driving slow : your views ?

Shielder

The thread is too long and lunchtime is too short to read it all, but I've recently stopped commuting weekly from Cheshire to Thurso (M6, M74, M73, M80, M9, A9) and I can say that some of the driving I saw on the A9 in particular was terrible!

Now, I agree with speed limits, and quite often, I used to observe them in passing but more usually, I stuck to the limit or at most 5-10mph over. On the motorway, I was usually cruising at 75 (which my sat nav told me was 70), and I'd very often come up behind an idiot doing 55-60 in the middle lane, with nothing in the left hand lane. Usually it was a very easy overtake and swing back in to the left hand lane fairly sharpish to prove a point. Once or twice, I have stayed in the left hand lane (cos over 500 miles, you can afford to lose some time) and flashed them to let them know that they can pull over safely. Usually, they ignore it.

Motorways are not the real problem though. It is the single carriageway stretches of the A9. Even though the "Please allow overtaking" signs are all over the place, you will still get people doing 45 holding up a huge queue of traffic behind them. Lorries ignore the 40mph single carriageway speed limit and do 50-56mph, so the slow driver is really putting themselves at risk.

There does seem to be a general ignorance over speed limits though. I live near, and drive on regularly, a dual carriageway NSL A-road, and the number of drivers who slow down from 70 to be doing 60 past the speed camera is unbelievable!

By all means, drive slowly if you want, but be aware that the other drivers behind may want to make progress a little faster than you. (Oh, and when driving on the motorway, the minimum speed is 40mph.)

Oh, yes, I seem to remember reading somewhere that hogging the middle lane of the motorway is now illegal. I've yet to see anyone stopped for it though.

Sorry to bring this back on topic, I just couldn't wade through all of the 32 pages of posts during lunch.

Andy

Cornucopia

Yes - there are all sorts of numpty scenarios regarding speed limits.

My favourite is when you are behind someone on a decent, straight-ish country road with NSL, and they are doing 45mph. And then you come to a village with a 30mph limit, and... they are still doing 40-45mph.

There is enough unruly behaviour regarding normal slip-roads. But now we have the additional issue of roads splitting, perhaps over as long a distance as 1.5 miles. And then there are the numpties who insist on getting into the "right" lane 2 miles before that.

In this example and many others including your NSL A-road, people seem to be taking (incorrect) cues from the appearance of the road as to what their behaviour should be. Perhaps we need targeted signage to address this?

nobbysn*ts

Shielder wrote: »

........................... Oh, and when driving on the motorway, the minimum speed is 40mph...............

What legislation states that?

Shielder

Well well well, you live and learn. For the last 20+ years of driving, I was under the impression that there was a minimum speed of 40mph on a motorway. I have just tried to find it and can't. I wonder where I read that. I'm sure I've seen a round blue sign with 40 on it somewhere.

Andy

UsernameAlreadyExists

You can't ride a 49cc or less moped, because that's "too slow" so there is an implied minimum. People that do 40 certainly won't get ignored by passing traffic cars.

nobbysn*ts

Shielder wrote: »

Well well well, you live and learn. For the last 20+ years of driving, I was under the impression that there was a minimum speed of 40mph on a motorway. I have just tried to find it and can't. I wonder where I read that. I'm sure I've seen a round blue sign with 40 on it somewhere.

Andy

If there is a blue sigh, then there is a minimum, but that's only specific to the sign. Variable speed limits often take the limit below 40 in heavy traffic.

colino

Apart from preparing for my driving test, I've only came across one minimum speed limit sign, and as it was set at a colossal 8mph in the Clyde Tunnel, only of any use to the sign maker.

nobbysn*ts

UsernameAlreadyExists wrote: »

You can't ride a 49cc or less moped, because that's "too slow" so there is an implied minimum. People that do 40 certainly won't get ignored by passing traffic cars.

Of course they will, if every other vehicle is doing 40, or roadworks with a 50 limit, in traffic, observing a variable speed limit, the list goes on. An implied minimum is pure rubbish.

UsernameAlreadyExists

and when there's no reason for them to be doing 40 other than being slow, then they'll get spoken to by traffic cars for being "too slow".
Try 30 then, or 20, or even 10! ... see how long you can get away with doing that speed on a motorway.

Shielder

Come on Nobby. You know what he was talking about. We all know there are exceptions, but, as UAE implied, on a free flowing motorway, people doing 40, when everyone else is doing 70 (or the vehicle's equivalent of the speed limit) then the traffic police will take an interest.