To think some speed limits should be changed on rural roads.

[CeeJay81]

I'm a new driver and live in rural area(also quite hilly). At times when driving I feel very uncomfortable seeing several people overtake me, at what I think are dangerous speeds. Bendy single carriage A roads that are often narrow in places. People think cause they are national speed limit, that you should be doing 60(sometimes over that too).

It makes me doubt myself and think maybe I'm going too slow but there are often many tight corners. Is it people who are very confident or are they dumb and stupid? I guess it's a combination and I'm just inexperienced. However i def think more parts of these roads should have a lower limit.

@CeeJay81 sadly, there are too many fools like this on the road.

Don't be intimidated, pull in to a passing place if you need to. I still do even after >30yrs, especially if they persist being right on your tail.

We met a German couple at a campsite once, and they mentioned how crazy they thought our speed limits are, as just as the road goes narrow & twisty it turns to national speed limit even if it would be dangerous to travel that speed.

Apparently in Germany the speed limits are reflective of safe speeds for that road (which is what we have in built up area but not the countryside).

I think too many people think it is permission to go as fast as they want even if they have poor visibility due to turns, hedges etc. But then there’s a road near me that’s a 30 and every fucker on it wants to go 40, so even if there were more sensible limits you’d still get arseholes.

Don't be influenced by other drivers. You are responsible for your own vehicle, and working on the assumption that all other vehicles are driven by crazed lunatics who want you dead isn't a particularly bad attitude to have.

National Speed Limit does not mean, and never has meant, that it's OK to drive along them at 60mph. It simply means that the road has not been subject to a full Highways Authority assessment for what a safe speed on that road should be, therefore each driver needs to use their individual discretion to assess the road, the weather and the surface conditions to decide their appropriate speed - which may be up to a maximum of 60mph but in general I would only go at 60mph on a NSL road if there was plenty of dead-straight road ahead and plenty of width with good clear verges so that I would definitely see if a vehicle was about to pull out from a side road, and the weather was clear and the road dry and in good condition. Any kind of divergence from that (pretty rare) ideal indicates that a lower speed is sensible.

Thanks for the responses.

@SlipperyLizard exactly. There are parts of the road I was on today, where it's narrow and bendy with a wall along the side. I'd rather slown right down here but people don't seem too. My car is a small 1.0 aswell so it struggles to get back up to speed especially when hilly, so that doesn't help but even so, people have no patience. Some drivers are just crazy.

There are far too many people who think driving is a race. Take those twists at a speed you are comfortable and when there is a safe place to pull over and let the impatient drivers pass, let them by so you don’t have to deal with their aggression.

Even if the speed limits are lower, those people will still speed. Good drivers will respect that you need to slow down on some curves below the limit, especially in taller vehicles.

Unfortunately, there are thousands and thousands of miles of rural roads, the cost of signage would be totally prohibitive, and 60 is a limit, not a target. You are supposed to drive according to the conditions and visibility of the road you are on.

I agree. I just feel people don't drive as they are supposed too, or there opinion is different as they think they are a very good driver.

It's possible you are driving too slowly given your lack of experience and low powered car. It's possible they are driving too fast for the conditions (taking into account their experience and vehicle's abilities which you don't know). But it doesn't matter really.

Regardless of WHY someone wants past you, just let them past as soon as you can, even if they're speeding. Especially on roads where overtaking is dangerous or impossible. If you're holding them up unreasonably due to being a slower driver (which is fine whilst you're gaining experience) then you should let them past because they are able to navigate the road faster than you. Or if they want past because they are very dangerous you should let them past so they aren't anywhere near you!

Fair post. I have a P plate on my car, which I'll def keep on for longer, as i'm not confident.

I live in what sounds like a similar area to you. I often overtake people who are driving well below the speed limit and in places where some drivers seem to find it very disconcerting (around corners, approaching known crests etc) because I know where to look to see the road, know whether it's actually a shallow summit where you can see rather than being a genuine blind crest, and know whether it is clear or not.

Drivers who don't know the road or who are inexperienced/inattentive might think I'm mental. That doesn't mean I am.

