Driving in Australia
Road Responsibility: Why Does It Seem Illegal?
I don’t know about you, but does it seem, in the light of Megan’s wonderful contributions recently, that the ability of people to take responsibility for their actions has decreased to the point that it’s almost illegal to be seen as doing so? Road rage is here and it’s here to stay. Yet there really are no reasons why it should be, BUT it’s also too easy to understand why road rage exists, given some of the truly awesomely garbage antics that are meant to be examples of driving, that we see on our roads daily. When a driver’s error (or two or five…) are pointed out, instead of a “yeah, sorry mate, you’re right, I shouldn’t have cut across three lanes to end up in front of you before slamming on the brakes so you almost hit me whilst I was texting”, you’re met with a torrent of abuse that would make a drill sergeant blush. Hang on, I’ve been driving correctly, doing nothing wrong, except for maybe listening to the radio station I swore I’d never listen to again but it’s MY fault that your driving standards are so bad that even Helen Keller could do a better job? In her sleep?
So what IS it that has people cursing you instead of acknowledging their error? What is it that’s gone wrong in society that to be seen doing the right thing is now the wrong thing? Driving a car really isn’t that hard, especially with the (to my mind) overwhelming push to automate almost every aspect of driving. Hop in, press the Start button, move a short, stubby lever to D and that’s about it. So why is it so hard to indicate, to slow down and stop for a red light, to go the right way in a shopping centre car park, to stop and check for traffic at an intersection rather than hammering through? And why is it so hard to acknowledge that doing those is wrong when someone says so?
A common response from our illmannered brethren is “You a cop mate? If you’re not a cop, why don’t you f##k off?” So, in order to be seen to be doing the right thing, a good driver pointing out a bad driver’s errors also has to be a cop? Does that also mean that you have to be a cop to pull a dog off another dog or a child? Does that mean you have to be a cop to shake your head at someone shoplifting? No, you don’t and to think so is absurd. 
In the world of motoring, we come across some things which baffle us; why we seem to get a string of red lights, for example, or why road designers insist on making roundabouts too big for buses to use properly. These are, generally, pretty easy to deal with, in the greater scheme of things. But why someone thinks it IS perfectly ok to stand on the brake pedal in front of you after cutting in front, only for you to see there was, in fact, nothing of front of them, and when you toot your horn in perfectly understandable human frustration you get thrown a barrage of verbal bricks, is one of life’s current imponderables. And, in the interest of fairness, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, you’re a driver of a car, a 1500 kilogram potential weapon. If you’ve done something wrong and it’s pointed out, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, you’re a crap driver.
It’s not illegal to take responsibility for your crap actions on the road, do what Megan so correctly suggests here at point 6: http://blog.privatefleet.com.au/home/calm-the-farm-avoiding-road-rage/ so if doing the right thing is too hard, if using indicators is too hard, if driving without your iFone headphones plugged into your ears (stupid, given you have a radio with inputs in your car!), if admitting you’re wrong is too hard then, please, do the rest of us a favour and hand your license in. It’s illegal to drive badly but it’s not illegal to be told you have been.
Have a great day.
Bad Driving Habits That Press Your Buttons
In my last post, I discussed road rage and how to avoid it. Now, in any discussion of road rage, there are two sides to the story, if not more. For nearly every incident of road rage (but not all of them), there has probably been a bad driving habit that has triggered it.
Some things really press other people’s buttons more than others. The ultimate way to avoid road rage, therefore, is to avoid these bad habits. Recently, I came across a survey from the UK that listed the ten most annoying driving habits that get other drivers steaming hot under the collar. I’m not sure how many of these ones are just as annoying here Down Under but most of them will be.
So it’s confession time. How many of these bad habits, presented in ascending order of annoyance, have you been guilty of?
10 Red light jumping. This either refers to that person who believes that the orange light means “speed up so you can get to the other side before the light turns red” or the person who knows that the light is going to turn green any second now and starts inching forward while the opposing light is still orange. Or else it’s both of these habits. Can anyone else see the major crash in the making here?
9 Being slow at traffic lights. This is the reverse of the person who inches forward before the light changes. This person has been quietly chilling out at the traffic lights while waiting for the green light and is now away with the pixies. Hopefully, they haven’t been trying to check their phone while waiting. The honk of a horn behind them is what jerks them back into the real world in a flurry of acceleration and gear changing.
