Very right. I was told .. what must you do before you start the car?..
Simples..
Make sure you can stop it!.
Like when gliding..
Have you thought of where you might land before you take off?..
Nope. There is actually no requirement for a motorway to have a central reservation. This section was built as a spur from the M60 and was intended to be extended and to form one carriageway of a normal motorway at a future date, however the extension and the other carriageway were never built. The spur was classed as motorway from the start. It was the A6144(M) and is now the A6144 - looking that up can cause it's own problems however, as there are now two separate motorway exits, both going to the A6144 - the original A6144 and the former A6144(M) which join, so the A6144 is actually Y shaped with three ends!
See
The HC is (was?) a bit unclear here, using a phrase something like "a motorway or dual carriageway with a central reservation" and could be read two ways. Enquiries revealed that it should be read as two separate items and would be better phrased as "a dual carriageway with a central reservation or a motorway" which is not open to mis-interpretation. Therefore as a motorway, 70 mph, despite no reservation.
SteveW
Locomotives normally have the facility to be coupled together and controlled from the cab of the leading one (multiple working) allowing one driver to control multiple locomotives. In push-pull working, the leading carriage has a cab built into it and the train is driven from there when in push mode. Similar to the old 1950s Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) where one carriage had a pair of diesels under the floor and a cab at one end and the other just had the cab and no engines.
SteveW
So why was a fuss made?
There's nothing wrong with being limited as long as you know your own limits and stick to them - it's the ones that don't that are the problem, hence the high number of accidents in the young and some of the elderly. She isn't overly hesitant or overly confident; has good road positioning and observation; sensibly adjusts her speed to the conditions; thinks about others when she's stopping or parking; etc., etc. All the things that we should aspire to!
She is actually perfectly capable of dealing with things beyond what she'll meet, but is stressed by knowing in advance that she's going to a new area, far more so with someone observing her. That's one of the reasons for not driving the first trip somewhere herself - assessment of new patients usually requires two staff and a new area and feeling that a collegue is observing her would be too close to a driving test, hence let them drive her to a new patient rather than the other way round! She'd She has enough stress in her life and there is no reason to add to it.
Over the years I have done numerous exams and the only ones I have been nervous about while doing them are the driving test, observed practicals and presentations - it's not the pressure of the exams that is the problem, it's the pressure of having someone watching you. Many people would fail unnecessarily, just due to that.
SteveW
WTF is her reaction if a TrafPol car happens to follow her?
While being observed by an examiner, which makes a huge difference. Driving and driving while being officially observed are two vastly different things and those that suffer from anxiety are no worse at the former, but far worse at the latter.
What sort of change in circumstances? She's fine with idiots doing unexpected things or having to work her way around a closed road or a jam, she worries about going somewhere totally different that she hasn't been before - not a particularly unrealistic fear - and worries far more if she is going to have to take a passenger on that unfamiliar journey, hence travelling the route as a passenger the first time, instead of feeling under pressure from having a colleague as passenger.
As I've said elsewhere, it's the thoughts of driving somewhere unfamiliar that is the problem, not so much actually doing it. Having to do it while under observation would really make her nervous. She suffers from anxiety problems, driving she can cope with, a driving test would likely push her over the edge.
I know that I am happy doing exams or preparing work that will be reviewed by others, but I hate being observed doing it - as do many others
SteveW
It was considered that the much lower axle weight of a carriage compared to a locomotive made it more likely to derail when hitting an obstruction and hence always leading with the locomotive is safer - basically something getting jammed between the sleepers and the bottom of the carriage or between wheel and track is less likely to lift a heavy locomotive high enough for the wheel flanges to slip over the top of the rail.
Having just read the report referred to by another poster, it was considered too expensive to increase the axle loading of the leading carriage and that to get it to a similar level as a locomotive, it'd require entirely new driving carriages for each train. A much cheaper alternative of adding a guard to try and prevent obstructions getting under the carriage or wheels and lifting it was added instead although its effects are far mor limited.
SteveW
Why should that be a problem? Having someone sat next to you and watching your every movement, even your eye movements is far, far worse.
SteveW
They should electrify the rails to discourage cows :-)
Then she needs to employ the services of a driving instructor (friendly folk but not free). The driving test did alter a few years ago and introduced a bit where the driver had to make their own decisions where to go
And all I got last Thursday was a yellow sign saying "A11 to A12 N Bound slip road closed at Bow use alternative route". No diversions were given, there was just that sign. Time for the map book as the Sat Nav is a waste of space in London. I just diverted up Grove Road and joined the A12 here.
Have you any idea how long it takes a proper train not a few multiple units to stop? I was on a 125 on the GWR, it wasn't going flat out but probably over 100 mph, Suddenly the brakes came on, they didn't ease on like they normally do. Then they came on a bit harder, definate braking sensation and that distinctive odour started to creep into the compartment. Then harder again, I was in a forward facing seat and had to stiffen my back against the braking. The noise and vibration was a little worrying, this train was trying really very hard to stop. Then they eased off and we were down to maybe 10 mph. To get down to that speed took a good couple of minutes, we crawled along for a couple more and then went across a level crossing. Never found out the reason but I suspect something had not gone right with closing the barriers or some twonk had jumped 'em.
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