Most dangerous vehicle in London

secretsam

The Toyota Pious minicab.

Saw one plonked in a segregated cycle lane (CS2 I think), he then turned right and rammed a van who was turning correctly. Cue massive barney, no doubt - I scarpered!

5 mins later, another Pious driver at Trafalgar Sq jumps out and starts berating a cyclist, lights change, cyclist rides off, black cabs start to beep Pious driver, who then kicks off with them.

WTF is up with these loons?

smokey_bacon

Must be a phase of the moon or something!

Having said that i did see a Fire Engine driving along the segregated cycle lane on Upper Thames Street this morning. It would appear that nowhere is safe!

imatfaal

SecretSam wrote:

The Toyota Pious minicab.

Saw one plonked in a segregated cycle lane (CS2 I think), he then turned right and rammed a van who was turning correctly. Cue massive barney, no doubt - I scarpered!

5 mins later, another Pious driver at Trafalgar Sq jumps out and starts berating a cyclist, lights change, cyclist rides off, black cabs start to beep Pious driver, who then kicks off with them.

WTF is up with these loons?

I think one of the problems is that they are told about how to maximize their petrol savings and they drive to those instructions whether the circumstance suit or not. They are also minicab driver and thus mostly certifiable. I have had one drive at me on purpose - I got knocked sideways, the passenger/customer got out and said they would prefer to walk

surrey_commuter

the most dangerous is a black Ford Galaxy with Jih'Addison Lee written on the black windscreen

BobMcbob

They are unpredictable, lost count how many times I've had one coast aimlessly whilst the driver faffs around with the mobile phone affixed to the windscreen. I thought it was illegal to have anything fixed to the windscreen within the wipers reach, or am i mistaken?

wolfsbane2k

BobMcbob wrote:

They are unpredictable, lost count how many times I've had one coast aimlessly whilst the driver faffs around with the mobile phone affixed to the windscreen. I thought it was illegal to have anything fixed to the windscreen within the wipers reach, or am i mistaken?

I think that's the USA and Australia/NZ, and France. Think
Definitely not illegal in the UK.

kingtubby

Surrey Commuter wrote:

the most dangerous is a black Ford Galaxy with Jih'Addison Lee written on the black windscreen

This x 100. Almost all of them are bad and dangerous drivers.

Had to take evasive action after one of these run a red light. I took the reg and called the company...To say could not give a s**t is an understatement. The joke is that on their website they mention how all their drivers are given extra training....

poweredbyidris

Always get nervous whenever I'm near a hired van. Not necessarily a driver fault, but you know there's a good chance they're not used to driving a vehicle of that size with reduced visibility

jamesco

The most dangerous vehicle is one with the crap coming out of the exhaust pipe - 9,500 people die early each year in London due to long-term exposure to air pollution. If every owner of a stinking diesel replaced it with a petrol-hybrid or (hallelujah) an electric motor, then I'd give them each a Hail Mary for their saintliness.

Anyway, since when can cyclists accuse others of piousness?

mroli

jamesco wrote:

The most dangerous vehicle is one with the crap coming out of the exhaust pipe - 9,500 people die early each year in London due to long-term exposure to air pollution. If every owner of a stinking diesel replaced it with a petrol-hybrid or (hallelujah) an electric motor, then I'd give them each a Hail Mary for their saintliness.

Anyway, since when can cyclists accuse others of piousness?

I genuinely bought my diesel 3 years ago because I thought it was the better environmental choice.

As soon as there is an affordable electric car with a 150+ range, I'm in.... Holding out hope for the tesla with some sort of subsidy, but ain't handing over cash sight unseen...

asprilla

mroli wrote:

jamesco wrote:

The most dangerous vehicle is one with the crap coming out of the exhaust pipe - 9,500 people die early each year in London due to long-term exposure to air pollution. If every owner of a stinking diesel replaced it with a petrol-hybrid or (hallelujah) an electric motor, then I'd give them each a Hail Mary for their saintliness.

Anyway, since when can cyclists accuse others of piousness?

I genuinely bought my diesel 3 years ago because I thought it was the better environmental choice.

As soon as there is an affordable electric car with a 150+ range, I'm in.... Holding out hope for the tesla with some sort of subsidy, but ain't handing over cash sight unseen...

Me too. I was getting 22mpg in my last car and paying over £400 VED because of it's CO2 emissions. Getting a diesel that more than doubled mpg and allegedly reduced CO2 emissions so that I paid £30 in VED was supposed to be a good thing. If I did want a hybrid / EV then I'm kinda limited for choices as there aren't many six seaters (Prius Plus, Tesla S and X) and even fewer available second hand.

I really hope that the Tesla 3 and the EVs coming out of China in the next few years prove to be a tipping point.

ugo.santalucia

I moved from diesel to petrol as my last diesel was fitted with DPF filter, allegedly doing something for the environment, in practice giving me endless grief and poor mileage in between services.
I used to average 50 mpg with the diesel, but with a careful rubbing rather than pressing action of the gas pedal, I am around 46-48 mpg with the petrol engine, occasionally I pull out a 50 mpg, which exceeds the manufacturer's specifications... I did a 58 mpg on a drive to Dorset last year, with a bit of cycle-inspired drafting behind a lorry :-)

BobMcbob

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

BobMcbob wrote:

They are unpredictable, lost count how many times I've had one coast aimlessly whilst the driver faffs around with the mobile phone affixed to the windscreen. I thought it was illegal to have anything fixed to the windscreen within the wipers reach, or am i mistaken?

I think that's the USA and Australia/NZ, and France. Think
Definitely not illegal in the UK.

Agreed, though apparently can be an MoT fail if not removed prior to test:

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_830.htm

wolfsbane2k

BobMcbob wrote:

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

BobMcbob wrote:

They are unpredictable, lost count how many times I've had one coast aimlessly whilst the driver faffs around with the mobile phone affixed to the windscreen. I thought it was illegal to have anything fixed to the windscreen within the wipers reach, or am i mistaken?

I think that's the USA and Australia/NZ, and France. Think
Definitely not illegal in the UK.

Agreed, though apparently can be an MoT fail if not removed prior to test:

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_830.htm

Well, if they do stick if somewhere stupid so they can't see out of the window to see the road, I agree.

asprilla

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

BobMcbob wrote:

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

BobMcbob wrote:

They are unpredictable, lost count how many times I've had one coast aimlessly whilst the driver faffs around with the mobile phone affixed to the windscreen. I thought it was illegal to have anything fixed to the windscreen within the wipers reach, or am i mistaken?

I think that's the USA and Australia/NZ, and France. Think
Definitely not illegal in the UK.

Agreed, though apparently can be an MoT fail if not removed prior to test:

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_830.htm

Well, if they do stick if somewhere stupid so they can't see out of the window to see the road, I agree.

I thought it was illegal to stick them there under the same restrictions that banned 'fluffy dice' hanging from the rear view mirror as it impeded vision.

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/ne ... ngers.html