to point out that the national speed limit on a dual carriageway is *70* and not *60*?

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I am sure after the zillion AIBUs about drivers over Christmas this isn't necessary but WHY do some people not know the speed limit?

I know that the speed limit is a limit not a target; I'm fine with people driving at 60 if they think that's the appropriate speed for the road or the conditions. What I'm not fine with is pillocks who slam the breaks on every time they see a speed camera because they're doing 65 and think the limit is 60.

Moaning about this to friends at lunchtime, they did not know that the national speed limit on a dual carriageway is 70, not 60. They've passed their tests, btw, and have been driving for a while.

AIBU to think they're twats and so are the idiots I ended up behind today?

LRD, that Wiki link has me rocking backwards and forwards! If the effing examiner and instructor both didn't know, what chance did I have?!

I'm now brooding that I prob should have passed that test and not had to face everyone in work and my family as a bozo who failed three times.
Could have only been two failures .

Bless you practising that LRD

I was extremely nervous hence why it took me a few goes. I did originally start to learn in the early 90s so maybe that is what I'm thinking of

Interesting, because I learnt to drive about 20 years ago and remember very clearly being told that the National Speed Limit was 30 in areas with street lights, 60 on single carriageways and 70 on dual carriageways and motorways. However, I didn't realise that the term dual carriageway referred to the road being physically split with a reservation between, and not to the number of lanes on each side of the road. So have learnt something useful from this thread!

yule - oh, no! Sorry, it is awful but a little funny too ... your instructor, what a twit!

I had no idea until I looked it up that it hadn't changed - my dad has always told me it changed from 60 to 70 so it's obviously one of those common misconceptions (or wiki is wrong!).

always - I think those of us who took a couple of tries are better drivers in the end.

Or so I like to think ....

I've found 1977 as when it was 70 on dual carriageways. Never was 60. And I found that on the interwebs so it must be true.

Yes erm a couple or 3

I failed my first test, unfairly I thought. I was driving along a narrow road with a cycle lane on my left. Stationary traffic was queuing on the other side of the road. An emergency ambulance was coming up behind, I looked in my left wing mirror, indicated and pulled into the cycle lane so the ambulance could get passed.
I failed for that, appealed and got a free retest - which I passed, thank goodness.

I think failing several times once or twice definitely makes you a better driver .

My little brother took five tries.

My big brother passed first time but has written off three cars in five years.

My dad still managed to claim yesterday that 'the boys are better drivers'.

(Petty feminist, moi?)

fizzy - that sounds totally unfair! Good thing you got the appeal.

I was seriously p'd off. I mean, fair enough, I pulled into a cycle lane but what was the better thing to do? I would have accepted with bad grace the fail if I'd not used my mirror and indicator (and I looked over my shoulder - we lived in Oxford with millions of bikes) but I thought I did it right.

grrrr, so the ambulance could get past not passed - obviously had passed on the brain! :)

Oh, well, if you learned to drive in Oxford you deserve a medal not a pass certificate!

I live there now and it's not, erm, a calm place to drive.

I thought that when there's an ambulance with its siren on, you get out of the way safely and don't worry about lanes. I mean, what would you rather someone did if it was you or your family in the back?!

LRD, you deserve a medal for continuing to drive there! Passing my test was pretty much the last thing I did before moving to ahem another well known university town.

Agreed completely re what to do when an ambulance is approaching. Evidently the driving training bods agreed.

Oh .... I think Cambridge is worse, tbh! But maybe it's familiarity - I'm used to here now.

Cambridge is the pits. If you see a demented woman, pulling her hair out at one of the many sets of traffic lights...it'll be me.

It's very pretty, though.

Not that I imagine that helps you much!

I learnt to drive up north where it is lovely and considerate etc, after a few years lived a carless student life in the netherlands. Came back and had to drive in London on the north circular no less - was madness

LRD - Ahh so you're also in Oxford. It all makes sense

I have to confess to loving Cambridge, except when the brakes failed on my bike when going down the Castle Hill. OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH.
...and laughing when seeing Japanese students cycling down the Mill Road en mass having collected their bikes and not knowing what to do when they saw the roundabout :)

To be fair, I should admit that while Oxford driving is odd, today I've been on my way back from my dear parents' house, so in various parts of the midlands. I have no idea if there's a particular midlands driving characteristic ... I have noticed what you say random about northerners being considerate. I used to live up north and people do give you waves to say thanks far more often IMO.

I have driven in the south, the midlands, and up in the far north. The big difference that I notice is what happens when there is snow.....I've driven when there has been snow (in Scotland) for weeks and weeks on end and when I drove down south when there the snow last winter, well...oh my! I left my car at home and walked because I thought it was dangerous because of people not knowing what to do. 1/2 an inch of snow and they hadn't got a clue, bless them. Admittedly in was in a part of the country that hadn't had snow like that for 30 or 40 years, my uncle lives there and has done all his life.

LRD - no you didn't sound impatient, more sanctimonious, like a driver who has only just passed their test.

Did you read about the bloke who pulled into a 'dead' bit of road, inching through some traffic lights (all the other traffic was stationary) to enable an ambulance to get through - he was given a ticket!! Fucking ridiculous.

Rubyrubyruby - the thing is, it is not always easy (around here anyway) to work out if you are on a DC or not - so should you be at 60, or is 70 OK? There is another stretch here that appears to be a DC but my friend got a tkt for speeding, the cop said that the bit in the middle isn't wide enough to be classed at a central reservation??... then another stretch is actually 3 lanes in each direction - barriers in the middle, very few roads off of it, no buildings etc and it's 40...?? (there is a sign).

More sings wouldn't hurt and might help. They could recycle some of the unnecessary ones listed above

The snow is funny. Dh has only ever lived in the SE, he didn't know that you need to clear the snow whilst it is fresh - I howled with laughter at him, he didn't believe me that it would be easier than the next day when it had frozen etc. Actually he didn't even know how to make a snowman