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?

If a motorway is quiet and conditions are clear and dry, I often sit at 80 in Lane 1 and the remaining traffic passes me. I haven't had a speeding ticket since 2007.

But I don't use motorways during weekday rush hour, and obviously keep my speed down if there are restrictions.

@sst1234

OP you still haven’t shared why you are driving in the wrong lane. Your follow up replies show that you are probably a nuisance driver on motorways. If you can’t use the right lane, you shouldn’t be driving on motorways.

OP by right she means correct. We all know you are actually using the right hand lane incorrectly

Oh dear OP is a 'nuisance' now. Best hand that licence back...

backtobusy
I would have thought 80 was a normal motorway speed in reality?

Are you the one in the middle lane blissfully unaware that you are causing other people to move into the outside lane because you are there?

@Abra1d1 if you have a problem with someone doing 80 how fast are you going?
If someone is doing 80 in the middle lane then maybe others should slow down or are they travelling too fast that they haven’t sufficient time to brake which is what in reality is causing people to move into the outside lane rather than @backtobusy being the problem.

@PurpleCarpets

I think 80 is kind of expected. I think it would make sense to put the limit up to 80, but then to actually enforce it - ie set the cameras to clock anyone doing 81 or more.

I think this opposite. Particularly with fuel the price it is, it would be worth reducing the limit to 60 and turning on the average speed cameras. It's so much easier driving on a motorway when everyone has to comply with a slower speed limit - no undertaking, no middle age lane sitting and if people do go over it, they don't do above 70.

If you put the limit up to 80 that will give the boy racers the green light to go even faster. I really do wonder why people haven't reduced their speeds given the cost of fuel. Clearly most drivers are well off!

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

Ah here comes the assumption that anyone doing 70 must be middle lane sitting. You are allowed to come out and overtake at less than 90!

@backtobusy profound apologiesI tagged the wrong personmeant for the OP.

(I drive at 80 if visibility is good and the road is clear, etc. Not so much these days, though, with fuel prices!)

I doubt you will get flashed at for doing 70 on the inside lane.

If someone is doing 80 in the middle lane then maybe others should slow down or are they travelling too fast that they haven’t sufficient time to brake which is what in reality is causing people to move into the outside lane rather than @backtobusy being the problem

Middle lane sitting for miles is really annoying. But the real issue seems to be that lots of people are too scared to use the outside lane, and that's the real reason they don't like someone in front of them in the middle. I think my definition of middle lane sitting (sitting in the middle for miles while the inside is completely empty) is rather different to the hysterical "someone has read the road and pulled out into the middle lane while they have space to do so and they're half a mile from the lorry ahead but they should wait, drive right up the lorry's arse and and pull out at the very last minute" view of the majority.

Ah here comes the assumption that anyone doing 70 must be middle lane sitting. You are allowed to come out and overtake at less than 90!

The only time someone will flash you if you're overtaking is if you pulled in front of them at a slow enough speed that they've had to break hard.

If you're not checking your mirrors before you move that's dangerous too.

I saw a statistic that the number of police dedicated to traffic enforcement has halved over the last 15 years. So they are less likely than ever to be caught. Then far too many judges give in to pleading that a driving ban will cause inconvenience, instead of responding to the person concerned that they should have not sped in that case.

Middle lane hoggers should be deemed as medically unfit to drive, it being assumed they have a mental condition that stops them using the left hand lane. It will never happen though.

According to the Money Advice Service, driving at 80mph can use up to 25% more fuel than driving at 70mph.

So if you fill up 50 litres for a trip and drive at 80mph you’d literally waste £20 rather than driving at 70mph, slow down to between 55-65 and you’ll save more

This. There was a young guy local to me a few years ago who was driving 70 in a 30mph zone. Crashed and killed himself and very seriously injured his friend and left him disabled. The shrine for him is still there a few years later.

But this isn't about driving 40 mph over the limit in a built up area, it's about 10mph over on a motorway -totally different things.

@ivykaty44

According to the Money Advice Service, driving at 80mph can use up to 25% more fuel than driving at 70mph.

So if you fill up 50 litres for a trip and drive at 80mph you’d literally waste £20 rather than driving at 70mph, slow down to between 55-65 and you’ll save more

Don't drive on a motorway if you want to drive at 55-65. Find an alternative route.

I generally put my cruise control on when the needle shows 67. I overtake folk in the left lane. If I'm moving out into busier lanes (ie the road isn't empty) then I will increase my speed to 70 until I move back to the left and bring it down again.

If I'm doing 70mph (with the needle slightly over on my speedo, so not 64 or whatever) in the outside lane because I'm overtaking I really don't care if someone behind me has decided they want to do 80 or 90. I'm not risking my licence. Their need to be faster is not my problem. And yes, I do use my mirrors and indicate etc before I get the "don't pull out in front of people" responses. Funnily enough you can pull out with plenty of space in the lane behind you but if someone is doing 20mph faster than the speed limit they are going to catch up to you, that's just how physics works. If they aren't watching far enough ahead then again, it's not my problem if they then have to brake heavily to slow down behind me.

There are definitely people who drive as if they live in a Fast n Furious film but without the stunt training.

Don't drive on a motorway if you want to drive at 55-65. Find an alternative route.

So should all speed restricted vehicles find alternative routes? Lorries, long/wide loads etc?

There is no requirement to drive at 70mph.

@PurpleCarpets

I think 80 is kind of expected. I think it would make sense to put the limit up to 80, but then to actually enforce it - ie set the cameras to clock anyone doing 81 or more.

I agree. I do 80 on motorways and am constantly overtaken.

