Slow Motorway Driving

[allmycats]

AIBU to think that if you are driving on the motorway and you are passed by me towing our caravan - bearing in mind that whilst towing said caravan I am restricted to 60mph then you are going too slow. I am getting truly cross with the number of people driving in the slow lane at speeds of circa 50mph - whilst I appreciate that speed limits are not target speeds you need to drive in a manner that is safe and going too slow is just as bad as going too fast. me and my caravan do not like being in the middle lane, causing inconvenience for those behind me when you are simply driving like a tosser in the inside lane at 45-50mph - Rant Over !!

[QueenStromba]

I agree with everyone who's saying that if you can't or won't keep pace with trucks then you shouldn't be on the motorway. Trucks can't just slow down and speed up willy nilly because it takes a lot of time and fuel to accelerate. Also, if they stick behind the people who think they're doing 50 but are actually doing 45 then that will add a lot of time to a long journey. I believe that truckers get their pay docked if they are late?

Driving slower than trucks means that they have to overtake you which means that you are blocking two lanes of motorway every time a truck catches up with you. Very selfish behaviour.

[Raskova]

Where were all you guys when I was talking about 40 being too slow in a 60! I got well and truly told off!

[Abra1d]

I would have been on that thread agreeing with you, Raskova. I am sick of being stuck behind unconfident or just ignorant motorists on our 'main' road into town. Just dawdling along, not looking in their rear mirrors, refusing to pull over to let those of us trying to get to work/the doctor's/the bus drive at a reasonable speed, within the law and according to weather and road conditions.

[scallopsrgreat]

I find myself in the rather strange position of agreeing with just about everyone on this thread. Even those with opposing views

I think its because I've found myself being annoyed at some point in my motorway life with everyone and everything on there. But now I feel like I'm out of the other side and all a bit meh about what other people do! Live and let live.

But those doing less than 40mph are definitely a hazard because you come up on them so unexpectedly fast. And even large heavy vehicles go faster than that and they then have to overtake and all hell breaks loose.

[topknob]

The slow drivers are more dangerous than the ones at the speed limit or close to it (conditions permitting) Everyday I drive on a 60 mph road and almost daily I am held up by some idiot doing 30. There is only one safe place to over take on that road so if traffic is coming the other way I am stuck for the whole road, which I can do in 10 minutes if clear but stuck behind these idiots turns it into 20 mins. They just toddle along, chatting away to the passenger and not paying attention at all.

[SarcyMare]

fully agree about people doing 45 on the motorway, and topknob when i am in a pootle mood i pull over as all my driving is country, and have had other ederly relatives give me weird looks not understanding that going slowly is dangerous as it can and does cause bad overtaking.

[SlowlorisIncognito]

I live in Cornwall, so don't actually drive on motorways that much, but do drive on a lot of A roads where the speed limit is 70. And yes, you do have to be aware of things like farm vehichles driving on these roads- but that is generally fine as you can usually spot them at a distance and prepare to take evasive action.

The slightly lost tourist on the other hand who is doing 40-50 or less- harder to spot and prepare for, so a greater hazard.

There is a reason you can fail or get minors on your driving test for driving too slowly (I think they call it failing to make apropriate progress?), and that is because you are a hazard. I am pretty sure that you would fail if you did 50 in a 70 zone where it was safe to do 70. If possible, you are expected to drive at 65mph or higher.

I do think there are lots of older people who passed their tests when there were a lot less cars on the road, and things like this did not matter quite as much. This is why I think people should be subject to retesting as they get older. My dad has turned into one of those people who drives at 40-50 miles an hour everywhere. He thinks I am an unsafe driver because I drive up to 70 when it is ok to do so. On the other hand, he is the one with points from doing 40 in a 30 zone.

Yes, speed can kill, but this generally applies to areas of slower road, where you might encounter unexpected hazards. For example it is not usually safe to be driving at the speed limit on country lanes, or speeding in a residential area where a child might run out into the road.

[QueenStromba]

Raskova - if yours is the thread I'm thinking of you were talking about windy country roads where it really isn't safe to go 60 but the road has never been given a speed limit and so is national speed limit by default. Very different to going 50 on the motorway.

