To think that 40 in a 60 is too slow

[TwittyMcTwitterson]

Ok, so you're driving on a country road. The speed limit is 60. It has officially been deemed as safe to drive at 60. So why do so many people tootle along at 40 or less??? That's 2/3rds of the safe speed for that road and the limit safe for a lot of residential areas. If you do my feel safe driving at that speed then don't use the road! I'm fed up of getting caught behind Sunday drivers!!!

Apparently so brooncoo, although not sure if it varies council to council.

But those conditions hardly ever apply to country roads. Most of them aren't straight and don't have good visibility.

But no one has said everyone should charge along at 60, everyone has said they take the road and conditions into account

I'm sure the rural roads here are like rural roads everywhere - some of it straight and clear, with some gentle curves, a few twists and turns, some bits have high banks and you can't see round the corner. I speed up when it's straight and clear and slow down when it's not. I don't do the whole lot at 40

Thank you select. You've put it perfectly!!!

The opening post doesn't say that, Stinklebell.

The OP says in effect that if a road has been deemed a 60 mph limit, then that is the speed everyone should drive at, and no less.

YANBU
These are probably the same people who hog the middle lane of a motorway! Or slow down to nearly a halt when turning into a junction, or when going through a green traffic light 'just in case it turns red' xx

OP, if you tell us the road you're talking about, we can have a look at it and tell you whether or not yabu. Otherwise, you've got people making comparisons with the roads they live on and they might be completely different in terms of the speed at which you can drive on them.

I only passed my test last year but am amazed every day by people's behaviour in cars. I live in a 20mph zone and drive from this, through a 30mph zone, then a 40, then a NSL major A road to get to dd's school. Every single day somebody overtakes me at speed in the 30 or 40 area. Particularly galling, is the fact that they think that as soon as you can see the NSL signs in the distance, you can speed up. That's where most of them overtake. And then 200 yards later, I sit behind them at a roundabout. It's pointless and silly and in less than a year I've seen several near misses with oncoming traffic and one actual accident when they do this. I am tailgated regularly, people pull out in front of me, people don't give cyclists room, edge through lights before they've changed, rev their engines at pedestrians on a crossing and on and on and on.

I realised pretty quickly that what you have to do is not let what other people are doing affect you. I give the benefit of the doubt where appropriate (I can do 50 on our local NSL country roads as this is safe but they have high hedges and deceptive bends and I appreciate that those unfamiliar with them will be doing around 40). Otherwise, I ignore and make allowances which keep me safe. Except for people with their fog lights on. They drive me absolutely batty, sitting behind me with their bloody fairy lights twinkling in a blinding fashion. Is it foggy? No. Turn your lights off.

But Bowlersarm the OP has clarified several times that she doesn't mean we all should drive at the speed limit regardless, and taken back the deemed safe comment, Select has posted some of them above

Has it ever occurred to you that some people might not know the road as well as you OP?

Lack of daylight can be a factor too. If you are driving in the twilight or before the sun is up you have to accept that to drive safely some people have to go slower than you. My night vision is pretty bad and I typically drive about 10-20 mph slower when light is poor than in full daylight.

Ive not been driving long in the great scheme of things, but I have found it helpful to assume everyone else on the road is an idiot
(This is especially true in the summer where I live)

I live on a rural road, drive a 55 mile commute across the peak district to work and was recently hit head on by another drive who drifted accross the road into my path, I also see a lot of accidents on my way to work - particularly in winter. So maybe I am biased.

BUT in 5 years of rural commuting I have learnt that once you factor in other road users, people pulling out, tractors etc, trying to drive at a faster pace makes little or no difference to your arrival time, but a much higher difference to your stress levels and likelyhood of an accident. It is a fools assumption that it is either beneficial or safe to do so.

As I posted up thread, last year I was hit head on at 35mph, by a driver doing 30. At a combined impact speed of 65mph, 3 months on he is still in hospital - at a combined impact speed of 120mph we would both have died at the scene.

I was doing the school run - no children on board at the time thankfully, and it wasnt my fault - he just drifted accross the white line into my path.

It really doesnt matter how good a driver you think you are, it can happen to anyone - but if you dont think it could happen to you, you are fooling yourself.

So, based on my experience, my advice is to take a chill pill and please slow down

Well, many roads where I live are a 60 but you'd have to be a total idiot to drive at 60 on them.

Also, as a horse rider, I couldn't think of anything worse than having you speeding around the corner at an unsuitable speed. I would also hope you wouldn't fancy my horse on your bonnet and my bloodied mangled body on your lap. But as long as you get to your destination 2 minutes quicker than you would by being sensible eh?