You need to keep to the left, unless it's busy if you're going 70 in the outside line then you're going to get flashed. 80 is pretty much the going speed for the outside lane. There aren't many cameras and it feels like a perfectly safe speed. I don't know anybody that doesn't. I'd never speed in residential areas and have never had a ticket but 70 seems like a very arbitrary number.

@ivykaty44

According to the Money Advice Service, driving at 80mph can use up to 25% more fuel than driving at 70mph.

So if you fill up 50 litres for a trip and drive at 80mph you’d literally waste £20 rather than driving at 70mph, slow down to between 55-65 and you’ll save more

55mph on a motorway?! You'd have lorries and caravans beeping and flashing you for that.

@TimeForTeaAndG

Don't drive on a motorway if you want to drive at 55-65. Find an alternative route.

So should all speed restricted vehicles find alternative routes? Lorries, long/wide loads etc?

There is no requirement to drive at 70mph.

Generally they're actually sensible and stay in the left hand lane, aren't they.

The issue is people who can drive faster who choose not to drive appropriately on the motorway.

If you're driving at 60/65 you're going to frustrate other road users.

If you want to drive at single carriageway speeds - use them instead.

Generally they're actually sensible and stay in the left hand lane, aren't they.

Lorries take mikes to overtake each other slowly. Not sensible.

I do a lot of motorway driving and have done for many years. To answer the OP's question about why 80/85 etc... I think many people drive at that speed because (at least to me) it feels like a much more natural speed on the motorway. 70 feels slow... 90 feels too fast... I think 80-85 is a natural reasonable speed - IF the road conditions are safe - and that is the key with motorway driving.

From my experience of motorways, there are far too many people who have never learned how to read the road - both around them and ahead. If people paid more attention to what was going on around them on the road - and were properly reading the road ahead - there would be far less accidents.

If it is a dry day, road not too busy and I can clearly see ahead etc... then I'll drive faster. If the weather is awful, poor visibility, surface water, fog, or whatever... AND/OR the road is busy, lots going on etc... I'll slow it down and maintain an appropriate speed for the road conditions.

What I find terrifying on the road are people who pootle along in the inside lane at an unnecessarily slow speed clearly oblivious to what is going on around them - including other cars joining the motorway. You see them - just pottering along at 40 or 50 when there is no other reason to drive at that speed - they aren't looking at what is going on - they are only focused on the few feet in front of their car. It's so dangerous and I've seen more accidents and near-misses as a result of that kind of driving than from people doing 80 in good road conditions. I do distinguish between these people and drivers who may HAVE to drive slow if, for example, they've had to change a tyre & are driving on the spare or whatever. You can tell the difference - the dangerous ones are off in their own little world and have a terrifying lack of awareness of other drivers or any issues in the road behind or ahead (lane closures... emergency vehicles etc.). Slow doesn't automatically mean safer.

If I'm joining the motorway, as I'm on the slip road, I'm already reading and assessing the road to determine what is going to be a safe speed... I've already picked up on how the motorway is "running" - ie. does it feel more congested than usual, are people driving weird (after lockdown ended it was like everyone had forgotten how to drive and there was all kinds of weird behaviour going on!), is it running "fast" or more stop start... who else is on the road - lots of lorries or what? I'm looking at everything going on around me - and it's scary how many people don't do this.

Another reason I prefer to drive a bit faster when conditions permit is it allows me to get out from behind lorries in lane 1 - and gives me better visibility of the road ahead - I can see what's going on far further down the motorway and adapt my driving accordingly. It's not about driving faster to be reckless - it's about what feels a natural driving speed and about actually getting away from drivers I consider to be more of a hazard. Creating distance and space around me on the road - it's a more enjoyable drive and safer.

I admit I've been on more of an eco drive lately with the fuel prices but it's from an economic perspective than because I consider it better to drive that way. I still adopt the same practices though and will always adapt my driving to the road/traffic conditions first and foremost.

In terms of speeding in towns etc... I just don't do it. I don't speed around built up areas or on country lanes etc. That to me IS extremely dangerous and reckless.

I agree that 75+ is the norm on most motorways. I usually stick to 73/74 and that puts me in the left hand lane unless overtaking.

It's terrifying to come up to a 55/60 mph driver tootling along in the middle lane. If you can't overtake due to traffic you're forced to this dangerously low speed in the wrong lane, or you undertake. Neither ideal.

I've never been flashed. I'd suggest that the problem with the OP isn't the speed, but rather the lane.

(On a side note I personally know two people who have been charged with the +10% speed, one for 54 in a 50 and one for 33 in a 30, so it does happen)

I’m with you op and shocked by everyone’s attitude to speeding. I’m guessing not many have worked in the trauma ward before like I have. It’s not just increased risk of death at driving at 80 but of serious life changing injuries.
I also could not live with myself if I couldn’t stop in time because I was driving faster than the speed limit which then lead to a death or lead to the injury or death of the people I love in my own car.
I hope you all have clear consciousness when the police ask you why you were driving so fast as they are very good at being able to tell how fast you were driving now after an accident.

Accidents happen but everyone thinks they will never happen to them. But as a trauma nurse I can tell you they often happen to anyone and more often to people who speed.

I'm always surprised at the speed people travel in really poor driving conditions. When it's pelting down with rain, lots of surface spray and the windscreen wipers are on full speed and visibility is still quite poor, there are often drivers still whizzing past, at 60- 70+ mph. I can't understand how their visibility and braking distance are not affected by the weather!

55mph on a motorway?! You'd have lorries and caravans beeping and flashing you for that.

I said between 55-65mph saved more than the 25% at 70mph - not that you had to drive at 55mph on the motorway - though M6 has mile upon mile southbound of 60mph due to pollution control, and M25 average speed is around 55mph