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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to think this isn't "ridiculously slow"?

58 replies

lalalalyra · 28/03/2017 18:22

Twisty turning road (lots of turns, blind bends and dips) slippery as starting to rain and every other corner you were getting blinded as the sun was setting and it was really bright.

AIBU to think that going 45-50mph for a three mile stretch - the twistiest - is not "ridiculously slow" and that the 60mph limit is just that, the maximum limit in optimal conditions?

OP posts:

wowbutter · 28/03/2017 19:58

I think if you drive slowly enough to make other drivers do dangerous things, you are at fault.
People doing 40 on a 60 drive m bloody insane.

khajiit13 · 28/03/2017 20:04

MrsJ, did you not check your mirrors? Obviously the other driver was driving carelessly but you check your mirrors before every single manoeuvre or turn.

lampygirl · 28/03/2017 20:30

Other driver was clearly a dick for overtaking on white lines but are you one of those drivers who does speed up to the speed limit and beyond on every straight overtaking section that is safe and good visibility because you also have good visibility but take corners waaaaay too slowly so you are frustrating to follow and then difficult to overtake when it is safe?? This is my biggest cause of country road frustration, along with people who brake when cars drive past perfectly safely in their own lane in the opposite direction.

Hope your insurers sort everything out for you though OP. Only thing that might go against you is that you could have foreseen him pulling in sharpish and put the brakes on sooner.

MrsJBaptiste · 28/03/2017 22:13

khajiit Of course I checked checked my mirrors! He'd been up the back of my car all the way along the road. I indicated, checked my mirrors and he floored it ramming me in the process. He clearly went off on one at his insurance and to be honest, after 6 months of the hassle of it all, you give in and accept the 50%.

Original poster

lalalalyra · 28/03/2017 22:27

@lampygirl There was no straight se room at any point when he was behind me. He arrived behind me going through a 30mph section in a tiny village (where he used my speed as 'proof' I couldn't drive - he obviously didn't notice the speed limit dropping just before it).

Then he was behind me for around three miles. I was doing 50 and slowed to 45 when he got uncomfortably close. I'll happily admit I would have slowed to 40 if he'd got any closer - he was ridiculously close.

There was a sign for a parking place 1/2 mile ahead and I was that uncomfortable I planned on pulling in to let him go. We were also only another 3/4 miles from a straight but with safe overtaking space.

It's not like I was doing 20mph for 30 miles. It was literally 3 miles with another 3/4 where he could get past safely.

OP posts:

BarbaraofSeville · 28/03/2017 22:30

If you really were doing 45-50 in those conditions, that sounds fast enough, and chances are that you would have come up against a lorry that is limited to 40 mph on a road like that anyway.

It sounds like he was at fault for an illegal manouvere and should consider himself lucky he did not cause a fatal collision. Those white lines are there for a reason.

Original poster

lalalalyra · 28/03/2017 22:30

I'll be livid if the insurance accept 50/50. Will that mean my insurance company pay my repairs and his his or will they split the two bills? His car has more damage than mine.

I'm hoping the other dash cam will show the double white lines and that will show he was completely in the wrong.

OP posts:

seven201 · 29/03/2017 02:49

What a douche. Sounds like it will eventually get decided in your favour and you'll get your excess back.

hellokittymania · 29/03/2017 03:11

I don't drive but even if I did I would take caution over speed. I work in southeast Asia and have heard of too many buses going over ravines or road barriers because the drivers we're going to fast in bad weather or when they were too tired to concentrate well on the road

BreakfastAtSquiffanys · 29/03/2017 03:56

Just because the speed limit is 60, it doesn't mean you have to drive constantly at that speed.
Crossing a double white line is the action of an eejit.

daisychain01 · 29/03/2017 05:18

Sounds like he is one of those drivers who sees every car in front as a competitir to get past.

He cannot use your speed as his excuse for dangetous driving and taking risks. Did you get a witness?

ShutTheFuckUpBarbara · 29/03/2017 05:36

I would encourage your insurance company to use Google earth to "see" the road you are referring to. I did this a while back and it settled the case.

Alternatively, if someone can drive you, go back and do the same journey and either film or take pictures of the relevant bits then send them to the insurance.

