Slow drivers - why do you do it?

[Kibble29]

If you’re a slow driver who chugs along the motorway at 50mph in a 70 zone, or one that does 17mph in a 30, why do you do this?

Are you afraid of driving? Or is it something else?

Yes the limit is a limit, not a target. Yes there can be roadworks or lane closures, or torrential rain. But I’m just talking about a standard road with no issues or adverse weather.

That's absolutely fine as there's the inside lane for someone like you

It's not something I see a lot of where I live. It's the opposite: people driving too fast and way above the designated speed limit regardless of whether it's 70, 50, 30 or 20 mph.
I drove to work this morning on the by pass marked 50 mph which then drops to 30 mph. Three drivers carried on at 50 in the 30 mph zone despite the speed camera warning signs.🙄

Honestly where are the cops when things like that happen?

Should take their licence.

A good driver will be constantly changing their speed according to hazards and road conditions. I.e. slower when there are hazards, faster when there aren't (up to speed limit of course). A good driver will know what the speed limit is throughout their journey by observing the signage!

The dangerous ones are the ones who stay at the same speed whether going round a blind bend, in good visibility on an open road, through a congested small village or past a school, oblivious to hazards nor speed signage.

Actually it’s not fine, lorry drivers, people towing stuff are in that lane and they can legally drive at 60mph. Why should they be disadvantaged (and then have to pull into the middle lane annoying everyone else) to overtake!

we live semi rurally with roads that change a lot in speed limit - within a few miles can hit all the combinations - 20/30/40/50 & 60mph as you go between villages. We get the frustrating drivers who do 30 no matter what. Weirdly they are also the worse at lane keeping - invariably crossing the white line on the corners. Im definitely wary of them as I dont trust their judgement,
confidence or spatial awareness.

My speeds are:
20 limit 22
30 limit 32
40 limit 44
50 55
60 65
70 82
And use cruise control so I don't speed up/ slow down when people are alongside me.

Yes and you're supposed to drive to it.
Eg 30 in a 30 zone.
It's dangerous to drive too slowly.

And yet non drivers get so much flack on this site

The general consensus is that all adults must drive, no matter what ability

One time I was going over a street with speed bumps v slowly (maybe 15 or 20mph. 20 was the limit) as I had only recently miscarried and got out of hospital following a hemmorage and was in pain. (Had only been out to collect prescribed pain meds from chemist)

A driver behind drive up my arse and beeped repeatedly. I'll never forget that. It was horrible.

You just never know whatd going on.

“Former rally driver” sure you are. but can you read? OP clearly stated they were talking about normal conditions, everyday driving not
temporary hazards. We’re talking about people driving continuously at 30 in a 40 zone for example.

If I get a car behind me that's clearly in a rush I always slow down

This is not what HC 125 says.

@CrickityCrickets Yes, I don't do 60mph on those narrow winding roads.

Fuel efficiency, braking distance.

What grinds my gears is people doing significantly less than 50 in a 50 limit section of the motorway. Add in the tendency of cars to over estimate speed and some of them are only doing 42.

I drive conservatively, maintain distance, change speed gradually so avoid sharp braking and acceleration. The insurance apps like me, as does the EV coach on my car.

You should come around the Heathrow area to get even more disappointed. Lots of Uber drivers are driving at 30 mph or even 20 mph on a 40 mph road while using two phones.

Don’t be a tosser. Clearly in a rush to get to work, maybe? Or to pick their sick kid up from somewhere?

No wonder people beep and flash at this sorta situation.

I don't routinely see people doing 40 mph on a motorway though.

It's still dangerous.

I was trying to join the motorway the other day and the car infront was doing max 30. Makes it dangerous, I was trying to match the speed of traffic, check blind spots and not ram into the car infront at the same time. Put your foot down

@Resilience nice to read some common sense on a driving thread!

Back off and they won’t slow down. Drive up my arse and I will need to allow double the stopping room in front of me, as you haven’t got any.

It's when you're on a slip road trying to get up to speed. The car at the front is doing 40mph.
In the wing mirror you can see lorries and cars coming along at 60/70mph and just think dear god how am I going to merge safely when we're all stuck doing 40mph 🙃 slower is not necessarily safer.

Oh hi, is that you dad?

You would fail your test for not driving up to the speed limit, if it is safe to do so

No it says you should drive according to the conditions and reduce speed if conditions, hazards etc require it.
Reduce speed - from the speed limit, which is determined to be the maximum safe speed to drive for that stretch of road in normal conditions by the authorities who are experts in setting safe speed limits.
ie if conditions are normal, you should be driving at or near the posted speed limit.

I did it once because I was low on fuel and every gas station I tried was closed. (This was a while ago and quite rural). So I slowed down as much as I dared, kept my speed constant, till I found a gas station that was still open.