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Original poster

To wonder who all these people are, speeding?

420 replies

justonanote · 03/04/2022 02:19

Or more to the point, how they think they can get away with it, or clearly do all the time?

I do a lot of motorway driving and I see so many cars doing over 80!

See also dual carriageways near me. People do 80+!

I'll be in a lane sometimes doing 70 and I have cars behind flashing at me to speed up Shock

My question is do people not get done very much for speeding? I wouldn't really think to speed anyway but surely the strong possibility of a fine or more is a deterrent? Do people just not care?

OP posts:
SomethingVexesThee · 03/04/2022 08:21

@justonanote

Sorry but I've come back and loads of you have said you regularly do 80 to 85?! What? Why?

I must be thick Blush because I thought the speed limit was 70 for a reason. Why are you all so happy to regularly break the speed limit? Even if you aren't getting caught?

Is there some unwritten rule I'm not aware of that 85mph is completely fine? Shock

Those asking about which lane I get flashes at, not an overtaking one!

It makes no sense at all that you're being flashes in the inside lane. Are you really?

If you're driving at 70 and someone wants to go faster, they'll overtake using the next lane. That's how motorways work!

80-85 is quite normal on most motorways yes. And so is 65-70 in the inside lane. It is a complete pain when someone drives at 60ish though, and forces lorries to overtake, painfully and slowly.

I don't think police bother to pull you over for under 85, so most people are comfortable to take that risk. 80 in clear conditions feels perfectly safe on a non-crowded motorway. Cameras will catch you of course but they're well sign posted.

Seleniummillenium · 03/04/2022 08:21

@NiceTwin

Police are conspicuous by their absence and speeders probably think the chances of being spotted are very slim.

The motorway closest to us attracts boy racers who think nothing of undercutting drivers by going on the hard shoulder. The police are more than aware but they never seem to patrol on the off chance of catching them and so it goes on.

The Police have never recovered from the financial cuts of Theresa May. They are busy doing bed watches and dealing with the mentally unwell. They don’t have the staff numbers any more to have cars driving up and down the motorways looking for speeders. The tac ops departments get deployed to non traffic jobs and have little if no time for enforcement. It’s really not through choice, it’s necessity.
Trainbear · 03/04/2022 08:21

@justonanote

Sorry but I've come back and loads of you have said you regularly do 80 to 85?! What? Why?

I must be thick Blush because I thought the speed limit was 70 for a reason. Why are you all so happy to regularly break the speed limit? Even if you aren't getting caught?

Is there some unwritten rule I'm not aware of that 85mph is completely fine? Shock

Those asking about which lane I get flashes at, not an overtaking one!

A lot of people become obsessed by a trumpian attitude "gotta get there as soon as goddam possible. Get outta my way... ". Not just knuckle dragging male sales reps, both sexes. Policing is negligible and usually restricted to a nice area where they can eat their sandwiches and get a few middle class people who will pay up easily.
Peoniesandcream · 03/04/2022 08:21

I'm near the M5 and most people are doing over 70, it has become the norm. The thing that bothers me actually is the increasing amount of drivers who don't indicate and just suddenly change lanes in front of you, especially when they're way too close. As a nurse I know the consequences of speeding and let's face it if you're driving over 60mph you're more likely to be severely injured but between 80- 100 chances are you're dead.

DrelasSkills · 03/04/2022 08:21

Sounds like you are driving dangerously to me?

The only reason I can imagine you're getting flashes is because you should be in a slower lane.

Cannot stand people who don't know how to use motorway lanes correctly. So dangerous, much more so than someone doing 80+ in the correct lane.

ivykaty44 · 03/04/2022 08:22

@thedarkling There is no slow lane on the motorway www.moto-way.com/2019/09/a-beginners-guide-to-motorway-lanes-and-how-to-use-them/ here is an explanation for you

Giraffesandbottoms · 03/04/2022 08:22

Where I live the general rule of thumb seems to be:

Left Lane - people going under 70, usually 50-60
Middle Lane - people going approx 70 and if left Lane is busy no point going in and out in and out overtaking
Fast Lane - 80+

I actually think it’s just as dangerous how many people drive so far below the speed limit. If you’re doing 50mph on the motorway on a day with good visibility and dry roads then you should not be driving. Same as the people who do 30 on a 50 road near me.

thedarkling · 03/04/2022 08:23

[quote ivykaty44]@thedarkling There is no slow lane on the motorway www.moto-way.com/2019/09/a-beginners-guide-to-motorway-lanes-and-how-to-use-them/ here is an explanation for you[/quote]
You know what I mean!

Yellownightmare · 03/04/2022 08:24

@Darbs76

I drive at 80mph too, 70mph is generally people who drive in the slow lane. If you drive at 70 in any other lane than the outside lane you’ll get flashed. Most drivers know where the speed cameras are and slow down.
Well that's just ridiculous. Sometimes you have to overtake lorries going slower than seventy. People shouldn't be flashing people who are overtaking because they're in the middle lane going at 70. There's an outside lane too in most stretches of motorway.

