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London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Hello
Is it some undeniably daft new regulation or is there some good reason why an awful lot of Central London buses are now going around with their headlights seemingly permanently (and IMHO pointlessly) switched on? Some of the lights are so bright that they are dazzling even in daylight! Regards John M Upton My Fotopic Collections: South Central/Southern, Model Railway & Other Rail Pictures: http://gallery39764.fotopic.net/ Bus Pics: http://gallery42239.fotopic.net/ My Online Novels: http://www.securitynovels.freeuk.com |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
In message , JMUpton2000
writes Hello Is it some undeniably daft new regulation or is there some good reason why an awful lot of Central London buses are now going around with their headlights seemingly permanently (and IMHO pointlessly) switched on? Some of the lights are so bright that they are dazzling even in daylight! Don't know if this is the real reason for buses doing so, but I use headlights when travelling down bus lanes in my taxi. This is because there are so many other drivers who think that they can use the bus lane with impunity and also on the grounds of safety - at least there is a better chance that they will see me -- Mike Hughes A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Is it some undeniably daft new regulation or is there some good reason why
an awful lot of Central London buses are now going around with their headlights seemingly permanently (and IMHO pointlessly) switched on? Perhaps they have a Volvo chassis and like the cars the lights are always on. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 01:04:49 +0100, "JMUpton2000" security novels @f
ree uk.com wrote: Hello Is it some undeniably daft new regulation or is there some good reason why an awful lot of Central London buses are now going around with their headlights seemingly permanently (and IMHO pointlessly) switched on? Some of the lights are so bright that they are dazzling even in daylight! I understand that permanently illuminated headlights are a feature on the vehicles of certain operators like Arriva. They found that keeping the headlights switched on all the time reduced accidents so it is being done for health and safety reasons. -- Paul C Admits to working for London Underground! |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Paul Corfield" wrote in message ... On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 01:04:49 +0100, "JMUpton2000" security novels @f ree uk.com wrote: Hello Is it some undeniably daft new regulation or is there some good reason why an awful lot of Central London buses are now going around with their headlights seemingly permanently (and IMHO pointlessly) switched on? Some of the lights are so bright that they are dazzling even in daylight! I understand that permanently illuminated headlights are a feature on the vehicles of certain operators like Arriva. They found that keeping the headlights switched on all the time reduced accidents so it is being done for health and safety reasons. -- Paul C Admits to working for London Underground! I've driven in countries where headlights are the law and also in parts of the USA where they are becoming the norm. I like it and I do it (even though I don't drive a Volvo). Two particular reasons; 1) I was driving in bright sunlight approaching a wood on a narrow road when a car coming the other way suddenly appeared from the wood (which was in heavy shadow) and missed me by a whisker. Had he had his lights on I would have had a better chance of seeing him. 2) When I have driven in places where headlights are the norm I have found that I spot other vehicles earler than I would otherwise. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 17:06:12 +0100, Paul Corfield
wrote: I understand that permanently illuminated headlights are a feature on the vehicles of certain operators like Arriva. They found that keeping the headlights switched on all the time reduced accidents so it is being done for health and safety reasons. However, it is actually dangerous for other vehicles because it artificially (subconsciously) distracts attention towards that vehicle only, and away from others. Daytime headlights should either be a legal requirement or switched off. Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK When replying please use neil at the above domain 'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Neil Williams" wrote in message ... On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 17:06:12 +0100, Paul Corfield wrote: I understand that permanently illuminated headlights are a feature on the vehicles of certain operators like Arriva. They found that keeping the headlights switched on all the time reduced accidents so it is being done for health and safety reasons. However, it is actually dangerous for other vehicles because it artificially (subconsciously) distracts attention towards that vehicle only, and away from others. Daytime headlights should either be a legal requirement or switched off. Neil We have had a ruling in Blackpool for about 18 months now, saying that all buses must use dipped headlights during daytime. Personally, I *never* drive with dipped headlights in daylight, except :- Spray conditions (legal requirement), pedestrianised areas, and bus/taxi only areas. Dashe |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Dashe" wrote in message
