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Original poster

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

563 replies

TallulahTwinkletoes · 28/11/2014 19:49

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 Wink

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...

OP posts:
DustInTheWind · 29/11/2014 17:14

I've often fancied a leaf-blower attachment to the front of my car, to deal with cyclists at busy times of the day.
Especially when trying to get up a long, winding hill.
Patience is the only answer really.

Scaredycat3000 · 29/11/2014 17:15

Not at all tiggy, this is a recent problem it started when we left London and move to the middle of nowhere. It's 20 plus miles along country roads to get anywhere, and yes I'd like to move. It certainly is not every driver but 4/5 all overlapping us for a short part, maybe one village to the next. I also never called them bumbling or idiot, you did even I don't call MIL that . In my experience of being in the car with somebody dawdling I got the impression the were nether bumbling or an idiot, but lacking the basic skills to drive a car safely.

Comito · 29/11/2014 17:16

SpecialAgent I'm not convinced people speed up deliberately when someone overtakes them. Some definitely do, but I reckon a lot of the time it's a subconscious increasing of speed as they see someone going faster than them. I see it all the time on the motorway.

SirChenjin · 29/11/2014 17:26

Oh they do special - it happens regularly to me, and happened yesterday in fact when I tried to overtake a van who had previously being doing a steady 40 for 6 miles through a 30 and a 60 zone. By the time I'd managed to get to the stage where I was ready to pull back in after overtaking we had got up to 56mph. It's a bloody dangerous thing to do, and funnily enough, tends to be mainly men who do this - presumably they resent being overtaken by a woman.

SirChenjin · 29/11/2014 17:27

Sorry, that was for Comito, not special

marnia68 · 29/11/2014 17:28

I've repeated a thousand times that I don't hassle other drivers to speed up or tail gate
If that was the case why would the lady you overtook have flashed you?

SirChenjin · 29/11/2014 17:30

Maybe she doesn't like being overtaken? Some drivers seem to take this a personal slight.

Sparklingbrook · 29/11/2014 17:32

Sometimes it feels that overtaking someone has 'woken them up' and they look at their speed and think 'blimey, better speed up a bit' so they do. Sad

SirChenjin · 29/11/2014 17:35

Could be - just wish they wouldn't speed up a bit as I'm overtaking them! My work colleague and I were discussing this yesterday after I got to work and was telling her about my overtake which turned into a race. She uses that road to come to the town I live in, and gets frustrated with the 40mph-ers who won't pull in but speed up when you overtake them. I think it's a type of driver, just like the tailgater.

Wishtoremainunknown · 29/11/2014 17:35

This drives me up the fucking wall. If you cannot drive at a reasonable speed on NSL roads you really shouldn't be driving at all. I don't meant you must do 60 ( my driving instructor always used to insist you had to drive at the speed limit..even on a very windy road where 50 would be much safer for a learner but I'm pretty sure she was wrong ?)
But good god I was stuck behind someone doing about 40 on a 60 the other day. Drives me nuts.

youarewinning · 29/11/2014 17:36

Having nearly been involved in a pile up on a motorway because someone was doing 32mph I totally understand what your saying and the point you are making.
Cars were having to slow suddenly or pull out to overtake in numbers. I know the speed the car was going as I was due to come off at next slip road (which this car didn't) so had to slow dramatically and stay behind it.

HicDraconis · 29/11/2014 17:39

does it matter that I'm angry in my own car?

Yes. Because, like it or not, your judgement and decision making will be impaired if you are angry. This increases the risk of accidents.

20 mins to drive to work and 30 if you're stuck behind someone who, for whatever reason, has decided that 40 is their safe speed - for 10 minutes is it really worth it? Stick some music on, take a travel mug of coffee and enjoy the ride.

SirChenjin · 29/11/2014 17:41

....or the other slower driver could show courtesy for the other road users and pull in.

And you shouldn't be drinking a cup of coffee at the wheel.

marnia68 · 29/11/2014 17:55

Having nearly been involved in a pile up on a motorway because someone was doing 32mph

How did that cause a collision?

CruCru · 29/11/2014 17:56

Hmm. There are some country roads near me that are NSL on which you can't do 60 - even 50 is a bit dangerous. I think there are some roads where NSL means use good judgement not you must do 60 or close to it.

MiddletonPink · 29/11/2014 17:57

But driving at the speed limit doesn't warrant some arsehole tailgating you. I see it all the time. Idiots trying to intimidate you. I was driving home in fog on Friday on a 50mph road, those in front of me were going about 25mph because of the visibility. Some twat behind me was very close for about 4 miles.