People are so impatient and they shouldn't be hounding people on motorways. I've been flashed going at 80 in the outside lane waiting for a space to move over. I always move over when it's safe to do so but I'm not going in a tiny space when I'm going at 80 miles an hour.

Sparklingbrook · 03/04/2022 08:24

I sometimes drive a stretch of the M5 that has variable speed limits and I do stick rigidly to them, but I'm not sure whether other people know something I don't because they don't seem to bother too much. Confused

A lot of people don't seem to know how to drive on a motorway either.

The country lanes driving around here is more of a problem though.

SickAndTiredAgain · 03/04/2022 08:25

Those asking about which lane I get flashes at, not an overtaking one!

People are flashing at you doing 70 in the far left lane?

DogInATent · 03/04/2022 08:26

There's an unwritten (but well known) guideline that under 85 on a clear (no heavy traffic, good weather) motorway you're not going to pulled for speeding. So 75-85 has become normal.

Who's flashing you at 70mph on the inside line, or is "not an overtaking one!" another way of saying you're in the Centre Land Owners Group?

sanityisamyth · 03/04/2022 08:27

Middle Lane Drivers cause far more problems on the motorway than drivers driving at 80 mph. Middle Lane Drivers should be banned.

MrsArchchancellorRidcully · 03/04/2022 08:27

I hope that you,op, are not sitting at 70 in the outside or middle lane. You should always be in the inside lane unless overtaking. I would flash you if you were sat in the outside lane at 70 and the other lanes were clear.

It's none of your business what other people drive. Just stay out of my way! I regularly drive at 80+ on the motorway when conditions are good. I always do 20-30 is residential areas or by schools.

RoseyLentil · 03/04/2022 08:28

Are you being flashed after you overtake a lorry ? Or maybe the lorry behind you is flashing to the vehicle that's just overtaken it and you're a little way ahead of both of them?
Lorry drivers flash an overtaking vehicle to indicate that vehicle has fully passed them and it's safe for them to now pull in front.
I drive a lorry and we have "code" for lots of stuff the general public don't know about.
Could this be it?

JoeGio · 03/04/2022 08:28

As an ex-speeder I set my car to ping at me if I went over 90mph as I considered 85mph to be normal motorway driving speed.
I was young and had supreme confidence in my own driving ability and reaction times. I got caught by an unmarked police car when I was 24 and haven't broken the speed limit since.
Now I'm a parent I'm horrified that my precious children have to share a motorway with idiots like my former self, and I am hyper aware of stopping distances and whether drivers around me are concentrating.

ivykaty44 · 03/04/2022 08:28

thedarkling No I don’t know what you mean, every lane has a 70mph limit 🤷‍♀️

Sparklingbrook · 03/04/2022 08:29

There's an unwritten (but well known) guideline that under 85 on a clear (no heavy traffic, good weather) motorway you're not going to pulled for speeding

Is that a universal rule? I wouldn't really want to test it out just in case. I'm sure that the traffic police could decide whatever they want in any situation.

EthicalNonMahogany · 03/04/2022 08:29

Bollocks are you getting flashed in the lefthand lane. You're getting flashed in the middle or right for not moving over.

thedarkling · 03/04/2022 08:30

@ivykaty44

thedarkling No I don’t know what you mean, every lane has a 70mph limit 🤷‍♀️
Lots of people have referred to the inside lane as the slow lane. So you know I mean the inside lane and you're being deliberately obtuse. Are you one of those people that drives seventy in the middle lane while the lorries in the slow(er) lane trundle past?
Sparklingbrook · 03/04/2022 08:30

I have never flashed anyone on a motorway. It's not my job to police other people's driving. I guess on MN that makes me a bad driver. Grin

ivykaty44 · 03/04/2022 08:31

It's none of your business what other people drive. Just stay out of my way! I regularly drive at 80+

It is my business if your putting my relatives in danger by your law breaking - what a fucking attitude

Kukdoos · 03/04/2022 08:31

I'm constantly on the M25.

I don't find many issues with speeders. I do see many issues, dangers and near misses, with the people doing between 50 - 60, sitting in lanes 2,3 and 4.

I set cruise control to 70, and will move in and out of lane 1 if overtaking lorries. By doing this, I'll actually undertake those in the other lanes, because they're not going fast enough.

Lalliella · 03/04/2022 08:31

I find it hard to believe that you’re being flashed for driving at 70 in the slow lane. Having said that I’ve never tried it so I wouldn’t know 😂

BulletTrain · 03/04/2022 08:31

Another saying people don't flash in the left lane on motorways. There are often people doing between 60 and 70 in the left lane on the M4 and people just overtake.