It rained in Brisbane last night... time for a little rant...

[Neeek]

We had some rain here in Brisbane last night, and of course driving in the rain makes life a little more challenging for the driver. You’ve got a couple of new things to take care of, like switching on your wipers, perhaps turning on your lights if the need calls for it. But as is usually the case with me, I have issues with driving in the rain. More specifically, with road users who, by choice or otherwise, are out there on the roads with me.

My first issue is the white lines on the road. Why do they disappear at the first sign of moisture? Is this just me, or do they really vanish? Having come from the UK, I’m used to driving in the rain and I can honestly, categorically tell you that the white lines marking the centre of the road are still visible on the A10 coming out of London when it’s bucketing down at 15.4 cubic litres per second. If I could see out of the front of my car, I could see the lines. Why not here?

My second issue is perhaps more troubling – why do people think that when it rains it’s the ideal time to see test the adhesion limits of their tyres? I’m not even talking about those drivers that spin wheels wherever possible, or indeed those whose cars only break traction in the wet so they relish the opportunity when it’s time for wading boots. No, I refer to drivers who seemingly refuse to acknowledge the fact that driving in the wet presents a few more hazards, and so they drive as though the roads were bone dry. To the gentleman in the Lexus LX470 with the rego plates OUR470 who I have had follow me in the rain a few times on the way to work, please take a bow, because this is aimed at people like you.

Granted, we have far more sunny and dry days here in Australia (especially Queensland) than in the UK. But I still don’t get it. I was passed by aforementioned idiot the other week, going way too fast for the wet conditions. Did he know that if he had to slam the brakes on in a hurry, no amount of electronic ABS gadgetry would stop him from crashing into something or worse, getting someone killed? And for what? A few minutes shaved off your journey time? It sickens me that some people can be so selfish. Don’t they realise how bloody irresponsible they’re being? They’re not even 17 year olds out in Dad’s XR6 – these types of driver are as varied as they are plentiful.

You can’t argue with the laws of physics, guys. Your car will not grip the road in the wet as it would in the dry. Do you actually enjoy the sensation of your tyres aquaplaning over the bitumen? Do you like having these "moments" where your car is technically out of control? I have experienced aquaplaning at high speed once that I can remember clearly, and I was so shaken by the experience that I drove the rest of my journey as though my octogenarian grandmother was in the passenger seat and would threaten to hit me with her handbag if I so much as thought about blinking in an inappropriate manner.

All it takes is a little more caution, a little more forward planning and above all, a gentle right foot. Yet so many people seem incapable of grasping this relatively simple principle. This morning, I witnessed a 3 car pile-up on Milton Road, again caused by someone driving too fast and then losing control in the wet when it came time to slow down. I can say this because I saw them hit each other.

To those that relish the opportunity to drive their vehicles as though they had unlimited grip and nerve, seek your thrills elsewhere, please.

[Peuty]

Very well said. I have been making the same arguements for years.

[NAK302]

aaah mighty Brisbane. a city full of rednecks with the driving mentality of a Sydney taxi driver.
i'll be visiting that fair metropolis next week for my annual fix of road rage :

[MITCHAY]

I cant believe the people who still do 100km/h in an 80 zone in the pouring rain in PEAK HOUR TRAFFIC!!! Add a red light camera into the mix and it just becomes REALLY dangerous considering the amount of people who cant stop in the dry in time.

Bad enough in fine conditions but in rain it just plain stupid.

[gozza]

Originally Posted by nak351

aaah mighty Brisbane. a city full of rednecks with the driving mentality of a Sydney taxi driver.
i'll be visiting that fair metropolis next week for my annual fix of road rage :

i'll choose to take that personally
don't categorize sh!t.id rather have the mentality of a sydney taxi driver than the mentality of an iggnorant hippocrit

[Sourbastard]

Originally Posted by gozza

id rather have the mentality of a sydney taxi driver

Wish granted.

[RED_EL_XR8]

Originally Posted by gozza

i'll choose to take that personally
don't categorize sh!t.id rather have the mentality of a sydney taxi driver than the mentality of an iggnorant hippocrit

That's all very well gozza, but just one question? When can we have the bucket back?

[gozza]

Originally Posted by RED_EL_XR8

That's all very well gozza, but just one question? When can we have the bucket back?

when i touch the damn sun

[Heeno]

Originally Posted by nak351

aaah mighty Brisbane. a city full of rednecks with the driving mentality of a Sydney taxi driver.
i'll be visiting that fair metropolis next week for my annual fix of road rage :

lol i agree, there are so many flogs here its not funny not all but most, i spose its because of the usuall dry climate that people don't get to have as much wet driving experience as someone in melbourne or any other rainy town would.

hahahahahahahaha redneck! get f@#ked no rednecks here, you want rednecks go to darwin

[NAK302]

Originally Posted by Heeno

lol i agree, there are so many flogs here its not funny not all but most, i spose its because of the usuall dry climate that people don't get to have as much wet driving experience as someone in melbourne or any other rainy town would.

hahahahahahahaha redneck! get f@#ked no rednecks here, you want rednecks go to darwin

come on Heeno, everyone knows Darwin is the best city in Australia.

[neb]

I wish I lived in Brisbane. Everyone in Melbourne seems to drive 20kms under the speed limit when it rains which drives me crazy.

