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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that if you can't drive any faster than 35mph..........

66 replies

FlappytheBat · 12/05/2009 17:38

You shouldn't be driving on a busy motoway!

The speed limit is 70mph and yes, there is not a minimum speed limit but 35mph FGS!!!!

Drivers like this should be banned, they are not safe and the one today was driving with his nose practically touching his windscreen.
I bet he was driving like this because he couldn't see the road or cars in front.

ok, rant over, just needed to get that off my chest!

OP posts:

Original poster

FlappytheBat · 12/05/2009 20:20

They could easily do that here as a lot of garages are bringing in pay at pump facilities and you have to have your payment card accepted before you are allowed to begin to fill up.

OP posts:

pointydog · 12/05/2009 21:53

goo dplan, flappy

tattifer · 13/05/2009 11:31

yanbu - you'd get pulled over. My friends ex (notsoD)H got done for doing thirty on the motorway - he was pissed and thought no one would pull him if he was driving slowly and therefore safely...

but then he is a moron

lottiebunny · 13/05/2009 12:01

Driving slowly on the motorway is right up there with braking on the motorway. No need whatsoever.

Poledra · 13/05/2009 13:07

?? no need for braking on the motorway? I find that, if the vehicle in front of me is going more slowly than me, I need to brake . I don't understand

tattifer · 13/05/2009 13:14

ditto - no need for braking? Suddenly, hopefully not, but the brakes are used for more than just stopping I think you'll find...

EyeballsisonaDietAgain · 13/05/2009 13:15

I remember being taken on an A road when I was a learner (many moons ago) and I got it into my head that you weren't allowed to stop on a 'motorway'. It was the only time the instructer ever slammed on my brakes as we rapidly approached a bank of stationary traffic!

lottiebunny · 13/05/2009 13:16

If you find the need to brake, you are too close to the car in front. Either back off the power and reduce your speed or pull into the next lane and overtake.

Brake lights make people behind you brake thinking there has been an accident or something then you end up with bunched traffic and if its particularly busy you end up with those tailbacks that seem to start and end suddenly.

Also people who break as they come off the motorway. What do they think the slip is for?

tattifer · 13/05/2009 13:22

lottie if you're doing 70 and the slip road is short - you don't brake you'll come flying off! Sudden braking obviously to be avoided through preemptive driving etc but sometimes the brake is the only option, even on a motorway.

But I'm glad you stressed the pull out and over take rather than the undertake argument that brings out all the bad drivers... eek!

Poledra · 13/05/2009 13:22

So, if I come up behind a lorry, I should just ease off the power to slow down, rather than touch my brakes? It might be that there is no space in the other lane for you to pull out (often there isn't as people do not pull in as often as they should). I'd rather brake gently so the person behind me knows I am slowing down for the lorry rather than risk them rear-ending me because they do not realise (and are quite possibly too close behind me).

tattifer · 13/05/2009 13:23

Poledra, you'll kill yourself and others by slowing down without braking - as you say, it tells them that you're slowing.

mosschops30 · 13/05/2009 13:28

why would you 'come up' behind a lorry at speed, surely you are taking into account what is going on all the time and re-adjusting your speed accordingly. I agree you sometimes need to touch your brakes but no need for random hard braking unless accident or queue and even then you are usually warned.

My pet hate is people trundling along at 15-20 mph in a 30mph limit, happens all the time. When I learnt to drive I was taught to maintain the speed limit where it was safe to do so and the traffic allowed. Ditto people travelling at 30mph, in a 30mph zone, then brake hard to do 15mph through speed camera lines WTF??

I am the worlds best driver and believe that most people are inferior to me when driving

PuppyMonkey · 13/05/2009 13:29

I bet the chap in OP was driving at 35mph in the middle lane too.

lottiebunny · 13/05/2009 13:33

Tattifer, I've never flown off the slip road before

Poledra - Yeah, you should back off, person behind watches out for himself. Hopefully, if the road is busy you have been aware of the lorries presence for long enough to keep an eye out for a gap. If not, the person behind can see the lorry and should be expecting you to slow down.

