Driving a Seven in modern day Traffic

[Mike Costigan]

Indicators are an optional extra on modern BMWs and AUDI !!!!

Very few modern cars have indicators, although most seem to have flashing lights to tell you what manoeuvre had just been performed.

[charlie carpenter]

I drive my sevens locally a lot. I live 6 miles from Glasgow City centre and for past week I've been in and out of city most days. I used the Big 7 which kept up with the traffic with no problems. I agree that indicators are essential. I would not go on the motorway otherwise happy to drive anywhere in Scotland.

[andrew34ruby]

   

I have modern LED back lights, with the old light as a high level brakelight. Orange bulbs in those indicators and no other concessions.

Agreed, plan routes in advance, mainly the same roads I cycle on, and drive it like a cyclist.... occupy the lane, then a bit nearer the kerb if/when it's safe for others to come past.

And yes, the council do fit huge litter bins these days.

[Duncan Grimmond]

I drive old cars as if riding a motorcycle with the attitude "they won't see you and if they could they'd still try to kill you"...

On BMWs and Mercs the indicators are only used as all round magic warning lights because when they are parked on a pavement they act as "cloaks of invisibility"

[phillips]

Hi all, well here in Wales,towards the end of the year, comrade Drakeford (The dick head) is introducing a blanket 20 mph speed  limit on the kings highway. So no problems here......

[Ian Williams]

We have a similar situation in NZ where the Transport agency bureaucrats are imposing more and more reduced speed limits on main highways.

[John Mason]

A definite yes to flashing indicators. My son who is 47 in August had never seen semaphore signals nor was aware of them until I bought my seven 20 years ago. There must be thousands if not tens of thousands of drivers on the road that do not recognise what they are. Flashing indicators can be fitted without drilling the body work. See photo below
[attachment=20806]

John Mason

[Dave Mann]

I find i have no trouble keeping up with the traffic in Stockport and was asked by a following motorist if my car was on rails. Yes flashing indicators are a must as is being in the correct lane unlike the 4 Sevens in a you tube clip keeping in the nearside lane which was clearly marked with a big turn left arrow on entering a roundabout, they took the second exit and the last one was nearly clobbered by a modern. There was no excuse as the road was free of traffic. Big roundabouts can be difficult I try not to stop whilst the mini roundabouts are great fun as modern car drivers don't know where to look and think I'm slow until we both come to rest while the modern car driver counts how many dead insects are in my radiator.

[Reckless Rat]

Slight modification of an old agage:

You don't have to be clever to drive an Austin seven but you do if you want to become an old Austin Seven driver.

[GK5268]

My 1934 Ruby is my regular driver, aka my "modern" and covers around 6,000 miles a year, in all weathers.

I have improved the lighting by fitting LED bulbs all round, including headlamps, so night driving is great and being a Ruby, the slightly elevated position helps reduce blindness from on-coming traffic. My front side lights are now the front indicators and I have pilot bulbs in the headlamps, so any daytime out-of-town driving, I have the side lights on, which gives the entire headlamp a glow, so highly visible, particularly as most cars now have DRLs, other drivers are expecting it now.

I have a close-ratio gearbox, so hill climbing is not an issue and I have the flatter tappet blocks so valves open & closer quicker - that gave a noticeable improvement to performance. The car keeps up with town traffic no problem. Hydraulic brakes mean the car pulls up well, good in traffic.

On non-local journeys, I plan my route, if I am unfamiliar, I rely on the satnav (TomTom) and pick the shortest route & avoid motorways and I select key towns/villages as steps using google and I end up on some brilliant roads that have hardly any traffic. I avoid dual carriageways, but the satnav has let me down on occasions and I did use the motorway around Reading on the way up to Moreton in Marsh last summer, the traffic heading into Reading was at a standstill, the motorway was empty - I should have avoided Reading totally, but the satnav was having none of it so despite my planning the route did not work out totally! Rather than sit in the traffic, I opted for the motorway and it was great!

I use "slime" in my Ruby tyres, having had a blow-out several years ago (on a dark & wet November evening in rush hour) and experienced some very unnerving swerving before coming to a halt - luckily, there was a break in the on-coming traffic - I had never ever had a blow-out before, slow punctures, yes - loads, but not an immediate & complete deflation and I can now see how easily cars lose control & crash, particularly at higher speeds (I was doing just over 30mph).

A Ruby is probably an easy driver for regular use, but now my Swallow is back on the road it will take over the role very soon (still a few jobs to do to make it "all weather" and alter the wiring to headlamps to use pilot lights as DRLs, I have already fitted indicators and brake lights), got to get the miles in before we are told to stop!