OT: How come no one has mentioned...

[geoff]

In message , Schrodinger's cat writes

Well, that's a first ...

I was just hoping to shut him up for a while

[Andy Hall]

Ummm.... wrong attribution. I asked the question.

FWIW I've owned all the models in the 5 series range at one time or another, so yes I agree with you.

[Dave]

Well, that proves it's not just me then. Thanks.

RAOTFLMAO

Dave

[Dave]

You must be one of the few good Volvo drivers then. They are rare, but do exist.

I'll always remember a prog on TV. It was about a father teaching his daughter to drive and he turned round to her and more or less said, 'it's a Volvo, they drive to a different set of rules to the rest of us'.

Dave

[dennis]

I rest my case.

[Andy Hall]

Probably best.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Thanks for confirming your lack of knowledge. The E39 5 Series - the model before the current one - was regarded as the finest car in its class by pretty well every single respected motoring mag or organisation etc in the world. And set a standard plenty other makes still can't match some 10 years later.

[The Natural Philosopher]

It's that sense of invulnerability that creeps over you, Tony..:-)

I have never maintained that driving a Volvo makes bad drivers: However most really bad drivers used to end up driving Volvos, in the full expectation of the ghastly crash they knew subcsonsciously they would inevitably cause one day.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Try starting your prejudice from the other end. All BMW and Volvo drivers are excellent - and look out for proof. You'll find the conclusion just as accurate as the other way.

Well remember a conversation in the pub about car makes using foglights. Of course someone was sure the majority were BMWs. So I said 'lets sit outside and count the cars going by equipped with foglights that have them on'. Which of course excludes quite a few not so fitted. The result over an hour or so? Mondeo first...

Thing about prejudices is you are certain you are correct, regardless of statistics.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I never said 'all'

I said that the majority of really bad drivers tended to go for certain sorts of cars. That doesn't mean the majority are driven by really bad drivers, just that a higher proportion of volvos are badly driven, than almost any other brand.

I didn't get the prejudice without the hard experience first.

Thing about personal experience, is that you will always get shouted down.

There are several classes of vehicles I avoid like the plague. Volvos are one. Old men with hats are another, watch to see if the head moves: If not the mirrors are basically fashion accessories. Also people who wander from the verge to the crown of the road. Almost certainly drunk, on the phone, or totally crap drivers.

And the fish on the back. Usually a volvo too.

then there is the person who drives at 38 mph outside of town and 38mph in town. "I am a safe driver because I never drive fast" (and I never bother with signals, mirrors, keeping to speed limits, or in fact have any awareness at all: I just drive along feeling safe because I am not fast)

[Andy Champ]

Let's think. White cars with orange stripes always make me nervous :)

But lately - it's lights. It really bugs me when some guy in a disco (or X5, or range rover, or cayenne, or several similar vehicles) tailgates me in a speed limit, when I'm already pushing it. And has his lights on. Because my rear view mirror is at about the same height as his lights. And I *know* his brakes aren't as good as mine.

And I also know if I pull over and let him past there'll be a set of traffic lights, and he'll be sitting there with his foot on the brake pedal.

I'm always suspicious of any 4x4 that's clean, and has no towbar. WHY?

Andy

[tony sayer]

What's wrong with them then?..

You'll be old one day hatted or not;!, comes to all of us;....

And the visible lack of old bill...

Not one in ours!..

No doubt in a Volvo too;?..

[Bob Eager]

What annoys me are the people (and I see quite a few on the way to work) who drive at the steady 35 mph on the open road. Then they enter a 30 mph limit - still 35 mph. Then they enter a 20 mph limit - still 35 mph. All those speeds are wrong for the prevailing conditions, yet they're convinced they're (a) right and (b) safe.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Car are great. Many of the drivers are great, but the worst drivers it has ever been my misfortune to come across have driven volvos.

I AM old, but no hat...haven;t worn a hat since I destroyed my school 'boater' playing frisbee with it, and IIRC oddjob..the cap had already been gleefully thrown into the river.

Good ;-)

No. These are just as bad. The volvo driver who chooses a volvo because its 'safe' sort of knows he is a terrible driver, and wears teh volvo badge of shame.

The 38mph driver thinks he is a good driver. The only time he ever speeds up is when you try to overtake him, as he KNOWS that he and only he knows what the 'safe speed' is for any bit of road.

He will kill you sooner than admit otherwise, just to prove the point.

I make sure that I can out accelerate these guys by a wide margin. Or I go a different way.

To be honest all these are actually worse than the boy racer. With someone 6" from your bum with his boom box and his riding lights, you either slam on the brakes and claim on the insurance to piss him off, or let him get past.

He's gonna write himself off against a lamp post or someone, so its merely a question of making sure its not you.

>

[The Natural Philosopher]

See my post. These are not annoying: they are deeply dangerous.

My father in law is like that. He used to be a pretty decent driver, but he cant really turn his head, or even get a decent wheel lock with power steering. He regularly wipes the car corners against other objects, because he can no longer handle the volume of input that going backwards requires. He wrote off his last car because he was trying to read a road sign and ran into the car in front.

At 87, he does pretty well, but really he shouldn't be driving at all.

[Frank Erskine]

Now Audi drivers, on the other hand...

[Frank Erskine]

That is so true. It's obvious that (a) they aren't taking any notice of speed limit signs, (b) clearly differing road conditions don't make them change their thinking, so they aren't aware of whatever's happening about them. A real hazard, and should be 'done' for driving without due care and attention.

[Frank Erskine]

It's very difficult to try and tell a loved one that they're, bluntly, too old to be driving. Fortunately, my late Dad (who'd been driving before the driving test came out) accepted, after a few minor bumps into kerbs etc, that he was a bit past it, and got rid of his car before any serious RTIs occurred. He was a good(ish!) driver, but was away at sea a lot, so didn't perhaps have as much experience in the sort of heavy traffic we've had in the last 25 years or so.

[<me9]

My father in law (now 90) does very well. He's still alert, probably more than me and knows his limitations. He goes off with his grockle box twice a year without problems (but steers clear of motorways and rush hours). I wouldn't fault his driving, it's probably better than mine.

He does admit, that before his cataracts were done at age 87, that his eyes should have been better. He was measuring out afterwards to check it was ok. It was.

[The Natural Philosopher]

seem to be attracting the madder kind of younger driver these days.