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Original poster

to think I'm allowed to drive the speed limit...

93 replies

marmiters · 13/05/2019 11:05

I've noticed that a lot of people get really frustrated and start tailgating when you're driving at the speed limit. Yesterday I was driving on a single carriageway, doing 60mph and had my cruise control set to this so I didn't speed. There are also at least 3 speed cameras on this road so obviously speeding wouldn't be wise even if I did want to! Had two cars overtake me at dangerous places and one tailgating me to the point that I couldn't see their numberplate.

I work in law enforcement and if I got caught speeding would potentially not be allowed to use my advanced driving skills at work.

Why do people think this is ok? It's so common and so dangerous. Am I really that awful for not wanting to break the speed limit?

OP posts:
Littlechinagirl · 13/05/2019 19:14

This really really irritates me. I'm the same as you. I'm not a slow coach but I'm not a fast-arse either.

I also have a baby on board sticker not that it makes any difference.
But I did send off for and have the space invaders campaign sticker 'dont be a space invaders stay jack's and frankly that has worked more. I wonder if it's because people bother to read it and then think 'oh'

Laiste · 13/05/2019 19:16

The main routes round here where you're likely to get tail gated have zero opportunities to pull over for them and like fuck am i going to do that for them even if there were Grin

Biancadelrioisback · 13/05/2019 19:19

OP the EXACT same thing happened to me yesterday on the single carriage way of the A1. Was overtaken by 4 cars while I was doing 60 using CC. I just ignored them

Laiste · 13/05/2019 19:20

AND while i'm here - 90% of tailgaters round here (rural) won't overtake you even on a straight. I don't know why. They actually fall back a bit when you get to a bit of road where it's obvious they could get round you Confused DH's theory is they're just using you as a 'meat shield'.

I find the mad boy racers are not the problem. They're up your arse and gone round you almost before you've noticed them tbh. They tend to wrap themselves round trees all on their own in the early hours.

RottnestFerry · 13/05/2019 19:27

If your speedo is showing 60, it's possible that you are actually only doing 55. The permissible 10% tolerance allows for factors such as manufacturing variances and tyre wear etc.

Fabvegetablegrower · 13/05/2019 19:50

I clean my front window if drivers get too close behind me. You can tell if they're too close as they have to use their wipers to clean their screen too. Grin

DeRigueurMortis · 13/05/2019 21:40

@mabelsgarden

You spectacularly missed my point.

Tailgating is dangerous. I don't care why people do it.

However I don't have any truck either with people playing a game of tit for tat and slowing down for miles on end just to prove a point (also potentially creating a massive queue behind the tailgater of perfectly ordinary and respectful drivers).

You're driving badly doing this whether you choose to acknowledge it or not just to score points.

Just pull over and let the irresponsible driver past rather than join them in poor driving behaviour. That is FAR safer than baiting an already poor driver further.

Ihatesundays · 13/05/2019 21:51

Someone tailgated me on a country road last week. It’s a 50 and i was doing 50 through most of it (there’s cyclists so there are a few bends you have to slow down for basic safety) but the car behind was sat right up my arse.
So I slowed down, and then I slowed down and then I slowed down some more. They then took a turning off.
Hilariously though they were behind me on the journey home. They kept their distance and I did the speed limit. Much easier.

TheRedBarrows · 13/05/2019 22:06

The speed limit is a limit not a target. There are miles of B roads in this country which have national speed limit but are winding, places where there are deer, horses, cyclists, tractors round the next bend and sections where you would be mad to drive at 60 or even 55 mph. And if it is a straight stretch of road it’s easy to overtake in due course.

If you want a tailgater to pass you have to slow down because passing places / gateways / lay byes might not be visible until almost the last minute and you can’t slow suddenly with a Range Rover up your bumper.

Sometimes I am driving along country lanes with a big 4x4 right in my tail and I pull over because they are so close and / or their bloody badly angled halogens are blinding me and shining straight at my mirror, 4x4s being higher. Then they continue at the same speed in front. They don’t race away. They were happy with the speed, they just drive too close.

mabelsgarden · 13/05/2019 23:45

@DeRigueurMortis

You're driving badly doing this whether you choose to acknowledge it or not just to score points.

No I'm not. I am driving within the law, I am driving at the speed limit, and I am and slowing down when people are driving up my arse, for safety reasons. If it pisses them off that is a bonus!

If you think people slowing down when someone is tailgating them is 'bad driving' then you need help... maybe a refresher course.

