driving slow : your views ?

onomatopoeia99

People have been successfully prosecuted for driving too slowly. I remember one case in the papers where someone was stopped doing 18mph with a huge queue of traffic behind him in a 30 limit, where 30 was an appropriate and safe speed.

There was another local to me in Bristol where someone was stopped on the M32 doing under 20mph with a sign in the back window saying something like "slow driver, please overtake". She was forced by the court to take remedial driving lessons.

motorguy

Another thing i have found is, people seem to have forgotten how to overtake?

I left for work the other morning, and my preferred speed on the first section of twisty A road is around 50mph. We're talking half six in the morning, and the roads relatively clear.

Had an Audi on my back bumper after the first minute, so on the first long straight i slowed off a little and pulled over to the left a bit. Nope. Still on my back bumper. Indicated left. Nope. Still on my back bumper. By this time i was peeved and going to prove a point so i slowed off and slowed off and FINALLY when i was down to about 10 mph they "got the message" and pulled out round me!

And i do see that quite a bit. People seem quite happy to sit behind the slowest car, and make no attempt at all to overtake. Ever.

deejaybee

The slo-mo drivers also tend to brake whenever a vehicle is coming in the opposite direction, as they are unable to properly judge road position of their car in relation to walls/banks on side of rd and oncoming traffic.

Once the oncoming traffic has passed, they revert to driving in middle of rd..

I do live in a rural/coastal area with some narrow-ish rds, but it annoys when stuck behind someone driving like that.

Buellguy

motorguy wrote: »

Another thing i have found is, people seem to have forgotten how to overtake?

I left for work the other morning, and my preferred speed on the first section of twisty A road is around 50mph. We're talking half six in the morning, and the roads relatively clear.

Had an Audi on my back bumper after the first minute, so on the first long straight i slowed off a little and pulled over to the left a bit. Nope. Still on my back bumper. Indicated left. Nope. Still on my back bumper. By this time i was peeved and going to prove a point so i slowed off and slowed off and FINALLY when i was down to about 10 mph they "got the message" and pulled out round me!

And i do see that quite a bit. People seem quite happy to sit behind the slowest car, and make no attempt at all to overtake. Ever.

This is where I prefer being on the bike than the car, as the overtaker that is

Ebe_Scrooge

I can beat that :-)

Last week, came up behind a car doing 35 on a NSL road. It's an awful road for overtaking. Stuck behind him for about 2 miles - not tailgating, keeping a safe distance, him pootling along the whole time at 35. Finally got a clear patch, overtook him, settled in at about 65, the !!!!!! then sat inches from my back bumper for the next 5 miles. No idea what he thought he was playing at, but was sorely tempted to slam the brakes on so that he'd go into the back of me ...

fivetide

The thing I do find infuriating is people typing ppl as though vowels were in short supply.

pinkteapot made a good point about Scotland though. A lot of the motorways are only two lanes so if you are causing HGVs to pull out that is slowing down the whole road.

The queues caused by slow movers like cranes at rush hour is amazing. Please stay off the roads at busy times.

Plus driving slow might not help. You approach a corner in a 60 limit at 40mph when the corner should be taken at 30mph (quite possible on a country road) then you are still going to crash.

Speed is fine, it just has to be appropriate for the road and conditions so while you shouldn't drive everywhere at full speed, neither should you dawdle along.

redux

Something that I find hard to understand is someone driving at 43 mph on a derestricted road and continuing at something close to that speed in a 30 mph limit.

It must take a conscious effort to keep the speed that closely controlled when going from flat to uphill, so why not slow down for the speed limit?

anotherbaldrick

On motorways often driving a little bit faster is safer. Tootling along at 45-50 you will be in close formation with HGV's back and front. These may be over hours, foreign, late, phoning their girl friend, updating their schedule on the PC. whatever at up to 44 tons one hiccup and you would be a fly under their hoof.
Better to move over a lane and do whatever the going speed is in that lane, far less traumatic.

dada44

i'm with pinkteapot and themotorguy here

yes, i do let ppl overtake me where possible- infact, i would rather they would .

however, i do think ppl are quick to assume that it is *my* driving skills or lack of confidence that is an issue, rather than *their* lack of patience.

driving slower and more steadily, means less accidents, clearer mind, less stress, less likely to run over an animal, longer life brakes, better for your car, less fuel used.

colino

Fine if your on a multi-lane road, but if your on a single-carriageway, or more horrifically, on a single-track, you need to be very aware of the other traffic and get out of its way.
Incidentally, where are all these polite notices in Scotland asking slower drivers to pull over? Certainly single tracks have them, but I don't recall seeing any on any A road.