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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Seven people overtook me in the space of 20 minutes

334 replies

Tankersome · 20/04/2018 09:02

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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
capostrophe · 21/04/2018 22:29

oh shit yes. just dual carriageways and motorways. good to know :-)

TopBitchoftheWitches · 21/04/2018 22:35

I had a group of female deer run out in the road in front of the driver ahead of me a year or so ago. Thankfully, he put his hazzards on so I knew there was an issue.

Since then, I drive down that country lane very carefully. It is nsl which is 60mph, I will not risk mine or my children's lives driving at that speed and possibly hitting a full sized deer.

40mph is enough.

Wanderlust1984 · 21/04/2018 22:56

I generally stick to the speed limit and rarely knowingly go over.

The worst types of drivers for me are those who drive ridiculously slow, then speed up when you go to overtake! This happened to me 2 weeks ago, driver was doing 60 on a dual, yet sped up when I pulled out, now have to do a speed awareness as I had to speed up to overtake and the driver behind didn't leave enough room for me to pull back in before the carriage went to single :(

Sorry for hijacking your thread for my rant Grin

prettybird · 21/04/2018 23:00

You're supposed to know thaat there are two different NSLs (single versus dual carriageway/motorway), and what they are when you take your test Confused

@Tankersome - your OP was beautifully clear, even without the later clarification and exemplar photographs of the single track and single carriageway roads you were describing. But while you were clear - many people didn't bother reading the OP properly, let alone RTFT Hmm

And YANBU BTW Grin - it would irritate me too. But as others have said, better they're out your way than potentially causing a crash as they pass you. I'd definitely lift my foot off the accelerator (perhaps a reason not to use cruise control Wink) while they passed to help them on their way. You'd be slowed by maybe 2 seconds - but at least you're no longer hassled. (that was advice I was given on an Advanced Driving course my company put me on, l when we complained about cars squeezing into spaces that were too small on motorways. Increasing the gap back to a respectable stopping distance wasn't going to have a measurable difference to your journey time, so don't stress about it).

Willow2017 · 21/04/2018 23:26

tinyme
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.
ha ha ha

Jokes on you for being unable to read a freaking thread properly.
Ha ha ha.

Personwithhorse · 22/04/2018 07:36

I drive according to road conditions, round here roads are narrow and there are quite a lot of potholes. Doing 60mph on most of them, winding, hills, tractors, deer sometimes would be down right dangerous. You get the odd idiot speeding past on blind corners usually on the weekend.

Loads of young drivers kill themselves here as well, often with no other car involved, just dangerous driving.

biscuiteater · 22/04/2018 09:34

Driving standards have really declined, so many drive much too fast without thought for what could be around the next corner. There are other road users to think about such as cyclists, horse riders, slow moving vehicles eg tractors etc. I think some drivers are basically just selfish and inconsiderate.

pollymere · 22/04/2018 09:58

I'd be very frustrated at someone doing 35 on a NSL road. Even one that winds. I was taught how to look out for on coming cars, and if you've enough room to pull over, then it's not single track.

prettybird · 22/04/2018 10:02

You do know that single track roads have passing places, don't you? Confused

Or you can pull into an entrance to a field. Or onto the verge. Hmm

crimsonlake · 22/04/2018 10:16

I am glad I am not stuck behind you doing 35 mph, you are the hazard. You are going to cause an accident by not keeping to the speed limit causing so many other people to overtake you.

Mogleflop · 22/04/2018 10:20

For absolute fuck's sake, NSL doesn't mean you CAN do 60. There are stretches of roads where it would be physically impossible even if you frantically wanted to.

The moral of this thread is that we should clearly have speed limits on all roads, since some dickheads on here can't apparently apply common sense in a need to go as fast as possible all the livelong day.

Idiots.

puppymouse · 22/04/2018 10:24

I recently took an advanced type driving test and actually commented to the examiner how hard other drivers make it to go the actual speed limit. I got two speeding penalties in a week when we moved to a new area a while ago (34 in a 30 and I thought it was a 40) and I'm now so frightened of more. I constantly get overtaken. I think you can only know you're in the right and carry on your day.

prettybird · 22/04/2018 10:29

FFS - it's a limit not a target.

The Highway Code makes it quite clear that you don't need to go at that speed if it's not safe.

From the Highway Code - you know, the Code you're supposed to have learnt on order to pass the test Confused.....

"You must not drive faster than the speed limit for the type of road and your type of vehicle. The speed limit is the absolute maximum - it doesn’t mean it’s safe to drive at this speed in all conditions. "

If you cause an accident by going faster than the conditions warrant, then you will potentially be prosecuted for careless driving.

There is a speed sign which states a minimum speed. The NSL sign is not one of them.

Willow2017 · 22/04/2018 10:31

Jesus the inability of people to know the difference beteeen single track dangerous rural roads without any way to see whats up ahead and good rural roads without high banks/trees/blind bends/deep dips etc is astonishing!
And the fact that you can pull in at a passing place or gate into a field etc.

Does nobody have the ability to Rtft these days?

