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Thread ID: 53359	2005-01-15 05:49:00	Kiwi Drivers...	manicminer (4219)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
314325	2005-01-15 21:33:00	BTW,why don't people signal? Is it really hard work to flick the indicator? :help: It's not just me who experiences this then! I'm often left hanging at a roundabout waiting to see what the car coming from my right is going to do. It's frustrating not only for me, but for the drivers behind me who are probably wondering what the hold up is. Failing to indicate = another potential cause of traffic holdups. Those indicators seem to be there for decoration.	manicminer (4219)
314326	2005-01-15 22:24:00	With respect, I dont think that has ever been the case. It certainly has, Terry. Many people I know who have sat their license within the last 10-15 years follow this practice. I'm not sure when they stopped that rule (it doesn't appear to be in the current road-code). You signalled left if turning left immediately, otherwise you signalled right until you reached your exit, and then signalled left to leave the roundabout. I believe now that it follows normal intersection rules, apart from the signalling left before you exit (signal right for a right turn, no signal for straight-ahead, signal left for left turn). Mike.	Mike (15)
314327	2005-01-15 22:34:00	In 10 years of regular use of Wellington Combined cabs, I cannot recall a single incident of bad driving by one of their drivers. Wellington Combined are usually not toooooo bad, it tends to be the smaller companies with the barely warrantable cars, and often foreign drivers (it gets back to that again) who will park over street entrances, in bus stops, private carparks etc. That or the ubiquitous stopping on yellow lines/in the middle road - it's ok I've got hazard lights on. The rare times I use a taxi, I will actively seek out a safe/reliable looking vehicle with a european driver, so I'm assured it's someone that'll speak english and know where I'm going. (which usually ends up being Wellington Combined)	ninja (1671)
314328	2005-01-15 22:35:00	We had son and family from Melbourne staying with us over Christmas, and we lent them our car. He said the first thing he noticed, compared with Melbourne, is the lack of signalling turns. Seems that in Melb people are much more diligent in this matter. Tony	TonyF (246)
314329	2005-01-15 22:37:00	Seems that in Melb people are much more diligent in this matter. Tony Melbourne do those weird hook turn things. Animation: www.path.unimelb.edu.au Description: www.bbc.co.uk	ninja (1671)
314330	2005-01-15 23:11:00	Is that you or the semi? :D Elephants are usually around 1T, 28T would be a a pretty big one.	george12 (7)
314331	2005-01-15 23:23:00	Melbourne do those weird hook turn things. They ARE weird, and throw you for a start. The key thing is that they are necessary because of where the tram tracks are placed on the road. If Melburnians did what we do, they would hold up the trams. I wish we could revert to the old road rule here that required a kind of hook turn when turning on roads where the open speed limit applies... You know, if you wanted to turn right on the open road, you pulled over to the left onto the verge until there was no oncoming traffic or traffic coming from behind, and then you completed your turn. Some prat with more salary than brains had the rules changed to allow people to park in the middle of the open road (eg in a thudding great Merivale tractor that takes up half the road) waiting for the way ahead to be clear before they complete their turn. The trouble is, this combines with the Kiwi aversion to signalling properly - ie the tendency to signal at the last minute. This usually happens so that the following traffic (going at 100kph) is presented with mum and the kids in a Merivale tractor suddenly braking to a halt in the middle of the open road for no apparent reason. The problem escalates when there is a queue of cars following el stupido in the turning vehicle; usually at unsafe following distances. Why did they change that rule? And why is it always a mud free 4x4 that is the turning vehicle? And why is it they always signal at the last minute? The answer my friends is "42". As an unreconstructed old fart interested in my own survival, I still pull over and stop on the left hand verge until the way is clear. Am I stupid or what??? :@@: Grump, grump, whine, whinge, bleat.	John H (8)
314332	2005-01-15 23:52:00	mmm . . . . don't get me started on crazy drivers ;-) well i live in driving hell central . we have won awards for the worse roads in the country, have some of the highest traffic flows and every weekend/holiday have lots of aucklanders screaming through ! however i must say that drivers in general have vastly inproved over the last 10 years . a couple of quick points . . . . . . . moving over to let faster traffic through causes more accidents than it prevents . moving over (assuming your driving at a resonable pace) simply opens an invition for people to drive 3 cars wide with a few inches to spare, one wobble and its a 3 car pile up and they will need body bags . however if your crawling up a hill pulling over onto a big sholder is good, though it pays to indicate went you come off the sholder . the reason some people don't use indicators is simply that if they don't know where u r going then they will often stop and let you through . personally i think its a crap idea much like the force overtake old people seem to do . you know the ones, slow car indicates and pulls to the side of the road but you can't pass due to oncoming traffic but whens its clear and you start going past they pull back out to stop you overtaking ! i remember when the first striped centre lanes where first put in around here (it wasn't long ago either), none of the locals knew how to use them, caos ruled ! what i would like to know is where do people learn all these nasty tricks? eg the blockades, forced overtakes, the "drive insanly slow untill you get to a place they can overtake then drive insanly fast", the no idicators trick, the indicate right turn left trick, the drive in middle of road @ 30km/h, the don't overtake untill after the end of passing lanes etc (just a small sample) i have heard throug the grapevine of poele teaching other people these tricks . WHY ? ? it was bad enough when we had a few tourists who got told by a rental company to do some of these !	tweak'e (69)
314333	2005-01-15 23:59:00	a couple of quick points....... moving over to let faster traffic through causes more accidents than it prevents. .. Couldn't agree more. While people pulling over (for example those towing caravans) may think they are doing a good deed, they are in fact encouraging a dangerous situation. Time after time I've seen slow traffic pull over, over the white line on the left onto the 'dirty' side of the road, only to have to suddenly pull right because of an obstacle or the road narrowing. Now if that were to happen while someone overtaking then potential disaster. I've seen a couple of near misses with this happening. They are better off keeping left, without crossing the white line so that at least cars behind can have a clear view ahead to make their own judgement as to when it's safe to overtake, without being co-erced by the car in front to 'get on with it and get past'.	manicminer (4219)
314334	2005-01-16 00:08:00	Having just driven the length of the South Island twice, I concur with tweak'e on the above. One "trait" that is noticeable in the rural area with the asian driving population is the tendency for these drivers to "stop" for any or no reason anywhere they decide, without pulling off the road at all. This causes a number of accidents when it is just around a blind corner, and I am unsure why that sector of the driving population do it so often? There may be a reason based on their country of origin driving methods but have no idea what it is.	godfather (25)
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