speed limits

Lum

mikey72 wrote: »

Nope, I'm a lazy b*stard, but you're depending on me to see you, and avoid you, and you're the more skilled one?

One bit of solace I do take from this post is that since you admit to never checking your blindspot your window of opportunity for attempted murder is roughly halved.

I can't even depend on you to see post 187 apparently, so I'll write a shorter version:

If I do happen to choose to overtake someone, on either side, and they choose to change lane into the side of me, deliberately or otherwise, I will see them and I will likely avoid them, that may be by putting my foot down, braking or swerving into the hard shoulder it depends on the situation.

jase1

I have to say though I think Lum is wrong on this one. Part of safe driving is working from the assumption that every other driver is a potential moron and adapting your own patterns to compensate.

Passing drivers on the left who have already demonstrated idiot tendencies isn't the best way of going about that.

Here we have someone on this thread who has clearly had time to think about what he'd do if 'undertaken', implying past experience. We've now seen how such drivers' minds work.

A very good reason to give the !!!!!!s triple the normal stopping distance quite frankly.

Lum + mikey = both dead, by the look of things.

Lum

Horseunderwater wrote: »

These signs are actually enforcement cameras, so if you speed up early and you pass a 2nd or 3rd quicker than it thinks you should you may get a letter in next 14 days. There is no flash, it does it all by algorthymn and DVLA links etc. direct to the Home Office Scientific and Development Branch (HOSDB). Hopefully you will not get one this time. But you need to be aware.

I'm well aware that there are cameras on some of the HADECS gantries, I also know what type they are. They are basically the same as Gatsos, not SPECS.

My question here was about the legal effects of what is effectively a repeater sign changing since a repeater means "You are currently in an xx mph limit" as opposed to a "This is the start of an xx mph limit".

mikey72

Lum wrote: »

One bit of solace I do take from this post is that since you admit to never checking your blindspot your window of opportunity for attempted murder is roughly halved.

I can't even depend on you to see post 187 apparently, so I'll write a shorter version:

If I do happen to choose to overtake someone, on either side, and they choose to change lane into the side of me, deliberately or otherwise, I will see them and I will likely avoid them, that may be by putting my foot down, braking or swerving into the hard shoulder it depends on the situation.

Would you take the time to check your blindspot first, in case you were being undertaken by someone using the hardshoulder for the next exit?

jase1

mikey72 wrote: »

That's the problem you'll have, if you need to depend on me to miss you. If I'm crap, your chance of an accident is down to my level of drivng.
And that's always been the answer from all the skilled motorists on here. No matter where you put yourself, with all your great skills, at the end of the day, all us crap ones have to miss you.

So because I pick up on some of your wilder reactionary ideas on this forum this makes me another Strider does it?

mikey72

Lum wrote: »

I'm well aware that there are cameras on some of the HADECS gantries, I also know what type they are. They are basically the same as Gatsos, not SPECS.

My question here was about the legal effects of what is effectively a repeater sign changing since a repeater means "You are currently in an xx mph limit" as opposed to a "This is the start of an xx mph limit".

As a complete aside, what's the difference between a repeater sign, and the start sign?

Lum

jase1 wrote: »

I have to say though I think Lum is wrong on this one. Part of safe driving is working from the assumption that every other driver is a potential moron and adapting your own patterns to compensate.

Passing drivers on the left who have already demonstrated idiot tendencies isn't the best way of going about that.

If it's that dangerous to be on the left hand side of them, then surely it's equally dangerous to be on the right hand side of them? You're still going to get sideswiped if you aren't prepared for that eventuality so the same precautions apply equally to both.

The question isn't "What's the likelihood of this person sideswiping me while I overtake them?" it is "What am I going to do if this person sideswipes me?"

If you can't answer that question satisfactorily then you don't want to be overtaking. On either side.

Edit: Story time.

There was a situation a while back where I was undertaking in accordance with the highway code. 2 lane 70mph DC heading for a busy traffic light controlled roundabout, on this particular roundabout the left lane has a bypass lane and the right dumps onto the roundabout, so it ends up with that lane stationary and the left lane free flowing.

I decided that 20mph was the maximum safe speed due to the risk of lane changes. The guy tailgating me clearly disagreed with this as evidenced by flashing lights and side to side weaving.

Sure enough, someone pulls out in front of me with very little room to spare, I decide that instead of braking I'll just go into the hard shoulder and go around them.

My tailgater crashed into the back of the person who just pulled out in front of me.


The point I'm making is that there is a risk in any overtake, whether it's in accordance with the HC or not, the only thing that will save you is observation.

Lum

mikey72 wrote: »

Would you take the time to check your blindspot first, in case you were being undertaken by someone using the hardshoulder for the next exit?

I'm assuming you are picturing a situation where I am exiting the motorway and it's not the type of exit where lane 1 peels away, in which case yes as it's a lane change and for me a blindspot check is an automatic thing for me.

I have been undertaken by people using the hardshoulder to get to an exit. Usually happens on the M6 when it grinds to a standstill and some people decide they don't want to wait 15 minutes for the traffic to shuffle forward 15 feet. So far I've managed to not hit any of them.

jase1

Lum wrote: »

If it's that dangerous to be on the left hand side of them, then surely it's equally dangerous to be on the right hand side of them? You're still going to get sideswiped if you aren't prepared for that eventuality so the same precautions apply equally to both.

The question isn't "What's the likelihood of this person sideswiping me while I overtake them?" it is "What am I going to do if this person sideswipes me?"

If you can't answer that question satisfactorily then you don't want to be overtaking. On either side.

It is more reasonable to assume that a driver will be keeping an eye on his offside than his near. One would hope that even mikey checks his right side before pulling out in front of that truck overtaking him.

But ultimately yes, I agree - which is why I tend to hover 3 or 4 seconds behind a middle lane driver before overtaking in an effort to try to gauge how awake he is whilst swarmed by other drivers.

mikey72

Lum wrote: »

I'm assuming you are picturing a situation where I am exiting the motorway and it's not the type of exit where lane 1 peels away, in which case yes as it's a lane change and for me a blindspot check is an automatic thing for me.

I have been undertaken by people using the hardshoulder to get to an exit. Usually happens on the M6 when it grinds to a standstill and some people decide they don't want to wait 15 minutes for the traffic to shuffle forward 15 feet. So far I've managed to not hit any of them.

No, I'm assuming where you're undertaking, the car on the outside starts to move back in, you swerve left to avoid him, and hit the idiot undertaking you, as you don't expect him to be there.
Or do you take time out to check your blindspot first?