To be annoyed at cars flashing to overtake?

[moutonfou]

I was on a dual-carriage way, traffic in the inside lane going about 65mph, me in the outside lane overtaking several cars steadily at about 70mph (okay, maybe it was a couple over that...). And then someone comes up behind me at 80+mph and starts flashing me, presumably to get in so he can continue to speed.

AIBU to think the overtaking lane is for overtaking and as long as I'm doing that, I've every right to be there? And that there's no god-given right to travel at 80mph even if that's your thing?

I usually slow down 😬

"I think yabu actually.its no safer to drive at 70 than at 85 in the overtaking lane and considering most people drive around 85 in the right hand lane you are obviously going to piss people off"

I really, really don't understand this attitude to speed limits. If you drive over the speed limit you are breaking the law, just the same as you would be if you shoplifted. Yet otherwise law-abiding people, who would never do the latter, think it's not only their god-given right to do the former, but justifiable to get annoyed by other people not doing so.

And unlike speeding you're unlikely to kill someone by shoplifting!

Poisonous Smurf there are so many drivers like that nowadays, it a bit scary.

I was driving on the M1 a few weeks ago when there was an accident and all traffic stopped dead for five minutes. The damaged cars moved to the hard shoulder and traffic started moving. My car is only 1.4 and is slower to accelerate than big cars and I was in the fast lane, faster cars in the middle lane looked like they would be faster, so I indicated and pulled into the centre lane so that the faster cars could overtake correctly rather than undertake. I was accelerating when a black BMW pulled alongside me in the fast lane and slowed down. The guy was in fluorescent clothing and I thought he was a police officer, so I slowed down a bit. He pulled in front of me and slowed down. Eventually I realised he wasn't police and pulled out into the fast lane again. He pulled out too and sat inches from my bumper, so I decided he was an idiot and pulled in to let him go past. Once he'd overtaken me he slowed right down in front of me (45mph). If I overtook he repeated it, speeding up and sitting on my bumper and then slowing right down once in front again, He did this for 40 miles until I got my phone out and took a photo and shouted at him, then he sped off. He really scared me, it was dangerous and intimidating. I can understand people getting angry perhaps, but to continue for 40 miles (over half an hour) is pretty messed up in the head, in my opinion. I want a dash cam.

Someone asked up thread if the national speed limit had changed since the 80s. It hasn't (at least, not for cars). It last changed in 1977.

Also, lots of posts have talked about HGVs doing 60mph. Most will not be going this fast, as all new HGVs for many years have had to be fitted with devices limiting their top speeds to either 56 or 53mph, depending on the class of vehicle.

Most will not be going this fast, as all new HGVs for many years have had to be fitted with devices limiting their top speeds to either 56 or 53mph, depending on the class of vehicle

I will admit to getting very annoyed with HGVs who take forever to overtake other HGVs because they aren't going very fast and take ages to pass other lorries.

I drive on the A1 a lot and see this regularly.

treaclesoda my instructor told me to make it obvious I was checking. He advised me to have my rear view mirror a fraction skewed so that I had to turn my head slightly rather than moving my eyes. That way the examiner would be able to see me checking instead of thinking I hadn't.

These days no one's watching me so I can have it just right.

Yeh they are annoying Orlantina. I remember one lorry taking 10 miles to overtake another on the A1. Somewhat different to waiting 30 seconds for someone overtaking at pretty much the speed limit.

If someone has cut their wrists or is otherwise at risk then you should be getting them an ambulance not risking other people ending up in an ambulance by driving recklessly to see them. There's a reason 999 vehicles have blue lights and sirens.

@2rebecca If someone has cut their wrists or is otherwise at risk then you should be getting them an ambulance not risking other people ending up in an ambulance by driving recklessly to see them. There's a reason 999 vehicles have blue lights and sirens.

Not to mention some pretty darn good advanced driver training too.

By fact of the meaning of the word, we (the rest of us) are all pretty average drivers. But some of us are ruddy terrible - usually those who think they are super great behind the wheel, ironically enough.

I was driving a route I know very well the other day. One of the villages in particular has 4 blind bends in a row, and the rest of the roads are very windy as well. The entire way through 6 villages and 20 miles of country side is 50mph on open roads and 30 for the villages. Did close to the limit the whole way. And the entire way some twat in an Merc was inches away from the back end of my car. Nothing pisses me off more! YANBU OP! Saving 10 mins of driving time by trying to force others to drive like a dick too faster isn't worth the accidents it could cause.

*Today 14:58 ShotsFired

@2rebecca If someone has cut their wrists or is otherwise at risk then you should be getting them an ambulance not risking other people ending up in an ambulance by driving recklessly to see them. There's a reason 999 vehicles have blue lights and sirens.

Not to mention some pretty darn good advanced driver training too.

By fact of the meaning of the word, we (the rest of us) are all pretty average drivers. But some of us are ruddy terrible - usually those who think they are super great behind the wheel, ironically enough.*

I don't think the ambulance service would have appreciated a request for an ambulance for someone (me) who was perfectly fit and well but who wanted to get someone quickly to support his family.

There is nothing wrong with or reckless about letting someone who is bimbling along know that you are in a hurry and asking them to move out of the way. It doesn't have to be intimidating and to be honest any driver with anything about them wouldn't need a flash as they should be able to read the situation and not impede a vehicle which is making progress.

Unfortunately a huge number of drivers have no appreciation of what is going on around them.

