to think 85 on a dual carriage way is to fast?

[Thisnamechanger]

That really. DP always seems to have to be the fastest bastard on the road. It scares the shit out of me to the extent where I have anxiety attacks on certain routes. I can't drive and the only other people I've spent much time on DCs and Motorways are DBro and DF who are both the same if not worse. Is this normal? I have lost a friend in a RTA so appreciate I may be oversensitive.

My Dad was very much a law-abiding person in all respects except when it came to driving speeds, where he would do 80 mph as standard on motorways and on one particular Derbyshire road get up to 90mph because it was a steep-sided valley which helped to get up speed on the way down and slow down on the way up.

It was bizarre that he had such a blind spot for his speeding being against the law when he was otherwise so puritan about obeying the law.

Fortunately he doesn't drive any more.

It was bizarre that he had such a blind spot for his speeding being against the law when he was otherwise so puritan about obeying the law.

Literally my DF too! Curtain twitcher but drives his bloody porche at 110mph!!

Oh north of Bedfordshire. That explains it. But surely 4 lanes of nose to tail traffic with everyone sat staring at their speedo must be an accident waiting to happen? You have a much bigger problem with heroin than speed in that area though?

These responses are odd. Many dual carriageways are 70 limit and better maintened than motorways. With that and appropriate weather / traffic, 85 is not unusual or unsafe. I’d be happy overtaking a police car at 80ish... I don’t think they’d care purely about speed until they see +90.

I don’t think they’d care purely about speed until they see +90.

My friend got pulled over and ticketed for 86mph. On a quiet stretch of motorway.

He's being a twat clearly, in both a legal/safety sense and the sense that he knows it frightens you and just doesn't care.

Anyone doing these ridiculous speeds is a selfish bastard.. Please.don't go driving anywhere near me and my family, thanks.

My commute involves a busy dual carriageway where no one goes slower than 80mph in the fast lane. Not saying it's right, but it's common here.

Stop being so goady Japanesejazz

The dual carriageways that I drive on regularly have a decent road surface etc so are safe in that respect. But they are nothing like a motorway, and there's no way it would be safe to drive at 85mph. There are junctions every few hundred yards where minor roads join the carriageway, and not with slip lanes or anything, just an ordinary junction. The number of fatal accidents on those roads is unbelievable, generally due to some arse coming from out of nowhere over a blind hill and slamming into the side of the car pulling out.

Did your DH do the speed awareness course and then nearly lose his licence for another speeding offence? Because you only get a course offered for lower excess speeds, not the higher speeds which would result in a ban. Or does he have a lot of points already?

Anyone doing these ridiculous speeds is a selfish bastard.

85mph is hardly ridiculous. Most continental motorways are in fact very similar to our dual carriageways and have a speed limit of 81mph. On a clear DC with light traffic an indicated 85 (actual more like 82) is perfectly reasonable. You could argue that many stretches are safer for much higher speeds in an appropriate car with an appropriate driver.

I think speed limits for motorways and good dual carriageways could safely be higher than they are. when conditions are good. They were set in the early 1960s, when most cars still had drum brakes, ABS hadn't been invented, tyre technology was shite and cars didn't have air bags, crumple zones or seat belts.

But all the while the limit is 70, doing 85 is unreasonable!

Comparing our speed limits with those on the continent is completely irrelevant. Their roads may be in batter shape than ours, and are more likely to be less busy.

I can drive safely at 85mph, but don't because I don't want a speeding ticket.

If you’re going from London to Cornwall why not train or bus it?

Someone I know who does that trip regularly often manages to get a return flight to Newquay for £70, which seems like an absolute bargain to me. It would cost more than that in fuel in all but the most economical cars.

The real issue is he knows you are scared of it and he still does it. This is emotional abuse. LTB!

I drive on a dc daily. Stretches of it are a 50 limit but the 'fast' bit, where you can do 70 sees the big BMW and audi types doing 90 easily. Totally unsafe because the road has bends, slip roads and lots of crossing points where you have to be aware of others turning. Does my head in when you have someone doing 40 on the inside and then you want to overtake at 70 and get tailgated!

"These responses are odd. Many dual carriageways are 70 limit and better maintened than motorways. With that and appropriate weather / traffic, 85 is not unusual or unsafe. I’d be happy overtaking a police car at 80ish... I don’t think they’d care purely about speed until they see +90."

Can I ask if you're on glue? There is a speed limit for a reason. What it is with people who are so arrogant that they think it reasonable to increase danger to others for their own selfish reasons? Increased likelihood of death if there is an accident at increased speeds...

I’m thankful I live in Scotland where our dual carriageways and motorways are often blissfully traffic free and virtually everybody drives at well over the speed limit, perfectly safely.
When I was on emergency call as a doctor, I regularly drove at 100 to 110mph on our local dual carriageway. I’ve never had a ticket or an accident and have 36 years no claims bonus.
As Jeremy Clarkson said, tongue in cheek, speeding doesn’t kill people - it’s crashing into them that does.
If you read the road and other drivers properly, scan the road for a mile ahead of you, anticipate and react appropriately, drive to the conditions, and never tailgate other vehicles, concentrate 100% on your driving, and stay focussed, then you will not cause accidents.
It’s far more dangerous to do 40 in a 30 zone, with cyclists, pedestrians, junctions, zebra crossings etc, than to do 100 on a virtually empty dual carriageway.

If he's done a speed awareness course having been caught speeding and he's still doing it then I doubt you're going to convince him to stop.

As a young adult I had a boss with 2 teenage (driving)sons. He often used to say to them " 30 minutes earlier in this world, 30 years earlier in the next."

Unless it was the middle of the night with no other traffic around ( Although still illegal) then he is an idiot to drive at those speeds as there are so many bad drivers on the road whose actions he can't predict and at those speeds evasive action would without a doubt result in losing control of the vehicle. Speed limits are there for a reason. In other EUROPEAN countries they have different speed limits for different weather conditions too - something we don't have here. We seem to rely on common sense which is sadly lacking in many drivers.

I think speed limits for motorways and good dual carriageways could safely be higher than they are. when conditions are good. They were set in the early 1960s, when most cars still had drum brakes, ABS hadn't been invented, tyre technology was shite and cars didn't have air bags, crumple zones or seat belts.

One more thing has changed though, a rather significant factor, there is much more traffic on the roads compared with the 1960's.

Speeding is not inherently dangerous, inappropriate speeding is. If he’s in 100% concentrating, leaving adequate gaps and reading other road users it’s not a massive problem. If he’s agressive and tailgating then this is more of an issue than the speeding.

If he returns regularly to Cornwall to do his hobby, is he a surfer?
He might like the adrenaline rush of driving fast. Let's be honest, if you're confident in your driving and have a powerful car, driving fast IS fun. Right up until your tyre blows out, someone in front of you swerves, a deer jumps out, there is debris on the road...
If he has an accident, he is unlikely to ever be able to do his 'hobby' again in the same way...

Speeding is not inherently dangerous, inappropriate speeding is. If he’s in 100% concentrating, leaving adequate gaps and reading other road users it’s not a massive problem. If he’s agressive and tailgating then this is more of an issue than the speeding.

Unless you consider the above post.

Consequences at speed?

If you have a blow out at 85 or 77 (speed limit +10% for speed dial inaccuracies) will probably end in a similar result.

Do people think 85 is too fast or because they’re told 70 (77) is the law?