To think that people judge your driving based on what car you drive?

[PointyLittleDonkeyEars]

I drive a 10yo Rover 45. For some reason, people assume that I

1. Will never, ever, ever want to overtake and quite enjoy sitting behind a Tesco lorry at 45 mph

2. Must be in the outside lane of the dual carriageway because I like the view, therefore undertaking me is OK even when I'm overtaking a whopping artic

3. Must be quintessentially terrified of any bit of road that has a bend in it, so will slow down to 2 mph on all bends, so overtaking me on a bend is fine?

Should I get myself a speeding ticket just to prove that I'm not a geriatric snail? (I know where the cameras are...) I could tape it to the inside of a rear window.

Vanfest is shit

Disclaimer, that is a herd opinion, I've never actually been!

Aim for Action and I'll see you there? (DP works on some shows, which tend to be the ones we make the 3-4 hour trip for)

Why do you all judge people with old cars with scratches and dents, mine has loads and none are my fault ,I just haven't got that amount of spare cash rattling around.
Also of all the RTC's I've been out to in the past year none have been to a car under five years old.

DP has a BMW company hire car at the mo, smallish 2l thing, which I have been driving v cautiously, just to confuse people. More because I haven't driven much for a while and, the thing he's discovered is that the reason BMW drivers always speed away from junctions as if powered by teenage testosterone is that the car's acceleration works like that, you touch the acelerator and suddenly you're half a mile away doing 80, pretty much. So, having certain expectations of a type of car may not only be about judging the driver's driving, rather their choice of car. I shall soon be taking advantage of expectations to zoom ahead of people at junctions - the fact they expect it does make it easier!

Ah - but that doesn't affect the steering does it? We were cut up by 3 different BMW drivers on a 25 minute journey this evening. Do those cars have indicators? Do they have exceptionally sensitive steering? Or does the manual explain that the highway code (or in fact any social pressure for good manners) doesn't apply to BMW drivers?

Sorry - pretty angry at idiots putting my family in danger.

I try not to judge people for their cars, but I do find I'm not quite able to keep that up.

I currently have a 206 diesel, 1.6 engine, which actually can go really fast when I'm in the mood, and I have frequently had looks from other drivers when zooming in the outside lane on the motorway.

My first car was a little 950cc fiesta. Okay not a really fast car but I remember one day driving to work and came up behind a BMW which was behind a slow truck. Knowing the road, I overtook both vehicles on a long stretch, and the BMW was left stuck behind the truck. 2 miles futher along, the BMW finally catches up with me, I could see the driver's face in the mirror and he clearly hated that I'd dared to overtake him.

I like driving, I just drive as if everyone else on the road is an idiot and anticipate stupidity. So far, so good, no scratches yet.

Gentleness, no, of course some (many?) of the people who choose to buy a car with fierce acceleration will be the sort who want to race and weave and feel invulnerable.

I honestly dont judge people in cars ,i sometimes have a little snigger at the boy racer types ,you know loud exhaust ,stop/start driving round car parks types , i might see a car and think that looks nice /fast/useful but i dont imagine how they will be driving. Except as someone pointed out on here ,hat wearers are generally a bit of a worry and i give them a wide berth .

I drive an old Toyota now (used to have a company car) and I have definitely noticed people getting cross when I overtake them so then they overtake me afterwards which never happened in my other car

We have had a succession of old bangers. I judge anyone who drives a rover, because they are crap and I have terrible memories of being stuck at the side of the M25 in the snow whilst heavily pregnant...

People do judge us also. DH was once involved in a little scrape in a supermarket car park. Other Driver (aka the posh twat) was convinced that a) it was his fault and b) that he had no insurance she rang the fecking police!!

Insurance ruled in our favour, ta very much.

People are always surprised that I'm not my grandad when I get out of my Nissan Almera.

People are always surprised that I am not part of the A Team when I get out of DH's pimped up black Merc Vito.

The only judgement I try to make is on the driving, but why oh why do (sorry, sisterhood) so many silly women at our school have larger cars (think A6, Merc E class or M class, BMW X5 etc) when they can't drive them? This morning I had to wait for a wally in an E class who couldn't reverse out of her spot (I nearly offered to do it for her as she was sat across the middle of the road) and saw the bus stopped for a few minutes waiting for Mrs A6 to return to her car that she had parked 3' away from the kerb as he couldn't get past! Nothing at all against the cars - but those drivers get right up my nose!

I have a knackered old diesel people carrier that hates going over 50 miles an hour, takes forever to get to a decent speed, and hates hills. I know it annoys people, but there's not much I can do about it. I happily pull over to let people go past if I can see they are getting pissy on roads where overtaking is difficult. I don't go on the motorway, though (with the very occasional exception of a three junction pootle down the M50 which is like a toytown motorway and always empty when I use it)

I used to drive a Rover and I thought it was fanfuckingtastic - it had a 1.8 turbo diesel engine and pulled away well fast, especially compared to what I drive now. It did clearly surprise people though - I think they expected it to be slower, possibly the dents and generous splattering of mud gave the wrong impression.

