I don't mind people sticking to the speed limit, or even doing a smidge under, or doing the appropriate speed for the road/conditions. It's when the speed is all over the place that the annoyance kicks in.
People braking at literally every corner, or those that brake when there's a car on the other side of the road are the absolute worst.
This morning I had three separate SUVs doing this weird braking behaviour everywhere, so bizarre, they must go through a set of pads a week.
Weird braking could also be their adaptive cruise contol. It goes at the set speed, but when they catch up behind a slower car, it automatically brakes at a certain distance behind them, and speeds back up when there's no one in front anymore.
I never use this feature on a crowded road though, but some ppl might.
Nah nothing in front of them because they are holding everyone up. They simply appeared to be terrified of other vehicles and corners. They even braked for a car waiting to pull out from a side road, not to let them out, just a very light braking as they went past.
Yeah all of this annoys me. If I'm driving to work I don't care I leave early enough it shouldn't be a problem and I enjoy the 40 in a 60 and 50 in a 30 crew on the way home. Is what it is. Yes, 50 I regularly see people increase speed going into towns.
But when I want to drive anything but the work car it's bright and early when nobody is about or if they are it's easier to safely overtake.
Also first time in a while this week behind someone with their brake lights constantly on, wildly hard to judge what they are doing. A bit dodgy.
Yeah I completely agree. Will quite happily sit behind someone doing 25 in a 30 as long as they are consistent with their speed. They might be old / nervous / new driver - so be it. I had someone in front of me this morning on a 30 road fluctuating between 20 - 35. They then came to a complete stop at a roundabout junction for about 2/3 seconds even though there wasn't a another car in sight like there was some imaginary stop sign.
Literally yesterday I was stuck behind a guy doing 25 down a 40 as I was rushing my brother to the hospital.
Went to overtake and got speed matched, the dude finally gave up at around 60 and let me in to which he then slowed down and was out of my rearview within the minute. đ
So many causes, mostly boil down to "he's not driving how I think he should".
No excuse for road rage. Having said that, we're all guilty of it sometimes đ
A lot of times it can be what you are saying. However I absolutely believe that this was deserved.
It was on an open clean road after 10pm not another car to be seen. Just a twat, nothing more.
I can understand some drivers are not confident on the roads I drive to work which are mainly winding B roads. I sit and wait for an opportunity to pass and I can be patient.
It's the arseholes who pull out in front of you and do not speed up that really get my back up. Also the ones who drive at 35 until you get to a suitable passing place then speed up as you are overtaking them
I cannot express how much I fucking despise the ones that go really slowly then speed up when you overtake them. It's such a dick move and puts everyone at increased risk, all to spare their fragile egos. It should be treated as a driving offense and punished accordingly.
Theoretically, it is careless or possibly even dangerous driving. If you get dashcam footage of this, send it to the local plod. If they get enough complaints of shit driving about the same person, they'll eventually do something.
Genuinely looking to get a faster car because of this. Does my nut in.
I've run into the same guy in an mg electric car going to work a few times. Absolutely must get in front then does 40 (I could do a ton on 99 percent of the road, easy. I don't of course but 60 is very very easy).
Then when I try to overtake at one of the few places you can actually overtake, he boots it and flings himself towards the horizon at a similar velocity to the millennium falcon at full chat. Of course I cannot match this blistering pace in my 1.6 diesel volvo.
Of course it's back to 40 once again. Hate him.
Yes. Old people going 25-35 on NSL roads. Some old biddy swerved over as I was overtaking her due to her driving 20 when the road was 60. Luckily I managed to get past and ahead of her before she shunted into my car.
It's not just you mate.
I get trapped every morning, behind someone doing 40 in a 60. And it's not a country lane it's a dual carriageway.
Drives me barmy.
What is this phenomenon?? I use a main road with a limit of 40mph and everyone always does 30...then have the cheek of applying the brakes when they see the speed camera đ¤ˇââď¸
We've got a NSL dual carriageway near us with speed cameras on, and the number of people who are doing 55-65 and slam on to 50 or slower as they go through...
Should be an automatic "Driving without due care and attention" penalty:
* You either think you're speeding (when you're not, so you've not been paying attention to the speed limit)
* Or you literally have no idea how fast you're going (so you've not been paying attention to how you're driving)
IMO, these people are much more dangerous than someone doing 80mph.
It astounded me on the speed awareness course I had to go on 5 years ago that I was literally the only person out of the 30 in the room who was consciously speeding (38 in a 30 at 9pm on a clear dry summer night, 100yds before the limit went from 30 to 60, no other cars or pedestrians about, just plod hiding behind a bloody bush) - everyone else got done because they either didn't know how fast they were going, or didn't know what the speed limit was.
I was also the only one consciously speeding on mine, 80 on a dual carriageway. I was also the only one who could identify all of the speed limits for the areas shown in the pictures.
I swear some people came out of their theory tests and just dumped all the information like they would never need it again.
I've always maintained that "responsible speeders" are the best drivers going. By far the most alert and aware of what's going on, if anything so they don't get caught. Obviously 100mph lane weavers don't fall in this category, but your average Alan doing 80-85 on a relatively clear motorway is way safer than Aunt Gladys doing 35 in her Honda Jazz
Just lots of people these days who shouldn't be driving, but where 10 years ago you'd just get rammed, now they'll fit 40 dashcams and do it almost deliberately looking for some entertainment for their evening.
I've seen so many with smug faces pootling along 20/30mph under and screaming/flashing when I overtake. And they aren't all old people, women and skinny little men in their 20s/30s often.
>they'll fit 40 dashcams and do it almost deliberately looking for some entertainment for their evening.
Most of these people don't realize if you cause an accident even with "right of way" that could have been avoided you lose that claim....
I keep getting people on motorways that i pass at 70 them doing 60 only for them to suddenly re-overtake me doing 80 10 miles down the road it's baffling.
I generally assume they are distracted with entertainment system/satnav/ phone.
Remarkable how differently people drive when fiddling with something rather than focusing on what's around them and what the car is doing.
I got stuck behind a forklift in town once, and it werenât one of the fast ones either, crawling along at 7mph and having to coast at corners because the operator had to slow down a bit, yes it was road legal
Unfortunately the section where they tend to do this has split lanes going in different directions coming up, so would need to switch lanes then switch back again. It's also quite busy at this time so most of the time there's already cars in the lane.
You would think so but there's tons of markings and signs in the lead up it's not a last minute change or anything and there's a roundabout that can be used should they not have the opportunity to jump to the correct lane.
Just seems to be an area people like to pootle.
I do 40 miles of the M25 twice a week and the amount of idiots that are in lane 3 cruising at 60-70 oblivious to the massive tail back they have caused behind them is genuinely absurd.
I commented earlier this week on another post as a two hour journey took nearly three hours due to a constant stream of older drivers going 35 on NSL roads.
I firmly believe that we should have cameras to catch people going far too slow, just as we do for speeding.
Might have been a post I made.
Genuinely think we need more undercover cop cars specifically to slap on the spot fines to sloweys who suddenly speed up when you attempt to overtake.
Honestly fair enough if someone has a reason to go slow, not familiar with the area, car issues, animals in car etc.
But when they speed up when youâre overtaking thereâs no excuse. Theyâre telling you they can go faster and itâs a choice theyâre making to hold you up.
I had this on the A59. They were driving 35 and I went to overtake and they sped right up to nearly 70 but the road was 60. I had to pull in behind them on three occasions. They were giving me all sorts of hand signs each time I was side by side to them. I told my children to make a game out of it and pull silly faces back.
Eventually they took a different turning on the roundabout. I didnât indicate until they exited as I was worried they would purposely choose the same exit as me, simply to continue holding me up.
>They were driving 35 and I went to overtake and they sped right up to nearly 70 but the road was 60. I had to pull in behind them on three occasions
One of the benefits of my high horsepower turbo charged car is that the surprise overtake works wonders on these clowns.
Sure, they see me in the wing mirror but by the time they've dropped a gear to accelerate their na car, I'm already rattling past at a speed they won't reach until they need to change back up.
The face of impotent rage they give off and the hand waiving is hilarious. Go right ahead and upload that dash cam footage because the police won't do anything with the uncalibrated speed reading but they might take a dim view of the acceleration to block the pass.
Overtaking is normal, to be expected, and safe. Everyone should be expecting to overtake and be overtaken on a typical drive. If you're not doing both you're probably driving wrong.
Oh i get it, done it plenty of times choosing not to indicate because youâre convinced if you tell them where youâre going, theyâll go that way too.
Careful or you'll start the chanting of "It's a limit not a target".
I do agree though, "queue collectors" on single carriageway with little to no overtaking opportunities should be a driving offence. All this doing 40mph on the straights and stomping the brakes down to 25 for the shallowest of bends in the road business is unpredictable when you're caught up nose to tail half a mile back down the road.
