whats the best way to make a slow driver go faster?

alastairq

Driving within the bounds of the law does not make you safe. Driving safely does.
Similarly, driving outside of the bounds of the law does not inherently make you unsafe. Driving unsafely does.

driving safely, within the law, would be the best way of putting it.

mikey72

alastairq wrote: »

driving safely, within the law, would be the best way of putting it.

Best way I've seen it stated on this forum so far I think.

alastairq

Bus and truck drivers also tend not to try to prevent you from overtaking by speeding up either

maybe not, but by exceeeding their limits by up to as much as 50%, does make it more difficult for a car driver to get past.

And since it appears so many drivers [on here] cannot carry out a safe overtake without having to resort to flouting the Law, then for Mr & Mrs Average car driver to get past likely involves also exceeding their speed limits by a very considerable margin.

{ this issue of a lorry driver driving at 50--55mph on a SC road is a selfish one....since it leaves very little margin of speed advantage for a car to overtake, and remain within the limit. [one major reason for the 40mph limit still being in place.]....therefore the lorry driver is showing little or no concern for the car driver.

As good as 'trying to prevent someone from overtaking?']

Mrs_Arcanum

Then you have the elderly driver who drives at a maximum of 25mph on a 50 mph limit road & slows down for oncoming traffic. No way to get past as there are double white lines. He then slows down to a crawl to turn left (a left turn only indicated for as he turned I would add).

These are the people who really should no longer be driving, they obviously do not have the confidence to cope with current volumes of traffic and the road conditions.

alastairq

Driving itself is dangerous - every time you go out on the road you're accepting the risk of accident and injury. That's chancing it.

No, driving is not 'dangerous'.

[witness the numbers of drivers with poor skills who arrive in one piece, or manage to go through their driving lives, without being involved in a collision?}

The 'Chancer' is the driver who displays poor attitude towards driving [therefore has poor driving skills]....and who manages to avoid a collision simply due to particular circumstance, or [more likely] the greater ability to cope with that driver, displayed by other road users.

As a single example, the 'chancer' is the driver who persistently tail-gates [drives less than 2 seconds from the rear of the vehicle in front]....simply because, [so far] nothing bad has ever come from it.

The chancer, is someone who, whether out of ignorance, or deliberately, raises the risk levels for others on the roads.....


Exceeding the speed limit, raises the risk levels for others....not the least because, from the evidence on here, individuals seem to think such an action is, or should be, acceptable?


To feel compelled to exceed the speed limit when overtaking, simply because the risk alarm has suddenly gone up 6 octaves, means that the driver has made a mistake.

ie, taken a chance?

Made a misjudgement?

[And if 'caught' and brought to account, then the charge is more likely to be, driving without due care, etc.]

alastairq

Then you have the elderly driver who drives at a maximum of 25mph on a 50 mph limit road & slows down for oncoming traffic. No way to get past as there are double white lines. He then slows down to a crawl to turn left (a left turn only indicated for as he turned I would add).

These are the people who really should no longer be driving, they obviously do not have the confidence to cope with current volumes of traffic and the road conditions.

I have rarely come across these...however, I'm apparently going elderly.....

But then, 20 years ago, it was women drivers who dominated that unholy position.


Age has nothing to do with driving skill.

Or confidence.

Either a lack of, or displaying far too much.

The biggest factor is a lack of properly guided driver education, once the test has been passed.

Folk will claim they have 'learnt' from experience.

But, have they learnt correctly, or are they operating under a misconception?

alastairq

I usually find the worst drivers are the ones that have a blind belief that they're always safe, so anything the decide must be safe as well, and select which laws they like the look of today. Now that make it unsafe for everyone.

I agree.

And I *think* that you can't, under "normal" conditions do less than 30mph on a motorway - I'm sure the Highway Code says this.

As for safe driving: most of us do the very best we can, and make the best judgements we can. What I always think is, if I did cause an accident, it wouldn't be because I was speeding or doing something against the Highway Code.

Best go online and read the highway code then?

Because it hasn't yet been updated to include that little snippet, AFAIK.



How would you know you were not in contravention of the highway code, if you don't have a thorough working knowledge of it...[a condition of holding a driving licence, BTW]

Mrs_Arcanum

alastairq wrote: »

I have rarely come across these...however, I'm apparently going elderly.....

But then, 20 years ago, it was women drivers who dominated that unholy position.


Age has nothing to do with driving skill.

Or confidence.

Either a lack of, or displaying far too much.

The biggest factor is a lack of properly guided driver education, once the test has been passed.

Folk will claim they have 'learnt' from experience.

But, have they learnt correctly, or are they operating under a misconception?

My brother who had been out of the UK for 10 years has not driven since his return. He was 62 and one of the best drivers I knew. He was self aware enough to know he wouldn't cope. This is the issue many older drivers do not recognise and the law does nothing to help. - Things such as mandatory eye tests for drivers over 60's might be a step in the right direction.

alastairq

bazster wrote: »

Agree with all that. Overtaking is inherently dangerous, safest thing for everyone is to get it over with as quickly as possible. If you have the acceleration of a motorcycle at your disposal sometime the safest thing to do is to use it.

No, overtaking is not inherently dangerous, if done correctly, bearing in mind the responsibilities placed upon the overtaking driver/rider by Law...


And, no, 'getting it over with as quickly as possible' isn't necessarily the 'safest' thing to do.

partly because, by driving at the fastest speed your vehicle can manage, even if only briefly, severaly limits the ability of the overtaking driver/rider to cope with, what for them may be, an unforeseen siltation. Or a change in circumstance.

However, making the best use of gears, and available space without exceeding the speed limit, may be appropriate...and is often ignored by drivers.....hence the idea of overtaking being inherently dangerous.

Much will depend on what one is overtaking....how close the overtaking vehicle needs to be, etc.

Biggest 'mistake' I see all day every day is the car or bike closely following another overtaking vehicle. Totally reliant on the lead driver to not only make room for the second vehicle when moving back in, but to not take too long about things, when on the 'wrong' side of the road.

The 'Chancer?'

alastairq

Mrs_Arcanum wrote: »

My brother who had been out of the UK for 10 years has not driven since his return. He was 62 and one of the best drivers I knew. He was self aware enough to know he wouldn't cope. This is the issue many older drivers do not recognise and the law does nothing to help. - Things such as mandatory eye tests for drivers over 60's might be a step in the right direction.

But it isn't limited to older drivers.....this is my point, why pick on older people?

Eyesight itself can and does deteriorate with age...but that 'age' starts at around 45 or so, not 60!

On the contrary,the Law does help. It requires certain minimum standards of health and ability, as a condition of issue of a licence.

LGV and PCV licence holders already have a system of health checks in place for renewal of the vocational licence category every 5 years, or less if a history of problems is identified.

From the age of 45!

The problems occur when folk try to hide from the regulations.....and that isn't exclusive to older people.


it's not about what people see...it's about what they do with that information.