Has owning a Motorhome made you a better driver (2 Viewers)

[Spriddler]

On the subject of 'commanding the road' it beats me why people living on a busy road drive their cars forward to park in their driveway or onto the paved area under their lounge window and then have to reverse out into the traffic, often 'blind' with a limited view from behind a hedge, fence, or other vehicles parked outside. Maybe they're rubbish at reversing, or just lazy.

 

[magicsurfbus]

I'm probably a more versatile driver than I was before I had a MH, but I'd done a minibus course for work so not all aspects of MH driving came as a surprise. Plus I owned a Veedub Kombi for 7 years pre-MH so I'd been on the nursery slopes.

I reckon the trick with MHs is get a grip on reversing by practicing at every opportunity, and don't forget that MH driving includes the 3rd dimension of height.

Owners of certain German cars pulling out of t-junctions when I have right of way are my main bugbear as a MH driver, but they're also a pain in the arse when I'm driving a Fiat Panda so not much changes there. British motorways are overcrowded and populated by too many lane hogging numbskulls who learned to drive on a Scalextric set. Generally speaking I prefer driving in Europe.

 

[nicholsong]

I think that depends on your driving experience before motor homing.

If before you bought your motorhome you'd never driven anything bigger than a Mondeo then yes, the motor home probably does make you if not a better driver then certainly a more aware driver. That's once you've let go of the absurdity that a motorhome is impossible to drive without a bloody rear view camera of course

If you've been used to driving large vehicles then you should already have the necessary skills so the motorhome wouldn't really make much difference.

That is my opinion also, as I had driven professionally for 10 years and up to 7.5t, doing 30-50,000 miles a year. The travel company paid for advance courses for us and the assessor had no comments to write, so I assume I was OK then.

On the point of drivers giving way to MHs or not, I find that since ours with its big windscreen could be mistaken for a 16-seat bus, many vehicles - vans, trucks etc. give way, unless they are sure there is room for the two of us.

Geoff

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Southdowners]

What exactly does 'command the road' mean?

 

[scotzsue]

I certainly became a lot more observant after riding pillion. think it should be compulsory for anyone able bodied enough, before sitting their driving test

 

[Deleted member 29692]

I certainly became a lot more observant after riding pillion. think it should be compulsory for anyone able bodied enough, before sitting their driving test

That’s an interesting one.

I’m a biker but I’ve never actually ridden pillion.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[pagey]

"Command the road" was drummed into us (re) learning to drive LGV`s. I use it all the time. even in SWMBO`s Motor.! I`ve driven virtually all over the world. Brit, motorway drivers are probably as bad as you get!. They dont seem to "get" the idea that the nearside lanes are for slower traffic.?

exactly how i was taught "make it yours" especially on roundabouts and left turns

 

[Southdowners]

exactly how i was taught "make it yours" especially on roundabouts and left turns

What does it mean in practice please?

 

[tonyidle]

What does it mean in practice please?

It means that the full width of the lane you are using is yours. So centre your vehicle in the lane as default and only move closer to the nearside when necessary. It is why cyclists are told to stay away from the gutter so that cars can only overtake when there is nothing coming towards them - thus preventing overtaking vehicles from squeezing past.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MikeD]

Not sure it was the motorhome but I retired when we bought it.

Now I don't have to be the other side of the country by 10.00am - that made me a better driver.

 

[DanielFord]

What exactly does 'command the road' mean?

Advanced driving technique, essentially means be aware of everything that is going on around you, and if you make a decision, go with it, be decisive!

 

[DaveandJen]

Owning a Motorhome has without a doubt made me a better driver.

Recently returning home from a trip to London we pulled up at the traffic lights opposite Grove Park Station alongside a single decker red bus on our left about to do its normal 90 degree left turn (correctly) at the lights so we held back about 3 metres to allow the Red Bus room to swing - and within a few seconds we had done wrong ----- A thirty (something) year old van driver from a local roofing company started becoming aggressive and giving us lots of blasts on his horn and unwelcoming signs simply because he had been held him up for about 15 seconds.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MikeD]

That’s an interesting one.

