I learned two things this morning

Kieran_Burns

1) My reactions are phenomenal
2) My car's brakes are VERY good

Driving into East Leake this morning the pavement on the left ends and starts on the right; there's two mothers, 3 walking children and a pram

Just before I get to them, the eldest lad (about 5 or 6 years old) runs out to cross the road (left to right) without looking, right in front of me. :shock:

The car had stopped before I'd even consciously registered that something had happened. The lad's mother THEN screamed and grabbed him back.

I stayed at a standstill and politely gestured that they should cross now (I figured it's safer to get them across while I'm stopped and nothing else is coming) So they do, I wind the window down and check they're okay - the poor lad is crying his eyes out, scared out of his mind.

So lesson learned and no one hurt, two grateful adults and one wiser boy.

Oh, and me feeling very good

The Rookie

Been there done that...yes its amazing how quickly an experienced driver can be on the brakes, long before what triggered it has really registered as 'thought'.

Well done, lesson learnt for that lad, I bet your car looked like an articulated bearing down on him, he'll look next time!

Simon

Wallace1492

What? No bike? :shock: :shock:

But really, well done. Had this myself in a car park, very slow speed but a kid just dashed in front.... I was stopped before I knew what happened, still a little scary.

Kieran_Burns

Wallace1492 wrote:

What? No bike? :shock: :shock:

But really, well done. Had this myself in a car park, very slow speed but a kid just dashed in front.... I was stopped before I knew what happened, still a little scary.

after last night's commute home I NEED a day off. I was dead on my feet last night

What was odd was that I had seen a fiesta speeding off into the distance shortly before this, but I'm religious about sticking to the limit in built up areas (especially around school time), not being preachy but this is why.

motopatter

good stuff

brown pants all round I bet

cee

it is strange that auto-reaction thing....you sat there wondering what happened....but knowing you must have hit the brakes really fast!

autopilot driving at its best!

bails87

The Beginner wrote:

Been there done that...yes its amazing how quickly an experienced driver can be on the brakes, long before what triggered it has really registered as 'thought'.

Ahem, I did this when I was learning to drive! A mum pushing a pushchair walked up to the edge of the road, the front wheels of the pushchair dropped down and the kid got dumped out into the road. And then on a lesson (ie, proper dual controls, not that they were used) a little kid ran out to get into the driver side of a car, again, I didn't squash anyone!

rolf_f

I was cycling up through Stanningley last week approaching a pelican crossing. There was a chavvy group waiting for the lights to change. They were stood on the pavement, the pushchair was in the road :shock:

snailracer

Still waiting for ABS for bikes.

bails87

snailracer wrote:

Still waiting for ABS for bikes.

But skids are kewl!

snailracer

bails87 wrote:

snailracer wrote:

Still waiting for ABS for bikes.

But skids are kewl!

Only on the back wheel

EKE_38BPM

Rolf F wrote:

I was cycling up through Stanningley last week approaching a pelican crossing. There was a chavvy group waiting for the lights to change. They were stood on the pavement, the pushchair was in the road :shock:

This is fine. Pushchairs have a protective aura around them and nothing bad can happen to a child in a pushchair.
This is why mothers (usually) push the pushchair out between parked cars when crossing a road.

I'll never forget once when I was young seeing a baby crawl out of the front door of a house which opened straight onto a dual carriageway (no front garden, just a foot path) and into the road. There must have been hundreds of pounds of rubber laid down as traffic braked and swerved to avoid the kid. Very scary.

Kieran_Burns

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

I was cycling up through Stanningley last week approaching a pelican crossing. There was a chavvy group waiting for the lights to change. They were stood on the pavement, the pushchair was in the road :shock:

This is fine. Pushchairs have a protective aura around them and nothing bad can happen to a child in a pushchair.
This is why mothers (usually) push the pushchair out between parked cars when crossing a road.

I'll never forget once when I was young seeing a baby crawl out of the front door of a house which opened straight onto a dual carriageway (no front garden, just a foot path) and into the road. There must have been hundreds of pounds of rubber laid down as traffic braked and swerved to avoid the kid. Very scary.

God, you've just reminded me of one our family "childhood memories"

When my elder brother was very young (I was just out of nappies) if he ever went missing my Mum would know to find him sat on the kerb by the busy A road watching the cars go past. He never went out into the road, just sat there watching the traffic.

Robstar24

some of these stories are really scary, my little one has just started crawling, looks like me and my wife will need to keep actual reins on him. thankfully we are moving to a house at the end of a cul de sac soon so at least no through traffic.

jds_1981

EKE_38BPM wrote:

This is fine. Pushchairs have a protective aura around them and nothing bad can happen to a child in a pushchair.
This is why mothers (usually) push the pushchair out between parked cars when crossing a road.

& peoples shins..

gtvlusso

**Applauds the reactions...

Now wants Kieran to try the same in a 2.25 ton automatic 4 x 4......hence I don't drive much!

bails87

gtvlusso wrote:

**Applauds the reactions...

Now wants Kieran to try the same in a 2.25 ton automatic 4 x 4......hence I don't drive much!

Why not drive something more sensible then?

snailracer

bails87 wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

**Applauds the reactions...

Now wants Kieran to try the same in a 2.25 ton automatic 4 x 4......hence I don't drive much!

Why not drive something more sensible then?

Like a bicycle?

gtvlusso

^^
Because I have 3 kids, 1 dog and cycle everywhere!

