Re: [DML] British Motoring versus American Motoring

["content22207" <brobertson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Correction: "FRUSTRATION KILLS. USE PARKING PLACES TO ALLOW FASTER DRIVERS TO OVERTAKE" (in lieu of shoulders most British roads have parking places every couple of miles -- watch for them in the YouTube videos, marked with a blue letter "P").

Bill Robertson
#5939

--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "content22207" <brobertson@...> wrote:
>
> Brits drive too fast for their road conditions -- period. 740 fatalities in 5 years over a 10 mile stretch of road is a perfect example (if you are ever at the intersection of the A590 and A5092, watch for the blue sign -- I saw it multiple times as I drove people to/from the airport). If you try to drive slower, people impatiently ride your ass (literally inches from your back bumper). I had people pass me at the crest of a hill -- what would have happened if a car had been coming over the other side? In Scotland I actually came across a sign that read "FRUSTRATION KILLS. USE PASSING PLACES TO ALLOW FASTER DRIVERS TO OVERTAKE" (British road signs are in all caps). Personally, if saving lives was the objective, I would vote for faster drivers to slow down. 
> 
> British truck drivers are actually pretty good. They drive slower than the car drivers. They are quite cautious around blind curves and corners. They also don't ride your ass the way car drivers do.
> 
> BTW: This was not my first time driving in Britain. Over the years I have spent 8-9 months in country, so I knew exactly what I was in for (except for the gas prices -- last time I was over there gas was about $5 per gallon). Nevertheless, it still is an eye opening adjustment every time.
> 
> Bill Robertson
> #5939
> 
> 
> 
> --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Martin Gutkowski" <martin@> wrote:
> >
> > Bill, you claim you are not a troll and yet you write this crap? I genuinely believe you are mentally unbalanced sometimes. What part of your twisted brain thought It was okay to say shit about brits "slaughtering themselves" on the roads? I take it you haven't lost someone close to you in a RTA, because if you had you might have thought twice before writing that downright nasty comment.
> > 
> > The rest of this nonsense is either simply wrong (pay at pump for eg) or missing the point (eg most roads are older than the automobile!).
> > 
> > Please can whoever is in charge of the list these days switch Bill to moderated?
> > 
> > Martin
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Sent from my BlackBerry®
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: "content22207" <brobertson@>
> > Sender: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:43:29 
> > To: <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Reply-To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: [DML] British Motoring versus American Motoring
> > 
> > I've just returned from a 1,600 mile whirlwind driving tour of Great Britain, during which I observed several differences that account for much of the online confusion between American DML users and British DML users:
> > 
> > 1) Whereas Americans hold on to cars for an average of more than 10 years now, British automobiles more than 5 or 6 years old are quite rare (cars with visible body damage, especially rust damage, are even rarer). British cars also accumulate fewer miles than American cars. It is basically a country of recently manufactured low mileage automobiles.
> > 
> > 2) British MPG calculations need to be reduced 20% to yield comparable American equivalents (the British gallon is 160 oz). The Brits also don't adulterate their gas with grain alcohol, which reduces MPG at least 5% further. 
> > 
> > 3) British gas currently costs about $8.70 per US gallon.
> > 
> > 4) The curviness (and hilliness) of British roads is indescribable. They are 10 times worse than West Virginian roads. No joke -- plan on averaging 35 MPH (you are continually accelerating and braking at intervals often measured in fractions of a second). Their Motorways are more or less comparable to Interstate highways, but they only cover a small fraction of an already small country.
> > 
> > 5) British road signage is less than inadequate. 
> > 
> > 6) Brits have yet to discover pay at the pump.
> > 
> > 7) Run flat tires must have been developed for British use, because their roads have no shoulders whatsoever (9 times out of 10 the pavement is bordered by a stone wall, or it just drops off the side of a cliff (or into a lake/loch). 
> > 
> > 8) A sign on the A5092 advertises 740 deaths in the past 5 years, which is pretty phenomenal for a 10 mile stretch of pavement, so I looked up British road fatalities per 1,000 square miles (20.5) versus US road fatalities per 1,000 miles (8.64). Given the comparatively shorter distances Brits drive, they are slaughtering themselves on their roads at a frightening pace.
> >  
> > 9) Brits do not drive pickup trucks.
> > 
> > I'm sure I could think of more, but jet lag is kicking my butt, so I am going to bed. Bottom line: until British DML users come over here and experience American motoring first hand, of course everything we do on this side of the pond is going to seem weird and inexplicable. 
> > 
> > Bill Robertson
> > #5939
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > ------------------------------------
> > 
> > To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address:
> > moderators@
> > 
> > For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com
> > 
> > To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnewsYahoo! Groups Links
> >
>




------------------------------------

To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address:
moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx

For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com

To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnewsYahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    dmcnews-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    dmcnews-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/