[Heeno]

thats brisbane for you, i was out last night and found my tyres perform bloody excellent under wet conditions!! i love maxxis tyres......lol still wouldn't spin though :

[Casper]

Originally Posted by neb

I wish I lived in Brisbane. Everyone in Melbourne seems to drive 20kms under the speed limit when it rains which drives me crazy.

No you dont. I spent 10 years in Qld and its a known fact that the IQ on any given road plummets as soon as it rains. Basically, in Brisbane, rain sends a fair pecentage of drivers into uncontrollable insanity on a regular basis.

In Melbourne it rains, people slow down and everything takes a bit longer to happen... frustrating but generally safe. In Brisbane it all goes nuts with normally sane people aiming for gaps that dont exist, houses, trees or anything else that causes devistation on an epic level. Then it all STOPS and no one gets home.

[RED_EL_XR8]

Originally Posted by neb

Everyone in Melbourne seems to drive 20kms under the speed limit when it rains which drives me crazy.

Not that they do? But why do you see a problem with this? Maybe you should get a passport and emigrate to Brisbane.

[neb]

Originally Posted by RED_EL_XR8

No that they do? But why do you see a problem with this? Maybe you should get a passport and emigrate to Brisbane.

I'd prefer if everyone drove the speed limit but kept a safe distance in front of them. Thats how I drive in the rain.

But then again I did live in Queensland for around 15 years... so maybe its had an influence on me!

[RED_EL_XR8]

Originally Posted by neb

I'd prefer if everyone drove the speed limit but kept a safe distance in front of them. Thats how I drive in the rain.

But then again I did live in Queensland for around 15 years... so maybe its had an influence on me!

In Melbourne in the wet there is no safe distance at the speed limit..

[neb]

Originally Posted by RED_EL_XR8

In Melbourne in the wet there is no safe distance at the speed limit..

Of course there is..... If you've got enough distance to respond and brake and stop in time if the car in front of you slams on its brakes then that would be a safe distance wouldn't it.

[Psycho Chicken]

Originally Posted by neb

I wish I lived in Brisbane. Everyone in Melbourne seems to drive 20kms under the speed limit when it rains which drives me crazy.

Can't be true, if that were the case they would be making no money on speed cameras.

[TheSneakiness]

Reminds me of this morning...

Ute + LSD + Wet Road = I wish I had brown dacks on...

[NAK302]

go gozza. LOL
where in Brissy are you, mate. i'll keep an eye out for your taxi :

[GreenMachine]

Yeah, I would tend to agree here. Wet weather in Brisbane causes some weird urge to punch car-shaped holes in the scenery.

I blame XXXX.

[outback_ute]

I agree Red, in peak hour the roads are usually too crowded to allow a safe distance at the speed limit. Slowing down a bit doesn’t hold you up as much as a road blocked after an accident.

A while ago I witnessed Einstein’s grandson (well he clearly was very smart) driving on a streaming wet freeway at 100km/h all of 1.2m behind a truck. If the truck braked he would not have registered the brake lights coming on before he ran into the truck.

I’ll tell you why people don’t drive to the conditions when it is wet – their tiny little brains cannot remember what it was like last time it rained, even if that was yesterday and what they should do. All they know is stop, go and steery-steery. If they are lucky they remember not to bump their head when getting in and out.

[RED_EL_XR8]

Originally Posted by outback_ute

I’ll tell you why people don’t drive to the conditions when it is wet – their tiny little brains cannot remember what it was like last time it rained, even if that was yesterday and what they should do. All they know is stop, go and steery-steery. If they are lucky they remember not to bump their head when getting in and out.

You could be onto something there, and here was me thinking they were all either taking up the extra challenge, or simply numskulls.

[Sourbastard]

Originally Posted by outback_ute

All they know is stop, go and steery-steery.

Dont forget Horn! wouldnt be a party without Horn.

[Racecraft]

Its not really the wet conditions alone, the Brisbane pimple head driving style is almost a given in any peak hour traffic...

[parawolf]

While I do take 5km off my speed in the wet, with last nights rain there is very few tyres that could cope with the volume of water on Melbourne's roads at above 75km/h. I was filled with hope about Melbourne's driving population for the first time at about 10:15pm last night on the Eastern freeway when ALL the traffic going into the city was at about 70-80km/h. There was no slingshot overtaking, minimal water spray and well.. it was just a pleasure considering the conditions.

But getting back onto the suburban roads, i couldn't say the same. People sitting at the lights with their back ends going sideways as they attempted to take off (hint, if you are in a manual try taking off in 2nd gear if you have a powerful car works a treat).

[cheese]

Three years ago I would have agreed on the state of driving in Brisbane, but then I came back to NZ.
Christchurch drivers are possibly the worst in the country if not the Southern Hemisphere.

[Black XR6]

I'd prefer if everyone drove the speed limit but kept a safe distance in front of them. Thats how I drive in the rain.

Try that in sydney or on the F3 rain or shine. Leave a decent gap in front of you and its sure to be filled by someone who just rocketed up either side of you. Maybe the gap will be used as a transitional area to get from the lane to the left of you to the far right lane.

[outback_ute]

Oh I forgot one other reason to explain the phenomenon - the rules of physics don't apply to some people (apparently)