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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think driving at 30 mph in a 60 mph zone is unacceptable?

166 replies

DoIDareDisturbTheUniverse · 14/01/2017 15:54

Stuck behind a driver this afternoon who was going 30, yes, 30 in a 60. Straight roads, clear weather, etc etc. No one could over take for about 10-15 mins as there were too many cars coming the other way and there ended up being a massive tailback of traffic. AIBU to think it's completely out of order to drive 30 miles below the speed limit in good conditions?

OP posts:
EatsShitAndLeaves · 14/01/2017 22:39

Sleep if driving phobia came over me suddenly my response would be to pull over and get off the bloody road.

I doubt if the police pulled me over for driving dangerously under the limit saying "google driving phobia" would be considered a reasonable response Hmm.

If I had driving phobia, curing it on a public road is not acceptable.

Your post is total tosh....

Whosthemummynow · 14/01/2017 22:39

I suggest people with "driving phobia" stop fucking driving and sort it out with the help of an instructor/therapist.

Not to just carry on and eventually causing an accident! Can't see how that would help the phobia.

Jesus wept....

Whosthemummynow · 14/01/2017 22:40

A PP was correct, this thread just shows why there are so many awful drivers on the road.

madcapcat · 14/01/2017 22:54

I have to do 30 in a 60 zone every day. i ride a moped with a top speed of 35 and that's down hill with the wind behind it. however I do pull in whenever necessary to let any traffic behind me get past safely.

I'm a Lot slower on my horse or pushbike.....

PickAChew · 14/01/2017 22:58

I think that people often drive way too slow when they're either drunk or on their phones (have noticed both).

On a Sunday, when they're driving granny to lunch, the set speed is 45 mph, whether in a 60 or a 30!

EatsShitAndLeaves · 14/01/2017 23:00

Whos - yes its totally unbelievable isn't it Sad

In fact it's actually bloody damn scary when you think about it.

PickAChew · 14/01/2017 23:04

We had a car which had a dodgy DPF, so regularly went into limp home mode.

All we needed to do was tailgate a speed limited lorry, to stay safe when it happened on the A1M. Limp home isn't actually so slow that you'd do 30mph in a 60!

SleepOhHowIMissYou · 14/01/2017 23:06

Exposure cures phobias. I salute you Eats and Who's, you anxiety free upstanding champions of driving excellence.

I myself pulled over and had a big sob in a motorway service station on the first occasion I drove my husband's terrifyingly fast car as it was so unfamiliar and I was scared rigid about causing a pile up. I then dried my eyes and continued on my way, and was fine and up to speed (literally) as I drove.

By your reckonings I should not have made such a journey, yes? Even though I drive perfectly well. I somehow should have realised that my husband's new car would overwhelm me despite having never experienced anything like this before? And, having pulled into the service station, I should have abandoned the car mid journey? Or called the AA, or maybe the police to come rescue me? Well, I did neither. I had a cry, I turned the engine back on, and I continued my journey. Coming home, now used to the car, I experienced no further problems.

How fortunate I was not to have either of you two driving up my backside on my way out. This story may well have had a different ending.

As an aside, my husband's main complaint is that I drive too fast. Go figure!

If someone is driving slow. There's a reason why. There's always a reason.

PickAChew · 14/01/2017 23:08

And driving phobia is why I've never even had a lesson. In my case, being next to tall lorries makes me feel quite dizzy. Fortunately, I'm self aware to have noticed that I get the same symptoms when looking over a balcony in a shopping centre, or just somewhere very busy.

I'm quite happy to stick with public transport, if it's not walking distance.

Crispmonster1 · 14/01/2017 23:08

Sorry that was probably my elderly father. Blush

DefinitelyOdd · 14/01/2017 23:10

I commute to work along country roads. These have a speed limit of 60 but are narrow and have sharp bends. I drive anywhere between 60 and 40 dependant on visibility and conditions. Does this make me a bad driver? I don't think so.

I once followed a man who was driving a German sports car down these roads. He either didn't know the road or was over confident. He ended up smacking into a deer and then hitting a tree as he went whooshing round a tight bend at 60.

He was ok that time. Not all country roads should be 60.

EatsShitAndLeaves · 14/01/2017 23:17

Sorry another FFS Sleep

You had an issue and quite rightly pulled over.

You then were able to continue your journey at appropriate speeds.

All fine. All reasonable. I'm sure you've (having googled it so well) sought appropriate therapy for your phobia to ensure it doesn't represent a danger to other road users in the future.

