Drive at the speed limit

[OldSpeclkledHen]

I am sick to bloody death of drivers who refuse to drive upto the speed limit.

Ffs if it's 60mph speed limit - drive at fucking 60 -NOT 30 🤬🤬

Three times I have been out driving since last night, EVERY fucking time on 3 different journeys I have been stuck behind some freaking twat who cannot drive upto the speed limit, or overtake a fucking cyclist (but that's another rant)

I am by no means a girl racer, but FFS get out of my fucking way.

Aaaaaand breathe.

If it was three times on the same road, I'd consider the possibility it's poorly signposted.

Because you would be driving below the expected standard.

Driving slower than the speed limit is classed as dangerous driving. Imagine you are going down a 60 road at 60 and you go around the bend and drive into the back of some twat going 30 "because they're not in a rush"...

If you went at 60 round a bend and crashed into a 'twat going 30', or tractor, or cyclist, because you couldn't slow down in time, it wouldn't be them who was at fault.

I'm not saying that that's not true (the police do a lot of dumb stuff), but how can driving at 30 on a clear straight road with a 60 limit be deemed careless driving?

Because it's driving without due care and attention to the speed limit and the conditions. If the limit is 60mph and it's open conditions it's expected you drive closer to 60mph than 10mph. If you don't understand why driving too slow is dangerous then you are probably part of the problem...

Getting all bent out of shape and frustrated over this gets you nowhere. Learn to chill, life is to short to send your Blood pressure up over something like this.
I had someone up my arse going through the small village I live in, I didn't pass the cyclist as I knew by the speed he was going I would be cutting him off when I needed to turn left. flash car behind waved his hands and flash his lights all within a few hundred feet, speed limit 30, slight downhill, bike picking up speed. Flash car man looked like a right knob when I indicated and went round the corner he then picked up speed and found a tractor in front of him.

There is a stretch of road near mine which is perfectly clear, pretty straight and NSL (single carriageway) and the amount of drivers who drop to 40 is ridiculous. When I first moved here it caused me all sorts of problems with getting anywhere on time. In fact in 99% sure I was whinged about on here for always being late for meet ups with friends. I was always either late or really early for work.
It is dangerous to drive too slow and the car behind, driving perfectly at the speed limit won't expect you to suddenly slam your breaks on for no reason or be pootling along at 40. Also on my speed awareness course they even said that driving slowly can bring our road rage and annoy other drivers so we should avoid it. Part of our responsibilty as road users is to protect pedestrians and purposely antagonising other drivers is not doing that.

Driving slowly isn’t ‘purposely trying to antagonise other drivers’. People drive below speed limits for all sorts of reasons. As the car behind it’s up to you to gauge the appropriate speed at which the traffic is moving and adjust your own speed accordingly. Other drivers don’t know you or care about where you need to be. If you are habitually late for things and have identified a particular road as being a problem, take another road or set off earlier. If you can’t drive without getting ‘road rage’ that’s your problem alone.
Other drivers do lots of annoying things. Slow driving is one of them certainly, but it’s not against the law and, unless it’s erratic, it’s not actually dangerous either.

Apart from on country back roads and particularly dangerous roads I totally agree with you OP.

In my opinion a slow driver is as much of a hazard as a fast one.

And your anger is absolutely justified too.

I'm the most placid, mild mannered person 99% of the time, but people driving significantly under or over the speed limit test the strength of my ticker.

Also, the speed limit IS a target. That's exactly what it is.

Taking into account being able to stop in the distance we can see to be clear, and driving at a speed suitable for the weather and road conditions, people would fail their driving test (especially their advanced one) for driving under the speed limit. Examiners figure if you don't have a good reason not to be reaching the speed limit (eg windy country roads where you'd be mad for doing 60) then you're not yet up to the required standard. They'll fail you. So all those thinking they're great for doing 45 in a 60 limit, on a straight road on a clear day, think again.

I know it would be unpopular but I would love to see driving tests having to be retaken every few years. It would hopefully sort out the boy racer types (and those who don't indicate, sit on their footbrake for ages at junctions, don't drive in the right gear so constantly dab their brakes on corners and downhills) and those who, due to lack of confidence/slow reactions/whatever given the opportunity to get their driving up to standard again.

Driving too slow for the conditions might not be ideal, but it's not inherently dangerous - the danger is other drivers doing unwise overtakes to get past them. And if an accident does occur it's the person overtaking when they shouldn't who does and should get the blame.