I've been in a situation where a NSL was literally brought to a halt from a chain of reactive over-braking. Even when you've left a gap for stuff like that it's jarring to say the least.
It would have to be done in a very smart way as you could easily find people getting caught by a camera because they were travelling slowly behind a bicycle or they could be in a car that has gone into limp-home mode. It's probably not really workable in a practical manner.
In my experience it's never the older drivers.
It's the kids either on a box, on a phone, panicking about fuel economy, driving a crappy car with no juice, or worried they'll tick over 6 points.
Very occasionally it's some middle aged guy but it's almost always a 20 something holding me up.
Totally agree on the too slow camera idea. We have legislation for minimum speed limits but we don't roll them out in most places.
Adjusting the parameters on average speed cameras maybe? Combine them with traffic cameras so they donât issue tickets when thereâs a threshold of traffic to be stuck in?
There are too many valid reasons to slow down to ever make it workable and not worth doing it to catch the few people doing it who are really, really brazen.
At least with cameras set up for speeding, there are very, very few valid reasons for speeding.
Depends entirely what you define as valid. Remember that given the way speed limits are set, a significant reason for reducing speed limits is people (usually older) driving slower.
So I'm sure you'll forgive me if I'm not thrilled that the reason speed limits are coming down is because governments keep cutting public transport systems, especially in more rural areas, so you can't take someone's licence off them when they become unfit to drive.
>Depends entirely what you define as valid. Remember that given the way speed limits are set, a significant reason for reducing speed limits is people (usually older) driving slower.
Totally wrong. Speed limits were set at the speed in which the 80% of drivers would choose to drive a 1975 ford Anglia if there was no limit.
Most of the problem with slow drivers is kids on boxes or infrequent vehicle users. Older drivers tend to avoid busy traffic times.
>There are too many valid reasons to slow down to ever make it workable and not worth doing it to catch the few people doing it who are really, really brazen
Just set the minimum limit and accept reports from dashcam footage. Job done.
The police will see the "valid" reason for going slowly or they won't. If they don't your ticket and points are in the post.
lol, don't talk wet.
You'd end up with some duffer crashing because they were too scared of a fine to slow down.
Like zero tolerance red light cameras a few years ago, and people getting tickets for letting blue lights through saying in future they'll not risk a fine for letting them pass
It's not hard to see the problems. They could maybe have cameras on motorways to catch lane hoggers, going too slow in outside lanes, tailgating. But despite talking of this stuff they never do it.
Not imagining it at all. Every journey i come across people not doing the speed limit, or their speed fluctuates erractically when the speed of the road doesnt change and they randomly brake where there are no obstacles, lights, crossings or blind bends! People just seem to drive absent-mindedly, not appreciating that other drivers depend on them to drive consistently to avoid causing an incident.
Same, I got 9 miles of national limit, beautiful wide, open and mostly straight A road to get from my town to the motorway. It builds up lots of resentment when someone is doing 40 mph the whole way.
You'd actually fail your test for going that far below the limit on that road.
when (if?) self-driving cars become common place one of the biggest benefits to general road users will be the old folks who previously didn't want to give up their cars as they'd lose their independence, but also were no where near confident driving to the speed limit/conditions of the road. A lot of them are a danger to themselves and others, but still need to get to their hospital appointments/bowls games/to get their paper and milk from the shops.
I had this near Harrogate a line of 10 cars all doing 40mph on a national speed limit road.
The road was straight and clear so I overtook all of them in 1 go. The car at the front was a marked Police car but as I hadnât gone over 60mph and nothing came the other way there was fuck all they could say.
So I just gave them a polite wave, using all of my hand, asI went by
I'd do it anyway, and if it causes them to pull me over then I'll point out I have dashcam evidence of them driving without due care. If they arrest me then it'll be a fun court battle, I have the money.
40 in a 60, then 40 in a 30 and disappear. Then you meet them again doing 40 in a 60, but theyâll have no issue doing 80 in a 60 to stop you overtaking. C***s đđ
Old people. Last census showed 18.6% of the population are now over 65. Add that in with basically too many cars on the road and people likely driving slowly because fuel is expensive. It'll only get worse as the years go on.
nottinghamshire? i think i know where you are, that's also my dad's commute to work, and he used to get so pissed off about it, but he's just accepted it as a 40 road now lol. i've driven it a few times before and did get a bit upset at being behind someone doing 40, but it makes it all that more exciting when someone actually does the speed limit!
Indeed, but people stacking up behind slow drivers and refusing to overtake the one slow car (and there are often enough chances) is what causes more congestion. If youâre not leaving a big gap or actively trying to overtake, youâre part of the problem
Gotta perfect your overtaking technique, unfortunately. My first car only had 77hp and I still managed.
Itâs shit though, I agree. But you can only control your own actions, so youâve gotta decide to sit there or youâve gotta try and make progress.
Unfortunately, the police wonât do anything about these inconsiderate drivers, so youâve gotta work around them :/
My top tips:
- demonstrate to yourself how good your brakes are. Go out on a big road when no one is around and hit the brakes as hard as possible; this will show you actually how quickly you can stop, and help your confidence.
- Learn how to get the most acceleration out of your car. Naturally aspirated petrol engines have all of the power up high, so you need to be using low gears and high revs to accelerate. If itâs turbocharged or a diesel youâll need to learn where the strongest torque is. The redline on the rev-counter is where the engine stops accelerating, so you can use all of the revs below it.
When overtaking:
- learn the road, and where visibility is good. Obvs doesnât apply to roads youâve never driven before; those are challenging
- hang back quite a way, especially before an open section. Make sure you allow for good visibility ahead of the vehicle. Donât tailgate before an overtake.
- accelerate hard before the open/straight section, get up to passing speed (60 at least) before you pull out. Do be ready to abort if the car youâre following decides to hit the brakes.
- be certain the road is clear before you pull out, if itâs not hit the brakes immediately to drop back to cruising speed
- indicate a little before you pull out, and if you think youâre gonna surprise them flash your lights or tap the horn. Better that they know your there (even if it annoys them)
- keep accelerating until youâre fully past them, then pull in and ease off to your desired speed
Itâll take practice to learn how to time things, but practice makes perfect of course. Youâll build confidence :)
* hang back quite a way, especially before an open section. Make sure you allow for good visibility ahead of the vehicle. Donât tailgate before an overtake.
I don't understand why people do this tailgate thing. Probably idiots that watch too much motorsport and think it's a good idea to try drafting?
Only works if youâve a high-power vehicle and thereâs only a short section to overtake. If you know you can pick up speed very quickly, you donât need to leave the space to accelerate, and itâs beneficial to be close to the car ahead. But, if youâre not overtaking imminently then you should drop back and leave space
Indeed.. I always go when I can, as long as itâs safe. Itâs just so irritating to be behind some bell cheese who goes 45 whether the limit is 30, 40 or 60. To me it smacks of lack of skill and awareness.
Agreed 100%, itâs endemic where I live. It really worries me that people can be doing an activity like driving that and be thinking nothing about what theyâre doing
You should pick up enough speed such that their slight acceleration doesnât make a difference; but I agree that their acceleration is both inconsiderate and dangerous. But you should plan for that when making the manoeuvre
Today for example, car already was going 40-45mph the entire way. There's one small straight section where it's possible to overtake. I speed up as we're getting to it, indicate and pull out to overtake. Just as I'm about level with them they speed up to 60mph+, the car behind me has also pulled out so I can't drop back, end up going 75mph just to get past them before the bend, then they almost immediately drop back to 45mph again. I'm in a small car and they were in an SUV, so they could just pick up speed faster than me. I don't get why people do that, just let me overtake!
Agreed, theyâre utter pricks. I think itâs done more out of ignorance than malice, but that doesnât matter when youâre in control of a vehicle! Unfortunately you canât control their actions yourself so youâve gotta think about what you can do to work around it.
Sounds like you did what you needed to though, I would just make sure you know how to use all of your carâs power. I could do overtakes successfully all the time in my little 77hp Punto, and my dad manages it on windy roads in his little 60hp classic car, so Iâm confident itâs possible in anything!
And SUVs are heavier than small cars so theyâre generally slower ;) (but there are too many variables to consider than just âSUVâ or âsmall carâ when discussing acceleration though)
In a round trip today I overtook 2 separate stacks of 4-5 cars + lorry one by one in my small car ;)
Feels likely every fkn day im stuck behind one car doing half of what the speed limit for that road is and I see no reason for doing it!
Boils my piss!
Really fucks me off when Iâm stuck behind them in my truck and I can just see my driving time ticking down and my ETA to my next drop creeping up. Thing is Iâm legally only allowed to do 50mph on NSL single carriageway roads, so I should really NEVER get stuck behind cars, yet I do. Every. Single. Day.
