote:Wouldn't the easiest way to avoid all this be for the UK to drive on the right

Or them on the left!

I think the UK is in the minority on this issue.

how many other EU countries drive on the same side as uk :?:

by **MGF** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:18 pm

three

and they are all islands....Ireland (sort of), Malta and Cyprus

by **TripleS** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 8:36 pm

In any case being an island makes our situation quite different from the continent, where they only have land borders separating them. I can see a degree of difficulty if they drive on one side of the road at one side of the border, and the other side of the road immediately after crossing the border.

Still, that would be their problem. We're OK as we are.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

by GS » Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:24 am

I used to patrol the M25/M1/A1(M) area a few years ago and there were regular (often daily) crashes involving LHD trucks. They were often in heavy traffic and it was proved that very often the car involved had been sitting in the truck's blind spot for some time prior to the truck changing lanes. I'm not suggesting that the car driver was to blame for the incident, but the car driver could have avoided the incident more often than not if they had understood and thought about what they were doing.

Some non UK driver's standards are not very good. Some UK driver's standards are also not very good. When the two meet.................

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