If you can't drive faster than 35mph....

[DeRigueurMortis]

So indulge me with a rant....

My drive to work involves a 10 mile section on what you might describe as country roads.

The national speed limit applies.

There are a couple of sections that are winding but the corners are not severe - for example you could safely drive the whole section at 55mph (inc cornering) and 60mph in the straights (in good conditions - in the dark/rain/snow you would obviously not be unreasonable to adjust your speed as required to be safe).

I appreciate that someone who doesn't know the road might want to adopt a slower pace and wouldn't think that going 45-50mph corners/straights was unreasonably slow.

However there is a man who regularly seems to be on the same schedule as me that that insists on driving the whole section at no more than 40mph slowing to 35mph for long stretches. He obviously knows the road having done the journey many times and his speed (or lack of) is not impacted by driving conditions.

Cars regularly bunch up behind him (I'm talking queues of 10/15 other road users) as opportunities for safely overtaking are limited
(and I've seen quite a few dodgy overtaking manoeuvres done in sheer frustration I would assume - which I don't condone).

I can't help feeling that if you're incapable of driving at an appropriate speed you shouldn't be on the road at all.

This man works in a building near to my office (I've seen the car parked there) and I'm getting to the point of wanting to walk over and speak to him if I see him getting in/out of his car to have a strong but polite word.

Realistically I won't because I'm not sure there's anything I can say to make him a better driver.

However I don't think I'm U for thinking of you can't drive at a reasonable speed you shouldn't be in charge of a vehicle at all.

sidekicksally couldn't agree more.

He is not being dangerous by driving slowly, too although as others have said it's not considered great driving and might fail the test. And aggravating other road users is never a good idea.

He is breaking the highway code (para 169 if you check) by not pulling over and letting everyone else past him. And therefore in most circumstances breaking the law.

Most tractor, truck and horse drivers / riders know this. Some cyclists do (but if they're single file they're normally not holding a queue up). It applies to slow car drivers too.

Failing this would be a CD20 and up to 9 points on the licence.

Oh... a passive aggressive approach might be to print off the relevant page of the highway code , highlight that paragraph and leave it under his wiper with the words THIS APPLIES TO YOU TOO written on in green ink.

Even if you leave 5 minutes earlier, he's holding everyone else up to so it's your public-spited duty

I hate grandad drivers. You see them on a Sunday bimbling along usually in a sporty type of car that they always dreamed of owning when the kids were growing up. I hate them! Tootling along at 30mph in 60 zone and seemingly oblivious to the traffic building up behind him as he admires the passing scenery while chatting away to bloody Mavis as they bimble along to a fucking stately home or garden centre.
But.....Tractor drivers really really grit my shit. Fucking bouncing along at 15mph and smirking at the queue of irate drivers behind them. There was one going down a busy A road in the rush hour the other morning. That road is usually rammed with traffic going in that direction in the rush hour, why, why did Farmer Palmer think that time was a good time to go bouncing down the road? They've got plenty of fields to bounce over instead!
I've seen how fast those big bouncy fuckers can go when their dinner is on the table!😠

I agree with you OP. Where I live there are a lot of Toyota drivers that never go over 20 mph. It's always a Toyota. And so many driving instructors sitting with their learners at 12 ish mph. All during rush hour. And then the ones that suddenly break in the middle of a road to let pedestrians cross, holding up all other traffic and forcing me to do an emergency stop.

“Tractor drivers really really grit my shit. Fucking bouncing along at 15mph and smirking at the queue of irate drivers behind them”

Typical farmers.

Yeah, fucking farmers, spending their lives breaking their backs to feed us. What bastards they are.

Just a thought - leave more time for your journey so you don't get all road ragey and dangerous when ever you encounter someone not going fast enough.

Wow ifangyow. I bet you're a great driver, you certainly sound like someone who should be in charge of a fast moving vehicle

How can someone stopping to let pedestrians cross make you have to do an emergency stop, sizzledrizz? Are you not paying attention, or driving too closely behind them?

Never said I was a great driver. However, I've got over 35 years accident free motoring.
Maybe you should stop making assumptions and concentrate on what your reading. It makes you much nicer.

