Speed limits - people who ignore them

bod1467

IanRi wrote: »

So they speed through towns and drag their way slowly on open roads. I can't stand them, but they seem very common. One speed fits all.

I call them Mono Speed Morons.

FreddieFrugal

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

what really gets my goat are the legion of incompetent fools who haven't a clue how to overtake slower vehicles safely, you see them jammed right up the back of tractors for goodness sake for mile after mile, so close they can't see round the thing.

yes, this too! Totally agree. My route to work is one where there are only limited sections of road where overtaking is safe. Often get stuck behind convoys where cars could very very easily have overtaken at those places but didn't because of the stupid way they'd put themselves and it was now impossible for anyone else to. By the time there's a long enough stretch for the cars to overtake, there's only enough road for half of them to go and of course it's usually me and maybe one other car that get left stuck behind because the queue had got too big beforehand. After that point there are no more safe overtaking stretches of road before destination so it's a right pain.

OnanTheBarbarian

I speed, who doesn't?

I am much more careful in urban areas, but doing a motorway journey at 70 is painful, so 8-85 seems to be my cruising speed.

What really grinds my gears are the people who pull out of a junction on your left by literally riding upto the junction and just cruising out in front of you and then make absolutely no effort to actually get up to speed.

Also, cyclists who ride everywhere in top gear. York has a prolific amount of cyclists and I just can't fathom why they don't use the gears on their bikes to pull away. You see people struggling like mad to get going away from traffic lights etc because their bike is still in 10th gear +.

Car_54

Iceweasel wrote: »

Something wrong there - the 10mph less than cars or car-derived vans is only on single carriageways (50) and dual carriageways (60)

My 7.5 tonne truck for example has a 70mph limit on motorways.

If your OH thinks he has a 60mph limit on motorways he has not understood this page here:

https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

... and the three-hour course was a waste of time and money.:(

Retrogamer

I often get people on a NSL road i drive, sit at 30mph, then when it enters a 30 limit, they speed up to 40mph.

Probably the same people that sit at 55-60mph on the outside lane of the M8 motorway even though there's a queue of traffic behind them wanting to pass and no one in front to overtake.

orlao

agrinnall wrote: »

Your title seems at odds with the content of the first half of your post, people driving at 45 in a 60 limit are NOT ignoring the limit, they have simply chosen not to drive AT the limit. While it may be annoying (I find it so myself) there's nothing wrong with it unless it's on one of the few roads that has a minimum speed posted.

But if you drove under the speed limit during your driving test, assuming conditions were good you'd be marked down for it and risk failing...

TBH with the exception of some NSL country roads, speed limits are so conservative in the UK there is rarely a reason for the average car not to drive on or very near them in most circumstances. Due to the increase in traffic, the days of going out for a tootle in the car and bimbling along looking at the scenery could be called inconsiderate at best, dangerous at worst.

bazster

There is a lot wrong with driving significantly below the speed limit in good conditions. As orlao points out, do it in your driving test and you will fail. It used to be called "failing to make good progress", but I don't know if that's still the terminology examiners use.

Those who drive at 45 mph in a 60 mph zone are almost invariably ignoring the speed limit and everything else. As described by the OP, they demonstrate their ignorance of the speed limit by blithely continuing at 45 mph when they reach a 30 mph zone. They are stupid, inconsiderate and dangerous drivers.

angela110660

Iceweasel wrote: »

Something wrong there - the 10mph less than cars or car-derived vans is only on single carriageways (50) and dual carriageways (60)

My 7.5 tonne truck for example has a 70mph limit on motorways.

If your OH thinks he has a 60mph limit on motorways he has not understood this page here:

https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

He was on a dual carriageway doing 57mph but was pointed to the info you gave and was told because he drives a Berlingo for his business he was speeding. This all seems to be a very grey area and the wording is not opaque.

indesisiv

I had the misfortune to be following someone who was doing about 45 the other day on a NSL road then floored it up to 70 on the bits where we could overtake.
If he had just stayed at 45 for about 20 secs on the straights the big queue of traffic behind could have been cleared.

bazster

angela110660 wrote: »

He was on a dual carriageway doing 57mph but was pointed to the info you gave and was told because he drives a Berlingo for his business he was speeding. This all seems to be a very grey area and the wording is not opaque.

It's not a grey area at all, and the purpose for which the vehicle is being used is irrelevant. What matters is the classification of the body type on the V5C ("log book"). If it says it's a car-derived van then its speed limits are the same as for cars. If it says anything else then it's going to be a goods vehicle with lower speed limits on some roads, including dual carriageways.

Most small vans are a "car-derived van" but apparently the Berlingo is an exception because the van was introduced before the car!