[Bowlersarm]

(Raskova I was on that thread. It seriously pisses me off that drivers drive at 60 past my house on a windy road which is unsafe to do so. Needlesstosay, many of the speeding fuckers end up through a hedge or upside down on their roof. It is a 60, but only morons would drive at that speed)

[Raskova]

Queen stromba, no I was talking about roads where it's safe to do so. Other people assumed I was talking about roads where it wasn't and that I was forcing people to go faster. Even after I'd corrected people and made myself clear people were still giving me shit about it.

To me, it's selfish to go at a slower speed and hold other people up. I finish work at 4.30 and have a 15-20 minute journey home if everyone drives at the appropriate speed. I pay my childminder until 5 so that I have 10-15 mins leway for any incidents. If I'm stuck behind one of these people that go slow unnecessarily the journey takes me 25-30 mins. This happens more days than it doesn't. I'm missing out on valuable time with my daughter and risking a late fee for these people when I feel allowing almost double the time the journey should take should have been enough. I only get to see my daughter 5-7.30 on a week day and 10 mins in the morning because I work full time. These people eat into that time and it's not fair

[LividofLondon]

When I was doing my IAM advanced driver training many years ago it was a failable offense to drive slower than the speed limit unless road or weather conditions made it unsafe to do so.

[bigdog888]

Absolutely Livid I was taught to make progress as far as the conditions allow and the observation and other skills to achieve this.

[Collaborate]

Near where I live is a dual carriageway that has a speed limit of 40, then 70, then 50, over the course of 3-4 miles. Just before the 70 ends there is a speed camera. The speed limit signs for this section are the Nat speed limit ones (white circle with black diagonal line), which signify 70mph on a dual carriageway and 60 on a single carriageway (for cars). The amount of cars I see driving at 70 but then braking suddenly for no reason when they get to the speed camera is staggering. Must be around half of them.

[MelonadeAgain]

The 50mph motorway drivers are the same ones who, on a two lane motorway, overtake at 50mph and then stay in the overtaking lane at 50mph, causing huge tailbacks, because there is a lorry 2 miles in the far distance. And of course, they think they are driving safely, and it is their self appointed role to ensure everyone else drivers slowly too.

There are quite a few roads round here in between towns with 40mph limits, filled with people driving around 30mph. When its dark these are the same (50 years plus) drivers who immediately speed up to 40-45mph to go through towns. Presumably because there are lights in towns and they can see better...

Then theres the drivers who slow down ridiculously for any minor bend, to 20 or even 15mph, causing a tailback behind them, but who speed up to 60mph on the straight bits where you might safely overtake...

I loved living and driving in Germany. You used to get to places so much quicker when you could do 120mph equivalent on a nearly empty autobahn early in the morning. The lane discipline was excellent - you can be fined for not indicating to change lane or for being in the wrong lane.

[unlucky83]

Collaborate - that's because they think damn it have I missed the signs?
I think all speed camera should have the speed underneath them in great big numbers - especially on roads where it changes often ...
They are a hazard...surprised they cause more accidents than they prevent...
There is a road near my parents which I don't know very well - it is a long A road with empty stretches and stretches with a couple of houses (no lamp posts) and 'villages' that are 30 - there is a a bendy bit (no houses) that is a 30 (but has great big long empty straight stretches at either side that are also 30, empty stretches that are 40 and Nat speed limit (60) then past some of the houses is a 30, some 40 and some 60 ..and it is peppered with speed cameras ...I tend to go past most of the cameras at 30 because there seems to be no reason or pattern for the changes ...and often I'm not 100% sure what the limit is...

[unlucky83]

Melonade - here in Scotland there are some really tight (and narrow) bends on A roads - you really do need to go 15 mph or slower ...but they have signs that light up before warning you to slow down...and one I can think of actually flashes up '10 mph'....
I think that is a fantastic idea because if you don't know the road the word 'slow' in the road could mean anything ...
Near my parents there is a quiet country road - officially a nat speed limit road with two close bends - one is a 2nd gear and one is a 3rd gear ...the locals know they are there and no-one is signposted along those roads. But since sat navs there has been a massive increase in the number of people who have ended up in the hedges...a more major road to that one has a tight bend and they have now reduce the speed limit to 30mph...for the same reason ....