Being tailgated (new driver)

[AncientWasp]

Recently passed and got a hatchback as that's all I need. I stick to the speed limit but I'm finding a lot of people don't (I'm told some people memorise where the speed cameras are?) But what I'm getting annoyed at is almost always having someone (men) in SUVs or vans driving about an inch away from me, seen a few shaking their head, throwing their hands up etc.
I let them overtake where possible, but obviously not always safe. Is this something I just have to put up with? Highly doubt they'd be doing it if I were male and in an SUV.

Indicated speed where available on a Sat nav is more accurate than a car speedo

Not necessarily no. Depends which sat nav you use and how your driving. The speedo is a constant and you should get used to how it works.

It depends.

For driving at relatively constant speed it probably will be.

But you have to remember the way it works is speed=distance/time and the calculation of that (and the rate of updates to the display) is quantized. So if you are braking/accelerating a lot during a calculation interval or over several intervals then it may well be less accurate than the readout of the speedometer.

It may also fail to pick up a change in position (say you go through an area of dense trees/poor satellite coverage/interference) over several seconds - my guess is in that case it would probably just keep the display speed value constant.

A speedometer is not legal unless it is within certain tolerances so most of them are designed/built with contingency in mind to meet those tolerances. I'm guessing satnav companies have no responsibility or provide a guarantee any degree of accuracy/tolerances on their devices so if you rely on them you take your chances.

If someone doesn't already know how a car speedo works then I suggest they shouldn't have a license.
And how erratic do you drive to throw GPS out on a sat nav?!
A speedometer calculates speed using wheel rotation and an assumed tire size. If your tires are worn down, inflated improperly, or you change to a different wheel size, the math gets altered, causing the speedometer to become even more inaccurate.
Purely from an accuracy thing, Sat nav is generally more accurate.
Edit......look it up.

I cannot wrap my head around things, and I’ve seen this in many other threads more so than this one, like “oh other drivers will be aiming for 32 in a 30 so your driving at 29 will be frustrating”… really?? I honestly think if being forced to drive 3mph slower than you’d like to causes you any emotion at all really, let alone frustration that causes you to drive dangerously eg tailgate, you really shouldn’t be on the road, and you should probably seek therapy for your lack of emotional control.

I didn’t say don’t be aware of it. I said stop worrying about it.

I live somewhere with blanket 20mph limits in places that were previously 30mph or 40mph (and would be in England). People are so confused by it that they drive at 20mph regardless of where they are (and often frightened of actually doing 20mph so pootling at 15-18mph to be “on the safe side”), and if they see an NSL sign they seem to believe that means 40 (no idea why) or 50 (neither of which are ever the NSL for cars on any road). Some days it would be faster to get out of the car and push it.

18 in a 30 is the equivalent of doing 42 on the motorway. Absolute lunacy. And 20 in a 40 is the equivalent of 35. Just imagine for a second how you would feel if you were stuck behind one of these muppets and that’s probably how they feel about you.

DP also gets tailgating idiots behind him when he drives his pickup truck - he slows down to pee them off even more

Standards of driving are piss poor lately. It's not just you, it's not because you've just passed, it's not targeted to women, and it's not just men who do it.

Gradually slow down, keep a bigger (huge in my case so they can tell I'm just going to keep slowing down until they back off) and carry on your merry way!

We live in a country where second is supposed to be an option available to most competent adults - we don't require advanced driving skills to be allowed to drive, just basic competence.

So we are stuck with a wide cross section of society driving. It includes the nervous, the hesitant, the sleep deprived, the new drivers, those who have screaming kids in the back and those waist cognitive abilities only just mean they are allowed to drive. Obviously alongside the very experienced frequent driver. And then a large number of overconfident drivers and those who think the highway code is just advisory.

We should all be able to rub along on the roads, in the same way as we walk down the pavement in different ways. We shouldn't be deliberately obstructive, but perhaps we should give the benefit to the doubt to other drivers that aren't as proactive as we'd like. We have no idea why, and it's not for us to judge.

Obviously being a decent member of the driving community means being aware of our own limitations as well, so we aren't obstructive, so obviously driving at 40 on a motorway isn't acceptable, and if that's all you can manage, then don't, or get motorway lessons.

Of course I know what they are, but this isn’t about her being a new driver. It’s about idiots who don’t want to do the speed limit and tailgate others.
If they weren’t acting like cocks, she wouldn’t have been worrying about them being up her arse!

I just don’t travel during the day unless I absolutely have to, and do 75% of my driving when everyone else has gone home for the day or are asleep!

It is about her being a new driver. A long standing driver wouldn’t give it the headspace. Some drivers are dickheads. ‘Twas ever thus!

Stressful driving today. Not alot of courtesy out there.

I found myself inadvertently tailgating someone the other evening who seemed incapable of maintaining a steady speed. A road that had a 50 limit and it was safe and appropriate to do 50.

They drove at between 30 and 50, ebbing and flowing with nothing in front of them and unrelated to the road layout. It was exhausting to be behind them and I was constantly having to adjust my speed. On occasion I would be closer to them than I liked and would ease off but I found it really frustrating. Just drive calmly and consistently ffs!

@BirthdayTrash not quite sure how that relates to what I said. I said that someone who is frustrated by doing 29 in a 30 zone is unreasonable. I’m not sure how your example of someone doing 18 in a 30 is relevant to that.

Re your last point, you seem to be saying that people will be equally frustrated at me (not sure where I specifically come into this as my own driving habits are not mentioned in my post) if I were doing 29 in a 30 as they would if someone was doing 35 on the motorway. I don’t really know how to answer that as it’s just an absurd statement.