Re: OT: So you want to learn to drive, eh?

On Thu, 09 Nov 2000 00:25:17 GMT, "Jan Kohl" <[email hidden]> wrote: >These quotes from the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles drivers' >handbook just killed me...no wonder we have such dunces on the roads...a few >choice excerpts... From my Suzuki motorcycle manual: "Do not operate your Suzuki motorcycle in confined spaces, such as inside your house." Tim

On Thu 09 Nov 2000 12:25:17a, Jan Kohl wrote: >These quotes from the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles >drivers' handbook just killed me<snip> Just to show that this sort of thing isn't confined to the US - here are some brilliant bits of insight from the [British] Highway Code: http://www.roads.detr.gov.uk/roadsafety/hc/index.htm "73. Before setting off. You should ensure that" ... "you know where all the controls are and how to use them before you need them". "110. Lane dividers. These are short broken white lines which are used on wide carriageways to divide them into lanes." (What will they think of next?) "133. Single-track roads. These are only wide enough for one vehicle." "141. You MUST NOT overtake" ... "after a 'No Overtaking' sign". "160. On approaching a roundabout" ... "decide as early as possible which exit you need to take" (as opposed to going round and round for ten minutes while you make your mind up - though given the size of some roundabouts, maybe it's a point...). "197. Large vehicles can block your view." X-ray specs, anyone? "204. Before you set off you MUST be able to see". Oh. "265. A level crossing is where a road crosses a railway line." "275. You MUST NOT park your vehicle where it would get in the way of trams". Nah, rubbish. Lots of room between tramlines... Mind you, although most of the stuff in the Code looks very obvious, it's frightening how many people seem to think "undertaking" (overtaking on the inside) is allowed on British motorways (which it isn't). So maybe this sort of advice is needed. -- David. (GPLRank handicap: -5.92) The GPL Scrapyard - http://www.hillclimbfan.f2s.com "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

These quotes from the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles drivers' handbook just killed me...no wonder we have such dunces on the roads...a few choice excerpts... "Single, solid, white lines are used as right-edge lines along the roadway and for guiding traffic traveling in the same direction. Single, solid, yellow lines are used as left-edge lines on divided highways. If you see the reverse, you are traveling in the wrong direction." Or plastered off your ass... "Studies show that the vehicle moving at a speed considerably below the posted limit is much more likely to cause or be involved in a crash than the vehicle moving at a normal speed. " Depends on if Dale Earnhardt is driving... "You cannot drive safely without good brakes." This one did surprise me... "Tires are important for stopping your vehicle. " As opposed to what? No tires? "If a vehicle sways freely, leans heavily to one side during a turn or seems to bounce continuously, there may be a problem with the suspension system." Another surprise...of course, it could be because you weight over 400 pounds and were just leaving the Jerry Springer show... "Night driving is much more dangerous than daytime driving because you cannot see as well at night" If someone hadn't discovered this by the time they were able to drive... "To obtain a driver license, you must be in good health." Darn...had these allergies for 3 weeks now! "Alcohol will first affect your judgement- you may think you can drive safely when you cannot." Of course, many people don't need alcohol to think that... Cheers! �� Jan Kohl �� SECURITY CONSULTANT The Pits - http://www.theuspits.com Castle Graphics - http://www.castlegraphics.com

| Mind you, although most of the stuff in the Code looks very obvious, it's | frightening how many people seem to think "undertaking" (overtaking on the | inside) is allowed on British motorways (which it isn't). So maybe this | sort of advice is needed. Not allowed but neccessary with the appalling lane hogs we have over here. If people stop driving at 50 in the middle and outside lanes when the inside is totaly free, then I'll stop undertaking them. I've never had this problem once when driving across europe. Its also interesting to note the number of people in the UK who think the speed limit is 40mph EVERYWHERE, be it a 70 zone or a 30 (or even 20) -- Cheers, Robin Lord - Trance DJ & Sim Racer. http://www.oppositelock.co.uk N�rburgring and Grand Prix Legends

On Thu 09 Nov 2000 06:42:31p, Robin Lord wrote:

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>| Mind you, although most of the stuff in the Code looks very obvious, >| it's frightening how many people seem to think "undertaking" >| (overtaking on the inside) is allowed on British motorways (which it >| isn't). So maybe this sort of advice is needed. > >Not allowed but neccessary with the appalling lane hogs we have over >here. If people stop driving at 50 in the middle and outside lanes when >the inside is totaly free, then I'll stop undertaking them.

<snip> Middle lane I accept, but I've never seen people doing it in both middle and outside lanes - but then I live nowhere near the M25... Well, I think what I was really getting at was the lack of lane discipline in the UK - which is really the same point as you're making. Having been involved in an accident caused by an undertaker, though, I find it hard to agree. You may not like the law, but it is the law. If people are doing 50 in the middle, than you'll damn well have to do 50 as well. As one of the more sensible bits of the Code says: "the speed limit is not a target". -- David. (GPLRank handicap: -5.92) The GPL Scrapyard - http://www.hillclimbfan.f2s.com "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

"David Buttery" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> On Thu 09 Nov 2000 12:25:17a, Jan Kohl wrote: > > >These quotes from the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles > >drivers' handbook just killed me > <snip> > > Just to show that this sort of thing isn't confined to the US - here are > some brilliant bits of insight from the [British] Highway Code:

<SNIP> And from the FIA's rulebook for Formula One cars( thanks to Atlas F1): "... rules - and the most interesting of these must surely take the 'most ridiculous regulation ever' prize. The rule states that 'when sitting at his steering wheel, the driver must be facing forward' " -- don New GPL Programs for the Converted Tracks: http://www.ianparker.co.uk/gpl/bapom/ You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.