Driving and Roads

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What's more, as an engineer I have concerns whether the LCD technology used for "dimming" mirrors is suitable for exterior use.
I much prefer the interior mirrors where you flip a little lever to tilt the mirror and leave a plain glass at the angle that lets you look out the rear. I find the "automatic dipping" mirror in my Mondeo never seems to dip at the right time.
 
I've not noticed a problem with my Focus, although I suspect it just dims with lights being on rather than reacting to incident light. I'll get back to you on that one.
 
Mine definitely do not (but the vehicle is 2007 manufacture)!
I have a 2007 model and both interior and exterior mirrors dim on that. Having said that I don't think it matters too much whether the door mirrors dim or not, in [cough] years of driving I don't think I've ever been dazzled via the exterior mirrors, only the interior rear view mirror.
as an engineer I have concerns whether the LCD technology used for "dimming" mirrors is suitable for exterior use.
I don't have any knowledge in that area but mine have been ok so far, and I've not seen any reports of issues with them coming up in car forums.
I find the "automatic dipping" mirror in my Mondeo never seems to dip at the right time.
Mine seem fine for that however the interior mirror especially goes quite dark and there are times when I'd quite like to know a bit more about what's immediately behind me! I'm not sure it was really a problem that needed to be solved TBH, it's easy enough to dip a mirror manually, albeit slightly irritating when you have to.
 
I have a 2007 model and both interior and exterior mirrors dim on that. Having said that I don't think it matters too much whether the door mirrors dim or not, in [cough] years of driving I don't think I've ever been dazzled via the exterior mirrors, only the interior rear view mirror.

I have more problem with the sun in side mirrors when it is behind me.
 
It's hazardous to get between a mother and her...

















parking space!

I was in a shopping precinct this afternoon, just pulled out of my space and was almost mown down as a vehicle tried to cut across determined to drive straight into a space across from me. It was almost like you could hear the space mewing.
 
Echoing prpr's post #143 in the EV thread, I had my first encounter with 'driver aids' in a hired Skoda Fabia over winter in Portugal.
The lane assist was pretty aggressive until I learnt to indicate first, but that was just plain stupid avoiding potholes. I could turn it off but as mentioned, it returned on start up.
The car also had side (all round?) protection unknown to me and I was cruising at 45mph along a country road when a local steamed up behind and overtook incredibly close. An alarm sounded, a warning matrix flashed up and cadence-like braking occurred with no imput from me. I nearly had heart failure! First thought was the engine had seized.
This also could be switched off but returned on startup.
Totally bloody dangerous!
Obviously these aids are designed by nerds in IT who don't drive in the real world, but on their computers.
 
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Re automatics, my first was an MG MGC GT with a three speed Borg-Warner box. Great fun in the traffic light grands prix against MGB's and the like.
Tricky though pulling away from cold as it had a manual (pull cable) choke, trying to balance increased revs before slotting it in to drive.
I pulled the engine and box out to recondition, what a lump! Weighed in at 675lbs.

The only other auto I've owned was a Ford Sierra 2.3 Ghia. Nice cruiser.
 
Echoing prpr's post #143 in the EV thread, I had my first encounter with 'driver aids' in a hired Skoda Fabia over winter in Portugal.
The lane assist was pretty aggressive until I learnt to indicate first, but that was just plain stupid avoiding potholes.
Got this on the new work vans and it is bloody annoying when preferring to avoid the crumbling road edges to straddling the centre line when no other traffic is in sight. Fortunately there is an OFF button.
 
I had to use significant braking on the M4 the other day, when an artic decided to change from lane 2 to lane 3 rather than be inconvenienced by slow traffic in lanes 1 & 2.
 
Was this a 4 lane section? HGVs are not allowed in the outside-most lane under normal circumstances.
Was it a foreign truck?
 
Following @woodbar's post #151 in EV chat, I read this Autocar test of a Honda HR-V today:

'There is one thing that makes the mask slip, though, and it concerns a subject we have written about time and time again: the advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS.

Honda is, of course, required by European law (specifically the General Safety Regulations 2) to fit various ADAS in its latest cars, but it has implemented them poorly. They feel like afterthoughts. This is true of many manufacturers' ADAS efforts, it must be said, but that isn't much of an excuse.

I've probably had more journeys during which the HR-V's adaptive cruise control system has freaked out like a timid horse at a parked car, a shadow or seemingly nothing at all than I have where it has worked successfully - all while the speed-limit reader picks up an entirely incorrect limit and assaults me with noisy bongs for daring to go above what it sees as a 40mph limit on a national-limit motorway.
This tech is a pain to turn off too, requiring navigation through sub-menus while the car is in park. At least I'm now so used to its protests that my ears have learned to tune them out.'
Also:
'I find the adaptive cruise control irritating too – though this is something that annoys me in almost everything I drive. When approaching slower-moving traffic, you have to move out what feels like far too early to avoid the car automatically applying the brakes. I've also had a few experiences where the radar appears to have become confused by the clouds of spray that lorries throw up in inclement weather, trying to stop me hitting what the system seems to misidentify as a solid object. Not good,'

Would put me off buying a car with all these gizmos.
 
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Echoing prpr's post #143 in the EV thread, I had my first encounter with 'driver aids' in a hired Skoda Fabia over winter in Portugal.
The lane assist was pretty aggressive until I learnt to indicate first, but that was just plain stupid avoiding potholes. I could turn it off but as mentioned, it returned on start up.
The car also had side (all round?) protection unknown to me and I was cruising at 45mph along a country road when a local steamed up behind and overtook incredibly close. An alarm sounded, a warning matrix flashed up and cadence-like braking occurred with no imput from me. I nearly had heart failure! First thought was the engine had seized.
This also could be switched off but returned on startup.
Totally bloody dangerous!
Obviously these aids are designed by nerds in IT who don't drive in the real world, but on their computers.
I got frightened and really p1ssed off with my Driver Kill Assist adjusting my direction because of longtitudinal pot holes (or occasionally fixes thereof) and bought a box from ross-tech.com which allowed me top set it to remember the users choice (typically OFF). The car has been perfectly behaved since then :-)
 
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