What are your reading habits?

[shalym]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Having owned both, I think personally that a manual car gives the driver a lot more control than an automatic. The human brain is a much better judge of what the appropriate gear is for a particular situation than a machine. Eg, if you need to get out of an emergency situation fast, with a manual car you can select a lower gear a lot more quickly than an automatic gearbox can respond. When I had an automatic car, I never really felt that I was in control of it the way I do with a manual.

...But if you are coming off of a freeway and the exit ramp has a sharp curve, how do you make the sharp curve while you're downshifting?

Shari

--note: This is to demonstrate the point that sharp curves are able to be negotiated one-handed. Also note that I do own a manual transmission car, and I am able to do this regularly. I am also able to make the sharp right turn into my driveway one handed if needed.

Shari

[cvkemp]

You shift then put both hands back on the wheel and make the curve. It is called planning ahead. Driving is like chess you always have as mean possible moves ahead of time as you possibly can.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by shalym

...But if you are coming off of a freeway and the exit ramp has a sharp curve, how do you make the sharp curve while you're downshifting?

Grip steering wheel firmly with teeth, left foot on clutch, left hand on gearstick, and the yoga contortion to get my right hand to the indicators just naturally drags my head down making the turn a breeze.

Right turns are tricky though.

Originally Posted by shalym

Shari

--note: This is to demonstrate the point that sharp curves are able to be negotiated one-handed. Also note that I do own a manual transmission car, and I am able to do this regularly. I am also able to make the sharp right turn into my driveway one handed if needed.

Shari

[shalym]

Originally Posted by cvkemp

You shift then put both hands back on the wheel and make the curve. It is called planning ahead. Driving is like chess you always have as mean possible moves ahead of time as you possibly can.

What if the entire ramp is the curve? There are many off and on ramps in New England where the entire thing is one big curve, or even worse, an s-turn. So you are either going from 65-70 MPH down to 30 MPH while turning, or from 30 up to 65-70.

Some of the on ramps even dump you directly into the left lane of the highway ... those are REALLY fun.

Shari

[Geralt]

This thread turned into a driving lesson....what was the original question again?

[Cinisajoy]

Oh HarryT,
I owe you an apology. It dawned on me at 3 this morning that your UK left turns are US right turns as far as traffic is concerned.
So my apologies.

[MickeyC]

When I was living in England back in the 70's, my mom and dad came over to visit. One day, my mom borrowed my car to go somewhere and get her hair done. And she did fine till she got to the round about on the A1 where she went the wrong way. A truck driving south almost hit her but managed to jam on his brakes and looked at her while rolling down his window.

My mom thought, 'oh, here it comes'. But, when the driver got the window down, he looked at her and said, "Wrong country old dear!" When my mom got home, she said, " I like it here"

[Phogg]

I have worked hard for days not to post this.
I can't take it anymore.



Nuns in their reading habits.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by MickeyC

When I was living in England back in the 70's, my mom and dad came over to visit. One day, my mom borrowed my car to go somewhere and get her hair done. And she did fine till she got to the round about on the A1 where she went the wrong way. A truck driving south almost hit her but managed to jam on his brakes and looked at her while rolling down his window.

My mom thought, 'oh, here it comes'. But, when the driver got the window down, he looked at her and said, "Wrong country old dear!" When my mom got home, she said, " I like it here"

When I got directions. The person used a phrase: "Just over the Roundabout", then they considered us (US drivers) and amended: "Go around to the exit on the other side" (I knew what they meant, but seeing many US drivers in action , I understan the caution. We have had 3 vehicles in the last few years, turn ONTO the train RAILS because the GPS said "Turn Right Next " )

I love roundabouts. The UK knows how to move traffic on small roads (and the drivers, actually know how to DRIVE and not just aim the car).

[murg]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Clearly, John, "standards" (by which I'm guessing you mean cars with manual transmissions?) are not the issue here. The US has pretty much the highest road accident death rate in the western world despite 95% of American cars being automatic. The explanation for this high death rate must lie elsewhere.

Because the Americans are driving on the wrong side of the road?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by murg

Because the Americans are driving on the wrong side of the road?

Why would driving on the other side of the road lead to a higher death rate? I asked you before, but you didn't answer my question: did you look at the statistical data I provided a link to? Had you done so, you would have seen that most western nations, the majority of which drive on the right, as the US does, have hugely lower road death rates.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Here's an example of a woman being prosecuted for drinking from a bottle of water while her car was stopped at traffic lights:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/774655.stm

I'm unable to discover what the outcome of the court case was, but this goes to show that you can indeed be fined for drinking water in a stationary vehicle.

She didn't just drink at a red light, she was still holding the bottle as she started off from the lights.

She was convicted and got a £40 fine and £50 costs.

[Edit: I see others got there before me. I really should read to the end of a thread before posting!]

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by HarryT

My car is a bright yellow Mini Cooper. I love it .

Yellow car!

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Why would driving on the other side of the road lead to a higher death rate? I asked you before, but you didn't answer my question: did you look at the statistical data I provided a link to? Had you done so, you would have seen that most western nations, the majority of which drive on the right, as the US does, have hugely lower road death rates.

Forget driving on the other side of the road :-
texting while driving is still allowed in a couple of states
hand held phones can be used in about 85% of them.
72% of all passenger vehicle deaths had blood alcohol content of 0.08 or more (UK Limit)
45% were not wearing a seat belt
10% of all fatal accidents involve a tree
Another 10% include some other stationary object


If you look at the UK stats the big change is in the years 2007-2010 where the % dropped by 7.1,13.8,12.5 & 16.7 respectively.
So it looks like the main drop in the UK rate is due to getting points on your licence for using a mobile (Used to be just a fine prior to this). Unless anyone can think of anything else that happened in 2007 - smoking ban in pubs possibly.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

If you look at the UK stats the big change is in the years 2007-2010 where the % dropped by 7.1,13.8,12.5 & 16.7 respectively.
So it looks like the main drop in the UK rate is due to getting points on your licence for using a mobile (Used to be just a fine prior to this). Unless anyone can think of anything else that happened in 2007 - smoking ban in pubs possibly.

Possibly a change in social attitudes to drink driving? I know that in my younger days it was illegal, but not regarded as "wrong", to have a few drinks and then drive home from the pub. These days most people would regard anyone convicted of drink driving with disgust.

In the 10-year period from 2004 to 2013 (the latest available data), alcohol-related road accident fatalities more than halved:

2004: 580
2005: 550
2006: 560
2007: 410
2008: 400
2009: 380
2010: 240
2011: 240
2012: 230
2013: 240

The big reduction occurred between 2007 and 2010, which fits in with your dates.

Source: Reported drinking and driving statistics tables, produced by the Department for Transport

If you look at the corresponding data for the US, there appears to have been no appreciable reduction in the same time period.