People driving at 50mph on a 60mph road

[impossibldream]

I have to use an A road most days which has a national speed limit (60mph). It seems like I’m always stuck behind some idiot driving along at 50mph. I find it so hard not to get wound up. It just results in people trying to overtake (sometimes taking risks so I think it increases a chance of accidents) and generally increasing levels of stress. Why do people do this? AIBU to find it rude and annoying?

I have to drive a four-mile 60 road every morning, and I'd say about half the time I get stuck behind someone who has decided that 40 is safer.

Except it's not because people come up behind them at 60 then realise they're crawling along. It's so dangerous!

Depends on the road. There's a NL near me that is winding and hilly through woods. Stupid to drive at 60 though because you'll be hit by a bus or a lorry coming the other way round a blind corner and it gets tight because of the trees.

Imo 30 is unacceptable, 50 is ok. Its a limit, not a target.

60 is a limit, not a target. Does not necessarily mean the road is safe to be driven at 60. Drivers have to make their own assessment, especially if they are unfamiliar with the road.

Hard to say without seeing the road but I don't think 50mph on a 60mph road is a problem. It's annoying when people drive at 30.

I agree, I don't get why people can't do 60 on an open road that doesn't have harsh bends and stuff on it. The amount of people that do 50 on the A1 on the single carriageway bits for instance is pretty shocking, or the a9. Neither road is a bad road to drive on, both are very easy. Yet both have plenty of slow people on them too scared to go faster. Don't get why when they manage to do 70 on the dual bits.

Worse are people who do 40 in the 60 and then get to a 30 and carry on doing 40.

40 in a 60 annoys me but can’t say that 50 bothers me

Yes those people are brilliantly stupid. I don't get how they manage to remember to breathe to be honest.

And then, just to add to this, when they got a 30 mph zone they 40 drivers keep doing 40. It is like they cannot do any other speed.

I once got overtaken by a bloke doing 40 in a 30 zone, soon hit the 60 national speed limit sign, and still did not budge from 40.

Quite a few people mistakenly believe that 50mph is the limit on NSL single carriageway roads, 60 on dual carriageways and 70 on motorways.

Obviously depends on the road and conditions but providing it’s a good, clear road and conditions allow for it then yanbu. If you’re going to drive at 20 in a 30, 30 in a 40 and 50 or less in a 60 then have the decency to pull in when you can and let vehicles behind you pass.

A lot of people are becoming more aware of fuel consumption and the soaring cost of that fuel.... a steady 50 is more economical that fluctuating speeds...
But yes... frustrating just the same!

If you get 'wound up and stressed' by people driving perfectly legally then you need to address your own driving skills and attitudes.

I would not even notice this.

I would get a good audio book and leave early and just enjoy the slow ride.

All the best.

I know plenty of drivers who have deliberately decided to drive at 50 in a 60 zone and 60 in a 70 to help save fuel and I suppose help the planet. I can't see that 10 mph slower is dangerous or that it would make much difference to a journey time. It's the aggressive impatient drivers that are the issue.

I'm pretty certain that you don't have to drive at 60 just because the sigh says 60.

As a PP put it, it's not a target.

Sorry...sign

There are two pretty much parallel roads near me, one is 40 and one is 60. I get really annoyed when people do 40 on the 60 when they could literally take the next road over if they wanted to go slowly!

When I did a speed awareness course I was shocked that I was the only one that got all the speed limits right, most people didn't know about the street lights being indicator and loads thought 60 was the limit on a motorway.

You know they speed limit isn't 60 for an vehicles? Vans it is 50, as is towing, even lower for bigger lorries.

Sorry I should have said this is a straightsh road with no sharp bend and good vision. Absolutely no reason at all to do 60mph.

It depends on the road but anyone driving significantly under the limit without good reason or driving in the wrong lane is a dangerous driver imho.

I often wonder what is going on in their heads. Do they never look in the mirror to see a queue of traffic behind them while the road ahead is clear? Or on the motorway, are they actually concentrating on their driving if they don't notice the traffic is going faster than them all around them?

50 in a 60 is not unreasonable and legal. I would rather have drivers like that on the road than ones who cannot control their anger, get themselves stressed and blame others for having to do a dangerous over taking manouver to save 5 minutes on their journey.

Have you thought of trying a road safety course or anger management?

Other than conserving fuel consumption as a couple of posters have said above.

I’m not saying that is right or wrong, just that it is a reason they might be doing that speed.

But it is unlikely that you should constantly be at the 60 limit though - as PP has said it is a limit not a target. It often won’t be safe to go that fast. It sounds more like you need to manage your stress in this situation than other people need to drive faster than they judge to be safe.

I think that humans are everywhere and most of them are doing things that annoy others, the most reasonable thing to do is not take it personally and get stressed out and annoyed about it. The speed limit is a limit not a minimum, every driver has their own capabilities and there are more RTAs caused by speed than caution. The difference it will make to your overall journey time is minimal and not worth getting your knickers in a twist about.