So, as a car driver, how did I do with the group of cyclists? VIDEO

[400bhp]

Not at all. If you use good judgement it means you've got the ability to get up to a good overtaking speed before needing to pull out.

Depends upon the circumstances, but I'd generally disagree.

 

[Boris Bajic]

Depends upon the circumstances, but I'd generally disagree.

Final arbitration on this:

400bhp wins on the basis that an E-30 about to clip an apex and nail the power beats a ponced-up plastic Lotus making too much gratuitous smoke.

Sorry, but the judgement of the self-appointed referee is final.

 

[400bhp]

Final arbitration on this:

400bhp wins on the basis that an E-30 about to clip an apex and nail the power beats a ponced-up plastic Lotus making too much gratuitous smoke.

Sorry, but the judgement of the self-appointed referee is final.

Probably not very true for that car

 

[CopperBrompton]

1:51 would have been a perfectly safe overtaking opportunity in my car, but I don't know what you were driving.

I agree that a video showing how to overtake cyclists safely should show that. :-)

 

[Spinney]

Wow that was boring. I watched it without sound so in my mind I added supercharger whine over the whomping great noise of a full race ford 427 V8 being restrained on/off overrun with dollops of fuel banging away in the exhausts, ready to charge past in one of the several million overtaking opportunities you were presented with (made possible by having 800bhp)

Well, it was made to discuss overtaking (or not), not as an entertainment video.

 

[Tony Sutton]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Some good/useful comments.

To the people who said this video was boring - who said anything about it being fun to watch? It's really a video for discussion & educational...

Others: Yes, the reason why I left a big gap between my car and the bikes was to aid me to accelerate & braking in a safe disance.

My car is a Ford Focus ST170 so yes, I am able to overtake easily & quickly, but why? I'm not in any hurry and I did not want to put them in any risk, so I would rather play it safe and wait back until it's safe to do so.

Trikeman - "1:51 would have been a perfectly safe overtaking opportunity in my car" - yes I did think that, but as we were approaching the roundabout, how am I know if they are turning right or left? Which is why I held back to be on the safe side.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Trikeman - "1:51 would have been a perfectly safe overtaking opportunity in my car" - yes I did think that, but as we were approaching the roundabout, how am I know if they are turning right or left?

Wouldn't have made any difference: I would have been completely on the other side of the road.

 

[donnydave]

Well, it was made to discuss overtaking (or not), not as an entertainment video.

I'll try to steer my daydream towards a relevant point then. May I suggest that its safer to have a massive wodge of horsepower, or at the very least to be aware of the full potential of whatever vehicle so you can make better overtake yes/no decisions. It worries me when I read about insurance black boxes that monitor how "safely" you drive so we are breeding a generation of drivers who have no idea what the limits of their vehicle are and even less idea of what it feels like and what to do when things get hairy.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Certainly the underlying concept behind these black boxes that rapid acceleration = poor driving seems rather hard of thinking.

 

[glenn forger]

As a car driver, how did I do?

Some say I should have overtaken on the hatched lines, others has said I was right to wait. Your thoughts? Check out the comments on YouTube...


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvF6h55rYCg

My favourite bit was when you overtook them LOL!

Seriously Tony, glad there are drivers like you in Norwich.

 

[glenn forger]

' It worries me when I read about insurance black boxes that monitor how "safely" you drive so we are breeding a generation of drivers who have no idea what the limits of their vehicle are and even less idea of what it feels like and what to do when things get hairy.

The algorithms involved in underwriting car insurance are implacable and emotionless. Insurance companies are using these black boxes because they can indicate hood, safe driving, and hence lower premiums. It measures speed primarily, since speeding is irrefutably linked with more frequent and more severe collisions. I've no idea why you put the word "safely" in parenthesis.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Insurance companies are using these black boxes because they can indicate hood, safe driving

Um, no, they can't.

They measure things like acceleration and braking forces, and the assumption made is that gentle is better than hard. So a driver who takes advantage of their car's performance to execute a very safe overtake and be back on their own side of the road with plenty of room to spare will be considered more dangerous than one who dawdles past, cutting it fine with oncoming traffic. A driver who spots a football bouncing out into the road and performs an emergency stop before kids follow it will be deemed more dangerous than the driver who fails to notice it. Etc, etc, etc.

These dumb boxes are no way to judge intelligent driving.

 

[Pale Rider]

One reason not to use the hatched area is it's often covered in gravel and small bits of debris, so you risk showering whatever it is you are passing.

 

[glenn forger]

Ah, the old "aspirin doesn't cure cancer so let's ban aspirin" argument. No, the boxes cannot detect bouncing footballs. That doesn't change my points by a scrap of difference. The fact the boxes don't detect some bad driving isn't an argument against them being able to detect some cautious, attentive driving behaviour.

 

[CopperBrompton]

No, the boxes cannot detect bouncing footballs. That doesn't change my points by a scrap of difference. The fact the boxes don't detect some bad driving isn't an argument against them being able to detect some cautious, attentive driving behaviour.

You missed my point: these dumb boxes will label much good driving as bad driving.

Take the IAM or RoADA Advanced Driving Test and see how well you do if you fail to make safe progress and use the performance of your vehicle to advantage.