8 Hesitant or tentative driving. OK, this is my bad habit, so I’m more likely to forgive it in others. Put it down to years of being a cyclist and to downsizing from my responsive automatic big engined Ford Falcon to a smaller engined and rather elderly manual Nissan ute that is a bit slower getting off the mark. Hesitation is also a hallmark of half the people on L and P plates (the other half are way overconfident). Getting angry at nervous drivers, yelling abuse at them and the like is only going to make them more nervous. This strikes me as a situation where patience is called for – but I’m biased!
7 Overtaking on the left. In most cases, this is illegal, unless there are multiple lanes (e.g. on a one-way street, in places where there are “vehicles with more than one passenger” lanes or bike lanes). It does happen when there is someone driving a snail in the fast lane on the right.
6 Sudden braking, especially at traffic lights. This usually gives the driver behind the heebie-jeebies. However, I can’t help viewing this “bad habit” in the context of Habit 10 and Habit 2. What’s more, we all know that there are situations where sudden braking has to be done – and sometimes, the car can do it for us. If someone brakes suddenly at the traffic lights, give them the benefit of the doubt: they might be able to see a fire engine with lights and sirens going coming that you can’t.
5 Using the flush median as an extra driving lane. OK, if you need to turn right and there’s a flush median provided, you need to go there. But if you’re just using it to overtake other drivers… don’t.
4 Dangerous overtaking. You know the person – the one that overtakes you and is about to overtake the car in front of you but then realises that there’s a B-train coming the other way so he/she cuts in between you and the car in front of you, forcing you to bang on the brakes to avoid rear-ending them.
3 Not indicating or indicating incorrectly. This would actually be at the top of my list and is the reason why I’m tentative at roundabouts – you never know if that nut indicating left at the roundabout is actually going to go straight through or if the person who looks like they’re coming straight through in the opposite direction to you is going to turn right at the last moment.
2 Tailgating. The flip side of Habit 6 and possibly Habit 7. Intimidates and annoys people, and if they have to bang on the brakes because a cat runs across the road, you’re going to ram them and the insurance company will probably consider you to be at fault.
1 Texting while driving. You may think that texting while driving only affects one person, but it’s usually the cause of people failing to look before they enter an intersection, indicating late (or not at all) or being slow at the green lights.
So did this UK survey miss anything? What presses your buttons?
Happy driving,
Megan
JOSS Sticks Around: An Aussie Supercar.
In a supercar world populated by names such as Lamborghini, Bentley, Pagani etc, it’s notable that the countries these wonderful car brands come from don’t include Australia. However, since 1998, there’s one bloke that’s been trying to change this; Matt Thomas. What’s important about this, though, is that Matt’s journey is not a pipedream, it’s one that’s involved people that have the highest level of experience in Formula 1, Le Mans, V8 Supercars and more. Matt, himself, has a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Design and started his working life as an automotive design modeller. His clients include Bentley, Jaguar, Aston Martin and the Stewart Grand Prix F1 team.
The project? The JOSS JP1 Track Car. There’s some powerful specifications to go with it: 5.0L all alloy V8 engine, with the aim of extracting 420 kilowatts and 520 Newton Metres of torque plus a maximum rev limit of 8000 rpm, Albins transaxle, carbon composite body with a kerb weight of just 900kg, with an anticipated zero to one hundred kilometre per hour time of 2.8 seconds before reaching a top speed of 340 km/h. Added to the recipe are the design elements of a slippery body, mid mounted engine behind a two seat configurtion, a smaller frontal area than Bugatti’s Veyron, lesser CO2 emissions plus better fuel economy and potential G forces of 1.2G laterally. The car itself is a development of the JT1, the test “mule” from 2004. Launched to great fanfare at the Melbourne Motor Show, the accolades soon rolled in:
“There is no reason Australia can’t be competitive in Supercars.World class capability already exists in automotive design, engineering, development, testing and production. Unlike mass market vehicles, low production volumes, high labour costs, the “high dollar”, and a small domestic market are largely irrelevant.In the wake of decisions to leave Australia by the mass market automobile manufacturers, JOSS is an exciting Australian start-up with global appeal.” – Gavin Smith, President, Robert Bosch (Australia) Pty Ltd.
