driving slow : your views ?

stampede

I've no problem with people driving at whatever speed they are comfortable with however, if you are driving slower than others and there is traffic being held up, then it is polite to let them past.

If I'm stuck behind someone, as long as they are not driving slower than the majority, then it's not a problem

The people that drive extremely slow, ought to ask exactly why they are doing so - is it do to them not being capable & if so it may be worth questioning yourself why you are on the road endangering others.
A friends grandmother was driving in her 90's with poor eyesight & I've seen her driving no faster than 20mph in a 60 zone, she shouldn't really be on the road in my opinion.

I've also driven F1 racing cars on a day out & someone on the course drove extremely slowly in the car, saying the reason was to enjoy it as long as possible? Why would anyone pay £1,500 to drive a racing car as slow as they could?

Stoke

stampede wrote: »

I've no problem with people driving at whatever speed they are comfortable with however, if you are driving slower than others and there is traffic being held up, then it is polite to let them past.

If I'm stuck behind someone, as long as they are not driving slower than the majority, then it's not a problem

The people that drive extremely slow, ought to ask exactly why they are doing so - is it do to them not being capable & if so it may be worth questioning yourself why you are on the road endangering others.
A friends grandmother was driving in her 90's with poor eyesight & I've seen her driving no faster than 20mph in a 60 zone, she shouldn't really be on the road in my opinion.

I've also driven F1 racing cars on a day out & someone on the course drove extremely slowly in the car, saying the reason was to enjoy it as long as possible? Why would anyone pay £1,500 to drive a racing car as slow as they could?

I think this hits the nail on the head really. If you're unable to handle a car at 60Mph, then it's likely you're unable to handle it at 30 either, exceptions aside (space saver wheel etc). If you are incapable of driving at 60 in a 60 zone, then how are you any more capable of driving 30 in a 30 zone? In all likelihood, you're not.

Cornucopia

You're assuming that the only reason why someone would be driving below the speed limit is lack of ability/confidence - that's not the case.

nobbysn*ts

Ironically, I quite often find lack of ability is directly associated with excessive speed.

Stoke

nobbysn*ts wrote: »

Ironically, I quite often find lack of ability is directly associated with excessive speed.

Ahh, that makes sense. After all, Formula 1 drivers don't go fast at all... :T

I think we all need to remember, as I've already said, this debate is very subjective. I don't expect people to drive like total lunatics so I can get to work faster. I expect people to drive at the speed limit so long as the conditions allow it. That is my subjective opinion. It's neither right nor wrong, it's just how I feel. Personally, if someone is driving 40mph in a 60mph, I would consider that selfish, unless there is a genuine reason. If Mrs Pennyapple feels she shouldn't drive at 60 because her eyesight is going bad, then how can she drive at 30 and feel safe?

Cornucopia

It *is* wrong for all the reasons previously discussed.

I wonder if there is a generational thing going on here? Are all the speed freaks young (men)?

nobbysn*ts

Stoke wrote: »

Ahh, that makes sense. After all, Formula 1 drivers don't go fast at all... :T

I think we all need to remember, as I've already said, this debate is very subjective. I don't expect people to drive like total lunatics so I can get to work faster. I expect people to drive at the speed limit so long as the conditions allow it. That is my subjective opinion. It's neither right nor wrong, it's just how I feel. Personally, if someone is driving 40mph in a 60mph, I would consider that selfish, unless there is a genuine reason. If Mrs Pennyapple feels she shouldn't drive at 60 because her eyesight is going bad, then how can she drive at 30 and feel safe?

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Every *rsehole decides that by going fast, they have the skills of a F1 driver, whereas in fact they actually have the skills of the Churchill dog in the arcade machine. Normally the only thing they normally have in common to the F1 driver is the pile up on the first bend.

Richard53

Iceweasel wrote: »

For two and a half hours my speed never fell below 110mph - had to slow down for a few slower vehicles coming up past the European Watershed (water flows North to the Rhine/South to the Danube) - lots of Porsches and BMWs went past me at warp factor 4 - at least it felt like it - but they were probably doing around 180mph, and a couple of Ferraris and a Maserati.

