To think driving constantly at 40mph is dangerous?

[Beetlejuice3]

This has been something I’ve noticed on a good few occasions and interested if it’s quite a widespread thing.

I live out in the country so to visit the nearest city or relatives it’s usually a drive that includes mostly 60mph country roads with a few villages to pass through at 30mph.
There seems to be some (a fair amount) of drivers that only travel at 40mph no matter what? On the national speed limit roads they cause a lot of people to overtake (often 2 cars at a time I saw today), however going through the 30mph villages you can’t keep up with them! I would say I’m not the most confident driver and I don’t speed but I do travel at or around the speed limit unless there’s a reason not to. This travelling at 40 no matter what seems more dangerous to me, like I say, impatient drivers were overtaking 2 cars on corners etc. Not to mention travelling through villages with schools and pedestrians 10mph over the limit.

Is this a thing? Has anyone come across the 40mph club?

Omg yes why do people do this! We have a long very straight stretch of 60mph just outside our town and so many people drive it at 40. You hit the 30 zone and yep, they're still doing 40 and zoom off ahead.

What? Since when was it illegal for HGVs to drive at over 40?

I just checked this and I think it's 50 now?

You should drive to the speed limit as well as obviously conditions. 40 on a country winding road (even if 60 limit) absolutely might be appropriate as not safe to do 60, equally, 40 in a 30 or on free flowing dual carriageway or motorway clearly not.

I think it's 50 for HGVs on a single carriageway 60mph limit road

I live rurally and haven't noticed this.

It’s definitely more of common round here than it used to be.

I live near a relatively quiet, single-carriage A road, which is variously 60, 50 and 40, with a stretch of 30 through a neighbouring village, and yes, there are drivers who go at 40 or so, regardless of the limit.

Sometimes, to amuse myself when driving, I’ll count the vehicles travelling in the opposite direction stuck behind a bimbler. The record was 20-something. And yes, those drivers behind need to manage their patience/attitude and not be tempted to overtake unless it’s clearly safe to do so, but I swear, if I was aware of a huge procession behind me, I’d think I must be doing something wrong and question my driving.

I suppose the greater question is how they manage to get away with it without amassing loads of speeding tickets.

As 60-30 mph transitions through villages are prime spots for speed cameras.

Thanks. I just had a look, seems it's 40 in Scotland and 50 in England and wales. I'm in England (if it's over 7.5 tonnes).

Ah - didn't realise it was lower in scotland. You learn something new everyday!

There is a windy country road near me. It’s a 60 but not at all safe to do 60 on it. It’s full
of blind bends, has deer in the woods and is now full of huge potholes. The max safe speed on a clear dry day is 45

Nobody 'makes' anyone else overtake. It's a choice, and should only be done where safe - whatever someone else's speed.

You can see who does 40 on this thread! 🤣 whats safe for the road and what’s comfortable for you, should be the same thing if you’re a good driver. Blanket 40 is not good driving no matter how you dress it up.

Since I did my HGV in 1996.

Just checked and it still is 40mph up here in Scotland.

It seems England increased it to 50 on some roads in 2015.

If you noticed the queue behind you.

It's a thing round our way too. It worries me that the driver may not be noticing the 30 signs and I wonder what else they may be missing, so I am very wary of them. Anticipate that they may have slower than normal reactions, give them extra space etc.

There’s a reason you’ve never understood it. It’s bullshit to anyone that can drive… 🙂

It changed to 50 (in England and Wales) in 2015.

Country roads should be driven in accordance with condition. That might be 40, it might be faster, it might be slower.

The village should be max 30. If someone is hit by a car at 40mph their chances of being killed are 90%. At 30 it is 50%. At 20 it is 10%.

This - you are expected to keep up with the flow of traffic within legal limits and according to driving conditions etc, but it’s the impatient drivers overtaking on dangerous bends and tailgating that are irresponsible and causing potential accidents - not slow drivers.

No one should be driving at 40mph in a 30mph!

I'm glad other people have witnessed this phenomenon. Yes, it is dangerous as it usually indicates they lack confidence and situational awareness. I always give them a wide berth as they can be unpredictable too (wafting between lanes at roundabouts etc). They're often seen clinging to the steering wheel for dear life.

Yes, I call them the one speed wonders. It's infuriating and so dangerous. I've noticed they often break at oncoming cars (even when 2 lanes and plenty of space) but never have the courtesy to actually stop and let people pass when needed. Everything about this style of driving demonstrates a lack of situational awareness, they would fail their tests today.

The village l work in has potholes everywhere so l've had to reduce my speed so l don't damage my tyres

This has been going on for years. I quite frequently used to drive a route which was national to 30 and back. The road is an A road, wide, in good condition and fairly straight (in some places on a good day you can see over a km ahead) and the 40mph club were out in force even there. Some idiots also get irritated you're overtaking and remember they can do 60 and decide to speed up whilst you are mid-overtake. Always such fun.

Different brake paths. More volume behind a bigger vehicle that will take longer to come to a standstill - do you have any grasp of physics at all?

National speed limits differ by vehicle type. Hope this isn’t news to you.