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!

It's more like Op is walking on a footpath, and goes out to overtake a person pushing a buggy. Meanwhile, inconveniencing someone coming up behind her on a bike which shouldn't even be on the pavement.

I love how all the drivers who speed view themselves as better, more competent, more alert etc 😀

Are you a new driver or have you just realised this?

It has always happened and in the 30+ years I have been driving I don't think it is getting any worse. You will always get twats in life whether driving or otherwise, you just ignore them, move over when you have completed your manoeuvre, let them move on and forget about them. Not really worth any additional thought.

There's a lot of posters on this thread whose comprehension and/or understanding of the law seems so low that maybe they should be staying off the roads entirely!

OP, of course it's fine for you to be doing the speed limit in the outside lane while you're overtaking. Doing 70 isn't 'going slow' ffs. It is, of course, worth calibrating your speedo vs gps to ensure you're not actually doing 63 when it reads 70.

People exceeding the speed limit are breaking the law. Tailgating and flashing is wrong and dangerous too.

It's more like Op is walking on a footpath, and goes out to overtake a person pushing a buggy. Meanwhile, inconveniencing someone coming up behind her on a bike which shouldn't even be on the pavement.

Exactly!

Honestly the fact I am just repeating myself gives me a good indication of your driving. Breaking the speed limit when overtaking is perfectly fine and what most competent drivers do. Adieu.

But it isn’t perfectly fine. It’s illegal.

Your first paragraph in your first post you say,

"God forbid I be driving at the limit on the outside lane, even if I’m going faster than everyone in the middle lane"

The outside lane of a motorway is for over taking.

If you're referring to a dual carriage way, the outside lane is also for overtaking and you should stay in the left lane until you need the right lane.

So by you're logic, your happily sitting firm at 70 in lanes used for overtaking whilst over taking people who are all driving slower if you're able to overtake at 70mph.

You can't complain about people speeding when you're not using the correct lanes in the correct way yourself

I recently passed my driving test, I'm going the speed limit on 30, 40, 50 roads and there is always someone right up my arse, it's really annoying. I wish everyone would just chill out when driving, everyone is in a rush.

So by you're logic, your happily sitting firm at 70 in lanes used for overtaking whilst over taking people who are all driving slower if you're able to overtake at 70mph.

Yep. That’s how overtaking whilst driving legally works. If I’m going faster than the cars to my left then I’m overtaking them.

I’m with you OP. Everyone needs to leave the house ten mins earlier and chill the f out.

She’s not hanging about in the outside lane, you idiots. She’s overtaking which is what it is there for!!

So do I. People sit in the overtaking lane and others who think speed limits are a guide. Talk about ego.

That makes alot of sense doesn't it. "The speed limit is only to be adhered to if you are not overtaking, if you are overtaking then feel free to break the law and zoom on by!"

Good god

You need to check your mirrors and evaluate speed of vehicles already in the overtaking lane before you pull out. You can't just pull out because there's no one in the overtaking lane at that immediate moment in time. If you check your mirrors a couple of times you can evaluate how fast the traffic is going and whether you can pull out, overtake and pull in again before they come up to you. If the traffic behind you is travelling fast, then you should just decelerate slightly and stay in lane until they've passed you, otherwise you are causing them to slow down because you've moved into their lane at a slower speed. When driving you should never do anything that causes another driver to alter course nor speed.

I slow down a bit when people do that. Get off my fucking bumper.

Dp drives the speed limit everywhere after his speed awareness course

We live in London and everywhere is 20mph limits and he just turns the speed limiter on in the car and we drive at exactly 20mph

Today he dropped me off at the dentist. He was over taken twice and hooted at twice at traffic lights and one man leaned out of his window and gave him absolute dogs abuse and said 'no one drives 20mph you prick'!!

LillyLeaf

I drive at the speed limit and get tailgated, ive been driving since the 1980s

Got overtaken driving at 40 mph in a 40 mph limit and then as we got to he round about I went passed in the other lane. What was the point?

I've no idea why middle lane sitting attracts so much opprobrium compared with tailgating, dangerous undertaking, lorries overtaking each other or speeding, but there you are. Speeding is far more dangerous, sitting in the middle lane is merely irritating.

Also, there's far less actual middle lane sitting that people claim.

Middle lane sitting = being in the middle or outline lane when the inside lane is empty. Which is rare, as UK motorways are really busy as public transport is so rubbish and we transport so few goods by rail.

It is not:

moving into, or staying in, the middle lane because you need it at the next junction or don't want the inside lane at the next junction or to allow people to come onto the motorway in front of you

staying in the middle lane because you've just overtaken one lorry and there is another one coming up soon

Overtaking a middle lane zombie or lorry slowly crawling past another lorry are the only times you'd reasonably need to get into lane 3 or 4 doing 70mph

which happens all the time according to most online commentators!

Surely that lane is for overtaking UP TO THE SPEED LIMIT.

So yeah, no one should be beeping you.

You're going as fast as anyone can go!

Good grief.

Some of these replies are shocking.

The OP isn't doing anything wrong. They aren't hanging around in the outside lane. They are using it to overtake slower traffic. As you should.

This amount of people complaining 70mph is. 'Slow' and feel that they are entitled to break the law. The sheer arrogance. Regardless, it is the law, 70mph is the limit.

Breaking the speed limit when overtaking is perfectly fine and what most competent drivers do. Adieu

It's really quite scary that relatively intelligent people believe this! Going a few mph over to get past someone promptly, yes. Doing 80 upwards for most of your journey, no!

This is one of most arrogant dumb posts I've seen. Your advanced driver cert is meaningless and your constant speeding is dangerous you just don't think so. You are a dangerous driver

Drive within the limits or not at all.

Which is why I asked how slow is everyone going that you're not exceeding 70mph yet are still in the outside lane, having skipped the middle lane to overtake?

I've never been on a motorway where I've never had to exceed 70mph to overtake because everyone in the first and second lane are going that slow that you can overtake at 70mph (with the exception of speed limited vehicles)

I don’t pull out in front of oncoming to the traffic to the right. If I’ve pulled out into the right lane, it’s only after I’ve checked several times and decided it’s safe to. I’m not going to spend 45 seconds dithering behind cars doing 60 in the middle
lane on the off chance someone a mile behind is doing 90. If I want to overtake and the right lane is clear, I move out.

When driving you should never do anything that causes another driver to alter course nor speed.

Tell that to the people tailgating drivers in front of them because they can’t bear to not break the speed limit.