Thing about brake lights on the motorway is that the person behind you has no idea how gently you are braking and this is what makes the motorway light up like a christmas tree. I see your brake lights come on and for all I know you could be slamming the anchors on so I have to dive for mine too.

Poledra · 13/05/2009 13:36

mosschops, I'm not talking about braking hard, but if I'm doing seventy, can see there is a lorry in the lane up ahead, I look in my mirror and see that I cannot get out into the other lane, then I will touch my brakes to slow down even if I could just take my foot off to slow down so that the other drivers can see that I am slowing down and adjust their speed accordingly.

And we are all excellent drivers, aren't we?

lottiebunny · 13/05/2009 13:38

Tattifer, thats complete nonsense, I can drive into work without touching my brakes at all if the traffic is right and I've never ever seen an accident caused by me slowing down without touching my brakes and I've never been rearended. If you can't tell if a vehicle is changing speed without seeing brake lights then you probably shouldn't be on the road.

Poledra · 13/05/2009 13:38

I do see your points though, mosschops and lottiebunny - some colleagues and I once mooted the idea that when you brake hard, your brake lights should flash or summat, so that people behind you can judge their actions. And yes, the guy behind should look out for himself but if he is too close to me, then it is my car and my children which whill get hit. And I'm not prepared to risk that.

mosschops30 · 13/05/2009 13:41

no poledra no one is as good as me

Poledra · 13/05/2009 13:43

I bow to your superiority.

lottiebunny · 13/05/2009 13:44

Poledra, if the person behind you gets to close he isn't just going to ram you without trying to prevent it. Once the person behind you realised they've got a little closer they back off too or pull out and over take. Believe me, no one is going to ram into you if they can help it.

Most of rear accidents on the motorway are caused by hitting the back of a tailback without realising the traffic has come to a complete standstill. For this reason if I ever have to brake for a tailback I always switch my hazards on to warn the person behind that there is something serious ahead.

lottiebunny · 13/05/2009 13:45

No mosschops, clearly I am the uber driver here

DP will put me back in my place later when I have to go pick him up.

Original poster

FlappytheBat · 13/05/2009 14:20

Just so you know I have reported this thread to mnhq, this morning I noticed that a link had appeared in the thread box at the top of this page.

Because I am silly nosey, I clicked on it and was redirected to a facility that is probably from mumsnet, but I lost connection here for a while and got a message saying that mumsnet server couldn't be found.

I was mumsnetless for a little while.

Anyway, re braking on a motorway, always a good idea especially if the car in front has had to stop.

OP posts:

ErnestTheBavarian · 13/05/2009 14:45

lottiebunny, do you dive a manual? I genuinely do not see how it's possible to drive safely on a motorway and not break at all. I agree, that paying more attention and anticipating other drivers' actions is very important, not done enough and can greatly reduce the slamming-on-the-anchors, but with an automatic you can't just work down through the gears to slow down, and not all driving can be done safely with anticipation alone. Especially here in Germany.

reach4sky · 13/05/2009 14:57

I almost never use my brakes on a motorway. If you're looking ahead and driving at a reasonable distance from the vehicle in front, simply taking your foot off the accelerator should be sufficient except in extreme circumstances.

Likewise, I never brake going over speed humps. Everyone should drive a Prius and they'd soon stop using their brakes so much.

lottiebunny · 13/05/2009 15:01

I do drive a manual but I don't see why you would need to change gear to slow down a few miles an hour on the motorway.

I honestly don't brake on the motorway unless I can help it. Obviously, if someone cuts in front of me, reducing my following distance dramatically, not leaving me enough room to safely back off and I cannot get straight out into the next lane to over take then I have to brake. Or if I meet the end of a tailback. I can't say it happens very often though.

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