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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To drive at the speed limit, despite what the bloke right up behind me wants?

151 replies

tearinghairout · 19/07/2009 17:40

I often do a 20-mile trip on B-roads & through villages where the speed limits are 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60mph in various places. On two stretches there are speed cameras, and a few months back I got a warning letter for doing over 30 in a 30mph limit - don't know by how much, but I was lucky not to get a fine.

So I stick to the speed limits, even though IMO some are a bit daft - the 20mph is only relevant at school pick-up & drop-off really - but it's not for me to decide the law.

So why are there always cars - always BIG cars - right up my exhaust pipe trying to chivvy me up? It's SO stressful, why not just relax & go with the flow?

OP posts:
Tiredmumno1 · 20/07/2009 13:24

See there u go again riven, u dont understand textspeak, maybe thats cos i am on my phone and its easier to type like this so have some manners, as i am usually quite polite in person. And i am sorry to say that if my child had just had a fatal accident i would be driving as fast as my car could go to get to them. So there u go + if the slow ones had common courtesy u would just get out the way, i tend to find its because they drive so slow they actually cause the accidents. I hope u r not one of this people that pull out in front of others. And do not attack how i am writing its ignorant.

hercules1 · 20/07/2009 13:26

I cannot understand your posts either. It's not compulsory to use text speak when using a mobile.

Thunderduck · 20/07/2009 13:26

If your child had a fatal accident what good would speeding do them or you?

sarah293 · 20/07/2009 13:26

This reply has been deleted

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MilleniumHandNShrimp · 20/07/2009 13:27

I was tailgated on the motorway by a white sporty little number. I was going as fast as I could (there was another car infront) and there was no way to pull in to another lane. Eventually I found a space and let him past to tailgate the car infront of me.

2 Miles later the traffic slowed as all the drivers took a good look at the unmarked police car that had pulled over a white sporty little number. It was a thing of beauty; the icing on the cake was the camera crew on the grass bank filming the whole thing for "traffic cops" or something similar.

Tiredmumno1 · 20/07/2009 13:29

The text talk is also because using the phone doesnt allow you to type as much as u can on a comp. So will u please get over it, there is always a reason

sarah293 · 20/07/2009 13:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Oliveoil · 20/07/2009 13:30

I just sing along to the radio "ooooh you are a nob nobby nobby nob, just go past you tosserrrrrrrr" until they roar past

mullet haired driver, usually in some hideous hot rod "ute" in bright lime green (am in Australia)

do not touch the brakes, that is how accidents happen

ignore and/or pull over to the left so they can overtake on the other side if need be

I am not a very confident driver but dh told me to remember I have as much right to be on the road as anyone else so pretend they are not there

bruxeur · 20/07/2009 13:30

The reason is normally that you were dropped on your head as a baby, to be fair.

MrsChemist · 20/07/2009 13:31

My driving instructor lets me pull over and stop and have a break when someone is driving right up my backside. He understands just how stressful it is, especially for a learner.
However, why should I pull over when I am driving at the speed limit, just so someone else can speed? People who want to speed don't have some sort of divine right over the road, in which everyone else should move out of their way. It's their choice to speed, and I don't mind being overtaken, as long as it's safe to do so. There is no need to drive up my arse and I shouldn't be made to accommodate their speeding needs.

bruxeur · 20/07/2009 13:32

Erm. That last to tiredmumno1, ironically..

stickylittlefingers · 20/07/2009 13:35

Tiredmumno1 - do you not see that you could cause another fatal accident by speeding? I was that mother about to give birth in the back of a small hatchback, but I certainly didn't want dp causing accidents to get me to hospital in time.

OP you are absolutely right about tailgaters. When I did the advanced driving test, the tutor specifically told me to slow down if I was being tail gated, to reduce the risk of them causing an accident if I had to stop suddenly.

Why oh why oh why are some people so darned illogical when they get into their cars?

PeedOffWithNits · 20/07/2009 13:36

tiredmum - you come across as very arrogant, if you'll pardon me saying so."And i am sorry to say that if my child had just had a fatal accident i would be driving as fast as my car could go to get to them." so your child is dead, but you would not mind risking other peoples lives to get to them? Mad!

