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?

On my motorbike i would be doing 45-50, otherwise I'd have to thrash it, to maintain 60mph.

This 100%

Getting cross when people apply brakes on bends is a bit much

I tend to drive at 60mph on long straight a-roads. However, I am not a cesspit of rage, anger and entitlement, so if I end up behind someone going slower, I just hang back and adjust to their speed. No overtaking (unless they were say going under 40mph) and definitely no tailgating. Total non-issue. I'd rather people drove at a speed they were comfortable at on a-roads than bullied into speeding up, causing stress and a potential accident. Blood pressure should be measured when driving, and if yours regularly goes up due to rage it should be an automatic ban. Would save so many lives and generally make our roads a far more pleasant place to drive on.

I am afraid more of us will be doing this trying to save on fuel consumption so you need to accept it -

You are driving at 60mph. You get stuck behind a car doing 50mph. So your average speed reduces. You then overtake. Arrive at a junction, red lights etc - so your average speed reduces. Meanwhile the slower car arrives and also waits.

That definitely does happen some times, but other times you just make it through the green light and the car you had overtaken gets stuck. It’s also useful at a busy junction, the car you overtook may be behind you waiting to pull out but you can then easily find yourself 10+ cars in front after the junction, add in a couple of sets of traffic lights and you can potentially end up quite some distance ahead.

' you definitely don't sound a confident driver. I had to explain lay-bys to you.'

I'm a very confident driver but many aren't including older or new drivers. There's just no need for arseholes to be tailgating them expecting them to 'pull over'. You didn't need to explain laybys, you didn't mention them previously rather a vague 'pull over' which I explained was hazardous and unnecessary.

'I don't really agree with slowing down and indicating for people to go past though, it's better to pull over. The person doing the overtaking should be the one deciding, not the one in front.'

It really isn't, 50 is fine. Learn to control your temper if it bothers you.

YANBU

If always thought we should have Australian style low speed laws, if you go too slow (a % below the speed limit) you get fined the same way speeders do

Most people simply don't know how to overtake.

They drive up your arse, then keep on hesitantly moving to the right to look if it's clear, and getting more and more frustrated.

The most elegant thing I ever saw was a guy in a very, very fast Audi. I was in a small queue of 3 cars - the person in front doing 55 on a 60 single carriageway. He came up fast behind us all but stayed a very good distance. The second it was safe to overtake he accelerated mid bogglingly fast and had the entire manoeuvre done in the shortest possible time. He wasn't watching his speed - he was just concentratimg on completing the manoeuvre.

That to me epitomised safe driving.

Unless I know the road well, it's unlikely I'll be doing 60 down a country road. I try to keep as close to it as possible, 50/55 but if I don't feel safe driving at 60mph due to the risk of bends, potholes, narrow roads, ditches etc then I won't.

I used to feel intimidated into driving faster than I wanted to by other inpatient drivers tailgating,
now I just ignore it.
If you want to over take me and risk yours and others lives that's on you,

I'm used to driving in a city and would prefer a motorway over a country lane any day!

What's the rush ! I tend to go at 50, you shouldn't be whizzing up behind anyone , you have eyes don't you? As others have said, it's a limit, not a target .

Do posters realise you can fail your test for driving too slowly? See this info from a driving school website:

Appropriate Speed – common mistakes
Driving at 5-10mph (or more) below the speed limit on a 30mph road. If it’s safe to do 30mph, then your speed should be between 28-30mph to avoid being marked down in this section.

Driving 10mph (or more) below the speed limit on faster roads such as dual carriageways. If it is safe to do so, you must demonstrate to the examiner you can drive at the appropriate speed limit. If you are doing 60mph on a 70mph road, the examiner may assume that:

• You think it’s a 60mph speed limit


• You lack the confidence to do 70mph


• You don’t feel comfortable/safe driving at higher speeds


• You don’t understand the dangers of not driving the speed limit when it is safe to do so – i.e. cars overtaking/tailgating more.

Of course it varies more on country roads, which is explained from 03:36 on the video, but the principle is the same.

Many posters are minimising the frustration is causes to other road users to be stuck behind people doing far less than the speed limit, simply telling them to overtake. But on my roads this isn't possible and just creates long lines of frustrated drivers (like on my recent drive home getting stuck behind someone doing 35 in a 60, when it's fine doing 50 on most of the road). Another driving school explains the problems with driving too slow and how it will be "marked as a fail-worthy driving fault"

I drive to the road conditions, which generally means I’m at the speed limit (unless it’s the horrible winding NSL road nearby, and thankfully nobody seems to go faster than 40mph on it).

