MOT fail thread

While the US has far higher deaths per 100k population, they drive a lot more than we do. If you look at the deaths per 1b km travelled they are just under twice as likely to die as we are (6.9 vs 3.8)
 
Itc said:
I lived in the US for 27 years in a few different states and drivers in the UK are no better
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I went to the US for 2 weeks and it was quickly obvious that the standard of driving was much worse than the UK. On one nearby, busy junction we saw an accident maybe 3 times in the same week.

Their cars in general were not maintained as well either. Probably because there is no MOT.
 
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I would imagine (although I have no data to back this up) that there are more fatalities due to the massive size delta between the largest and smallest cars. Imagine what would happen to a Mazda MX5 when hit by a Ford F250 or a GMC Sierra.
 
Also remember that if you get into a none fatal accident it's obviously not going to affect that death rate. I reckon the number of small accidents/near misses is pretty high in the UK but quite hard to log accurately. I live in Beverley and some of the junctions are blind so you just have to edge out, but you could easily wipe a cyclist out. I also think people pulling forwards onto drives doesn't help either (I think due to space being less of an issue in the USA, that probably doesn't happen too much.
 
Looking back to when I did 3 weeks in the states, their driving standards were truly awful. The 3 things that stood out to me were:

Speed limits seemed to be taken as advisory.
Zero lane discipline on highways, you can go any speed in any lane and no need to keep to the inside of you were not overtaking.
The maintenance standards of vehicles and the standard in general that applied to HGVs was awful.

HGVs had no side ‘skirts’ so vehicles could get pulled in under the trailer and mashed by the rear wheels. Pedestrians and cyclists would have no chance.

HGVs also seemed to have no lower speed limits, or if they did have one, it certainly wasn’t observed.

When you are doing 75 on a highway and getting overtaken by a 40T semi truck, you know something isn’t right with the regulations and no wonder they have so many deaths. Let’s not forget, even if it’s ‘only’ twice the U.K., the seriously injured that sits below that is going to be huge.

Not to mention insurance appears to be optional in some states so you could get bankrupted from medical bills relating to an injury from someone else crashing into you. Fun times.
 
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Bear said:
I presume you mean in general and not right turns on red?
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He means in general.

Spend 10 mins watching a US based dash cam channel and compare that to a U.K. dash cam channel.

You’ll quickly realise the risks people take in the states are incredible. While yes these clips are curated for maximum impact but so are the U.K. ones. The incidents in the US are always ‘extra’ compared to anything you see in the U.K.
 
Nasher said:
I went to the US for 2 weeks and it was quickly obvious that the standard of driving was much worse than the UK. On one nearby, busy junction we saw an accident maybe 3 times in the same week.

Their cars in general were not maintained as well either. Probably because there is no MOT.
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My regular experience of driving in Silicon Valley and the SF Bay Area over a decade was that most people will think nothing of driving home after 2-3 beers. In the city, there were cab services and the Metro/BART if you felt lucky. Out in the wilds of Cupertino/Sunnyvale/Mountain View, not so much.

Distracted driving was the real problem I saw in worked commuter traffic - drivers shaving, applying make up and on their phones. Didn’t see any real clunkers driving around, but plenty of stanced/lowered cars and insanely lifted pick up trucks which seemed unstable at any speed.
 
Nasher said:
Saw the aftermath of quite a few crashes from people going right on red over night.
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Ive driven other there quite a few times and never had any problems and thought it was actually a pretty good idea. Obviously if you are an idiot and dont look properly before you pull out then yes I can imagine there being quite a few accidents because of it
 
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