The point of the thread was people driving for miles and miles at inappropriately low speeds.

This wasn't your experience, nor do any of your posts and explanations make this behaviour any less dangerous or more acceptable.

Am I intolerant? On this issue - hell yes.

I don't want phobic drivers on the road. Their right to drive doesn't top trump the safety of everyone else on the road.

I'm going to leave it there because quite frankly I'm getting to Angry at your posts and their nativity.

Whosthemummynow · 14/01/2017 23:20

sleep were you being dangerous and driving half the speed limit??
If so then yes. You should have stopped and found a better way home. Without endangering yourself and others

SleepOhHowIMissYou · 14/01/2017 23:36

What's the story about Christ's birth got to do with my one-off experience of driving phobia Eats? Nativity? Lol!

You leave it where you please. You don't get to dictate what's discussed on here. If I want to mention that driving slowly is an indicator of a phobic driver as something that people may not have considered, then that's what I'll do, and have done.

If the next time someone encounters a slow driver and my post makes them think twice about harrassing or tailgating them then at best I may have prevented an accident, and at the least I have eased the phobic drivers journey (figuratively and literally).

It's entirely possible that a slow driver is being an idiot. However, other possibilities exist. Mentioned on here are technical faults, and now I ask you to consider vehophobia, to give it its correct name.

To think slow driving is mere assholery with no other explanation, well now, that right there is naive.

SleepOhHowIMissYou · 14/01/2017 23:49

Who's I was absolutely rigid with fear. I stayed behind a lorry, keeping a safe distance. I have no recollection of what speed I was doing. I was too frightened to take my eyes off the road to look at the speedometer such was the overwhelming feeling of impending doom.

I thanked God when I saw the service station, out loud, and heartfelt, and I was, and still remain to this day, agnostic.

I've never experienced anything like it before, or since. The car was my husband's pride and joy, and cost a feckin' fortune. I'd driven it locally, but never on the motorway. It was horribly powerful and extremely responsive, it scared the shit out of me.

I'm not saying driving phobia is the only reason people drive slow. However, it's one to consider. And, if this consideration manifests into showing consideration, then my work here is done.

sashh · 15/01/2017 00:04

In my family they are known as 'collectors' and we count the number of cars behind.

elodie2000 · 15/01/2017 00:11

The bloke who overtook me a few years back obviously thought IWBU driving at 30mph on a national speed limit road. He was very cross as he sped past.
Turned out that doing 60mph on a narrow windy road wasn't a good idea after all as he turned his car over onto its roof in a field ahead of me.
You don't have to do the maximum speed the law allows and on some roads it's stupid to do so.

PrincessLeia80 · 15/01/2017 00:21

In the USA if you are driving 15-20kmh below the speed limit that's less than 15mph you are expected to drive with your hazards on!

SortAllTheThings · 15/01/2017 00:26

YANBU. I failed my driving test for doing exactly this. Well, 30mph in a 50 limit.

SortAllTheThings · 15/01/2017 00:28

If you're scared of driving, then you're not safe on the road. Work on getting over your fear with an instructor, but fgs, if you're not able to drive without feeling petrified, you really shouldn't be on the road

DailyFail1 · 15/01/2017 01:18

In the UK it's a speed LIMIT not a target. Perfectly acceptable to go less than.

EatsShitAndLeaves · 15/01/2017 02:51

Losing the will to live...

Daily yes it's a limit RTFT.

Good driving is about choosing the speed appropriate to the roads and conditions within the speed limit.

It's not about driving 30 in a 60 in good conditions on a straight road - for 15 mins creating a major tailback.

Trainspotting1984 · 15/01/2017 03:08

I imagine daily is referring to Princess' threads which keep claiming things that aren't right or relevant (who cares what they do in the US? Hardly the beacon of good driving is it?)

MrsCharlieD you are supposed to stop at the end of the slip road if you can't enter the motorway. That's what the give way markings mean. Jesus wept.

slithytove · 15/01/2017 03:36

Oh dear I drove a mile with my hazards on the other day, doing 15 in a 40.
Had a puncture and the car was juddering like fuck, but the road was pitch black and lined with hedges - I made the call that it would be too dangerous to stop and so got to a lit lay by.

Was terrible.

AmberLav · 15/01/2017 04:16

My dad was once totally mortified to be stuck at 20mph driving back 15 miles along an A road, after the clutch went, and stuck him in first. I figured it was a good empathy lesson for him, as he was normally the FFS driver complaining about anyone else slower than him.