However, I’ve noticed that many people are really aggressive on the roads since the pandemic. Tailgating, weaving in and out, dangerous overtaking, NEVER fucking indicating, rolling out of junctions without looking both ways, cutting me up at traffic lights without indicating after being in the wrong lane… one person almost t-boned me on a roundabout because they came flying round a blind corner to my right, didn’t slow down a jot, I did an emergency stop and they just wooshed past.

I am a decent driver but I don’t trust anyone else nowadays.

Its not even that someone would save a whole 5 mins with their dangerous overtaking, its more like they just end up a few cars in front by the time you get to the next junction.

I agree, I do worry that people with such poor emotional regulation are on the roads.

www.learnerdriving.com/driving-test/marking/progress

The examiner is expecting you to
Drive up to the speed limit if road, weather, and traffic conditions permit or at a realistic speed if not
Approach hazards at a safe controlled speed without being overcautious or interfering with the progress of other traffic
Emerge from junctions without stopping at give way lines if it is safe to do so or emerge at the first safe opportunity to proceed.

Driving faults recorded
20 Progress
Appropriate speed:
Crawls along at slow speeds on clear roads.
Makes no attempt to achieve maximum speeds for the road when safe to do so.
Reduces speed excessively when the conditions do not merit doing so.
Makes slow progress through the gears in normal driving.

It's a test fail to faff about, FACT, I know because it happened to me.
The idea is the roads have been certified to be used at the speed limit set, it's completely safe. FOR THOSE WITH APPROPRIATE SKILLS.
Once the test is passed, the idea is to build on those skills, not regress to doing what YOU want, because you then become a nuisance.

I was driving behind someone doing a steady 25 mph on a 60 mph limit the other day. They were difficult to drive behind and were causing tailbacks for miles.

In two minds. On the one hand its annoying to be stuck (but count your blessings it isn't a tractor or two cyclists riding abreast) at a slower speed. On the other hand there may be reasons they're going slow. Saving fuel. Transporting pets or heavy cargo. Nervous driver.

Annoying or not you can't change it so change your attitude to not expect to drive at the speed limit and be thankful for those rare times you can.

If that was for me . I mean the people that brake for the slightest bend in a road. The sort where you could easily go faster that the speed limit around them .

I was doing 105mpglh down this road a few weeks ago. safe And legal

I suppose "Because it's my parent's car and they need to save money on fuel and besides what's the rush, it's relaxing, I'm in no rush, there will probably be lights up ahead so all I'm doing is speeding up to slow down, there will be a queue behind a slow lorry" is no excuse for a driving instructor?

Forgot the pic

Swanbuster, or just not overtake at all?

To be honest at this age I don't give a hoot how angry other drivers get, I'll drive at the speed I judge is safe. A long time ago I stopped reacting to other drivers cutting me up, behaving like idiots, tailgating etc, doesn't worry me at all. So the only person you bother is yourself , really someone going at 50 is not going to make a huge difference to what time you arrive at your destination. I'll drive at 60 on a long flat road but 40/50 on a windy or narrow roads

Everything you have said is irrelevant.
Drive to the code or use public transport.

Did I say I tailgated? Did anyone? And if 'pull over' to you doesn't mean layby, then you aren't using common sense. Odd that you think pull over means pull onto the verge, how often do you do that when driving?

Where did I say I lose my temper too on 50 drivers? I think they are daft, and usually incompetent, but haven't lost my temper. You sound like you are losing your temper though, why is that?

You can easily tell the incompetent ones over the ones who just aren't bothered about driving fast. They usually swerve a bit when other cars come towards them, brake when they see other cars and are generally dangerous on the roads. They shouldn't be driving at any speed.

FFS - that is their choice. Let them make it provided they do it safely.

I like saving fuel and driving a bit slower these days - it's relaxing, it's fine. I as I said much earlier in the thread - highly recommend it.

But I am not so obstinatenor arrogant that I turn a recommendation into an order.

If someone wants to drive at 120 mph and they can do it safely because there is no-one else on the road, that is their choice. It is also up to them to deal with the consequences of that whether that's being caught by a camera/police office increasing wear and tear on their car or just burning stupid amounts of fuel and paying much more for the same journey.

You are allowed to break the law. You just have to deal with the consequences of doing so.