... "Neil Williams" wrote in message ... On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 17:06:12 +0100, Paul Corfield wrote: I understand that permanently illuminated headlights are a feature on the vehicles of certain operators like Arriva. They found that keeping the headlights switched on all the time reduced accidents so it is being done for health and safety reasons. However, it is actually dangerous for other vehicles because it artificially (subconsciously) distracts attention towards that vehicle only, and away from others. Daytime headlights should either be a legal requirement or switched off. Neil We have had a ruling in Blackpool for about 18 months now, saying that all buses must use dipped headlights during daytime. Personally, I *never* drive with dipped headlights in daylight, except :- Spray conditions (legal requirement), pedestrianised areas, and bus/taxi only areas. I also use dipped headlights in tunnels and multi-storey car parks. I've never driven in a pedestrianised area or a bus/taxi lane (it would be illegal for me) but I can see the sense in authorised vehicles doing this - at least for the pedestrianised area. For some reason, the instructions in the Mersey tunnel specifically say "don't turn on your headlights" which seems strange to me - if you're driving at night, are you actually expected to turn them off as you enter the tunnel and remember to turn them back on when you leave? If the exit is well-illuminated by street lights, it will be very easy to forget to turn them back on... I didn't realise that some countries mandated dipped headlights at all times. I know that some Scandinavian countries mandate side/tail lights. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Mike Hughes" wrote in message
... Don't know if this is the real reason for buses doing so, but I use headlights when travelling down bus lanes in my taxi. This is because there are so many other drivers who think that they can use the bus lane with impunity and also on the grounds of safety - at least there is a better chance that they will see me What you really mean is that when you travel down a bus lane to undertake a load of traffic and then push your way back in front of them there is a lesser chance that they won't move out the way. But, yes, following a number of recent incidents I now drive with my headlights permanently on, and have recently had the car modified so that they are on by default. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Graham Harrison ) gurgled happily,
sounding much like they were saying : I've driven in countries where headlights are the law and also in parts of the USA where they are becoming the norm. The US is a particularly entertaining case - they've legislated Daytime Running Lights that come on with the ignition. But only at the front. So what they're finding, AIUI, is that more and more people are "forgetting" to turn their proper lights on as dark approaches - no need, their lights are on, they can see fine - but, of course, there's no REAR lights on... Only in 'merkinland. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Martin Underwood wrote: For some reason, the instructions in the Mersey tunnel specifically say "don't turn on your headlights" which seems strange to me - if you're driving at night, are you actually expected to turn them off as you enter the tunnel and remember to turn them back on when you leave? If the exit is well-illuminated by street lights, it will be very easy to forget to turn them back on... Bizarre - since on most cars the instrument backlighting is linked to the headlights, this would also mean you wouldn't be able to see your speedometer properly. Marvellous. back on topic I use sidelights or dipped headlights in the Blackwall Tunnel for exactly that reason. / |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 21:23:56 +0100, David Splett wrote:
What you really mean is that when you travel down a bus lane to undertake a load of traffic He said he drives a taxi. Most bus lanes are available to taxis as well. -- http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p13622558.html (An emergency alert at London King's Cross, May 1999) |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Adrian" wrote in message
. 244.170... Graham Harrison ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying : I've driven in countries where headlights are the law and also in parts of the USA where they are becoming the norm. The US is a particularly entertaining case - they've legislated Daytime Running Lights that come on with the ignition. But only at the front. So what they're finding, AIUI, is that more and more people are "forgetting" to turn their proper lights on as dark approaches - no need, their lights are on, they can see fine - but, of course, there's no REAR lights on... Only in 'merkinland. Are the daytime running lights sidelights or headlights? I think in Sweden they're just sidelights (certainly Volvos here only have their sidelights, not headlights, on permanently). I hadn't realised that any countries mandated headlights at all times. I wonder what the additional cost in extra fuel consumption is - mind you, in America they think that gasoline "grows on trees", don't they - limitless supply at cheap price. I can't say I'm surprised about the situation in America: they don't require cars to have front number plates (though many cars do have them) and they allow cars to have flashing sidelights and tail lights rather than having separate amber lights for indicators. My sister and her family were rear-ended while waiting to turn left because the driver behind hadn't noticed the flashing tail light in amongst all the other lights such as her tail and brake lights. (I've always wondered what circuitry is required to flash the