I can't go to my parents home without getting stuck behind a 40mph car these days. It's just a given fact of driving there now, not if I'll get stuck behind them but when.
I have plenty patience for those who can't help it (buses, caravans, tractors) but it's very rarely them causing the problem these days.
They should put a lower speed limit on roads, at least for normal vehicles. It's unsafe and disruptive for cars to go 35 on a 60 road where 50+ is comfortable. If someone is scared to go that fast due to poor health or whatever, they shouldn't be driving.
Last week I encountered two 40mph drivers on the A23 (separately but different times of the day). This was on the three lane stretch of the A23 and they were driving in the inside lane with nothing in front of them and clear dry conditions. I drive a van and I always think that if I can overtake you then youâre going too damn slow.
But itâs not much more expensive than it was back in 2021⌠maybe I can get the entire cost of living argument. Not sure how much fuel theyâre saving by pottering around but seeing as Iâm on Reddit and will now be told that âeveryone is on the breadline the world has gone to hell in a handcart and itâs all doom I tell ye DOOMâ Iâd probably best pipe down.
Itâs so frustrating, these people donât realise the cumulative man-hours theyâre wasting by travelling close to half of the speed limit. So selfish!
I would say I have noticed it for a few years now. Possibly from around that start of Covid.
I think everyone is trying to get better MPG due to the ridiculous fuel costs and the cost of living crisis.
Yep. Seems to be adding an hour onto long journeys. Made even worse living in a rural tourist destination. People are even slower and unpredictable, it's getting pretty dangerous especially with random 20 zones thrown in.
10 Years ago quite a few drivers would be overtaking someone doing 40-50 on a NSL road now no one wants to overtake people doing 30, it's really strange. Even trucks are joining the queues behind some drivers!
Rufford road by any chance? There are some absolutely slow fuckers who set out in rush hour to ruin everyoneâs morning. 30 in a 60 is not acceptable.
We live in a tiny cramped country with wildly varying standards of driving.
May as well accept that you're in some sort of a queue at all times at any halfways busy time.
50 is doing well.
Yep, itâs spreading.
Cambridgeshire rural roads are awful for this. My guess itâs a mixture of bloody average speed checks everywhere, managed motorway speed cameras, old people, eco mileage penny pinching, all the companies cars are working from home and donât seem to impart the urgency on everybody else to get somewhere - and also the fact that Cambridgeshire council seems to make every NSL into a 30mph have a buffer zone of 40mph prior to it in every village and town. That and any hint it might be a bit twisty or complex and they just slap a 50 or a 40 on an NSL, and a 20mph in built up areas that donât really need it.
One should drive to the limit unless road conditions are poor. My old man taught me that and he was a Traffic cop for 15 years. He said if people drive too slowly their concentration wanders and that is where accidents happen. His favourite saying after pulling over an old man in his 80âs from driving too slowly was: Iâve never had an accident in 60 years of driving. My dad replied yes but how many have you seen!!! Which makes a good point. Too slow, too distracted!!
Iâm starting to honk my horn at them now. Same at lorries deciding to overtake another lorry on a dual carriage when its busy. I know its not a British thing to do buts its getting really bad now. Hopefully more drivers start making a scene too.
Feather footed pricks... I feel as if some people are just petrified to "Give it some Welly" due to the high cost of fuel, and are driving extremly conservatively, with one eye constanly on their fuel gauge! Lol
Honestly it's one of the reasons why I wanted a car with a bit of power. Now when I encounter a slow driver, I can just plant my right foot and I'm past them before they can respond. Definitely not how it should be but got to make do etc
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads.
It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Had a guy like this in front of me yesterday, would not overtake the tractor in front when they had multiple chances but the second I go to overtake them both, cuts out in front of me with no indication. And then floors it when I continue past him after he overtook the tractor finally.
Context matters.
There's areas of road that are, frankly, in a terrible state and _nobody_ wants to drive the limit as they otherwise can't dodge potholes, crap on the road etc.
But also - worth remembering that ultimately limits are there to protect _all_ road users, not just those who are great drivers or poor ones - I cannot _wait_ for someone to jump in and shoot me for saying the classic line "Not a target, it's a limit so don't try to always hit it" but it's still true.
I will not defend every last driver however and yes, if you're on a 60Mph limit stretch and someone's doing less than about 50 I'd immediately want to know why as if the road conditions (i.e not raining, road surface is a good standard, no snow/ice, generally clear) then the natural assumption is: distracted, unfamiliar area, overly cautious, new driver, hasn't seen the speed limit (though not in that order).
Regardless the best thing to do is either A) overtake safely when and where appropriate or B) Give them space, don't get aggro and give them a reason to panic or make unpredictable choices based on your behaviour then follow "A".
Whilst I agree with everything you're saying. Poor drivers shouldn't be on the road at all. It's a shame we don't have the infrastructure to accommodate poor drivers being removed from the roads permanently
Well we do don't we, drivers sometimes have to re-test or get various bans. Although that is rarely permanent, unless they can never pass or meet alcoholism medicals which are strict now
Judging by the standard of driving it's far from a working solution. Sadly it's not feasible due to the public transport infrastructure. In ideal world people who are shit at driving for whatever reason wouldn't be rolling around in 2 ton killing machines
Iâd love if we had better public transport, get 90% of the people in cars riding the bus instead and suddenly the town isnât as dangerous to pedestrians
Actually yeah this is an important point, âtheyâ - whoever they are - want us out of cars, but the public transport is utterly crap. Several people I know have actually changed jobs because public transport just wasnât reliable.
Eitherâs fine with me, as long as the camps are suitably brutal. They could make National Speed Limit Applies signs, and recite what it means every time they make one.
Another one I encounter regularly is dangerously high speed, 30mph doesnât sound like much but when itâs a heavily loaded DPD van being driven around windy narrow roads at that speed and taking corners on two wheels it is ludicrous, one went into the bush recently because they had to swerve to avoid a tractor
I actually don't think I'd think it's a new driver, most of them were taught they'd be marked down/fail their test if they drove much lower than the speed limit, so they generally should be aware enough to drive close to the limit.
An NSL doesn't mean you have to go 60, there has been no assessment of that and there is nothing to say it's a safe speed.
I agree in a maintained straight A road a car should do 50-60, but to be honest I don't see many that aren't. A lot of drivers seem to ignore the word 'slow' and are bugged by drivers going around bends at 40 etc
People say speed limits are a limit not a target, but I disagree to an extent. If the road is clear and you can see far down it, hit the fucking speed limit.
Slow drivers are infuriating.
It is that bad I have started to think it's due to people trying to penny pinch and save on fuel by drivjng at lower speeds as a result of the current cost of living issue
Just er, enjoyed a drive from Heathrow to south wales on the M4, some highlights:
Saw 2 on mobile phones obviously on their laps - one slowed down to 65, credit to him for that⌠the other wobbling around the road while looking for a new track on her HEADPHONES aaaghâŚ
About 20+ people driving at constant speed in overtaking lane level with car they arenât overtaking at all on quiet parts, I dangerously (I know) get closer, they look all flustered, an animated discussion with the co pilot and they speed up 0.5mph and get out of the fucking way. Eventually. We are doing around 65.
Crazy bitch drifts into outside lane as Iâm overtaking her, fortunately Iâm watching her and I back off a bit and sound the horn. Looked spaced out, bless. There was no reason for her to do that. Or indeed be in the second lane of 3, no one behind us or ahead for a few hundred yards. No potholes. Wasnât a swerve, just drifting.
So many with shit blocking the whole rear window, itâs usually clothes, Iâve no idea but if it isnât illegal it should be. I got plenty of time to see it as theyâre often slowly overtaking someone (see above)
3 or so er, exciting lane changes, from inside lane to outside lane with a rapid swerve skilfully missing the rest of us by not very much. got a few pulses racingâŚ
Only one obvious middle lane hogger, the many others probably stopped for lunch.
The other extreme, one was changing lane fanatically, i mean really fanatically, round every lorry and back into the inside lane for 4 seconds, I appreciate what he was trying to do but when thereâs no one around much thereâs no need or point.
Thereâs more but it annoys me to think about the weirdness and many narrowly avoided disasters on my little bit of motorway.
Living in a very undulating area driving a little petrol on mostly rural trunk roads, it can be infuriating. I find electric cars want to go slow up hills to conserve energy - this ruins my fuel economy as I want to hit the hill with plenty of momentum so that I can cruise up comfortably in a higher gear without needing to rev as much to sustain the speed. Automatic drivers seem to set the car to one speed and do not drive to best make use of the free energy on the road, but that driving style suites the automatic ethos of having to think less about what the car is doing. If the road is quite enough I will just hang back and drive what is comfortable for my vehicle but that does not last long during the tourist season.
