Drivers and common sense

WillowTheWhisp · 12-03-2006, 13:21

It's snowing. It has been snowing all morning. In places the snow is qute deep. Willows Lane is passable but a bit iffy. Cars are parked either side so there is (as always) only enough room for one car to get through at a time. We have just returned home (early due to weather conditions) from church having been given a lift by the Bishop.

Coming up Willows Lane all was fine until we almost reached home and then someone coming down decided he was going to keep coming down in spite of the fact that there was a space at the side for him to pull into to allow us to get through. We were coming uphill and he was coming down but he kept on coming!

Bishop wound down his window. The other (taxi) driver wound down his window and proceeded to criticise us for coming up the road when he was trying to come down. "The Highway code does not apply in bad weather." said he. "Common sense applies and you should have stopped for me."

Common sense takes precedence over the Highway Code? That's a new one on me, but quite apart from that I would have thought it was common sense for a car coming uphill in snow to keep going because a car coming down can always get going again if it has to stop but it's not as easy to start uphill in loose snow that is giving way beneath the wheels.

Opinions and comments anyone?

Tinkerbelle · 12-03-2006, 13:49

Oh Willow don't get me started lol!! I know exactly what you mean. To get up from or down to town from here I have a choice Willows lane or Ormerod St ..... they are both as bad as each other with the parking and the complete ignorance of some drivers, it doesn't just come down to common sense it also takes a little bit of curtious (*sp) driving. I swear by the time I've got up or down either of these streets I need to pull over for a little breathing exercise!

SPUGGIE J · 12-03-2006, 15:54

I must have been an oddity as i loved driving in snow but was always aware that there were others that hated it and were only out as a neccecity. Comen sense is needed in adverse conditions and as that is not covered in any driving test at length then we are stuck with a few "tubes."

Madhatter · 12-03-2006, 15:58

It's a lot more dangerous trying to stop going down a hill on snow than stopping going up is his point. Your point is that if you stop you won't be able to get going again.

katex · 12-03-2006, 16:09

Think you will find that the Highway code asks you to give way to uphill traffic if possible anyway.

SPUGGIE J · 12-03-2006, 16:11

How many of us know the whole of the highway code and follow it?

WillowTheWhisp · 12-03-2006, 16:21

He had a place to pull in, we didn't. We would have had to reverse to find a place to pull in. It seems more common sense for him to have pulled to the side in a space right next to him than to keep on coming towards us when we were already there with no place to go, quite apart from any Highway Code.

Madhatter · 12-03-2006, 16:32

Must admit seems to be stupid to have kept going. I take it he stopped anyway to have a go at you?.
Personally if Possible, although by the sound of it you'd already passed where you could pull in before you saw him, I would stop going uphill and give way to coming down hill in snow regardless of what the highway code says. Thats based on the fact that it's harder to get started agian, and not that a vehicle coming down hill on snow may skid and loose control hitting you coming up. I've seen it happen. Although i've also seen a bus unable to get up a hill, and slew across a road and get wedged against a building unable to move untill the snow melted. Can you remember that really bad snow we had that bought all the power cables and telephone cables down, and cut off the water for a week.

Madhatter · 12-03-2006, 16:34

So really if he had the chance he should have pulled in and if you had the chance you should have pulled in.

WillowTheWhisp · 12-03-2006, 16:45

I saw cars the other Friday which had stopped coming up Ormerod Street and which slid across the road into parked vehicles when they tried to start up again. The ones coming down had no problems, they just slowed to a halt and then slowly started off again.

katex · 12-03-2006, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

He had a place to pull in, we didn't. We would have had to reverse to find a place to pull in. It seems more common sense for him to have pulled to the side in a space right next to him than to keep on coming towards us when we were already there with no place to go, quite apart from any Highway Code.

Say it Willow, he was just a selfish git.

SPUGGIE J · 12-03-2006, 17:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by katex

Say it Willow, he was just a selfish git.

Willow is being polite about it. Mind you I have had run ins with that kind of driver and I was on a crossing.

Busman747 · 12-03-2006, 17:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madhatter

It's a lot more dangerous trying to stop going down a hill on snow than stopping going up is his point. Your point is that if you stop you won't be able to get going again.

Only a white van man could come up with that insane logic!!

Madhatter · 12-03-2006, 18:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busman747

Only a white van man could come up with that insane logic!!

So whats your logic on it?
why do you think he didn't want to stop, what possible reasons has he for not wanting to stop, which he was obviously basing on safety grounds as he quoted junk from the highway code, and whats your reason for not stopping.

Margaret Pilkington · 12-03-2006, 18:54

Willow......the thing about common sense is.......it isn't a bit common....in fact it is a rarity.