A short driving test.

Scenario:

You are a middle-aged man driving along a 3-lane dual carriageway road in a reasonably high performance car.  You are maintaining a driving speed of 70mph, which is the limit for the stretch of road.  You move to the outside lane in order to pass some slower moving traffic in the second lane.  After some distance, you find that there is no opportunity to move back into the second lane, and you increase your speed to 75mph to take advantage of a gap in the traffic that you can see ahead.   The non-driver occupant of the passenger seat remarks that you are driving too fast.

Do you:
a)      Apply your brakes immediately and move to your left.
b)      Apply your brakes immediately until you have reverted to a speed of 70mph and remain at that speed, ignoring the BMW X5 behind you.
c)      Maintain your speed until you have completed your manoeuvre.

(Note: increasing your speed in order to get to the gap sooner is not an option.)

Supplementary questions:
1.      How would you answer this question if you were a 60-year old school-teacher who drives an 8-year old Fiat Panda bought new which now has 14000 miles on the clock?
2.      Are the actions of the passenger grounds for divorce?
3.      Would a verdict of Justifiable Homicide be appropriate in the event of subsequent court proceedings?

Can't answer that Jereboam as I am a middle aged woman and my brain works differently!  

a)

1) I wouldn't
2) Yes
3) Yes, if followed immediately by a)

JesterRT wrote on 14. Dec 2009 at 08:23:


It's called parallax error (oooh big words for a little boy) it is great for upsetting passengers that think you are speeding when you aren't. Upgrade your performance car with a rocket launcher to get rid of the X5 on your rear bumper and thrash the nuts off the panda just to give the car and the owner a fright.

Elite Pete wrote on 14. Dec 2009 at 11:58:


.. not to mention the fact that you have a door handle, so you don't even have to wait for the services. 

Kevin

Hannah Judes Dad wrote on 14. Dec 2009 at 08:33:


As a sometime physics student, I am fully aware of parallax errors.  However, 35 years of married bliss has built up an awareness of the futility of attempting to explain it to my wife.

I took an XJ8 for a test drive a few years ago.  If I can ever afford it, I will get one, because it has a very deeply recessed speedo, which probably can't be seen from the passenger seat.  It had some other nice features, but that was the best!

It is also worth observing that when proceeding at speed on a motorway, it is generally better to deploy one's observational powers towards the traffic, rather than to concentrate on the speedometer.