The Highway Code - Customer Reviews...

[jibberjabber25]

A flavour of driver's attitudes towards safe driving.

I was quite surprised to find this vitriol in Amazon.co.uk's customer reviews of The Highway Code.

These are the rules of the road but they are blissfully idealistic. If you follow this book to the letter you will not last long on the roads in the real world. The stopping distances quoted are pre-disc brakes and the rest of the book advocates courtessy behind the wheel (you'll basically be walked over by everyone else on the road and stuck in a side turning trying to join the main carriageway for longer than necessary.) which doesn't work in the real world. The copy I have doesn't say anything about the GATSO revenue generators neither.

This is the bible for those learning to drive. Read it from cover to cover three times before taking your driving test, then when you pass do what the rest of us do and throw it away and concentrate on how to drive in the real world as opposed to the utopia visualised by this manual. Oh, and the braking distances quoted are still magnificently inaccurate!

BUT ... There is hope...

This is the best value book you will ever buy and possibly the only one that could save your life. The English are probably better at social responsibility and care that any other race in the world and this goverment sponsored book is the proof. Dont go on the road without it. Excellent, 5 stars.

Taken from here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 55-6459801

[kevdyas]

I think these are a fine example of why compulsory re-testing should be introduced!

Kevin.

[Nigel]

I think these are a fine example of why compulsory re-testing should be introduced!

Kevin.

Possibly, but I think the highway code is pretty dire.

Its out of date and doesn't contain enough of the real "rules" of the road.

[kevdyas]

Maybe so but even if the 'real' rules of the road did appear it would take 2 generations for the majority to know about them!

Kevin.

[MiniClubmanEstate]

I would personaly welcome an anual test. The profit made on the tests could be used to improve public transport for those unintersted in driving.

The main issue is that a lot of people who drive find it stresfull, they need better public transpport so that only those who enjoy driving would be left driving and constantly trying to better them selfs and those who don't like driving would be able to relax and enjoy being taken home by some other means.
It would possibly help if the highway code was sold as a package including Driving the essensial skills by the DSA, but I wonder how often most drivers revise the highway code?

[Nigel]

I hadn't looked at it for twenty years plus before becoming interested in advanced driving, I doubt I am unusual.

[kevdyas]

but I wonder how often most drivers revise the highway code?

The same number who are likely to buy Driving, The Essential Skills I would imagine

Ignorance has taken over the majority of the motoring public in the UK - they know that they don't know and don't give a s**t.

Kevin.

[Nigel]

but I wonder how often most drivers revise the highway code?

The same number who are likely to buy Driving, The Essential Skills I would imagine

Ignorance has taken over the majority of the motoring public in the UK - they know that they don't know and don't give a s**t.

Kevin.

And did we before we became converted ?

I'll openly admit I didn't give a dam !

[kevdyas]

but I wonder how often most drivers revise the highway code?

The same number who are likely to buy Driving, The Essential Skills I would imagine

Ignorance has taken over the majority of the motoring public in the UK - they know that they don't know and don't give a s**t.

Kevin.

And did we before we became converted ?

I'll openly admit I didn't give a dam !

I think I did, fresh out of the 'L' Test.

What converted you?

Kevin.

[Nigel]

Things were very different when I started to ride/drive (god I'm sounding so old !)

Safety was for girlies/vicars.

I was a young man in the military, the largest percieved threat to myself at around that time was Patrick with his briefcase or a well known bunch of corned beef merchants annexing local islands.

After military service, I was working for a company that offered to pay for its engineers to do advanced driving with the IAM, not only would they pay for the course but they would pay at overtime rates for the time you spent doing the course.

I didn't bother ( and here's me posting on this forum asking why young people aren't interested ), to gain my interest at the time, things either needed twiddly bits and a skirt, or two wheels and a large engine.

I became interested in advanced driving when the rules surrounding driving whilst being a diabetic started to take a turn for the worse, and the taffia started to become interested in the fact that my four wheeled licence had been granted by the mod, not the mot ( a practice that I am led to believe has stopped).

I only did my civvy motorbike licence as I was posted to Germany for a while, so a bike larger than 250 cc would be advantageous, plus the air force although generally not harrasing us, did point out that we weren't supposed to be riding "abroad" on a provisional licence ( it wasn't blndingly obvious to people, as we didn't bother displayng L plates, we were young and tough, and above all that m'larky lol , and the bikes were on special number plates, so we wern't subject to civvy plod scrutiny).

