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!

But... that's the exact same shithouse type of excuses you used for being able to speed?

The threshold for action (even an MAC) is 10% +2mph over the posted limit so you are never going to get anything for an indicated 78-80mph given that speedos over-read by at least a couple of MPH on nearly every non-HGV vehicle, and never under-read.

I think you’re wasting your time with @CantHoldMeDown
He/she is absolutely certain he/she is too clever/important for tedious things like speed limits.

@CantHoldMeDown I just sincerely hope that you never take anyone's life, or even your own with your over confidence. Always better to be safe than sorry.

My licence, my risk, nothing to do with you.

And there we have it! The sheer arrogance. Your blithe disregard for the rules of the road could affect any one of us. I pray I don’t drive anywhere near you.

@BernardBlacksBreakfastWine Exactly! It's scary that there are people like that on the roads. My dad is so funny, anyone who behaves like that and are on his tail and clearly wanting him to go faster, he actually slows down and refuses to bow to their stupidity.

So you take each law individually and decide whether it merits your compliance?

I should imagine a lot of people do that in various circumstances, not just driving.

Yes, I imagine they do. Doesn’t help much when you’re caught committing a crime, though, I’d guess.

@CantHoldMeDown I was talking more on the regular roads as opposed to a motorway. So say it's a 50 mph road and someone is on his tail wanting him to speed up etc, he will drop down to say 45 mph. They can flash all they want but he won't be budging.

It came up in relation to comments being made about people being slow and hesitant even though they are doing the speed limit.

Still not ok.

It's just for overtaking.
Don't sit there waiting for a gap so you can move over. If the rest of the traffic in the overtaking lane is flashing at you to let them by, you should consider speeding up so you'll find a gap in the next slower lane quicker.

The overtaking lane isn't there for drivers to make a point about the speed limit.

If you are driving slower than the rest of the traffic in whatever lane you're in, you need to move over.

Don't be a passive-aggressive driver.

And doing that is more likely to cause an accident than slightly exceeding a speed limit!

@taxguru How? He's just refuses to be bullied on the road.

What you're perfectly entitled to do and what is safe, sound driving practice in every driving situation are not the same thing at all.

The motorway isn't the place to stand on your rights.

Safe driving is a little more nuanced than you seem to believe it is.

I shoplift from supermarkets. I do so ethically (I wouldn’t have enough money to buy these things normally). I only do so from large chains that can absorb the loss.

In 30 years, stealing every day I’ve never been caught and I’ve never gone hungry.

Some people get ripped off and spend more than they need to on food, I don’t want to associate with those people! Plus I need to eat, I’d die if I didn’t! Why should I pay for the right to stay alive.

Now tell me why your crime is more acceptable than a mine.

The reality is that people will always make excuses for breaking rules and laws they don't care about. There's no such thing as a "fast lane" in which it's OK to break the legal speed limit. But because most people do it anyway, it's been normalised as the thing to do. Minor crime replacing the actual rule in practice is a very common type of low-level corruption.

Because the police and government tacitly condone speeding by not enforcing the limit, but only enforcing the limit plus 10% and a bit extra. Therefore 45% of people exceed the speed limit on motorways. From those that go even faster than that they raise £2.4 billion in income.

On the other hand no one is condoning stealing, and the government doesn’t make any money from it. And sort of ironically, I think it costs British retailers around £2.5 billion

And doing that is more likely to cause an accident than slightly exceeding a speed limit!

Not necessarily, on some roads

If you're on a windy country lane - which may have a hazard around the bend which will necessitate braking pretty sharply (walkers, sheep, deer, cyclist), and you get an aggressive tailgater, what is the best thing to do to reduce the chances or impact of them piling into your rear end? As far as I can see, the only thing you can do is slow down. If and when there's a stretch where it's safe for them to overtake (or they think they can) then it helps them if you're slower. Sure, pull over if there's somewhere you can but there often isn't for long stretches.

If you are driving slower than the rest of the traffic in whatever lane you're in, you need to move over.

Rubbish. If you're using the overtaking land to overtake, and you're doing so at the speed limit (true speed not speedo under-read) then anyone going faster simply needs to ease off for a moment till you can pull left a lane. There's really no complicated 'nuance' here.

Complaining about 'standing on your rights' is a bit rich coming from people adamant they should be able to stand on their wrongs!😂