The Highway Code is very clear about having tolerance for other road users. I would say that’s the golden rule of the road. People who go around thinking “Get out of my fucking way” don’t belong behind the wheel of a car. And I say this as someone who tends to speed when it seems safe to (just being honest), or at least go up to the limit.

The point is, going too slowly is intolerant of other users.

Even saga agree!

www.saga.co.uk/magazine/motoring/cars/using/why-driving-too-slowly-is-dangerous

redcar I did say that I was always late when I first moved here, this is no longer a problem. But thank for your advice
Driving slowly will get you pulled over by the police so yes, it is dangerous. They don't just pull you over for the fun of it. Driving at the appropriate speed is the safest way to drive. If you can't do that then you are not driving safely. This is stated by the police and the DVLA.

Candida. There are loads of reasons why someone might drive at 45 in a 60 limit. None of them are any of your concern. If the police want to pull someone over and ultimately make them retake their test then perhaps they will, but I’m guessing this is rare. All you can control is your own speed and, of course, your own temper.
Having said that, one of my friends was stopped by police for oddly slow driving, not long after she’d passed her test. I think they wanted to check whether she’d been drinking!

YANBU, your anger is justified. It is maddening to be stuck behind some dithering arse going markedly less than the speed limit when conditions are perfectly good.

Imagine you are going down a 60 road at 60 and you go around the bend and drive into the back of some twat going 30 "because they're not in a rush"...

If you are going 60 round a blind bend then are the twat in this scenario.

And you would be prosecuted in that scenario, because you weren’t driving with due care or hazard awareness.Alas it’s not yet a crime to ‘not be in a rush or to pootle along country roads. I sometimes quite like to admire the scenery.

Re overtaking cyclists, I'm sure a lot of drivers have forgotten that you are supposed to wait until you can pass them safely giving them the same room as you would when overtaking a car. Meaning that the overtaking car should be out with the inside wheels close to the white line. So maybe the people who can't overtake a fucking cyclist are just driving correctly and reducing the chances of killing them?
I've just got back from a trip involving a lot of driving on country roads and seen a fair few cyclists overtaken dangerously by people who obviously think that their need for speed is more important than protecting life. Also seen a lot who clearly thought they should be able to drive at the speed limit, even when it wasn't safe to do so.

www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/using-the-road-overtaking.html

The point is, going too slowly is intolerant of other users.

No. It may be inconsiderate, but it’s not intolerant. They’re unlikely to change, so I’m afraid it’s up to you to rise above, lest you become a danger.

On country roads, the 'derestricted' sign indicates that there is no lower limit because no houses/schools around, not that 60 would be a sensible speed for a narrow lane.

I agree about speed limits on twisty cuuntry lanes. You go as fast as is safe. Sometimes that's not very fast at all.
However, if a road is straight, weather conditions are good, visibility good and traffic minimal - why so slow?

Ok, you don't "have" to overtake a slowpoke, except that sometimes you do. Sometimes it's important to arrive at your destination on time. Picking children up from childcare, getting to work on time, medical appointment etc etc. All things where being late is bad. If you end up late because you're stuck behind someotdoing 30 in a 60 and it's perfectly safe to do 60, then yes, you're going to get annoyed.
If you don't feel able to do 60 when it's safe to do so, re think if you should be driving at all.

But whether or not you get to your destination on time is YOUR issue. It’s simply not another driver’s problem. If you get annoyed that’s understandable, but that’s not their problem either. I’m not going to change my speed because a complete stranger may or may not be feeling impatient today. If I’m such an underconfident driver that I can’t get anywhere near a speed limit then that’s for me to try to resolve over time (practice and experience usually help) but it’s not for another driver to make that judgement for me.
As a side note, I hate being the passenger of an impatient driver, someone who’s always chuntering on about what other people are doing or not doing. Concentrate on your own driving.

My aim is always to stay on the required limit or just under. I never go over - yet I am overtaken aggressively all the time.

My thought is that if they want me to go faster than the speed limit and I have accident right in front of them, they will be much later for whatever their important appointment is.

I am not going to be bullied into breaking the law.

On occasions my 1L car fails to get up to the speed limit quickly enough (such as joining a dual carriage way or motorway, or going up a hill). I can't control this, but I usually give the person behind me a little wave to acknowledge that I know I'm holding them up, but I'm doing my best. I also get out of the way on straight sections of road so they can pass safely if they wish.

It is give and take and some drivers are simply entitled. I rarely get frustrated with slow drivers. I just sit in a safe distance behind them and recognise that Ill get there eventually. It's quicker than walking...

If everyone was a little more grown up in their attitude to driving and less entitled, it would be so much safer.