Incidentally, and not that it's relevant but i regularly pull in to let others past. I did it yesterday on a run out with the kids on a big wife clear road where I could see a faster vehicle coming a long way back in my mirrors. We were about to enter a few miles of twisty road and it was much safer and no problem to pull into a field entrance, wait maybe thirty seconds for him to pass, and then.

I also passed my Advanced Motoring test some twenty five years ago when I was only 17 and have re taken it every five years since.

I was driving a route I know very well the other day. One of the villages in particular has 4 blind bends in a row, and the rest of the roads are very windy as well. The entire way through 6 villages and 20 miles of country side is 50mph on open roads and 30 for the villages. Did close to the limit the whole way. And the entire way some twat in an Merc was inches away from the back end of my car. Nothing pisses me off more! YANBU OP! Saving 10 mins of driving time by trying to force others to drive like a dick too faster isn't worth the accidents it could cause.

Why would you not just pull in and let them pass?

My husband says always keep a dickhead driver where you can see them, ie let them past, then you know they're not going to go through your back windscreen if you had to emergency stop.

if the lane to your left is clear, you should be in it

People's definitions of clear are different. If I can see that I will have to move out again in a few seconds, that's not clear. And if the overtaking lane isn't clear behind me, I'm not moving in if I am going to have problems moving out again, as I mentioned above. You should be looking ahead and judging what you may need to do next, not moving in just because people have a fixation with middle lane sitters.

I don't like middle lane sitters but I like undertakers and lane weavers even less.

I actually overtake very seldom, as I don't like being in the outside lane, and I find it very intimidating when I am overtaking someone doing 55 at 70, and someone comes up behind me at 90 and thinks I should get out of the way. I end up not overtaking and sitting there doing 55 too, because I refuse to speed up massively to do the manoeuvre just because they are impatient but I don't want them on my tail, either.

And I agree that some people who drive new/large cars genuinely seem to think they have more of a right to be on the road than the rest of us.

Just to clarify, I mean 55 in the inside, I move back in and don't overtake.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I don't flash my lights on and off if there is anyone in front of me or coming the other way. Only if I'm the only car aside from the tailgater.

Agree with your husband HoneyRoar, I always let impatient drivers overtake me. What chance has my DS got if a car hits the back of our car, if I need to emergency stop at high speeds.

Its worrying what some people think is acceptable safe driving. Lane hogging, and undertaking for example..

I was trying so get to my brother and rest of my family after he had been found in bed having cut his own wrists.

I had to make a long emergency drive when my father was dying. It's not an excuse to put others at risk by driving in an intimidating and irresponsible manner.

On another note, reading various posts here...I'm not going to take advice on safe driving from people who regularly go at 10+mph over the speed limit.

scooby good point, but I shouldn't have to pull into any of the very few passing places in the first place imo when I was the one driving at the limit and safely.

*I was trying so get to my brother and rest of my family after he had been found in bed having cut his own wrists.

I had to make a long emergency drive when my father was dying. It's not an excuse to put others at risk by driving in an intimidating and irresponsible manner.

On another note, reading various posts here...I'm not going to take advice on safe driving from people who regularly go at 10+mph over the speed limit.*

Reading not you strong point then?

Where did I say I was intimidating or putting others in danger? I just wanted to get somewhere more quickly than some people who were clearly happy to nimble along, as I often am.

The difference being I always get out of people's way if I can see I am holding them up, because why wouldn't you?

If I am walking down a narrow footpath with the kids and an adult walking more quickly comes up behind we move in to let them
Past because holding them up would be rude, inconsiderate and selfish.

Why should the person who wants to exceed the speed limit inconvenience a motorist driving at the speed limit who is driving legally by expecting them to pull in and probably then have to drive more slowly than they wish just so the faster person isn't inconvenienced by waiting until the slower motorist has finished overtaking?
If I am behind an elderly couple on a narrow path i wouldn't expect them to move out of my way. I might ask them to go in single file if the road is busy but otherwise I would go on the road to overtake them. The person in front has priority. This idea that the person who wants to go fastest has priority and other people have to slow down their journeys by pulling in to let them past is bizarre.
Fair enough if you're going slowly and it's a long windy road eg caravans, then pulling over is sensible for everyone, but expecting someone to pull over 1/4 of a mile before they would move back in to the left hand lane anyway when they are still overtaking just because you want to go faster is bizarre.

Why should the person who wants to exceed the speed limit inconvenience a motorist driving at the speed limit who is driving legally

How do thy know they're driving at the speed limit?

How do thy know they're driving at the speed limit

You are obsessed with speedometers. I think it's reasonable to go with the speed shown on the speedometer rather than increase it by 10% because that's what you think the real speed is.

Where did I say I was intimidating or putting others in danger? I just wanted to get somewhere more quickly than some people who were clearly happy to nimble along, as I often am.

When you flash your lights to try to force your own priority on the road, you are driving in an intimidating and irresponsible manner, even if you do not "say" it. Your family tragedy is irrelevant. It's irresponsible driving. And how do you know that any of the people you were trying to intimidate out of your way weren't also on an equally important journey?

As for being 10+ miles over the limit, if you don't do that then that part of comment was not aimed at you. But you seem to think it was, so I guess you speed as well?

You have a responsibility on the road. You don't get to decide it's poor driving only if you yourself "say" it is.

My husband says always keep a dickhead driver where you can see them, ie let them past

Does he really Honeyroar? I agree with him and I thought of that all by myself even though I am a woman.