What's made you grumpy today?

[Candisa]

It was yesterday, but I'll be grumpy every time I check my budget this month: Spending 6 Fiat Specialist working hours just to get a K&N airfilter installed!
That's one costly airfilter, could've bought a set of alloys or a towbar for that kind of money!

Lots of LPG related stuff in the way, lots of custom work as nothing aftermarket directly fits on a LPG converted T-Jet Doblo...

For those interested:
https://www.fiatforum.com/members-motors/437147-candisas-doblo-t-jet-lpg.html?p=4248384

 

[Liquid Knight]

Sorry if any of my other post have been more blunt than usual.

I had just finished paying for my Petrol yesterday morning when I heard a "crunch!" closely followed by my alarm going off.

A 2016 Land Rover Discovery had driven into the back of my Bravo.

As I left the shop part of the station the Land Rover operator was backing up. Thinking he was about to bolt I canceled the alarm and made him aware of my presence.

He got out and suggested it was my fault because I had parked a little further forward of the pump and demanded my insurance details.

I asked if he was on drugs, had been drinking or had forgotten his glasses as it was the only way he could have missed a bright yellow car parked on a very, very well lit forecourt.

I then turned my attention to the new damage to the back of my car.

A slight crease in the tailgate and mark on my bumper.

I won't be bothering with a claim as it would be more than enough to write the old girl off but the Land Rover needed a new drivers side fog light/DRL, the bumper was pushed back into the wheel arch, headlight moved in and the bonnet gap was twice as high on the drivers side as it was on the passenger side (but that could be standard).

Glad it wasn't a proper Land Rover it would have been a lot worse.

I'm half expecting a call from my insurers some time claiming I reversed into the pillock and he's put a five figure whiplash claim in.

No photo's of the Land Rover as the operator (note the lack of the word "driver") refused to allow any to be taken. My phone was in my bag, belted to my passenger seat anyway but the guys who work at the petrol station have offered a copy of the CCTV if I need it. I have a crime reference number in case there is any attempt of fraud but as the forecourt is considered private property there won't any further investigation (Careless Driving etc).

 

[puntofan01]

Starting to sort through music on my iTunes, and the program deleting the entire compilation albums folder: miffed is not the word!!!

 

[Paddynabs]

Ive been using a company this week with cruise control. It amazes me how much people speed up/slow down on the motorway I had at least four people undertake me today just after I had gone past them. I was so pissed off the next two cars to try it got a surprise when I pulled in front of them. Bit naughty really but then they start flashing at me when all I did was overtake and pull back in.

 

[StevenRB45]

Ive been using a company this week with cruise control. It amazes me how much people speed up/slow down on the motorway I had at least four people undertake me today just after I had gone past them. I was so pissed off the next two cars to try it got a surprise when I pulled in front of them. Bit naughty really but then they start flashing at me when all I did was overtake and pull back in.

Now now they'll only just get annoyed and retaliate...

But yes it's amazing how hard people find it to hold a single speed at any point (never mind on a motorway). Up here we have a few hilly dual carriageways and it's always amusing to be passed like you're standing still while on cruise by a supermini then reach the next hill and pass them in the same way as they have no hope of maintaining that speed.

Then again people also love to use their brakes on the motorway. When I did my driving test and pass plus I was taught you adjust your speed on the motorway with the throttle, brakes are for when something out of the ordinary happens, you are changing speed or you need to stop. So those people who brake for as far as I can tell, signs, lampposts, road markings, downhills, uphills, clouds, leaves, if their phone rings absolutely do my head in...especially as they are the ones who go 65-80-55-75...just pick a speed and leave the brake pedal alone unless you actually need it!

 

[portland_bill]

I usually set the cruise at around 73. Probably around a real 70-71, but usually enough to not get 'trapped' by the yo-yos who bounce from 55-70. This also still gives a margin for a burst to get away from stuff and tangles, without breaking the 80 barrier where police attention beckons.

All my trainees, new drivers and experienced, are told brake pedal is out of bounds on the motorway. Eyes & Brain before brakes.
Every time you have to use brakes on a motorway, you should ask yourself, "Why didn't I see that coming?"