I’m a biker but I’ve never actually ridden pillion.

I am a biker as well - Pillion riding - its frightening.

Your best mate and suddenly you don't trust him

 

[wingman]

I range between relaxed and paranoid!
I can’t say that I’ve driven big lorries (hate the word truck) or done 50k miles in an Artic’. My only claim to fame is driving emergency ambulances for decades. I guess it taught me how to reverse up an alleyway on a dark, rainy night on mirrors, but that’s about it. Ambulances are really just two-berth motorhomes with go-faster battenberg stripes!

The paranoia? “Watch that bloody rear overhang.....check the mirrors, check again, check again.....Isn’t it bloody marvellous; there's a height restriction.....sod the sat-nav, I’m NOT driving down any road that is called Lane.....oh bugger, a width restriction sign.....what pitch number did she say?......what lane are we supposed to be in?.....keep the kerb on your right, you’re in Europe now......what does Route Barée mean?....
we’ll never make it by dark.......Jesus, that was close!

Relax? Nah. Not with 50k’s worth of mobile real estate and a couple of grand’s worth of junk on board!

 

[Purple2]

9 out of 10 drivers think they are excellent or above average drivers but 95% of ALL collisions are human error which doesn't quite fit. We may think other drivers are idiots but don't forget they see us in exactly the same way. FIDO... Forget it and drive on. If it won't matter in a week, a day or an hour, does it really matter now. Space in front of us allows to have time to check ahead, check our mirrors and deal with people behind. If we spend our time concentrating on the tail lights of the vehicle in front we can't devote time to the things mentioned above. You can't crash into space and with space around you, you become much more visible to other drivers. Stay out of the vehicle clusters which are very noticeable on motorways. Everybody rushes across the available space to get to the next group of vehicles which is where the crashes happen. Don't forget our own failings. The vast majority of motorhome drivers are those that sat their test some years ago and largely self taught after that and no further training until too old to actually drive. Unless you're a steeplejack or oil rig worker, driving is the most dangerous thing you'll ever do. Strangely if an expert in some other subject told a person that if they didn't do it right they could well die they would hang on to every word and yet with driving it's 'how dare you tell me what to do'!! Safe driving everyone.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[PeteH]

Space in front of us allows to have time to check ahead,

What is the most annoying, are the Dickheads, who WILL overtake JUST to fill the "safety" space I have left between me and the person in front!. Sometimes I feel am effectively going backwards!. I make use of the A15 regularly, a known black-spot road, (closed to-day unsurprisingly, snow and 2 LGV`s in the Hedge!). The number of cretins who risk life and limb JUST to be in front of the "old fart in the camper" who is "only" doing the LGV limit (50) for the road, is unbelievable.!

 

[Purple2]

Give this some thought then, frustrating as it may be. If we leave that gap and at the same time keep our eyes moving and check our mirrors then that person will not be a ‘surprise’. Also if that happened a hundred times in a day ( it never will ) and we lose 2-3 secs every time then the maximum we would lose is 5 mins in the whole day’s driving. Agreed though it is irritating!

 

[Mack100]

It was tugging a caravan that made me into a better driver. Probably a better description is more aware. I learned the necessity of reading the road much further in front of me and also behind simply because I realised I was driving an articulated rig that seemed ridiculously long to my car driving eyes.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Purple2]

Agreed. Our eyes have evolved over thousands of years to deal with our survival and are linked to the speed we go at as ‘animals’ which is walking at about 3-4 miles an hour not at 60mph. Think about it.. if you ran into a room you are not familiar with you would probably go A over T and clatter into furniture and yet a police dog can run into the same room and not hit anything because it has evolved to go at ‘running speed’. A hundred years ago there were no cars and even sitting on a horse going at 40mph it was the horse’s eyes that we relied on so we aren’t going to ‘evolve’ for speed in that short time.

