I hate motorway driving!

[AWiseWomanOnceSaidFuckThisShit]

Country roads? Fine. A roads? No problem. Residential streets? That's me.

Motorways? Oh I hate them, I find them so scary! I'm capable... I wouldn't go on them if I wasn't. I keep on fighting the fear because I don't want to restrict myself... but I hate them, they scare me. The lorries. The wind you feel sometimes when the car sways. Having to speed up when overtaking. My palms always have a thin film of sweat when it's over and I'm always so relieved to see that turn off. I didn't give a flying shite in my 20s but the older I get the more anxious I feel.

Is it just me?! Lighthearted...

People right up my arse in a 50 average speed limit section. Ugh.

Are you in lane 3 at an indicated 50mph? If so I’m not surprised that people are up your arse. You’re probably doing 47/48mph, many people want to be doing 53/54mph, I set cruise at an indicated 56/57mph.

Yes @HoboSexualOnslow 4! But no fucker knows how to use them and they all go in the third lane which was previously the middle lane because they're absolute swines.

I live 10 min utes from the M1 in South Yorkshire. It has average speed cameras near Sheffield and Wakefield so we don't get 100mph drivers.

From reading the posts on here it looks like it depends which motorway we are talking about. The ones I drive on frequently are the M1, A1M, M62, M42 and M5, and I don't find driving on them too arduous except in heavy traffic. But driving in heavy traffic isn't fun regardless of what type of road you are on.

I also do a lot of driving on country roads because we live rurally, and so do DH's family.

My main issue with motorway driving is that it is just so boring.

I was absolutely fine with them until they took away the hard shoulder. Happened about the same time I stopped having company cars and had slightly more elderly and breakdown-prone self owned ones.

Now I use A roads as much as possible.

Me too. I hate it

I think statistically speaking A roads are much more danger than motorways.

You are doing almost the same speed as motorways, but with no barrier between you and the vehicles going in opposite direction!!

OP, I don't like them either - especially the smart motorways with no hard shoulder.

BUT I don't let myself avoid them because I think that after time I would then also avoid other road types eg A roads with "challenging" entry slip roads .....

The number of times I have been trying to join the M4 and nobody bloody moves over
Part of the issue is that the guidelines have changed - when I learnt to drive you were supposed to match your speed to the motorway when joining - now the guidelines say those on the motorway should move over/slow down for merging traffic - preferably move to the next lane when approaching an on sliproad.

That change was some time ago but never publicised - so you get older drivers annoyed at merging traffic expecting them to pull over and the rest annoyed at not being accommodated.

That said - it can sometines be difficult to get into the next lane - merging traffic should appreciate that and also try to match speeds

Nothing wrong in 'hating' motorway driving - I hate sitting in greater London traffic - but 'fearing' motorway driving is unhealthy because its just not rational.

• when I learnt to drive you were supposed to match your speed to the motorway when joining - now the guidelines say those on the motorway should move over/slow down for merging traffic -

This has changed? When? Where?

UK motorway driving is fine. Try Belgium, that really is scary, especially the Brussels Ring at rush hour at the airport junction where it is five lanes. I was amazed to make it through 13 years there without injury.

You are doing almost the same speed as motorways, but with no barrier between you and the vehicles going in opposite direction!!

Well, you're not, are you? Most people stick to the 60mph on NSL single carriageway roads, whereas motorway traffic is going at 80mph, a 33% increase of speed.

Dual carriageways with a 70mph limit tend to have either a barrier or a wide central reservation.

@MereDintofPandiculation

You are doing almost the same speed as motorways, but with no barrier between you and the vehicles going in opposite direction!!

Well, you're not, are you? Most people stick to the 60mph on NSL single carriageway roads, whereas motorway traffic is going at 80mph, a 33% increase of speed.

Dual carriageways with a 70mph limit tend to have either a barrier or a wide central reservation.

Nowhere in the UK is the speed limit for the motorway 80mph

I remember the first motorway journey I made. I had to drive from Devon to Birmingham, and the journey according to sat-nav, should have taken me just over 3 hours. It took me almost 6 hours! That was because I was crapping myself the entire journey, and had to have mini timeouts at different service stations Tbf, the roads were perfectly fine, and the return journey only took 3.5hrs (i had realised by that point, that the fear was just in my head). Now I don't mind motorways at all. I fact, I find it quite similar to driving on dual carriageways, which is something that I have to do every single day.

thelegohooverer
My wonderful big brother taught me motorway driving skills - how to pick a car and match your speed to it on the slip lane, where all the blind spots are, how to predict other drivers intentions, what gap to leave in front and how to watch and control the space beside you so you have options, always to show brake lights when you see brake lights ahead, how and when to use hazards, to wait until the car you are overtaking is in the middle of your rear view (not side) mirror, to stay out of blind spots, what lorry drivers can and can’t see, why driving slowly can be hazardous, etc

This is really interesting. Any tips? I was interested particularly in the 'match your speed' one.

Thanks!

Nowhere in the UK is the speed limit for the motorway 80mph

Have you been on a motorway before? There’s plenty of traffic doing 80+mph

Dual carriageways with a 70mph limit tend to have either a barrier or a wide central reservation.

By definition, dual carriageways have something dividing the two directions of traffic. Hence dual. One carriageway going one way, one carriageway going the other. If there is nothing in between then it is a single carriageway.

@Elai1978

Nowhere in the UK is the speed limit for the motorway 80mph

Have you been on a motorway before? There’s plenty of traffic doing 80+mph

Doing those speeds on a motorway does not a speed limit make.

I hate them too and if necessary will leave home at 5am if I need to drive on one so that it has less traffic. Luckily the nearest one is about twenty miles away and I would only normally use them if going on holiday.

Nope, me to!

I can do A roads, huge roundabouts, country lanes.. but put me anywhere near one those roads with blue signs and I'm utterly terrified. I can't even do a two laned stretch which is no different to a dual carriageway!

By definition, dual carriageways have something dividing the two directions of traffic

Which could be as little as a strip of grass

Doing those speeds on a motorway does not a speed limit make

I’m not debating whether it’s the speed limit or not. The reality is that traffic is travelling at those speeds. This is why travelling in Europe is such a joy, in France set the cruise at 90mph and enjoy the quiet autoroutes, in Germany 60% of autobahns are “how fast will this fucker go.” That’s when you can make real progress.

I love motorway driving and it's actually very safe as they are fault straight.

Though I'm
Not a fan of smart motorways with no hard shoulder. They do scare me.

@Mintjulia

I was absolutely fine with them until they took away the hard shoulder. Happened about the same time I stopped having company cars and had slightly more elderly and breakdown-prone self owned ones.

Now I use A roads as much as possible.

When did they take away hard shoulders? There are some sections of smart motorway where it is used as a lane at busy times, but the overwhelming majority of miles of motorway have functional hard shoulders.

This has changed? When? Where

APOLOGIES - My bad, I was talking bollocks - highway code rules are as I was taught:
www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/joining-the-motorway.html

~10 yrs ago partner was learning to drive and came home spouting that motorway traffic was supposed to move out to accommodate joining traffic - I said rubbish and looked up the highway code, was shocked to find it agreed - either I've had a complete brain fart or it changed twice unfortunately brain fart more likely :(

I used to live in brum and regularly commute back south imo the m1 was always for people who couldn't really drive properly and awwww the m40 full of people who did, loved the m40! Rarely had a middle lane hogger and people knew how to overtake.