If you cant drive faster than 30mph on a rural road why visit a rural location

[JustAnotherPoster00]

I live in a rural part of Wales and I'm sick of inconsiderate drivers not pulling over when they clearly have a cue of 15 cars behind them because they're so happy daudling along. I understand if they're nervous that's ok just pull over and let us very frustrated drivers by.

Rant Over

Id been behind them since Llandudno but it didnt get to the 15 car behind them point until Tal y Cafn, the reason I mentioned the Llanrwst to Betws Y Coed bit was because I thought with the amount of cars that were behind them plus the few layby's we passed nice and wide layby's they might have pulled in, either way I was stuck behind them until they turned into Blaenau Ffestiniog.

sir how do you enjoy the view in thick fog?

If you are directed on to a national speed limit road by an examiner and you don't drive on or close to the limit (weather permitting) you will be failed.

Actually there are two types of 60 mph rural roads.

1. the A and B roads, where the above quote applies.

2. the single track rural roads, where if you try to drive at 60mph you'll regret it. These roads are 60mph simply because they've never been formally assessed, and any examiner expecting 60mph on these roads needs a boot up the arse. It's far too dangerous.

I used to use a single track road as a short cut to work many years ago, until the idiots, etc, in the fast cars discovered it and made it so dangerous with their speeding. They would go so fast they weren't able to take corners properly and I saw several accidents. I use the main road now, safer all round.

More fatal accidents on country roads.....fact

just I think the A470 is generally a dangerous road because it seems like a fast road but actually has some sharp bends on. But I can see where you're coming from if they're doing less than 30 the whole way. No need!

Just Do you live near me? I could've written your post!! I'm surrounded bu old people who drive at 30...30 in a 60 or weirdly 40 in a 30, never ever indicate, but make sure they wave and beep their horns to Wil the sheep or whoever they see on their travels that they know, but are oblivious to other drivers and god help the pedestrians!! Also they think that overtaking is an illegal manoeuvre and will beep their horns and flash their lights at you because they've been woken up by your sheer audacity to overtake them

sonja I'm surprised that's all, in my experience of driving on roads in the fjords it's not that much different in the summer and winter but then the roads I've been on have been in very rural, very quiet areas.

I live near the Welsh border and if you drive the country lanes around here you're more likely to be stuck behind a group of MAMILs. Usually 6 abreast.

I lived on the main tourist trail. So from May to September driving into town involved being stuck behind campervans driving very slowly and taking in the view. Coaches took forever as they had to reverse backwards and forwards to get around the swings. Occasionally, they even stopped and people got out to take photos. You were lucky you avoided them!

raspberry I was just about to post what you have just written - I so agree.
Not every road is a 'bomb down at 60 mph regardless' even some B roads which are NSL roads have lots of bends, hidden access and should be driven at around 50 is the driver has any sense.
And of course single track roads (lots where I live) in theory have a 60 mph limit but can only safely be driven at 25-30 mph (with less on corners) and always prepared to meet someone wanting to drive on the same bit of road as you are on.
I do get tired of the ageist refrain on these threads - as well as the constant wittering on ' it is a 60 mph road' - no it is a NSL road which may be safe at 60 or be very unsafe at 60 but no-one has assessed every single road in the country to determine a safe speed. Any decent driver knows this.

I'm with you OP. After spending this weekend driving on normal single carriageway A and B roads, not these hairpin bends with sheer cliffs and boulders and swinging axes and whatnot, there were more drivers than I would have expected who felt that 45-50mph was appropriate on, and I hasten to add, fairly-wide, middle of road marked roads. What this caused was a build up of traffic, of people who are comfortable driving at the speed limit on such a road, and even more than that, of frustration at the first two or three cars for not using opportunities to overtake, to overtake meaning that in order to pass the obstruction (i.e. the dawdling dwindler) you had to overtake 3 cars! Madness.

And for those of you saying "what's the rush?" "get up earlier" - how about you just speed up and drive to the road?

sonja you have my sympathies!
We were in the a* end of nowhere whether nothing ever happened, it was very pretty though. I think the 5 hour drive from Bergen was a deterrent for most.

Cherry, it's Wrynose Pass which going up you'd be lucky to get to 30 and going down (assuming you are coming from the inland side) apart from the first few bends is safe to do at over 30 (obs. not 60) as it's straight with good lines of sight.

