Hows My Driving?

[andrewlee]

Has anyone here ever rung the number accompanying this sign on ther back of some vans and wagons?   If so, what happened?

[andy hughes]

Yes, I have.

Five days a week, I park in the yard of a store near my office. I have to turn right off a two-way street, about twenty feet before traffic lights. Just above where I turn, the left lane splits in two with a bus lane on the right half, for buses to go traight on, and a car lane, for cars to turn left. One day, as I turned, I was hit on the right side of my car by a National Express bus who's driver had either not seen, or ignored my indicator, and had moved into the right side of the road to overtake me.

Giving my details to the attending police offcer in her patrol car, I saw through the windescreen of her car, the back of the bus, which had parked where he stopped - on the right ha side of the road, and there was the legend "How's my driving?" and an 0800 number!

I rang the number, explained the circumstances of the crash, which had written off my car, and told the person on the other end -

"I'll tell you how his driving is - dangerous and ilegal, that's how his driving is!" The gentleman at the other end advised me he was unable to comment. I was far from unable to comment, but he hung up on me as my voice got a little louder ...!

The incidnet is still wtih solicitors, the bus owners have had the nerve to contest liability!

[tigga]

andy, that will be their insurers doing - i rang mine once after an accident, held my hands up and said, look it was my fault. The claims woman went mad - she was determined to get me to fight it !.

[twiglet4frog]

my mate was driving once and had this van cut him up at some lights, literally barging his way in! he saw the number on the back to ring and gave it a call. Male answere...

"Can i help?"

" Yeah, some moron just in front of me in a white van with the number plate A## ### # is cutting me up and driving like a w##k##r and either he gets sacked for it or he gets a smack!"

"And could u tell me the make of car and colour u are driving please sir!"

"Whats that matter, why do u need to know that?"

"Cos i am the W##K'##R in the van in front of u and i want to know who u are so i can ram u off the road and  then give u a smacking!"

[andy hughes]

I understand that tigga, but even so, I've had to pay the excess on my policy, which I can't have back until the lawyers finish debating - it just makes me mad that it wasn't my fault, but I have to pay - the other driver's company just give him another bus!

[ianess]

Nice one twiglet4frog........your post brightened my day up!

[Andy Boz]

Yes, I was followed by a white van owned by a national electrical shop, doing a steady 32 in a 30, as you do. Two kids in the back and he appeared in the mirror,  so I crept up to 40. Still there, bit more squeeze, and now doing 45 or so, and his number plate is in my mirror. I reckon he was no more than 8 foot away.

Then he turned off, into his depot, and in my mirror I saw the sign, so I turned round and nice and steadily d rove into the yard a few minutes after him. He had got out, and was walking towards the office , and his face dropped when he saw my distinctive car. I very slowly noted his number, revelling in the look he was giving me and making him suffer. Oh yes, revenge was sweet. I rang up the 0800 number, and gave them the details, and they promised to look into it. Yeah right I thought, but I have an old mate who works there, and bumped into him a few weeks later. Turns out the driver had lost two weeks bonus, about �120 quid, given a written warning, and threatened with dismissal if it happened again.

[stoo_pid]

As a cyclist in London I was waiting at traffic lights when I was almost knocked off from behind by a bus that had not stopped quickly enough. It wasn't a particularly bad collision but the only reason I wasn't knocked over was that my back tyre was wedged under the front bumper.  I was actually able to get off my bike & leave it standing by itself in the vertical position!  The bus driver pretended neither to see or hear me or the passer-by that was banging on his door to try & attract his "attention".  In the end I kicked a great big hole in the bumper & got my bike out (surprisingly without any visible damage). 

When I rang to report his driving I got exactly the same treatment as Andy - they even said that as my bike wasn't damaged it couldn't possibly have happened!

Another time I was nearly hit twice by a delivery van along the same stretch of road.  Not only that but this was while he was illegally driving in the Bus / Cycle lane and clearly speeding.  I rang the number on the back of his van when I got to work and the person I spoke to this time was very helpful & promised to investigate.  A couple of days later they called me back to inform me that this bloke was already on a warning as someone else had phoned in a similar complaint a couple of weeks previously.  He was sacked that morning.

[mrrsmith]

Andy & other motoring friends
I've just read your comments about How's My Driving.

How's My Driving is a different organisation to 'Well Driven' which appears on the back of National Express coaches.

I am genuinely sorry to hear of your experience but sadly that's big business and solicitors for you.

How's My Driving is an independent scheme (yellow and black house shaped badge) which does not allow organisations to bully it's work force. It is used by companys and drivers who want to remind themselves that driving for a living is one of the most dangerous occupations - 9 people day every day on the UK's roads and around 3 of those are work related and driving is still not part of the HSE's remit.

We all talk about 'other' peoples bad driving - I wonder who all of these 'other' people are !! Don't forget it's the minority of people involved in something that get the majority a bad name. Some years ago (about 7) there was a study that disproved the white van myth - think about it - professional drivers spend longer on the road and are better trained but the press in it's popular form aka Jeremiah Clarkson would not let the truth stand in the way of a good story, so the tag is still alive and doing well much to the lament of the majority of the registered 2.1 million van drivers in the UK.

Here's an invitation (which I know a cerrtain motoring journalist received and never took up) - If you think you're good enough why don't you ring How's My Driving? on 0800 266 266 and ask for a nice badge to wear on the back of your car. Wonder if there's anhyone who thinks their driving is good enough?
Tell them Mr Smith said so!

[tubby885]

I phoned 0800 266266 to complain about a Reed Boardall HGV ignoring a HGV ban on the road where I live.They said they would contact the company.Since then I haven't seen this HGV. Job done.

[well-driven]

There are a couple of these schemes around, check out www.well-driven.net for more details

[william76]

Good idea, but the problem is you rarely get the chance to read the number unless you tailgate, moreover should you really be encouraged to use your mobile whilst driving???

Firms should switch to a largely based web provider of hows my driving stickers such as www.SafelyDriven.com . I've gone for their other choice www.HowsMyDriving.Tv They do have a tel number for stalwarts.

All you have to remember is the slogan and a 3 digit code. Far easier and safer than remembering / reciting a registration number and playing with the mobile on the go.

Reed Boardall have a telephone scheme on the back of their lorries which states ' Hows my Driving Call 0800 xxxxxx' and next to it something that says 'Give the road your full attention, keep off your mobile' with a photo of a mobile next to it. Bit of a contradiction going on there. Call me to report my driver, but stay off your mobile. So I'll just get a bit of paper and a pen out the glovebox, write it down over the steering wheel and call it later when I'm in hospital!!!!