Stands_alone

I got my drives license yesterday!

__________________

Madness

Congratulations! I'm still working on mine.

__________________

Skrrp

Well done.

My advice to new drivers: Don't trust anyone else on the road. Any of them could be crazy / stupid / old / talking on a cell phone / masturbating (yes, really). Treat them all as a threat, get out of their way and stay in your own space.

And enjoy your freedom.

__________________

http://skrrp.net/

GENERATION 16068: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 57 to the generation. Social experiment.

Madness

Maybe all of them at the same time, which would be a sight to see

EDIT: On second thought, I'd rather not see it.

__________________

Skrrp

I think you are right there.

__________________

http://skrrp.net/

GENERATION 16068: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 57 to the generation. Social experiment.

Madness

And there was me thinking you were up for anything

__________________

Raven

I was supposed to get my state ID today but my documents were not in order so I have to go back next Saturday, oh well.

Congratulations to you man. Be careful and stay off the phone. I see drivers all day long fucking around on the cellphone. Another thing is if you're in a car and you have a passenger with you and dialog is taking place, just talk. You don't need to turn your head to "listen." Also, make sure you have nearly three hundred and sixty degree vision or as close to it as possible, utilize the mirrors. Don't drive too slow, don't break the speed limit. Avoid crashes so your car insurance doesn't rise. Just be careful, a lot of deaths can be avoided simply by paying attention alone.

__________________

Favorite Quotes:
"Everyone dies, it's a natural part of life. But if your life has no meaning you're already dead." -Wolf's Rain, Kiba

"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost."
-Fullmetal Alchemist, Alphonse Elric

"It's not what folks say...it's what you answer to." -Madea Movie, Madea

"Deploying resilience is more important than being a prodigy." -Life, Me

Skrrp

Follow this advice. It is good.

When in motion, your attention should be 80% road ahead and 10% each mirrors and dash. Learn how to adjust the radio / light a smoke / deal with hot blim burns in the lap without looking away from the road. If a passenger can do any of this for you, all the better.

Remember - it's your job to save your own arse, no one else will do it for you. It is also your job to save everybody elses arses. If you see a potential hazard ahead, bring the speed down early, it buys you time.

__________________

http://skrrp.net/

GENERATION 16068: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 57 to the generation. Social experiment.

Yaki

After looking at this I don't think I'm ever going to learn to drive, I'm way too lazy anyway. I'll just go live in the city and use public transport. Plus we were shown these videos at school showing actual dead people in car crashes with charred bodies and severed parts. Kinda put me off the whole idea.

Skrrp

They were meant to scare you into being a careful driver. That is not the norm for the majority of accidents, only some of the high speed impact ones.

If you listen to your instructor, are paying attention (this cannot be stressed strongly enough) and choose to slow down when unsure, you should be fine. The trouble is getting through the first 3 years, where the danger is high.

I have been driving for over 10 years now, and the only collision where I have been at the wheel was where I was stopped and a drunk cyclist landed on my front corner.

But yes, public transport is good. I don't own a car myself and use the train for transport.

__________________

http://skrrp.net/

GENERATION 16068: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 57 to the generation. Social experiment.

SaiyajinPerfection

I've had my license for almost four years and I have yet to get into even a semi-serious accident. The key to making sure that you don't get into an accident is to convince yourself that everyone else on the road is completely and utterly stupid. Watch out for people on cell phones, people who don't use signals/blinkers, people who speed recklessly, and old people.

Old people are some of the worst drivers on the road, no joke. And I won't be hipocrytical and say that you can't speed. You can speed sometimes, but just be smart about it. Leadfoots are assholes, and you don't want to be one all the time, or everywhere. Be conscious of where you speed. Residential areas, school zones, and main business areas are off limits. Anywhere else is usually fine. Most cops won't pull you over on the interstate if you at least slow down.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS wear your seatbelt, even if you're only driving a mile from home.

One girl that I know just got into a semi-serious accident and she now has lacerations all over her face and arms. She, of course, wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Unfortunately, she had to learn the hard way why I always screamed at her for not wearing one.

__________________

Skrrp

I wanted to quote you Saiyajin in order to highlight some excellent points, but after reading the post fully, I realised I would basically have to quote all of it.

That's some really good advice there.

__________________

http://skrrp.net/

GENERATION 16068: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 57 to the generation. Social experiment.

Madness

She always has good rep like that. Looks like I'll have to rep her again... if she wants it

__________________

SaiyajinPerfection

Thanks Madness and skrrp. Rep away.

Also in that post I forgot to mention avoiding anyone who you suspect is intoxicated. If they're behind you, pull over and let them by.

The key to not getting pulled over is to play it cool when you see cops. Don't act scared, because you become suspicious.

If you do get pulled over, address them as officer and BE HONEST.

How to avoid getting a ticket:
1)The first thing you want to do when the po-po flips his lights on is use your blinker to pull over.

2)Pull enough off the main road as you can so that the cop has enough room to come up to your driver's side. Too often people don't pull over enough, and the cop is hesitant about approaching the driver's side because he/she's afraid of getting clipped. It happens quite often.

