Pushing cars along on the motorway

[Mr Joshua]

I've just completed a drive from Lincolnshire back to Durham, there's a nice long stretch of roadworks with a 50mph (and specs) north of Wetherby all the way to Leaming Bar.

Now I've noticed this phenomenon before but tonights incident seemed a bit more blatant than most.

I usually travel at a set speed all the way, slowing down through the roadworks the returning to the speed I was travelling previously upon exiting the 50 zone.

When you come to the end of these zones it seems like a mad dash with some drivers to be the fastest and to overtake anything and everything despite them having been travelling much slower prior to the 50 limit.

So I build my speed back up and you have the guys flying past. This appears, in most cases, to result in me "pushing" these guys along afterwards as it seems they are uncomfortable travelling at the speed I set.

This is usually apparent by the constant varying of their speed, especially when you get closer and within overtaking range. This results in another sudden burst of speed until the inevitable happens and I pass them a mile or two later.

Anyone else notice this happening?

 

[Fr0dders]

Yes

drives me insane that people can't drive to a set speed.

I just stick the cruise at 75 or whatever and cruise up the motorway. But i'm constantly yo-yoing with other idiots who get a small penis complex every time you overtake them. So they speed up, then you catch them again further up. Rinse and repeat for 50 miles and its tiring.

 

[paradigm]

Yes

drives me insane that people can't drive to a set speed.

I just stick the cruise at 75 or whatever and cruise up the motorway. But i'm constantly yo-yoing with other idiots who get a small penis complex every time you overtake them. So they speed up, then you catch them again further up. Rinse and repeat for 50 miles and its tiring.

It's not just that which annoys me, more the people who blatantly aren't using/don't have cruise control.

You sit there, set to 75mph, you're closing in on the car in front so pull out to pass, then low and behold they gain 2-3 mph, you now look like a truck driver sitting alongside another vehicle for what seems like forever, you add a bit more speed, and as if by magic they have fluttered back down to 68mph, all the time completely oblivious to the fact that they can't keep their sodding foot still.

 

[Lopéz]

It's not just that which annoys me, more the people who blatantly aren't using/don't have cruise control.

Damn those heathens with their lack of cruise control, how dare they share your road

 

[Marine Iguana]

It's not just that which annoys me, more the people who blatantly aren't using/don't have cruise control.

What an odd thing to say.

 

[paradigm]

Damn those heathens with their lack of cruise control, how dare they share your road

It's fine, just learn how to hold the throttle steady!

What an odd thing to say.

To be fair, I expand on that below, it's a certain TYPE of person who isn't using or doesn't have CC. But you take the context to be whatever you like hun.

 

[Scania]

Drives me nuts too, especially given that most cars sit at an indicated 50 (on such a limit) but in actual fact are doing 46-48MPH, it amazes me the number of trucks that'll blast through @ 55MPH, yes the specs cameras won't get them, but God forbid there was an accident - the "spy in the cab" tachograph would have them - rightly - bang to rights.

Numptys.

 

[Marine Iguana]

To be fair, I expand on that below, it's a certain TYPE of person who isn't using or doesn't have CC. But you take the context to be whatever you like hun.

Ok But my foot does ache after a while a on motorway.

Curse you and your technology.

 

[[TW]Fox]

You sit there, set to 75mph, you're closing in on the car in front so pull out to pass, then low and behold they gain 2-3 mph, you now look like a truck driver sitting alongside another vehicle for what seems like forever, you add a bit more speed, and as if by magic they have fluttered back down to 68mph, all the time completely oblivious to the fact that they can't keep their sodding foot still.

This is SO annoying. Then you finally get past them. Then they overtake again. Then you catch them up. ARGHGHGH

Not as annoying as the people you find on long A road jaunts. You know the type - 40mph everywhere. You finally get a chance to execute a well planned overtake, and they are gone. Excellent. Then the road opens out in a short dual carriageway - happens a lot on the route to Southampton.

And they come storming past at VMAX (It's usually a Corsa or something). Dual Carriageway ends and sure enough you are back behind them again, doing 40mph...

 

[Amoeba]

It's not just that which annoys me, more the people who blatantly aren't using/don't have cruise control.

You sit there, set to 75mph, you're closing in on the car in front so pull out to pass, then low and behold they gain 2-3 mph, you now look like a truck driver sitting alongside another vehicle for what seems like forever, you add a bit more speed, and as if by magic they have fluttered back down to 68mph, all the time completely oblivious to the fact that they can't keep their sodding foot still.

