Motorway muppets (and a tech question!)

_Kaiser_

Morning all,

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one who's always checking his mirrors when driving - even on virtually empty motorways! :mad:

Example: You're cruising along on the inside lane at the posted 120 (or thereabouts.. not lower anyway but not breaking the sound barrier either!) and in the distance you see a truck with maybe 2 cars behind it plodding along at a slower rate as you're gaining on them.

So, check mirrors, look over the shoulder, indicate and move to outer lane well in advance.. all good so far! Continue at the same speed past the rolling roadblock and just as you come to the car immediately behind the truck (and when I say immediately behind I mean that literally sometimes) and they decide then they're just going to pull out in front of you and overtake the same truck! (at maybe 5km/h than they were doing previously!) :mad:

I can usually tell from watching them wobble about on the road in advance who'll do it and generally a blast of high beams as they start to drift right (usually without indicating of course!) cures them of the idea, but you'll still get the ones who'll go for it anyway! Or who'll indignantly flash after you pass them.

Morons! Not least for pulling out in front of a faster moving car, but sitting on a 40 ft truck's bumper with no visibility ahead and no room to stop if say that truck has to stop suddenly.

Is it just me?


On another note (for those who've read this far)

I noticed yesterday that there's no air coming from the central vents. Given it's now 7 years old and the climate control is always on, I assume it needs regassing? Big/expensive job? (B6 Passat)

Yeah, I see that happening a lot. Any time I see a truck with a car or two behind it, I know they're going to pull out. And for some reason, they usually wait until you're right on top of them before they do.
So I keep an eye on their speed when I see them in the distance and prepare to react. You do have to allow for things like that.

_Kaiser_

bluewolf wrote: »

Yeah, I see that happening a lot. Any time I see a truck with a car or two behind it, I know they're going to pull out. And for some reason, they usually wait until you're right on top of them before they do.
So I keep an eye on their speed when I see them in the distance and prepare to react. You do have to allow for things like that.

Yep.. I'm usually already hovering over the brake by that stage but I had 2 Audi's do it to me in the last 48 hours. The first one went for it anyway and then decided to make a meal of moving back left after he (eventually) got past the truck.

The second guy definitely saw me coming, as he hesitated, then started moving again.. sustained blast of high beams put him back in his lane, but then he started flashing me when I got past him.

FFS.. overtaking on a practically empty motorway isn't that hard yet some people seem to still want to have an accident!

dudara

As you said, those drivers usually give themselves away by the little wobble.

I don't get why some people drive so close to trucks/lorries. You have no visibility and more importantly, the truck driver has no visibility on you.

Voodoomelon

The gas level in the air con system doesn't effect the flow of air through vents, just the temperature of it. So you have an issue with a blower motor or similar.

120_Minutes

A lot of drivers in this country live in their own self absorbed little bubble, unaware of other road users.

how hard is it to be observant?

gutteruu

Worse still are the people who sit behind traffic for miles, watch you catching them, but as soon as they think your going to pass, they pull out! Sometimes miles before the thing they want to pass. They then do 0.5 kph more than the thing they are passing and get annoyed as they are clearly not speeding so have every right to blo...ae jklk4wh589 hasdfjhbjkasdflbasdfkla!! Bastards!!

Cedrus

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

I noticed yesterday that there's no air coming from the central vents. Given it's now 7 years old and the climate control is always on, I assume it needs regassing? Big/expensive job? (B6 Passat)

Not regassing that's just for the cooling, possibly a fan failing or fan belt has slipped. Most likely of all is a blocked filter, after a winter of not using the AC, things start growing on the filter. Adding to 7 years of crud.

CiniO

My observations show that drivers in Ireland seem to be good at judging distance, but very poor when it comes to judging speed.

Those people most likely look in the mirrors and see you, but as on motorways speeds are bigger, they think distance is big enough for them to change lane without interfering with you, even though that speed difference would make you line-in with them in 2 seconds.

I also see a lot of it when people try to overtake.
F.e. I drive a bus or any other vehicle which can't go that quick, so there is a line of cars behind me.
Someone tries to overtake on a long straight stratch, but then he see a car approaching from opposite side, and decides not to overtake. Pity as speeds were in around 60km/h and car approaching was really far and also doing little speed, so it took nearly 45 seconds for that car to meet us. Easily 10 car could overtake.
Then after this car passed, driver tries to overtake again. This time there is no long stretch but only a short stretch of road visible with blind bend soon. However no cars approaching, so driver overtakes. He makes it just in the last moment before a car that comes up from the blind bend.
So in first case he didn't overtake, because he couldn't judge distance and speed of oncoming car.
In second case he did overtake, probably because he though that if he can not see a car approaching than there is nothing coming.

