driving slow : your views ?

Cornucopia

No one should be going out of their way to deliberately impede other drivers' progress... but if you are legitimately overtaking and are already at 70 (or a safe speed for the conditions) then other people just have to wait.

Iceweasel

UsernameAlreadyExists wrote: »

In the specific scenario you described. Yes.
If you feel that you absolutely must travel at 70, rather than the 65-68, then overtake with purpose and pull back in. You could even manage 75 temporarily with both a traffic police car behind you and going under a speed camera on an overhead gantry. Neither would even notice you or care.


Just don't pull out and dawdle past causing people to queue up behind you ... quite simply because of this ...

Thank you for not being so rude in your reply this time.

My driving licence is so important to me that I cannot risk a traffic officer (who's breakfast egg may have been over/undercooked, his piles bothering him, and/or his wife has just found out about his girlfriend) just for the sheer hell of it pulling me over.

Why do I not experience this impatience in other countries?

Perhaps because they have higher limits.

Perhaps we should have a higher limit here in the Uk.

Yes - I do keep up with the news and recently saw this:

Plans to raise the motorway speed limit to 80mph have been consigned to the slow lane amid fears it may alienate women voters and increase risks on the road.

The policy was launched with a fanfare in 2011 by then transport secretary Philip Hammond, who claimed the 70mph limit had been 'discredited' and a rise to 80mph would boost the economy.

But Patrick McLoughlin, who now fills the Cabinet post, says the move is no longer a priority.

and even worse, this:

The government is proposing to set up a 60mph speed limit for a 32-mile stretch of the M1, in a bid to cut pollution.

The Highways Agency says the new restriction would apply from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week.

It would be in place from junction 28, near Matlock, Derbyshire, to junction 35a, north of Rotherham.

Variable speed limits are widely used to aid traffic flow, but the RAC said this could be the first time they had been implemented to cut air pollution.

It warned that reducing the maximum speed from the national standard 70mph to 60mph could "pave the way for similar restrictions on other sections of motorway" and there would "inevitably be a negative impact on business efficiency and individual mobility".

I would love that we had a much higher limit on our motorways - even some sections with no limit at all - look at the northern sections of the M6 and M74 for example.

But I can't see that coming anytime soon -it's a political hot-potato:

Government ditches plans to raise motorway speed limit to 80mph amid safety concerns and fears it will alienate women voters

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin says the plan is 'not a priority'
It was launched with fanfare in 2011 amid claims it would boost economy
But polling shows significant numbers of women were against the move

I regularly drive at 130mph or occasionally above that - where it's legal to do so.

I'm also well aware of the current ACPO guidelines of 10% +2 mph, but some othe folks who caught up with me were well in excess of 79mph.

However - the difference between folks being annoyed by me driving at 70mph is quite different from the original post by the OP.

People were expressing annoyance at him for not allowing them to drive at the permitted maximum speed.

Now we have you (at least) saying that I should exceed the permitted maximum speed to allow others to exceed it even more.

UsernameAlreadyExists

Iceweasel wrote: »

Now we have you (at least) saying that I should exceed the permitted maximum speed to allow others to exceed it even more.

The root of the problem is the middle lane hogging. Having the middle lane permanently occupied by inconsiderate and lazy drivers exasperates progress problems. Overtaking an HGV doing 60 whilst doing marginally over that speed in the middle lane and then not pulling back in despite 1/2 a mile of road or more before the next HGV removes that entire section of road from function (unless someone decides to .... OMG, UNDERTAKE! ). So the problem is then moved into Lane 3 ... and this is where it goes wrong because this magical 70mph limit must never be exceeded.

It riles me that some people think they have the right to police the roads by sitting out in lane 3 at 70mph hindering progress because it's the law! I am sure a lot of these "jokers" that dare to overtake will scream past, hurling abuse but a few miles up the road will pull back over and settle back in to a sensible cruising speed (even if a little over the limit) once they don't feel impeded by some self appointed Road Captain.

I don't have a problem with exceeding 70mph, and neither do a lot of cameras and nor the Police - so it's not really much of an important or meaningful law is it!

Norman_Castle

It riles me that some people think they have the right to police the roads

So "policing" the roads, either intentionally or otherwise, is wrong but dictating how others drive is acceptable?.

I don't have a problem with exceeding 70mph, and neither do a lot of cameras and nor the Police - so it's not really much of an important or meaningful law is it!

Judges may disagree.

Cornucopia

UsernameAlreadyExists wrote: »

The root of the problem is the middle lane hogging.

