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AIBU?

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Original poster

If you see it as your job to control the speed of traffic and you're not in a police car...

236 replies

BumpowderSneezeonAndSnot · 09/04/2018 17:23

...why do you do it? Why do you sit 300 car lengths behind the one in front in heavy traffic? Why do you go 10mph under the speed limit in the overtaking lane on a clear road? Why so you sit at 40mph regardless of the speed limit? Why do you pootle down the slip road towards an A or M road at 30mph?

Why do you see it as your job to control traffic?

OP posts:
Lethaldrizzle · 11/04/2018 17:35

So if you have to drive then just try and enjoy it. Road rage is for losers

NannyOggsKnickers · 11/04/2018 18:20

Good post stripy. The motorway is a great example of this. Lots of people (my DH included) seem to think that the inside lane speed should be 90mph+ and get angry if people don’t get out of their way.

I see this all the time on dual carriageways too. Someone going 60mph being over taken by someone going 65mph who is then forced to pull in sharply in front of the first car by someone zooming up at 75+ and then sitting on their bumper with no breaking distance. Often beeping and gesturing.

I have been the first car and the second car but never the third because I’m not a self centred shit who thinks the speed I drive makes me important.

Mightymucks · 11/04/2018 18:30

Well we were obviously at cross purposes pengwyn because I have no objection to people moving over when it’s safe, it’s what I do myself. It’s just when they don’t do it when it’s safe because they’re making a point.

Pengggwn · 11/04/2018 18:34

Mightymucks

Fair enough. But you're not in the car with them, you don't know why they're not moving over. I know some people are lane hoggers and it is annoying, but I've had people twats driving up behind me and trying to get me to move over when I have every intention of doing so when it is safe, and to be honest, their behaviour doesn't make me do it any faster. If that's 'making a point' then so be it. You can't expect to behave like a twat and have people jump to for you (not you specifically).

peacheachpearplum · 11/04/2018 18:35

To those going 70 in the overtaking lane (fast lane) why not move if someone wants to overtake you? If they are doing 70 they are driving at the speed limit so they are entitled to carry on overtaking and they aren't slowing you down.

Pengggwn · 11/04/2018 18:38

peacheachpearplum

Exactly. If I'm doing 70, overtaking someone doing 60, we are driving correctly. Why should I slow myself down so someone doing 75 can overtake me? It's nonsense. They can wait.

peacheachpearplum · 11/04/2018 18:40

Road conditions might mean the speed limit isn't safe. I did a journey a few weeks back, on a motorway with roadworks so down to 50 mph but it was icy, dark and foggy. People seemed to think I should be doing 50 or more but those signs were because of the roadworks not because of the ice/dark/fog which all meant 50 wasn't safe. As soon as it went to 50 people were passing me at 70 and more which was very unsafe.

We were in a motorway pile up once on an icy motorway, as we had left a safe distance we didn't run into the long line of cars breaking hard in front of us and creating a line of damaged cars. The same thing happened behind us and of course as someone hadn't left a safe distance we ended up being hit from behind.

peacheachpearplum · 11/04/2018 18:42

Pengggwn there are alot of aggressive entitled drivers out there. One of the first things my instructor told me when I was learning to drive nearly 50 years ago was that I was in charge of my car and to ignore the idiots trying to force me to do something unsafe.

Pengggwn · 11/04/2018 18:46

peacheachpearplum

Exactly. I decide when to move my car, no one else.

Batfurger · 11/04/2018 18:52

Can I just say... IT’S FUCKING BRAKING.

It’s not breaking, Jesus. On every driving thread! They’re different fucking words.

Arrowfanatic · 11/04/2018 19:21

If I'm in the outside lane of the motorway and traffic allows I will do 70mph, not more as that would be illegal. I will be in that lane as I am overtaking.

What really bothers me then is people who drive up my boot, flash, gesticulate and generally bully to try to get me to I assume speed up as if there were a safe space to pull back into the middle lane I will have done already. Your aggressive driving tactics won't make me break the speed limit......end of.

Middle lane hoggers are a nightmare, especially when lane one is empty or the traffic in it is far far ahead. Likewise someone driving slow on a motorway, too slow can be a risk to other traffic as it can be hard to identify an extreme slow moving car from a distance especially at night and can cause excessive breaking, manoeuvres and accidents. It's not as bad as speeding and otherwise dangerous driving but it's equally not a good idea on a motorway.

As for the "nervous" drivers, sorry but if you're nervous you shouldn't be driving full stop. The roads of the UK are not the place for nerves.

