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 according to the OP, she never ever exceeds 70mph to overtake.

Where did I say I skip the middle lane?

I'm with you op. As for all the "modern cars are safer" bollocks, aye the cars might be but the drivers certainly aren't.
Especially Audi, BMW and most SUV wankers. Try asking emergency workers what they think of speeders.

I hear you. Sadly, as this thread shows, people think they can decide their own rules based on their preferences rather than the law, like the ones going on about the "fast lane".
There's no such thing. The speed limit is the same for all lanes, but you're meant to use the right lane to overtake vehicles that take going slower than the speed limit. You shouldn't be breaking the speed limit while overtaking. The speed limit in the right lane is 70, same as all other lanes.
I do the same as you, and if anyone wants to tailgate me or flash their lights then I just let them get on with it and ignore them until I've overtaken safely. I'm not going to break the law and risk my safety or that of my child by speeding, just because someone else wants to speed.

Reading the comments on this thread, it's no wonder that women drivers get a bad rap. It appears that a large majority don't understand the highway code, or are so arrogant they think it doesnt apply to them.

^^ For those too stupid or arrogant to understand the Highway Code....

Can you speed to overtake?
As rule 125 of the Highway Code states, the speed limit is the absolute maximum you should drive on any particular road. This does not exclude overtaking.
Exceeding the speed limit for any reason is dangerous as well as illegal and could see you hit with penalty points, a hefty fine, or even being banned from the roads entirely.
While overtaking is, of course, legal, there are strict rules about how and when it is safe to overtake – the most fundamental being that you should only overtake ‘when it is safe and legal to do so’.
If you’re caught speeding while overtaking, you could collect a fine up to £2,500 and six points on your licence, depending on your speed and the road you’re caught on.

www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/how-to/overtaking-safely-on-the-road-guide/

Obeying the law is so last century.

I just assumed it as you've said several times you have issues in the outside lane of people flashing you as you drive in it.

Who says all the posters on this thread are women?
I'm sure we've all seen women and men driving badly in all sorts of ways, but afaik statistics indicate it's more often blokes who have bad accidents at speed.

I’ve also said several times that it happens whilst I’m overtaking slower traffic to my left.

You're meant to apply common sense, not blindly follow the law. That's why it's called common law.

err, no, you’ve just complete made that up

Of course all speeding is a risk but for me it’s the drivers who go over the speed limit in pedestrian streets.

I was driving near a school a couple of months ago and the car opposite me must of been doing 40 in a 20 zone. Really scary as there are lots of little kids coming out of school. How they can do that and not care is beyond upsetting imo

It is illegal, but the Association of Chief Constables provie guidance about when action will be taken against speeders, and it's not until you're going faster than 78mph on a motorway. Therefore it's not surprising that many (most) people drive faster than the posted limit.

So, if no action will be taken, is it actually illegal ;)

https://www.e-database.co.uk/speeding-fines/

😱

I agree OP. Sometimes I have to go the smidgest bit over 70 to over take, but then someone’s behind me going 80 mph flashing me to move. There’s no need to be doing 80 in a 70 speed limit and you’d get done for that!

You're hard work.

You don't ever answer properly, you just answer with demands of proof of what you've said and can't give a straight reply.

It's weird...I'm done.

So, if no action will be taken, is it actually illegal ;)

Yes, and if you have an accident and survive it the insurers won't be turning a blind eye.

You made an incorrect assumption despite my being very clear about when and why I use the overtaking lanes, and I’m the one that’s hard work??

I'm actually really looking forward to autonomous vehicles after reading this

@AngeloMysterioso

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.

If they're a mile behind, you'll be in and out of the overtaking lane before they get to you, even at 90! Unless you're doing 70 and the car you're overtaking is doing 69!

Be careful what you wish for. Autonomous vehicles will end up being slower and roads more congested. That will increase journey times for everyone.

Wow!

I agree with you OP that there are some drivers who speed down lane 3 (fast overtaking lane) and drive dangerously close when you are already in that lane overtaking traffic in lanes 1&2.

Some people’s comprehension of your OP and the laws of the road are…confusing, to say the least!

Not if I’m overtaking multiple cars. If the cars in the inside or middle lanes is going slower than 70 I stay in the overtaking lane until there are no more to overtake.

And to make that clear, by no more to overtake I don’t mean until there are no more cars as far as the eye can see, I mean until I’m able to stay in the left lane for a sensible amount of time before I’ll need to pull out to overtake again. But if there are say 10 cars a short distance apart going slower than I am I’ll stay in the overtaking lane until I’ve passed them all, rather than ducking in and out behind each of them individually.

To be honest, our speed limits are crazy when you think about places like Germany and the autobahn and how advanced modern cars are now, yet we are still using the same limits that were introduced decades ago, and they're lowering them in places all the time now.

I dont think so. I think there will be less congestion as they will talk to each other and plan speed to support traffic flow. Bit like variable spped limits.
Plus less breaking to rubber neck accidents on the other side of the barrier.
Plus they will actually do that zipper thing when lanes close rather than the slower thing that people do where they get cross with people using both lanes then refuse to alternate..