To think 70mph is an acceptable speed in any motorway lane?

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

Disclaimer: I have only recently started driving on the motorway regularly

Surely whatever lane you're in, 70mph is an acceptable speed to be doing? I keep finding that when I'm in the fast lane (eg when overtaking cars in the middle lane) at 70mph, I find I have someone driving 2 metres behind me in a way that suggests they enjoy causing a pile up. Once I'm able to get back into the middle lane they will rush past at well over 70mph.

Did I miss the memo where the fast lane became part of the German Autobahn?

For me it's far more important that your behaviour is predictable to other drivers and you don't driver in a way that means another driver has to alter their behaviour unexpectedly.

Yes, absolutely this. I've seen a couple of very near misses caused by drivers going at 70 mph pulling out in front of cars doing 80-90 mph or more. If a car is bombing up behind you clearly doing more than the speed limit, and you're not prepared to match that speed then wait until they've gone by before starting to overtake. You wont be protected from getting yourself smashed all over the motorway just because you happen to be keeping within the speed limit.

Well why should they speedup and break the law?
They should continue at the correct speed and move over when it's safe and clear.
You flashing your lights and beeping at me jsntngoing to make me break the law. It's going to make me think you're a twat and I will ignore you and carry on overtaking safely thanks

I will not however pull out if I see a car speeding as I would rather not have some speeding twat smash into my arsr

Stay in the left lane unless overtaking

I have been over taken by a police car whilst doing over 100 miles an hour legaly whilst on a signal carriageway. He never stoped me.

@somewhereovertherain. Sure that happened

You flashing your lights and beeping at me jsntngoing to make me break the law.

If you've pulled out overtakin and now fibd you have someone who's beeping and flashing their lights at you on your tail, Chances are you've pulled out into their path so you've already broken the law.

They might have behaved like a year, but chances are so have you

Omg so many typos!

It did and in the British Isles. There are no national speed limits on the 🇮🇲

Having driven the length of the m4 and back this weekend, I firmly believe that 70 mph is more than enough given the abject stupidity of a large number of drivers. Those saying the current limit is too slow, do you relish the possibility of someone driving into the back of you at 90mph?

Friend got done for 75 on motorway so not much tolerance now - this was heading towards York
Folks who drive in middle lane for no reason are actually more dangerous imo - effectively narrowing the motorway and encourage some to undertake and causes more congestion in 'fast' lane

Here's one reason the speed limit probably hasn't been raised to 80:

For many people, speed limits are there to be ignored. As the speed limit is 70, many will drive at 75-80 because they think they will get away with it, with a hardcore few driving at 90+ the bankers, playboys and MPs who can afford good lawyers .

If the speed limit did officially become 80, then people would drive at 85-90 because they would think they could get away with it. The speed limit has probably been kept at 70 because many people will "push" it.

What I don't understand is why fines for speeding and road littering aren't much higher, such as £500 every time. The admin for fines probably costs much more than the revenue the present ones bring in. If you can afford to run a car, you can afford the fines. I'm sure there are many wealthy playboy drivers who drive as fast as they like, pay all the fines, continue driving when disqualified, and the only thing that stops them eventually is prison.

Those saying the current limit is too slow, do you relish the possibility of someone driving into the back of you at 90mph?

I relish it less if I'm going at 70 and it's a lorry than if I'm also going at 90.

That said I wouldn't relish a car travelling at 70 going into back of me if I was going at 50.

Basic physics really.

Why to me going at speed appropriate to the road conditions and other road users is way more important than the speed limit. I'm all for variable speed limits on motorways with a much higher base rate.

70 mph is of course fine, being the speed limit, so long as you haven't pulled out in front of someone, and you're going back into the left hand lane to let people past if you have cars behind etc.

Some stretches of motorway where I live (in Scotland) are so quiet that it feels perfectly safe to do more than 70, and lots of drivers do. But when it's busier, or rainy, or low visibility, you need to adapt to the conditions and that's where I think a lot of drivers are idiots - they do the same speed in every situation.