I on the other hand find the cruise control brigade rather irritating. If I overtake somebody (be it on a back road or a motorway), I try and get by and back in my original lane as quickly as possible. This tends to mean speeding up somewhat and then returning to cruising speed when I get back in. What annoys me is when I have somebody sitting overtaking me at 1mph higher speed than I am doing, blocking me from leaving my lane if something slower comes up in front.

Personally I couldn't give 2 hoots if when overtaking somebody they sped up by a shocking '2-3 mph' as I would just speed up by 2-3 mph to compensate .

 

[Irish_Tom]

Not as annoying as the people you find on long A road jaunts. You know the type - 40mph everywhere. You finally get a chance to execute a well planned overtake, and they are gone. Excellent. Then the road opens out in a short dual carriageway - happens a lot on the route to Southampton.

The A35/303 are the worst roads in the country as far as I'm concerned. The sooner they build a motorway from Exeter all the way along the south coast the better. Screw the green belt.

As for inconsistent speed — it really is one of the most annoying things on the road.

I don't think you truly appreciate it until you have cruise control and find yourself taking manual control every two minutes because other road users can't maintain there speed.

It's not even that you need CC to do it, just regulate the throttle dammnit. I'm a lot more aware of maintaining my own speed when not using CC/in a car without CC now.

 

[Dogbreath]

What annoys me is when I have somebody sitting overtaking me at 1mph higher speed than I am doing, blocking me from leaving my lane if something slower comes up in front.

Agreed, absolutely no need for it at all. You can still accelerate to get past other cars in a reasonable time if you have cruise control.

 

[[TW]Fox]

The A35/303 are the worst roads in the country as far as I'm concerned. The sooner they build a motorway from Exeter all the way along the south coast the better. Screw the green belt.

I love the A35! Much more interesting than boring motorway, nice mix of road types and plenty of overtaking. Driving it tonight and looking forward to it

 

[paradigm]

Agreed, absolutely no need for it at all. You can still accelerate to get past other cars in a reasonable time if you have cruise control.

You can, but I'm not going to blat up to 85 just to get past someone I was approaching at +5mph above their speed anyway. Why should I risk points just because some moron can't hold their speed steady?

 

[Fr0dders]

Not as annoying as the people you find on long A road jaunts. You know the type - 40mph everywhere. You finally get a chance to execute a well planned overtake, and they are gone. Excellent. Then the road opens out in a short dual carriageway - happens a lot on the route to Southampton.

And they come storming past at VMAX (It's usually a Corsa or something). Dual Carriageway ends and sure enough you are back behind them again, doing 40mph...

Sounds just like the A64 to scarborough

Constantly swapping from 1 lane to 2, from 30 limits to 70 limit.

 

[Jonny69]

Yes

drives me insane that people can't drive to a set speed.

I just stick the cruise at 75 or whatever and cruise up the motorway. But i'm constantly yo-yoing with other idiots who get a small penis complex every time you overtake them. So they speed up, then you catch them again further up. Rinse and repeat for 50 miles and its tiring.

This. Yo-yo-ing drives me insane

 

[Fr0dders]

Damn those heathens with their lack of cruise control, how dare they share your road

Its not that

Its people who drive at a constant pedal travel rather than a constant speed. They press the pedal so much, then when they come to a down hill section, they speed up. When they come to an uphill section, they slow down.

As a result unless your in norfolk you constantly yo yo with them the entire journey because they can't keep a steady speed.

 

[phil-k]

I have had this often on the motorway, overtaking someone whos doing about 65 as you get alongside them, they speed up and you end up doing 80 sitting beside them. You cant slow down and get back behind them because someone else is coming up behind you in the overtaking lane, so you go faster until you get past and then they disappear in your rear view mirror as they slow down once your past them
I expect the police would do you for speeding in this case or are you speeding to avoid an accident and would they bother to do anything to the other driver

 

[VaderDSL]

YES!

There is a section of dual carriageway approaching Haslingden on the A56, it's NSL until you turn off (still on the A56) where it drops to a 50MPH, I invariably follow the speed limit there and sit at 50MPH with signs all the way showing 50MPH while people fly past at 60/70MPH.

Then a few hundred yards down it turns into NSL again and I'm left with having to overtake the moron who sits there at 60MPH after just overtaking me

 

[Howard]

This is SO annoying. Then you finally get past them. Then they overtake again. Then you catch them up. ARGHGHGH

My god, nothing annoys me more. NOTHING.

One day I'm just going to think sod it and plough right into them at 150mph. Seriously.