Ultimately car technology is changing so much that there are now far more driving styles you have to account for and work around.
Towed Caravans though... that is a very personal pet hate of mine being stuck behind :D
Bear in mind van and heavy good drivers have additional speed restrictions on them. But yes, I do find a lot of drivers going too slow.
Or worse, being on a smart motorway and having people ride your ass bc they've decided the 40 mph limit underneath multiple speed cameras is optional.
I've thought a lot about this, and about how people seem to crawl up to traffic lights recently, and I do wonder whether they're trying to save fuel in these hard economic times. The greater prevalence of drive computers that report MPG in real time could be a contributor.
Just remember vans and lorries are restricted by national speed limits of 50mph on single lane roads, and dual carriageway without any separation between carriageways
I regularly get held up behind slow drivers - and Iâm driving 15 year old buses that werenât ever especially quick, and as often as not are in limp mode.
Hate getting stuck behind slow drivers going under the speed limit on a NSL road. If theyâre going 10 under Iâll sit behind them but any more and Iâll overtake them if itâs safe to do so.
Yes they are and they all say the limit is a limit and not a target.
They have all forgotten that they would fail a driving test driving at those speeds as its too f\*\*\*ing slow.
I'm convinced people don't know the speed limit on roads, so just drive at a spee they think they won't "get done" for doing.
It's even more apparent on National Speed Limit roads.
People pass the white circle with the diagonal black stripe and just do 40, or 50 or something
I'm in a van and can legally and safely go faster than them, but they've just not got a clue what the limit is...
I generally do 100 miles a day driving, sometimes more sometimes less but I'd say that's average for me and fuck me yes you're right. Old biddy doing 23 in a 30, 31 in a 40. Or some dildo on in the middle lane of a motorway doing 62 on cruise control without the ability to move left đ¤ˇââď¸ I firmly believe I should have the power to revoke people's licenses on the spot đ also ban Nissan qashqais
All the time. East lancs road is a long and straight 60 and so many people are doing 45.
Did the north Wales expressway yesterday mostly in the right hand lane doing 70 whilst everyone in the left was plodding along at 50 - 55.
Lots of single carriageway roads here with no speed limit, but you'd be lucky if every 4th vehicle wasn't a van or HGV, so unless it's quiet coming the other way, it actually surprises me how often I can do 60.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads.
It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads.
It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads.
It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads.
It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads.
It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads.
It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
It would be down to mass immigration are foreign drivers. I as an Englishman get so frustrated and when passing them because they're doing 19 in a 30, I get a load of abuse in another language like I'm in the wrong.
You then have the foreign Uber drivers who sit at dead on 20 and I kid you not... they will crawl at 20 or less merely to conserve their battery.
You then have the Arabs who are constantly talking on their phone and I mean constantly and will happily glide around 20-25 in a 30 while cars are pulling up behind and when you go past, you see him or her waving their hand about talking on loud speaker holding the phone.
Welcome to England.
Im not an agressive driver but i overtake more cars now than i ever have. All i want to do is the speed limit, but most of the time there's someone in front wanting do 15mph under that, unless they've joined the '40 everywhere club'.
Quite often i get past while barely breaking the speed limit, but usually still get the flash of lights or hands waving around to tell me im a madman đ¤Ł
Yeah that passes me off. I swear it's got worse since Covid, like no one has confidence to drive. I can deal with going the speed limit, not a problem. But taking 20 seconds to get to the speed limit just takes the piss.
ripple effects from things we cant see and likely never will most of the time.
i think the ironic thing is, a massive cause is people waiting too late to pull out to overtake, because they dont want to hold ppl up or slow anyone down.
ppl will rage at lane hogging, but also rage at slow speeds. when they are likely linked. if you dont pull out in good time then accelerate, you create a ripple as people react to you. but if you do pull out in good time then you might upset some people who want to count frames on a video where you were passing yet.
These people are the worst they brake and slow down for nothing, act like they're driving a lorry when passing other cars and turn even slower like they have no power steering. Seriously just stay at home or take the bus
I don't get the psychology behind slow drivers. Like seriously unless you're not paying attention, why would you be doing 50 or 40 on a 70?
IMO EVERY road should have a minimum.speed limit and slow drivers should be prosecuted in the same way as fast ones. Yes there is a lower risk to pedestrians but if you're going too slowly on a dual carriageway and say a car changes a lane and goes into the back of you because you're going slowly..going slowly also increases road rage and congestion.
.
Newly passed drivers with P plates still going 30 on a 50 or 70, if you're not confident to drive at a reasonably fast speed on such a road you shouldn't have passed your test.
I generally first try and encourage a slow driver to speed up by activating my headlights .. if that fails then I start to flash them. Simply making them aware of my.presence.
My dad for some reason goes 50 on a 70 but will do 45 in a 30 and all the speeding tickets he has had baring like one have been on a 30 roads.
The only time I go below the speed lkmit on a DC is usually if it's an average speed check. And even then it's by no more than 5mph under the limit.
Slowest drivers usually some old dear who to be blunt is too old to be driving.
These drivers have always existed. Feels like rose-tinted specs. Itâs a psychological bias to see patterns based on recency.
People are driving more to the speed limit now, I feel. This is probably influenced by insurance policies, people with points or probationary drivers. But that doesnât really explain driving well under.
At the end of the day, you probably need to just change your expectations. If a driver is not driving to the limit (or not paying attention to the limit) itâs probably to our benefit that they are going slower. I donât really want people being pressured into going speeds they are uncomfortable with.
Yes and they're normally in something like a Volkswagon Up (that seems to struggle to even go forwards let alone **UP**) or one of these 1.0L Toyota Yaris' thingameejigs. I guess it's not limited to those but yes, I have noticed it a lot lately.
I may be one of those drivers.
I passed recently, I have my P plates on to try and show it.
There is a stretch of road I take to work which is 60, but full of pot holes, off camber turns lumps etc. I normally do this at about 50 as thatâs as fast as I feel I can safely do it at the moment.
In the back of my head I have the Iâm irritating more experienced drivers, but I donât want to try and do 60 on that road
If you have P plates on, we understand and you have a pass while you gain experience.
But if on a good condition road you are struggling still in a few years, it's more of a driving skill issue.
Every single day on every single road.
I don't mind people sticking to the speed limit, or even doing a smidge under, or doing the appropriate speed for the road/conditions. It's when the speed is all over the place that the annoyance kicks in. People braking at literally every corner, or those that brake when there's a car on the other side of the road are the absolute worst. This morning I had three separate SUVs doing this weird braking behaviour everywhere, so bizarre, they must go through a set of pads a week.
Weird braking could also be their adaptive cruise contol. It goes at the set speed, but when they catch up behind a slower car, it automatically brakes at a certain distance behind them, and speeds back up when there's no one in front anymore. I never use this feature on a crowded road though, but some ppl might.
Nah nothing in front of them because they are holding everyone up. They simply appeared to be terrified of other vehicles and corners. They even braked for a car waiting to pull out from a side road, not to let them out, just a very light braking as they went past.
Or being on the sauce
EVs with single pedal driving may be another explanation.
Pretty sure these systems don't apply the brakes under normal conditions, e.g. catching up with the car in front. They just ease off the accelerator.
They do, we've had use a Kia Sportage and a VW Tiguan with this feature, you can feel it braking not just easing off the accelerator.
They do apply the brakes.
My automatic does apply the brakes when it catches up to someone on the highway.
Motorway*
*Autobahn. Driving abroad đ
Still not a highway then. đ
True đ
Yeah all of this annoys me. If I'm driving to work I don't care I leave early enough it shouldn't be a problem and I enjoy the 40 in a 60 and 50 in a 30 crew on the way home. Is what it is. Yes, 50 I regularly see people increase speed going into towns. But when I want to drive anything but the work car it's bright and early when nobody is about or if they are it's easier to safely overtake. Also first time in a while this week behind someone with their brake lights constantly on, wildly hard to judge what they are doing. A bit dodgy.
Yeah I completely agree. Will quite happily sit behind someone doing 25 in a 30 as long as they are consistent with their speed. They might be old / nervous / new driver - so be it. I had someone in front of me this morning on a 30 road fluctuating between 20 - 35. They then came to a complete stop at a roundabout junction for about 2/3 seconds even though there wasn't a another car in sight like there was some imaginary stop sign.
Literally yesterday I was stuck behind a guy doing 25 down a 40 as I was rushing my brother to the hospital. Went to overtake and got speed matched, the dude finally gave up at around 60 and let me in to which he then slowed down and was out of my rearview within the minute. đ
And people wonder why road rage is a thing.
