To be petrified driving on motorways

I just looked at the figures again. The non-seatbelt use is only a percentage of collisions where seatbelt use was recorded so it’s only about 100 fatalities that weren’t wearing them.

@pointythings Like the American woman who killed the young motorcyclist. Yes, making mistakes like that is obviously catastrophic. Like driving the wrong way on a motorway. Mistakes are made with terrible consequences and it’s not always speed that’s to blame.

@TizerorFizz I agree with you and always have! Motorways are the safest of our roads, rural two lane roads are the most lethal. There are three US air bases in my patch and it's so often newly arrived airmen who are involved in accidents because they just aren't used to the kinds of roads we have here.

@pointythings I listed the major contributors to accidents with fatalities pages ago. Government data for 2023. 25% not wearing seat belts. No one ever mentions that. It’s always speeding that’s cited as the most common factor. On motorways (which terrifies the Op) it’s not just speeding. It’s inattention and many other things. 84 fatalities on motorways last year and deaths would be a lot lower with 100% seat belts worn.

Yep haha and the lorries always behave like it’s your fault. Plonkers.

When I was driving in the snow yesterday I got stuck on a hill, was very frustrating, was about to give up and go down the wrong way on a one way system (so early in the morning no one else was about and it was only 20 metres) but gave it one last go and just got up there. Which was better luck than the lorry driver (so a very experienced driver) who got stuck trying to turn up the hill to my workplace and almost completely blocked the road - coworker had to reverse, then go really fast and take a sharp turn to get up the hill without crashing into the lorry. Definitely not for the inexperienced or faint-hearted! (Nor was just driving in the snow, lost control momentarily many times, quite terrifying but at least everyone else on the road had the same idea and drove very slowly)

Speeding, tail gating, reckless over taking , are all major causes of mororway accidents, and hgv's dont have a great track record either

I was a very nervous driver 10 years ago I would never have believed I would do regular motorway driving. But I had to commute for work for years and am on motorways every day now.
Whilst it's definitely not uncommon, it seems a shame to restrict yourself.

If you are nervous, practice joining motorways with a calm and patient friend or partner, or can you book some lessons with an instructor? Drive for a couple of junctions and come off. Repeat until you feel more confident.
Honestly it's pretty simple.

I still get nervous in bad weather, but surely everyone does?
Take it steady, you don't have to overtake. Doing 50 to 60 and keeping in the left hand lane is fine.

Possibly not to pull away though. Many traditional auto boxes would pull away in second with “snow mode” selected. There are many versions of DSG though so maybe some will.

Of course you can select 2nd gear, or any other, in a DSG car. It can be driven just as a manual.

I know right! You’re welcome ☺️

If you’re that scared, don’t do it. It sounds like you could easily cause an accident.

When I was young and my friend was a bit nervous if the motorway I advised her to stay in the left hand lane where she could relax more and know she wasn’t in anyone’s way. For some reason she was overtaking people and spending time in the middle and outer lane which only makes the stress higher.

Thank god you, the competent, are able to keep the roads safe

I'm glad you managed OK.

I'm of the opinion that if you can drive (competently and confidently enough to be safe), then there's no reason you shouldn't be comfortable driving on motorways. If you don't feel confident driving at speed and/or changing lanes, which are the only differences on a motorway, you shouldn't be driving at all.

Between you and me I think it was a lot more luck than skill! 😂

That said, my BMW is a lot easier to drive in snow than DH's VW with a DSG box. At least I can manually select second gear to get going, unlike him!

Well yes, obviously that’s an overall figure. Failing to look properly is by far the biggest contributory factor reported in all collisions. Motorways are incredibly safe, around 70 fatalities per year which is incredible given the number miles driven.

That data is meaningless without context, i.e. the types of road where these crashes happened. Round my way, the fatalities tend to happen on two lane A roads. Speed is often a factor, but so is unsafe overtaking. And overtaking on a bendy two lane A road is inherently riskier than overtaking on a motorway.

21% of fatal collisions have “exceeding the speed limit” as a contributory factor.

😁 Well done. BMWs are so hard to drive in the snow.

I used to be scared of motorways.
Then one day I was going somewhere with my cousin and was following her, the place was only a few miles away, and she just got on the motorway, not even thinking that I didnt drive on them, I nearly threw up I was so scared! But once I had done it I was OK. I drive on them now, but hardly ever overtake, so not the most confident. I do drive into the city centre traffic day in day out, without even thinking of it though and some people think that is brave.
For me, the fear is other people, I know you are more likely to have a crash around town, but it is likely to be at a slow speed on the motorway if you have someone doing 100mph they could kill you in seconds no matter how careful you are driving, so I don't blame you OP for bieng scared.

Very true. It's why motorway driving wasn't added to the driving test in the end, because there are parts of the country where there isn't a motorway nearby (Devon, Norfolk, Wales, etc). When I passed my driving test, my instructor said to me "Now's when you really learn how to drive".

One of my proudest driving moments came on a snowy day when I managed to overtake a stuck Land Rover going up a slippery hill, driving an automatic, rear wheel drive BMW! The look on the Landy driver's face as I went past was priceless! 😂

Same. I have to drive into London occasionally and the A40 has really narrow lanes as you get closer to London and no-one is patient with you!

I am OK with it but I'm much happier on a motorway or, randomly, a country lane. I grew up in a place where your main routes to anywhere were either motorways or back lanes, so I'm comfortable with both, but busy town/city centres are not fun.

DH, however, grew up in a big town so hates country lanes, so that's my job when we're on holiday!

Glad you did it OP - in hindsight that was the perfect combo - a bit of experience for you, but without it being the whole drive.

100kph is 62.5mph. I used to be a fast motorway driver and would happily do between 75-80mph. As I've got older, I just can't be bothered any more. It doesn't get me to/from work any quicker really and uses a lot more fuel (and of course is illegal!)

Now you'll more often find me between 60 and 70 in lane 1. It's much more relaxing, and quite frankly, there are so many middle lane hoggers out there, it's like having your own personal driving lane anyway!

I think 100kph is perfectly fine on a motorway. Lorries will be mostly speed limited to 90kph, so you'll be going quicker than them.

@ExceededUsefulEconomicLife in fairness there were previous posters saying just that.

I live in a village and often have to reverse don’t a single track road as so many people can’t do that. And yes to passing places being just that not a parking spot. And breathe!

Obviously I understand that you’ve passed and aren’t a bad driver. But have you considered doing something like the Pass Plus (if in UK) or booking 2 or 3 sessions with a driving instructor that focus on motorway driving just to work on the anxiety?