My point being that with no limits to worry about the traffic does not bunch up - everyone travels at the speed that suits them. Especially on a Sunday with no trucks (except perishable stuff)

I did a long stretch on the autobahns a few years ago on a large Honda. I guess I spent a long time between 100 and 140, and even then big Mercs and the like were passing me like I was standing still. The funny thing was that it actually felt much safer than in the UK (which is not what I had expected at all). For one thing, no matter how fast you were going, you kept an eye on your mirrors, and if anything faster came up behind you, you moved out of the way. No-one got held up, no-one got frustrated, and the traffic flowed beautifully. It was fast but very, very disciplined, the exact opposite of the UK


One observation, which is only partly relevant to this thread, was that what speed limits there were, were adhered to religiously. Sign for road works ahead, speed limit signs 130, 120, 100, 90, 80, and so on - and then the moment the hazard was cleared, back to derestriction. The traffic slowed to the posted limits in unison, almost like synchronised swimming, and then sped up again on the far side. The point was that 1) it was obvious to everyone why the limit was there, and 2) the moment it was no longer needed it was cancelled. Compliance was (as far as I could see) 100%.

Iceweasel

Richard53 wrote: »

I did a long stretch on the autobahns a few years ago on a large Honda. I guess I spent a long time between 100 and 140, and even then big Mercs and the like were passing me like I was standing still. The funny thing was that it actually felt much safer than in the UK (which is not what I had expected at all). For one thing, no matter how fast you were going, you kept an eye on your mirrors, and if anything faster came up behind you, you moved out of the way. No-one got held up, no-one got frustrated, and the traffic flowed beautifully. It was fast but very, very disciplined, the exact opposite of the UK


One observation, which is only partly relevant to this thread, was that what speed limits there were, were adhered to religiously. Sign for road works ahead, speed limit signs 130, 120, 100, 90, 80, and so on - and then the moment the hazard was cleared, back to derestriction. The traffic slowed to the posted limits in unison, almost like synchronised swimming, and then sped up again on the far side. The point was that 1) it was obvious to everyone why the limit was there, and 2) the moment it was no longer needed it was cancelled. Compliance was (as far as I could see) 100%.

Exactly my point - they obey what speed limits there are because there is an obvious need for them.

Of course there is always the odd one or two that will do 90 in the 80 limit section, but if you see a car breaking the rules it's generally got 'foreign' (i.e. non-German) plates.

The StrassenPolizei are also pretty good at appearing like a jack-in-the-box at the next junction and escorting the offender off the Autobahn for an instant fine - or escort him/her to a nearby cash-machine if needed.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

Iceweasel wrote: »

Exactly my point - they obey what speed limits there are because there is an obvious need for them.

Of course there is always the odd one or two that will do 90 in the 80 limit section, but if you see a car breaking the rules it's generally got 'foreign' (i.e. non-German) plates.

The StrassenPolizei are also pretty good at appearing like a jack-in-the-box at the next junction and escorting the offender off the Autobahn for an instant fine - or escort him/her to a nearby cash-machine if needed.

German motorways work pretty much like UK ones except that sometimes you are on long distance ones without so much traffic. Drive nearer the larger cities and you see exactly the same sort of behaviours with some extra bizarre lane switching, especially with the sharp exits that many sliproads still have.

Speed limit compliance is also variable - they have a lot of 110kph limits by sliproads that faster drivers ignore, which gets silly on a two lane section. They aren't so keen on sticking to the 110kph in wet weather signs either.

Lane discipline is generally better, in part because they have quite a lot of two lane sections, but the main difference in my opinion is that any hilly section or heavily trafficked section they tend to have no lorry restrictions in the overtaking lanes so the traffic paces better (they have a section like this on the M42 around J11ish). They often have rush hour restrictions banning lorries overtaking at peak periods too.

You will still see oblivious old dears pulling out into the overtaking lane in front of other cars, and there are of course different nationalities driving around with their own curious habits.

Tailgating at very high speed is common too, and you'll see plenty of insane moves over a day. Although technically Germany has plenty of derestricted motorways there is an advisory 130kph limit, have an accident at over 130kph and you'll be in trouble.

However, having said all that, because the limit is quite high, what does happen is that drivers go at their own pace, and 75mph seemed to be the comfortable speed for the majority.

The reality is that what the majority of driver interactions come down to is that people really want to drive at their own speed in their own way and they are reluctant to acknowledge that the roads are heavily used and you simply cannot drive without consideration to other users, slow or fast.