JUST BECAUSE THERE IS A SPEED CAMERA ON 50MPH ROAD

[NotYoMomma]

Does NOT mean you should drop your speed to 35MPH!!!!

Ianbu!

HATE this, seriously why do 50, traffic moving nicely and then bang on the break just as you go past?!

Note I didn't nearly crash but we had to slow right down and of course it was muggins here who got stuck at the next set.of traffic lights of doom

GRrrr twitch

I did get annoyed with a driver last week. We had some drizzle (not heavy rain by any means) but the spray from the road made visibility in side/rear mirrors poor.

On an A road, it was perfectly safe to do 60+ as long as you kept well back from the car in front. I say this because stretches of this road are in disrepair, with random potholes, and because there are parts of the road which are slippery.

I got stuck behind someone doing 43mph. For two miles. I wanted to go past them but was prevented from doing so by the actions of other drivers - some of whom were in the fast lane doing 70+ (I couldn't get enough speed to get past driver in front and out of their way), and by people who didn't have their lights on and therefore suddenly loomed out of the spray at speed.

Thankfully I was taking a slip road and was able to get away from the madness.

My mother should be on your list. She drives me crackers. I refuse to get in a car with her anymore.
She drives 20 mph everywhere doesnt see why its a problem and gets irritated by people tailgaiting her because of it. Smugly proclaiming how safe she is because she is going under the limit and what idiots they are. ...
On motorways she insists on sitting in the left hand lane going 50 mph, thereby causing a sine wave effect of traffic behind her as they all are forced into 2 lanes to get past her.
If you are in a car with her she is so busy chatting or commenting on the radio talk programme that she will drive the wrong way up streets, yet will brake at lights that are green (as they will be going yellow soon) and god forbid she should go through a light on amber.
If there is a speed camera she will slow down even though she is already under the speed limit anyway.

She bloody scares me, because she totally fails to see the problems she causes to other drivers around her, but as far as she is concerned she is a good driver because she has no points on her license.

It is scary that people slam on the brakes because they don't know what the speed limit actually is. Surely you should almost always know.

There are some exceptions. for example, I hate those stretches of road where it's ambiguous what the limit is (usually because the signs have gone missing). You know, those occasional stretches of road where there are street lamps and seem to be no signs but then once you've been driving along for a while some signs (small ones, not large ones indicating a change) appear and it turns out that the limit is more than 30. Then you feel bad because you assumed it must be 30 (due to the street lamps) and have been driving along really slowly pissing off all the locals who know what the limit is even though the signs have gone.

Craggy, I will have you know, that in my 29 years driving, I have never had an accident or caused one! I can spot an idiot a mile away, maybe you're one of them. I have no points, never been fined either. So sod off.

Good/excellent whatever you want to call it. I'd use good where you might use excellent. Although where conditions are truly excellent I'd be expecting to be exceeding the limit.

Meddle: smug people who believe that they are going quite fast enough (at 20) for everyone else are very very annoying. I can totally see why you can't get in the car with your mum.

My step-dad is a very annoying driver, and even manages to drive me mad when I'm not in a car with him. We'll be going somewhere and he'll be following me in his car, but he'll insist on driving really, really slowly (20-25 in a 30 area; 50 when the limit is 70 and the conditions are absolutely brilliant). So I have to slow down so as not to lose the bugger. And then he slows down even further. He also leaves so much space between you and him on any road that other cars (and even lorries that have overtaken him because he's going so bloody slowly) keep pulling in to the gap. By the time you get wherever you were going your blood is boiling.

Melika. You don't need to look miles to spot an idiot. Look in the mirror lol. If you don't know the speed limit and have to slam on the brakes you are both dangerous and driving without due care and attention. You are downright lucky you have not caused an accident ( that you know about!) or have any points

Well you don't seem to have spotted that her name is Crabby, so what with that and your inability to identify a speed limit, you're not really convincing us of your observation skills in any respect...

Melika I've not got any points either but I don't slam on my brakes at a speed camera because I know what the speed limit is.

OP - YANBU.

Of course I know the bloody speed limit!!!!

But sometimes it catches you unaware and there are no signs. There are roads that suddenly change from 50 to 30. I won't be called a bad driver because I am not.

