learner drivers: I know IBVU but still...

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lately I have found that the learner drivers along a specific stretch of road are agonisingly going ridiculously slow.

the speed limit is national but due to the bends it's rare to find anyone stupid enough to go 60, but most still travel about 40-50. but the past few times driving I have had to travel between 15 and 20 mph the entire stretch. it's a good four miles of road but I remember my driving instructor pushing me to go faster as I had to get used to it, but on more then one occasion I see the instructor admiring the view!!!

its stupidly annoying and I know I'm being unreasonable but during this time of year when it gets colder in the evenings and people are in a rush to get home it can cause accidents!

sorry, rant over

Crappy instructors are quite happy to give little encouragement as it means more lessons and therefore more money for them! I learned with an independant and then switched to the AA and the difference was amazing. The AA have people on waiting lists to learn to drive and want the satisfaction of people passing their tests.

It's potentially dangerous to have learners all over their brakes doing 20-30 in a 60 zone as it makes other drivers act irrationally, drive too close and perform risky overtakes.

Baileys where does the op say she was speeding or ramming into other drivers? You've made quite a leap there!!

As you know, YABU - it's only fair that we pay forward the understanding that decent motorists showed to us when we were learning, and doing so is the best way to stick two fingers up at the selfish dickwads who made learning to drive so nerve-wracking to begin with .

Everybody has to start somewhere, and a lot of people can only build up to the correct speed on an unfamiliar type of road by starting slowly and increasing gradually. I'm very grateful to all of the people who were so understanding when I limped around our village for the first few times (and yes, I did take care to choose quiet times of day to practice, and always let motorists past as quickly as possible even if it meant that I had to drive the wrong way for a bit). And when I see broken down cars in the hard shoulder on Xmas Day, I regularly hope that one of them contains the guy who beeped me for being cautious-but-not-overcautious at a roundabout on my first time driving my own car, or the lady who pulled up next to me to berate me as though it was my fault when my instructor's car broke down at some traffic lights...

it is a main road, the only road that travels from the main city to multiple towns. there is enough space for two double Decker buses to drive ( which happens often). I can understand nervousness when driving towards your first bus, but it's not a continuous thing.

As stated, I drove the road On my second lesson and was told to drive faster so that I wasn't a hazard.
I wouldn't ever overtake on this stretch of road even in my own car and I am patient enough to drive behind at whatever speed, but when a line forms behind and an impatient driver tries to overtake which can cause an accident, I too could potentially be involved in the accident. This becomes a big thing in my eye's and all because the instructor isn't pushing for the learner to drive faster then twenty.

I don't understand how you would blame the instructor or leaner for not going fast enough when it is clearly the person who has overtaken at blame and causes the accident.

This happened to my friend, she was overtaken and ended up in hospital. The driver of the car that had overtaken ended up being banned so the court clearly agree it would be the overtaking driver at fault, not the car going slow.

So, it's dark and winding and you want a learner driver to speed up so you don't get cold...?

In that case, yanbu. And I only passed my test a year ago, so am still quite sympathetic to learners!

Baileys I'll say it again. Not sure where you're getting all this from the op. Nowhere does she say she's overtaking, speeding or hitting anyone else. Obviously I'm sorry your friend was in an accident but hardly fair to project that on the op

If you read the post before me she has said a learner could cause an accident by forcing a driver to overtake and therefore putting the blame on the overtaking driver.

And where did she say this happened in the dark soupdragon?

The op has stated consistently that she drove safely behind these learners but that she found them irritating.

And if you read your first post on this thread you specifically said she was speeding round corners and ramming into other drivers!

You really seem like you are just trying to start an argument with anyone who is willing to listen to you. Goodbye.

All I am saying is I would blame the overtaking driver.

The learner would become a hazard by not driving at a reasonable speed to the speed limit given to the road. national speed limit designates the road as being safe enough to drive at up to 60mph. I personally wouldn't dare push 50, but there are drivers who would. If a learner chooses to drive a slow speed On a main road which can cause other drivers to become irritable and impatient that they overtake, although I wouldn't personally, and an accident is caused I would argue that the instructor would be at fault for becoming a hazard On a main stretch of road when the learner is not prepared or confident at those speeds.

here is another question...if the learner isn't confident enough to drive faster then their awareness of the road can come into question ( on the basis they might not have learnt emergency stop or they could freeze up easily). with that in mind if an accident were to occur, the learner could be putting their lives at risk by not being able to respond quickly or in best interest making the accident potentially worse. the fault, I argue, is with the instructor for allowing learner to drive before ready on a faster road?

I don't think very nervous beginners should be learning in busy areas during rush hour. It's not fair on commuters already coping with heavy traffic as they try to get into work on time or get home at the end of a long day. I think they should have gained a bit of confidence before being brought out at peak traffic times and be capable of driving at a reasonable pace.

Of course the overtaking driver would be to blame. Just that the op never said she would even dream about overtaking so accusing her of speeding and ramming into other drivers seems rather unfair

But yeah. Ok. Bye!

The constant braking really bugs me. It's like a little security blanket. A car pulls out 100 yards ahead while the learner is doing 20mph and they (learner) brake very hard, causing the person behind them to brake hard. Even if you're leaving a decent gap, you still have to come to an almost complete stop if the person in front of you does. I've seen this loads of times and the instructors need to put a stop to it before it causes an accident. It's not confident driving, nor is it being able to judge braking distances, both of which you meed to do in order to pass your test.

Blink - NSL in many case doesn't mean that it's theoretically safe to drive up to 60mph. It may mean that a speed safety study hasn't been undertaken (because they're expensive) and the onus is on the driver to judge what speed (up to 60 on a single carriageway, obvs) is reasonable, based on environmental factors.

Tulip - FGS, if they were ready to pass their test, they'd already have done so! You learn to judge braking distances through practice, just as you learn to drive confidently though practice. Obviously unnecessarily harsh braking isn't good - even the learner knows that without being told, but they need time to develop better judgment and control. (It can also depend on the car: I never mastered it in my first instructor's Mini Cooper, whereas I was fine immediately in my replacement instructor's Citroen C3...)

Sorry, that should be "in many cases..." And I was given that information by DH (trained in highways engineering), and had it confirmed by my current instructor, so I presume it's accurate.

Hmmm maybe a bit snsitive as I am a learner but I don't think we should not be able to drive in peak hours!! I would have no othe time time to learn to drive! 5:30 - 7:30 on a weds is my slot and I still get grief from work having to leave on time once a week....

pinksticks - I agree with you . (That said, I do think that learners in cars without dual controls should probably be restricted to off-peak times just to help minimise accidents - aside from anything else, it's so nerve-wracking to be at the front of a long queue of impatient drivers that I think it probably results in a lot of silly and dangerous mistakes).

I'm a learner and just remind yourself you were one too. YABVU and I hope they go even slower for you next time.

Can I just point out that the Highway Code says you shouldn't allow a long queue to build up behind you, if you are in a slow moving vehicle? So the onus is on the learner/instructor to find some way of dissipating the queue, either by speeding up if confident to do so, or pulling over to allow the queue to pass.

I can see that it wouldn't be practical for all learners to avoid peak times, but again the instructor should be sensible about which roads and conditions the learner is driving under, and build up gradually to busy and fast roads at peak times.

Aww we all had to learn so give them a break!

I do give them a break, I don't normally mind learners and often if they hold me up at traffic lights find I just chuckle remembering how hard I found it. I just find it a bit annoying along a four mile stretch of road where they are driving slower then can be argued as safe.