People pushing your speed in the dark

Jagraf

I've just been on an unlit road in the dark that I don't know well, with sharp bends. The speed limit is 50 and I was going about 40, but the car behind me was pushing and flashing lights. Obviously when anyone knows a road well it's easier. Can anyone understand what these people are trying to achieve?

fierystormcloud

Sounds like they have a death wish!!!

Happens to me at least once a week. I just drive as slow as I legally can to annoy them. The more someone tailgates me, the slower I will drive!

pigpen

They are trying to achieve the speed limit.


You can be fined if you are driving too slow and deemed to pose a risk to other road users.

74jax

When someone does that to me, I just assume they want me to slow down to let them pass, so I do.

Never really thought any more of it.

dirty_magic

I don't think you'd get fined for doing 40 in a 50! I think the fines are more for people doing 35 on the motorway.

It is intimidating when people drive aggressively behind you; I think that's more dangerous than going 10mph below the speed limit.

I did follow someone on a national speed limit road a few weeks ago though and I couldn't get above 25. I just overtook them on a straight bit, I didn't flash my lights!

Tigsteroonie

I always let them past too - I'd rather they were ahead of me, showing me the bends/junctions, than behind me blinding me with their lights!

Nick_C

fierystormcloud wrote: »

Sounds like they have a death wish!!!

Happens to me at least once a week. I just drive as slow as I legally can to annoy them. The more someone tailgates me, the slower I will drive!

I think what you meant to say is when you are being tailgated, the appropriate response is to reduce your speed so that if you have to stop suddenly the idiot behind is not going to crash into you.

Keep reducing the speed until you have a two second gap. You can usually then increase your speed again to open up that gap. Repeat as necessary.

People doing 40 on a 60 road in good conditions annoy the hell out of me, but on a dark country road, you have to make allowances.

k3lvc

I used to ride (fast motorbike)/drive (slower car) 12 miles along an unlit winding road almost every evening - after a few months I thought I knew every bump and bend and could have driven it with my eyes closed until one evening when I happened to do it at the same time as the local Miners were heading into the colliery for work. Learnt more that evening about the layout of the road and speed it could be driven than any other evening :rotfl:

prosaver

I just let them pass and think I see them at the traffic lights ..

done it myself , overtook loads of cars, got stuck on the traffic lights and they all arrived next to me..
So i pretended to look for something in the glove compartment ....









s

pigpen

dirty_magic wrote: »

I don't think you'd get fined for doing 40 in a 50! I think the fines are more for people doing 35 on the motorway.

It is intimidating when people drive aggressively behind you; I think that's more dangerous than going 10mph below the speed limit.

I did follow someone on a national speed limit road a few weeks ago though and I couldn't get above 25. I just overtook them on a straight bit, I didn't flash my lights!

if it is deemed dangerous you can be fined on any road. Though the paperwork is probably more hassle than it is worth.

My OH drives me crazy doing 20MPH on a 30mph stretch with nothing in front and cars building up behind up.. I just realised though he might not actually know what the limit is there.. there are no signs on that stretch.

Georgiegirl256

Jagraf wrote: »

I've just been on an unlit road in the dark that I don't know well, with sharp bends. The speed limit is 50 and I was going about 40, but the car behind me was pushing and flashing lights. Obviously when anyone knows a road well it's easier. Can anyone understand what these people are trying to achieve?

They're impatient to get past and so feel it's right to get up close to people and intimidate them.

I usually find a quick tap on the brake usually let's them know to back off.

Yes you can get fined for driving too slow, but it's usually an excessive amount below the allotted speed limit.

In my personal experience it's usually (although not limited to) either an Audi driver or a BMW driver.