 

[PeteH]

Give this some thought then, frustrating as it may be. If we leave that gap and at the same time keep our eyes moving and check our mirrors then that person will not be a ‘surprise’. Also if that happened a hundred times in a day ( it never will ) and we lose 2-3 secs every time then the maximum we would lose is 5 mins in the whole day’s driving. Agreed though it is irritating!

What is (all) most unbelievable though is the risk`s they take, and put "us" at risk too, just to be "in front", when most of the time they only finish up in front of me and up the back of several lorries doing the same speed, so at the next junction etc; they are only still in front of me, no advantage whatsoever, for a greater risk.

 

[Purple2]

Which was my point about space in front of ourselves. By leaving that space it becomes much less of a risk to us because the person that performs that manoeuvre is less likely to have to brake thus meaning we don’t have to. It’s only when we don’t leave space and they nip in the gap that we have to ‘slam them on’
You are right though, they forget that actually it’s probably a vehicle about ten in front that’s dictating our speed and not us just meandering along.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[JJ20]

I found driving my lorry made me a better driver my motorhome feels like a tiddler in comparison haha

 

[Purple2]

You’re right there mostly because of course you would have ‘updated’ yourself by default when you took the training courses to get to that point. Consider this when driving that classy rig the amount of relatively large vehicles that would have been in your blind spot. Worth considering when we are in our motor homes that we could be doing that to other drivers. A lot of people consider that by checking their mirrors that they are checking their blind spots. They’re not, the clue is in the title. Mirrors only check what can be seen in that mirror NOT the blind spot! And as you know the unseen areas around HGVs are truly huge. Bet that rig took a bit of handling at times. Respect where it’s due.

 

[JJ20]

You’re right there mostly because of course you would have ‘updated’ yourself by default when you took the training courses to get to that point. Consider this when driving that classy rig the amount of relatively large vehicles that would have been in your blind spot. Worth considering when we are in our motor homes that we could be doing that to other drivers. A lot of people consider that by checking their mirrors that they are checking their blind spots. They’re not, the clue is in the title. Mirrors only check what can be seen in that mirror NOT the blind spot! And as you know the unseen areas around HGVs are truly huge. Bet that rig took a bit of handling at times. Respect where it’s due.

Indeed "all the time" my concentration can't slip for a second or outcome could be devastating for everyone around me let alone the expensive cargo lol. I will add a pic of blind spots for everyone to see because alot of the motorhomes these days have just as many blind spots

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Purple2]

And that’s just a 25 footer with a lower cab set up. Large motorhome! Very educational pic. Nice one.

 

[nicholsong]

I found driving my lorry made me a better driver my motorhome feels like a tiddler in comparison hahaView attachment 216290

I bet it is a struggle getting that up the ramps of most Greek ferries.

 

[JJ20]

I bet it is a struggle getting that up the ramps of most Greek ferries.

Not as hard as getting the super/hyper cars onto the lorry

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[SpeedyDux]

Early experience of driving a builder's van, and a 12 seat minibus on a tour of Ireland, in my student days helped (before you needed a special licence, obviously). Motorbikes brought enhanced awareness of road surface hazards, and rally driving taught skid control.

I'm probably over cautious in my PVC mostly because it cost a lot and still feels new. And there are so many impatient drivers who are desperate to get in front. The muckaway and concrete mixer truck drivers are some of the worst because unless I am wrong they get paid by the load.

 

[PeteH]

The muckaway and concrete mixer truck drivers are some of the worst because unless I am wrong they get paid by the load.

Technically to so do is I believe illegal. However what happens in practice is that "Bonus" is paid according to the profits of the company. So the drivers are incentivised by the back door.

 

[Spriddler]

Advanced driving technique, essentially means be aware of everything that is going on around you, and if you make a decision, go with it, be decisive!

Going around Trafalgar Square I once commented to my black cab driver that I wouldn't want to have his job day in and day out in all the traffic. He said "It's not that difficult. Bus and cab drivers rarely look in their mirrors; they just signal and go, as everyone knows that's what they'll do". A bit extreme, but there's an element of sense in taking such a positive approach.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}