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!

They obviously wouldn’t mind, because it’s just a bit over, and I’ve learnt today from idiots are us on this thread that speed limits are just guidelines!

I must have missed that amendment to the Highway Code!

Is that what you tell your kids as you wave them off in their first car?

@Tryingtokeepgoing It is very much a criminal offence otherwise the police would not get involved.

See my earlier comment about how many people actually slow down in poor visibility.

Well that's either made up or a stupid salesperson, as anyone in the UK who has a car with that level of automation (and I've had a 2 Mercs, a Tesla and a BMW with that tech) knows, if you don't interact with the car periodically then first it bongs, and if that doesn't work it will then slowly bring the car to a halt, haxard warning ligjts on.

Now, that's not ideal in the outside lane of the M25, but its an awful lot safer than having a heart attack in a car without that tech, where the outcome will either be the accelerator flat to the foor, and / or the steering when yanked to the left or right, and not stopping until it ploughs into another road user and causes a huge accident!!

I agree. I'd certainly be in favour of re-tests every 5 years for everyone and maybe every year for OAPs.

But it still wouldn't solve the problem of unlicenced drivers or those who get "friends and family" to sit their tests as look-a-likes unfortunately. Perhaps we'd need to move to fingerprints or retina ID checks instead of photos!

It also wouldn't solve the problems of people who can "fake" driving properly in a test, but then drive like morons on the roads again afterwards.

But yes, it would be a step in the right direction. Passing a test once maybe decades ago certainly doesn't make a driver safe today!

Much as you might like that to be the case, if you accept and pay the FPN it is not and you wll not get a criminal record

https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/blog/2023/01/motoring-conviction-criminal-record/#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20caught%20speeding%20and%20pay%20the%20Fixed%20Penalty,recorded%20as%20a%20criminal%20conviction.

@Tryingtokeepgoing The initial act of speeding is a criminal offence.

"Speeding is a criminal offence in the UK and can have serious consequences; drivers should always be aware of the speed limit on the roads they are travelling on. The police has the power to issue penalty points, fines, driving bans and even imprisonment for those who exceed the speed limit and cause dangerous situations or accidents."

Taken from a solicitors website.

And the conclusion is that the many, many 'speed doesn't matter, driving to the conditions does' people don't drive to the conditions either.

@Tryingtokeepgoing You have misunderstood what that blog is saying. It says if you don't pay the FPN then it won't obtain a criminal record but the actual act of speeding is a criminal offence, which is why the FPN is given in the first place.

It's essentially an incentive to get people to pay as opposed to being prosecuted.

This is true on mine also.

But few people have the presence of mind to indicate when they are in an emergency situation. And you might argue that is taking up valuable processing time which could be put to better use.

Last time I took emergency avoidance from someone in front doing something silly, I wasn't doing "mirror signal maneovre". I was getting the hell out of the way.

Sorry that meant to say that if you don't pay it then you will get a criminal record. Autocorrect.

“'He did drive fast, but not erratically and never took risks.'”

“He” sounds like a lot of people on this thread. He hit a 9-month pregnant woman driving to an antenatal scan whilst he was speeding, killing both of them.

The quote is what his wife said at the inquest into their deaths.

Sounds like he thought the speed limit was more of a guideline than a law too.

Above the law are you? Arrogant beyond belief.

I would love to see some posters in front of a judge.

“No no your Honour, you shouldn’t ban me from driving, I believe the law is just a guide…”

I'm prepared to accept "crazy" speed limits in exchange for a 15% reduction in deaths per million population.

But the outcome is the same isn't it. So that's semantics. If you stay under 96mph on the motorway and, if caught, pay the fine / FPN then you will not get a criminal record. Sure, you have tecnhically commited a crime. But if you don't have a criminal record as a result, and no further action is taken, have you really commited a crime...? 😂

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.

That depends on what is going on around you. If you have someone going faster than you in the Overtaking lane and coming up behind you, you SHOULD be moving over, if there is room to do so, to let them past and then pulling out again when you need. You don't just sit out because there is a further line of slower moving cars and you will need to pull out again.

People who drive like you can actually contribute to the cause of accidents. Yes, 70mph is the legal limit, but frustration by other drivers can cause accidents and it is best practice to consider other road users, not just be smug that you aren't going over 70mph and you'll stay where you are because it suits you. That is actually as bad driving as those who are speeding and driving up the rear of vehicles in front.

Speed isn't the cause of most accidents. The statistics are for "speed being a factor", not the root cause. That's a very important distinction. Most deaths are due to carelessness, incompetence, medical episodes, drunk/drugged driving, etc. The statistics are often taken out of context. Many of the deaths flagged with speed being a factor, would still have been deaths had the drivers concerned been driving at or below the speed limits!

Oh dear god, frustration doesn't cause accidents. It can cause independent adults to make dangerous maneuvers. The decision is entirely on them.

The whole point is, for speeding, you won't end up in front of a judge if you stick below the police guidelines! Unless of course you are stupid enought to be caught enough times to get 12 points. Then you really are stupid :)

I think those who vehemently belive that speed limits must never be exceeded are the saae people who spied on their neighbours during lockdown to make sure they didn't go out more than once a day ;)

You honestly can't be serious. Twat trying to race up the outside lane at 90 tailgates law abiding overtaker doing 70, and if his anger at being held back by a slowcoach results in him driving dangerously then it's law abiders fault??

Some of the comments on this thread are a bit scary. It seems as though a lot of people haven't ever read the Highway Code. How did they pass their driving tests when they are so ignorant of the law?

No I believe in the law and driving within the speed limit, but nope I never had time to spy on my neighbours during covid, was too busy working full time!

Just because someone doesn’t break the law themselves, doesn’t mean they spy on people, what a strange analogy.

Country roads are even worse. Overtaking on hills and blind bends because of 'frustration'. Imagine thinking a head on collision was a reasonable risk to take rather than doing 50 for a bit.