To think you can't just trundle along at any old speed you fancy...

[TallulahTwinkletoes]

I fully expect to get flamed for this because I know I'm a tad over the top about this but it's my pet hate so here goes.

If say be gentle but I know this is the wrong place for that

I drive a lot. Every day I drive on a road that's technically a country road as there are fields either side but it's more than wide enough and not too windy. This road is followed by two straight roads. These are all national speed limit roads.

This is comfortably attainable with a few corners on the country road where 50 is a better speed. Obviously various weathers call for different speeds. I was behind a double decker bus doing 50 down there today.

The last few days I have been stuck behind people doing 35-40. Today the lady flashed at me when I finally get chance to overtake.

They way I see it is if you are driving so slow on the roads either
A) you are unaware of the speed limit/unable to follow basic road signs and therefore shouldn't be driving
B) do not feel comfortable driving at an appropriate limit for the road and therefore shouldn't be driving.

I know it's a limit not a target but you fail your driving test if you 'fail to progress' so they shouldn't be driving like this.

It's the principle that they don't care about anyone's time frame or how they affect other people. They just trundle along deciding what speed they want to go at and not giving a fuck.

We all have bad days where we mess up roundabouts and misjudge but Jesus Christ, if you can't drive at 60 in a straight line...

I grew up in the arse end of nowhere in the North, complete with speedy farmers and roadkill dinners.

I now live in the West Country. Plenty of tractors here but not quite the same level of dead wildlife.

I've never once seen anything bigger than a badger be killed. I'm not really sure what to say but you've made me chuckle

Don't get me wrong, I'd hate to hit anything and it's sad when you see dead creatures on the road. But it's quite funny in retrospect to think of my dad arriving home with a deer.

He hung it up in the coal shed for a week, and it bloody stunk when my mum cooked it. I think venison does just smell quite funky though.

We were an earthy kind of household.

yes jaded..some animals just don't know the Highway Code..

At least the rabbit could see where they were going

Why doesn't it wan tae go in the grass?

Cause it's full of wee beasties.

I know the thread has gone a bit off topic, but YANBU. I think the not slowing down in villages thing might be because often in villages the road is actually straighter. There is a road I often drive along that is NSL until you reach a 30mph village- people often drive at around 45mph, which is ok, the road is probably not safe to do 60 on, especially if you don't know it at all. However, they often do not slow down at all for the village!

I always try to drive considerately behind slower drivers, but that doesn't mean the person behind me will drive considerately! People driving say 20 miles lower than the speed limit do represent a hazard in the hazard perception sense- you would have to break or change your driving to avoid hitting them

Chickens are one thing, JadedAngel - there's a road near us that dips down through a ford, and there's regularly a flock of geese in the middle of the road. If you even try crawling towards them the gander does the full head down hissing at you thing - I've yet to be brave enough to get out and shoo them away, and usually just sit there cowed until they choose to move.

I feel my food bill would go down considerably if we moved...

Geese are bastards. We kept them when I was a kid, and they would totally go for us every time we walked past. They were about the same height as my brother, and one day one of them chased him, knocked him over and attacked him!

OOh. On the news today, a tunnel is to be built under Stonehenge. That will stop the gawpers.

Geese are bastards. Best thing I've read. Ever.

YANBU OP - I do a lot of motorway driving and there is nothing more frustrating than having to move over 2 lanes to overtake someone doing 50 MPH in the middle lane when the entire motorway is free.

I'm not as experienced on country roads which means that when I occasionally go to Devon I drive a bit slower because I'm not used to the complete lack of visibility the layout of the road. But at those times I take advantage of lay bys to pull over and let local drivers pass - I don't think this is particularly revolutionary or difficult to do...

Thank you for pulling over, Callani. I wish more would.

This is my friends step brother. Uttoxeter is not where I'm from, it's where I went to school and I'm the next village up. Just seen this and thought it was quite relevant...

Glad to bring a little cheer, Tallulah

*My friend is a trainer on Speed Awareness courses. If she is caught speeding she loses her licence

Sorry, but I call bullshit on that. She'll be treated just the same as any other driver."

I meant her licence to deliver the course... sorry to confuse.

I think the M6 is much better to drive since the fine for hogging middle lane of motorway came in.
Used to be lorry in slow lane cars at varying distances apart in middle lane, nose to tail in the fast lane.

