Only a fool breaks the two second rule ...
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This is the advice I gave my youngest the other day, who went to the Blackpool area for a few days away with his gf. He passed his test the day after he got his A level results, but had only done a couple of journeys on M-ways.
Just a few reminders about fast road driving.
Remember that one of your best friends when driving generally, but especially on motorways and faster roads is space.
Space gives you options: time to think and time to react to what is happening around you. Remember the 2 second rule and double it (or more) in bad weather. You can measure easily by waiting till the vehicle in front goes past a sign or under a bridge, then say "Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule." You should not pass the sign or go under the bridge before finishing saying the phrase.
Remember the stopping distance at 70mph is nearly 100m (you are nearly 2m tall) and it can double in wet weather and more than double in snowy or icy conditions.
Keep your wits about you and be aware of what other drivers around you are doing. In other words, be hazard aware. Remember when you have finished overtaking to return to lane one.
Use your 3 mirrors frequently and don't forget to glance over your shoulders to check blind spots. Don't forget to use your indicators.
When joining motorways, anticipate what others are doing and accelerate to match the speed of traffic already on the road.
When leaving, get in lane in good time. Do not be afraid to miss your junction if you do leave it too late. It's far better to miss it and have to re-route than risk having an accident.
Motorway driving is surprisingly tiring, so please stop for breaks. On the way up to the caravan, there are services on the M61 between junctions 6 and 8.
Drive safe and enjoy your time away!
Just a few reminders about fast road driving.
Remember that one of your best friends when driving generally, but especially on motorways and faster roads is space.
Space gives you options: time to think and time to react to what is happening around you. Remember the 2 second rule and double it (or more) in bad weather. You can measure easily by waiting till the vehicle in front goes past a sign or under a bridge, then say "Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule." You should not pass the sign or go under the bridge before finishing saying the phrase.
Remember the stopping distance at 70mph is nearly 100m (you are nearly 2m tall) and it can double in wet weather and more than double in snowy or icy conditions.
Keep your wits about you and be aware of what other drivers around you are doing. In other words, be hazard aware. Remember when you have finished overtaking to return to lane one.
Use your 3 mirrors frequently and don't forget to glance over your shoulders to check blind spots. Don't forget to use your indicators.
When joining motorways, anticipate what others are doing and accelerate to match the speed of traffic already on the road.
When leaving, get in lane in good time. Do not be afraid to miss your junction if you do leave it too late. It's far better to miss it and have to re-route than risk having an accident.
Motorway driving is surprisingly tiring, so please stop for breaks. On the way up to the caravan, there are services on the M61 between junctions 6 and 8.
Drive safe and enjoy your time away!
Probably the most dangerous of the tailgating fraternity ... the idiots.
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I despair of it sometimes. Just yesterday, me at a roundabout waiting to pull out and take a left. A car comes around at a ridiculous speed, no exaggeration, it was totally uncalled for. So he heads off in the same direction as me, I'm behind him. He sped along as far as he could, then slowed when he reached a few feet of the car ahead. Which couldn't go any faster if it wanted to cause of cars in front. Cue the tailgaters brake lights coming on, off, on off to maintain his x feet distance from the car in front.
I do get that in some cases the person will be in a genuine and valid rush to get somewhere, however it still doesn't excuse the above.
I use the M1 every day and the biggest problems in terms of driving style are:
All this is one of the reasons I started driving at 60 in lane one on motorways. My journeys are far less stressful.
- Sitting in lane two, seemingly avoiding an empty lane one.
- Simply driving too fast to properly anticipate the situation further ahead, or the potential actions of another driver
- Driving too close to the rear end of the vehicle in front
All this is one of the reasons I started driving at 60 in lane one on motorways. My journeys are far less stressful.
It's funny you saying that. I use dual carriageway once or twice a week and have always sat 70-75. For no reason I can pinpoint, the last couple of times I've sat at 60-65 and let the faster ones go by. As you say, it is less stressful, perhaps that's (subconsciously) why I was doing it.
Without anyone near me though, I'd still be at my usual 70-75.
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I think I posted on here some years back a case that I was FoS for. 3 lane motorway, pickup in lane 3, hatch back in lane 1, motorbike in 2. pickup nearly misses his exit and darts for it last moment, hitting the motorbike which bounced of the car in lane 1 before losing control and goes down. Car behind in lane 2 runs him over causing severe injuries. Did what I could with another FoS, police arrive and the pickup driver has done a runner while me and the other FoS were doing CPR. They pin the death on the guy following in lane 2. Causing death by careless driving, because he was driving too close to stop.
I was rear ended in September 2021 by a young kid, who had pulled out of his drive, less than half a mile back, after I drove past. He was not tail gating at the time I started to gently brake for stopped traffic ahead I had just reached under 40mph as I came round a gentle curve. A look in my rear-view mirror to see if the car behind was slowing in response and, to my horror, he was rapidly approaching at about 40mph whilst looking down at something in his lap/foot well. Knowing he was going to hit me, I braced myself against the impact by gripping my steering wheel and pushing myself back against my seat. A split second before he hit I saw the look of horror on his face as he tried to stop. He shunted my tow bar under my car, and two garages, plus my insurance company after seeing the dashcam footage and stills I took, said it would probably be a right off.
