To think if you can’t drive to speed limits you shouldn’t be on the road?

[TheTruthAboutLove]

I know, I know that a speed limit is a limit, not a target.

However I’m talking about the ones who go much much slower than the speed limit on roads - which in my eyes is just as dangerous as people going over speed limits.

Tonight on my 30minute commute home I was behind;

A taxi which couldn’t decide what lane to be in so straddled both, doing 25mph in a 40mph limit

A car doing 30mph on a 60mph limit

On a motorway, and behind a car doing 50mph

Surely people need to realise this is just as dangerous as driving fast? I don’t tailgate, I stay the correct distances away from other cars so there isn’t any pressure, but these cars slowing right down are creating huge tails of traffic behind them which is horrific in rush hour!

I failed my first driving test for being over cautious doing 50mph on a 6mph road.

My car has been stolen, whoever has stolen it aren’t sticking to the speed limit, they somehow managed to do 114mph on the M25, when is the M25 quiet enough to do that?!

@LolaSmiles

See I don't really find it funny

It's bloody funny when some idiot decides that they know better than other drivers who are trying to maintain a safe gap, overtakes, cuts in, overtakes again and then gets held up at a junction.

Or is so impatient to overtake that they come up right behind you - even if you are doing the speed limit, then shoot past and get held up.

The funniest thing is when you are going the opposite way, you see someone coming on the other side of the road who is clearly speeding and is impatient - and you know that there is a massive queue just coming up for them.

I also hate this, and, in my experience these are drivers you need to overtake as soon as you can, not just because you need to be somewhere at a certain time, but because they're really unaware in general and they also tend not to indicate, break suddenly for no apparent reason, etc.

Drives me mad, the other day I was behind an old lady who went at 10 miles an hour all the way up the road - couldn’t overtake because of oncoming traffic, at several points I thought she was going to mount the kerb. I was seriously considering reporting her to the DVLA as if she needs to go that slow she really shouldn’t be driving anymore or at least taking a test to assess her ability.

I’m happy for everyone to drive at the speed they’re comfortable driving at. There’s far too many impatient people. The roads are for everyone and no-one should feel intimidated into driving faster.

A few days ago, I had a couple of drivers like that on good quality country road (not winding narrow lane) in the early stages of 6+ hours of driving in one day. Frustratingly that journey takes hours longer than it used to due to sheer volume of traffic, umteen miles of roadworks and smart motorway, so starting behind someone doing 29mph in a road that is comfortable for 50-60 does not set the journey off on a good tone. Naturally this type of driver gets to a residential section of road and either carries on oblivious or speeds up which is confirms that they are inept and not merely cautious.

I am cautious on unfamilar rural roads, but my car has a really clever feature called a "rear view mirror". If the road ahead of me is clear, and I'm begining to get a cluster of cars behind me, that tells me that I'm being over-cautious and can afford to speed up a bit more. If I'm being a rolling road block, that means that I'm the one being a pillock and actually, it's probably not all the drivers behind me!

I drive to road conditions. I modify my driving for weather etc. In good conditions, most speed limits are a decent guide. NSL on a narrow, twisty lane is different as it's a default. But a wide, well cambered country road is different to a twisty narrow lane and requires a different standard of driving.

Chomalungma
See there you're confusing people who overtake with people who drive recklessly and irresponsibly.

That happens a lot on these threads though. There's one every few weeks where people make a valid point about normal, safe, responsible drivers get a bit irritated with ditherers and at least a dozen posters then start talking about how funny it is to be overtaken and then go on about reckless speeding drivers etc.

I find it bizarre that anyone would drive permanently much under the speed limit, then find an odd delight if there's some roadworks ahead when others overtake. It's a weird response to other road users (just like reckless drivers who get really cross).

I actually failed a driving test for lack of progress and hesitancy... 50 in a 60 in pouring rain on a back road What? That's ludicrous!

As for the 50mph on a motorway, that is a bit slow, but I often do 60 and everyone is whizzing past me, even in bad weather. I'd like to see the 70 limit far more effectively controlled with average speed cameras. Maybe it could be increased to 80 tops but nobody needs to do more than that.

