Seven people overtook me in the space of 20 minutes

[Tankersome]

AIBU to be so bloody annoyed by how easily some people find it to speed?

I live rurally with lots of windy, pot-holed single track roads. I commute into the town every day. The rural roads are all NSL but I drive them around 35mph max - and always pull over on the rare times a car is behind me to let them pass if they like.

When i finally get onto the main road that takes me into town, i get myself up to 60mph and switch on cruise control. It's a lovely straight single-carriageway with no pot-holes so I feel comfortable doing this.

But despite going the speed limit, I'm always overtaken. This morning it was a new record with seven people overtaking me in the space of the 20 minutes I'm on that particular road (it was five last night on the drive home).

They don't just speed to overtake either - they continue along at 70-80mph until they're out of my sight. It's not a busy or congested road whatsoever, and there aren't any pavements. So they probably feel safe going at that speed but it's illegal. I've never once seen a speed camera van parked at the roadside either so there is no incentive for these people to drive within the speed limit.

It just really annoys me. Yes, we all have places to be. But why do some people feel so at ease with speeding like that? And the annoying thing is, it makes me feel like I'm the one in the wrong because it's as though I'm holding people up despite going the fastest speed allowed on the road.

There seem to be a lot of people complaining about the fact the OP does 35mph on the 'rural roads'. I can (optimistically) only assume they didn't read this part:

I live rurally with lots of windy, pot-holed single track roads.

These sound like bona fide country lanes to me. 35mph might be perfectly appropriate. Sometimes it might even be too fast. Who wants to have someone fly round a blind corner towards them at 60mph, on a road wide enough for only one car, just because it's NSL?

Drive for the road conditions and don't use the speed limit as a bloody target.

They don't just speed to overtake either - they continue along at 70-80mph until they're out of my sight.

OP, I had a few cars doing this, but in the other direction, over taking a tractor.

Even thought I was going 60, I ended up having to slow right down and pull over, to let them pass on my side of the road otherwise, there would have been fatalities. I just don't get it. It is so dangerous. Why anyone would risk their lives for a few seconds, is beyond me.

I can understand them wanting to over-take you if you're doing 35, though.

And they gave zero f*cks!

The thing that does really annoy me is people who pull over randomly to let you pass, it is really dangerous when they pull into a passing place and stay there, then gesticulate out the window for you to go past.

So what is the solution, if you're traveling along a rural lane that you haven't driven before, and there is a local who knows every bend and gateway driving close behind you. It's obvious that you'r holding him up. But equally, no matter how confident or aware you are, this is a road you've not driven before. Do you just press on, or do you pull over at the first opportunity to let him past?

I can understand them wanting to over-take you if you're doing 35, though.

Op IS NOT doing 35 on a main single carraige A road!!!!

slow drivers are equally dangerous to speeding drivers

That would be true if op was actually going slowly on the main road....

I think people over take the Op because it's one of the few stretches of road where you can safely drive quickly. Clear Ops rural road isn't safe to drive quickly ( from the photo).
I can't really see why the Op is so indignant about them doing it though. I understand speed limits are the law but they are incredibly arbitrary. If it's so dangerous to drive at 70 why is that a safe speed on some roads. Things still cross motorways and they get potholes.

I am shocked at some of the cavalier and reckless opinions on this post. A lot of country roads have bends and hills so anything over 40 is dangerous, given that these roads tend to have farm vehicles etc. And especially when so many reckless drivers speed round bends in the opposite direction, often in the middle of the road! I had an accident on a country road where a car travelling in the opposite direction was overtaking just as I got round a slight bend at around 40 mph. He hit me head on. If I had been driving faster I may have been killed.

Oh dear, Tankersome, perhaps some more driving lessons? You sound really nervous about driving and are being frightenend. But as several folk have remarked, you could be causing accidents by driving so slowly.
I have had my Licence for 56 years and have driven in all sorts of conditions. i break the speed limit fairly often but as someone else has said, you cannot get past 20mph on many rural roads - particularly in Devon and parts of Somerset.
My bugbear is people who insist on driving up my exhaust pipe. You can definitely tell what colour their eyes are! Like I am going to drive faster - like I am not and more likely to slow down

That's the normal standard for driving nowadays. Very few adhere to the speed limits no matter what the condition of the road or traffic levels. Big plus to you though for being sensible on the roads. Ignore the idiots who won't be keen to speed when they have points and a fine to deal with. Of course the effect only lasts a shirt while before they are back driving like there is no tomorrow.

Forgot to mention I too live in rural area. Nearest road to village has a 40 mph limit due to a few blind bends. Drivers still try overtaking and one day I know I will be the meat in the sandwich as had a few near misses. Even on the straight speed limit is ignored with most doing 50/60. What people do not appreciate or understand is that a speed limit dictates the fastest speed allowed under ideal conditions. It doesn't mean you must drive at the maximum.

