New to driving - is this normal?

[barleyspicy]

Driving 20mph in a 20mph zone. It's a long stretch of road on my commute to work but all the cars in front speed off and all the ones behind honk their horns.

I'm 100% sure is a 20 zone as there are multiple signs. Is there an unwritten rule that if there are no speed cameras everyone drives faster?

I really don't feel comfortable speeding but it happens most mornings the horns behind me and I feel awful.

You will soon learn OP that many drivers are reckless twats and don't care about ANY speed limits, and think they are far more important and in a hurry to bother obeying the laws. Also there are many who don't seem to know what to do at a roundabout ... perhaps we should all have to do a refresher course every so many years.

No they're just knobs, and remember it only takes 6 points to lose your license as a new driver (first two years) rather than the usual 12.

I confess. I'm one of those people who want you to go faster!! Sorry. 😔 But just ignore me. You go at the right speed limit and just ignore those people behind you. What they get up to is their problem not yours. And I've been very glad that I've been help up by drivers when I've suddenly gone through a speed camera that I'd have been caught out by if going at my normal speed.
You do the right thing and stick to the rules, and ignore others who are risking their licences

I see this all the time. The worst one for me is when I'm in the fast lane on the motorway going 70mph to overtake someone and an arsehole will come right up behind me and start tailgating, trying to make me to go way faster that I feel safe doing. If they just waited less than 30 seconds, I'd be able to move over but the flashing and beeping is so stressful and incredibly dangerous too.

yep happens all the time in 20mph zones in my city! Either overtaking or tailgating, sometimes accompanied by lights / horn.

It's a bit like the unwritten rule or speeding on a motorway, according to MN it's fine to do 80 when the national speed limit is 70!

They're all being a-holes. Incidentally, have you got a free 'P' for your car, to indicate you've just passed? Hopefully people will be a bit more respectful 🙏🏻

People doing say 30 in a 50 piss me off but you haven't done anything wrong sticking to the speed limit.

A friend got a speeding ticket for doing 23 in a 20, lots of police vans and motorbikes doing spot checks in my city recently, especially the 20 zones as i think its easier for them to catch people. So no, do not do 21-23 in a 20 zone. 20 means 20.

They won’t be the ones taking your three points if they push you to speed, so let them crack on getting annoyed and you carry on.

If you're doing 20 and literally all the rest of the traffic both oncoming and those passing you is going faster, then you need to speed up.

You will cause an accident if people try to pass you unsafely. Going significantly slower than the rest of the traffic is as much a hazard as going significantly faster.

You also need to double check the speed limit if you notice you're the slowest vehicle on that stretch.

Are the 20mph signs in red circles or green ? If red then its a mandatory speed limit but if green then its an advisory limit that you don't legally have to adhere to as long as you don't exceed the mandatory limit for that type of road.

Are you using P plates? I found that drivers were aggressive when I used them. The day I took them off it stopped.

Your friend was very unlucky to get a ticket for doing 23mph. Most police doing spot checks apply some common sense.

According to my sat nav, when my speedometer is showing 30, my sat nav speed shows 27. I don't know which is correct.

Not condoning it at all, but is it a mandatory 20MPH, ( red circle around the speed sign ) , or advisory ( black circle around the sign ?

There is an estate near me with a school, shops, clubs, bus stops, often ice cream vans, hundreds of houses that everyone uses as a short cut, so it's 20 for a very good reason.
If anyone tailgates me there, I slow down to 10. They almost always back off 😂

I know you shouldn't do this by the way.

Is the 20 in a triangle? That’s usually up by schools and is advisory for when the schools are going in and out.

I've recently sat my licence, had been driving for 20 years but stupidly didn't switch it to a UK licence within the time limit. Anyway am a confident experienced driver.

When I'd have my L plates on people would honk and overtake, particularly in a 20 zone.

There isn’t any 20 zones on the roads I use but if there was and there was anyone beeping or flashing me for driving at 20mph on a road with a 20mph speed limit then they would soon be following at 10mph instead.

I used to have a commute where most of it was down 20mph roads, and every single day I would get at least one person getting right on my bumper or aggressively overtaking. It is tiresome but you are the one in the right so stick to it. Ignore the pp who said if everyone else is speeding you should too, that is dickish advice. It is 20 to save lives.

If you're doing 20 and literally all the rest of the traffic both oncoming and those passing you is going faster, then you need to speed up.

You will cause an accident if people try to pass you unsafely. Going significantly slower than the rest of the traffic is as much a hazard as going significantly faster.

Are you suggesting the OP needs to break the speed limit even if it is a 20mph limit just because everyone speeding? And risk getting points on her licence? Surely she needs to double check the speed limit first and only go faster than 20 if it turns out to not be a 20 limit?

There's right - or legal - and there's sensible, and sometimes when you're driving they are not the same thing.

My guess is that she needs to look again at the speed limit signage.

The person who would slow down to 10mph is as irresponsible and dangerous a driver as the one doing 30 in a 20 zone. Passive aggression is every bit as dangerous and inadvisable as aggression behind the wheel.

It does seem a bit odd if every car on that long stretch of road in both directions is driving above 20mph. We have a couple of 20mph roads in very built up residential areas where I live and I’d say most drivers keep to around that speed.

There are some areas that recommend 20mph during school opening/closing hours only.

I saw a post on here before where someone was asking for tips on how to stay below 20 - she mentioned that she lived in an area of London where roads that used to be 40 and 30 mph had gone down to 20. Not residential areas, not windy, narrow roads. She was of the view that when road conditions allow a normal person would drive to the speed of the road and appropriate road conditions & seemed bonkers to drive 20mph in certain scenarios.

I can think of many roads across London that used to be 40 that have dropped down, and also can think of many roads that are 20mph despite being extremely wide, non residential & straight with lack of hazards. Again easily could have a higher speed limit so I can see why it can be annoying.