Now it's line of cars in middle lane, who move over once past lorry or whatever, the occasional car in the fast lane. Much nicer and you don't get blocked in the middle or inner lane like you used to.

Pan -
'Bike safety - I ride about 1hr 45 mins per day, to and from work on all sorts of roads - the long A-roads aren't the worry - it's the junctions and drivers inability to use them properly. Cyclists die at junctions.'

I have seen that happen twice.
Both times it was the cyclists' faults. Stop signs and stop lights and the requirement to yield are for cyclists too.
Regrettably, other users of the road were injured too in both incidents. One was a pedestrian on the footpath walking a dog. The other was a back seat passenger.

I drive down a suburban street about a mile long sometimes on Sunday mornings. There are three different churches on this street, and lots of intersections. All morning the churches on the street hold services and the congregations park on the street. Cars have to drive slowly to get past each other in different directions, often ducking into empty spots along the side to let a few drivers past who are going in the opposite direction. All summer long there are individuals and whole families out on bikes on this street, parents pulling those flimsy trailers with toddlers inside protected from traffic by a little canvas and a bike helmet, down at exhaust level. It is madness. Yes, you are entitled to use the road. Yes, everyone has to look out for everyone else. But a little sense on the part of the cyclists would go a long way.

The NSL on country roads is 60mph. While it is not always advisable to go this fast, it is legal, and when you are making the decision to head out on your bike this is something you should take into account. You should also ponder the existence of potholes and branches and debris that may force you to swerve out into the road. There is hardly ever any shoulder or paved surface apart from the lanes of the road itself. It is not always possible for cars to pass safely as a road may have bends or hills. You are asking drivers to crawl along on the offchance that you may be around the next bend.

Humpty, if you are overtaking lorries and there are cars behind you in the overtaking lane that want to go faster it is not safe to stick to the speed limit and stay in the overtaking lane.

You cannot police other people's driving that way. It is passive aggressive driving. Just because other drivers are driving aggressively doesn't mean you should get involved in a battle of wills with them.

What you should do is nip in between lorries when you can, slow down in the slower lane, and let the cars riding up your rear end go past, then speed up and pull out to overtake the lorry in front once the people in the massive hurry have gone on their merry way.

If you are in a middle lane and other people are undertaking you -- let them, as long as you are keeping up with the traffic in the middle lane. Sometimes people like to drive maniacally, zig zagging among lanes. This is their business. You do not have to follow them. But if you are doing the speed limit in the middle lane and lost of people are pulling up behind you and then passing then you should consider driving in the slowest lane or speeding up. It is safer for everyone to go at the general speed of the traffic. It is safer for everyone if people don't undertake, of course, but you have to mind your own business and drive defensively, which means choosing the appropriate lane for your speed or adapting to the general traffic.

but gives an idea of the Roman chariot race feel you can get while driving in some places. -- but note again the lack of crashes, because people are minding their own business and letting the crazies go.

I've just discovered a new bike-related injury! The dangers of asphyxiation, breaking ribs and bringing on hernias - due to the dangers of reading nonsense posted by drivers, esp you math, and laughing waaay to hard at it.

Your arrogance is fairly surprising. I ride approx 100 per week (and have done for 4-5 years, in heavy traffic, from a semi-rural home to a major city centre, with little or no troubles (due largely to having a driver-aware attitude, excellent bike-handling skills, and excellent road craft, which mainly means doing drivers thinking for them).

So thanks for the advice. Which may be meant well and all, but please forgive me for saying "thanks for your input".

It is arrogant to expect other users of the road to exercise common sense?

I have seen far too many cyclists expecting drivers to do their thinking for them, sailing through stop signs, past yield signs, weaving through city traffic, ignoring pedestrians and pedestrian crossing signals, riding on the wrong side of the road, out riding without reflective gear or lights on their bikes (yes I have managed to see them because I am a careful driver).

etc....read it all before, tbh

The bigger picture though is that IF drivers get so angry and blood-boiled at other drivers, it's unpleasant to think how v easily the same folk can get even more angry at riders who are riding quite sensibly, reasonably and within the law/HC.

You are coming across as a little angry yourself here.

Again, just because something is within the law doesn't mean it is advisable, for anyone using the road.