People ostentatiously driving at 20 in a 30 zone with plenty of space, no wandering children or other pedestriansa clear road ahead

[HauntedBungalow]

... please go at speed. You're slowing journeys for everyone else for no reason.

Plus, you're wankers.

Couldn’t agree more.
It drives me mad.

I live in Wales and people have actually started driving at 15mph in 20 zones…infuriating.

They probably have a good reason, and the difference in speed makes very little real difference to your journey time.
You really need to look at why it annoys you so much

I live in a part of London where all residential roads/most roads are 20mph and you just get in the habit of driving at that speed. The other day I was driving somewhere else where the limit was 30 in a town and I noticed traffic behind me and realised and sped up. It felt all wrong now to drive at 30 on a residential road!

I do understand your frustration but tbh sometimes this could be me. I live in an area that had 20 limits all over the place and lots of cameras. Some roads flip from 30 to 20 too all the time and my satnav is not updated with the latest limit. Yes I agree I should check the road signs but honestly it’s easier to just do 20 everywhere as the risk of fines is just too great. It’s like the limits constantly changing is just designed to create as many fines as possible.

You can fail your driving test for driving too slow.

I would have agreed when I still worked and had places to go and people to see and stuff to do on precious days off. Now I'm retired and not in a rush, I travel the speed that I choose to and it could well be below the limit and I won't be bullied by someone behind me in a big SUV. Yes, I'm sure I probably do irritate you (as do you me, tbh) but I won't be pushed into something I don't want to do. There's a thread somewhere where Americans are astounded by our 60mph limits on small windy roads - you use common sense and drive at a slower speed, not 60. Anyway, that's neither here no there, just be a bit patient towards others who have a different agenda.

You need to leave earlier if your journey tines are so tight that this is a problem worthy of note to you.

I wish more people would slow down. I'm not going to assume that your assessment of the driving conditions is the right one.
Nobody ever admits to be a careless or aggressive driver do they? And yet we all encounter careless and aggressive drivers every day...

Are you an Evri/DPD/Amazon delivery person??

Do you give a running commentary whilst driving on how bad other drivers are?
Thought so.
I've been a passenger with those types, they're often the worst drivers themselves.

My road out of town is a 60, and regularly people drive along it somewhere between 30 and 40, as if to somehow make us all safer. Someone is gonna drive right through them one of these days. It’s awful.

Also, I’d like to get to work please! If you’re too scared to drive at speed, don’t drive.

Perhaps they have been fined or had points on their driving licence for speeding, or live somewhere where 20mph is the default urban speed limit.

Speeding is a widespread and dangerous problem. Going a bit slowly on a 30 limit road isn’t. Frustrating if you’re in a hurry, but I’d take the opportunity to breeeeeathe and stop stressing about minor BS.

It took a while but there's the ageism.

Leave earlier OP and save the stress. If 3 minutes makes that much difference youyou'cutting it too fine anyway

That’s not going to help if you get stopped for driving too slowly is it? You need to know the limit for the road you’re actually on, not drive at the pace you’re more used to!

It annoys me too, but I try to remember that they may have perfectly valid reasons that I don't know about. Such as, having a passenger with spinal metastases who could only get out of the house in a car but is caused severe pain by going over a bump. Or knowing that despite the speed limit being 40, this is a place and time where deer habitually come out of nowhere and race across the road. I don't think you can draw conclusions about their character or their driving skills, tempting as it is.

Certainly driving consistently below the limit when safe to do drive at the limit would be grounds for a test fail in some countries, as the instructors who taught my kids to drive were keen to point out...

Lack of consideration for other road users, increasing traffic congestion, were a couple of the official reasons for it being the case.
.

Definitely not driving consistently with the conditions of the road is wrong. But i can't get excited over a bit of 20 in a 30 zone. Where my mum lives there are stupid speed bumps, and people swerve dangerously close to (and over) the centre line to make sure they allign with their wheels. That is stupid and dangerous and yet nobody ever gets stopped by the police for it.

There are plenty of people driving in stupid (too fast, too slow, middle lane hoggers, non indicators, last second indicators etc etc) ways. Your main job as a driver is to anticipate the idiocy of the others.

We were once stuck behind one of these on the A1 in Northumberland. Perfect summer conditions and he was doing 35 on a 60 stretch. Elbow resting on the open window, didn't give a crap about the long line of traffic trailing behind him. Dh finally managed to overtake and was swearing at him as we went past. Dh never swears.

i have had two letters for the similar area, driving 35 or so, in 30, i am now more cautious
and agree that perhaps it isnt clear when the change from 20 to 30 is
and who is to say that someone wont cross the road without looking, a dog or a cat even

Perhaps they are like my DH. I'm constantly having to ask him to slow down in a 20 zone, but then when it changes to a 30 zone he goes at the same speed. He honestly has NO speed awareness, and it is more difficult now we have an electric car. I used to be able to judge my speed by the sound of the engine... I can't do that now.

I'm unable to understand how driving below the speed limit is ostentatious.
Do you understand the meaning of limit and ostentatious?

My dad was one of those 35 in a 60 drivers. He was a stubborn git who used to get quite smug at the sight of the long queue of drivers behind us in his mirror. Idiot.

sorry OP, but YOU are responsible for YOUR actions.

If there’s a slow car in front of you, you still need to drive safely. Whilst it is irritating when cars go slowly, if a driver takes risks in overtaking etc, then that’s on them.

It reminds me of people committing crimes/abuse and saying ‘Look what you made me do’.

like my ex husband used to

Yes, you're responsible for your actions - snd that includes driving to the limit according to the road conditions. Every drive you do should be test-worthy - so if you'd fail your test for driving at an arbitrary speed under the limit when there's no good reason for it, then don't.