We should all drive within our limits and I'd rather be stuck behind an inexperienced driver for a bit than see them crash. If you drive like a snail when there's no overtaking opportunity and accelerate hard at every straight, clear section of road then you are creating frustration for others and that is dangerous.

This.

Most of the roads near me are single track with blind corners and national speed limit, but also riddled with potholes, tractor ruts and leaping deer.

No-one sane who values their suspension does more than 30, and if they do, they don't last long.

Let drivers overtake you, those that have the necessary experience will survive and those that haven't will wreck their cars and their no claims bonuses..

The main n road out of our village is very bendy and hilly. I get really pissed off with people who don't stay on their own side of the road on the. Ends because they are driving too fast. They are the major cause of other drivers ending up in ditches/hedges as they avoid a collision. And that happens at least once a month. The council have to replace the reflective posts on some of the bends every couple of years as so many have been knocked down.

Many of the rural A roads in my county have been re-designated to 50mph. Generally it's appropriate but there are places that a more cautious speed is needed and 50mph implies that it's a safe maximum rather than the NSL unassessed generic maximum. As ever judgment of road conditions, vehicle stability and driver experience are still required.

It does seem ironic when turning off a good quality 50mph road onto a small minor route which you could hypothetically legally go 10mph faster on. Regardless of legal maximums drivers do have to drive with due care and attention though.

It's just not viable to assess and set continuous "safe" speed limits across rural areas because conditions vary so much along routes.

Doesn’t matter what the speed limit is. There will always be a bunch of utter fannies zooming past me. In standing water on the motorway at crazy speeds. In stormy conditions on twisty tree lined country’sroads not knowing what lies ahead, at might when they are likely tired. In fog when they can’t see.

It’s madness. And mostly men. Like me you’ll get used to it but it still does piss me off.

You sound like an irritating driver to be behind.

There are a lot of dickheads that behave aggressively around P plated cars. You may et kess hassle without them

Ignore that recent ill mannered comment by 50 bales

What @RentalWoesNotFunis right. If someone is trying to overtake you, slow down and let them. I once had the delight of a man tailgating me on a 30 stretch. He accelerated past me, zoomed past and when I went round the bend he had been pulled over by the police, which made my day.

Re: P plates. I never had anyone be an idiot when I had an L plate on. People were kind and patient. My God did that change when I put a P plate on, lots of hysterical overtaking etc. I intended to keep mine on for a prolonged period but my lovely MIL took matters into her own hands, pulled them off and put them in the bin, saying I didn't need them. When DS learns I shall be strongly advising him not to use them after he passes. Hang in there!

Even if you put them down to 40mph, you'd still have people speeding.

Perhaps when you are more experienced you will be happy with the speed limits as they are.

I’m a new driver too and had this exact conversation with my mum on Monday. It’s awful. I feel pressurised by these drivers to go faster but to me if you can’t see around the bend you slow down.

That's interesting about the P plates. It'll be another 3 weeks before I have to do that road again, so I may just remove them by then and see if that makes a difference. Thanks for all the replies. Its probably just my anxiety feeling like this. I shall just let people overtake and slowdown so they can do it safely.

I know what mumsnet is like, so will ignore the odd stupid comment.

I agree that some rural roads with their blind bends and overgrown hedges at the side should never be NSL. However, I think there’s an expectation that a driver with a licence (and two brain cells) knows that you can put your foot down in the open stretches with visibility but must slow for the trickier bits.

You’ll always get people who boot it up and down the road. It’s their funeral, literally sometimes. I’m not a slow driver, for the record.

I used to feel like I had to drive faster to not piss anyone off, but as I’ve gotten more experienced and generally wiser, I think about how if I crash it’s my premiums increasing, my car off the road, my injury, my inconvenience etc. Suddenly the dick behind me flashing his lights or tailgating doesn’t matter.

Agree, but unless there are cameras to enforce it, then it would be pointless as idiot drivers will do what they want. I live in a very rural area, and there can be tractors or horses around any bend.

Quite!

Your village road sounds like mine. Literally just this morning I had to swerve basically into the hedgerow to avoid a car who was going too fast to take the corner properly. Luckily no damage done but it really shook me up!