3) Put it in park and turn the car off. Roll down the window, but don't do anything else until he/she approaches the window.

4) Greet the officer, addressing them as "officer." Above all, do not argue or be aggressive with them.

5) Now it can go either way: a)If you did something wrong, the cop will usually ask you if you know why he pulled you over. Be honest, the usual reason is speeding or failure to stop. b) If you have a light out or something, they will tell you right off the bat.

6) He will usually ask you questions like have you ever gotten a ticket before, and do you usually travel this road, etc. As I've said, BE HONEST. Don't lie.

7) License and registration time!

8) They will sometimes go to the front of the car and look at your inspection sticker. However, I've been pulled over and that sometimes is skipped.

9) He will go back to his cruiser. Sit and wait for him and don't move. When he comes back, usually between five and ten minutes have passed. The actual cross-check time and ticket time only takes about three minutes or so, the rest of the time, they're actually just sitting and watching you to see if you do anything weird. (Totally serious)

10) If all goes well, he will let you off with a verbal or written warning. The key is to be honest and be polite. If they're really pissed off at your driving, sometimes the cops lecture you on safe driving. Just agree with everything they say and apologize.

11) Use your blinker when pulling out. Sometimes people forget to do this and the cop actually pulls them over a second time for this reason.

...Of course it's a totally different matter if you actually are doing something illegal like switching plates.

One time I had a cop search my car because he smelled pot. I had a stuffy nose, and I had just picked up a friend from someone's house, and I didn't know that she had been smoking. While the cop was searching the car, my friend told me that she had her bowl in her purse (which she had left in the car). The cop decided that he had better things to do so he let us go, I screamed at my friend because she knew how anal I was about drugs and alcohol in my car.

Anyway, happy driving!!!

__________________

Skrrp

Damn, another excellent post. I would rep, but I have been doing it too much recently and can't.

For the intoxicated thing, avoid them like the plague. I once encountered a drunk on the motorway (freeway) who was slow, weaving and unpredictable. I followed them for about 10 miles to see what would happen (nothing did).

As for police procedure, it is vital (as noted above) that you know the procedure, act non-threatening or not odd and that you tell the truth (for a given value of truth; see below).

I will add UK police procedure:

Pull over to the best of your ability, turn the engine off, put the vehicle in neutral (lol @ park; I like the ability to choose my revs and torque) and apply the parking brake.

Get out of the car and approach the police officer. UK police are not as authoritarian as in the US. They are happy for you to get out and approach them and not getting out may be seen as a sign of intoxication.

When being interviewed, they will likely invite you into the back of the police car, with them sitting in front.

Do not refuse a breath test. This is grounds for suspicion and will end up with a visit to the station. If you completely refuse, you will be tried as if you were about 5 times over the legal limit and the punishment will reflect that. If you are actually drunk, then you are an idiot and it sucks to be you. Enjoy your ban.

Additional: If you have been drinking, do not touch your car. Do not get your keys out of your pocket. A guy was successfully prosecuted because he was drunk and was going to abandon his car in the pub car park, but got his briefcase out of the boot. Also, pushing your car out of the way while drunk counts.

The only lie I will suggest is if you have been speeding. As an initial icebreaker for speeders, the officer will ask you what speed you thought you were doing. If you admit speeding, they have you right away. Always say you were just under or around the speed limit (not law - if you admit to 31 in a 30 zone, they can do you - but as a rule of thumb cops will generally ignore [speed limit + 10% +2]). It is their job to prove that you were speeding.
[The reason I take this stance is because I wholly disagree with the 'speed kills' thing. True, impacts at higher momentums* cause more damage than those at low, but speed itself does not cause accidents. Lack of attention and large differences in speed** cause accidents.]

If you are on your own and the police want to search your car, you can refuse. The rationale behind this is that a bent copper may plant contraband on you. You cannot totally refuse however; you must drive to the nearest police station with them following you where you will have another copper act as witness to any search.

Being flashed by an undercover car does not mean you have to stop. You only have to stop for marked vehicles. A friend of mine got flashed by undercover, got spooked and hit the throttle. 5 miles down the road he was jumped by 3 marked cars and stopped. The coppers said he was well within his rights to be suspicious of unmarked and that stopping for marked was good. He was not charged.

You do not have to carry with you: your license, insurance details, ownership information (log book) or MOT documents. If you do not have these documents when stopped, you will be asked to produce them within 3 days at a police station of your convenience. The only legally binding documentation you need to have on your vehicle is the tax disc. You must have this and it has been checked in every stop I have had. It must be on easy display and to avoid a fine, must even be the right way up.

The majority of random (as in you didn't think you were doing anything wrong) traffic stops in the UK are for vehicle defects. I have been stopped for outed tail lights (twice) and a noisy exhaust (once). The coppers will take great pains to tell you that you have committed a crime***, but really it is no biggie. You will have 7 days to get the defect fixed and certified by an MOT centre (yes, the buggers charge £10 f