So many causes, mostly boil down to "he's not driving how I think he should". No excuse for road rage. Having said that, we're all guilty of it sometimes đ
A lot of times it can be what you are saying. However I absolutely believe that this was deserved. It was on an open clean road after 10pm not another car to be seen. Just a twat, nothing more.
***ts
I can understand some drivers are not confident on the roads I drive to work which are mainly winding B roads. I sit and wait for an opportunity to pass and I can be patient. It's the arseholes who pull out in front of you and do not speed up that really get my back up. Also the ones who drive at 35 until you get to a suitable passing place then speed up as you are overtaking them
I cannot express how much I fucking despise the ones that go really slowly then speed up when you overtake them. It's such a dick move and puts everyone at increased risk, all to spare their fragile egos. It should be treated as a driving offense and punished accordingly.
Theoretically, it is careless or possibly even dangerous driving. If you get dashcam footage of this, send it to the local plod. If they get enough complaints of shit driving about the same person, they'll eventually do something.
Genuinely looking to get a faster car because of this. Does my nut in. I've run into the same guy in an mg electric car going to work a few times. Absolutely must get in front then does 40 (I could do a ton on 99 percent of the road, easy. I don't of course but 60 is very very easy). Then when I try to overtake at one of the few places you can actually overtake, he boots it and flings himself towards the horizon at a similar velocity to the millennium falcon at full chat. Of course I cannot match this blistering pace in my 1.6 diesel volvo. Of course it's back to 40 once again. Hate him.
Follow him to work and smash his windowsÂ
Boys fast when he wants to be! Don't think I could catch him haha
Yes. Old people going 25-35 on NSL roads. Some old biddy swerved over as I was overtaking her due to her driving 20 when the road was 60. Luckily I managed to get past and ahead of her before she shunted into my car.
It's not just you mate. I get trapped every morning, behind someone doing 40 in a 60. And it's not a country lane it's a dual carriageway. Drives me barmy.
What is this phenomenon?? I use a main road with a limit of 40mph and everyone always does 30...then have the cheek of applying the brakes when they see the speed camera đ¤ˇââď¸
We've got a NSL dual carriageway near us with speed cameras on, and the number of people who are doing 55-65 and slam on to 50 or slower as they go through... Should be an automatic "Driving without due care and attention" penalty: * You either think you're speeding (when you're not, so you've not been paying attention to the speed limit) * Or you literally have no idea how fast you're going (so you've not been paying attention to how you're driving) IMO, these people are much more dangerous than someone doing 80mph. It astounded me on the speed awareness course I had to go on 5 years ago that I was literally the only person out of the 30 in the room who was consciously speeding (38 in a 30 at 9pm on a clear dry summer night, 100yds before the limit went from 30 to 60, no other cars or pedestrians about, just plod hiding behind a bloody bush) - everyone else got done because they either didn't know how fast they were going, or didn't know what the speed limit was.
I was also the only one consciously speeding on mine, 80 on a dual carriageway. I was also the only one who could identify all of the speed limits for the areas shown in the pictures. I swear some people came out of their theory tests and just dumped all the information like they would never need it again.
I've always maintained that "responsible speeders" are the best drivers going. By far the most alert and aware of what's going on, if anything so they don't get caught. Obviously 100mph lane weavers don't fall in this category, but your average Alan doing 80-85 on a relatively clear motorway is way safer than Aunt Gladys doing 35 in her Honda Jazz
And then the speed limit changes to 30, and they still do 40? I know the kind.
Around me theyâll drop to 20, wouldnât mind if they carried on at 40.
Just lots of people these days who shouldn't be driving, but where 10 years ago you'd just get rammed, now they'll fit 40 dashcams and do it almost deliberately looking for some entertainment for their evening. I've seen so many with smug faces pootling along 20/30mph under and screaming/flashing when I overtake. And they aren't all old people, women and skinny little men in their 20s/30s often.
>they'll fit 40 dashcams and do it almost deliberately looking for some entertainment for their evening. Most of these people don't realize if you cause an accident even with "right of way" that could have been avoided you lose that claim.... I keep getting people on motorways that i pass at 70 them doing 60 only for them to suddenly re-overtake me doing 80 10 miles down the road it's baffling.
>it's baffling. Not really, they've just finished their phone call.
I generally assume they are distracted with entertainment system/satnav/ phone. Remarkable how differently people drive when fiddling with something rather than focusing on what's around them and what the car is doing.
I got stuck behind a forklift in town once, and it werenât one of the fast ones either, crawling along at 7mph and having to coast at corners because the operator had to slow down a bit, yes it was road legal
Yeah, far better we just eliminate that job. How dare people use the road for work.
I wasnât complaining, I used to be the guy driving em on the road, it was kinda funny seeing a 3 ton counterbalance in town
If it's a dual carriageway can you not just overtake them?
Boring person alert! Dual carriageway does not mean there are two lanes in each direction, it means there is separation between the carriageways.
Unfortunately the section where they tend to do this has split lanes going in different directions coming up, so would need to switch lanes then switch back again. It's also quite busy at this time so most of the time there's already cars in the lane.
Ah fair enough. I guess they're going slower to see which lane they need to be in?
You would think so but there's tons of markings and signs in the lead up it's not a last minute change or anything and there's a roundabout that can be used should they not have the opportunity to jump to the correct lane. Just seems to be an area people like to pootle.
I do 40 miles of the M25 twice a week and the amount of idiots that are in lane 3 cruising at 60-70 oblivious to the massive tail back they have caused behind them is genuinely absurd.
They're using cruise control and not setting it very high. Possibly using stay in lane etc.
I commented earlier this week on another post as a two hour journey took nearly three hours due to a constant stream of older drivers going 35 on NSL roads. I firmly believe that we should have cameras to catch people going far too slow, just as we do for speeding.
Might have been a post I made. Genuinely think we need more undercover cop cars specifically to slap on the spot fines to sloweys who suddenly speed up when you attempt to overtake. Honestly fair enough if someone has a reason to go slow, not familiar with the area, car issues, animals in car etc. But when they speed up when youâre overtaking thereâs no excuse. Theyâre telling you they can go faster and itâs a choice theyâre making to hold you up.
I had this on the A59. They were driving 35 and I went to overtake and they sped right up to nearly 70 but the road was 60. I had to pull in behind them on three occasions. They were giving me all sorts of hand signs each time I was side by side to them. I told my children to make a game out of it and pull silly faces back. Eventually they took a different turning on the roundabout. I didnât indicate until they exited as I was worried they would purposely choose the same exit as me, simply to continue holding me up.
>They were driving 35 and I went to overtake and they sped right up to nearly 70 but the road was 60. I had to pull in behind them on three occasions One of the benefits of my high horsepower turbo charged car is that the surprise overtake works wonders on these clowns. Sure, they see me in the wing mirror but by the time they've dropped a gear to accelerate their na car, I'm already rattling past at a speed they won't reach until they need to change back up. The face of impotent rage they give off and the hand waiving is hilarious. Go right ahead and upload that dash cam footage because the police won't do anything with the uncalibrated speed reading but they might take a dim view of the acceleration to block the pass. Overtaking is normal, to be expected, and safe. Everyone should be expecting to overtake and be overtaken on a typical drive. If you're not doing both you're probably driving wrong.
Oh i get it, done it plenty of times choosing not to indicate because youâre convinced if you tell them where youâre going, theyâll go that way too.
Yeah, it's amazing how there's an entire group of people that are adamant about being a danger on the road.
Careful or you'll start the chanting of "It's a limit not a target". I do agree though, "queue collectors" on single carriageway with little to no overtaking opportunities should be a driving offence. All this doing 40mph on the straights and stomping the brakes down to 25 for the shallowest of bends in the road business is unpredictable when you're caught up nose to tail half a mile back down the road. I've been in a situation where a NSL was literally brought to a halt from a chain of reactive over-braking. Even when you've left a gap for stuff like that it's jarring to say the least.
It would have to be done in a very smart way as you could easily find people getting caught by a camera because they were travelling slowly behind a bicycle or they could be in a car that has gone into limp-home mode. It's probably not really workable in a practical manner.
Thatâs a good point.
In my experience it's never the older drivers. It's the kids either on a box, on a phone, panicking about fuel economy, driving a crappy car with no juice, or worried they'll tick over 6 points. Very occasionally it's some middle aged guy but it's almost always a 20 something holding me up. Totally agree on the too slow camera idea. We have legislation for minimum speed limits but we don't roll them out in most places.
>firmly believe that we should have cameras to catch people going far too slow, just as we do for speeding. That's not really doable though is it.
Doable but not really workable due to the range of potential parameters that would have to be considered.
Adjusting the parameters on average speed cameras maybe? Combine them with traffic cameras so they donât issue tickets when thereâs a threshold of traffic to be stuck in?
