To wonder how so many people are comfortable breaking the speed limit?

[AngeloMysterioso]

Is it just me? I’m pretty vigilant about sticking to the speed limit but more and more I’ve noticed recently that I’ll be doing 70 or just below on a dual carriageway or the motorway and someone will go flying past. God forbid I be driving at the limit on the outside lane, even if I’m going faster than everyone in the middle lane it’s only a matter of time before some knob is either flashing their headlights at me or driving up my arse (or both) while I wait for a big enough gap to move across so they can shoot off before doing the same to the next car in front.

It tends to be most often 4x4 drivers or Mercedes/BMW/Jaguar etc types. Maybe they just don’t think they should have to see the back of a 16 year old Fiesta!

That’s your opinion, and given your apparent inability to drive without breaking the law I’d say you’re just as bad a driver as they are.

Brian can fly

Americans don't have this fixation with lane assignments. Certainly not on interstates.

You choose the risks for your life, sure. That doesn't give you the right to risk other people's lives.

That you are this comfortable with coals too ignore the law to me shows that your have very poor judgement. Exactly the sort of person we don't want speeding on our roads.

In russia they shoot protesters

Americans don't have this fixation with lane assignments. Certainly not on interstates.

And significantly more traffic related deaths, there's probably many factors.

Jeez. This thread’s a real eye-opener.

So many arrogant drivers who will argue all day about why the rules don’t apply to them!

Also so many who can’t read OP’s post!

She described a situation in which she, in the outside lane, is overtaking slower traffic in the other two lanes, and posters have gone off in all sorts of mad directions in order to find fault with her.

It isn’t difficult to comprehend; we’ve all been there. There are two lorries vying with each other, taking up the first two lanes for miles, so you very reasonably go into the third lane to overtake. You’re going at about 70mph. Some clown in a fast car comes up behind at 90mph, flashing and beeping. That’s literally what OP is describing.

Morris and his wife Esther went to the state fair every year, and every year Morris would say, "Esther, I'd like to ride in that helicopter". Esther always replied, "I know Morris, but that helicopter ride is 50 dollars and 50 dollars is 50 dollars".
One year Esther and Morris went to the fair, and Morris said, "Esther, I'm 85 years old. If I don't ride that helicopter, I might never get another chance." Esther replied, "Morris that helicopter is 50 dollars and 50 dollars is 50 dollars".
The pilot overheard the couple and said, "Folks I'll make you a deal. I'll take the both of you for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say a word I won't charge you! But if you say one word, it's 50 dollars." Morris and Esther agreed and up they went.
The pilot did all kinds of fancy maneuvers, but not a word was heard. He did his daredevil tricks over and over again, but still not a word. When they landed, the pilot turned to Morris and said, "By golly, I did everything I could to get you to yell out, but you didn't. I'm impressed!"
Morris replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, I almost said something when Esther fell out, but you know -- 50 dollars is 50 dollars."

@CantHoldMeDown So basically by admitting you break the law, and are proud to do so, you are in effect engaging in criminal behaviour! That's not really something to be proud of.

@SerendipityJane don't know what the best tech is, but just meant that this is an area where the state should take the choice away. Use tech to apply the speed restriction wherever a person happens to be. Lower all national speed limits by 10 miles an hour. Less pollution, fewer accidents/deaths, energy efficiency and faster journey times as fewer jams and punch points forming around junctions. This would then impact car design in positive ways too.

I'm sure that you would, given the drivel you wrote here:

We have blanket 20mph here and that’s what I’ve been focusing on overturning. It’s now being reviewed because it’s a fucking senseless policy.

1. It's not a "blanket limit". I see no 20mph signs on the North Wales Expressway.
2. It's not senseless, the 30mph limit in built-up areas was an arbitrary figure plucked out of the air around 90 years ago. There is a considerable body of evidence pointing to 20mph (30kph) being much safer than 30mph in areas where cars are likely to encounter vulnerable road users. That's why 30kph limits have become normal in many European countries.

In Wales it has already produced promising results:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/01/casualties-on-welsh-roads-fall-after-20mph-speed-limit-figures-show

Bristol has had a longer period to evaluate results and the use of lower limits in built-up areas has yielded considerable savings.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-43050841

Of course I realise carbrains are inherently selfish people who positively despise pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists so would rather save a few seconds than save a life.

If a council has re-signed a 60 as a 20 then it's nothing to do with the change in Welsh law.

70mph is the highest speed limit, so regardless of lane, there should be no overtaking of any vehicle at that speed.

Those of you claiming ‘advanced driver’ qualifications are forgetting their fellow road users don’t give a fuck about that and your impact speeds are combined.

Spend a day with a traffic cop looking for missing body parts and you might stop moaning about slow (in your opinion) drivers.

In response to carefully posted evidence from @DdraigGoch about the positive impact of 20mph limits, we get this from @CantHoldMeDown:

It’s a load of crap.

Great arguing @CantHoldMeDown !

All you’re confirming with each post is that you’re an arrogant driver who thinks they’re above the law.

Your hurry is not more important than other road users’ safety. Just slow the fuck down.

My biggest bugbear by far is people who've overtaken me pulling in front of me where there is no space to do so, forcing me to slow down. It makes it really hard to keep a consistent speed. I've done about 500 motorway miles in the last few days and by far the most dangerous driving I have seen is lane weaving and driving too close to the car in front.

Ah, but shouldn't you just sit behind those two lorries instead of overtaking them, lest you hold up one of these higher beings for a few moments as you do so and they are incapable of dealing with the frustration of that?

As I'm reading it, unless you're doing anywhere between 70 & 140mph (70 being slow, even though legally it's the fastest you can drive in this country) - or whatever speed the person coming up the outside lane wants to do, you're responsible for any dangerous driving they engage in at that point because they cannot possibly be expected to ever travel at a lower speed for a few moments and (woe betide) deal with any frustration that may cause them as you overtake and return to the middle and then inside lane.

Love this 😂Nothing quite like taking my track car for a blast on a cool dry day either

Speed limiters are fixed to HGVs and cause loads of problems, particularly lorries side by side for miles causing huge tailbacks because the one overtaking can't get the extra 1 or 2 mph to actually complete the overtake. It also causes lorries to drive too close together, thus nowhere near enough stopping distance, hence the number of "rear ended" accidents involving lorries. Again, they can't go faster, so drivers decide not to slow down when they should to keep up momentum and maintain timeslots etc.

Motorways and dual carriageways would be more free flowing if lorries had more leeway as to speed.

Or you could go a few mph above the speed limit to get past those two lorries quicker. I hate driving "side by side" with lorries, especially in their blind spot, so will happily go to 75 or so just to get past quicker. I don't want lorries alongside me and don't want lorries close behind me, so I make the informed choice to exceed the speed limit slightly for a short space of time so I can distance myself from them as soon as possible.

This happened to us on a beautiful split highway in Vermont. Should have been a delightful, scenic cruise but the same white car kept going past us only to settle in and slow down again in front 😂

It was a charming looking, chatty older couple and they clearly had no idea they were overtaking the same car every five minutes or so!