Kirkstone Pass and the Struggle are the same pass. On most bits it's big enough for two cars to pass without any danger of hitting the walls. In fact I was coming down it the other day and got stuck behind someone doing about 10 mph with their brakes constantly on. There were 5 cars behind us and the guy did not pull over into any of the laybys on the way down into Windermere only to speed up to 50 when he got to Windermere and the 30 limit. Yes, there's some dodgy bits but people driving way to slow the whole way are just as dangerous.

I say this as someone who has been one of the first at the scene of 4 serious RTCs.

Speeding up through villages to 40 even though it's a 30 zone. Reason -recognisable environs?

Most serious near miss - three cars in the ditch two on their side - dodderer all the way from Llanddod to Builth. First overtaking spot van behind pulled out then car in front pulled into side of van. Cue cars and vans flying everywhere; dodderer just carried on. Car in front was at fault but dodderer was the cause.

Then there's the ones who don't know how to reverse. Given up waiting because it's scary to watch them weave about. I just reverse all the way.

Motorcyclists (I am one) coming at me too wide. Move over because if the leader of the pack didn't quite get the line the followers are bound to be wider.

Never impatient though. One night on the A5 there were two 4wds obviously racing. Next was a huge tailback. I know the back lanes and I know what happened to them.

Cherry, it's Wrynose Pass which going up you'd be lucky to get to 30 and going down (assuming you are coming from the inland side) apart from the first few bends is safe to do at over 30 (obs. not 60) as it's straight with good lines of sight. Kirkstone Pass and the Struggle are the same pass. On most bits it's big enough for two cars to pass without any danger of hitting the walls. In fact I was coming down it the other day and got stuck behind someone doing about 10 mph with their brakes constantly on. There were 5 cars behind us and the guy did not pull over into any of the laybys on the way down into Windermere only to speed up to 50 when he got to Windermere and the 30 limit. Yes, there's some dodgy bits but people driving way to slow the whole way are just as dangerous.

Forgive my ignorance, my uncle was telling me how my mum literally shat herself at the top of Wrynose pass I laughed Never had the pleasure of that particular pass despite every childhood holiday being in the Lakes. We drove along Kirkstone yesterday and down the Struggle the day before. My cousin declared she couldn't drive down the Struggle and drink her coffee! Coming along Kirkstone from Kendal, someone stopped in a layby and the car travelling behind stopped alongside! How we laughed!

MAMILS. Well, less polluting than fat women in great big cars.

I also live in rural Wales and on the roads near me a safe speed can vary from 30 to 55mph (on the same road, taking into account corners etc)
As I am local I know how long the straights are and when corners are coming up so I don't mind being stuck behind a tourist.
What I do hate is tourists that do not wave when you pull over or reverse for them, and drivers that pull out in front of me knowing they plan on driving at 35mph on a large A road.
Tractors annoy me, but they would be far more dangerous if they drove at 60mph+.

No worries Cherry, sorry for being sharp, I'm just glad it's going to quiet down soon on the roads.

You want to drive Hard Knott - that going down into Eskdale is scary. I don't drive it as my car has low clearance and I've seen too many people get grounded taking the wrong line.

God it boils my piss all this "it's a limit, not a target" bullshit. Learn to drive properly. Just because someone drives at more than 36mph DOES NOT mean they are a suicidal lunatic hell bent on causing an accident.

Also, Do not indicate for me to overtake on a blind corner nor stop on a bend and then look blankly at me when I nearly hit you from behind.

Don't stop on a roundabout to take a godamn photo - I know it's a stunning view but use a layby!
And breathe

Yabu

We often go slow (30/40) on very windy roads due to extreme travel sickness of DS. If people want to go faster they can over take safely when they get a chance.

I'm with you OP, and also live in rural Wales.

Yes, on a windy back road 30mph is a sensible speed. But not on an A road. If you want to look at the views pull over in a layby. Tractors and other slow moving vehicles pull over to let the tailbacks pass, so should cars.

The Wrynose pass is hard to drive over 15 on because of all the fucking potholes

Agree with you, OP.

I'm not talking tractors or even horse boxes. Tractors pull over, and they're essential.

It's the Nissan Micras that drive at 25-30 on a NSL A-road that boil my piss. It's dangerous.
The 2 cycle races/events per weekend in the summer piss me off too. You can't overtake 200 odd bikes. You have to crawl at 10mph for miles and miles. I wouldn't mind if it was occasionally, but as I said it's often every weekend. There seems to be nothing to stop a cycling club from one of the surrounding towns whacking up signs and sending their members to the hills around here.