To wonder why this driver beeped his horn at me?

[HangingBasketCase]

Driving home from work I decided to overtake a van in front of me that was going really slowly. It's a 60mph road but the van must have only been doing 40 at the very most, I was almost bumper to bumper with it and I was doing 40! So I waited for a long straight stretch of road that's known locally as the straight mile, indicated and overtook him. It was perfectly safe to do so, nothing was coming in the opposite direction, no double lines in the middle of the road, perfect driving conditions but for some reason the git started beeping his horn at me as I passed him! Then once I'd passed him I could see him shaking his head in my rear mirror!

Now I'm really questioning myself. I use this I road daily, I've been overtaken by other drivers on it myself, no problems. I was always under the impression that overtaking is perfectly legal as long as it safe to do so. Which from where I was sitting it was? What did I do wrong? I felt a bit intimidated if I'm honest, which probably sounds stupid. But there you go.

if I have some idiot tailgating me I just slow down.
It is quite possible to drive at the speed limit at a safe distance from cars in front; if you do not know that you should not be driving.
'bumper to bumper' indeed!

I can understand your frustration OP as I often get caught behind people who prefer to drive slowly. Having said that, you shouldn't have tailgated - why not just leave a safe gap and then overtake when it's safe to do so?

wow, you're an awful driver.

unusual for someone to confess to being so - but do us all a favour, take some lessons, because it may not be just you that you kill.

You didn't have to tailgate him, whatever speed he was going. You chose to. And he beeped you for it.

If I shouldn't be on the road, really? That's why I have over ten years driving experience without a single speeding ticket, I have a clean licence. Never had an accident either. Oh I tell a lie, some rear ended me at a junction once, but that's it.

Seriously some of you need to get a grip.

I had someone tailgating me a few weeks ago when I went to pick up my daughter from nursery.

I was driving at 29 in a 30 area (the stretch of road changes 30-40-30-40), but that was obviously too slow.
He had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting me when I pulled into the car park. If he'd been a little further away, he'd have clearly seen my indicator.

Nope you need to get a grip and your reaction proves that, you can't accept your dangerous and in the wrong so you have a terrible attitude to driving a dangerous weapon.

If you were 'bumper to bumper' immediately before overtaking, then it was a dangerous manoeuvre. You would not have had a clear view of the road ahead. If you drive too far up the arse of a large vehicle such as a van, it makes it impossible for them to see you.

If you were tailgating him that would be why - tailgaters are twats regardless of the conditions

I hate it when people tailgate. You won't be going any faster doing it so why not stay behind and then speed up to overtake when ready?

You are a woman overtaking a man. This is enough to justify beeping. Sometimes it can also result in v signs, too, I find.

Ten years driving experience and a clean licence is all well and dandy but it doesn't make you safe. It's not just kids that kill people on the roads you know. It's often people doing exactly what you've admitted too and it's often the other drivers that end up either dead or disabled. There's no need to tailgate and intimidate people.

I hate tailgating and always try and avoid it, but if you have a slow coach in front of you what do you do? Any slower and I'd have stopped!

First of all, you clearly don't hate tailgating if you only 'try' to avoid it - I have never tailgated anyone (it's terrified both both vehicles involved!) and if you find yourself unable to avoid it then you are driving dangerously.

Also, you aren't going any faster by tailgating - if you had dropped back then you would still have been going at the same speed, and you would have had a better view of the road ahead which would have made overtaking safer.

AIBU?

Entire of MN: YES! You admit you were tailgating, that's why he was cross.

OP: well it was his fault for driving in my way.

No OP - you need to get a grip. Carry on driving like that and you probably will have an accident and what good is "10 yrs experience" then?

You asked why you were "beeped at" and we've told you.

Recently, whilst driving on a road similar to the one described by the OP, I was forced to drive 35mph for seemingly no reason, my gear box selector had slipped and I could only get it into 3rd - I was driving along this road until I reached somewhere safe to pull over. Had you been tailgating me, I would have pipped at you too! You sound like an aggressive driver with no consideration for other road users. There are a number of reasons he may have been driving at 40. One of which being 60 is a maximum, not a fucking target!

Pretty much everyone has said what I was going to. If someone tailgates you slow down, if someone is going 20mph below speed limit you stay back and take over if safe to do so! Getting up his arse will antagonise him and if I was him would have slowed down much much more to get you to back the fuck off.

A clean licence and lack of accidents isn't necessarily the marker of a good safe driver - they could have just been lucky.

I know someone who speeds all the time. Never drives at less than 90 MPH on the motorway, that type of thing. Hasn't had an accident either, but surprisingly has only recently been caught speeding for the first time in over 20 years of driving.

Plenty of people get away with bad driving partly due to lack of enforcement and retesting - look how many people use their phones while driving for example, despite it being stupid and dangerous.

40mph is not "driving really slowly"

A speed limit is just that, not something to aim for regardless

You are a poor driver, OP. That is why you were beeped.

Abra1d, do you not think it more likely that he was annoyed about Her manner of driving rather than what sex she was?

Or is it just to be assumed he is sexist?

I'd imagine you're clean license so far has something to do with the people behind you witnessing you drive like a twat and giving you an incredibly wide birth.

OP you have no idea why he was driving at 40mph but really that's irrelevant. You were tailgating him and that puts you in the wrong. You should have kept at a safe distance behind him and overtaken when it was safe to do so.

Btw having not had an accident is not proof that you're a good driver. I know of someone who used to claim they were a good driver. The reality was they weren't it was just that they were lucky enough that the drivers around them were good enough to avoid getting into an accident with them.

Why did you come onto AIBU if you aren't prepared to accept that you were BU?