Madness.
I remember my driving instructor who told me very wise sentence.

There are 3 option when pulling out from side road, overtaking etc..
a) you see something is coming
b) you don't see anything coming.
c) you see nothing is coming.

He said only option c) is correct, while unfortunately many people use option b) and cause accidents.

Cedrus

Cedrus wrote: »

Not regassing that's just for the cooling, possibly a fan failing or fan belt has slipped. Most likely of all is a blocked filter, after a winter of not using the AC, things start growing on the filter. Adding to 7 years of crud.

A fan belt slipped, ah come on :pac:

Does air come from all other vents when directed to?

MugMugs

Tried changing the pollen filter OP?

Cedrus

RoverJames wrote: »

A fan belt slipped, ah come on :pac:

What? Are all AC fans gear driven? Or Electric?
Please do enlighten us.

OR, could some of them be driven by a belt off another source like the one I had to reseat two years back?

Cash is king

I hear you Kaiser!!!! I seen a fool doing this the other day only the daft idiot braked again when she overtook the truck. The truck then changed to lane 2 to pass her and she matched the trucks speed leaving him in lane 2 like a fool.

_Kaiser_

MugMugs wrote: »

Tried changing the pollen filter OP?

Nope.. could well be that then but it would have been changed at the last service a few months ago. Will check it out then and hopefully that's all it is.

readytosnap

A lot of Braindeads on the motorway, happened to me on the N6, i was overtaking several cars & a truck, i was doing 120 a man in an audi A4 decided to pull out just as his front corner was level with the passenger door of my car.
He obviously did not use his mirror or signal or look over his shoulder, it was certainly the closest i have ever been to a crash, we are talking inches here.
obviously it happened very quickly but he started to pull out i seen him out of the corner of my eye and hit the horn as i swerved toward the central barrier, also within inches of hitting that as well, as for yer man he must of sh at himself, the horn worked and he swerved back in and he had the look of pure terror on his face, a bit like the look the missus had when he swerved towards her , he was behind us further up the road and was making a lot of apology gestures. we were all really lucky and I understand he had a lack of concentration, but thankfully i was able to react in time and no harm came to anyone other than a good fright alll round. I couldn't help thinking thank god it wasnt my ma or my daughters driving, would they of reacted as quick or of been as aware?, i dont think the mammy would but having said that she probably wouldn't of overtaken anyone.

galvo_clare

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Morning all,


I noticed yesterday that there's no air coming from the central vents. Given it's now 7 years old and the climate control is always on, I assume it needs regassing? Big/expensive job? (B6 Passat)

If your Passat anything like my 2002 Audi A4 and it probably is, the valves that direct the air to the various vents are moved by small motors, which are prone to going kaput.
The one for the windscreen vent went on mine so I just opened it manually and disconnected the motor.
If this is your problem it will show up on the diagnostics.

blade1

galvo_clare wrote: »

If your Passat anything like my 2002 Audi A4 and it probably is, the valves that direct the air to the various vents are moved by small motors, which are prone to going kaput.
The one for the windscreen vent went on mine so I just opened it manually and disconnected the motor.
If this is your problem it will show up on the diagnostics.

same with mine. motor seems to stick. i took mine out and cleaned it and it works fine now.
you could also get a new one for around 35 to 40 euro.

MugMugs

blade1 wrote: »

same with mine. motor seems to stick. i took mine out and cleaned it and it works fine now.
you could also get a new one for around 35 to 40 euro.

Isn't one of them a remove the dash job?

blade1

MugMugs wrote: »

Isn't one of them a remove the dash job?

Glovebox off, 5 screws. For my Audi anyway.

Cedrus

Cedrus wrote: »

What? Are all AC fans gear driven? Or Electric?
Please do enlighten us.

OR, could some of them be driven by a belt off another source like the one I had to reseat two years back?

Enlighten you?

Alternator belts are sometimes referred to as fan belts, no belt in an air con system is referred to as such.

Do untwist your knickers though