Why? I couldn't go any faster if I'd wanted to.

SirChenjin · 29/11/2014 18:05

Oh definitely not Middleton - it's all about driving to the conditions - which means adjusting your speed upwards/downwards as necessary - not doing a steady 40 in a 60 as per the OP (or a steady 60 along twisting corners/tailgating the slower driver/etc). There are plenty of drivers who don't or can't drive to conditions.

Comito · 29/11/2014 18:07

SirChenjin Oh yes, as I said, some definitely do. I once overtook a van and the driver both sped up to block me pulling back in and tried to push me into oncoming traffic.

I think more people do it without really realising.

Chandon · 29/11/2014 18:08

I am very Zen about this 99% of the time (I like to keep my blood pressure low and don't feel clever getting myself worked up over being s bit late), BUT....

Today I was driving on a 60 road behind a dawdler, perfect weather conditions and visibility. He is driving 30-35 MpH

When it looks safe to overtake, I do so, only for him to suddenly speed up( almost as if he woke up) and I decide to fall behind him again. Same when I try a second time.

So I give up and trundle behind the oldies who are leading the parade for 10 minutes.

Don't think he was malicious, he looked about 70 and the rear window stuffed full of cute teddies, so I think he simply had not seen me until my pathetic aborted attempt to overtake.

Going such irregular speeds (30 to 50 , briefly, then back) is dangerous though.

Pffff

Abra1d · 29/11/2014 18:09

My husband has missed his train to work because a couple of drivers have started using his route to the station and insist on driving at 30 on a 60mph road. Nobody would do 60 on it, but 40 or 45 is reasonable. One of the drivers seems to have spatial or sight problems and slows down when other cars approach. It is selfish. Those who say, just chill, probably don't have trains to catch and long commutes (1hour and 40 minutes). Or school buses to catch, dentists' appointmnts, etc. In non-peak times you can just grin and bear it, but in rushhour it is unreasonable.

A lot of drivers need their glasses tested. And i suspect a lot do not actually understand national speed limits and think country roads are like roads in towns and 30mph.

Osmiornica · 29/11/2014 18:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Celticlass2 · 29/11/2014 18:12

I always dread driving on Sundays. We are going out tomorrow to do some Christmas shopping. Apart from a short stretch of 30, the rest of our journey will we on nsl roads.

I just know we are going to get stuck behind some idiots meandering along at 40 oblivious to the trail of traffic and impatient drivers behind them!
There are so many people on the road who really shouldn't be. My quess is if that they were taking their test now they would fail spectacularly.

Scaredycat3000 · 29/11/2014 18:13

A lot of people need to re-read the OP if they ever read it in the first place. The OP is talking about a single driver doing a speed that is much below the speed that the majority of the other road users are doing. No one is saying tailgating is a good idea or that that do it. Also no one is complaining about people driving any way near the speed limit, they are complaining about people that drive at a third or half of the speed limit for no external reason, weather etc. Most of us complaining already increase the time they allow for the journey by double or treble the time, how much more should we allow for people who would fail their driving test if they had to take it again?
And I'll say again I have spent a lot of time sat in a car with one of these drivers and understand the logic behind the random breakings, etc. She shouldn't have been on the road, it is only a matter of time before somebody ends up dead.

pebblestack · 29/11/2014 18:14

Having nearly been involved in a pile up on a motorway because someone was doing 32mph

How did that cause a collision?

Driving at 30mph on a free-flowing motorway creates a bottleneck where other vehicles travelling at a constant 60/70 have move around the slow car. So a lot of lane-changing and bunching up, and more potential for accidents.

Vycount · 29/11/2014 18:15

I'm not very good at sums, so maybe someone can check for me, but I've had a scribble on the back of an envelope and think that if you drive 20 miles at 40 mph, then 20 miles at 50 mph you might arrive about 5 mins earlier on the second journey. Is that right?
Anyway, however bad other drivers are around you... if you're stressed driving and going along mentally swearing at other drivers then your concentration is in the wrong place. You're making yourself more dangerous.
If you're hassling the person in front in any way (obviously you never would Op!) you're distracting them and guess what, you're making them more dangerous.
I'm told I'm a pretty good driver, and I drive about 50k miles per year, but I hardly ever get flashed by other drivers, If it happens regularly to anyone, maybe it's worth wondering if they've got a point after all?
My friend is a trainer on Speed Awareness courses. If she is caught speeding she loses her licence. She says she is regularly tailgated and hassled when she's driving below the limit, and it's generally when it isn't safe to be going that fast.
Just observations.