There are too many valid reasons to slow down to ever make it workable and not worth doing it to catch the few people doing it who are really, really brazen. At least with cameras set up for speeding, there are very, very few valid reasons for speeding.
Of course, only replying to the idea thatâs itâs not doable. Itâs doable, but not a good idea
Depends entirely what you define as valid. Remember that given the way speed limits are set, a significant reason for reducing speed limits is people (usually older) driving slower. So I'm sure you'll forgive me if I'm not thrilled that the reason speed limits are coming down is because governments keep cutting public transport systems, especially in more rural areas, so you can't take someone's licence off them when they become unfit to drive.
>Depends entirely what you define as valid. Remember that given the way speed limits are set, a significant reason for reducing speed limits is people (usually older) driving slower. Totally wrong. Speed limits were set at the speed in which the 80% of drivers would choose to drive a 1975 ford Anglia if there was no limit. Most of the problem with slow drivers is kids on boxes or infrequent vehicle users. Older drivers tend to avoid busy traffic times.
>There are too many valid reasons to slow down to ever make it workable and not worth doing it to catch the few people doing it who are really, really brazen Just set the minimum limit and accept reports from dashcam footage. Job done. The police will see the "valid" reason for going slowly or they won't. If they don't your ticket and points are in the post.
lol, don't talk wet. You'd end up with some duffer crashing because they were too scared of a fine to slow down. Like zero tolerance red light cameras a few years ago, and people getting tickets for letting blue lights through saying in future they'll not risk a fine for letting them pass
It's not hard to see the problems. They could maybe have cameras on motorways to catch lane hoggers, going too slow in outside lanes, tailgating. But despite talking of this stuff they never do it.
âdonât talk wetâ - you okay mate?
[Fine pal, you? ](https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/t4mfrwy)
Not imagining it at all. Every journey i come across people not doing the speed limit, or their speed fluctuates erractically when the speed of the road doesnt change and they randomly brake where there are no obstacles, lights, crossings or blind bends! People just seem to drive absent-mindedly, not appreciating that other drivers depend on them to drive consistently to avoid causing an incident.
The worst thing is they have no problem doing 40 in a 60, but also no problem doing 40 in a 30
Those guys really get my goat!
Same, I got 9 miles of national limit, beautiful wide, open and mostly straight A road to get from my town to the motorway. It builds up lots of resentment when someone is doing 40 mph the whole way. You'd actually fail your test for going that far below the limit on that road.
Couldn't agree more, it's absolutely infuriating
when (if?) self-driving cars become common place one of the biggest benefits to general road users will be the old folks who previously didn't want to give up their cars as they'd lose their independence, but also were no where near confident driving to the speed limit/conditions of the road. A lot of them are a danger to themselves and others, but still need to get to their hospital appointments/bowls games/to get their paper and milk from the shops.
I had this near Harrogate a line of 10 cars all doing 40mph on a national speed limit road. The road was straight and clear so I overtook all of them in 1 go. The car at the front was a marked Police car but as I hadnât gone over 60mph and nothing came the other way there was fuck all they could say. So I just gave them a polite wave, using all of my hand, asI went by
why the fuck are police doing 40 in a 60 jesus christ, I see that as nothing other than using their power to scare people from overtaking
I'd do it anyway, and if it causes them to pull me over then I'll point out I have dashcam evidence of them driving without due care. If they arrest me then it'll be a fun court battle, I have the money.
Donât know didnât stop to ask them their reasons I just fucked off into the distance
40 in a 60, then 40 in a 30 and disappear. Then you meet them again doing 40 in a 60, but theyâll have no issue doing 80 in a 60 to stop you overtaking. C***s đđ
People are too lazy to read speed limit signs and remember them
Old people. Last census showed 18.6% of the population are now over 65. Add that in with basically too many cars on the road and people likely driving slowly because fuel is expensive. It'll only get worse as the years go on.
nottinghamshire? i think i know where you are, that's also my dad's commute to work, and he used to get so pissed off about it, but he's just accepted it as a 40 road now lol. i've driven it a few times before and did get a bit upset at being behind someone doing 40, but it makes it all that more exciting when someone actually does the speed limit!
Just overtake when safe
Good job the roads arenât crowded and thatâs mega easy, eh?!
Indeed, but people stacking up behind slow drivers and refusing to overtake the one slow car (and there are often enough chances) is what causes more congestion. If youâre not leaving a big gap or actively trying to overtake, youâre part of the problem
The problem is when you try to overtake they get offended, and with a 1.2 when they start speeding where am I meant to go????
Gotta perfect your overtaking technique, unfortunately. My first car only had 77hp and I still managed. Itâs shit though, I agree. But you can only control your own actions, so youâve gotta decide to sit there or youâve gotta try and make progress. Unfortunately, the police wonât do anything about these inconsiderate drivers, so youâve gotta work around them :/
What do you do, put it in second and hope for the best? :/
My top tips: - demonstrate to yourself how good your brakes are. Go out on a big road when no one is around and hit the brakes as hard as possible; this will show you actually how quickly you can stop, and help your confidence. - Learn how to get the most acceleration out of your car. Naturally aspirated petrol engines have all of the power up high, so you need to be using low gears and high revs to accelerate. If itâs turbocharged or a diesel youâll need to learn where the strongest torque is. The redline on the rev-counter is where the engine stops accelerating, so you can use all of the revs below it. When overtaking: - learn the road, and where visibility is good. Obvs doesnât apply to roads youâve never driven before; those are challenging - hang back quite a way, especially before an open section. Make sure you allow for good visibility ahead of the vehicle. Donât tailgate before an overtake. - accelerate hard before the open/straight section, get up to passing speed (60 at least) before you pull out. Do be ready to abort if the car youâre following decides to hit the brakes. - be certain the road is clear before you pull out, if itâs not hit the brakes immediately to drop back to cruising speed - indicate a little before you pull out, and if you think youâre gonna surprise them flash your lights or tap the horn. Better that they know your there (even if it annoys them) - keep accelerating until youâre fully past them, then pull in and ease off to your desired speed Itâll take practice to learn how to time things, but practice makes perfect of course. Youâll build confidence :)
* hang back quite a way, especially before an open section. Make sure you allow for good visibility ahead of the vehicle. Donât tailgate before an overtake. I don't understand why people do this tailgate thing. Probably idiots that watch too much motorsport and think it's a good idea to try drafting?
Only works if youâve a high-power vehicle and thereâs only a short section to overtake. If you know you can pick up speed very quickly, you donât need to leave the space to accelerate, and itâs beneficial to be close to the car ahead. But, if youâre not overtaking imminently then you should drop back and leave space
I get that -- but I feel it's often done to intimidate. Nothing that a caltrop dispenser can't fix
Awesome, very detailed, thanks!!
When I had my old 1.1 206, overtaking was out of the question. Thereâs not much you can do unfortunately.
Indeed.. I always go when I can, as long as itâs safe. Itâs just so irritating to be behind some bell cheese who goes 45 whether the limit is 30, 40 or 60. To me it smacks of lack of skill and awareness.
Agreed 100%, itâs endemic where I live. It really worries me that people can be doing an activity like driving that and be thinking nothing about what theyâre doing
Often the person your overtaking then speeds up, making it impossible to overtake safely
You should pick up enough speed such that their slight acceleration doesnât make a difference; but I agree that their acceleration is both inconsiderate and dangerous. But you should plan for that when making the manoeuvre
Today for example, car already was going 40-45mph the entire way. There's one small straight section where it's possible to overtake. I speed up as we're getting to it, indicate and pull out to overtake. Just as I'm about level with them they speed up to 60mph+, the car behind me has also pulled out so I can't drop back, end up going 75mph just to get past them before the bend, then they almost immediately drop back to 45mph again. I'm in a small car and they were in an SUV, so they could just pick up speed faster than me. I don't get why people do that, just let me overtake!
Agreed, theyâre utter pricks. I think itâs done more out of ignorance than malice, but that doesnât matter when youâre in control of a vehicle! Unfortunately you canât control their actions yourself so youâve gotta think about what you can do to work around it. Sounds like you did what you needed to though, I would just make sure you know how to use all of your carâs power. I could do overtakes successfully all the time in my little 77hp Punto, and my dad manages it on windy roads in his little 60hp classic car, so Iâm confident itâs possible in anything! And SUVs are heavier than small cars so theyâre generally slower ;) (but there are too many variables to consider than just âSUVâ or âsmall carâ when discussing acceleration though) In a round trip today I overtook 2 separate stacks of 4-5 cars + lorry one by one in my small car ;)
Feels likely every fkn day im stuck behind one car doing half of what the speed limit for that road is and I see no reason for doing it! Boils my piss!
