People who drive 40 everywhere

It entirely depends on the road. There's plenty of tiny little country lanes that are national speed limit, but you'd have to be an absolute nutter to do 40 on them, let alone 60.

Like this one - https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5915376,-4.0687904,3a,75y,110.43h,88.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9Ok_6pFwhxTwKz9nwGoWAg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

You drive to the conditions of the road. If its narrow or winding, you slow down. If it's pissing down, or visibility is bad, or unlit, you slow down.

You might fail your test for driving significantly under the limit when there's no reason to, but it's perfectly legal and even desirable in lots of situations.

This.

There's a NSL road near me where the going rate in good conditions is 50-60mph, and it attracts the 37mphers. It then goes into a 40mph at one end and the sods then speed up despite extra hazards on that section.

They're not driving to the road conditions; they're too inept to understand what the road signs mean.

Strangely no one ever decides that 45mph is driving to the road conditions along there before slowing to 35mph.

I agree.

Found one!

I do think people should make assessments based on road conditions rather than trying to hit a target. Choosing to uniformly go too slowly isn't what I'd call a safe assessment of the road conditions though. That's about the most sensible summary I've seen on this thread.

The sign is as it is because it's always been that way, It's in black and white to indicate "no restriction", as opposed to the other speed limit signs which have the red on them. It was only later that different restrictions started to be added. It was not till 1965 that the NSL was introduced.

There are roads that are signposted for 60, although it is much more common for them to be NSL.

I do think people should make assessments based on road conditions rather than trying to hit a target. Choosing to uniformly go too slowly isn't what I'd call a safe assessment of the road conditions though.

Ah, those Devon lanes.
I crawl along those.

Do you drive in south Devon?

Same. Also , the city I learned in was flat. I'm grand in cities, I'm grand on motorways. But eeny weenie cart tracks that double back on themselves, have dark edges that may or may not rip my tyres (I dunno, I'm not a fucking farmer, this isn't my commute) and swoop and loop around all over the shop so that Peahead Farton-Blarton doesn't lose a centimetre of his grouse shooting land to the infernal tarmac, that haven't had a government inspector near them since good old Binky waved his dear little flag and set the Rolls off ... I haven't a clue what's round the next blind corner, so I go slower.

The sign is as it is because the NSL is different for single and dual carriageways and for different classes of vehicle. A 60 (or 70 on a dual carriageway) would be incorrect as the NSL is not 60 (or 70) for all vehicles.

Other than DCs which would otherwise be NSL.

What about the speeding in the 30 zone then?

This is it, it goes with no indicating, not understanding how roundabouts work, and not putting their lights on when it’s dark. On our local roads (we are rural) it’s guaranteed to be an elderly driver.

This is so irritating and the worst ones are the ones who do 40 on motorway slip roads. WTF is that all about?? Presumably thinking the motorway is dangerous but they're the ones creating the danger!

No it isn't ok, I'm guessing you've realised that by now.

Hate the 40 in a 30 a lot more though, twats.

If someone came round a corner and wasn't able to stop in time, then that was entirely their own fault.

Highway Code Rule 126. Stopping distances. Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear.

Im probs one of those people who are going too slow.

Thing is I learned in a big city and I only really drive in a big city. So when im in the countryside about once a year im really not used to it. I feel like I do hold people up. But I’m just not used to the bendy roads.

Except there isn't such a thing as a 60mph road. There's roads that have a speed limit applied, and then the rest, which haven't been assessed, and therefore come under the national speed limit of 60mph (previously they were "derestricted" - that's why the sign is as it is, and not a "60" in a red circle)

I agree with this. Especially if you don't know the road, 60 just isn't appropriate for many B roads, especially given the state of many now - a lot have a long extended pothole along the outside edge. And like fuck am I going to be bombing along at 60 through the Howardian Hills, or on a dark road with no markings shaped like an elbow.

It's not about being in a rush. Driving at 40 in a 60 zone is dangerous too.

Given that you've given a description of driving dangerously immediately after passing your test, yes I do think it would have been better for you to have been failed. It's perfectly possible to cause accidents by driving too slowly and cautiously, which is why you'll fail your test for it.

If you didn't even feel confident enough to do 30, that's very telling.

I'm not trying to offend you, but it's factual that you would be failed for not getting up to an appropriate speed if you'd done that on your test. It's not safe to dither.

They obviously don't use their mirrors either to see the queue of traffic stacked behind them!

You seem determined that I shouldn't have passed because I was aware of my own limitations and lack of experience and took that into account.

There's a reason people are more likely to have an accident in the first two years - lack of experience.

Maybe if more people were aware of their own limitations and taking it into account, there'd be less accidents all round?

But why would you drive at 33.33% below the speed limit on a straight road on a dry day with excellent visibility?

I know it is a speed limit not a target, but driving excessively slowly creates frustration and causes accidents.

There are signs on some of the roads in Scotland asking slower drivers to pull over and let faster drivers overtake.

Then these same drivers still drive at 40 through our village which has a 30mph speed limit. You would think that they don't know how to change gear.