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Wow, there are coding guidelines for traffic? 
I just skimmed over the start of it, and already stumbled over some curiosity (IMHO) among the pedestrian guidelines:
Quote: 2. If there is no pavement, keep to the right-hand side of the road so that you can see
oncoming traffic. You should take extra care and
- be prepared to walk in single file, especially on narrow roads or in poor light
- keep close to the side of the road.
It may be safer to cross the road well before a sharp right-hand bend so that oncoming
traffic has a better chance of seeing you. Cross back after the bend.
Does anyone actually do that? I mean, walking on the right side of the road (in a country where cars drive on the left side) makes total sense. But then, crossing to the left side and continuing along the long side of the curve when you encounter a right bend  If anything, I'd do the opposite: cross over to the left sight upon encountering a left-hand bend, to cut a corner!
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
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Stefan_Lang wrote: Does anyone actually do that?
Nah, of course not. Pedestrians seem to assume that drivers are blessed with X-Ray vision - and usually choose to wear dark clothing on the unlit country lanes with no pavement.
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OriginalGriff wrote: In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following
traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. This
will minimise glare to road users behind until the traffic moves again.
Law RVLR reg 27
Wow, Did not know it was supposed to be like this?
cheers,
Super
------------------------------------------
Too much of good is bad,mix some evil in it
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super wrote: Did not know it was supposed to be like this?
It's not, but it is. 
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If that blew your mind, wait until I tell you you're supposed to turn your fog lights off when cars are behind you too.
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In Germany I got stopped by the police because I hadn't turned off my fog lights once I got out of the fog.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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That's indeed a law in Germany, but only the back fog light, because it's so bright. More precisely, you are only allowed to switch it (i. e. the back fog light) on when you can't see past 50m.
The front fog lights may be switched on any time.
And it does make sense - I don't know about cars in other countries, but in germany, the back fog light is so bright, it's worse than a car coming your way with high-beam head lamps pointing your way! You pretty much have to avert your gaze, or else you'll see nothing else on the road.
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
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There are also rules on the use of headlamp flashers which are the exact inverse of what they are actually used for in the real world.
In theory - and you have to know this and demonstrate that on your driving test - you only use the headlight flashers to warn other drivers of your presence.
In practice you flash others to say "come on through, I'll wait until you are past", or "get out of my way, I'm faster than you"
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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OriginalGriff wrote: "get out of my way, I'm faster than you"
Sounds fine to me: you simply
OriginalGriff wrote: warn other drivers of your presence
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
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As you not used to drive that way, you will try to go on with handbrake locked... 
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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I do that at draw bridges - you can get quite old waiting for them to finally return travel to the land vehicles. Actually, I shut the engine off, altogether.
Just something I've done in the past: since we've owned nothing but standard transmissions for many years, we (myself and Mrs. Wife) are quite used to driving with both feet. For a time, however, when we had the kids at home, etc., we needed a vehicle with bench seats and ended up with an automatic transmission. I trained myself to drive that with both feet instead of one doing all the work - in anticipation of returning to standard transmissions.
This might work for you, depending upon which leg is angry with you. In US (and most of the civilized world), the accelerator and break pedal is operated with the right foot and the left foot either works the clutch pedal or does nothing. Maybe you can adapt to other-foot breaking?
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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The first time I hired a car in the UK, I was afraid the pedals would also be inverted. Fortunately, no. I thought shifting with my left hand might be difficult, but again no. The main problem was looking the wrong way when entering traffic, so I almost wore out my neck double- and even triple-checking.
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For me, it was roundabouts in France - not only did I have to remember to go round the wrong way and exit at the wrong exit, but I had to struggle with " Priorité à droite" which meant that (on some roundabouts) you give way to traffic joining instead of traffic already going round.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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There aren't many roundabouts on this side of the pond, but fortunately more are starting to show up.
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Greg Utas wrote: The first time I hired a car in the UK, I was afraid the pedals would also be inverted. Fortunately, no. I thought shifting with my left hand might be difficult, but again no.
