How Not to Be a Road Hog
One of the charges often levelled against enthusiastic drivers is that they are “road hogs”. “They think they own the road!” is a common complaint by non-car road users, such as cyclists and pedestrians (and, out in rural areas, horse riders). With the growing concerns about rising petrol prices and about emissions, more people are turning to these non-petrol forms of transport. You may have heard injunctions to “share the road” with what transport experts refer to as “active modes of transport” and avoid being a road hog.
- Remember that bikes belong on the road. This means that if you have a Give Way or Stop sign in front of you and the bike does not, you still have to give way to the bike, even if it’s the only thing on the road. The bikes have to comply with the usual give way rules at intersections and roundabouts, and so do you – having more power and seats does not give you extra rights. If you were living in Holland, you would have fewer rights: over there, if a car collides with a bike, the car is assumed to be at fault unless they can prove otherwise, with the responsibility for that proof being on the car driver.
- Don’t drive in the bike lane. The bike lane is designed to keep slower cyclists out of your way so you can overtake them easily. It is not designed as an extra lane to allow you to overtake the car in front of you, or to get to the front of the queue at the lights when you’re turning left. Nor is it designed for parking in.
- Don’t drive on the pavement. You might think that this is a statement of the obvious, but when I used to live by a busy intersection where a huge line of cars used to queue up at the lights, I often saw people trying to get to the head of the queue at the lights “because I’m turning left and all those people in front of me aren’t” not only driving in the bike line but also getting a wheel or two up on the pavement and driving along to the head of the queue like that – even though I was walking on the aforementioned pavement with small children. So it does happen. Don’t do it.
- Give bikes a bit of space. They are less stable and may need to dodge road hogs (not like you) who drive in the bike lane, open car doors in front of them, etc. and swerve to one side. They are also less stable and can tip over if a sudden strong gust of wind takes them unawares. A good rule of thumb is to keep at least 1.5 metres clear of a cyclist when you pass just in case he or she falls over as you pass.
- If you drive near an area where lots of pedestrians and cyclists are likely (e.g. near a school), slow down and be prepared for them.
- Be polite and considerate. You may not be obliged to stop and let a waiting pedestrian through if they’re stuck on a traffic island in busy traffic, but it’s a nice thing to do if you wave them through. Consider it a random act of kindness and a way of making the world a friendlier place.
- If you’re out in the country and see a horse rider, slow down and try not to make loud noises suddenly with your engine. Especially do not blow your horn. Horses are emotional things, and if they are frightened by a sudden loud roar (“Lion! Lion! Panic! Run!”), they are likely to start acting up and throw the rider. Watch out for a hand signal that is only given by horse riders: the right arm held to the side and waving up and down from the elbow. This means “I am having trouble controlling my horse; please slow down.”
- If you have to negotiate a mob of sheep or cattle being herded along the road, pull over to the left and slow to a crawl. Again, don’t blow your horn. Sheep run straight ahead rather than to the side and if one sheep runs, others follow. Cattle are large and able to dent your vehicle (Buttercup can think that your wing mirrors make a handy scratching post if you stop). Goats go everywhere. If a collision is inevitable, don’t hit the dog.
- One of the main gripes many have about road hogs is in their inconsideration of other road uses. When you’re out driving, a road hog is easy to spot. They will go right up the back end of a car in front. They will intimidate till the last moment before pulling out and passing at the slightest sniff of a gap in oncoming traffic. Often, but not always, they drive big vehicles or fast vehicles. It’s good to be patient and to keep your distance from other cars around you. I’m sure road hogs are more stressed!
Great Wall Motors on the move.
Great Wall: What a name for a car! However, it’s not all about the name. But I do think they could have come up with something a little more romantic or exotic. Something with a little more panache would have served them better. Shuan means river, and it has a nice elegant sound to it. Shan means mountain. Shan XR8 would do the trick.
Perhaps not Dong, Lu or Ning. Fukien means ‘happy establishment’, but for the European it sounds a little close to… something else.
Aerodynamically speaking
When you are talking about a car’s aerodynamics, you are talking about the car’s design. You are also talking about how easily the car’s bulk and total surface area can slip through the air particles. Air friction causes drag on a car’s exterior while it moves through the air. The less aerodynamic a car’s design is, the more drag the air particles will have on the car’s exterior surface. A car’s drag coefficient expresses this friction. Obviously, a car with a lower value of drag coefficient, the slipperier it is through air. The drag coefficient is always associated with a particular surface area.
Well then: I wonder what the most aerodynamic car is in the world. Aerodynamics is hugely important to keeping your fuel bill down. And because aerodynamics has so much to do with fuel consumption, this is such an important area for any automobile design team member.
Top Movie Cars
Unless you confine all your movie watching to fantasy movies and historical movies set in worlds or times when the motor car didn’t exist, you’ve probably seen a few cars race across the silver screen (OK, you can also see a car in the background of the chariot scene in Ben Hur if you look carefully). Let’s face it: the car chase scene is pretty much an essential part of any good thriller – even a comedy thriller like the Rowan Atkinson James Bond take-off Johnny English where most of the chase scene involves a tow-truck and a hearse. Some car companies even pay big dollars to have their cars appear in the movie (it’s called product placement and is a form of advertising) – I remember the way that the Mercedes logo stood out silver on black on a 4×4 during a rather exciting part of Jurassic Park II; Cars has another example, with the audience seeing that Sally, the heroine, is a Porsche Carrera, complete with a pun on Portia (name of the Shakespeare heroine who saves the day with her skills as a lawyer). But, advertising aside, what are the most recognisable silver-screen sets of wheels?
In no particular order, some of the most recognisable movie motoring marques are:
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