to think that if I'm doing the speed limit people shouldn't be overtaking me because I have a tiny car?

[Wigglewoo]

Ok this is a ranty one.

I drive a fiat - like the inbetweeners car. It has an 899cc engine.

When I'm driving along at 60mph - as I did this morning - I always seem t get some utter twat driving up my bum as close as they can as if they assume I'm not driving fast enough in my little car. And several times this week I've had people approach a roundabout behind me, then use the lane to the right tovertake and pull in front of me when going straight ahead!!!! Totally fucked off with it now...!

When I drive my mums larger car I never have this even when driving the same speeds etc.


Grrrrrrrrrrr!


I wish people wouldn't assume my car can't keep up with the speed limits just ebecause its small! More often than not I end up stuck behind the car that overtook me!

[LRDtheFeministDude]

I do think many people are twits and will overtake someone doing the speed limit for stupid reasons. If they're stupid enough to speed they're probably stupid enough to overtake for no reason.

But - forgive me, I am just checking as it's a pet hate - the national speed limit on a dual carriageway/moterway is 70. It is not 60. So people's reactions will depend on what road you're on and how safe different speeds are on that road.

[montage]

Yesterday the woman in front of me on the roundabout seemed to realise she had missed her turn.

So she stopped, reversed and - when she couldn't get back far enough to the previous exit due to my car sitting behind her where I had slammed on my brakes, she reversed into the inner lane, manoeuvred round my car and went on her merry way.

I felt the need to share that.

[GrimmaTheNome]

My first car was a Nissan Micra - used to get cut up all the time. I used to drive on a road on which it was often necessary to overtake farm vehicles, nobs would tailgate me and then zoom out the moment it was safe for me to overtake and I'd remain stuck. Nobs. Oh, did I mention they were nobs?

Next car was a Cavalier - amazing how much more courteous road users suddenly became.

[Fakebook]

What's the point of having a car with a 899cc engine? You're better off buying a motorbike with the same engine size and overtaking/weaving lthrough to overtake big and small cars.

[ViviPru]

Yeh I agree with eurochick too, (fellow powerful car driver here) but sympathise to some extent - when I'm in the van, people assume I'm going to be slow so pull out in front of me etc, then crawl along. They don't realise that an empty transporter is pretty much a fast golf. And I'm going to drive the same as I do in my beast; safe, abiding by the law, but rapid. (For the most part )

[BoneyBackJefferson]

HmmThinkingAboutIt
"hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman Sun 03-Jun-12 09:59:37
Is your speedo bang on accurate though?

You've obviously never driven a small car. I very much doubt there is anything wrong the speedo"

If you have a decent GPS/SatNav run it against that, your speedo will be incorrect. It has nothing to do with whether the speedo is wrong, they just have to be within tolerance.

OP

the MOT does not check the speedo.

[Plomino]

We have two cars here , the Discovery which is DH's , but I drive all the time I'm at home , and my own car which is a 1.2 seat Ibiza , which he refuses to drive (yay! ) because it is completely gutless and turns every overtaking manoeuvre into hard work unless you give it two weeks written notice and a downhill slope to do it on . And a pat on the dashboard after. It's my main commuting car , and does a 200 mile round trip to work and back at least 3 times a week. I get overtaken all the time in that even though I'm dead on the speed limit .

Curiously , I don't tend to get cut up so much in the works company BMW . But that might be down to the battenburg markings now plastered down the side .

[EndoplasmicReticulum]

This used to happen to me when I drove my husband's old-man-car. In that case though I did understand, it did 0-60 in about 20 minutes!

[BookFairy]

I think I'm the only person who adheres to the 30mph speed limit in my town. I had my first micra written off by a speeding male driver and now drive very defensively. If some douche wants to overtake I just watch them go - I do like to give them a wave when I pop up behind them at the traffic lights!

[sundaywriter]

yabu to drive a fiat, it's not a car it's a cupcake

[MrsKeithRichards]

you're acceleration will be shit, I don't speed but I like to get to my speed quickly

[MrsKeithRichards]

your

[BookFairy]

Genuine question MrsKeithRichards : Why?

Not meant in a PA way!

[mathanxiety]

If you're on a motorway you really need to get your speed up fast. Pegging along while other traffic has to get around you is dangerous.