The lorry drivers are awful on motorways where you have say a 50 limit with average speed cameras. They either don't care about the fines, or they know the cameras are off because I stick to 50 and they overtake me. And then of course I have to overtake them when the 50 zone ends.

If the road ahead of me is clear, and I'm begining to get a cluster of cars behind me, that tells me that I'm being over-cautious and can afford to speed up a bit more

Maybe, or maybe you're the only one who has a brain and is adapting your driving to the conditions? It's not always wrong to go slowly and sometimes you just get a queue behind you because you are doing the speed limit or only just below. I was driving fairly slowly along a bendy road with a 40 limit the other night. It was dark and slightly icy. By the time I got to the end of the road I had about 10 cars behind me. I really didn't care. The limit was 40 and I wasn't doing less than about 35.

The funny thing is that most people think they’re the good drivers and others are the bad ones.
This thread demonstrates that.

But I’m willing to bet that there may have been valid reasons for some people going a bit slower (especially on country lane roads - the reason they have the national speed limit is because the highways lot haven’t got the time to work out an appropriate speed so leave it your judgement).

Just drive defensively and stay calm.

iggly
Based on what I see on the roads I'd say most people are reasonable drivers.

Most of the time traffic flows well at a speed appropriate for the conditions and speed limit. Most of the time people go at green lights and go at gaps in roundabouts. Most people park appropriately, leave proper braking distances. Etc. They don't profess to be the best drivers on earth but know they're safe and competent

There's some who dither, drive up to empty roundabouts and stop, aren't paying attention at lights do don't go on green, randomly brake for no reason, drive in a way that not appropriate for conditions but think they're great because they're cautious drivers.
There's others who are reckless with overtaking and speed, who tailgate etc. They think they're great because they're arrogant and think they have some magic car handling skills.

Most normal, reasonable drivers will find ditherers annoying and reckless drivers to be a risk. That's most of the people on the road.

The problem is that ditherers will think anyone who isn't a fellow ditherer is reckless, and the reckless drivers will think anyone who isn't reckless is a ditherer.

I’m happy for everyone to drive at the speed they’re comfortable driving at. There’s far too many impatient people. The roads are for everyone and no-one should feel intimidated into driving faster.

So, in your opinion a car should be allowed to drive in clear conditions at 30mph on a 60mph road? Never mind the tailback of cars, it's all about what this driver is comfortable with, it's bloody dangerous.

And as for PP's asking why I didn't overtake on the motorway, I was coming off a slip road onto the motorway and was behind this car. A lot of traffic in both lanes and cars behind me were overtaking and it took a while for me to get in a place with enough room in the outside lane to overtake.

I’m happy for everyone to drive at the speed they’re comfortable driving at. There’s far too many impatient people. The roads are for everyone and no-one should feel intimidated into driving faster.

But that's the whole point - the roads are for everyone and not just any individual driver. If what makes you more comfortable seriously annoys/holds up/maybe endangers almost all of the other drivers using the same road, you have to accept less comfort.

I'm British and therefore much more comfortable driving on the left - that doesn't mean that I can go over to France and continue driving in the way that I find most comfortable and expect that everybody else will just have to accommodate me.

I’m happy for everyone to drive at the speed they’re comfortable driving at.There’s far too many impatient people
See also "anyone who wants to drive quicker than my dithering is impatient".

The roads are for everyone and that means driving in a way that's appropriate for the conditions.

Some people feel most comfortable driving up to empty roundabouts and stopping. It doesn't make it decent driving. Some people feel most comfortable ignoring roundabout lane discipline and taking the easiest route round, but it's not good driving. Others are 35mph drivers in a 30 zone, 40 zone and national zone, it's still poor driving.

My driving instructor hit the nail on the head when I was learning to drive (I was a nervous driver) when he said that everyone has a responsibility to ensure reasonable progress is made and not to prevent others making progress. What I loved about him as an instructor was his patience and the way he developed my confidence.

It's a shame other seem to think that because they want to tottle along and dither, or they aren't a confident driver, the whole world should slow around their dithering rather than them improving their driving.

I'm just as annoyed with reckless drivers too, every night, major roundabout in the North-East to commute home.

