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Original poster

To think driving constantly at 40mph is dangerous?

103 replies

Beetlejuice3 · 04/03/2026 15:08

This has been something I’ve noticed on a good few occasions and interested if it’s quite a widespread thing.

I live out in the country so to visit the nearest city or relatives it’s usually a drive that includes mostly 60mph country roads with a few villages to pass through at 30mph.
There seems to be some (a fair amount) of drivers that only travel at 40mph no matter what? On the national speed limit roads they cause a lot of people to overtake (often 2 cars at a time I saw today), however going through the 30mph villages you can’t keep up with them! I would say I’m not the most confident driver and I don’t speed but I do travel at or around the speed limit unless there’s a reason not to. This travelling at 40 no matter what seems more dangerous to me, like I say, impatient drivers were overtaking 2 cars on corners etc. Not to mention travelling through villages with schools and pedestrians 10mph over the limit.

Is this a thing? Has anyone come across the 40mph club?

OP posts:
LP9 · 04/03/2026 15:17

I'm with you OP. Fed up of getting aggressively tail gated in villages only to leave them for dead in the national limit. Or have someone fly past me in the village only for me to catch them at the first corner. I think they are lacking situational awareness so are driving in a more dangerous manner. I catogories them with middle lane hogs and phone users.

igelkott2026 · 04/03/2026 15:12

It is dangerous to do 40 when they should be doing 30.

But it is not dangerous to do 40 where they could be doing up to 60. The people behind can choose their response and if they drive dangerously, that's on them, not the person they are overtaking.

toomuchfaff · 04/03/2026 15:11

If on a country road, someone feels safe to drive at 40mph as opposed to 60, given country roads generally tend to have less visibility, winding roads and drivers coming the other way, they are not the problem if someone is too impatient and overtakes them in an unsafe manner.

Its a speed limit not a minimum.

Set off sooner.