speed limits

mikey72

Strider590 wrote: »

I still think it was someone tootling onto the motorway too slowly, possibly without lights on, in the fog..... Time will tell (maybe), but I fear it might get hijacked by the "anti-increase speed limit on motorways" crowd.

Driving too slowly in the fog, when you can't see the road in front of you.

Well, it's certainly an original theory. Getting in the way of someone driving faster, when he couldn't see you, then he couldn't stop in time. Fault of the car at the front? How many people have you rear ended?

almillar

I really see nothing wrong, apart from breaking Highway Code advice, in Bongle's approach - the risk is that the hog will be unaware of you and could pull in at any time - hey, he could wake up! But you've stated that you ensure that it's safe to go through (yes I said flying through, which was intended to show a differential in speed, ie you at 70 and pleb at 50) so I've got no problem with that.
I'd rather not risk being pulled over for a discussion with the police - in that example, if I approached a numpty like this, and the police were behind me, I'd definitely use my method, go up behind the numpty, and I guess the police would do the same. After patiently waiting, and maybe flashing, I'd pull in, let the police follow him, then flash their 'special blue lights' and deal with them!
I'd rather attempt to educate people (or at least wake them up) but I do realise I'm putting myself up for some choice hand gestures. I'm working on some facial expressions to give out too...

DirectDebacle

No matter how well planned and perfectly executed a bad driving manoeuvre is done, it is still bad driving. If you get away with it then you have been lucky. If you don't and a collision occurs as a result, you have no defence.

If overtaking on the left is good driving then there is no fear of doing it whether the police are present or not.

Is this technique taught to learner drivers when they are on dual carriageways? Is it now taught to advanced drivers by the IAM?

In what way is it safer than following the existing Highway Code rules.

Nobody has the right to play Russian Roulette with the safety of others.

mikey72

almillar wrote: »

I really see nothing wrong, apart from breaking Highway Code advice, ....

The only problem with that, is the police and the judge don't see it as advice.
They see it as dangerous driving, and pull you accordingly.

jase1

DirectDebacle wrote: »

No matter how well planned and perfectly executed a bad driving manoeuvre is done, it is still bad driving. If you get away with it then you have been lucky. If you don't and a collision occurs as a result, you have no defence.

If overtaking on the left is good driving then there is no fear of doing it whether the police are present or not.

Is this technique taught to learner drivers when they are on dual carriageways? Is it now taught to advanced drivers by the IAM?

In what way is it safer than following the existing Highway Code rules.

Nobody has the right to play Russian Roulette with the safety of others.

Passing on the left is only more unsafe than passing on the right, if the law states that passing on the left is not legal.

In countries where passing on the inside is accepted practice, the onus is on the driver being passed to look before he moves across.

The problem with the UK fudge is that the HC is so unclear on the issue. It only states that passing on the inside, under certain circumstances, is bad practice.

Personally I wish the Government would just come down on one side or the other and stick to it, because whenever you get ambiguity you'll get numpties on both sides of the fence causing accidents.

Lum

Out of interest, all the reasons given for not passing on the left, other than "because the highway code says so". Reasons like blindspots and the like.

Do they stop applying if you are overtaking a car with, say, French plates?

cyclonebri1

I'll tell you what Bongles, and I've said it earlier in this post, you do it your way and I/we'll do it ours.
Lets re-convien in 5 years and see who's still alive and/or got the least points on their licence??, deal??:A

DirectDebacle

Passing on the left is only more unsafe than passing on the right, if the law states that passing on the left is not legal.

Nonsense.

In countries where passing on the inside is accepted practice, the onus is on the driver being passed to look before he moves across.

Irrelevant as passing on the inside is not accepted practice in this country.

The problem with the UK fudge is that the HC is so unclear on the issue. It only states that passing on the inside, under certain circumstances, is bad practice.

No it doesn't. The rules are quite clear re overtaking on motorways.

"Overtake only on the right."

and

"Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.

Personally I wish the Government would just come down on one side or the other and stick to it, because whenever you get ambiguity you'll get numpties on both sides of the fence causing accidents

If the numpties drove according to the H.C. there would be a significant reduction in accidents.

Lum

DirectDebacle wrote: »

If the numpties drove according to the H.C. there would be a significant reduction in accidents.

If the numpties drove according to the H.C. then we wouldn't even be having this debate as it would never be necessary.

That said, can you cite an actual law preventing overtaking on the left? The. H.C. is not a book of law.

jase1

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Nonsense.

Irrelevant as passing on the inside is not accepted practice in this country.

Of course it's relevant. Other countries' experiences re passing on the inside provide evidence as to what would happen in this country if passing on the inside were made legal.

If passing on the left were legal, the responsibility for safe passage would be shared and this would by definition make that passage less unsafe.

No it doesn't. The rules are quite clear re overtaking on motorways.

The very passages you quote contain ambiguities. What is "congested traffic", for instance? Two cars in an overtaking lane when they shouldn't be? At what point does a stream of cars in the overtaking lanes without anything on the inside become 'congestion'?

If the numpties drove according to the H.C. there would be a significant reduction in accidents.

Would that include those parts of the Code that deal with looking in your mirrors before changing lanes, and not being in the middle lane when not overtaking in the first place?