It really helps if they have a good idea of what the place looks like

Julia001 · 29/03/2017 06:06

In case this hasn't been mentioned, you can claim back the excess from the other Arsehead, sorry, driver. If they refuse, you can take him to small claims court.

Iamtheresurrection · 29/03/2017 06:18

I've a similar claim ongoing except I have witnesses. It's currently on its way to court as the other driver is insisting 50/50. Neither the police or the insurance company understand why it's gone this far so I'm not hopeful of winning.

Trifleorbust · 29/03/2017 06:26

You cannot MAKE other drivers do dangerous things by driving slowly in front of them.

sandgrown · 29/03/2017 06:30

Was this in Lancashire? Passed a similar crash yesterday and wondered how it happened?

bluebelltippytoes · 29/03/2017 06:38

Lots of country roads here and I often have idiots sitting on my tail. I don't drive slowly but I do drive carefully. Most accidents happen on country roads.

EasterRobin · 29/03/2017 06:51

You could have been driving a tractor at 10mph with a massive queue behind you, and he still wouldn't have been safe to overtake during double white lines. Definitely him at fault.

CookieWarbler · 29/03/2017 07:03

He sounds an utter twat OP. I get this every day on my commute into work.
Those of you saying that people who drive under 60 on a 60 road are being slow or 'drive you mad' - are you aware that speed limits are based on population density in the area and NOT that someone somewhere decided that 60 is the best /correct/safe speed! It is up to you as a supposedly sensible adult to determine how fast is safe, taking into accout the road conditions / weather / other potential hazards. Of course it isn’t 'slow' to drive at the speed the OP was doing in the conditions she describes.
You're not at all at fault!

Megatherium · 29/03/2017 07:12

People doing 40 on a 60 drive m bloody insane.

On some country roads you would have to be mad to do 60 because they are a succession of blind hills and bends. If you're driven "bloody insane" by driving a bit slower than you want to for a short time, you probably shouldn't be on the road.

StatisticallyChallenged · 29/03/2017 07:18

If you tried to do 60 on some of the roads in Scotland which are nsl you'd be dead very quickly!

Actually there's one which can be included in the driving test routes for my local centre so I drove it a few times with an instructor. It's narrow, windy, blind corners, heavy trees so issues with sudden sun blindness, lots of entrances...I was only doing about 40 on it mostly, slowing on the bends. I asked the instructor if this would be a problem at test and he said absolutely not and that he had known multiple people fail the test for doing 60 on this road as the instructors considered it an inappropriate speed for the conditions.

BarbaraofSeville · 29/03/2017 07:22

Actually it is legal to cross the white lines to overtake a slow moving vehicle under something like 11 mph but obviously you still need to do it safely and consider what might be just around the bend or in a hidden dip etc.

But agree that on a lot of country roads the safe speed is a lot less than 60.

sooperdooper · 29/03/2017 07:26

What was the actual accident? If you were doing 40-45 and he overtook you on double lines how did he hit you?

I don't think you're at fault, plenty of country lanes need more caution especially if you're not familiar with the sharp bends

ptumbi · 29/03/2017 07:27

If you're holding up a queue of traffic then perhaps you should pull over and let them through - bollocks. my ds3 is learning to drive and is told to drive at a speed commensurate with the limit, the conditions and how he, as the driver, feels comfortable. If that's 40 in a 60 on wet roads, or even dry ones, the cars behind are responsible for their own safety, not you. (unless you are a tractor on a main road, then if you have 6 cars behind you, you pull over - safely- if you can)

I at behind a car yesterday doing 20-30 the entire way on a 50 limit - it annoyed me but I still managed to stay safe!

olliegarchy99 · 29/03/2017 07:38

as regards NSL roads - i.e. those that are not specifically marked 30 40 or 50 - this does not mean it is safe or sensible to drive at 60+ on all these roads. No-one has checked every single road - I live down a single track country road and there is no speed limit sign so theoretically it is NSL but only a lunatic (and there are some) would attempt to drive at anything over 30 (and that is the straight bits) along it.
Usually it is those from 'off' who do not understand which we locals do. . I had a recent near miss where some idiot came round a blind corner on this lane - on their mobile phone - driving one-handed and far too fast. Words fail me - just because you won't get caught on your phone does not mean it is safe to use it.

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