side and tail lights while still allowing them to be switched on and off normally: I checked her car because I was curious and it didn't have dual-filiament bulbs: one for side light and another for indicator.) |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Martin Underwood ) gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying : The US is a particularly entertaining case - they've legislated Daytime Running Lights that come on with the ignition. snip Only in 'merkinland. Are the daytime running lights sidelights or headlights? Not sure. I think in Sweden they're just sidelights (certainly Volvos here only have their sidelights, not headlights, on permanently). Scandi ones are brighter than sidies - sidies tend to be a 5w bulb, whereas the Saab/Volvo daytime lights are 21w (or were on proper Saab 900s, IIRC) - I think most tend to use dip beam now. I wonder what the additional cost in extra fuel consumption is http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question424.htm I can't say I'm surprised about the situation in America: they don't require cars to have front number plates (though many cars do have them) Nor do they have MOTs. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Adrian" wrote in message
. 244.170... Martin Underwood ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying : The US is a particularly entertaining case - they've legislated Daytime Running Lights that come on with the ignition. I think in Sweden they're just sidelights (certainly Volvos here only have their sidelights, not headlights, on permanently). Scandi ones are brighter than sidies - sidies tend to be a 5w bulb, whereas the Saab/Volvo daytime lights are 21w (or were on proper Saab 900s, IIRC) - I think most tend to use dip beam now. Ah! I'd assumed that the running lights were conventional 5W sidelight bulbs rather 21W indicator/brake/fog light bulbs. I presume the sidelight part of the cluster has a dual-filament bulb: 5W for night and 21W for day. Maybe UK versions of Volvos etc have been modified so as to use 5W for both purposes. I wonder what the additional cost in extra fuel consumption is http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question424.htm A fascinating and well-reasoned article. Now someone needs to work out how much extra American cars consume than European cars because almost all of them are automatic transmission - though set against this is the fact that US speed limits are lower so consumption will be less on that account. I can't say I'm surprised about the situation in America: they don't require cars to have front number plates (though many cars do have them) Nor do they have MOTs. I didn't know that. So once you've bought a new car, is there no requirement for periodic testing of brakes, suspension, body structure etc throughout the car's life? Bloody hell! Mind you, American road rules are very strange: they allow overtaking on either side (it's quite common to get several lanes of an Interstate all going at exactly 55 mph, with no relative motion, which makes it very difficult to change lanes when joining or leaving the road), and cars change their registration number (IIRC) every time the car is sold to a new owner, which must make it very difficult to trace the car's history throughout its life (eg for "has it ever been involved in any accidents" and "is there a loan outstanding on this car" checks). And then of course there are those "wonderful" (totally ludicrous) four-way stop junctions where priority is determined by who arrived first (which different people could have different opinions on) rather than being determined by position on the road (which is unambiguous). On the other hand, I like their concept of having part-time speed limits: most schools have a reasonable speed limit outside them except at the beginning and end of the school day when the limit is reduced. Over here they'd slap on a blanket 30mph limit 24 hours a day :-( |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Martin Underwood ) gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying : Ah! I'd assumed that the running lights were conventional 5W sidelight bulbs rather 21W indicator/brake/fog light bulbs. I presume the sidelight part of the cluster has a dual-filament bulb: 5W for night and 21W for day. Maybe UK versions of Volvos etc have been modified so as to use 5W for both purposes. On c900s, they were a dual filament - 5w for a switchable "park light" which stayed on with ignition off, with the 21w coming on with ignition, unless the fuse was pulled. of Merkins Nor do they have MOTs. I didn't know that. So once you've bought a new car, is there no requirement for periodic testing of brakes, suspension, body structure etc throughout the car's life? Bloody hell! Some states have emissions tests. cars change their registration number (IIRC) every time the car is sold to a new owner, which must make it very difficult to trace the car's history throughout its life We're actually the oddity in that respect. France has plates which change whenever it's re-registered into a different department. Germany's similar. And don't forget that they don't have breathalysers, either - you get pulled, it's a case of seeing if you can walk down the line and touch your nose... |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Chris Tolley" wrote in message
... He said he drives a taxi. Most bus lanes are available to taxis as well. I know that. Whether they *should* be is another matter, as is whether taxi drivers use that privilege responsibly. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Fri, 24 Jun 2005:
