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?

You can try that excuse in a test if you want, I imagine you'll still fail.😂

I live rurally and this grips my shit daily. Even the forestry log trucks go faster than some of the cars. I was caught behind someone doing 35mph one day..... Down to 20 on the slight bends. Accident waiting to happen.

You'd fail your driving test for doing it, it's not safe or a sign of a confident driver

I drive for myself not for you. Learn to control your road rage?

From the Government on Driving Tests

"You needed to show you can drive at a safe and reasonable speed when appropriate. Your examiner will have assessed this throughout your test.
You should have taken into consideration the conditions of the road, the amount of traffic, road signs and signals, and the speed limit. You should have been driving at a speed where you could stop safely, well within the distance you could see to be clear."

"You were marked on:
appropriate speed - your ability to drive at an appropriate speed for the road and traffic conditions
undue hesitation - your ability to maintain progress, and not hesitate and slow down when you did not need to
You should have driven at a speed appropriate for the road and traffic conditions, without holding up other road users.
Your examiner will have monitored this throughout the test"

Some of the most common faults for this area include:
not emerging from a junction when it is safe to do so
driving too slow unnecessarily, holding up following traffic
driving well below the speed limit on clear roads
waiting unnecessarily for another road user to pass who has clearly given way to you
Your examiner may have explained the specific details of any faults you made

www.gov.uk/guidance/understanding-your-driving-test-result/car-driving-test

So what is safe and reasonable?
Is 60 mph well below 70 mph?
Is 50 mph well below 60 mph?
Is 65 mph ok in a 70 zone? What about 55 mph in a 60 mph zone?

It sounds subjective.

Near where I live there are lots of national speed limit (60) roads, but it's rural north so what they actually are is single car width tracks, often with high hedges on each side, sharp bends and blind hills. You would be an absolute idiot to do 60 on these roads, despite being legally allowed to. Just because you can go 60 does not mean you should.

Exactly.

So if you’re behind a van for whom the limit is 50 is that a problem too?

YABU as are all the other wound up drivers behind you. I have changed my driving style significantly given the rising cost of fuel and driving 10mph or so under the speed limit is part of that, I can anticipate situations more quickly meaning I can adjust my driving style so as to not waste fuel. If you're in such a hurry set off earlier. I do agree that a line has to be drawn somewhere and that driving slowly on a dual carriageway way for example could be dangerous. But 10MPH below the speed limit does not equal this in my opinion. When I'm driving I only use the brakes if I have to, which means yes I will let my speed decrease as the car loses momentum when going Into a different speed zone, if it pisses off the guy behind me I really don't care. Every time you use the brakes your hard earned money is wasted so don't use them unnecessarily.

'Many posters are mnimising the frustration caused to other road users'

Stop getting frustrated. Get professional help with it if needs be, because frustrated road users are dangerous. Drivers doing 50mph in a 60 are not. They are also not responsible for your temper. You are solely at fault.

So? They're not idiots. This makes me so mad - it's a limit, not a target. Leave earlier if you have a problem that you can't get there in time unless you use maximum speed limits.
Fuel consumption and feeling more in control are the reasons people do this, I would guess.

If I doing 50 mph in a driving test and there is no car behind me so I am not holding anyone up, is that a fault?

If are stuck behind someone doing 50mph in a 60mph zone for 1 hour, it's literally cost you 12 minutes of your life. I can't blame people for getting frustrated.

@Sweatymess2022 and @stillherenow are not confident drivers. They'd fail their driving test. As CandidaAlbicans2 pointed out. So they shouldn't be driving. Because they aren't fit to drive

It hasn't cost you 12 minutes of your life. You are still alive. If may even have saved your life, as logically slower speeds are safer.

Yes.

Except it is dangerous, you'd fail your driving test for doing 50 in a 60, in Australia you'd get a fine, as it's seen almost as badly as going too fast

Might have been mentioned, but it’s 50mph for vans.

Is this a discussion about Australia?

I'm always amazed how many people manage to find their accelerator, when someone decides to overtake them.
All of a sudden they can do the speed limit.

@bellac11 the poster asked if it was dangerous, it is dangerous, so much so other counties even fine people for doing it.

Maybe you can widen your horizons

As has been said, it's a limit not a target. 50 on a 60 road is acceptable. When people are doing 40 on a 60 though, that IS taking the piss!

You are not "meant" to drive at the speed limit. It's an absolute legal maximum and you can be fined for being 1mph over it. "To the speed limit" means up to that legal maximum and not above it.

Why does almost every thread have to compare us to Australia, it's nothing like here.

Get help for your anger issues is the most boring and stupid MN response to any of life's small irksome frustrations.