Oh dear, Tankersome, perhaps some more driving lessons? You sound really nervous about driving and are being frightenend. But as several folk have remarked, you could be causing accidents by driving so slowly.

Many people have commented on her driving too slowly because they havent read the thread properly and assumed she was doing 35 on a main road, over and over again. She isnt, she is doing 60, why is that too flipping slow?
And her pulling in to let people pass a couple of times over the years (as she clearly says) hardly means she is too frightened to drive! Not everyone is in an all fire hurry to get somewhere and if someone is tailgating you on a bad rural road I would rather they sod off past me than sit behind me and decide to risk passing me at the wrong time and end up killing us both.

It always makes the news when a plane or helicopter down even if there are very few deaths. If we were told daily or even weekly how many people were killed on our roads maybe those who regularly exceed the speed limit would think twice about the consequences of their actions.

@akkakk

Perfectly put.

OP I completely see your point here. However I think you are right to just be glad when they pass - I always prefer people like that to disappear off in front of me that sitting behind me!

OH.

MY.

GOD.

Need to laugh or else I may break down with frustration.

HUMONGOUS thanks to those who bothered to read and try to understand my perfectly clear first post. A further huge thanks to those who have been attempting to educate others that they are replying to this thread with the totally wrong idea of what I was complaining about.

I AM NOT DRIVING TOO SLOWLY!!!

I am being overtaken despite driving the MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT.

I only mentioned the rural road in the first bloody place to make it clear that I normally always drive the max speed limit except when the conditions won't allow for it (like on the narrow, winding, pot-holed rural lane from my house to the main road).

THIS WAS ALL IN MY FIRST POST!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHND BREATHE.

Okay.

The majority of people who have responded after reading and understanding my OP seem to agree that I am not unreasonable (as what else could I do to avoid being overtaken so often without speeding myself?). So I'm happy with that.

Quite scary how many of you are out there with driving licences though when you lack such attention to detail. Really praying i don't encounter these posters on my main road to work, never mind the rural road.

Thanks again especially Willow2017 for trying to request people to at least read the first post of a thread before replying. Sadly, i think we're fighting a losing battle here.

Tanker


I (and a few others) dont understand why people had such a hard time reading what you said, I agree if they cant read whats in front of them in black and white and not moving how on earth do they cope on a busy road with all the distractions?

I had to stop posting (and reading!) as it wasn't doing my blood pressure any good. :)

Oh yes the deer. A friends husband hit one, it wasn't pretty. The deer died and his new car was a right mess.

I hit a young roebuck a couple of years ago. I was travelling at 50mph on a straight stretch of busy NSL single carriageway rural road (but not country lane) that stretches between two towns. As the road was straight with traffic coming the other way I had to slam on the brakes and just keep going until I stopped.

The deer died after a few minutes and I nearly wrote my car off.

After speaking with the police, who asked the usual questions about speed, they suggested that although the road was NSL they would reccommend doing no more than 40-45 due to the deer. They said to ignore the drivers who go up your backside to try and get you to go faster (which had been why I was going 50). I thought that keeping up with the flow of traffic was better, but they said to go slower was better and let someone else hit the deer! I wasn't in any trouble, but I took their advice seriously. I now never go above 45 on that stretch. I've had twats road rage and overtake me there since, but I'm not going through that again and as far as I'm concerned, I'm following police advice.

Similarly, I've shredded a tyre swerving in where there isn't a passing place to avoid a dick in a range rover flying round a blind bend on a country lane.

You should always drive based on all conditions. That includes the road you're on, not just the weather.

OP YANBU.

Can’t believe the comments re 35 mph on a bendy single track road. It sounds eminently sensible to me given you might meet another vehicle head on round a bend, you need to give yourself time to stop. If you pull over to let other cars get past, you sound like a considerate driver.

As to being overtaken at 60 mph, YANBU. But I always prefer a car to overtake rather than tailgate.

Re the deer. DH hit one at around 50, well he was going about 50 before he hit the brakes. It was a red deer stag, he was driving his new car, deer killed outright - he went down the ditch with a spade in case he needed to finish it off. Car had a slightly cracked bumper and cracked headlight. When the insurers garage came to pick it up he couldn't believe that DH had hit a huge stag. I showed him the deer hair trapped in the crack.

DH loves that car and it's now 7 years old. He swears he won't get rid of it until it's falling apart.

Wow. That has been a really frustrating read!

It was clear the op was talking about being over taken when she is driving at 60.

OP - you over complicated the post by adding your info about the first bit of the journey. People obviously read the first para and then react.

I think the NSL is 70 mph?

I think the NSL is 70 mph?

Really?
www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/speed-limits/

I take it this is a joke:

"The rural roads are all NSL but I drive them around 35mph max"

and then you say that it is clear that you drive at 60.

Hahaha