“The JOSS project shows innovation, engineering excellence and a true belief that Australia can compete on a global scale. We wish the team the best of luck and look forward to working with JOSS in utilising as many Australian suppliers and capability as possible.” – Richard Reilly, CEO, FAPM.
The JOSS JT1 was a 400bhp, alloy headed V8 powered vehicle, built around a steel space frame chassis and weighed 948kg. It rolled on ultra sticky and low profile 18 inch Pirelli tyres, had a Porsche five speed transaxle transmission and powered through to 100 km/h in three seconds on the way to covering the quarter mile in just 11.7 seconds. That test car has given the JOSS development team plenty to work with and the JP1 is intended to be further developed to comply with the U.K.’s small manufacturer compliance regulations; with an initial run of five vehicles to kick things off as a Track Special, (allowing the owners to sample the ability and agility of the JP1) the investments in these first five will then use the aforementioned U.K. regulations as a stepping stone to the European market.
Matt and the team are using the ever increasing in popularity crowd funding platform to complete the first JP1; the design specs and engineering parameters are locked away, it’s simply a matter of the requisite funds being found to complete the project and then further develop the JOSS JP1 into a road legal range of vehicles. A Wheel Thing is proud to be associated with this project and asks that you join this innovative Australian company on its journey to build a genuine Aussie Supercar.
For further details on the project: www.joss.com.au and to contribute to the project, click here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jossjp1/joss-jp1-supercar-a-new-innovative-performance-bra
BTCC 2014 Mid-Season Report Card: Must Do Better
In a recent article, David Addison described the ‘Modern era of the BTCC‘ as the best that it has ever been. He argues that the modern championship boasts packed grids, close racing and a comprehensive television package that blows away any competition from the past. The 2014 season has indeed seen a total reinvention of the championship with the new NGTC regulations coming into force, which has evolved the very nature of the BTCC. This year in particular has seen 7 past champions get behind the wheel and battle against some rising stars in the motorsport universe. Mr Addison really does make a strong case when he talks about the media coverage of the BTCC; with the exception of F1 there are very few sports that dedicate entire days of television scheduling to one event. Not only are all three races shown live on race day, but the entire BTC support package is shown to the public.
It is at this juncture that my agreement with David Addison comes to a very abrupt end. I have been a fan of the BTCC my entire life; growing up in the 1990s in the backdrop of the Super Touring era was one of the most most exciting childhoods I could ever have asked for. No other motorsport could come close to the British Touring Cars in my eyes. I have been watching the BTCC every year across the various rule changes and I am offended to hear that someone honestly believes that the modern championship is the best the BTCC has ever been. We have approached near enough the midway part of the 2014 season and I find myself rapidly losing interest in the BTCC. Considering the sport is meant to be the best its ever been, how can this be possible? Let’s break this down.
MG…Honda…BMW. The main protagonists haven’t really changed. Photo Credit: BTCC.net
Packed Grids and Close Racing?
Considering the clear negative tone that is already in abundance in this article, I will admit that a packed 31 car grid has been somewhat exciting this year. Throughout much of the 2000s the field was even struggling to boast a field that hit double figures. My favourite was the beginning of the 2001 season where there were often as little as 6 cars taking the start line. Thrilling. With 31 cars on the track it means there is always something going on and spectators never have to stare at an empty bit of tarmac.
Next on the list is this close racing that makes the BTCC better than ever before. Maybe this is just me but the racing this year is no closer than it has ever been before. Especially when it comes to the front of the field. Last year I would often predict the top 5 finishers before the race had even happened. It was always a case of Honda Honda BMW MG Honda in some order or another. One of the perks of the NGTC was meant to be that the cars would become more equal. And yet this year nothing really has changed. Race after race it will be a selection of Honda, MG or BMW charging off into the distance and that will be the way of things.
Unrivalled Media Coverage
This does bring me on ever so fluidly to this claim that the media coverage of the BTCC is second to none. Let us remember that I do not possess the vast riches nor the free time to frequent every race meeting. Consequentially it must mean that I must watch most of the races on the traditional medium that is the television. Once more it is at this point that we hit another problem. Throughout the 90s, the television coverage would not only show the battles up the front, but the racing all the way down to the bottom places. As a result, if the modern era was the best it has ever been, then the television viewer would at the very least have this same access. That would be the logical thought anyway. In fact, if it truly was the greatest I would expect a red button style access to cameras showing every position from first down to last.