I cannot believe what I am reading on here

It's legal to go over the limit to overtake... False
It's not OK to do. 70 in lane 3 if lane 2 is doing 65.. False
You will not be done for doing 80mph..false
If your speedo shows 70 you are doing 66..false
It's OK to flash your lights on annoyance.. False
You can be done for going to slowly.. Not at 70 mph you can't
You won't get stopped overtaking a police car doing over the speed limit.. False

And as for the comment I work in insurance and never seen a crash caused by speed.. Take those claims to your local traffic police.. See if they agree.. People are not going to write.. Well. I was doing 90...

Honestly the ignorance on here is scary.. No wonder there are so many rtcs when you see the level of intelligence of people on our roads

Well why should they speedup and break the law?

I'm not suggesting they should. Only to delay over-taking until Speedy McSpeedster has gone past, and it's safe to do so. Deliberately pulling out in front of a speeding car forcing them to break heavily in order to not smash in to you is insane.

" I have been over taken by a police car whilst doing over 100 miles an hour legaly whilst on a signal carriageway. He never stoped me."

well that is bollocks, sorry. If you are clocked going over a 100 you lose your licence.

Frasersmummy - It's absolutely true that speedos don't show your true speed. They're calibrated to show a speed slightly higher than the one you're actually travelling at.

Focus is on good driving techniques rather than the speed other people are driving at is the way to avoid accidents. Check your mirrors regularly, clock unsure drivers, people driving erratically, people not reading the road. Even if it's morally correct, pulling out in front of someone traveling much faster is bloody stupid

How on earth are you doing 100 mph legally on any UK road unless you are a trained member of the emergency services on a call?

Somewhere is winding you up. They were in the Isle of Man

I’m a new driver. If I break the speed limit the penalties are more severe and I risk losing my license. So be others can just be pissed off, it’s not my problem.

It confuses me that experienced drivers are adamant that flouting the law makes them a better driver and that I should get a bus for abiding by the speed limit. I also did a motorway driving cause and was told to use the lanes for overtaking only and to not go over seventy Yet people are categorically staying this is wrong. Learner drivers are allowed on motorways now and this is what they are being taught.

The attitudes of people on Mumsnet are really helpful.....
Learn to drive it’s a necessary life skill
Learn to drive as you are a freeloader lift scrounger if you don’t
But never drive on a road even if you’ve passed your test and been deemed save to do so until you are a confident well experienced driver because you should never ever ever make a mistake whilst driving
Although exceeding the speed limit, using your hazards inappropriately on the motorway and hassling drivers doing the speed limit are not mistakes but good driving
Know every nuance of the Highway Code
But have exclusively valid reasons why it doesn’t apply to you.

The Highway Code and laws are there because like it or not you have to share roads. Everyone else needs to be somewhere else too. It’s metal bubble syndrome that causes this behaviour.

My driving instructor told me, when I was learning to drive, that you shouldn't perform a manoeuvre that would cause another motorist to brake. He said if you do, you are relying on the other motorist to realise that they need to brake and have a safe amount of time to do so. Neither of which you can rely on.

I use the M25, M20 and M2 a fair bit. It's not uncommon for the roads to be sufficiently clogged up (not just in peak rush hour either) so that to overtake one car it means you are overtaking many, and in some cases the traffic in the right hand lane is moving consistently at 60 or 70 and no more, and are constantly overtaking cars going slower than that.

This doesn't stop some people hassling me by sitting on my bumper & flashing me - possibly because I have more than a single car length between me and the car in front. The speed can be a bit erratic in the right hand lane in these conditions, and gods forbid if you don't react instantly to the car in front accelerating and match their speed immediately. Of course 20 seconds later they are slamming their brakes on, so the sensible gap I left is soon eaten up.

It's also not uncommon for people to move out in a completely clear right hand lane to overtake a string of cars in the middle lane, and then some nutter comes screaming up behind at exceptionally high speed while you are still passing the string of cars.

frasersmummy

Most people break the law. Not just be speeding but also by ignorance or accident. Most of people who are sanctimonious about speeding by their own accounts of their driving break the highway code just in less obvious ways.

In my opinion it's a shame we are so militant about speeding on motorways when there are waaaay more dangerous practices that slide under the radar. My cynical side says speeding is easy to quantify and proof therefore makes an easy target for raising revenue

And as for the comment I work in insurance and never seen a crash caused by speed.. Take those claims to your local traffic police..

I haven't. I'm happy to be contradicted. But that was my experience.

If your speedo shows 70 you are doing 66..false
Actually true well probably 63mph See here And here