Sadly, most drivers focus about 3 car-lengths ahead, even at 80mph. We have to share the road with them.

 

[Liquid Knight]

I usually set the cruise at around 73. Probably around a real 70-71, but usually enough to not get 'trapped' by the yo-yos who bounce from 55-70. This also still gives a margin for a burst to get away from stuff and tangles, without breaking the 80 barrier where police attention beckons.

All my trainees, new drivers and experienced, are told brake pedal is out of bounds on the motorway. Eyes & Brain before brakes.
Every time you have to use brakes on a motorway, you should ask yourself, "Why didn't I see that coming?"

Sadly, most drivers focus about 3 car-lengths ahead, even at 80mph. We have to share the road with them.

On the M25 the other week I was using lanes one and two mostly in my Bravo doing 70-ish (stealth speed cameras). The only time I used lanes three or four was to overtake two or more slower vehicles. The number of people tailgating in lanes three and four doing 55-65mph who then got miffed because I was doing 70-ish in a clear lane two was ridiculous.



It's happening people!

Coming back from Huddersfield last week in the LS400 I set the cruise control to 72mph, sat back and relaxed. It took a while for me to let go and let the car do it's thing but when I did the eighty or so miles to Grantham flew by. Occasionally having to slow down for traffic in lane one if two was occupied using the hand control, but apart from that all I did was steer and indicate to overtake.

I'm still not a fan of automatics or drivers aids but can appreciate the broader appeal.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Today I just moved my Bravo off the drive so I can get to something else and...

1/ The crack in my windscreen is twice as long as it was this morning when I got home from work.

2/ A drill bit was left propped against my driver side rear tyre. Ready to puncture if hadn't spotted it.

 

[JCarp16]

Today I just moved my Bravo off the drive so I can get to something else and...

1/ The crack in my windscreen is twice as long as it was this morning when I got home from work.

2/ A drill bit was left propped against my driver side rear tyre. Ready to puncture if hadn't spotted it.

You annoyed someone? That's worrying!

 

[Liquid Knight]

You annoyed someone? That's worrying!

It has been going on for months. Since some daft bint pulled out of a junction in front of me and I had the audacity to use my horn she has been spotted hanging around my car both on my driveway and local shops. I've had more punctures in the last six months than the last ten years of driving.

Could be the street racer in the Audi A3 I upset last year in my Punto GT by being quicker than him. If you recall my wheel bolts were loosened for that one.

The Land Rover operator who drove into the back of my Bravo at a petrol station and tried to blame me for it.

There are disadvantages of having a rare and bight yellow car. It make it easier for knuckle draggers to find you.

Also out of the car and off the road I'm a sociopath. Annoying people goes with the territory.

 

[Eklipze3k]

Sounds like time to get a CCTV camera

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Also out of the car and off the road I'm a sociopath. Annoying people goes with the territory.

Otherwise known as antisocial personality disorder (given that sociopath isn't something that services diagnose in the uk, though people who think they're clever like to label themselves with)

So if you're antisocial all the time then it's hardly surprising when you make enemies.

A normal person would probably think it's much cheaper to be nice to people and not have to replace your tyres every 5 minutes

 

[Liquid Knight]

Otherwise known as antisocial personality disorder (given that sociopath isn't something that services diagnose in the uk, though people who think they're clever like to label themselves with)

So if you're antisocial all the time then it's hardly surprising when you make enemies.

A normal person would probably think it's much cheaper to be nice to people and not have to replace your tyres every 5 minutes

"Anti-Social Personality Disorder" (ASPD).

ASPD is a patronising term that egregiously places both sociopath and psychopath in the same box on a form and is used primarily to make others more comfortable. For example...

"Ahhhhhhh! You're a Psychopath!!!"

...becomes...

"Awwwww. You have ASPD. Here's a kitten".

It's just another example of the kind of Snowflaking that has put us all in the hole we're in now.

I appreciate the sentiment but being nice to people doesn't work. Either; for the most part people don't expect it (because they're used to living in world full of a-holes) or they try to take advantage of it and learn how false nice can be.