Bluelonerose · 11/04/2018 19:31

Imo motorway driving should be part of your driving test.
If you think about it unless you've done an advanced driving course you have never been taught how to drive on a motorway.
Maybe this is part of the problem?
I don't no the figures but that's quite scary Shock

I also think even if we don't have another driving test we should have to take refresher courses every x amount of years.
I did a speed awareness course a couple of years ago after 15+ years of driving. It was quite an eye opener and I felt like I got alot out of it. Maybe these should be mandortory every few years too.

peacheachpearplum · 11/04/2018 20:53

As for the "nervous" drivers, sorry but if you're nervous you shouldn't be driving full stop. The roads of the UK are not the place for nerves. What about over confident drivers? I think they are pretty dangerous.

paddypants13 · 11/04/2018 21:06

Hmmm, on the one hand driving at 40 on a 60mph road that is a main road when it's a clear dry day is ridiculous.

On the other hand, I live in a rural area, almost all the roads around me are 60mph. Frankly, they're narrow, twisty and there are often large farm vehicles lurking. I stick to 40 or less. Feel free to overtake me, I have no desire to end my days splattered all over the back of a tractor.

ivykaty44 · 11/04/2018 22:27

The fault will be with the over-taking driver, of course. But the person driving too slowly will have been a contributing cause to that accident. I'm not excusing the drivers who get frustrated - that's their own fault. But it's silly to say driving too slow is not dangerous.

Classic victim blaming, if you said that a woman in short skirts was dressing dangerously it would be pulled up as victim blaming and it’s jyst the same trying to blame the person going about there business not driving in anyway wrong

NoSquirrels · 11/04/2018 22:51

Classic victim blaming, if you said that a woman in short skirts was dressing dangerously it would be pulled up as victim blaming and it’s jyst the same trying to blame the person going about there business not driving in anyway wrong

Honestly - you're comparing my comment on slow driving to a rape apologist? Shock

It can be an offence - driving without due consideration. I'm not making it up!

That is not to say that in all circumstances people should be doing the limit - the Highway Code says it is a limit not a target, and to drive to the conditions of the road. But you can absolutely be a danger on the if you drive too slow for the conditions. And you can get pulled over. I've been in a car when it's happened (not to me!)

That's not victim blaming.

Pengggwn · 12/04/2018 07:25

The fault will be with the over-taking driver, of course. But the person driving too slowly will have been a contributing cause to that accident. I'm not excusing the drivers who get frustrated - that's their own fault. But it's silly to say driving too slow is not dangerous

If I am doing 40 in a 60, I am probably annoying you, but I am not endangering you unless you are a bad driver who is going too fast to start with. Why? Because your stopping distance should be determined by your speed, not by mine. I cannot see how I am endangering you by going more slowly than you would like, unless you are a bad driver, in which case, you're the danger, not me.

Obviously there are extremes: if I am doing 20, that is something nobody would expect and I might catch them out. That is still their fault, but I can see why the surprise of someone not accelerating might contribute to an accident. But it shouldn't. The people behind should be driving defensively.

IIIustriouslyIllogical · 12/04/2018 07:32

You find me a newspaper report of a fatal crash caused by a slow driver.

Here you go - Too Cautious

Slow drivers are lethal - especially at night.

IIIustriouslyIllogical · 12/04/2018 07:33

Feel free to overtake me

I assume you pull over into laybys etc to let faster vehicles past??

As per the Highway Code??

StripySocksAndDocs · 12/04/2018 07:54

Do you think it'd be better to find a news report where the danger was caused by slow driving rather than overtaking at a sharp uphill bend?

The 'too cautiously' isn't explained on that tragedy - the dangerous driving is down to overtaking badly. Slow or speed isn't mentioned once

ivykaty44 · 12/04/2018 08:06

Nosquirrels I’m accusing you of victim blaming

Just because someone is driving slower than the speed limit doesn’t mean they are driving without due care and you can’t blame them for another motorists actions

Pengggwn · 12/04/2018 08:11

IIIustriouslyIllogical

Driving too slowly and overtaking too slowly are totally different things, aren't they? If overtaking, you are on the other side of the road. The manoeuvre requires you to drive assertively, as an excess of caution can, indeed, be very dangerous. But driving in your lane on your own side of the road? When has that ever caused a fatality that was attributed to someone going too slowly, rather than to the car behind being negligent or driving too fast?

ivykaty44 · 12/04/2018 08:12

the overtaking motorist caused the crash, not the tractor driver. Had the cords driver waited until it was safe to overtake the crash wouldn’t have happened. The drivers actions caused a crash they made a choice to drive on the wrong side of the road.

ivykaty44 · 12/04/2018 09:12

Apparently 25 mph is to fast along an unlight road www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3070290/Cyclist-killed-pensioner-crashing-doing-25mph-narrow-country-lane-dark-rainy-night.html

How slow is slow?

specialsubject · 12/04/2018 09:59

Any speed where you can't stop in time for the distance you can see is too fast. As should be obvious.

Loads on this thread should all be on the same road where they can drive into each other.

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