Is this normal for Auckland

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purple666, Aug 13, 2:51am
Just wondering if this is par for the course when driving in Auckland!
In todays Sideswipe, NZ Herald

Safer to be green

After being rear-ended in the grey car twice, the pale golden one three times and the latest silver fox once over the past nine years, Robert Tudman of Takapuna has decided on a bright lime-green Honda Jazz. "We are seeing a few more bright-coloured cars on the road, green and yellow in particular. Maybe other drivers have felt the same way. We have done nearly one year in the green car, and no one has hit us yet," he says.

Or does he have a "Please Hit Me" sticker in the back windows!
bellky, Aug 13, 2:53am
The NZ Herald has gone to the dogs if that's the calibre of articles they run.
cuda.340, Aug 13, 3:43am
i'm on road everyday. everyday i see at least one nose to tail, some mornings i'm lucky, i get to se 3 or 4 before i even get to the office. i have noted tho, big bullbars attract motorists attention. most nose to tails involve cars with no bullbars.
bellky, Aug 13, 3:47am
Most cars don't have bullbars so that figures.
sr2, Aug 13, 4:12am
LOL, 6 rear endings in nine years! I think it's probibly time he either let the wife take over the driving duties or came out of the closet!
smac, Aug 13, 4:18am
My ma hit someone from behind (in her car) once. The car she was following braked suddenly mid corner for no apparent reason. The driver gets out and starts going on about how often she's been hit.so yeah, some people definitely cause it. If it was the States she'd also be holding her neck and crying whiplash.
thejazzpianoma, Aug 13, 4:24am
People have zero understanding of following distances, especially in wet conditions. It seems more common to see a car tailgating in the rain than not.

Worse still, when I drop my following distance back to 4 seconds in the wet those behind me seem to think I am somehow holding them up and following10cm off my bumper will rectify the situation.

Sadly though, because policing following distances takes some actual effort it will no doubt continue.
sr2, Aug 13, 4:32am
The cruise controll in some of the new Mercs controll following distance as well, i.e. it uses the brakes if you get too close to the car in front. It's a bit wierd getting used to it at first, but it works suprisingly well.
thejazzpianoma, Aug 13, 4:42am
Not just Mercedes anymore, quite a few cars with adaptive cruise nowadays. Interestingly they are finding in crowded city's that having a few of these cars in the traffic can prevent or even restart gridlock traffic.
sr2, Aug 13, 4:48am
Yes the Merc is the only one I've had a drive with it so far, if enough cars used it I'd be suprised if it wouldn't improve traffic flow.
thejazzpianoma, Aug 13, 4:52am
On a similar note, you might enjoy this. Its a public demo of Volvo's crash avoidance system. only. they forgot to turn it on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch!v=m6ZwS9izm4E
zirconium, Aug 13, 5:35am
Another vote for the driver having issues. I've been driving/passengering in Auckland rush (rush!) hour traffic daily since 1983, and have been in a car that has crashed (front or rear) zero times.
zirconium, Aug 13, 5:37am
lol, went to the same driving school as Sideswipe's driver.
rob_man, Aug 13, 6:35am
Yep, 40 years of driving around Auckland in cars of all colours and never been rearended once, what am I doing wrong!
purple666, Aug 13, 7:31am
I figured that might be the case, seemed a bit lame blaming the paint colour.

Likely he is one of those idiots that slam the brakes on as soon as a light goes orange.
johnf_456, Aug 13, 7:54am
Orange lights do not mean go.
dr.doolittle, Aug 13, 8:12am
Yes officer.
clark20, Aug 13, 8:15am
The new Prius at work has it, must take it for a drive. gotta to be better than the diesel Passats we have
pollymay, Aug 13, 8:37am
Isn't that the signal for cranking a big drift through the intersection.

Or have I been doing it wrong!
purple666, Aug 13, 8:52am
Well they sure DON'T mean slam your brakes on, I was always lead to belive the meant "hurry up we are going to turn red any moment".
gammelvind, Aug 13, 9:06am
I am stunned at the number of people who blame the car ahead of them for stopping to quickly, whatever happened to being able to stop in half the distance ahead of you.
johnf_456, Aug 13, 9:13am
Yip
johnf_456, Aug 13, 9:14am
Incorrect, it means stop if you can safely. But then again if the person wasn't following so close they would have adequate time to stop.
rob_man, Aug 13, 9:25am
While that may be correct there are still steps you can take to avoid your car being sodomised, I pay a lot of attention to my mirrors for that reason.
purple666, Aug 13, 10:06am
First thing you notice about Auckland traffic is no follows at a safe distance.