YABVU

"It has officially been deemed as safe to drive at 60"

^^ just wrong. It is UNclassified. Nobody has said what speed is safe and what is not. There is merely a blanket assumption that over 60mph would be too fast for even the best of single carriageway roads. On all other unclassified roads, it is for the driver to judge what is safe. This could quite easily often be 40mph. I think all this "knowing the road" is a bit of a red herring. Yes, you might know the bends, but you still don't know what horse/ tractor/ pedestrian is round it and in the road. A straight section with good visibility on a dry day might warrant 60mph but that will be the exception and not the rule.

Listen to elastamum and take a chill pill. Going at 40mph on the few straight stretches where you might otherwise do 60mph will make almost no difference to your journey time. Even assuming it is the WHOLE way (impossibly unlikely) and is, say quite a reasonably long at 20 miles, then you would get there only 10 minutes quicker at 60mph than at 40mph. In reality it would be more like 4 or 5 minutes. Is that such a big deal? Honestly?

Thanks Prof .

The big thing that my accident taught me is that even if it isnt your fault - it is YOUR SPEED ON IMPACT that is the biggest predictor of survival

I once got a very nasty bump on the head, the car hit me from behind was probably only doing ten mph. My head hit the steering wheel, and I had the headache from hell.

As I posted up thread, last year I was hit head on at 35mph, by a driver doing 30. At a combined impact speed of 65mph, 3 months on he is still in hospital - at a combined impact speed of 120mph we would both have died at the scene.

Did you say you have an XC90? I would think at 60mph there would be a good chance of survival if you hit a solid immovable object - therefore head on into a lighter vehicle also travelling at 60 would make your survival more likely.

I do drive an XC90, but even so the force involved in a combined head on where both cars are doing 60mph is likely to result in at least one fatality. The body simply isnt designed for such rapid decceleration and it is possible to rupture internal organs, and do significant spinal damage, just by the impact force even when wearing a seatbelt.

FWIW, after my car continued going forwards to a stop, despite extensive damage, (only 3 wheels left, detonated airbags). The other car spun off my bonnet and was then hit by 2 other cars behind him who could not stop in time. The front end of it was totally destroyed. This was a combined impact speed of only 65mph. I still feel terrible about what happened to the other driver, even though he was to blame.

But its really not the point is it. IMO based on experience, high speed on rural roads just isnt worth the risk.

Also, the police have said to me that the only reason that it wasnt much much worse, was that neither of us were going particularly fast. They spend their lives scraping people of he rural roads where I live.

I do drive an XC90, but even so the force involved in a combined head on where both cars are doing 60mph is likely to result in at least one fatality 2 cars head on at 60 is the same as one car into a concrete block at 60 BTW.

ConfusedPixie

Hello!

Part of my commute is Ditchling Beacon. It's a national speed limit road so a 60 stretch, yet the entire thing is a loop de loop at a very steep angle. It is not appropriate to drive 60 on it (tbh, 30 is pushing it as it's all blind corners)

Yes! I did this every week when I was learnign to drive! It still scares the bejeezers out of me.

It should be more like 40.

Great example if anyone knows it.

Sorry, but that it isnt true if one car is heavier than the other.

Also, the fatality rate is much higher in head on collisions because of what happens afterwards. Unlike a test crash collision, cars dont just stop in a straight line, they spin, flip, get hit by other road users. The forces involved arent neat and this is what causes injury.

Not the point really though. Speed on rural roads still kills and wont get you there significantly faster

Wow! Pity any novice / careful/ lost/ driver who gets in front of this OP. Mustn't stop her on her speed to work as she trashes her way through the country roads.
I was fascinated by the experience of driving in the USA. I drove on a mix of rural roads, motorways and built up areas. I hardly ever saw anyone seriously speeding, everyone stops dead at stop signs ( which are all over the roads). 45mph on dual carriageways in places and outside a school low speed limits strictly enforced. I had expected it to be a nightmare driving but because people seem to be so aware (very little tailgating etc) I found driving remarkably stress free. this was in Florida admittedly - suspect New York may be a different matter - but it just seems that either there are fewer selfish / thoughtless drivers like the OP or that their behaviour is kept in check by the rules?

The country lanes around here are full of horse riders, cyclists, tall hedges and blind bends. It's a 60 limit but I don't fancy having a horse or bike imprint on my bonnet. I doubt they would want their day/lives to be ruined with my 'need' to go at the max speed for those roads so I go at a far more sensible speed for those roads :-)

Elastamum, I would agree with you completely if you had inserted the word "some". High speed on some rural roads just isn't worth the risk. One person's "rural road" is a narrow twisty high-hedged hazard waiting to happen. Another's is wide and smooth with shallow sweeping curves and good visibility. I think we're all in agreement that insisting at driving at the NSL along the former is reckless, but there is no good reason not to do so on the latter if other conditions allow.

sarine1 are you being deliberately rude or have you just not bothered to read the whole thread? The OP has qualified her initial statement on a number of occasions which makes it perfectly obvious she is not thoughtlessly hellbent on trashing through the country roads at the NSL regardless of conditions.