A fascinating and well-reasoned article. Now someone needs to work out how much extra American cars consume than European cars because almost all of them are automatic transmission - though set against this is the fact that US speed limits are lower so consumption will be less on that account. Are they? I mean, when we were in Kansas a couple of months ago, the local speed limit seemed to be 35 miles on streets and 75 on the motorway (Interstate). What threw us totally was that these limits were *obeyed*.... presumably why they can be higher than ours! -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 23 May 2005 |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Adrian wrote to uk.transport.london on Fri, 24 Jun 2005:
We're actually the oddity in that respect. France has plates which change whenever it's re-registered into a different department. Germany's similar. France's laws change in 2008, when they will no longer have regional plates but a format of AA 123 AA, where AA are 2 letters & 123 are 3 numbers. I believe drivers who wish to do so *may* have a regional or departmental indicator to the right of their number-plate; an "F" in European stars to the left will be (I think) compulsory. No personalisation will be possible - you will have to take what you get. In Belgium, I'm told, the number-plate belongs to the driver, not the car, and, like our system, personalisation within the limit of the system is allowed. In the USA, though, some personalisations seemed to bear no relation at all to the way cars were normally registered! -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 23 May 2005 |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
]
Mrs Redboots a écrit : We're actually the oddity in that respect. France has plates which change whenever it's re-registered into a different department. Germany's similar. France's laws change in 2008, when they will no longer have regional plates but a format of AA 123 AA, where AA are 2 letters & 123 are 3 numbers. I believe drivers who wish to do so *may* have a regional or departmental indicator to the right of their number-plate; an "F" in European stars to the left will be (I think) compulsory. No personalisation will be possible - you will have to take what you get. Indeed. This is exactly what I intended to post, only you did it first and put it better :-) . I might just add that scooters are already registered with the new numbering, and have been since January 2004 (their plates are of the form A 123 A [note the single letter at the beginning and the end], to be extended if/when new plates are needed with the A 123 AA and A 123 AAA series). -- JFD www.metro-pole.net -- Unofficial home to Paris' public transport networks |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Jean-Francois Dancre" wrote in message
... ] Mrs Redboots a écrit : We're actually the oddity in that respect. France has plates which change whenever it's re-registered into a different department. Germany's similar. France's laws change in 2008, when they will no longer have regional plates but a format of AA 123 AA, where AA are 2 letters & 123 are 3 numbers. I believe drivers who wish to do so *may* have a regional or departmental indicator to the right of their number-plate; an "F" in European stars to the left will be (I think) compulsory. No personalisation will be possible - you will have to take what you get. Indeed. This is exactly what I intended to post, only you did it first and put it better :-) . I might just add that scooters are already registered with the new numbering, and have been since January 2004 (their plates are of the form A 123 A [note the single letter at the beginning and the end], to be extended if/when new plates are needed with the A 123 AA and A 123 AAA series). Are Great Britain and the Irish Republic (but not Northern Ireland) very much in the minority among countries throughout the world in still encoding the place and year of registration into the registration number? It seems such an eminently sensible thing for a registration plate to contain *information* rather than just being a random number that I'm surprised all countries don't do it. Apparently when the A 123 ABC format in GB was about to come to the end of its life, the police strongly recommended to the DVLA that future schemes such as the present AA 12 AAA format should still encode place and date, because it was often the only thing about a registration number that witnesses would remember if they glimpsed a car being involved in an offence - presumably subconsciously they remembered the parts that actually meant something. I hadn't realised that some European countries had a system whereby the registration number was owned by the person, not the car. Does that mean that when a person passes his driving test and buys his first car, he gets allocated a number (somewhat akin to a social security number?) that he uses on all his successive cars throughout his life? Their equivalent of the DVLA must be kept very busy recording all the changes of registration number applied to cars as they are bought and sold. It always intrigues me to look at other countries' ways of solving problems (especially if I think our way of doing it is better!!) - in America, France and Germany, someone obviously made a conscious decision that it was a good idea to change a car's registration number whenever the car changed hands, rather than either the car keeping the same number throughout its life or else the driver keeping the same number throughout his life. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Martin Underwood" wrote in message ... "Adrian" wrote in message . 244.170... Martin Underwood ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying : On the other hand, I like their concept of having part-time speed limits: most schools have a reasonable speed limit outside them except at the beginning and end of the school day when the limit is reduced. Over here they'd slap on a blanket 30mph limit 24 hours a day :-( We are getting towards part-time speed limits here in UK now. There are several areas which are 30mph, but have a 20mph limit during school crossing times. Dave G |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 25 Jun 2005:
It always intrigues me to look at other countries' ways of solving problems (especially if I think our way of doing it is better!!) - in America, France and Germany, someone obviously made a conscious decision that it was a good idea to change a car's registration number whenever the car changed hands, rather than either the car keeping the same number throughout its life or else the driver keeping the same number throughout his life. Indeed, the present system in some countries is that the car must change its registration number whenever the owner moves, never mind when the car changes hands! -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 23 May 2005 |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Mrs Redboots" wrote in message
... Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 25 Jun 2005: It always intrigues me to look at other countries' ways of solving problems (especially if I think our way of doing it is better!!) - in America, France and Germany, someone obviously made a conscious decision that it was a good idea to change a car's registration number whenever the car changed hands, rather than either the car keeping the same number throughout its life or else the driver keeping the same number throughout his life. Indeed, the present system in some countries is that the car must change its registration number whenever the owner moves, never mind when the car changes hands! Well I suppose it keeps the bureaucrats and the makers of number plates in business :-) What were they smoking when they thought that this was actually a *good* idea, I wonder? It must make it very difficult to track offences (speeding, parking) if the car number changes; similarly to prove that a car has had routine maintenance and their equivalent of an MOT test. OK, the car still has a VIN which is unique and unchanging, but it's hardly practicable for this to be checked as easily as a car number. Going back to the earlier theme of "let's mock the Americans' way of doing things", another thing that I found when I drove over there was that their standard of signposting, once you got off the multi-lane highways, was abysmal. Maybe I'm just used to a three-way sign at the junction of almost every country lane in England. And the road name signs are very difficult to read because they are in a very condensed font, in white letters on a pale green background: signs are supposed to be legible! I can only comment on Massachussetts roads: I don't know whether it's the same in all states. It doesn't help that the road atlas that I had was organised by town (rather than being a simple west-to-east, north-to-south arrangement) and the various maps were at different scales and in different styles. And this was a map book that boasted on its front cover "highly acclaimed" and "very easy to use"!!! |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 25 Jun 2005:
Going back to the earlier theme of "let's mock the Americans' way of doing things", another thing that I found when I drove over there was that their standard of signposting, once you got off the multi-lane highways, was abysmal. Maybe I'm just used to a three-way sign at the junction of almost every country lane in England. And the road name signs are very difficult to read because they are in a very condensed font, in white letters on a pale green background: signs are supposed to be legible! I can only comment on Massachussetts roads: I don't know whether it's the same in all states. It doesn't help that the road atlas that I had was organised by town (rather than being a simple west-to-east, north-to-south arrangement) and the various maps were at different scales and in different styles. And this was a map book that boasted on its front cover "highly acclaimed" and "very easy to use"!!! They don't seem to be very good at doing road maps - we used that same one, I think, when we visited Mass. some years ago now. The thing I noticed on our visit to Kansas was that distances were measured in fractions of a mile, rather than yards - where we would say there was an exit in (say) 200 yards, they'd put "3/8 mile" -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 23 May 2005 |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Mrs Redboots" wrote in message
... .... The thing I noticed on our visit to Kansas was that distances were measured in fractions of a mile, rather than yards - where we would say there was an exit in (say) 200 yards, they'd put "3/8 mile" That's why America seems so big, if 200 of their yards are 3/8 of a mile. It would need 660 of our little English yards. :-) -- David Biddulph |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Mrs Redboots" wrote in message
... Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 25 Jun 2005: Going back to the earlier theme of "let's mock the Americans' way of doing things", another thing that I found when I drove over there was that their standard of signposting, once you got off the multi-lane highways, was abysmal. Maybe I'm just used to a three-way sign at the junction of almost every country lane in England. And the road name signs are very difficult to read because they are in a very condensed font, in white letters on a pale green background: signs are supposed to be legible! I can only comment on Massachussetts roads: I don't know whether it's the same in all states. It doesn't help that the road atlas that I had was organised by town (rather than being a simple west-to-east, north-to-south arrangement) and the various maps were at different scales and in different styles. And this was a map book that boasted on its front cover "highly acclaimed" and "very easy to use"!!! They don't seem to be very good at doing road maps - we used that same one, I think, when we visited Mass. some years ago now. Yes, it assumes that you instinctively know which township or which district of a big city (eg Boston) you are currently in - because each has its own separate index of street names (as opposed to a Massachussets-wide or even Boston-wide index of streets). I got lost on my way back to Logan airport somewhere in the Boston suburbs. With a decent map it would have been dead easy to look up a street name and locate myself. But when you've got to work out which suburb ("town") you're in to know which index to look in, it makes life very difficult. The idea of having maps that didn't tile together on consecutive pages in the book and which were all at different scales was the final straw: it was so bad that it was hilarious. When I mentioned it to an American he seemed mystified and impressed that I had the courage to venture off the multi-lane highways! The thing I noticed on our visit to Kansas was that distances were measured in fractions of a mile, rather than yards - where we would say there was an exit in (say) 200 yards, they'd put "3/8 mile". Alternatively they measure smaller distances in feet rather than yards. Seeing a temporary road works sign that says "Road works - 3000 feet ahead" makes you think "Er, what? Oh, 1000 yards. Right, OK." Just a case of what you're used to. But using non-decimal fractions of a mile is just plain stupid, given that car mileometers are calibrated in tenths of a mile - much better to say "0.4 mile" or "4/10 mile" rather than "3/8 mile". Mind you, our signs sometimes give distances as 1/2 or 1/4 mile - but I imagine more people know what these are as tenths of a mile than could work out 3/8 mile in an instant. The other thing that caught me out is that on minor roads there's sometimes no stop or give-way line where a minor road meets a major road - very tricky to work out where to stop, especially where the junction is on a bend. However zebra crossings have dirty-great white lines across the road: several times I instinctively slammed on the brakes to stop at a zebra crossing, even when there was no-one crossing, thinking I was meeting a major road - it's one thing knowing that you're wrong; it's another thing remembering it in the heat of the moment. And it felt wrong not having a red-and-amber "get ready to go, put the car in gear/drive, take the handbrake off" phase to traffic lights, but I gather a lot of Europe is like that. I must admit, after driving in America and having to keep down to fairly low speed limits on single-carriageway roads (35 where we'd probably have had 50 or 60), it was nice to get off the train from Gatwick into my own car and drive on the right side of the road on country lanes where I was able to drive at a reasonable speed, or on a dual-carriageway where I wouldn't have to contend with someone overtaking me on my nearside or going dead-level with me mile after mile, and in a car that didn't change down automatically into second gear every time I dropped below 30 or negotiated a roundabout! Before I went, I was apprehensive of how I'd adjust to driving on the other side of the road, but I had no problems with that. And I think I coped with roundabouts like the one going onto Cape Cod a damn-sight better than most Americans who very rarely get to see one and were flummoxed to encounter one all of a sudden. I wouldn't like to have to drive a RHD car on the right (or an LHD car on the left) though: I like to be able to see in my door mirror what's overtaking me or see what's coming towards me when I want to overtake. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
David Biddulph wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 25 Jun 2005:
"Mrs Redboots" wrote in message ... ... The thing I noticed on our visit to Kansas was that distances were measured in fractions of a mile, rather than yards - where we would say there was an exit in (say) 200 yards, they'd put "3/8 mile" That's why America seems so big, if 200 of their yards are 3/8 of a mile. It would need 660 of our little English yards. :-) Well, you know what I mean...... -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 23 May 2005 |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 25 Jun 2005:
And it felt wrong not having a red-and-amber "get ready to go, put the car in gear/drive, take the handbrake off" phase to traffic lights, but I gather a lot of Europe is like that. France certainly is; Germany is more like us. Not sure about any other European countries, we were only on the motorways in Belgium last holidays, and I don't think I noticed what the situation was in Switzerland. I must admit, after driving in America and having to keep down to fairly low speed limits on single-carriageway roads (35 where we'd probably have had 50 or 60), it was nice to get off the train from Gatwick into my own car and drive on the right side of the road on country lanes where I was able to drive at a reasonable speed, or on a dual-carriageway where I wouldn't have to contend with someone overtaking me on my nearside or going dead-level with me mile after mile, and in a car that didn't change down automatically into second gear every time I dropped below 30 or negotiated a roundabout! Before I went, I was apprehensive of how I'd adjust to driving on the other side of the road, but I had no problems with that. One doesn't, I understand. I don't yet drive, but I'm told by those who do that this is invariably far less difficult than anticipated. And I think I coped with roundabouts like the one going onto Cape Cod a damn-sight better than most Americans who very rarely get to see one and were flummoxed to encounter one all of a sudden. I wouldn't like to have to drive a RHD car on the right (or an LHD car on the left) though: I like to be able to see in my door mirror what's overtaking me or see what's coming towards me when I want to overtake. Husband & Daughter haven't ever had any problems with this one, either. -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 23 May 2005 |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Mrs Redboots" wrote in message
... Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 25 Jun 2005: And it felt wrong not having a red-and-amber "get ready to go, put the car in gear/drive, take the handbrake off" phase to traffic lights, but I gather a lot of Europe is like that. France certainly is; Germany is more like us. Not sure about any other European countries, we were only on the motorways in Belgium last holidays, and I don't think I noticed what the situation was in Switzerland. I think Germany has no red-and-amber phase - I think I remember noticing. The one thing that I remember reading about the Netherlands is that the rule of priority on roundabouts is the reverse of ours: instead of traffic waiting to join the roundabout having to give way to traffic already on the roundabout that's coming from their left, its the other way round: traffic on the roundabout has to give way to traffic waiting to join - which frequently causes total gridlock! The EU apparently once tried to get the UK to adopt this practice but were told where to go ;-) I must admit, after driving in America and having to keep down to fairly low speed limits on single-carriageway roads (35 where we'd probably have had 50 or 60), it was nice to get off the train from Gatwick into my own car and drive on the right side of the road on country lanes where I was able to drive at a reasonable speed, or on a dual-carriageway where I wouldn't have to contend with someone overtaking me on my nearside or going dead-level with me mile after mile, and in a car that didn't change down automatically into second gear every time I dropped below 30 or negotiated a roundabout! Before I went, I was apprehensive of how I'd adjust to driving on the other side of the road, but I had no problems with that. One doesn't, I understand. I don't yet drive, but I'm told by those who do that this is invariably far less difficult than anticipated. I think being on the opposite side of the car (the correct side for road) helps a great deal. And at least in an automatic I didn't have the added distraction of having to change gear frequently and remembering that the layout of the gears is one of the things that's *not* a mirror image. Only occasionally did I have to remember at junctions not to pull out instinctively onto the wrong side of the road I was joining. One thing I did notice driving and walking through small towns was how much more willing American drivers were to give way to cars pulling out from side roads or to pedestrians wanting to cross the road. When I was on foot, several cars stopped simply because I'd turned to face the opposite side of the road to admire a building! Even in the centre of Boston, cars were willing to give way to pedestrians who weren't on "crosswalks" (also signed as "PED XING" which had me puzzled till I worked out what it was an abbreviation for!) or to drivers on side roads. However I also noticed that pedestrians never seemed to assume that they had a divine right to cross a side road that a car was waiting to turn into - maybe the rules of who has priority over whom are more sensible over there. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
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London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 18:29:05 +0100, Mrs Redboots
wrote: Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 25 Jun 2005: And it felt wrong not having a red-and-amber "get ready to go, put the car in gear/drive, take the handbrake off" phase to traffic lights, but I gather a lot of Europe is like that. France certainly is; Germany is more like us. Not sure about any other European countries, Quick answer to two threads (since I am resident in Spain). In Spain, the registration number stays with the car throughout its life. Since 2000, when the system changed, there is no way of telling where a car was first registered. This was a deliberate decision by the Spanish authorities. Before that, the first letter (or two) denoted the province of registration. You can tell its rough age from its registration, as they are issued consecutively, but there's no easy direct correlation. There's no red/amber at Spanish traffic lights; however we have a great many flashing amber signals - proceed but give way. And to get slightly back on topic, give me the Valencia metro over the London Underground any day! -- Bill Hayles http://billnot.com |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 25 Jun 2005:
I had written: France certainly is; Germany is more like us. Not sure about any other European countries, we were only on the motorways in Belgium last holidays, and I don't think I noticed what the situation was in Switzerland. I think Germany has no red-and-amber phase - I think I remember noticing. I didn't think Germany did, but last holidays we were driving in both, and my husband commented, when we got into Germany, that they followed a similar system to us. So perhaps they've changed - or else, perhaps they have red, followed by separate amber, followed by green? I was too busy navigating to notice! -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 23 May 2005 |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Bill Hayles" wrote in message
... On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 18:29:05 +0100, Mrs Redboots wrote: Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 25 Jun 2005: And it felt wrong not having a red-and-amber "get ready to go, put the car in gear/drive, take the handbrake off" phase to traffic lights, but I gather a lot of Europe is like that. France certainly is; Germany is more like us. Not sure about any other European countries, Quick answer to two threads (since I am resident in Spain). There's no red/amber at Spanish traffic lights; however we have a great many flashing amber signals - proceed but give way. I've often wondered whether we should adopt flashing amber more widely in the UK: eg overnight at junctions which are very busy in the rush hour (and so need conventional red or green aspects at those times) but which at night have so little traffic that a red light (if the lights happen to be left for traffic at right angles) can delay you. Give everyone flashing amber at night and adopt "roundabout rules" (priority to traffic coming from the right), perhaps? Over here, the only place where flashing amber tends to be used is at pedestrian lights, as a longer-than-normal transition between red and green. |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
"Mrs Redboots" wrote in message
... Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 25 Jun 2005: I had written: France certainly is; Germany is more like us. Not sure about any other European countries, we were only on the motorways in Belgium last holidays, and I don't think I noticed what the situation was in Switzerland. I think Germany has no red-and-amber phase - I think I remember noticing. I didn't think Germany did, but last holidays we were driving in both, and my husband commented, when we got into Germany, that they followed a similar system to us. So perhaps they've changed - or else, perhaps they have red, followed by separate amber, followed by green? I was too busy navigating to notice! I'm pretty sure that there wasn't a red-and-amber when I went on holiday to Austria with my parents in the early 80s and we drove through Germany from Munich to Innsbruck: I remember commenting on it. Can't remember how it was when I went to Hannover more recently. I bet the only downside of not driving is that you get called upon to do all the navigating - like non-drinkers get imposed upon to do all the driving after parties etc! |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
In message ,
Colin Rosenstiel writes I think our red and amber is unique. The only other country with a variant that I recall is Italy with green and amber. I didn't notice that, but I do remember that the lights in Naples were only for advice or decoration. -- Clive |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
In message ,
Martin Underwood writes France certainly is; Germany is more like us. Although I've not seen it anywhere else, I very much liked the pigs ears on traffic lights (Little repeaters at eye height), that the French have on all there lights. -- Clive |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
In message , Mrs Redboots
writes What threw us totally was that these limits were *obeyed*.... presumably why they can be higher than ours! I'd noticed that and asked another driver why. Apparently breaking the speed limit carries very draconian measures. A different issue but one I found annoying was when driving an American auto box, slowly accelerating was good but to attempt to overtake the response is to put your foot down, each time I did I found I was without drive for about two seconds whilst the box kicked down. -- Clive |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
In message , Martin
Underwood writes I didn't realise that some countries mandated dipped headlights at all times. I know that some Scandinavian countries mandate side/tail lights. I noticed as we crossed from Germany to Denmark that the speed limit went down and all drivers had dipped beam. -- Clive |
London Buses - they got a special on light bulbs or something?
Martin Underwood wrote to uk.transport.london on Sun, 26 Jun 2005:
I bet the only downside of not driving is that you get called upon to do all the navigating - like non-drinkers get imposed upon to do all the driving after parties etc! Indeed, and my husband, like several others of my acquaintance, doesn't follow directions well. Or slow down so you can read road signs.... and expects you to know, by instinct, which way to turn! Then, when you tell him, he says "Oh, I can't turn here, I'm in the wrong lane", and goes merrily on in the wrong direction. Or takes the wrong exit from a roundabout when you say "Not that one"...... Someone suggested GPS, but our rather out-of-date system doesn't help all that much! It is, however, very useful when you have gone badly wrong! -- "Mrs Redboots" http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/ Website updated 23 May 2005 |
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