Reading makes you nicer? Clearly you don't do much then.

Stopping the flow of traffic to let pedestrians cross is stupid. The kind of drivers who do this are generally very nervous, don't understand they should use their right of way, and lack confidence in reacting to situations around them. You'd expect it of a learner in the early stages, not someone with a full license.

I agree with a PP that all drivers should be required to undergo a refresher course (even if only the theory part) once every 5-10 years.

Anyone who gets that much rage over a tractor on the road is not going to be a good driver. Rage like that effects judgment.

Eeeh loving the assumptions 😂

I could have written this post. I wonder if we live and work near each other. Does your slow driver have a nodding dog on the back windscreen?

Almost every evening I get stuck in a queue of traffic travelling behind some one who travels at 35-40, then slams on their brakes at minor bends. It's really alarming.

If I manage to leave the town where I work before the nodding dog car my journey takes about 25 mins, if I'm stuck behind them it's closer to 45 mins. There have been a number of occasions where I have got to after school club with only moments to spare because of their driving. It's very stressful.

Remain - there is a difference between rage and frustration. It's extremely annoying being stuck behind a slow tractor when the driver has ample opportunity to let cars pass but chooses not to. That doesn't mean the annoyed drivers are getting into a wild rage and will cause accidents FFS. You're trying to make out like a normal human reaction is extreme.

Stopping the flow of traffic to let pedestrians cross is stupid.

Or maybe, just considerate?

Without knowing the road, it’s hard to tell whether 40 or 60 is more appropriate. I drive on country roads all the time and there are plenty where 60 would be suicidal and others where you can do 50-60 quite safely. What annoys me more is people that believe that speed limits don’t apply at night or early in the morning . There is a stretch of road on my commute that is 30 through a village. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve had people (always men) tailgate me and then overtake at 50-60.

“Yeah, fucking farmers, spending their lives breaking their backs to feed us. What bastards they are.”

Oh yes, breaking Labour all from the goodness of their hearts and not for the wealth.

The OP wasn't talking about narrow country lanes though. She was talking about major A-roads which happen to be through open countryside and not dual carriageways. Most of the roads in Scotland are like this.

There is an obvious difference between a narrow country lane with high hedges on either side and a A-road leading through open countryside where you can see 500 yards in each direction.

A good driver adjusts their driving accordingly. Only an idiot would go haring down a very narrow country lane at 60. The problem is the large number of incompetent/inconsiderate/nervous/useless drivers who do not adjust their driving accordingly and stick to 30mph irrespective of the road, light or weather conditions.

@Streetwisehercules, the vast majority of farmers aren't wealthy, that's one of the reasons why there's a massive suicide rate in that industry.

@TheClaifeCrier

I see your Honda Jazz and a raise you a Fiat Panda.

I live in a 30 village, surrounded by NSL roads. One area in particular atttacts a lot of pensioners. It’s a standing joke in our house because every Fiat Panda driver seems to be over the age of 70 and incapable of driving at more than 30 on a 60 road.

For the PP who suggested there was ageism on this thread.... no. Just facts. I’ve never been held up by an 18 year old driving at half the speed limit. It’s ALWAYS pensioners. They’re also the same dickheads that think it’s ok to pull out onto a 60 road which is completely clear behind and cause me to slam the brakes on, even when I’ve dropped my own speed by 20 because I know the dickheads are coming! It’s painful.

I drive a Panda and I'm 30 years away from pension age, don't tar us all with same brush!

One thing I find hilarious is if someone in a bigger car is dawdling along a dual carriageway and I overtake in the outside lane (safely and within the speed limit), the other driver suddenly sticks the boot down. They can't bear the embarrassment of being overtaken by a Panda. The BMW and Audi drivers are the worst, they always have to show they can put me back in my place...

“@Streetwisehercules, the vast majority of farmers aren't wealthy, that's one of the reasons why there's a massive suicide rate in that industry.”

Owning hundred of acres of land is wealth and it is the most subsidised industry in human history. If it didn’t pay, people wouldn’t do it.

What’s your evidence regarding high suicide rates among farmers?