Curious little cars???

[keith2011 2,496]

Over the summer there has been a group of 10 or so of what I can only describe as micro racing cars driving through the streets of the Au and I'm sure elsewhere in Munich. I noticed them regularly on the weekends but occasionally on weekday evenings. They all seem to be 4 wheel narrow, low  single seater open cockpit vehicles with the drivers upper body well above the level of the thing, sporty exhausts, possibly motorcycle engines, certainly they sound more like old timer motorcycles than cars. Anyone know what they are and what they are doing?

[martinamr 259]

Could it be these?:

 

https://www.hotrod-fun.com/

[keith2011 2,496]

 

Almost certain it is, many thanks solving the mystery.

[slammer 823]

Yes seen these Fucwits bombing around without a care in the world. They are difficult to see and you are already having a hard time with your head on a swivel from all the e-scoots and Munich cyclists. One day, mark my words, I´ll have one splattered as a hood ornament all over the bonnet of my Astra.

And I sure don´t want to go there.

[keith2011 2,496]

Oh come on don't be a spoil sport they look like great fun and from what I've seen they are not on the move in rush hours and are hardly much of a nuisance to other road users.

[food mom 754]

@keith2011:  agree! Saw them yesterday zipping along the Tal, around 19:00. Happy people! Reminded me of Charlie Brown's Snoopy.    

 

Much safer than those electric/hybrid cars that sneak up on one (engines make no sound) which, as a cyclist, I find intensely annoying.

[fraufruit 41,602]

44 minutes ago, food mom said:

Much safer than those electric/hybrid cars that sneak up on one (engines make no sound) which, as a cyclist, I find intensely annoying.

 

We EV drivers are greatly aware that pedestrians, cyclists, etc. can't hear us coming so we take extra precautions. You guys know this and should be more aware of your surroundings - especially when crossing roads, etc. Many don't look both ways. We find that annoying.

[silty1 3,590]

How come some EVs make a kind of a humming sound, and others don't?  Can the driver turn the volume up or down?  I thought the noisemaker they put into the system was supposed to solve this problem, which has been talked about even before the first modern EVs rolled off the line.

[fraufruit 41,602]

We have that but it is fixed and can't be turned up or down. If one is paying attention to their surroundings, they will hear it.

[HH_Sailor 3,485]

Some makes, it is an optional extra.

We bought the car from a dealership and drove it away.

 

No choices, no options - so we're silent...

[Fietsrad 379]

The principle of Betriebsgefahr is anchored in the law in Germany. S/he who creates danger is responsible.

[fraufruit 41,602]

What danger? What are you talking about?

[food mom 754]

1 hour ago, fraufruit said:

 

We EV drivers are greatly aware that pedestrians, cyclists, etc. can't hear us coming so we take extra precautions. You guys know this and should be more aware of your surroundings - especially when crossing roads, etc. Many don't look both ways. We find that annoying.

 

Unfortunately, Mme. Obst, not everyone is as conscientious. I have two such car owners in my neighborhood who often think that they're Stealth Drivers, one of which purposefully likes to sneak up on cyclists. True, he's an exception.

By the same token, I am annoyed by cyclists who do not ring their bells when overtaking. There's problems on both side, to be fair.

[fraufruit 41,602]

We should put a bicycle bell on our car!

[Janx Spirit 10,979]

10 minutes ago, fraufruit said:

We should put a bicycle bell on our car!

 

Or something like this...

 

 

 

...and turn the volume up to 11  

[bramble 9,569]

As pedestrians walking daily with dogs along country lanes my neighbour and I have encountered this problem many times. Suddenly there's a car on your heels and you haven't heard it coming. Makes you jump out of your skin. 

 

12 hours ago, food mom said:

By the same token, I am annoyed by cyclists who do not ring their bells when overtaking.

 

This is also very annoying for pedestrians, especially as the Straßenverkehrsordnung obliges cyclists to warn pedestrians when coming from behind and most simply don't. 

 

12 hours ago, fraufruit said:

We should put a bicycle bell on our car!

 

Why not? I'd be grateful for some sort of warning. 

[keith2011 2,496]

3 hours ago, bramble said:

Why not? I'd be grateful for some sort of warning. 

 

When I was a kid we used to jam an old folded up cigarette packet into the spokes on the wheels of our bikes  such that that it made a loud motor like noise when the bike was in motion (we imagined we were on motorbikes). Maybe Tesla and other EV manufactures could implement a similar high tech solution.

[fraufruit 41,602]

4 minutes ago, keith2011 said:

we used to jam an old folded up cigarette packet into the spokes on the wheels of our bikes

 

We used playing cards.

[Krieg 14,782]

Before people complained when cars were too loud.  Now they complain because they are too silent.  You can't never win.

 

 

 

5 hours ago, bramble said:

This is also very annoying for pedestrians, especially as the Straßenverkehrsordnung obliges cyclists to warn pedestrians when coming from behind and most simply don't. 

 

I was one of the ones who almost never did it because I was not aware of the regulation, I thought I should only ring the bell if they REALLY needed to be aware of me coming.  Then the kids went to bicycle classes in their school and correct me.   Then I tried to follow the rule and ring all the time, and guess what?  people got annoyed and shouted at me.   Again, you can't never win.

 

 

1 hour ago, keith2011 said:

 

When I was a kid we used to jam an old folded up cigarette packet into the spokes on the wheels of our bikes  such that that it made a loud motor like noise when the bike was in motion (we imagined we were on motorbikes). Maybe Tesla and other EV manufactures could implement a similar high tech solution.

 

We were more advanced and used old x-rays sheets.  Probably forbidden in Germany and there is a paragraph about it in the StVO.

[bramble 9,569]

13 minutes ago, Krieg said:

Before people complained when cars were too loud.  Now they complain because they are too silent.  You can't never win.

 

I'm 75 and all my life I've been conditioned to look out and listen for cars coming. They are dangerous vehicles after all. Normal cars today are not too loud unlike earlier cars. We hear the cars coming and move to the side with the dogs and wait for them to pass, which is acknowledged pleasantly with a wave by most drivers.

 

I wish motorbikes could be less noisy. 

 

16 minutes ago, Krieg said:

I was one of the ones who almost never did it because I was not aware of the regulation, I thought I should only ring the bell if they REALLY needed to be aware of me coming.  Then the kids went to bicycle classes in their school and correct me.   Then I tried to follow the rule and ring all the time, and guess what?  people got annoyed and shouted at me.   Again, you can't never win.

 

The cyclists that warn me from behind get a thumbs up and a loud thank you from me when they pass. Some of them even thank me too for moving to the side when they pass. I shout at the others to ring their damn bell.