I learned two things this morning

Kieran_Burns

Just to close this off:

I drove in again today at the same time as Tuesday and saw the lady (with pram) and little lad

He was walking on the inside of the path with his right hand FIRMLY holding the pram and his Mum between him and the road.

I did notice a double-take at me as I drove past so it looks like she remembers me as well

veronese68

Glad the lsson's been learnt. Regarding crash safety I doubt if anyone buys one car over another purely because it's better for running people over in. Internal safety would be a feature. The irony of people feeling safe in 4x4s is that they are worse at avoiding a crash in an emergency. High centre of gravity and lots of weight struggle with the laws of physics so stopping distances are more than they would be in the equivalent 'regular' car and swerving at speed is a problem.

bails87

I saw a kid yesterday here. The mum was standing next to the bench outside Superdrug (Streetview is broken here, so I can't get any closer, it looks like the driver took a wrong turn and the images from that were recorded!).

Anyway, mum was sorting out her shopping which was on the pushchair, and the young kid was standing just on the road (all the same height, but the pavement is slabs and the road is bricks) sticking his foot out. As if he was trying to take a really big stride, and 'froze' as soon as his forward foot hit the ground.

He was doing this while a car was driving, slowly, up the road towards him, it looked to me like he was either trying to get as close to the side of the car as possible, or trying to make the car stop. That or he wanted to know what it feels like to have your foot run over.

I'm sure the mum saw him doing it, but completely ignored it and left him to it, even as the car was crawling past at below walking speed. Stupid kid and an almost criminally negligent mother!

mudcow007

gtvlusso wrote:

Back on topic/slight hijack:

Whats your cars euroncap rating?

Mine is:

4* for occupants
1* for pedestrians

my mrs has a MX5 which i think has to be one of the unsafest cars int he world for the driver, the hinges for the roof are next to the side of your head so god help you if you ever got t-boned

4* drivers

1* for peds but unlike the merc, peds could jump over the MX5!!

EKE_38BPM

FYI, being able to avoid a crash (braking, swerving, being able to see properly etc) is known as primary safety.
Being safe in a crash (seat belt, side impact bars, airbags etc) is known as secondary safety.

Limburger

I had to do similar on a dark country road when a dear jumped out recently. Before I could recognize what it was in front on me I was screeching to a halt. Stopped about 50cm from Bambi where it just stood for a second before bounding off into the woods again.

Leaves you shaking a little (and stuck in gear) and I would dread to think what would have happened had I hit it - out in the middle of nowhere with a smashed car and a dead dear.

Oh, my car has no secondary safety features either. No ABS, no airbags, no head restrains, no SIPS and until recently; no seat belts. You soon drive carefully and attentively when you think you have no protection from pretty much any impact. Even the dashboard is steel and the steering wheel is a not a modern foam padded safety wheel - just bound steel.

People are made to feel much too secure and confident by modern technology and safety ratings. Crashing will still hurt and can still kill you even if you have a 5 star car and you should realise that.

SmellTheGlove

I have always been a fan, if that's the right word, of something called the moose or elk test...

http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Moose_test

Do you drive a Trabant by any chance, Limburger?

Limburger

SmellTheGlove wrote:

Do you drive a Trabant by any chance, Limburger?

Oh no, much more beautiful than those, and a bit older.

bails87

Limburger wrote:

SmellTheGlove wrote:

Do you drive a Trabant by any chance, Limburger?

Oh no, much more beautiful than those, and a bit older.

?

Limburger

bails87 wrote:

Limburger wrote:

SmellTheGlove wrote:

Do you drive a Trabant by any chance, Limburger?

Oh no, much more beautiful than those, and a bit older.

?

Due to the rust in the floor I can now see daylight in various places by my feet - so you're not far off. That looks very uncomfortable for long journeys though

thelawnet

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....

My car (VW Eos) has a 205 litre boot (roof down).

My bike (Kona Ute) has 180-litre panniers, plus whatever you strap on top of the rack (e.g., wife and 2 kids)