 

[portland_bill]

CCTV might be a good idea. A standard webcam works in daylight, but is usually crap in the dark. Maybe a PIR light outside. At least the miscreant can see what they are doing more easily!

 

[PuntoHowTo]

"Anti-Social Personality Disorder" (ASPD).

ASPD is a patronising term that egregiously places both sociopath and psychopath in the same box on a form and is used primarily to make others more comfortable. For example...

"Ahhhhhhh! You're a Psychopath!!!"

...becomes...

"Awwwww. You have ASPD. Here's a kitten".

It's just another example of the kind of Snowflaking that has put us all in the hole we're in now.

I appreciate the sentiment but being nice to people doesn't work. Either; for the most part people don't expect it (because they're used to living in world full of a-holes) or they try to take advantage of it and learn how false nice can be.

All I heard was "blah blah blah"

Doesn't really matter what title you want to bestow upon yourself after watching too much Sherlock, the fact of the matter is the rest of the forum doesn't have a plethora of potential would be vandals trying to puncture their tyres every 5 minutes, nor do they make enemies out of that bloke they once went faster than.

You don't have to be nice to everyone you meet but the implications of what you're saying is you go out of your way to upset people, so you have to expect some sort of fall out from that.

 

[Liquid Knight]

CCTV might be a good idea. A standard webcam works in daylight, but is usually crap in the dark. Maybe a PIR light outside. At least the miscreant can see what they are doing more easily!

I have a couple of the solar powered LED ones that have been really good. Bright enough to illuminate the garden but not so bright as to annoy the neighbors. The drill bit was left while I was on night shift and cycled to work.

I think a stealth camera in a bird box or something similar would be best as I'm pretty sure a visible camera would be more of a target than a deterrent.

 

[JCarp16]

Yes. That would be a good idea - and not too expensive either.

 

[portland_bill]

If it does not stop the vandalism, at least you'll be able to watch the blue tits fledge!

 

[Liquid Knight]

As I have to be up early for work tomorrow I was up today at around five. Went out for a jog. Had a shower, coffee, breakfast and caught up with some emails and stuff.

Around ten minutes past eight I was in my kitchen and noticed someone in my garden.

I went outside to find one of the local lads who goes to the same school as my nephew putting a screw under the passenger side rear tyre of my Bravo.

Caught red handed!

He admitted it was him who has been putting things on my drive and under my tyres since before Christmas and it was because he and my nephew would argue at school. My nephew doesn't live in the same neighborhood any more so he has been spiking my tyres.

I had three options.

1/ Call him a "little scamp" in a "boys will be boys" kind of way and let get to school on time.

2/ Call the Police and have him arrested for trespassing with intent to cause criminal damage.

3/ Take him home and tell his Mum and Dad.

I chose option 3. 1 - no way he was getting away with it. 2 - Rural response times and such we'd still be waiting for the authorities to ultimately do nothing (first offense so verbal caution at best).

After explaining the situation and everything he told me to a very apologetic Mum I made sure the point was made that I brought him home today but next time I'll be handing him over to the Police. Dad steps in...

"You reproducing grass! If I ever do anything to his he son he'll "this that and the other"".

I calmly thanked him as the whole conversation was being recorded and it will be played in court so anything he does will have evidence of premeditation guaranteeing a custodial sentence.

I left it there, Mum and Dad arguing about him being a complete tool and she had it handled and my nephews mate was late for school and rather red faced when he went by on the other side of the street.

Point of reference the conversation was not recorded. It was a bluff to shut the neanderthal up.


Turns out it was not me going around "looking for trouble" as suggest and had nothing to do with me directly at all. Funny that.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Turns out it was not me going around "looking for trouble" as suggest and had nothing to do with me directly at all. Funny that.

You need to have a word with yourself then !

Also out of the car and off the road I'm a sociopath. Annoying people goes with the territory.

Amazing how quickly and how an elaborate stories spring up so quickly with you.

Reminds me of the time you where a test driver for the police or when you drove Vin Diesel and Paul Walker about......