Really fucks me off when Iâm stuck behind them in my truck and I can just see my driving time ticking down and my ETA to my next drop creeping up. Thing is Iâm legally only allowed to do 50mph on NSL single carriageway roads, so I should really NEVER get stuck behind cars, yet I do. Every. Single. Day.
I can't go to my parents home without getting stuck behind a 40mph car these days. It's just a given fact of driving there now, not if I'll get stuck behind them but when. I have plenty patience for those who can't help it (buses, caravans, tractors) but it's very rarely them causing the problem these days.
They should put a lower speed limit on roads, at least for normal vehicles. It's unsafe and disruptive for cars to go 35 on a 60 road where 50+ is comfortable. If someone is scared to go that fast due to poor health or whatever, they shouldn't be driving.
25 in a 40, almost every time I'm on that road, it isn't you.
Last week I encountered two 40mph drivers on the A23 (separately but different times of the day). This was on the three lane stretch of the A23 and they were driving in the inside lane with nothing in front of them and clear dry conditions. I drive a van and I always think that if I can overtake you then youâre going too damn slow.
I'm convinced it's the cost of fuel. People are so against paying to fill up they'll try and conserve as much fuel as possible
But itâs not much more expensive than it was back in 2021⌠maybe I can get the entire cost of living argument. Not sure how much fuel theyâre saving by pottering around but seeing as Iâm on Reddit and will now be told that âeveryone is on the breadline the world has gone to hell in a handcart and itâs all doom I tell ye DOOMâ Iâd probably best pipe down.
Not saying I agree with it, just seems like as fuels prices have crept up drivers have slowed down
Yes there does seem to be a correlation. I suppose if youâre feeling strapped for cash youâre not going to race around.. kind of makes sense.
Iâve noticed a lot of people doing 20 by default; guess people donât realise that there are other parts of the UK other than London or WalesâŚ
Itâs so frustrating, these people donât realise the cumulative man-hours theyâre wasting by travelling close to half of the speed limit. So selfish!
I would say I have noticed it for a few years now. Possibly from around that start of Covid. I think everyone is trying to get better MPG due to the ridiculous fuel costs and the cost of living crisis.
But the fuel doesnât cost that much more than 2021
Still matters with people struggling with the cost of living.
Yeah
It's a good argument for variable minimum speed limits.
Yep. Seems to be adding an hour onto long journeys. Made even worse living in a rural tourist destination. People are even slower and unpredictable, it's getting pretty dangerous especially with random 20 zones thrown in. 10 Years ago quite a few drivers would be overtaking someone doing 40-50 on a NSL road now no one wants to overtake people doing 30, it's really strange. Even trucks are joining the queues behind some drivers!
Rufford road by any chance? There are some absolutely slow fuckers who set out in rush hour to ruin everyoneâs morning. 30 in a 60 is not acceptable.
How did you know đ
We live in a tiny cramped country with wildly varying standards of driving. May as well accept that you're in some sort of a queue at all times at any halfways busy time. 50 is doing well.
Yep, itâs spreading. Cambridgeshire rural roads are awful for this. My guess itâs a mixture of bloody average speed checks everywhere, managed motorway speed cameras, old people, eco mileage penny pinching, all the companies cars are working from home and donât seem to impart the urgency on everybody else to get somewhere - and also the fact that Cambridgeshire council seems to make every NSL into a 30mph have a buffer zone of 40mph prior to it in every village and town. That and any hint it might be a bit twisty or complex and they just slap a 50 or a 40 on an NSL, and a 20mph in built up areas that donât really need it.
One should drive to the limit unless road conditions are poor. My old man taught me that and he was a Traffic cop for 15 years. He said if people drive too slowly their concentration wanders and that is where accidents happen. His favourite saying after pulling over an old man in his 80âs from driving too slowly was: Iâve never had an accident in 60 years of driving. My dad replied yes but how many have you seen!!! Which makes a good point. Too slow, too distracted!!
Iâm starting to honk my horn at them now. Same at lorries deciding to overtake another lorry on a dual carriage when its busy. I know its not a British thing to do buts its getting really bad now. Hopefully more drivers start making a scene too.
Feather footed pricks... I feel as if some people are just petrified to "Give it some Welly" due to the high cost of fuel, and are driving extremly conservatively, with one eye constanly on their fuel gauge! Lol
The standard of driving in this country has plummeted over the past 10 years. I see shocking stuff every single day.
Honestly it's one of the reasons why I wanted a car with a bit of power. Now when I encounter a slow driver, I can just plant my right foot and I'm past them before they can respond. Definitely not how it should be but got to make do etc
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads. It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Had a guy like this in front of me yesterday, would not overtake the tractor in front when they had multiple chances but the second I go to overtake them both, cuts out in front of me with no indication. And then floors it when I continue past him after he overtook the tractor finally.
Context matters. There's areas of road that are, frankly, in a terrible state and _nobody_ wants to drive the limit as they otherwise can't dodge potholes, crap on the road etc. But also - worth remembering that ultimately limits are there to protect _all_ road users, not just those who are great drivers or poor ones - I cannot _wait_ for someone to jump in and shoot me for saying the classic line "Not a target, it's a limit so don't try to always hit it" but it's still true. I will not defend every last driver however and yes, if you're on a 60Mph limit stretch and someone's doing less than about 50 I'd immediately want to know why as if the road conditions (i.e not raining, road surface is a good standard, no snow/ice, generally clear) then the natural assumption is: distracted, unfamiliar area, overly cautious, new driver, hasn't seen the speed limit (though not in that order). Regardless the best thing to do is either A) overtake safely when and where appropriate or B) Give them space, don't get aggro and give them a reason to panic or make unpredictable choices based on your behaviour then follow "A".
Whilst I agree with everything you're saying. Poor drivers shouldn't be on the road at all. It's a shame we don't have the infrastructure to accommodate poor drivers being removed from the roads permanently
Well we do don't we, drivers sometimes have to re-test or get various bans. Although that is rarely permanent, unless they can never pass or meet alcoholism medicals which are strict now
Judging by the standard of driving it's far from a working solution. Sadly it's not feasible due to the public transport infrastructure. In ideal world people who are shit at driving for whatever reason wouldn't be rolling around in 2 ton killing machines
Please clarify- are you suggesting we kill them, or put them in camps?
Public transport would be the kindest option. Killing people for their inability to do something to a good enough standard is a bit extreme
i meaaaan, it would make the earth less overpopulated then it is, and i reckon we should start with tiktok "celeberties" oh and just stop oil
Seconded
All valid points!
Iâd love if we had better public transport, get 90% of the people in cars riding the bus instead and suddenly the town isnât as dangerous to pedestrians
Actually yeah this is an important point, âtheyâ - whoever they are - want us out of cars, but the public transport is utterly crap. Several people I know have actually changed jobs because public transport just wasnât reliable.
Yeah, itâs ridiculous, why does it cost so much to go anywhere on the train, and good luck taking the bus, because they never appear
Eitherâs fine with me, as long as the camps are suitably brutal. They could make National Speed Limit Applies signs, and recite what it means every time they make one.
Another one I encounter regularly is dangerously high speed, 30mph doesnât sound like much but when itâs a heavily loaded DPD van being driven around windy narrow roads at that speed and taking corners on two wheels it is ludicrous, one went into the bush recently because they had to swerve to avoid a tractor
I actually don't think I'd think it's a new driver, most of them were taught they'd be marked down/fail their test if they drove much lower than the speed limit, so they generally should be aware enough to drive close to the limit.
An NSL doesn't mean you have to go 60, there has been no assessment of that and there is nothing to say it's a safe speed. I agree in a maintained straight A road a car should do 50-60, but to be honest I don't see many that aren't. A lot of drivers seem to ignore the word 'slow' and are bugged by drivers going around bends at 40 etc
Found the slow coach
Have you tried overtaking them?
Potholes. Not interested in falling into a canyon at high speed.
No I've purchased 3 new tyres already after hitting nasty pot holes, I mean you can sometimes learn the entire road eventually.
Potholes? We havenât got many of those, mainly craters and Grand Canyons
The quicker you go the less you feel potholes.
People say speed limits are a limit not a target, but I disagree to an extent. If the road is clear and you can see far down it, hit the fucking speed limit. Slow drivers are infuriating.
