cra

Hello I'm coming back to the fray soon.... Just ordered a nearly new Octavis vrs tdi which I am picking up a week today. Previously owned a Mk 1 Octavia vRs which was amazing but swapped that for a Volvo T5 (big mistake!) Craig

I did IAM back in 1997 and have done a few other things since. Happy to help in the Teesside area.

What does that involve? Is a brake upgrade required? Clutch?

I've got a 2003 Octavia vRS and had it remapped by JabbaSport at 7k miles. Now on 61k and I need more power! What is the next step?

There always seems to be a long (2-3 weeks) lead time forbooking my car in for a service. I didn't buy my car from them. I imagine they give customers who bought from them preferential treatment but I can't help wondering how they expect to convert me to a retail customer with such long waits. Wait time for a courtesy car is far too long. Last time I was there (week day) there were 3 demonstrators sat around. I do wonder how many people would justify an upgrade if they just have an opportunity to drive a new vehicle in a relaxed environment. I don't like the fact that there is never any petrol in the courtesy cars when you do get one. I'd be happy to pay a fixed amount per mile. I like them more than I dislike them, but I do think there are several areas where they could improve their customer care.

I've now read the advert and see that it was Cleveland. I suspect it was a driver training car used to teach standard and advanced courses. I bought a Volvo T5 which had been used for this and it never gave me a moments problem. Looks like a nice motor. Well done.

Can I ask which force owned it?

I think you need to be a bit more specific with regards to the actual problem that you are facing. If she is new to the role, then perhaps casually drop into the converation that you suspect she is bullying you and that you may need to take the matter up with HR. Depends if you want to play fair or not. What's the story?

Tom Sorry. I hope I am not trying to teach you to suck eggs. Whenever I have an incident I always sit down and try to work out what I could have done differently and whether I followed Roadcraft to the letter. But sometimes these things do happen. My last incident was as follows. I was approaching a roundabout and intending to turn right. Rear mirror check, indicate right, check right, left and right again, decide to go when I saw a flash to my right hand side. Quickly on the brakes, they did a quick left, right round the roundabout and were off. Organ donors in training. Two bikers travelling below the limit but well over a speed where they could stop in the distance they could see to be clear. If I had pulled out they would have had no chance to stop. I visited the rounabout the next day, parked up and had a good look at it and came to the conclusion that there was nothing more I could have done yet it was so very very nearly a serious collision. Am I correct in thinking that your incident occured in darkness? If so, then it is even more important that we drive within the distance we can see (actually see with our own eyes) to be clear. I always find myself driving slower in darkness because the darkness will hide hazards that daylight would make visible. Cra

Sorry to hear of your "off". A couple of tips for next time: 1. When flashing you need to allow time for the other person to see it and for them to react. That takes a few seconds. So your overtaking opportunity needs to allow for this time. 2. BEFORE deciding to overtake go offside and then take a full look at the road ahead. Look as far as the eye can see, look for junctions left and right. Look for a change in the road surface, etc.. Is there anything ahead that will cause the driver in front to suddenly change direction or speed? 3. Calculate the time it will take you to complete the overtake (somewhere in the region of 12 seconds (at a guess) - Can you get to your return point before another car comes into conflict with you? 4. Be very wary when someone is so close to you that they close down your return path. It is better to force your way in left and have a side-side collision than a head-on. The head-on must be avoided at all costs. It might be worth investing in some additional driver trainig. The local IAM/RoADA group will teach you the basics including overtaking. Again, glad you are OK - Hope you learned something from it and that you can put it to good use. Craig edited to add - PLEASE don't just chalk it up to experience. It wasn't just "one of those things". The warning signs were there. You just need to develop a few techniques to improve your observation and overtaking. Apologies if this sounds patronising - It isn't meant to be. Please be safe - For all our sakes.

I'll be there!

Guys I can do Saturday or Sunday afternoon after about 5.30pm - Is that any good? Craig

I'm going to have a run out with chowy probably at the weekend. Beeftech - I'd certainly appreciate a run out in yours, too. Where are you? Do you wanna PM me please? Thanks all Craig

I'm [still] thinking of changing my Octavia for a vRS and would appreciate a quick run out with anyone who has had their Furby remapped. I'm based in Teesside but happy to drive for an hour or so, so that would get me up to Newcastle, down to Leeds and across to Carlisle. Is there anyone up for a run out perhaps tonight - Happy to buy food etc.. after a blast. If so, please PM or reply here. Thanks Craig

Having seen the aftermath of a vehicle striking a horse at speed believe me you DO NOT want to be a party to such an incident. I'm not a particular fan of horses but I do know that, currently, they are permitted to share roads with us car drivers so we should treat them with a degree of respect. Driving at night requires special skills. There is less time to be able to react to hazards. Simply dropping from main beam to main headlights reduces the amount of road you have to stop in. I always think what if it were my 5 year old laid in the road having fallen off his bicycle. The truth is that, in the dark, we should drive slower because we cannot definitely see that the road is clear. When the road is free of other traffic/hazards, you can use main beam and see that the road is definitely just yours then that is the time to GLF!