I sit in the left lane as I'm joining the motorway which is a left turn. Cars come down the right lane and cut in at the front of the queue that I've been waiting in for 15mins. I wish they wouldn't let the cars in, they need to learn to wait like everyone has to!

There are lots of roads in my area that have 60mph limits but are narrow and very windy. Some of them are single track. It would be madness to drive at 60 down them.

I probably annoyed someone last night, driving down a road like that, mainly at 30mph.

I was told, when I had just passed my test, that if I was on the motorway then it was okay to stick to 50mph in the slow lane and not rush.

When I finally found myself on the motorway last week (got in the wrong lane at complicated junction, was utterly stuffed) I didn't have much problem going around 60mph in the left hand lane as I was keeping up to traffic in that lane and besides I was definitely getting off at the next junction.

At this time of year, when lots of people are on unfamiliar roads, perhaps it's good to make allowances.

I drove a dog with a broken leg yesterday. I drove significantly below the limit and extra slow around corners.

Couldn't care less what cars behind me think.

Also, if it looks like the car behind me is getting impatient/tailgating etc then I'll drive extra slow and even let out a few tractors. I'm petty enough.

There are many reasons why someone may not feel like driving 'to the limit' rather than low confidence - from heavy colds, emotional issues, uncertainty about where they are/where to turn off and even greener driving - avoiding the need for braking or heavy acceleration.

If you 'know' the road and think you can drive it faster than the 'dawdler' in front, perhaps you can - but that is no reason to be irritated - anger/irritation at other road users is the mark of a bad driver.

*Couldn't care less what cars behind me think.

Also, if it looks like the car behind me is getting impatient/tailgating etc then I'll drive extra slow and even let out a few tractors. I'm petty enough.*

Does that make you feel like a bigger person? Stooping to the level of the person being impatient or tailgating? Or maybe if you just stopped and realised that that person wanting to drive to the speed limit is someone who is trying to get to their sick relative or they too have a poorly dog in their car?

The two wrongs don't balance each other out, your actions are probably worse as you're deliberately doing those actions to wind up another road user.

Frankiestein402 If you're really so full of cold or suffering from emotional issues to the point of being incapable of driving to the speed limit where it's safe to do so, should you really be driving?

Yes, I was stuck behind a car going at 25mph in a 40zone the other day and it really is frustrating. When the road finally became two lanes and I could overtake it was a very old person. I do feel for pensioners as their driving may be the only way they can get about but really you do wonder sometimes how many should give it up.

Does that make you feel like a bigger person? No but boy does it make me feel smug.
Their right to be in a hurry doesn't trump mine to drive at what every speed I want. Me driving at my speed is a lot less likely to cause an accident that the prick tailgating me.

@LochJessMonster The arrogance seeping through your post is brilliant, commendable in fact.

Your speed is just as likely to cause an accident than 'the prick tailgating me'.

You're just as bad a driver as the tailgaters, you driving slow and holding up traffic doesn't make you a saint. It just makes you the person more likely to cause an accident when people want to overtake you. You could just, y'know, drive to an appropriate speed to the conditions and road and be done with it?

This is exactly why I'm all for people being re-tested every five years or so. It seems drivers fall in two massively opposite ends of the spectrum and are at battle with each other.

It all depends so much on the individual road. If you're talking about a long straight road with good visibility, with a national speed limit, and no other more vulnerable road users, then it's not really reasonable to be doing 30. But if you're talking about a country road with many twists and turns, where there could be rural road users, then it's extremely reasonable to be doing 30.

We live rurally - and people use the roads round here as a commuters cut through, and attempt to do 60 on narrow, twisting lanes, including single track. They get very angry with anyone or anything that slows them down - including tractors, horse riders, carriage drivers, dog walkers, etc. These are not A roads, or even B roads. The road on which I live has a 50 limit, but the nature of our driveway means that you have to turn really slowly in - the number of times I've been beeped because I've slowed down to turn in, is crazy. Equally, we either have to reverse in or reverse out of our driveway (this cannot be changed) - whichever we do, if someone comes up or is behind us (bends about 100 yards away in both directions), we get beeped - we can't win!