To wonder who all these people are, speeding?

[justonanote]

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

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?

You will only be flashed if you are in the wrong lane. If you're in the second lane overtaking a lorry, noone is going to flash you. If you're in the second lane because you've decided that's the lane you're going to travel in even if the left hand lane is clear, you will get flashed because you're making people go round you unnecessarily.

If you're in the left hand lane doing 70 nobody will be flashing you, they would just overtake.

@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 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?

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

I think you know the answer really - Yes, there more or less is an unwritten rule that people do up to 80mph on a motorway and will rarely get fined for it. So many people do it that the police will not bother. It's similar to cannabis really in that they don't enforce it.

If they put the speed limit up to 80 then people would push it to 90mph and that would be much more dangerous. Many people believe that you can do +10% without getting fined, it's not true but such a common misconception.

I stick to 70 myself, but honestly, most people can drive at 75-80 without it being dangerous. The idiots are the ones speeding down a busy motorway at 100mph+.

* I'll admit to thinking nothing of 80 myself and given how many other drivers also do, I'm always suprised by the MN threads where no one ever goes a mile over the speed limit.*

^It is the morons in cars doing below 60mph who are the biggest hazard

@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 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?

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

This.

I have definitely crept up to 80 before on a motorway though it certainly isn't my default speed, I usually sit around 70.

The people who do my head in are the ones who cruise along at 40mph but then stay at that speed when you enter a 30mph zone - some people seem only able to drive that one speed. Its the weirdest thing and I see it a lot on my school run which is one big long road of 7 miles which passes through 3 villages with 30 speed limits. I slow down to 30, they stay at 40 so speed off ahead of me and by the time I catch up with them again, I have missed one of the few opportunities to overtake - drives me mad!

Sorry to clarify, the rest of that road is 60mph speed limit

@Popopopo

Are people really saying that it's ok to speed on a motorway because it's safer than speeding outside a school??

No I don't think so but statistics tell us that speeding in residential areas is far more dangerous with much higher casualty rates.

Most people drive at 80 on the motorway
Do a lot of motorway driving and you see the police parked up and they don't stop people at 80 needs to be a lot higher
I never speed when not on the motorway but honestly when on the motorway keeping up with the traffic seems safer

Driving in the wrong lane and causing people to slow down at high speeds (regardless of whether you're officially at the right speed or not) is more dangerous than constant flowing traffic moving at the same speed.

You're being flashed because you're causing a hazard. Lane hogging is an offence too.

Is it the left lane you're getting flashed in OP? If so I'd suggest it's for a different reason other than speed. Are all your lights working? Are you speeding up and then slowing down for no apparent reason? Are you checking it's clear and indicating when changing lanes?

If you're in the middle lane they probably think you're a middle lane hogger.

The people who do my head in are the ones who cruise along at 40mph but then stay at that speed when you enter a 30mph zone - some people seem only able to drive that one speed.

Yes. That happens a lot in my area. Our village is 30 mph, then when you leave it is 60mph until you reach the outskirts of the nearest town where it is 30mph. IMO the constant 40 mph drivers shouldn't be driving because they aren't paying attention to the speed limit signs.

@justonanote I think you should check your speedometer speed against your GPS speed as I suspect you are going a lot more slowly than you think.

@notacooldad

I'm not understanding why people are saying drivers are hounding you on a motorway, regardless of your speed. Why dont they just overtake, that's why there's usually three, sometimes four lanes.

Because Op is in the fast lane doing exactly 70. There is nowhere for the person behind her to go . If you are doing 70 you should not be in that lane.

@Carpy899

People who drive below 70 on the motorway are far more of a hazard than anyone going at 80. See cars going so slow that lorries need to move over to overtake them. Get back on the bus if you're scared...

This

Here in Ireland the motorway limit is 120 km/hr and I rarely reach that speed. I max out at around 100 in the slow lane. I just don't feel comfortable driving at a speed like 120 for long periods of time.

I would say 80 is my usual speed, sometimes 90 or a bit more if it's a clear road. It feels normal in my car.

Some of those country lanes that are 60 terrify me though and I'll go really slow down them. Would never speed in built up areas

Our village is 30 mph, then when you leave it is 60mph until you reach the outskirts of the nearest town where it is 30mph. IMO the constant 40 mph drivers shouldn't be driving because they aren't paying attention to the speed limit signs.

I'm guessing this is the same mindset as the pick-a-lane-and-stick-in-it people from the motorway. Pick-a-speed-and-stick-at-it

When I've sometimes tried to work out why lane hoggers do 70 down the middle lane no matter what, it usually seems to be because they think changing lanes ("swerving around the motorway" they tend to say) is dangerous!

@Lalliella

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?

I called it the slow lane because I know I get inside and outside muddled up! To me inside means it’s the lane nearest to the centre of the motorway, i.e. the fast lane, and outside is the outside edge of the motorway i.e. the slow lane, but that’s not right is it??

Isn’t it an offence now to sit in a faster (more outside??) lane if you’re not overtaking, so maybe that’s why you’re being flashed OP?

Yes, I also use fast/slow lane because I get inside and outside confused. I also get left and right muddled so can't use that either! I'm fully aware that the "fast" lane is an overtaking lane, and find it hard to believe that the OP is being continuously flashed for doing 70 in the "slow" lane. If the motorway is sufficiently empty to sit at 70 in the driving lane then why would a car travelling at 85 slow up behind a slower car to flash at them instead of driving around them. The only people I've encountered on the motorways who are resistant to changing lanes are those who just squat in the middle (where OP says she isn't....).

A lot of misinformation and lack of understanding in this thread.

I've lived in this country for 20 years. For all that time I've been astounded that motorway driving is still not standard in driving lessons, let alone or in the actual test!

And yes to the comments about single-speed-drivers doing 40 regardless of whether they are on a 60, 40, 30 & 20 mph road. Lots of those around where I live

DS2 got a two hour motorway lesson while he was learning. Don't know how common that is, he didn't ask specifically- the instructor just took him.

Simple solution is to privatise speeding enforcement. With the profit motive introduced more bad drivers will be fined/ banned from driving which will eventually lead to safer roads for everyone else. The mentality of someone who says i do 80-90 on a regular basis is the kind of selfish person who should have their license removed for everybody's benefit.

Motorway driving is now compulsory for learners. (Still freaks me out seeing the L plates!).

HGVs always used to be limited to 56mph (not sure if they still are as I think this was an EU ruling) so if anyone is in the middle lane and lorries are "trundling past", then they're not doing 70mph.

I'd be amazed if op is getting flashed for driving at 70mph in the correct lane for the circumstances. You should be in the left lane unless a slower moving vehicle is inside you.

80 is my normal speed. I think the 70 should be reviewed because cars are much more capable these days and it hasn't been reviewed for a long time.