Alas, it seems this message was lost by the grand powers of ITV. In reality, all we are left with is full footage of the top five positions which is inevitably a festival of laborious boredom. The only time the top positions seem to get mixed up is in the final race when finally some other people get a shot at glory. But seriously, at the last few meetings I have had to sit through 30 minutes of processional driving with a few drivers blasting off into the distance while all the action happens behind; not that we can see any of it because apparently the cameras only care about the Hondas, BMWs and MGs.
A good anecdote here goes back to the very first meeting of the year at Brands Hatch. I was lucky enough to attend that meeting and I thoroughly enjoyed the racing. But speaking to my friends who watched it on TV, they claimed that the racing was utterly boring and processional. And they were right, considering all they were subjected to was the front of the field. The geniuses at the ITV camera department managed to miss, for example, the epic drive of touring car legend Alain Menu from the back of the grid to 17th in race 2 and then 5th in race 3. Yes Mr Addison, the media coverage is just so good it managed to miss some of the best battles this year. Just the greatest.
According to the TV coverage, the BTCC is mostly this man… Image Credit: BTCC.net
Better Quality of Racing?
Over the last few years, the BTCC has been slated as becoming too much of a contact sport, where places are gained through forcing the car in front off the track into the nearest wall. Of course throughout the golden years there was definitely no shortage of panel bashing, but as with alcohol consumption, everything in moderation kids! And some of the time this panel bashing was nothing more than a racing incident or the odd cheeky move. But when a driver essentially gets bored of being behind the car in front and gets past by nerfing him off the track and into the grave, that is just not right.
One solution to this problem is to introduce harsher penalties similar to that of F1. And with that the sport has started to descend into a dark chasm of sadness and despair. As some of you may know by now, my reasons for my dislike of F1 are down in the most part to the such high emphasis placed on politics and complaining. It has come to the point where the list of penalties may as well be read as a novel, with such colossal idiocy as track limits. I know the sport is trying to save money but surely not letting the cars touch the grass or the run off areas to save money on a lawnmower is a tad excessive. We appear to have gone from one annoyance extreme to another. It cannot be that difficult to find a good middle ground.
And of course we cannot forget the complaining that has befouled my ears this year. Yes Jason Plato I am looking at you. The debate surrounding RWD this year has become so predictable it borders on motorsport cliche. As much as the NGTC regulations are meant to bring everyone down to a level playing field there is always going to be some cars with certain advantages over others. In the 90s the RWD were given weight penalties and that was the end of it. Why can we not just do that now? But seemingly whatever happens as soon as the RWD cars do well people like Mr Plato begin their moaning once more.
If the RWD cars were truly at such an advantage then surely all of them would be miles up the front. However, last time I checked it was only really Colin Turkington who was consistently in the top 3. This is Colin Turkington, a highly successful past champion of the sport. Might this just be because he is a talented driver who deserves good results? I don’t see Rob Collard, Nick Foster and Rob Austin up the front. Can we not just go back to a time where the main focus was the racing? One of the reasons I loved the BTCC so much in comparison to F1 was the lack of politics. As it stands it is becoming just as bad.
The BTCC has always been action packed, but now it is more like banger racing. Image Credit: BTCC.net
Report Card
I never thought I would see the day where I am writing an article that massively criticizes my favourite motorsport. Alas I am becoming more worried that the BTCC has been trying so hard to reinvent itself and become something amazing that it has now started on a downhill slope. One of the many guidelines that shows me through life is the ‘Not Trying’ rule. The harder you try to do something, the less successful it often turns out to be. If Alan Gow and the BTCC organisers stop doing all they can to make the ultimate tin top sport and just let the BTCC evolve naturally then maybe I will finally be able to agree with Mr Addison. David Addison said that constantly looking back into the past will give you a sore neck, but I would rather have a sore neck and satisfied senses than be falling asleep at the wheel.
Rouse in his 1992 Toyota, give me this back any day… Image Credit: BTCC.net
I am forever a child of the 90s, and to me it is still the number one era for touring cars.
Keep Driving People!
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Peace and Love!
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