slow drivers

steve-L

barry9999 wrote: »

Pretty obvious why you've had so many "close calls".

No its not.... in 20+ years of driving everyone will have some and many will actually hit another car or be hit by another car.

Of the two you highlighted: The fact I was going 100 is only relevant to the fact she was going 90. I was exceeding the speed limit but you can't know that from the post since you have no idea where I spent Christmas... had it involved travel through Germany that would have been perfectly legal.... as it was well over 50% of the traffic was actually going above 80 and I was far from the fastest on that stretch of motorway indeed I was being passed at the time which is part of what made it a close call as I couldn't move into the other lane.

Nearly falling asleep (although you only highlight falling asleep) is a recognition of a danger/fault.
When you are sent on defensive driving courses yearly a part of that course is a retrospective on your own driving through the year. You are also taught to recognise your own faults and near misses. There is also a fun part on some of the advanced ones where you get to smash into other cars and get them to run into your rear bumper. As such these courses are extremely expensive for an employer.

If you go and think of it as a bit of fun on the skid patch and the fun of trying to keep your car on the 'road' (white lines on old airfield) whilst a professional ex military person is trying to force you off using their vehicle you are missing the point....

The most useful things you come away with are recognising your own faults and learning to see potential situations arise and how you should have done things differently.

A different driver having NOT actually drifted off might just have dismissed it... instead I have been taught to actually (as Steve M might say) worry about it, why it happened and how to avoid it happening again.

I would be extremely surprised if anyone with 20+ years of 20,000 miles a year had NEVER experienced fatigue.... recognising it is a different matter!

Gilbert2

stevemcol wrote: »

It's probably not practical for them. Depending on the road obviously but it's possible there could be a faster car along every couple of minutes or more. I really don't see the issue with just overtaking when it's safe.

Just as some of us don't see the why the issue of certain motorists to drive at the national standard would be a problem either.

It really is not that difficult to do, it is a complete basic.

Why do some drivers decide it is ok to drive differently to what they were to taught to when they eventually pass their test?

I dare say that significant hold ups & accidents are caused every day by drivers who decide to drive in a selfish manner that cost the country billions each year.

japmis

ooooh I have a question about this! When someone is tailgating you (I'm a relatively fast driver, not a 40 in a 60 zone sort of gal) and you flick your rear view mirror so not to get dazzled by their headlights, does the light reflect back on them? e.g. can they see that you have flicked your mirrow? Would love to know!

UsernameAlreadyExists

No it doesn't reflect back on them, but they might well have noticed you actually "flick" it and realised what you'd done & why.

Norman_Castle

Gilbert2 wrote: »

Yet you were never told to do this whilst learning to drive and had you done this in your test you may well have failed. The slower drivers aren't on a driving test.

Why is this now acceptable for you? Because it is!

What better do you know than the national driving standard?

There is a standard required to pass a test. I'm not sure if there is a "national driving standard"

From experience, all drivers regularly exceed the 30 mph limit. There are very few complaints from motorists about this. Drivers driving at 30 mph are generally regarded as a nuisance. Most drivers, including myself, resent delays for any reason, including speed limits. Slower drivers are just another unwelcome delay, but 45 in a 60 is not unacceptable.

This thread has become increasingly tedious. To avoid being bored into submission, I am going to overtake and join the faster forumites.:)

Edit. I've just found the National driving standard. After scanning through it I've decided I'm driving ok. I didn't see anything about driving at the speed limit. There is mention of continuing to develop your driving skills after passing your test.

googler

Yesterday

Norman_Castle wrote: »

I agree, but its debateable if 45 in a 60 is too slow. I think its tedious, but acceptable.

Today

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Slower drivers are just another unwelcome delay, but 45 in a 60 is not unacceptable.

That was a quick change of heart.



EDIT Sorry, misread that mix of positives and negatives. I do wake up sometimes.

UsernameAlreadyExists

same thing, different words

googler

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Most drivers, including myself, resent delays for any reason, including speed limits. Slower drivers are just another unwelcome delay ...

In my experience, if someone passes, in a hurry to get somewhere, they might pass me at 80 when I'm doing 60, maybe 40 when I'm doing 30, but ... 9 times out of 10, I catch them up at the next traffic lights, pedestrian crossing, level crossing, roundabout, or whatever the next obstruction or road feature happens to be.

At the end of the day, they'd have been as well just maintaining the same pace as me for all the progress they made.

I'd love to know if the slow drivers that you pass end up catching you in a similar fashion.

gastroboy

This is something I don't understand.

On "B" roads where there are some hills and corners, you will have no doubt come up against drivers who travel at 40 and tip toe around the corners. This is fine as no one should be pressured to go faster than they are able.

However, when the road straightens out for a small stretch (usually on a downhill run), they accelerate so it makes it quite dangerous for you to overtake. So you have to stay behind...only to go back into the hills to crawl at 40 and this goes on until the turn-off for the retirement home comes (sorry oldies but every time this has happened, it's been an elderly driver at the wheel).

If you are that kind of driver, please just stay at 40 on the straights so other drivers can nip past. That's all.

stevemcol

steve-L, I don't want to get into driving experience top trumps becuase experience doesn't necessarily make us all good drivers. Our backgrounds are similar though.
It does sound like you are making some or your own bad luck.