Country road etiquette. Am I doing it wrong?

[JensonsAcolyte]

I have a new twice daily commute which is mainly country roads. Very twisty and windy, most of it is wide enough for two cars to pass but not all. Lots of up and down hills as well.

I’ve done the journey three times now. It’s 40mph until it hits the two villages then it’s 30.

Every single time I’ve had a car right up my arse for nearly the whole way. I’m starting to think it’s me.

So I drive at 40 along the straight bits with good visibility ahead. I brake coming into sharp turns and then accelerate coming out. I slow right down if I think I’m going to struggle with the gap with an oncoming car. I sometimes have to tap the brakes on a downward steep hill to stay at 40. I slow down to 30 approaching the village.

Every single time I slow down, the car behind pushes right up to me. It was a big white van this morning and yesterday morning (thinking about it, it could be the same guy) and an Audi SUV thing yesterday evening. The Audi overtook me when we got to the dual carriageway and GLARED at me. I’m in a mint green fiat 500, girly little car which I think is half the issue.

Am I being over cautious? Do I need to just thunder round the lanes at a steady 40?

If you are the sort of driver who would be pissed off with me can you explain why?

YANBU, and I hate beautiful country roads for exactly the same reason.

It's even worse at night when the road is unlit and you are being blinded by their lights in your rear view mirror.

Absolutely YANBU. I hate it when drivers do this. It's rude and extremely dangerous to try push someone to go faster than they feel is safe on a twisty road when there could be a child on a bike or a tractor around the next blind bend.
If they're getting the hump, then they're the ones who need to unclench and wait the extra few minutes until its safe for you to pull over so they can overtake.

It really is quite unusual to have a 40mph on a road that’s not 2-lane passable, though.

I used to get really stressed about drivers tailgating me and worry about holding them up so would drive faster. I'm not sure what changed but at some point I realised this was stupid and I now take great pleasure in it, so much so that I slow down even more if someone is driving up my arse and give them a huge smug smile if they overtake. Don't get me wrong I don't drive dangerously slow, most people just don't follow the speed limit and find it frustrating when you stick to it.

You are in the right. They are speed limits not targets - you don’t have to go that fast if it’s not safe to do so and slowing down for a bend is a good reason, hence why they usually have signs or road markings saying slow!

YANBU.
Years ago those sort of drivers would have intimidated me but now I’m older I just think - overtake or fuck off and wait.

The issue is your speeding up on the straight so people who are more confident and comfortable on the road arnt able to over take you in a safe way.

@Viviennemary

You need to find a different route if you are holding up traffic and inconveniencing folk.

Please say you’re joking with this comment!

@Zzzzzzxxx

The issue is your speeding up on the straight so people who are more confident and comfortable on the road arnt able to over take you in a safe way.

I’m assuming you don’t drive

Pull over and let them pass.

It really is quite unusual to have a 40mph on a road that’s not 2-lane passable, though

Not round here, I drive down a NSL road every day that is only one lane and has passing spaces. It's straight with good visibility and you can easily and safely do 60 quite often.

Familiarity breeds contempt. Our windy lanes home you get horses, loose sheep, tractors, idiots speeding towards you on blind bends, I drive with what I know is a safe speed, if they honk their horn pull in. I have personally in a 4x4 pulled cars out of ditches.

You are not wrong. What if a horse rider was on the other side of a tight corner?

I drive around country roads every day, and follow the 40 and 30mph limits, I do slow down on the bends, yes, because you can't see round most of them and there could be a cyclist or sometimes a pedestrian. Don't let them hurry you up - you're helping stop them cause an accident.

It isn't you, its them.

They are probably much more familiar with the road, used to going faster than the speed limit, know the bends and how fast THEY can do them.. or think they can, and so they are getting impatient.

All sorts of things can lurk around corners, round here its horses, sheep, one time a pig sunning itself on the tarmac, long horn cattle, huge tractors, a pack of cyclists 3 and 4 abreast..

Be safe and don't worry about impatient arseholes!

Also 40 is the limit not the aim even if it says its a 40 Road it does not mean you have to drive 40 on every part of it! Obviously goes without saying driving too slow can also cause problems but only if the person behind is not paying full attention and doent give the stopping distance they require

Country roads are terrible for this but it’s not you! Do not go faster than you are comfortable with and visibility allows regardless of speed limit. There’s no excuse for arrogance of people like that, I often slow down more to get a distance... they get the message and if they glare - glare right back

@GravityFalls

It really is quite unusual to have a 40mph on a road that’s not 2-lane passable, though

Not round here, I drive down a NSL road every day that is only one lane and has passing spaces. It's straight with good visibility and you can easily and safely do 60 quite often.

That’s what I mean, though. Country lanes - i.e. twisty not passable in places as the OP describes are usually NSL not under any speed limit. You’d get a 40mph limit on a bigger 2-lane road so I wonder if OP’s perception of the type of road it is is a bit off?

I drive rural lanes all the time, and her speed would be fine on them but technically they’re NSL not speed-restricted. The roads that have 40-30-40 are usually a bit bigger B-roads.

Tailgating was made illegal some years ago. Put a sticker saying 'Smile, you are on my covert camera.' And slow down so they can read it.

Also I get someone right up behind me every day on the school run when I get to the 20 limit. It's 20 because there are lots of schools around and I'm not going to drive faster, so the idiots behind me can just wait.

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

(also, not saying you are driving wrong, but is it definitely 40 not NSL? The majority of country lanes are 60 even if it's not safe to drive anywhere near that fast)

I was going to say this. Most country roads are 60mph so it might be that the other cars think this one is and that you're therefore too slow? Still makes them wrong and utter nobbers but just thinking why they might assume you're being too cautious?

I live rurally. Some people treat the lanes like they are trying to break the land speed record.
I go 40 because that is what I feel safe doing. There are no areas that are safe for overtaking, so the self important arseholes who need to be somewhere at warp speed, have to sit behind me until I turn down to the farm

I always pull over to let them go by, partly because I don't know why they want to overtake, they might have good reasons, and partly because tailgating is dangerous and I don't want whiplash.

They’re locals and know the road
As you get used to it you’ll probably speed up

@GravityFalls

It really is quite unusual to have a 40mph on a road that’s not 2-lane passable, though

Not round here, I drive down a NSL road every day that is only one lane and has passing spaces. It's straight with good visibility and you can easily and safely do 60 quite often.

But that's not a 40 limit.