Book yourself in for a refresher course. Sounds like you need it. You don't sound like you're a very good driver.

www.reddrivingschool.com/learners/lessons/refresher-lesson/

You're welcome. Smile

funnelfanjo · 13/05/2019 23:52

Just pull over and let the irresponsible driver past rather than join them in poor driving behaviour. That is FAR safer than baiting an already poor driver further Exactly this. Annoying and irritating as tailgaters are, the best thing is to just carry on driving as normal until you can pull over when you are able to safely do so and let. them. go.

Don’t give into the rage, someone in the scenario needs to be the “adult” driver doing the sensible thing and de-escalate. Do you think a tit who thinks it’s ok to drive six inches from your exhaust is going to have a damascene moment and realise what a bad driver they are just because you slow down? They aren’t recognising you’re trying to manage their braking distance, they’re getting red mist from you being all judgmental.

Do us all a favour and don’t make a bad situation worse.

mabelsgarden · 14/05/2019 00:03

Oh dear. Confused Supporting the tailgaters? You need that driver refresher course too @funnelfanjo

PanBasher · 14/05/2019 01:13

I just take my foot off the accelerator and let the car slow naturally
The look of panic on the tailgating drivers face is priceless when they realise they're almost in your boot.

allworthwhile · 14/05/2019 01:24

If the limit is 60, it is very annoying travelling behind someone doing 57/58, as you probably are if the speedo reads 60...

allworthwhile · 14/05/2019 01:25

I just take my foot off the accelerator and let the car slow naturally
The look of panic on the tailgating drivers face is priceless when they realise they're almost in your boot.

What happens if they end up going into the back of you?

m00rfarm · 14/05/2019 01:46

My son has recently passed his test, and has a black box fitted to reduce his insurance costs. He is monitored every second he is driving for speed, braking and acceleration and receives scores for each. If the scores drop below a certain level, he runs the risk of losing his insurance. So he HAS to drive at the speed limit or below - otherwise he can lose his insurance or see the premium increased significantly. I was driving with him over the weekend, and was horrified to see that people seem incapable of driving at the speed limit, and terrorise people that are driving at the correct speed.

It would be useful for people with black boxes to have a notice on the rear of the car stating that a black box is on board and speed limits will be adhered to. Maybe then he would not be such a target for speeding drivers to tailgate or overtake dangerously.

number1wang · 14/05/2019 02:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NameChange92 · 14/05/2019 02:07

When I learned to drive I was taught to slow down (and touch your brakes so the person behind knows you’re slowing down) because that’s what’s safer to do, so I do, not to annoy them but to protect my own safety. If it annoys the jerk who’s tailgating that’s just an added bonus.

PanBasher · 14/05/2019 03:22

They end up paying for the damage @Allworthwhile, as one bloke found out 😁

Thatsnotmyotter · 14/05/2019 03:36

On Sunday a car tailgated me, angrily beeping because I had been unwilling to overtake a cyclist on a narrow, wiggly road, at the brow of a hill and then after the overtake because I was doing 40-50 in an area I know to have poor visibility, sharp corners etc. Eventually they overtook, just before the entrance to a busy garden centre on a narrow road, where they couldn’t possibly have been able to see what was coming, and shot off doing at least 70. I felt VERY smug, when I caught them, despite only doing 50ish, as they got stuck behind a tractor.

I then almost had a head on collision with someone who overtook and then cut up a cyclist in a really inappropriate place.

If you are going to be in that much of a rush, you need to leave more time for your journey. Nothing is so important that you should risk the safety of yourself or others around you and tbh I heavily suspect these were just wankers going to golf who felt they were above driving reasonably.

MissMoan · 14/05/2019 03:41

I find it's difficult to spot the GOOD drivers these days!

funnelfanjo · 14/05/2019 07:19

@mabelsgarden if you think I’m supporting tailgaters then you need a reading refresher course.

Does slowing down work? Does it stop tailgaters and achieve a suitable braking distance? No, they just drive even closer and display even more dangerous driving like wiggling from side to side and flashing lights in an attempt to intimidate.

What you’re doing is winding up an already aggressive and dangerous driver, just so you can get some sort of smug satisfaction and moral righteousness. Let them pass and get them away from your rear and your back seat passengers.

BertieBotts · 14/05/2019 07:38

I was responding to the person who said pulling over would teach a tailgater that it works :o

SmellMySmellbow · 14/05/2019 07:42

It's a 20 now for miles around where I live. You'd be amazed at how angry people get at me for driving at 20. Right up my arse, flashing and beeping.

Damntheman · 14/05/2019 11:49

Interestingly enough, I did slow down this morning after an aggressive twat started tailgating me. It DID work! He backed off when he saw he wasn't going to intimidate me into speeding, then I found a nice place to let him get past (and hopefully kill only himself when he crashes).

Safety rules of slowing in this situation definitely makes sense to me. It's an additional bonus that I don't have to pander to aggressive twats.

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