For those of you who passed your driving test years ago ....

[TheDoctor]

Stopping distances...

IIRC it goes :-

30 mph*2.5 = 75 feet
50 mph*3.5 = 175 feet
70 mph*4.5 = 315 feet

 

[XmisterIS]

Stopping distances...

IIRC it goes :-

30 mph*2.5 = 75 feet
50 mph*3.5 = 175 feet
70 mph*4.5 = 315 feet

And isn't the rule that you should double it in the rain and five-times it in the ice?

 

[snorri]

30 mph*2.5 = 75 feet
50 mph*3.5 = 175 feet
70 mph*4.5 = 315 feet

I often wonder how accurately the average Joe could measure out these distances on the road without a measuring instrument.

 

[Kirstie]

When I lived in a city and used to cycle or get the bus everywhere I sometimes wouldn't sit behind the wheel of a car for months on end. I was *amazed* how long it took me to get used to it - the reaction times just weren't there at first.

However I've never had an accident and with the amount of driving I do these days I'd probably pass.

 

[Fnaar]

I don't drive very often... but when I do, i find the moment i sit behind the wheel, I'm straight back into it. Yes, it's like riding a bike, really

 

[magnatom]

I passed the practical test first time. Would I pass it now, as I stand, perhaps not, although hopefully on minor things like how I hold the wheel etc. However, as others have said after a 30 min refresher, I hope so, and my driving is miles better than it was just after I passed!

I have to admit I failed the theory test first time! I ended up on a bit of a heavy drinking session the night before (unexpected, but I enjoyed it). I turned up at the test centre still smelling of alcohol and with a bit of a developing hangover. So you could say I took part of my driving test whilst over the limit!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

In many cars from the 70s and before, the brakes need written notice of your intention to stop, even the high performance ones.

My mini required that for acceleration too.
Starting the engine needed three weeks notice in advance....don't make 'em like they used to!


Took me three goes to pass even though I'm probably the best driver on the roads.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I like to think so, although I'd struggle to do that ridiculous "shuffle the steering wheel through your hands" thing that they make you do. Mind you, I thought the same before I did my HGV tests, and I failed each of those twice.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I thought the same before I did my HGV tests, and I failed each of those twice.

I used to work with a guy who took his HGV test when he was in the American army - he had to reverse a lorry and trailer (the bit with the engine in it and that flat bit behind that carries stuff) up a runway - he passed first go!!

 

[gbb]

Passed in 1977 at the first attempt. It's pitiful compared to todays test. You had the 1 hour driving of course...and he asked me three questions on road signs, and one of those i got wrong ( i mistook a clearway sign for no waiting)...and that was it !!!

That said, i believe i'd pass nowadays. I'd have to brush up on signage tho

 

[gbb]

Whats this about engine/gearbox braking and fragile gearboxes !!!
I've always done it (slowing down in plenty of time)..to the point where i havnt changed a set of brake pads in 15 or 20 years (i've had several cars in that time of course )

Is it not the norm nowadays ??? Have things moved on....enlighten me please.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I used to have to park mine on a hill.

Was it a mini too? I had to put a clothes peg on the choke to keep it out.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Yeah, a mini 1000 - blue with large orange rust spots around the wheel rims. A horrible car but I loved it at the time.

Mine was tomato soup coloured

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Whats this about engine/gearbox braking and fragile gearboxes !!!
I've always done it (slowing down in plenty of time)..to the point where i havnt changed a set of brake pads in 15 or 20 years (i've had several cars in that time of course )

Is it not the norm nowadays ??? Have things moved on....enlighten me please.

It's not, any more. It's how I was taught to drive too (right from when I first sat on my dad's knee at the age of seven and drove his Chevvy Impala a few hundred yards in the desert). But certainly in the HGV test they teach you to brake and then block shift down into whatever gear you need to get going again. It was one of the things I struggled with. Companies encourage you to drive like this too, on the grounds that a gearbox overhaul is more expensive than a brake overhaul. However, I still use engine braking, a) because the habits of twenty years are not easily discarded, and because it teaches you to drive well ahead of yourself.

 

[tyred]

There is a difference between planning ahead and using engine braking in prefeence/addition to braking and just throwing the car through the gears to slow it down like a rally driver does. I've seen many people who do drive like this. Very few modern road cars will stand up to it for any length of time. That's what brakes are for.

On the subjuect of braking, why do som many people feel the need to constantly dab the brakes for no obvious reason?