Just to clarify what I meant.... When conditions allow I.e good visibility, dry and if the weight of traffic allows (so I can leave appropriate space for right braking distance) I will drive at the speed limit, but only then. My bug bear is the drivers (my dp included) who scream and rant and flash their lights when driving behind anyone who dares drive any lower despite obvious safety issues like wet roads. I agree it's not courteous to impede other drivers for no good reason, so if its safe I will drive at an appropriate speed (in the correct lane too!)

I only ever slow down to way below the speed limit if a) the conditions require it or if b) there is a nobber up my arse who wants me to drive faster and thinks s/he's more qualified to take decisions about what I do with my car than I am and is entitled to put all of us at risk in the event of having to stop suddenly.

I just get slower and slower when people do that. Keep your distance and I'll drive at the speed limit (unless it's poor visibility or something). Tailgate me and I'll get slower and slower until you either back off or overtake me.

Well, sorry, but you're describing bad driving if you brake because you didn't know the limit. Of course there are roads that suddenly change from 50 to 30, but unless the sign has actually been removed, there will be a sign. Or regular lamposts. So you should know. You described it as if it were routine for you to break at speed cameras - if that's true, and you don't mean, you've done it one or twice on the rare occasion a sign had been removed, you're not safe.

I hate tailgaters.

Speed cameras are about generating money from law abiding drivers. They are not about reducing accidents. I wouldn't be surprised if they actually caused an increase in accidents due to the situation the OP describes, where drivers are driving well, using sound judgement to set a safe speed, and then brake fiercely to avoid a fine for going above the arbitrary speed limit.

I bet those "slow down" LED signs, and those "you are doing 35/ 34/33 mph, thank you" signs are more effective.

but they don't make money.

They are there just to generate money, nothing more nothing less and they are simply a pita for drivers.
Funny how in all the dangerous areas theres not a camera to be seen!

mrscosmopolite On an A road, it was perfectly safe to do 60+ as long as you kept well back from the car in front. I say this because stretches of this road are in disrepair, with random potholes, and because there are parts of the road which are slippery.

and

you got annoyed by someone driving at 43 mph infront of you in the rain whilst admitting the rain was causing problems with visibility

Fool.

Of course I know the bloody speed limit!!!!

But sometimes it catches you unaware and there are no signs. There are roads that suddenly change from 50 to 30. I won't be called a bad driver because I am not

OMG. Those that refuse to admit their failings and say they are a good driver are the worst.

Melika. It's quite simple. If you do not know the speed limit, by law you are driving without due care and attention. You are just the sort of driver we should be worried about, hitting the brakes for no good reason other than their own incompetence.

I hate tailgaters too. I don't drive slower though - two wrongs don't make a right. I just ease back a little further from the car in front of me so if the numpty behind does do something daft, I've got more time and space in which to react.

How many people who boast they have clean licenses and have never had an accident ever check how many they have seen in the rear view mirror.

My neighbour is very fond of saying well I've never had an accident but just on the short bit of road by our houses they have caused in excess of 5 in the last 5 years

I drive slower if someone tailgates me. Not to annoy them, but because it is safer to slow down. Idiot drivers are a part of the road conditions generally, so if one is tailgating me, then I adjust my driving accordingly. I do not want them running in to the back of me if I have to stop or slow down suddenly (because you never know), so the only thing I can do is adjust my speed to ensure that the distance between us is safe.

Bleurgh, I've just read my last comment back and nearly vommed at how unbearably smug/preachy I sound - sorry!

I HATE drivers who think it is their job to teach others how to drive

Fuckoffski

its a speed LIMIT, you can drive AT that speed. Otherwise you are causing more of a hazard

That's the thing Melika I'm fairly sure that when there are speed cameras, there is a requirement for speed signs (& camera warning signs) in the vicinity because, otherwise, any driver 'caught' would be able to appeal the fine on the basis of being unaware of the limit. So baring vandalism, a speed camera usually means good signage, therefore, by definition, no need for sudden braking. You should be slowing at the speed limit change, NOT at the camera...

I would just like to clarify a few things

This was a dual carriageway and perfect conditions.

e car in front had been doing about 48/ 50 so within the law toward the upper limit, as was I

was a.safe distance and would have been able to stop if required

No windey roads or adverse weather, if there were I would have adjusted my speed accordingly

I am objecting to suddenly slowing down when you were within the law in the first place. There is absolutely no need at all, especially when you then speed up again when you pass the camera

THAT IS bad driving