Yes - I agree with you on that. In fact I have a worse scenario than HGV overtaking - which is when I am in the inside lane at 65, and there is a middle lane hog ahead at 55 or 60 and the inside is empty. Which gives me the choice of undertaking, or pulling across two lanes to overtake. It's very tedious, and someone will usually get a headlight flash from me as I pass behind them.

It riles me that some people think they have the right to police the roads by sitting out in lane 3 at 70mph hindering progress because it's the law!

Have you given any thought to the possibility that they are just driving, and have no intention to "police" anything?

I don't have a problem with exceeding 70mph, and neither do a lot of cameras and nor the Police - so it's not really much of an important or meaningful law is it!

It's the law. End of story, really.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

I just did a 300 mile round trip today on the M5 at 70ish - 70 set on the cruise control. There were a dozen or so times I had to disengage cruise control to wait for a sensible time to pull out. I did occupy the 3rd lane for short periods of time, and I did have a couple of cars trying to monster me out of the way even though I was passing the other car at a reasonable pace.

Through one of the 50mph sections, I did have a truck try and monster me into speeding up when I was in the left hand lane, which I was non-too impressed with as I'd just watch him have a considerable hard shoulder excursion. I used the recommended technique of very gently slowing down, so I dropped to about 45 to extend the gap in front and then accelerated up to 50 and he stayed back.

The majority of traffic was running about 65-70mph, there was a occasional batch of cars passing at speed, with the odd idiot screaming up to the back of the occasional traffic queue.

It is a myth that the majority of traffic travels at and above the speed limit - perpetuated by those who want to excuse their unlawful behaviour on the roads.

The only issue I had was the 60/80 driver or two, like through Bristol where I was overtaken at speed, only to have to pull out around them as they then slowed right down, and as soon as I vacated the middle lane where they were "in the groove" they accelerated again. Exchanged places 3 or 4 times, hubby in the passenger seat started looking embarrassed.

Iceweasel

Cornucopia wrote: »

Have you given any thought to the possibility that they are just driving, and have no intention to "police" anything?

That's me - I'm simply trying to get from one end of the country to the other - legally - and I'm certainly not interested in 'policing' anything at all.

I'm never in lane 3 longer that is needed to overtake slower traffic in lane 2 - the actual speed they are doing is of no interest to me.

They can drive at any speed they like - if it's below the limit I'll be passing them.

Likewise if others are driving faster me - it's of no concern to me that they are exceeding the legal limit - they can easily pass me once I have pulled in to the left again.

What has annoyed me with this thread is the attitude that I, and others like me, should be dictated to with the advice to slow down and stay in lane 2 until:

as IanM Spencer says:

"the odd idiot screaming up to the back of the occasional traffic queue." has passed.

I agree too with his comment:

"It is a myth that the majority of traffic travels at and above the speed limit - perpetuated by those who want to excuse their unlawful behaviour on the roads."

The law-breakers appear to want to dictate to the law-abiding that they should get out of their way.

And as for advising me to break the law - well, well - what have we come to.

UsernameAlreadyExists

Iceweasel wrote: »

I agree too with his comment:

"It is a myth that the majority of traffic travels at and above the speed limit - perpetuated by those who want to excuse their unlawful behaviour on the roads."

It would appear my figures were out of date. The latest seem to be published in 2013 for the year 2012.

On motorways, 48 per cent of cars exceeded the 70 mph speed limit in 2012, a decrease of one percentage point from 2011. Twelve per cent of cars in 2012 travelled at 80 mph or faster, continuing the downward trend seen in recent years.

from here :
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209104/free-flow-vehicle-speeds-2012.pdf


Seems that fuel prices and the economy are having an effect on travel, but still pretty much 1 out of 2 people want to go faster than 70.

Iceweasel

UsernameAlreadyExists wrote: »

Seems that fuel prices and the economy are having an effect on travel, but still pretty much 1 out of 2 people want to go faster than 70.

I agree wholeheartedly with that.

I want to go MUCH faster than 70mph - and frequently do - except not in the UK - as our elected representatives who make and/or change/repeal/modify our laws feel we shouldn't.

I was driving at nearly double that speed earlier this week - but legally.

So it pi$$es me off when someone objects to me driving legally in the UK.

DUTR

UsernameAlreadyExists wrote: »

It would appear my figures were out of date. The latest seem to be published in 2013 for the year 2012.




from here :
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209104/free-flow-vehicle-speeds-2012.pdf


Seems that fuel prices and the economy are having an effect on travel, but still pretty much 1 out of 2 people want to go faster than 70.

Don't you remember a few years back when petrol prices were rocketing, it was quite humerous how the traffic was rarely even doing 70mph on the motorways.