It beggars belief that anyone who is a parent can speed, or say bugger you lot MY child is in hospital / wife is in labour/ I am late for work and need to speed.

Have you not seen the adverts relating survival rates to speed? Do you think your car is a magic box that will protect YOU yourself from harm?

grow up and treat cars, and speed, with some caution.

they are one of the biggest dangers our children encounter on a daily basis!

sarah293 · 20/07/2009 13:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

emsiewill · 20/07/2009 13:41

I've been meaning to post something like this for a while - although my thread title would be something like "put your hands up if you think the speed limit doesn't apply to you".

I drive to work on A roads, a motorway and 30mph streets, and I see speeding on each kind of road every day. A stretch of the motorway by me has recently changed to a speed limit of 50mph, and I have lost count of the number of times people have zoomed past me after driving up my backside.

My dh lost his licence a few years ago for accumulating 12 points, and it was extremely inconvenient - mainly to me, as he could still get to work on the train, I was the one who had to deal with all driving related jobs / errands. It has also cost us dearly on our insurance, as you can imagine. This is why I will not speed - despite what other people on the road want me to do.

The worse incident I have experienced was when I was driving in a part time bus lane (ie it is only a dedicated bus lane at certain times, and I was driving in it at a "non bus lane" line). I was going at 30mph, which is the speed limit there, and a bus came zooming up behind me, obviously expecting me to get out of the way. When I didn't he drove very close behind me, honking his horn and gesticulating. It could have been quite intimidating, but actually, just made me laugh...

goingnowherefast · 20/07/2009 13:43

This is something DH and I often argue about. He goes too close to cars imo if he thinks they are driving too slowly. He doesn't race along himself but he does tend to drive above the speed limit (eg 85 on a motorway). It really annoys me but he doesn't listen.

AitchTwoOh · 20/07/2009 13:45

i can't understand your posts either, tiredmum. some would contend that it's polite to express yourself in a way that doesn't cause people difficulties.

i really hate driving on country roads, the conflict between locals in a hurry and tourists like myself who are unfamiliar with the roads is so stressful and i'm sure must cause accidents.

that said, i do pull over but if someone's right up your arse even that is not always possible.

i've seen a couple of people say recently that they're surprised that so few people admit to speeding on here. it tends to be accompanied by a , which i suspect is intended to denote some cynicism.

so do you speeders think everyone speeds? you understand the fallacy of the logic, don't you? if everyone was speeding then you'd have to drive even faster to make yourselves feel better about your tiny brains. so it's just as well for you that it's an aggressive minority, otherwise said brains would be even more likely to end off splattered across your windscreen.

piscesmoon · 20/07/2009 13:47

I just drive at the speed limit-if the person behind doesn't like it that is their problem-not mine.

PeedOffWithNits · 20/07/2009 13:51

Aitch

love your name and I applaud your last paragraph

well said

selfish aggressive people are everywhere, but on the roads they become like dangerous weapons

AitchTwoOh · 20/07/2009 13:52

why thank you. and i hope your headlice clear up soon...

Tiredmumno1 · 20/07/2009 13:53

Look at the end of the day, everyone has there own opinions thats what this site is for not ganging up and i will continue to have my own opinion whether u like it or not. I feel like i am being preached at like them jehovahs witnesses that like to bug me, i am just saying that if someone is going a tad faster thats up to them, not u. They have their own minds too, but hey i suppose we should all stop thinking cos some of the mums on MN dont like it

hercules1 · 20/07/2009 13:55

It's a discussion site. I've changed my opinions loads of times since being a member.

hercules1 · 20/07/2009 13:55

Speeding and being a knob doesnt actually involve much thinking.....

AitchTwoOh · 20/07/2009 13:56

no.

the speed limit is there for a reason. reducing your speed by even a few mph is proven to have a much less devastating effect in the event of an accident.

speeding is everyone's business. if you have a crash, it could be my child you kill because for some unknown reason you think that getting home in time for neighbours is more important than being a considerate member of society.

Thunderduck · 20/07/2009 13:57

I think it's necessary for one to have started thinking in the first place in order to stop doing so,clearly that's an issue for many speeders including your dp.