Car is rarely used, but when it is, usually loaded up to the gunnels; hence I have a behemoth....

Gotta laugh at this:

Great if you are inside, deadly if you are outside:

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/mercedes_ ... 2/145.aspx

bails87

gtvlusso wrote:

Gotta laugh at this:

Great if you are inside, deadly if you are outside:

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/mercedes_ ... 2/145.aspx

"Big car kills pedestrians and cyclists".



You're right, that's hilarious, the old ones are the best!

rjsterry

gtvlusso wrote:

^^
Because I have 3 kids, 1 dog and cycle everywhere!

Car is rarely used, but when it is, usually loaded up to the gunnels; hence I have a behemoth....

Gotta laugh at this:

Great if you are inside, deadly if you are outside:

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/mercedes_ ... 2/145.aspx

This is the one that's always trotted out as justification, but it's bobbins. I and my two brothers fitted reasonably comfortably into a normal family saloon (various over the years: Talbot Horizon, Volvo 740, Peugeot 405) for long drives to grandparents (2 hrs or 5 hrs) and cottage holidays around the UK. Admittedly we didn't have a dog, but an estate version would cope with this (unless you have a wolfhound or something). They have comparable safety for passengers but aren't such a danger for others.

/rant

notsoblue

rjsterry wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

^^
Because I have 3 kids, 1 dog and cycle everywhere!

Car is rarely used, but when it is, usually loaded up to the gunnels; hence I have a behemoth....

Gotta laugh at this:

Great if you are inside, deadly if you are outside:

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/mercedes_ ... 2/145.aspx

This is the one that's always trotted out as justification, but it's bobbins. I and my two brothers fitted reasonably comfortably into a normal family saloon (various over the years: Talbot Horizon, Volvo 740, Peugeot 405) for long drives to grandparents (2 hrs or 5 hrs) and cottage holidays around the UK. Admittedly we didn't have a dog, but an estate version would cope with this (unless you have a wolfhound or something). They have comparable safety for passengers but aren't such a danger for others.

/rant

Well people drive what they want to drive and will post-rationalise it with their circumstances after. Having a car like that sends a message that the owner wants others to hear :P

EKE_38BPM

GTVLusso, deep down, do you really hanker after a Hummer?

notsoblue

EKE_38BPM wrote:

GTVLusso, deep down, do you really hanker after a Hummer?

Hummer would be perfect, something big and pugilistic that you can fit the whole tribe in.

EKE_38BPM

Some friends of mine have one of these:

3 adults, 3 kids their bikes and picnic stuff in comfort and you look cool.

Its also stuff full of toys for the kids (DVD player etc) and the adults (brilliant hi-fi, cruise control and small fridge). Its what I would buy rather than an M-Class (especially with a recall underway of the Merc).

gtvlusso

All fair points above....

I like it and I like owning it.
It was secondhand (i.e. recycling!)
road tax is fixed at £245
It is cheap to run - 38mpg at best and major service was £240 last week.
It is big and has very useable space
Has a plethora of gadgets including blu-ray DVD system, freeview TV sat nav and so on - built in.
It is comfortable over long distances
Leather - Mmmmmm
It does about 20 miles a week
Surprisingly easy to park (especially with the reversing camera and all around sensors).

Would love a big VW van, but I don't think they really are useable around town and the servicing costs and interval was ridiculous on the VW. 17,000 service interval on the Merc and it is very easy to work on/fix, essentially a van engine - changing disks and pads is a doddle. Did not want to run 2 cars as a family - would rather run one big one.

Only thing that bugs me is that I bought the efficient diesel @ 38mpg (not bad for a big truck). Always niggles me that I could not afford the 5.5 litre AMG V8 version when we were looking around - would rather really bug people than partially bug people with the old 4 x 4.

May save up the pennies for the latest ML63 AMG to really pi$$ off the green brigade...in fact......Seen one secondhand for £34,000 - Hmmmm.....

It is concerning that it is not great for pedestrians - but I guess most big vehicles will be pretty bad. Guess I had better be vigilent when behind the wheel.

gtvlusso

Back on topic/slight hijack:

Whats your cars euroncap rating?

Mine is:

4* for occupants
1* for pedestrians

Do you actually take this into account when buying a car? - I certainly did not, did not even consider it.

EKE_38BPM

My friends who have the VW live in the middle of nowhere in Cornwall, so around town isn't an issue for them. Well, I suppose it is, Launceston is a town and they shop there about once a week.
I've just remembered that they own two now. One white, one black. Both with alloys and tinted windows. Very, very cool looking vans.

I've seen lots of VW vans being used by builders etc around London, so they can't be that bad around town.

UndercoverElephant

gtvlusso wrote:

Back on topic/slight hijack:

Whats your cars euroncap rating?

Mine is:

4* for occupants
1* for pedestrians

Do you actually take this into account when buying a car? - I certainly did not, did not even consider it.

Mrs Elephant has a Mazda 5, for many of the reasons you listed. It's 5* inside, 2* out. I do consider safety as part of buying a car, but I think there's much more to safety than the crash ratings. Like, how easy would it be to avoid the crash, either by getting out of the way or by seeing clearly. The Mazda does well on all fronts.

bails87

Mine is 5 and 2.

Old one was 2 and 2:

:shock:

bails87

Mine is 5 and 2.

Old one was 2 and 2:

:shock: