i live next to a staggered junction in wellingborough , some may know it , next to kwikfit , very rarely do you see vehicles actually turn into senwick road from midland road , its invariably exactly how the bmw did it , cut straight across the white lines , and coming down to midland road from elsden road , i turn right , and i’ve lost count how many try to take my f/o/s corner off because they cant actually go around me, tends to be turn left out of senwick road, start drifting over to the wrong side of the road ready to cut the corner then spot me at the last minute straighten up and yank it right before they hit the kerb.
I’m with Juddian on the design of cars. We hired a ever so safe bloody Volvo (not from choice, just class of vehicle) on one of our jolly jaunts over there and it was rubbish. A pillar almost horizontal and thick with it. Right turns and bends were a nightmare. Lights flashing on mirrors, steering wheel shaking if you changed lanes without a signal, even though there was nothing behind for 500 miles, Slowing down without you realising it because there’s a car in the distance, read speck in the distance. Then there was the speed limit sign on the speedo that was invariably wrong. The back window was a useless tunnel to look through. In other words, too many distractions quite apart from the terrible visibility.
In Elgin if coming down Wittet Drive and turning either left or right onto the A96 a brick wall obscures my vision so have to have the front of the car over the white line to be able to see any oncoming traffic as the bonnet is too bloody long and the number of times I’ve thought ‘that’s me front end gone’ is unreal so now try to avoid the place like the plague …
My current car is a mark4 Mondeo.This has a centre tv screen offering various types of info which I don’t need to know apart from putting a cd on.I have disconnected everything i can.There is a info screen near the speedo which flashes all sorts of stuff i don’t want to know plus various noises happen at random times.I consider these all distractions to safe driving.
In addition,as said above,it has a high waist and narrow windows(rear tinted)with thick corner posts which make all round vision rather awkward.
I daresay there are worse cars about but if i had my choice I’d have my mark3 Mondeo back.Apart from £170 difference in ved.
tonyj105:
i live next to a staggered junction in wellingborough , some may know it , next to kwikfit , very rarely do you see vehicles actually turn into senwick road from midland road , its invariably exactly how the bmw did it , cut straight across the white lines , and coming down to midland road from elsden road , i turn right , and i’ve lost count how many try to take my f/o/s corner off because they cant actually go around me, tends to be turn left out of senwick road, start drifting over to the wrong side of the road ready to cut the corner then spot me at the last minute straighten up and yank it right before they hit the kerb.
That’s probably just habit. Not just in Wellingborough but throughout the country. If you think about it, it actually takes concentration and effort to steer that extra few feet to avoid the white lines at the junction and it’s just developed into a lazy habit. And like most habits, it all happens on autopilot.
Gidders:
My current car is a mark4 Mondeo. This has a centre tv screen offering various types of info which I don’t need to know apart from putting a cd on. I have disconnected everything I can. There is an info screen near the speedo which flashes all sorts of stuff I don’t want to know plus various noises happen at random times.I consider these all distractions to safe driving.
In addition, as said above, it has a high waist and narrow windows(rear tinted)with thick corner posts which make all-round vision rather awkward.
I daresay there are worse cars about but if i had my choice I’d have my mark3 Mondeo back. Apart from £170 difference in VED.
I think you are exaggerating for effect. I drive a Mk5 Mondeo Estate and the info screen only tells me stuff when starting up and then it doesn’t ‘flash’. ATM, every time I switch on, it tells me that I need an oil change - it’s booked in next week. The tinted windows are as clear as non-tinted from the inside too.
Of course, it is possible to change the displays - you can even disable the seat belt warning ‘bong’ but for the most part, I find the dash uncluttered and clear.