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

YANBU, at least tractors are doing something constructive. Dodderers are a menace and cause some incredibly dangerous situations. I have a feeling that lots of MNers would be the ones peering over the steering wheel having not checked their mirrors for several miles, revving the fuck out of their car in third gear and totally oblivious to the massive queue behind them. This all despite the fact they've got a 3litre turbo engine that eats the environment.

This always happens on these threads btw, harping on about "a limit not a target" give me strength.

Oops! Thought I posted that on the "last text we sent" thread lol

There is a fine balance to be had- both driving too fast or too slow can both be dangerous. Driving too slow can cause accidents, especially if people become impatient and try to overtake the slow driver (although it's also true that drivers shouldn't overtake when it is not safe). It is good manners to pull over at a safe place and let others past if you are going very slowly and holding up traffic.

We have the issue of single track roads with passing places- so many people (usually visitors) just seem incapable of reversing if they are more than 1m behind them and if it's not in a straight line then you may as well forget it. I understand visitors may not be used to single track roads/passing places but if you're going to drive on the roads, you really ought to be able to reverse, surely?

I know that one well myself Jacks, they come to a grinding halt and then the first thing they need to do before they start to reverse is put it on full lock and then start moving and all they needed to do was reverse 30ft in a straight line

Having just got back from rural Wales YADBU!
Driving along country roads I had to stop suddenly several times for: a herd of cows in the road, tractors turning, a man walking several dogs and the neighbour's chickens!
I visit a lot and know the roads well but refuse to drive like many of the locals (like rally drivers cause they 'know the road') because I have common sense and am not a selfish idiot!

As usual many posters seem to completely miss the point the OP is making.

We are currently on holiday in a very rural part of Cheshire where the road to our rented cottage is narrow and windy. The speed limit is 60, but I am driving gingerly round the bends at an average of no more than 20mph.

However, today on a road that was straight and with perfect weather conditions there was a queue of traffic behind a car doing 40 mph. When it was safe to do so I pulled out and overtook.

I can see why people get frustrated being stuck behind someone doing two thirds of the speed limit on a good road in good weather conditions in broad daylight, and don't agree with the smug "it isn't a target" mantra that keeps being trotted out on MN all the time.

quite honestly the longer I lived in the country, the slower I drove.
there is always stuff around the corner.

This. Round here our A roads would be country lanes back where I grew up, and the B roads are more like someone's driveway. You cannot physically do 60mph on the B roads, they are full of twists and turns, and blind dips. The roads here are lethal, Lincolnshire is full of signs telling you how many people have died this year on that particular 'red route'. And it's nearly always tourists, or youngsters. The locals and older people who die, well they've generally been wiped out by one of the previous.

You drive according to conditions on those roads, and on most of them 4Omph is plenty fast enough.

There's a road we drive when we got to the animal sanctuary. It's got a 60mph speed limit.

Quite how, I'm not sure. It's literally a single track with the occasional passing spaces, hairpin bends, high hedges and constant blind spots. You can't go faster than 20mph and even that's too fast on occasion. Cyclists, horses, random sheep, rabbits, tractors, other cars, pedestrians, hikers ... you come across them all and quite honestly, I'd rather hold up an impatient driver than cause an accident with something coming the other way.

Not all roads should be a 60mph limit. I'm quite shocked that some of the winding rural lanes are to be honest.

Here's another difference between the US and the UK - people on here always say, "it's a limit, not target," but here in Ohio, you can be ticketed for driving below the speed limit. There's no minimum speed on most roads, but the statute says that you can be ticketed for driving at such an unreasonably slow speed that you impede the normal flow of traffic.

"You drive according to conditions on those roads"

This ^^ is a better mantra IMO.

"Not all roads should be a 60mph limit. I'm quite shocked that some of the winding rural lanes are to be honest."

I agree. Anyone doing 60mph on the roads near us is unlikely to make old bones.

Drive according to road conditions.
If it's a nice straight national speed limit with good visibility and good weather conditions then you are unreasonable to do much less than 55/60.

If you can't manage that safety then you shouldn't be fucking driving!

The other week I was driving a road I knew well; found myself in a long queue behind three cars towing caravans in apparent convoy. Knowing the road I prepared to use the one stretch of dual carriageway to overtake if I was able.

Not only did the caravans speed up because they could, but I'd guess the first 3 cars in the queue didn't try to get by either. I think 1 car actually overtook them in the whole stretch and I caught up a couple of spots. It should have been perfectly practical for at least 4-5 cars to get past with appropriate driving I thought. And of course the caravan speed dropped immediately (in fact just before) the dual carriageway ended.

((((((((((Hugs JustAnotherPoster00))))))))))))) I grew up around the bush [Au] and dirt roads. I totally feel you on this

Pic indicates how I am looking at the posts here that don't understand. Sighh. SMH

So what's the big rush OP?

You do realise you'd save about 1 minute or maximum 90 seconds of your life on an average journey by being ahead of that dawdling car. Is that really worth getting so wound up about?

I live in an equally rural part of the country and I do not agree that pulling over is the solution. All it does is give people like you the opportunity to go at breakneck speed to the next "obstacle". Even driving within the speed limit, drivers still need to modify according to the narrow windy lanes in the UK.

You must live near me!

mycats
Not all roads should be a 60mph limit. I'm quite shocked that some of the winding rural lanes are to be honest.
as I posted previously this is the problem - some roads appear to be NSL because no-one has classified them as safe at 60 - and only a lunatic would drive at that speed anyway,
It would not be possible to classify every road and windy lane in rural areas so the default becomes NSL (which in lots of cases that is insane)
All good drivers should drive at a speed that suits the road, the weather and obviously the traffic conditions not because of any limit /target
Bad drivers trot out the 'but it's a NSL road so I must be able to drive at 60'

Live in rural area, work in local hospital- every summer we get busier with RTCs from tourists who think they know better than the locals and batter along the tiny roads, these roads while beautiful can be horrendous with hairpin bends and hidden dips- the road will very often have on it horses, tractors, cyclists, cows changing fields/going in for milking- there's far too many lives lost due to people's impatience on the roads and the Impact can be far reaching- from family members, friehds to the medical staff who feel useless and like shite because they were unable to save them.

YANBU. The Highway Code clearly states that if you are slow moving and holding up traffic then you pull over to let them past. Not sure how that works though when there is literally nowhere you can pull in.

I think a lot of people on this thread are missing the fact that there is a difference between little winding back roads and the A470, which is the main route between North and South Wales. Although there are some bends where drivers need to slow down a little, there is no logical reason to drive that slowly on the stretch described by the OP.

I'm hoping to move someone rural soon and yes I lack confidence in unfamiliar country roads as I'm used to city driving but I hope people will be patient. I would pull over if someone wanted to over take me though I don't have a problem with that. I satisfy my indignation at the recklessness of some people on the roads by pretending they are rushing to a family emergency and need to get there ASAP.
Having said all this where I live in the city is next to an area which is next to an area which has the most uninsured/no license drivers in Europe so I'm hoping anything will be an improvement on that!!!

Somewhere rural even