Once I had done my advanced I thought wow thats good, ( I probably learnt more than most, not having done a proper driving course to start with), and have been involved ever since.

Now I have the job of interesting young people with the same thoughts I had !

[jibberjabber25]

I have always "gived a dam", but that's probably because I have not been experienced behind the wheel. I'm starting IAM with a year's experience, so I really haven't had time to think I'm God's gift to motoring or anything like that.

Anyhow, I always want to do things correctly and stick to the rules, and I often scare myself (and others!) when I make mistakes, so I thought advanced driving would be right for me right now.

Also I really enjoy driving, I'm just a pack of nerves behind the wheel because I'm sometimes not sure whether I'm doing something wrong/right and this is where the stress of driving comes into it for me. Lack of confidence in whether I'm doing something correctly/incorrectly.

Hopefully advanced driving will help me with that (when I start in a week's time).

[MiniClubmanEstate]

I've been interested from as soon as I became a learner. I passed the L test first shot with 3 minors and went strait onto pass-plus. Now that I've been fully licenced for just over a couple of years I've decided that it's time to take my driving to a higher level although I've always done my best to keep improving / learning.
I

I always want to do things correctly and stick to the rules

I'm totaly with you there.
The other thing about me is I drive Mini's and my dad believes that my driving improved considerably once I bought Smoky (That's my Mini Estates name ) .I don't understand that myself, I may just connect better with my current car.

[TripleS]

but I wonder how often most drivers revise the highway code?

The same number who are likely to buy Driving, The Essential Skills I would imagine

Ignorance has taken over the majority of the motoring public in the UK - they know that they don't know and don't give a s**t.

Kevin.

And did we before we became converted ?

I'll openly admit I didn't give a dam !

It wasn't like that for me. I was a car enthusiast from an early age, but my general interest in cars faded away a few years ago. As for driving, I've always had a very keen interest in that, an enthusiasm that survives to this very day, indeed more now than ever - and that is despite all the discouraging factors confronting us.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[wenlocksimon]

This may come as a shock, but this is a Welshman being honest!

Over the last - say - eight years, I was becoming more and more exasperated (expletive......... not used) with the number of drivers that seemed to have mislaid their brain prior to getting behind the wheel. At first, it was limited to the simple stuff like inappropriate speed and, indeed sometimes, lack of it. It then subsequently progressed to other things such as lane discipline / the discretionary use of indicators / blatantly agressive and pointless manoeuvres etc. To such a point where I was constantly getting pished off with - say - 60% of other drivers on the road, and I started asking myself questions as to my driving ability! Was I the one in the wrong? Do I need re-training? Was I swimming against the tide?

In the quest to find some on-line answers, I happened across this forum.

Deep, deep joy.

Despite having not looked at the HC for 17 years since my DSA test, I found that - although my application of the theories was, well, lacking - my thinking and general IAM-Free skills were there or thereabouts. Since which time, the information gleaned from you fine people have, I feel, made me a better and more conscientious driver. How else could I have survived 2 trips to Italy without the wife bollocking me once?

Anyhoo.

Quest No.1 for this fine new year? Achieve IAM status. As someone else said on this fine on-line tome there is no substitute for real life training. So that is what I will do. Updates as required.

In the meantime, the HC quotes a distance of 96m for a car travelling at 70mph. 21m of which is the thinking distance. 75m being the stopping distance. Assuming that the thinking distance is "finite", should not the stopping distance be adjusted for cars with modern braking systems?

Whatever............................

................ wishing everyone; postees, administrators, and moderators alike

A very happy and safe, driver-focused, new year!

[vonhosen]

In the meantime, the HC quotes a distance of 96m for a car travelling at 70mph. 21m of which is the thinking distance. 75m being the stopping distance. Assuming that the thinking distance is "finite", should not the stopping distance be adjusted for cars with modern braking systems?

Well I'd argue that the thinking distance isn't necessarily finite. In the highway code they are using an average "reaction" time of 0.7secs. But if we use accurate observation, anticipation & planning we can eliminate our "reactive" driving.

With regards to braking distances, they will all vary hugely on the efficiency of the brakes, how much deceleration can be achieved with regard to the surface etc etc. There are vast differences in cars abilities.