Volvo Owners Club Forum - View Single Post - 2018 xc60 inscription

optimistic · Sep 24th, 2018, 17:19

Zebster,
Let's consider a hypothetical situation, just to illustrate the sort of situation I'm talking about. Imagine that you are driving on the motorway. You come across that not uncommon situation whereby there is a queue of lorries stretching into the distance, taking up the slow and middle lanes while they overtake one another at a speed differential of 0.5mph. You move into the fast lane at a god fearing 70mph and start cruising past them. Then you spot a little Fiat 500 bearing down on you at 95mph with some impatience because he has spent the last 10 minutes winding up to that speed and you (and the lorries) are threatening his momentum (yes, the Fiat will do over 100mph in the right conditions). Such is his irritation (and/or arrogance) that he sits 2ft from your rear bumper, crouched over his steering wheel and maybe even flashing his lights and sounding his hooter. Normally you would pull into the middle lane to let him pass and proceed to his inevitable fate but you can't do that because of those lorries so you have three choices

(1) to stamp on your brakes and then accelerate quickly back to the speed limit to impress upon him the dangers of his temperament and driving style while enjoying in the mirror the panic on his face as he suddenly appreciates the true dangers of tailgating and its effect on his bowels,

(2) to proceed at 70 mph knowing that if a dangerous situation were to arise causing you to brake hard the Fiat would probably be written off, its occupants severely injured and, worst of all, your Volvo might sustain a scratched rear bumper

(3) to accelerate past the line of lorries a quickly as possible to a point where you could pull into the centre lane and return to a legal 70mph while getting the incidental gratification of seeing that Fiat shrinking in your rear view mirror and it's driver being disillusioned of the fantasy of being Louis Hamilton at the wheel of a Mercedes F1 racing car.

Sometimes we need to react to the misbehaviour of bad drivers to protect ourselves, and them, or just react to random events using the full capabilities of our vehicles. I hope that consideration doesn't dislodge your halo.

Just another thought, is letting learner drivers onto the motorways just the thin end of the wedge? How long before we see a cycle lane on the M25?

Sep 24th, 2018, 17:19	#26
optimistic New Member Last Online: Mar 23rd, 2024 18:50 Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: London	Zebster, Let's consider a hypothetical situation, just to illustrate the sort of situation I'm talking about. Imagine that you are driving on the motorway. You come across that not uncommon situation whereby there is a queue of lorries stretching into the distance, taking up the slow and middle lanes while they overtake one another at a speed differential of 0.5mph. You move into the fast lane at a god fearing 70mph and start cruising past them. Then you spot a little Fiat 500 bearing down on you at 95mph with some impatience because he has spent the last 10 minutes winding up to that speed and you (and the lorries) are threatening his momentum (yes, the Fiat will do over 100mph in the right conditions). Such is his irritation (and/or arrogance) that he sits 2ft from your rear bumper, crouched over his steering wheel and maybe even flashing his lights and sounding his hooter. Normally you would pull into the middle lane to let him pass and proceed to his inevitable fate but you can't do that because of those lorries so you have three choices (1) to stamp on your brakes and then accelerate quickly back to the speed limit to impress upon him the dangers of his temperament and driving style while enjoying in the mirror the panic on his face as he suddenly appreciates the true dangers of tailgating and its effect on his bowels, (2) to proceed at 70 mph knowing that if a dangerous situation were to arise causing you to brake hard the Fiat would probably be written off, its occupants severely injured and, worst of all, your Volvo might sustain a scratched rear bumper (3) to accelerate past the line of lorries a quickly as possible to a point where you could pull into the centre lane and return to a legal 70mph while getting the incidental gratification of seeing that Fiat shrinking in your rear view mirror and it's driver being disillusioned of the fantasy of being Louis Hamilton at the wheel of a Mercedes F1 racing car. Sometimes we need to react to the misbehaviour of bad drivers to protect ourselves, and them, or just react to random events using the full capabilities of our vehicles. I hope that consideration doesn't dislodge your halo. Just another thought, is letting learner drivers onto the motorways just the thin end of the wedge? How long before we see a cycle lane on the M25?