Traffic lights

[hollyrescue]

I was amazed to find that drivers are being instructed NOT to indicate unless there is someone around to benefit, see the post "Indicators".
There is obviously a new way of moving off from traffic lights, there is the old way "I'll beat you you b******", and the new way. When the red light changes to that pretty yellow colour, consult the highway code, "proceed on the green with caution" it tells us. Ah! how do I proceed? get the owners handbook form the glove compartment, and look up "proceed", depress the clutch, just look at the picture in the book, select first gear by looking in book again, well that's remarkably like the abstract art on the top of the gear stick! Then move off, who cares about the great queue behind stuck on the outside lane also waiting to turn right whilst "I'll beat you etc. " comes thundering up your ar...sorry boot.
Ok I'm moaning again (grumpy old man?) but when it takes 10 seconds for someone (usually first in queue) to move when lights are only green for 15 seconds, I do get a might peeved and it is increasingly common.
While all you wage slaves were earning my pension I was sitting in the countryside in glorious sunshine today watching my dog chasing.... well I don't know what, but she was doing it with enthusiasm.
Spring is sprung, the grass is riz I wonder where da birdies is.

 

[runboy]

I've often talked about this subject on various forums. I reckon traffic would flow quicker if people, er, went quicker. I'm not talking about speeding, merely move away from the lights when they change to green, don't wait for a gap large enough to get the QE2 into before you pull out of a junction. Treat a roundabout as a cog-move into the traffic flow, don't wait until 2am on Sunday morning before going.

And on the subject of lights, my two real pet hates:

1. OK, expect the light to change to red, the highway codes says you should anticipate the lights to change and be ready to stop. But don't travel up to them at 5mph, don't get to within 50 feet of a green light then brake heavily just in case they may change, but above all if you are doing 5mph when you reach the lights, and they do change to red-STOP. Don't keep going as this negates your caution. The number of driver I have seen recently just drift through red lights at 5mph....I just shut my eyes and wait or the crunch of metal.

2.Why do some driver choose the outside lane of traffic lights, where both lanes go straight on? There will be say 3 cars in the left lane, you go in the right lane ready to make swift get away. Chum drifts into your lane (usually cut me up). Lights change to green.....and there off at 2mph, increase to 10mph if I am lucky. By now not only 3 cars in the left lane, but the entire Tesco car park has come and gone in the left lane. For goodness sake, why are you such a mean and unthoughtful git that you want to hold other people up?

But to counter what I say in point 1. above, the number of drivers I have had in the past months who will pull out in front of me on a 40/60mph road and then SLOWLY build up to 30mph. I had an old fart (sorry to use such terminology but I'm still angry now) who pulled out in front of me whilst I was doing 40mph, and then had the cheek to start waving his arms around when he saw I was now a foot from his bumper, trying to hall my speed down and crash into the back of him. He then decides to turn right, but unfortunately my powers of telepathy were not working that day, so despite him not using an indicator I should have known he wanted to turn right. How stupid of me.



Steve - A couple of A2's, then a Corolla, now an Avensis T3-X 2.0 Auto

 

[hollyrescue]

Aren't we miserable old gits? So it's not only me!
On a much brighter note and re my earlier post re you wage slaves earning my pension. I owe you all a big thank you on behalf of my wife who has just received notice of an increase in pension of 10p per week. We would like examples of how to spend it wisely.

 

[Rob Earl]

Is it really worth writing to inform people of a 10p/week rise?

It's Sunday tomorrow, you know what that means. Slow gits out for a drive or daughters taking their parents out for lunch - very slowly incase they break a hip going round a corner. I'm not ageist - it's just what I observe.

Don't drink drive! Not only is it socially unaceptable, it also harms A2's.
Was a Merlot Red 1.4SE petrol originally.
Now an Ebony Black 1.4SE petrol with Red Leather, CC, Symphony + all the previous options we had.

 

[Will]

The stamp on the letter would have cost more than the pension rise.......it's government madness.

2004 1.4 TDi (90) SE, Cobalt Blue, Climate control, Cruise control, DIS, Sport seats, Winter pack, Symphony II.

 

[hollyrescue]

21p stamp! I've just found out that the Gov will give pensioners £200 towards council tax, but the same recipients will lose £50 off the winter fuel payment. You didnt hear Gordon announce that!!!
Rob, it's Sunday, every main road around here is grid locked, Tesco and B&Q shoppers mainly, but extensive road works as well (road works are permanent around here and are designed to complement each othe rto cause max disruption). Last year B&Q advertised cheap garden plants, nothing moved at all for ages, solid gridlock!!!
Also there is an accident blackspot on the A12, just after leaving the M25, the traffic lights are often out of order for Months (normally weeks) now that TFL(transport for London) maintain them, when it was Dept of Transport they were repaired sameday. This adds to the gridlock.
I never venture far on the roads at Bank holidays, the A12 is solid with people going to the East Coast and Norfolk (I don't know why, its the land of many different speed limits in the space of 100 yards), together with shoppers for Lakeside, and people forced off the M25 because of crashes. I also advise people not to visit us for the same reason.