DRIVING LESSONS

[Dennis McGuckin]

Hi John.
That could have been me writing your post.
Some good points there mate.
My pet hate are drivers who put on their turn single AFTER they have changed lanes.
I have always believed that the point of a turn signal is to indicate INTENT.
Also use you signal BEFORE you use your brakes. Saves confusion.
Jacyn,
Just put some roundabouts in our town.
Total confusion. No one knows how to use them. I have had a few near misses. They scare me every time I approach one.
If I can, I almost treat them as a stop sign.
Neville,
I had my driving test in Vancouver just after arriving in Canada.
I had just bought an automatic Chevy.Never driven one before. Keep moving my left foot feeling for the clutch.
Examiner asked me to slow down. I rolled down the window and did the English hand signal. He asked me who I was waving at.
Passed anyway. Only ever had little fender benders in nearly sixty years of driving [touch wood]
As our City on Vancouver Island has a high retirement population, one has to be aware of all the 'cue tips' driving around.[daughters word, not mine]
Den.
If only there were more like me.
Often say that to the wife. Will refrain from printing her reply.

[Lou Barron]

Yes John i do agree that some of the young females are mostly the ones who like to speed . Also there as been in the last few years the rise in female drivers who been over the limit for drunken driving

[Lou Barron]

I hope that the females on this site dont think i am picking on them about their driving
but it is a fact
I still love them all

[Jacyn Wade]

No worries, Lou. I too think most female drivers are abominable, especially the young ones.

Den, yes, isn't it great fun watching Canadians try to navigate roundabouts? I am also very wary when approaching these new roundabouts, and it'll be much worse in the summer when all the city folk make their way up here for vacations, etc, EEEEK!

[Keith at Tregenna]

Deepending on the the side of the road you drive in your own country, there really is not much to roundabouts lest you come across any thing like the magic roundabouts at Swindon and Hemel Hempstead in the UK. In event of this, do what they do in Rome and go that way.

The Magic Roundabout in Swindon, England was constructed in 1972 and consists of five mini-roundabouts arranged around a sixth central, anti-clockwise roundabout. It is located near the County Ground, home of Swindon Town F.C. Its name comes from the popular children's television series The Magic Roundabout. In 2009 it was voted the fourth scariest junction in Britain. GIVE UP ALREADY.

IN GENERAL: Roundabouts are about lane control and should have been covered early in all driving lessons ?

POSITION YOURSELF IN ANTICIPATION FOR THE CORRECT EXIT: NO PROBLEM !

Magic Roundabout (Hemel Hempstead)

The Magic Roundabout in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England is the familiar name given to the Plough roundabout. The familiar name comes from the children's television programme, and is also used for a similar junction in Swindon and the M40 junction in Denham. The official name relates to a former public house, called The Plough, which faced the junction between Lawn Lane and Two Waters Road.

When you get Magic Roundabouts reverse all instructions, or better give up and do what you can :

If you cannot cope with roundabouts do not attempt "Spaghetti Junction" which is a nickname sometimes given to a complicated or massively intertwined road traffic interchange that resembles a plate of spaghetti. The term was originally used to refer to the Gravelly Hill Interchange on the M6 motorway in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

K.

[happy daze john in oz]

In the town where I live, a population of about 33,000 we have about 90 roundabouts of varying size. Now worries mate if you want to use one, just make sure no other barsteward is on it when you want to use it. I have seen them go around the wrong way and there is one where regularly the cars just drive over it. But the driving instructors here have started atking stupid pills. If you are going straight through there is no need to make a signal according to our road laws. If turning then two signals one on , one off. But the new way, give a right hand signal if going straight through. If that don't confuse you nothing will.
But then we have the bicycle lanes, now that is something for another day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Keith Tindell]

On holiday in Devon earlier in the year , and met an American couple who were on their first visit to uk, i was full of admiration for them, they arrived at Heathrow, hire car, never driven on the (proper!!) side of the road before, no map, only the b@b directions in deepest Devon, and they found it OK!!!. The biggest surprise to them was roundabouts, especially the white painted dot in the middle of the junction, and the rash of speed cameras. the other surprise was he wanted to go to an English pub, which we did, and he was surprised that his pint was not warm!!, it seems that a lot of Americans believe we warm our beer up!, i explained to him our beer was room temperature. I remember when visiting the USA while at sea, and the annoying habit they had of having frosted glasses for the beer, and as you drank it thawed and dribbled down your shirt. Perhaps our crew members resident in USA could pass the word round that our beer is kept in a cellar, and not pre warmed, regards KT

[alf corbyn]

hi keith. i have used the hemel and swindon magic roundabouts. peice of cake with a 40 footer. people seem to give you right of way. haha. to neville and others. you have never been to ireland. i have never seen so many dents and bent bumpers anywhere else including south america and india. i think the car makers must send cars to ireland already dented.

[john sutton]

might have posted this before but take care if you holiday in spain and hire a car


Driving.Indicator lights are to make the corners of cars look pretty or to indicate a direction that the driver of the vehicle concerned has no intention of taking..
Always give way to the vehicle on the roundabout,unless it looks like a rental car full of tourists who have left their credit card details with the rental company,or you are driving a 4wheel drive with bullbars.It, s more fun on a roundabout if you start on the right-hand lane when you intend to take the third or fourth exit off it.It helps develop other drivers mind reading skills
One way streets are for foreigners,or locals who are not in a hurry.
Red traffic lights are optional with caution. Flashing amber lights with an arrow pointing right means that its ok to stay and chat to your pal in the next car until his light turns red.
Pedestrian crossings are merely a device to test the nerves of pedestrians or their faith in fellow man.From a motorist point of view it is a place that you can usually find to park.
Double parking.This is usually a bone of contention for non Spanish.It,s a wonderful Spanish tradition,because we can do it as well.Try double parking in a city in the UK and you,ll have a ticket before you have closed the car door.How civilised,you want a pack of cig,s or a postcard, double park the car and go and get it
I should mention that roundabouts are traditionally the place for two vehicles to stop and exchange pleasantries.
Signs that say “no left turn” onto a main road are placed there by an official with a wicked sense of humour.
Two wheeled motor vehicles are for people who have very little road sense and they ride them until they have lost this small amount of knowledge and can move onto a four
wheeled vehicle or have put themselves out of the picture altogether.
john sutton

[Robin Ellis]

Here up in our part of the Andes the police admit that the most frequently found driving offence is not having a driving licence

We have almost no road markings in town and rely on the fact that if you come to a junction you give way to anyone coming from the right (unless you are driving a huge lorry, a bus or you are a more macho driver or are looking at a young lady on the pavement or answering your phone).

We have some new things called roundabouts in town, but to let our drivers know what they are they have posted a sign with "Rotonda" (roundabout) by them - ss - then one saying "give way to the left" - but everyone carries on giving way to the right (think about it).

Great, and our saving grace is that everyone drives very slowly. They have to as the horses get in the way