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from the youtube-dashcam-accidents-guaranteed-for-years-to-com dept.
Sunday Times Driving reports under 50% of surveyed UK drivers know what a roundabout sign looks like, and only 68% knew what the speed bump sign means.
The survey was conducted by the Institute of Advanced Motorists, with 1,000 participants.
Only 32% of drivers knew you should allow at least a two-second time gap to the vehicle ahead when driving on a dry open road. It appears many motorists are conflating this with two car lengths in distance, as 53% of those surveyed responded with that answer.
[...] Younger motorists were the most likely to answer incorrectly, with 17 to 39 year-olds having the lowest correct answer percentage rates in 14 of the 23 questions, but older drivers didn't do very well either.
The Sunday Times article has an embedded googleforms survey, so you can test your knowledge of UK road rules.
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Monday October 22 2018, @12:19PM (8 children)
British cars do not generally (AFAIK) have the brake lights come on with the handbrake (which I believe in the USA is called the "emergency" or "parking" brake). Mind you, with most cars having their brake lights on in traffic jams, sometimes for 10 minutes or more) I do wonder. I did once however drive a hired Ford Transit van that was arranged that way.
(Score: 2) by Zinho on Monday October 22 2018, @01:04PM (7 children)
That seems unsafe to me; I can foresee this practice leading to rear end collisions as dazzled [oxforddictionaries.com] drivers to the rear start moving forward, thinking that the car in front of them is moving now that the brake lights have shut off. Perhaps this is balanced by British drivers being more cautious than my neighbors...
"Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
(Score: 1) by NateMich on Monday October 22 2018, @01:28PM
I wonder about that too, but I'd assume that nobody bothers pulling the parking brake on the road for no reason anyway.
If you're dazzeled by their fabulous brake lights, you probably have overly sensitive eyes and shouldn't be driving.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Monday October 22 2018, @02:52PM (5 children)
In my experience, when the brake lights go out, it's generally pretty self-evident if the vehicle is stationary or accelerating. Moreso if the vehicle is part of a queue of traffic.
It's also worth bearing in mind that the vast majority of UK cars use a manual transmission/gearbox. Automatics may automatically engage the clutch as you release the footbrake, but in a manual pulling off from being stationary you'd generally want to swap the foot brake for the handbrake to leave your left foot free to operate the clutch. (One can short-cut this with a level or assisting gradient if you're quick, but the taught method is to use the hand brake.)
(Score: 2) by Zinho on Monday October 22 2018, @03:24PM (4 children)
Agreed, unless it's dark, the driver behind is partially blind from the dazzling brake lights in front, and also an idiot. That last one seems unfortunately too common [1], and is the direct cause of most traffic accidents.
I'm unsure what your point is here. You seem to be saying that most UK drivers are in the habit of using the handbrake when accelerating from a stop, so other UK drivers don't expect to see tail lights turning off as a signal that a car is about to move?
Also, are you suggesting that there's an appropriate time to use the left foot on the brake when driving a manual transmission car?
Both of those would indicate very different driving cultures between the two sides of the Pond. My use of the hand brake instead of heel/toe braking to accelerate from a stop was cited as the primary reason why I failed my first driving test; the evaluator suggested I learn to operate my vehicle properly and get more practice before retesting.
[1] Also, anyone can be an idiot; see the relevant research presented by Bill Engvall. [wikipedia.org]
"Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
(Score: 3, Informative) by kazzie on Monday October 22 2018, @07:20PM (3 children)
Sorry, I should have said "swap brake for accelerator" (with the associated task of bringing the clutch up to biting point) before moving off. Left-foot braking is not commonplace.
Driving test examiners here will definitely expect you to apply the hand brake if you come to a complete stop for more than a few seconds, which is in keeping with the advice on not blinding drivers behind you. People who've long since passed their test are often more lax in this, and keep the footbrake engaged until they're ready to move off (or their foot gets tired). Even then, they may apply the handbrake to start moving off, or just release the brake and then engage the clutch on a rolling start, according to the road and their personal style.
So in summary, you'll find some cars whose brake lights extinguish within seconds of stopping, others that stay lit until a few seconds before they move off, and others that'll start rolling as soon as they go out. As a result UK drivers can't take the lights going out as a sure sign that the car in front is about to move.
(Score: 2) by Zinho on Monday October 22 2018, @07:50PM (2 children)
Thanks for the clarification, I'm going to file that away. There's a remote chance I'll be driving those roads someday (I've got family near Leeds), so that info may come in useful.
I'd heard that "hillclimber clutch" was a thing in Europe, where the brake would stay engaged after you take your foot off until the driver raises the clutch. Is that common, or is it just a feature on the high-end cars? reference [wikipedia.org]
Thinking about it, though, it wouldn't be much use in a traffic jam unless it was also aware of which gear was selected (i.e. neutral vs 1st); otherwise the driver would need to keep holding the clutch in, which is worse than holding the brake for long periods at a stop (excess wear on thrust bearing is bad). The hand brake is a better solution for idling at a stop.
"Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday October 23 2018, @04:03AM
I'm not familiar with such a feature on UK cars, but my current car is older than most of the table on that linked page. I think it's still an upmarket extra here.
The linked page describes having to hold the clutch fully in to keep the brake engaged, so it's of limited use idling in traffic.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 24 2018, @10:42PM
I've never come across that specific feature in any cars I've driven in the UK. Some newer cars have an electronic hand-brake, and that may automatically hold the car stationary after a complete stop, although the ones I've used release on application of the accelerator not raising the clutch.