[Tincletoes]

Zombie thread but agree its probably not your speed. How old is your car? Is it a diesel? Because I have overtaken old diesels before, simply because I am utterly fed up of being smoked out

[BookFairy]

Oh yes on a motorway it's necessary. I meant around town and areas with a 30mph speed limit. If I'm slowed down slightly by a learner I just go with the flow, but other drivers seem to take it as a personal affront and overtake as soon as possible so they can zoom off into the distance.... then get caught at the lights!

[YellowTulips]

Like other posters have said its not just about doing the speed limit, but how long you take to get there (assuming your speedo is accurate, which many aren't).

My mum for example drives me mad with this, accelerating at snail's pace to usually a good 5/10 mph below the limit and then wondering why even tractors are tempted to overtake .

I have had small cars in the past when I was younger and yes this happened to me, despite having a pretty heavy right foot. Yes it was annoying, but I have to confess to being on the "dark side" now I have a stupidly extremely fast car and do tend to overtake (when safe to do so!) cars that can't accelerate as fast. Why? Because I can and I'm impatient - I confess...

Take comfort in the fact I probably only arrive at my destination a few minutes before you and your petrol bills are probably 3 times less - might make you a bit less annoyed

[YellowTulips]

I'd guess the OP has a Fiat 500 twinair. Even though the engine is small the performance is actually well within average acceleration speeds (0-62 mph in about 11 seconds).

It's a good car that has had great reviews. The issue is how hard she is pressing her right foot to get up to speed and if her speedo is accurate.

Might be wrong of course but in this case the engine size shouldn't be an issue as posters up thread have suggested.

[Permanentlyexhausted]

It isn't just small cars that get this treatment. You get the same response if you drive with a roofbox on.

But, ha ha sucker - my car has impressive acceleration and an empty roofbox ain't going to slow me down that much. I love watching them have to tuck back in behind me at the end of the dual-carriageway because I wasn't going as slow as they thought I would be.

And, yes, I know I shoud really take the roofbox and bars off my car when we get home from our hols.

[MrsKeithRichards]

Why? Because when the limit is 60 and the conditions (stupidity slow accelerator in front excluded) are safe to do so then I want to do 60. Not 40for a bit, then 45 then maybe even reaching the dizzy heights of 56 before the long slow down at the next roundabout, and repeat.

[fiverabbits]

When my DH towed a caravan he found it didn't matter what speed he was doing or the speed limit everyone just had to overtake whether it was safe or not. He was overtaken by a HGV when he was doing 55 mph on a dual carriageway but it couldn't get enough speed to complete it when the road changed to single carriageway with traffic coming the other way. The HGV broke hard forcing my DH to swerve and the car and caravan ended up on the grass verge. Luckily DH, 2DC and myself were alright but we had to sit there for 20 minutes until DH stopped shaking. The HGV didn't even stop.

[Disappearing]

Recently I had a few days of driving a much bigger, faster car than usual, it was all kitted out with go-faster bodywork, and is the sort of thing that would be stolen-to-order for ram raiding. It was amazing the difference in other drivers behaviour towards me, almost avoidant/deferential (well not everyone, obviously, but enough so that I really noticed a change). My usual car does have an image problem, and its type is usually driven by very sensible older people. Of course the improved car performance did help occasionally with overtaking, e.g. if accelerating up a steep slip road with 2 lanes, I could take the outer one with ease. My usual car performs perfectly well (has 100hp I think) but this is all relative.

I think certain stereotypes hold true to a large extent when it comes to driving and car types, e.g. black BMW with lowered suspension and extra body-kit is much more likely to be driven aggressively and up-yer-rear-end than, say, a small Toyota.

[Avuncular]

LoL you've made my year montage

[trixymalixy]

Another point which no one has mentioned is are you sure of the speed limit on the road? The route to DS's school is a long straight wide road and it's national speed limit, but without fail every morning I get stuck behind someone who clearly has not noticed the change in speed limit and thinks it's still 30.

[Avuncular]

Hi fiverabbits - I'm afraid DEFENSIVE DRIVING is the answer - you need to look ahead and maybe think - see the problem coming and pull back /ease off the gas ; just let the HGV in. Maybe the HGV driver just misjudged things. (Highway Code Rule 147)

I'd rather be behind and alive than ahead and DEAD!

But I must admit on the whole I find towing a caravan quite relaxing ..... there's never anyone ahead (tee hee)*. ..... Happy New Year everyone.

• yes I do check my mirrors when towing, and try to let queues past when there is the chance!