It took over 3 months, but the car got repaired. On the day, I thought I was just shook up a bit and took 2 days off work, (accident happened Wednesday, I had an x-ray at hospital on Thursday as felt stiff around neck & shoulder. Told no breaks, just soft tissue damage and 'maybe' a touch of whiplash). Told by boss to stay off Friday and come in Monday. Working in the office on Monday, (still feeling a bit stiff), and get a phone call from my wife to say Head Radiologist was reviewing last weeks' x-rays and I have actually got a fractured clavicle, (collar bone). Three weeks off work with my arm in a rigid sling and still suffering with my shoulder. Finally got £4,768. for it last month.
Roll back to January 2023, just over 15 months after that accident. Taking my wife to A&E at 7.00am on a wet and raining morning. Roads were single track in each direction as it was on the fringes of the town. Come to a roundabout and have to stop and wait. Another car pulls up behind and I notice he too is turning left as we both have indicators flashing. I get to move off, he has to wait for another car to go past coming from the right, that was turning right at the roundabout. This is all taking place in a 30mph area. After turning left there is another roundabout about 50 yards away and, as I was going straight, I kept to the left, no indicators flashing. Approaching the roundabout from the right, was an ambulance with lights and sirens on. Thinking he may be going to the hospital I presumed he would be turning right so stopped to give him right of way. Ambulance actually turned left on way to job. Suddenly there was an almighty bang and scraping as the guy who had been behind at the first roundabout, hit my rear offside corner with the right-hand side of his Jaguar, (think it was an XJ6 or something). Dash cam footage retrieved by the police from his car showed he hit me at 54mph. How the hell do you get to 54mph within 50 yards! As a result, my wife, who already has a spinal cage inside her neck, suffered severe neck injuries which have left her in constant pain, (more so than she suffered before), and she now has 'hidden migraines'. She does not get the headaches, instead she loses her ability to speak, or speak properly, for up to an hour or more. When this happens, it looks as though she is suffering from a stroke, as when her speech does start to return, she sounds like a 3 year old learning to read. We are still awaiting the outcome of her claim for that. Oh, and both cars were a total write off as a result.
These days when someone gets up my ar$e I simply ease off the pedal and let them get past at the first opportunity. I've always driven to the two second rule.
(Sorry for such a long post).
It took over 3 months, but the car got repaired. On the day, I thought I was just shook up a bit and took 2 days off work, (accident happened Wednesday, I had an x-ray at hospital on Thursday as felt stiff around neck & shoulder. Told no breaks, just soft tissue damage and 'maybe' a touch of whiplash). Told by boss to stay off Friday and come in Monday. Working in the office on Monday, (still feeling a bit stiff), and get a phone call from my wife to say Head Radiologist was reviewing last weeks' x-rays and I have actually got a fractured clavicle, (collar bone). Three weeks off work with my arm in a rigid sling and still suffering with my shoulder. Finally got £4,768. for it last month.
Roll back to January 2023, just over 15 months after that accident. Taking my wife to A&E at 7.00am on a wet and raining morning. Roads were single track in each direction as it was on the fringes of the town. Come to a roundabout and have to stop and wait. Another car pulls up behind and I notice he too is turning left as we both have indicators flashing. I get to move off, he has to wait for another car to go past coming from the right, that was turning right at the roundabout. This is all taking place in a 30mph area. After turning left there is another roundabout about 50 yards away and, as I was going straight, I kept to the left, no indicators flashing. Approaching the roundabout from the right, was an ambulance with lights and sirens on. Thinking he may be going to the hospital I presumed he would be turning right so stopped to give him right of way. Ambulance actually turned left on way to job. Suddenly there was an almighty bang and scraping as the guy who had been behind at the first roundabout, hit my rear offside corner with the right-hand side of his Jaguar, (think it was an XJ6 or something). Dash cam footage retrieved by the police from his car showed he hit me at 54mph. How the hell do you get to 54mph within 50 yards! As a result, my wife, who already has a spinal cage inside her neck, suffered severe neck injuries which have left her in constant pain, (more so than she suffered before), and she now has 'hidden migraines'. She does not get the headaches, instead she loses her ability to speak, or speak properly, for up to an hour or more. When this happens, it looks as though she is suffering from a stroke, as when her speech does start to return, she sounds like a 3 year old learning to read. We are still awaiting the outcome of her claim for that. Oh, and both cars were a total write off as a result.
These days when someone gets up my ar$e I simply ease off the pedal and let them get past at the first opportunity. I've always driven to the two second rule.
(Sorry for such a long post).
I drive most of the time, with almost no use of brakes - easy if you plan ahead.
I think, I have only ever had to change my brake pads once on all the cars I have had in over 35 years of driving. I usually keep my cars around 4-5 years before changing them, but because of driving at a safe distance, and anticipating ahead, I very rarely have to brake hard or for long. Let the cars weight slow it down by releasing the accelerator early.
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