Crimson just cos the nsl is 60 doesnt mean you have to do that. i hope you arent driving around on twisty dangerous rural roads round my way at 60. If so i hope its a hedge you hit when you fly off the road on a blind double bend not some poor sod coming the other way. Maybe read what op actually wrote before posting?

adaline · 22/04/2018 10:35

I'd be very frustrated at someone doing 35 on a NSL road. Even one that winds. I was taught how to look out for on coming cars, and if you've enough room to pull over, then it's not single track.

How do you look out for oncoming cars when the road is so windy and obscured by hedges, that you can't physically see them until they're two or three metres away from you?

We have a corner near us where the road is only wide enough for one car at a time, but either side of the corner, the road is easily wide enough or two. You also can't see if anything's coming until you're practically on the corner, due to the angle of the road, the height of the hedges and the farm buildings on both sides. All the locals know this and slow right down for the corner, but at least once a week I see an accident there - as minor as two people bumping wing mirrors, or people flying around the corner and smashing into a hedge or wall because they've lost control after having to slam their brakes on at the last minute.

Shrimpi · 22/04/2018 11:14

They might be overtaking you on the only safe stretch to do so because you drive at 35mph or less in all of the other nsl zones. Because you drive at 60mph down this stretch, they have to go faster to overtake you. Don't let it bother you.

Devastatedupset · 22/04/2018 11:18

STILL PEOPLE ARE NOT READING AND UNDERSTANDING???!!!

🤷🏽‍♀️

Original poster
Tankersome · 22/04/2018 11:25

They might be overtaking you on the only safe stretch to do so because you drive at 35mph or less in all of the other nsl zones. Because you drive at 60mph down this stretch, they have to go faster to overtake you. Don't let it bother you

NOPE!

None of these people are coming along the rural route behind me. I go along the rural route to join the main road. They joined it from a different route. There are a handful of houses along this route. As said several times before, in the

OP posts:
prettybird · 22/04/2018 11:25

There are a lot of people on this thread that I hope I never meet on a winding single track road with poor sight lines. Hmm

If anything, they're convincing me that 35mph on such a road is too fast. If I were to meet one of them going recklessly merrily in the opposite direction at 60mph, then that's a combined velocity of 95mph Shock

Or at the very least, I hope that they are the ones that end up in a ditch/in the wall and not the innocent driver going the other way at the correct speed for the road conditions. Or the cyclists, cows, sheep, walkers who have the temerity of being in the road they couldn't see when going round a blind bend Hmm

The fact that the driver going too fast would be in the wrong is to much consolation if you are the one impacted literally by the accident Sad

Shrimpi · 22/04/2018 11:49

@tankersome

Sorry haha!

It's not worth getting upset over. Fundamentally, you can't control what other drivers do. I'm always amazed at those who overtake at 70mph only to turn off at the next junction. Worse are the tailgaters (probably one of the most dangerous drivinb habits there are). Then I am mystified by the people who drive at 40mph absolutely everywhere (through 20 zones, past schools, also along long straight stretches of nsl). Then the person who will not go faster than 30mph but when you do move to overtake them (in a safe stretch I might add) they determine to murder you by matching your speed exactly so it's difficult to get either in front or behind of them.

There's something very irrational that overtakes a lot of people on the road.

Shrimpi · 22/04/2018 11:51

@tankersome

And to be fair you did say this in your OP:

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

I took that to me you don't drive faster than 35mph in most Nsl roads?

Squeegle · 22/04/2018 11:54

So many foolish and arrogant opinions on this thread. The whole point about NSL is that roads haven’t been assessed for the safest speed! Therefore if it’s a single track road no body but a fool would drive at 60 mph. It’s our responsibility to drive at the speed that is safest. We have to consider everyone on the road not just ourself!

Original poster
Tankersome · 22/04/2018 12:00

I took that to me you don't drive faster than 35mph in most Nsl roads

So - even after I provided context and explained what the rural roads around my house are like - when i said i drive the rural roads approx 35mph, you assumed i meant most rural roads, as in most rural roads in the world? You didn't think I could possibly just mean the ones I drive along on my way to work, since that's the topic I was talking about?

Why on earth would i just apply a blanket speed of 35mph on 'most rural roads' without actually knowing what these roads were like?

OP posts:
prettybird · 22/04/2018 12:19

Shrimpi - that is very selective quoting. Hmm

The full quote is, "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' In that context, it is perfectly obvious that Tankersome was referring to the windy, pot holed single tracked roads that she was travelling on before she got on to the straight single carriageway road where SHE INCREASES HER SPEED TO 60MPH (because it is then safe to do so).

Some people need to learn to read, let along (re)learn the Highway Code - which clearly states that the NSL is a maximum and that it is not always safe to drive at that speed ( " The speed limit is the absolute maximum - it doesn’t mean it’s safe to drive at this speed in all conditions." www.gov.uk/speed-limits)

Shrimpi · 22/04/2018 12:26

Haha sorry sorry I was just trying to explain how I misunderstood. I read it once and twice and still managed to read it selectively (maybe based on my own experiences of others drivers on the roads I use). I drive in a very similar way to you myself I think.

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