For me it was simple: just do everything the other way round compared to what I was used to. The hardest part was getting back to normal when I returned to the continent - after training hard to always do it the other way round, I had lost my point of reference
GOTOs are a bit like wire coat hangers: they tend to breed in the darkness, such that where there once were few, eventually there are many, and the program's architecture collapses beneath them. (Fran Poretto)
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W∴ Balboos, GHB wrote: This might work for you, depending upon which leg is angry with you. In US (and most of the civilized world), the accelerator and break pedal is operated with the right foot and the left foot either works the clutch pedal or does nothing. Maybe you can adapt to other-foot breaking?
After foot/ankle surgery on he right leg, my Mom had an adapter fitted to her (automatic) car to let her operate the gas/brake with her left foot. It was a pain to un/reinstall, so when I needed to move it around the driveway once I tried operating the car with it still in place. It was a massive brain ![Elephant | [mastadon]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/elephant.gif) , I didn't cause an accident but having to actively think about every operation instead of relying on muscle memory slowed my operation down to a crawl.
Depending on how long you're on the disabled list, wrong foot driving might be worth considering; but find an empty parking lot to practice in for a while first and avoid any high traffic/etc areas until you're feeling confident in what you're doing.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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Claim disability and get a free new car with automatic handbrake... well, that's what we do in the UK .
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I do not know, in France we do not wait for signals.
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The handbrake is my preferred way to hold a manual transmission on a hill. There is no downside once you learn how to coordinate the handbrake with the clutch when you start moving again.
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not much.
My Dad had polio when he was a kid. His left leg never was strong nor was his right leg all that. He always did this for 60+ years of driving. Nothing ever was wrong with the Emergency Brake.
And yet he drove a stick shift most of those years. He would lift his leg with his left hand to place it on the clutch and then work around to get everything going. Never had any real issue.
To err is human to really mess up you need a computer
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The handbrake is only for when you need to do a fast u-turn in the middle of the road, duh!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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My "German" car recommends, when it is safe to do so, engaging the hand brake to slow the car every so often (and gave some reason I can't remember off-hand).
It notes that your brake lights don't come on; so you have to still tap the brake if you want to show you're braking.
The downside is forgetting to disengage it (I guess).
It was only in wine that he laid down no limit for himself, but he did not allow himself to be confused by it.
― Confucian Analects: Rules of Confucius about his food
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My 6 years old car is hand shifting but I have (and use) the "hill assistant". If the motor is on and there is no gear, when you release the break the car breaks for himself. And if you switch the motor off, it pulls the park break automatically.
Very comfortable.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Well, this entire thread has been a massive eye-opener to me. Turns out I've been doing it right all along (as I knew), but everybody else does it wrong!
As the highway code states, when the vehicle behind has stopped, you should engage the handbrake and take your foot off the pedal. I always do this by habit, whether at traffic lights, junctions, queuing traffic etc. It makes common sense - I don't want to sit around applying pressure to the brake the whole time. When starting off again, my left foot is on the clutch, right foot on accelerator (gas to some of you), so there is no available foot left to hold the brake! That's OK on the level, but not on a hill; so you apply a little "gas", gradually feed in the clutch till it bites, then release the handbrake and off you go. Why would anyone do it differently? (All happens naturally in under a second, but more smoothly than holding it by footbrake)
(My first - and only significant - crash, driving a company car, was when I rear-ended a colleague, also driving a company car. He'd stopped ahead of me on a narrow road to let traffic come through the other way, and engaged handbrake before I'd stopped behind him. I saw his brake lights go off, so accelerated - realising too late he was still stationary. Not a happy phone call to the fleet manager. Hardly my fault though! )
In the UK the (vast?) majority of cars are manual, and it always scares the hell out of me when I see (in real life or American movies) automatics pull up, doors open, then the car gives an almighty lurch as ... driver puts it in park? Dunno what that's all about.
As for steering, the "push/pull" feeding the wheel through the hands made sense when cars didn't have power steering. In practice only learners still do this, but most of us in the UK will avoid crossing our hands over, I think. Modern steering is light enough that you can normally steer one-handed with the ball of the thumb pressed against the wheel.
Stefan Lang - yes, I do that. There are lots of narrow, bendy lanes without pavements round here and when walking, I'd rather cross the road and walk an extra 20 yards than complete my journey by ambulance. It never ceases to amaze me, when driving, to come across people walking on the wrong side of a (straight) road, or walking on the "blind" side round a bend. Sheer stupidity.
Next you'll be telling me you don't change down through the gears when slowing down... 
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