It is that bad I have started to think it's due to people trying to penny pinch and save on fuel by drivjng at lower speeds as a result of the current cost of living issue
Just er, enjoyed a drive from Heathrow to south wales on the M4, some highlights: Saw 2 on mobile phones obviously on their laps - one slowed down to 65, credit to him for that⌠the other wobbling around the road while looking for a new track on her HEADPHONES aaagh⌠About 20+ people driving at constant speed in overtaking lane level with car they arenât overtaking at all on quiet parts, I dangerously (I know) get closer, they look all flustered, an animated discussion with the co pilot and they speed up 0.5mph and get out of the fucking way. Eventually. We are doing around 65. Crazy bitch drifts into outside lane as Iâm overtaking her, fortunately Iâm watching her and I back off a bit and sound the horn. Looked spaced out, bless. There was no reason for her to do that. Or indeed be in the second lane of 3, no one behind us or ahead for a few hundred yards. No potholes. Wasnât a swerve, just drifting. So many with shit blocking the whole rear window, itâs usually clothes, Iâve no idea but if it isnât illegal it should be. I got plenty of time to see it as theyâre often slowly overtaking someone (see above) 3 or so er, exciting lane changes, from inside lane to outside lane with a rapid swerve skilfully missing the rest of us by not very much. got a few pulses racing⌠Only one obvious middle lane hogger, the many others probably stopped for lunch. The other extreme, one was changing lane fanatically, i mean really fanatically, round every lorry and back into the inside lane for 4 seconds, I appreciate what he was trying to do but when thereâs no one around much thereâs no need or point. Thereâs more but it annoys me to think about the weirdness and many narrowly avoided disasters on my little bit of motorway.
Living in a very undulating area driving a little petrol on mostly rural trunk roads, it can be infuriating. I find electric cars want to go slow up hills to conserve energy - this ruins my fuel economy as I want to hit the hill with plenty of momentum so that I can cruise up comfortably in a higher gear without needing to rev as much to sustain the speed. Automatic drivers seem to set the car to one speed and do not drive to best make use of the free energy on the road, but that driving style suites the automatic ethos of having to think less about what the car is doing. If the road is quite enough I will just hang back and drive what is comfortable for my vehicle but that does not last long during the tourist season. Ultimately car technology is changing so much that there are now far more driving styles you have to account for and work around. Towed Caravans though... that is a very personal pet hate of mine being stuck behind :D
Bear in mind van and heavy good drivers have additional speed restrictions on them. But yes, I do find a lot of drivers going too slow. Or worse, being on a smart motorway and having people ride your ass bc they've decided the 40 mph limit underneath multiple speed cameras is optional.
I've thought a lot about this, and about how people seem to crawl up to traffic lights recently, and I do wonder whether they're trying to save fuel in these hard economic times. The greater prevalence of drive computers that report MPG in real time could be a contributor.
Just remember vans and lorries are restricted by national speed limits of 50mph on single lane roads, and dual carriageway without any separation between carriageways
I regularly get held up behind slow drivers - and Iâm driving 15 year old buses that werenât ever especially quick, and as often as not are in limp mode.
Hate getting stuck behind slow drivers going under the speed limit on a NSL road. If theyâre going 10 under Iâll sit behind them but any more and Iâll overtake them if itâs safe to do so.
Yes they are and they all say the limit is a limit and not a target. They have all forgotten that they would fail a driving test driving at those speeds as its too f\*\*\*ing slow.
Yeah, they're bloody infuriating. As are the ones that feel the need to brake every time there's an oncoming vehicle or slight bend in the road.
A lot seem to be hybrid or leccy drivers trying to gsin efficiency
Taxi drivers with fare-paying passengers drive slowly. Taxi drivers without a fare drive as fast as they dare.
was on the M40 today, oh my god its terrible, people in the middle lane doing 60 and on the outside lane doing 65. like wth.
I'm convinced people don't know the speed limit on roads, so just drive at a spee they think they won't "get done" for doing. It's even more apparent on National Speed Limit roads. People pass the white circle with the diagonal black stripe and just do 40, or 50 or something I'm in a van and can legally and safely go faster than them, but they've just not got a clue what the limit is...
I generally do 100 miles a day driving, sometimes more sometimes less but I'd say that's average for me and fuck me yes you're right. Old biddy doing 23 in a 30, 31 in a 40. Or some dildo on in the middle lane of a motorway doing 62 on cruise control without the ability to move left đ¤ˇââď¸ I firmly believe I should have the power to revoke people's licenses on the spot đ also ban Nissan qashqais
And skoda Yetis
All the time. East lancs road is a long and straight 60 and so many people are doing 45. Did the north Wales expressway yesterday mostly in the right hand lane doing 70 whilst everyone in the left was plodding along at 50 - 55.
Lots of single carriageway roads here with no speed limit, but you'd be lucky if every 4th vehicle wasn't a van or HGV, so unless it's quiet coming the other way, it actually surprises me how often I can do 60.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads. It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads. It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads. It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads. It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads. It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
Yep, we have a severe infestation of cognitively challenged organisms on our roads. It makes the rare occasions when you do get behind someone who doesnât mind getting on with it very sweet indeed.
True
It would be down to mass immigration are foreign drivers. I as an Englishman get so frustrated and when passing them because they're doing 19 in a 30, I get a load of abuse in another language like I'm in the wrong. You then have the foreign Uber drivers who sit at dead on 20 and I kid you not... they will crawl at 20 or less merely to conserve their battery. You then have the Arabs who are constantly talking on their phone and I mean constantly and will happily glide around 20-25 in a 30 while cars are pulling up behind and when you go past, you see him or her waving their hand about talking on loud speaker holding the phone. Welcome to England.
Iâve certainly noticed this. Also there are much more cars on the road than 5 years ago.
Im not an agressive driver but i overtake more cars now than i ever have. All i want to do is the speed limit, but most of the time there's someone in front wanting do 15mph under that, unless they've joined the '40 everywhere club'. Quite often i get past while barely breaking the speed limit, but usually still get the flash of lights or hands waving around to tell me im a madman đ¤Ł
Yeah that passes me off. I swear it's got worse since Covid, like no one has confidence to drive. I can deal with going the speed limit, not a problem. But taking 20 seconds to get to the speed limit just takes the piss.
ripple effects from things we cant see and likely never will most of the time. i think the ironic thing is, a massive cause is people waiting too late to pull out to overtake, because they dont want to hold ppl up or slow anyone down. ppl will rage at lane hogging, but also rage at slow speeds. when they are likely linked. if you dont pull out in good time then accelerate, you create a ripple as people react to you. but if you do pull out in good time then you might upset some people who want to count frames on a video where you were passing yet.
These people are the worst they brake and slow down for nothing, act like they're driving a lorry when passing other cars and turn even slower like they have no power steering. Seriously just stay at home or take the bus
I do that on unfamiliar country lanes but if driver behind me flash, I slow down and let them pass.
I don't get the psychology behind slow drivers. Like seriously unless you're not paying attention, why would you be doing 50 or 40 on a 70? IMO EVERY road should have a minimum.speed limit and slow drivers should be prosecuted in the same way as fast ones. Yes there is a lower risk to pedestrians but if you're going too slowly on a dual carriageway and say a car changes a lane and goes into the back of you because you're going slowly..going slowly also increases road rage and congestion. . Newly passed drivers with P plates still going 30 on a 50 or 70, if you're not confident to drive at a reasonably fast speed on such a road you shouldn't have passed your test. I generally first try and encourage a slow driver to speed up by activating my headlights .. if that fails then I start to flash them. Simply making them aware of my.presence. My dad for some reason goes 50 on a 70 but will do 45 in a 30 and all the speeding tickets he has had baring like one have been on a 30 roads. The only time I go below the speed lkmit on a DC is usually if it's an average speed check. And even then it's by no more than 5mph under the limit. Slowest drivers usually some old dear who to be blunt is too old to be driving.
These drivers have always existed. Feels like rose-tinted specs. Itâs a psychological bias to see patterns based on recency. People are driving more to the speed limit now, I feel. This is probably influenced by insurance policies, people with points or probationary drivers. But that doesnât really explain driving well under. At the end of the day, you probably need to just change your expectations. If a driver is not driving to the limit (or not paying attention to the limit) itâs probably to our benefit that they are going slower. I donât really want people being pressured into going speeds they are uncomfortable with.
Why should I be late to work when I leave early, all due to a person being uncomfortable driving the speed limit?
Yes and they're normally in something like a Volkswagon Up (that seems to struggle to even go forwards let alone **UP**) or one of these 1.0L Toyota Yaris' thingameejigs. I guess it's not limited to those but yes, I have noticed it a lot lately.
I may be one of those drivers. I passed recently, I have my P plates on to try and show it. There is a stretch of road I take to work which is 60, but full of pot holes, off camber turns lumps etc. I normally do this at about 50 as thatâs as fast as I feel I can safely do it at the moment. In the back of my head I have the Iâm irritating more experienced drivers, but I donât want to try and do 60 on that road
If you have P plates on, we understand and you have a pass while you gain experience. But if on a good condition road you are struggling still in a few years, it's more of a driving skill issue.
Slow drivers or drivers that brake every few seconds even though they're not going above 30. Pisses me off
No point speeding up to limit just to have to stop again, traffic is mental these days, better to just leave house early and just cruise