Plus my Rover was so reliable - it started first time every time, whatever the weather, it just went on and on and on despite having done 165k. It sold on Ebay recently for nearly what was paid for it 6 years ago as well, so someone out there must also love them!

I'm always amused on these threads how many people describe their shitty cars as being 'really fast' and how they've 'received looks' from other drivers, amazed at the power and ability of their mechanical beast on the motorway when they manage to successfully overtake something without causing a pile up.

Your 1.6 peugeot/fiesta/skoda etc is categorically 'not fast'. No, not even if it's 'the sporty one'. Similarly, 2 litre BMWs are not rocket powered and do not leap to 80mph if your foot brushes the accelerator. Unless your car is clearing 0-60mph in under 5-6 seconds, you are not, I repeat not 'fast'.

I try not to judge people on the car that they drive rather on how they are driving. However, a few things round here do seem to stand out.

Many 4 x 4 drivers (male and female) drive and park extremely badly.
Drivers of really small cars dont seem to be able to park them in car park spaces and often drive slowly unconfidently.
Expensive car drivers will often park over two spaces.
Many women will wait for a personal invitation at junction rather than trusting their judgement.
Men try to intimidate you in their cars.
Men rarely let you join the motorway in the merge lane.
Male drivers often feel the need to drive up your backside on said motorway rather than giving you time to pull in at a safe point.
The same men are unlikely to let you go past them if you are travelling faster than them in the outside lane.

Expensive car drivers will often park over two spaces.

I sometimes do that . But only in a big car park where there are loads of spaces, far away from he entrance to the store. Wouldn't want some cheapo car owner smashing their rusty door edges into the 'Prumobile would I?

See, despite driving shitty dented dirty old cars, I am a considerate driver in as many ways as I can be. I don't drive up peoples' arses, I pull over and let people overtake if they can't get past otherwise, I do trust my judgement at junctions blah blah blah.

I can park properly as well [proud]

But still, my very presence on the road pisses some drivers right off.

We live on a very windy A road that goes alongside a river, with lots of places where there is a steep drop on one side of the road. I refuse to take some of the bends at more than 20/25 miles an hour (as suggested by the warning signs btw) and I get honked at and overtaken on bends at least once a week. My friend, who drives a shiny new car, yet is a far more nervous driver and takes the bends in exactly the same way, doesn't get anything like the same level of aggression from other drivers

Oh and desperately, to clear up any confusion, a 335d chipped to 340bhp, the 'Prumobile is really fast.

HTH

(I know, I know, I'm even irritating myself )

Oh and, my cars might be cosmetically crap but we maintain anything safety-related very well. The brakes and tyres and all that are always checked regularly and fixed whenever they need it. So its not like we are driving anything dangerous. We just don't really care about mud and the dents from the last owners poor parking.

This is why I hate driving DH's BMW because everyone assumes I'm a wanker/drug dealer/speeder and tries to race me off at the lights, or refuse me entry into a lane, or won't let me out at junctions.

When I'm in my Polo all is right with the world . Polos are very non-threatening.

Pru you never described your car as being a 1.6, or a 2litre. In fact, in a previous post I read that it was modified/chipped to 340bhp.

And yes, I'm jealous.

God, I miss my fast car soooooo fecking much!

Heheh like your style, pom, will let you off. In fact, I only found out it was chipped myself when I received a letter from the insurers thanking me for informing them of the modifications to my vehicle ( thanks, Mr. Pru, most people buy their DPs diamonds )

And apologies for being so unbearably bombastic, but this is my only outlet for a nice satisfying car boast-up.

Pom - missing the point about the BMW there. It accelerates more rapidly than other cars with the same engine size, suggesting that this is a feature of BMWs, relevant to the thread in that people who choose to buy them are likely to be people who like that style of driving - so judging / anticipating driving style based on the make of the car is not unreasonable.

No jumping away from lights or failing to indicate when I'm driving but DP, who is quite an assertive driver, has found it very different (and says he understands for the first time the concept of 'enjoying' driving), however it's only a temporary hire car and we'll be back to something steadier soon.

"Men rarely let you join the motorway in the merge lane."

I don't either. The person joining needs to either slot into a gap or give way to the on coming traffic. That's why it's called a give way line...

Yet again today I had someone pull out of a side road in front of me. I'm thinking about putting the tinsel back on, the 40yo green bug with a dodgy exhaust is clearly not visible or audible enough as it is

Yes! I drive a Hyundai Amica which is probably the slowest car in the world - yet I CAN make my car go like the wind and the shocked faces I get when they see a me zooming past them in my little car is hilarious . Also love racing wankers people when stopped at traffic lights - they don't expect me to drive my car like a loon

"Men rarely let you join the motorway in the merge lane.", "I don't either".

Actually, all drivers should be looking ahead and driving defensively. Therefore, if you are on a m-way or dual carriageway and see a junction coming up, you should read the road ahead and either move to the next lane or slow a little to allow traffic to merge if you see cars about to join the main road. To do otherwise borders on arrogance and dangerous driving. To come to a stand still on a m-way slip road is extremely dangerous if the road is moving at a moderate speed. That is patently not the same as someone pulling out at a T-junction into on-coming traffic.