To think I had every right to be in the right hand lane when driving the speed limit on a dual carriage way

[P3kingDuck]

Dh thinks not.

So I’ve had to do a speed awareness course a while ago so do my best to keep to speed limits at all times.

Driving home on a curving dual carriage way on a slight tilt. 50 limit signs every few yards and a speed camera sign. The lane on the right turns into a fly over which I needed to keep on. So I was in the right hand lane driving at 50. A car came right up to my bumper and kept flashing. I stayed in the lane and pointed at the signs. He kept flashing then overtook me in a dramatic fashion, zoomed off( so breaking the speed limit) then slowed down so ended up driving not that faster than me but still over the limit.

Dh said I should have pulled over. I don’t understand why. Nobody on that road should be doing over 50 so what would be the benefit of me pulling over if I’m doing 50?

The fact is you had no idea why that driver was speeding. Yes, he was most likely going to just be some aggressive dickhead but you had no way of knowing that. If a driver is clearly driving faster than you then do the grown up thing and let them pass when it is safe to do so. Passive aggressive driving is pointless. It's safer for you if you just let them pass too.

Seeing that everyone is so happy to quote the Highway Code, so will I (in the Motorway section, but I guess would also apply to main dual carriageways where the same happens)

266
Approaching a junction. Look well ahead for signals, signs and road markings. Direction signs may be placed over the road. If you need to, you should change lanes well ahead of a junction. At some junctions, a lane may lead directly off the road. Only get in that lane if you wish to go in the direction indicated by signs or road markings.

I guess the debate is around what is meant by 'well ahead of a junction' but if the OP was less than a mile I would argue that this meets that standard.

Do we know that? She said it was less than a mile. Was it less than half a mile? What did the road markers say apart from 50? That’s not a directional sign.

Snore. Did you read the OP? Dual carriageway split in two. Right lane goes to her destination. Left lane doesn’t. Time to this split is the question. I take OP at face value that it was less than a mile. She didn’t do anything wrong.

@Topofthemountain well said. It’s like these people have never seen a dual carriageway split. If keep left unless overtaking was absolute, how the f are you supposed to take the exit in the right?

At that speed there is a big difference between a mile and half a mile. Half a mile is the bare minimum surely? But road signage has only come into it as the argument has gone on… if it was mentioned at the beginning it could have saved a lot of strife. Also thinking that as her DH said she should have moved across she would have told him the story in more detail and he probably knows the road well and thinks she was sitting in the lane far too early…

Irrespective of whether the other driver should have been speeding or not, perhaps a better question for the OP is: whatever the guy's problem was, why did you decide to be part of it?

Well to be honest I’m playing devil’s advocate against the certainty of a lot of poster’s on here that the right to exceed the speed limit should trump all else!

How can you be hogging a lane when it would break the law for the person behind you to go faster? You - behind me - would already also be going as fast as you are permitted to go!

Why should anyone feel in any way obliged to facilitate lawbreaking by moving over, they would be effectively helping you break the law.

There is a strong sense that for some people the seed limit doesn’t really count as a law. I wonder how many of these same people get on their high horses when other laws are broken that they do think are important?

I suspect there is a lot of hypocrisy when it comes down to what laws are apparently ok to break and which aren’t.

Interesting that you’re so keen on doing the speed limit, but less keen on following the Highway Code…. which is just as, if not more, important.

It's not up to you to decide on this, the highway code says right hand lane is for overtaking, and tells you to get out of it as soon as you've done that; you have to learn about it to pass your test, then obey it if u want to drive on uk roads:
https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/multi-lane-carriageways.html#:~:text=A%20dual%20carriageway%20is%20a,reservation%20to%20separate%20the%20carriageways.&text=On%20a%20two%2Dlane%20dual,is%20safe%20to%20do%20so.

@Arlanymor possibly. But as we weren’t there I think we need to give op the benefit of the doubt. She’s clearly annoyed at the speeding thing, and I think most other than OP agree policing speed is wrong. But if there are signs telling you to get in lane, I don’t think OP is wrong to ignore our poor man’s Lewis Hamilton.

And maybe read that in conjunction with point 266 that I posted above.

We don't know how far away the OP was from the junction, but it really isn't as simple as saying she was absolutely definitely in the wrong.

I think what my motorbike instructor used to say is also applicable here. 'there is no point in being right if you are also dead'. Whatever the rights or wrongs of you being where you were staying there in the face of an aggressive flashing driver is not a good idea.

So you've been on a speed awareness course, presumably for speeding yourself, yet have now taken it upon yourself to police the speed limit and criticise anyone breaking it?

There are other reasons that justify being on the right hand lane other than for overtaking, for example if that lane leads to an exit or turn off that you need to take.

Which post? Her version of events isn't consistent as a pp pointed out.

You know the OP does this!

Forget the various rights and wrongs of it, why would you want to ensure that a dangerous driver stays very close to you?

Surely the safest thing for anyone when you're driving is to safely manoeuvre out of the way of a speeding and aggressive driver? Why would you continue to place yourself in danger in order to make a point? Shows a bizarre lack of survival instinct when the alternative is to move over, and then get back into your lane to filter off.

Her husband probably wanted her to move over because he realised that the driver behind her would either continue to be dangerously close, or undertake.

You are completely in the wrong and if you feel like you weren’t you need more than a speed awareness course, you need some proper driving lessons.

Right hand lane is ONLY for overtaking. By ignoring that YOU caused a dangerous situation.

Obviously he shouldn't have been speeding. Everyone agrees with that, but it isn't your job to make sure anyone keeps to the limit.
Sounds like he was an aggressive and reckless driver, you should have just moved over instead of adding fuel to the fire by pointing at the sign and not moving.

Honestly I feel like a broken record - we do not know that the OP was "completely in the wrong"

She needed to be in that lane, and it was correct that she was in that lane as she needed to leave at the junction. The only debate should be if it met the criteria of "well ahead of the junction" (or indeed what that actually means)

OP not sure why you're still trying to argue. A clear majority says YABU. You should have been in the left lane unless you were very close to the road splitting. By your description it sounds like you weren't that close. If it was an extremely busy road I would move over early but if it wasn't then you should leave it until you have a reasonable amount of time to make the manoeuvre but then you are on the junction (e.g. if you need 10 secs to make the manoeuvre allow yourself 30 seconds).

What the other driver did was stupid and dangerous but you made it worse by not moving over. People refusing to give way to other people is a major cause of accidents. You were obviously annoyed by him and therefore stubbornly refused to pull over. Both you and the other driver were being unreasonable.

Whatever he was doing is up to him. You are responsible for sticking to the speed limit in your car, not obstructing a lane to prevent other people speeding. The points will go on his license not yours.

You're free to hold any opinion you like on his driving.

OP is right and almost everyone else is wrong, including OP's husband.
The highway code in my country is clear that overtaking is not an excuse to go over the speed limit, and I very much doubt that it's different in the UK.
Other people wanting to drive over the speed limit is not a reason to leave it dangerously late to get into the lane you need to turn off.

You did nothing wrong.

However, you're safer if the dickhead is in front of you.