What speed do you usually do on the motorway?

[StuntNun]

When driving on the motorway I drive at 70 mph when traffic conditions allow. I'm frequently overtaken by cars going faster than me. So who are all these people driving at 80 or 90 miles an hour and why don't they worry about getting a speeding ticket or being pulled over?

100-110 km p/h.

I don't speed. People who speed fuck me off to just about the same extent that drink drivers do.

@StuntNun All speedometers are that inaccurate. If your speedo says 70 then you're actually doing about 63-65.

90

It is really very noticeable when you drive abroad (I'm thinking France as this is where I've driven most) that drivers are very precise about using lanes properly to overtake and then immediately pulling back in.

The thing that makes motorway driving in the UK feel most precarious to me is that the lack of lane discipline (stealing runningkeenster's well-coined phrased) creates danger. The minute you have some prat sitting in the outside lane doing 70 when they are not doing so in order to overtake, it all starts going wrong.

I always used to do around 80 but last year I got caught speeding three times so I’m sticking to 70 now!

@ASauvignonADay Well our local FB group had lots of people complaining that they had received tickets after driving over 70 in evenings when traffic was light.

I think perhaps the gantry cameras on the smart motorways don't flash?

I hate motorways fullstop but if I have to drive I do 60-70mph in the slow lane I'm a nervous driver. My oh does 80-90mph and I'm quite comfortable with him driving on the motorway instead of me.

Between 70-80mph depending on the conditions. We’ve just got smart motorways here and they are flashing above 70.
I don’t do a huge amount of motorway driving however, I mainly use A roads.

70-80 - depends which vehicle I'm in...

80 on my speedo is 75, you won't get a ticket for 75 on a motorway unless the variable limit is lower.

It is really very noticeable when you drive abroad (I'm thinking France as this is where I've driven most) that drivers are very precise about using lanes properly to overtake and then immediately pulling back in.

I heat this a lot, but on my recent trip to the Alps, which was a 12 hour drive each way, it really wasn't apparent.

Me & my passenger were talking about the great "they drive better in Europe" myth as we watched the same level of lane hogging & speeders zooming up the outside lane & sitting up arses all the way across France (by French drivers)...

I don't speed. People who speed fuck me off to just about the same extent that drink drivers do.

I get more fucked off with people that "fail to make progress" as per the Highway Code.....

If you're consistently driving under the posted limit for no reason, you're a bad driver.

So who are all these people driving at 80 or 90 miles an hour and why don't they worry about getting a speeding ticket or being pulled over?

Exactly what I always wonder! But then again, they seem to be the same people who then brake sharply in the fast lane when they get to the many speed cameras on the m25, causing a tailback of drivers behind them doing the same because it looks like there's a problem.

I'm a newish driver and always conscious of sticking around the speed limit, but I get so many angry drivers trying to overtake me - especially in 20 zones. Maybe it's a London thing, but people just do not want to go 20 where I live. Even on a driving lesson I was aggressively overtaken by an idiot doing 35 in a 20 zone. Are these people really getting constant speeding tickets or just really lucky not to? I don't get it.

bonquiqui - I live in London too and face the same problem on the 20ph roads. It does feel unnatural driving so slow on some of the roads but I stick to the limit nevertheless.

In terms of motorway driving, I've never driven on a motorway in 18 yrs of driving. I'm literally petrified. Next week will be my first time and I'm so so nervous.

20mph is a stupid limit though - I enjoy nothing more than driving along next to a puffing cyclist along the length of the Holloway Road 20mph section.

I like to give them little nods of encouragement.

80 where conditions allow for it. Given my local motorway is the m25 that's rare, on there it's usually whatever the overhead gantry is flashing is the speed at that moment.

60mph generally, sometimes up to 70mph if I'm in a rush but honestly, that small increase in speed doesn't make much difference if you're rushing. People driving faster than the speed limit piss me off. I usually think of it as 'wee man' syndrome but since we're mostly female on here, it must also be 'wee woman' syndrome too. You're just increasing your risk of serious accidents and costing yourself more fuel than you could be spending. Fuel consumption is an exponential curve...why would you break the law, risk points on your licence and/or fines, when it costs you more money to do so...it's stupid. Stupid people, stupid drivers.

Babdoc I hope you lose your license. 110mph when on call is unjustified. I’m guessing you’re a doctor? I am too. Zero justification. 90mph also completely irresponsible and breaking the law. Hopefully you’ll face reality some day

Ahh, there’s always one poster who sanctimoniously confuses the concept of ‘speed’ with ‘bad driving’. Outright speed on a clear road is rarely a problem. It depends on the conditions, clearly.

I have licences to drive cars, bike and HGV and have done advanced training on the bike. Do I speed? Sometimes on the m-way at around 80 if that’s the general prevailing speed, or slower if not. Never in a 30-60. Occasionally on the dual on the way to work if it’s clear (often is).

Conditions around you is EVERYTHING.

Ahh, there’s always one poster who sanctimoniously confuses the concept of ‘speed’ with ‘bad driving’. Outright speed on a clear road is rarely a problem. It depends on the conditions, clearly.

Driving at 110mph does not give much room for action when those conditions change. That clear road isn't guaranteed to continue to be a clear toad. It is dangerous, irresponsible and plain stupid.

20 in London is ludicrous. Maybe on small back roads but some of it is major roads. We might as well go back to horse and cart.

Driving too slowly on a motorway seems really dangerous too. It leads to drivers overtaking in mass, increasing the possibility of collisions.

On the motorway, aim for 70 if that’s the limit and if traffic is moving well. People who dawdle along at 50 or 60 shouldn’t be ok the motorway.

My god. This is scary. So many completely irresponsible people on here. Unlawful, dangerous and putting so many others in danger too. Would you ever forgive yourself if you caused a fatal accident? What if it was a baby you killed? It makes absolutely no difference if other countries have higher limits. They often have better roads, less density of population etc and that is THEIR law, not the law here. You deserve to lose your licence and to be honest deserve to go to jail if you openly choose to put everyone around you in fatal danger.

The stretches of motorway without speed limits are few and far between.
No, they're not.

20 in London is ludicrous. Maybe on small back roads but some of it is major roads. We might as well go back to horse and cart

Might be quicker on a horse and cart in some areas too! I understand it close to schools and where there's parked cars either side and you have to crawl through, but even rolling my relatively small unpowerful car down the hill without any acceleration it's hard to keep it under 25. Given the margin would be about 20-22 before ticketing (allegedly), that's pretty tough to keep to.

I always wonder how all the speeders aren't banned. They must do it all the time and never get caught.