Why is everyone driving so SLOWLY?

BigDannyO

BigDannyO

BigDannyO

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I've been doing the same 22 mile cross-country A road commute now for a little over seven years. When I first started the journey would take on average 35-40 minutes.

I've just finished the same journey and it has taken me 1hr and 5. OK, that's a little exceptional, but I would say that my journey these days is taking me on average 50-60 minutes. That's judged from the same time everyday I leave the house to the increasingly later time I arrive at work.

The main problem seems to be longer and longer "trains" of cars all tootling along at 35-40mph, bumper to bumper, with no desire to either overtake or allow anyone to overtake.

I know that this isn't a new phenomenon and the curse of the 40mph driver is shared all over, but it seems to me that it is now the majority of other drivers doing it.

Is there any focus these days in driving lessons to maintain the speed limit where safe (in before "limit not a target")?

Has anybody else noticed this? Is this simply herd mentality? Or are people trying to save the MPGzzz?
 
People trying to save fuel? I've noticed a lot of people seem to be sitting at 55 these days even on dual carriageways and motorways.
 
Roads seem to get busier and busier every year.

When I first started working here in 2007, it was a consistent 25 minute journey. Now I'm lucky to get here in 40 minutes. Sometimes it takes over an hour.

That's for a 12 mile journey.

With regards to drivers trying to save fuel, I can't tell them apart from pensioners unless I get a good look at them but am sure there are some.
 
ci_newman said:
Roads are just busier, there's not much more to it than that.
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This pretty much.

I always notice as soon as it hits October and it gets wet/cold everybody slows down adding about 5-10 minutes to my journey.

I get very annoyed with the amount of people that sit in the middle outside lane of the motorway and just toodle along :(
 
BigDannyO said:
I've been doing the same 22 mile cross-country A road commute now for a little over seven years. When I first started the journey would take on average 35-40 minutes.

I've just finished the same journey and it has taken me 1hr and 5. OK, that's a little exceptional, but I would say that my journey these days is taking me on average 50-60 minutes. That's judged from the same time everyday I leave the house to the increasingly later time I arrive at work.

The main problem seems to be longer and longer "trains" of cars all tootling along at 35-40mph, bumper to bumper, with no desire to either overtake or allow anyone to overtake.

I know that this isn't a new phenomenon and the curse of the 40mph driver is shared all over, but it seems to me that it is now the majority of other drivers doing it.

Is there any focus these days in driving lessons to maintain the speed limit where safe (in before "limit not a target")?

Has anybody else noticed this? Is this simply herd mentality? Or are people trying to save the MPGzzz?
Click to expand...

Where would you end up if you did overtake? At the back of the next "Road Train" It would achieve little.

Weight of traffic is one issue, Traffic bunching as a result of increasing numbers of cyclists is also a factor on busy roads where oncoming traffic makes free flowing passing of them impossible
 
Roads are considerably slippier now post salting and that results in people slowing down. Add cold temperatures and budget tyres that all of a sudden feel like driving on ice and you have the recipe for longer journey.
 
The roads aren't THAT much busier, it's probably just a combination of the obsession with MPG and obsession with the British "you can't overtake me / how dare you want to get ahead, there's a QUEUE donchaknow!!" mentality.
 
When i started uni in 99, i could get from my place to Bristol uni in 45 mins.I still live in the same town but i work on the edge of Bristol which is far closer than the uni and is 22.5 miles. It now takes me 1 hours to do 22.5 miles.

I find its not just when the roads are busy people drive like this though, i find on an evening if i finish late and leave at 8, there's still people that are willing to drive 40 mph, they more often than not flash me for over taking, i conclude theyre all driving slower because:

1) trying to save fuel
2) safety, or perceived safety
3) tired or not in a rush
4) lack confidence
5) standards of passing area easier

I wish the people who chose to flash me could understand that 1) I'm a confident capable driver who knows the limits of their car, has driven the road for years, is capable etc etc.

But people are short sighted and go with their default setting and reaction.
 
Orionaut said:
Where would you end up if you did overtake? At the back of the next "Road Train" It would achieve little.
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That sounds a little bit like "it won't get you there any quicker".

I disagree that it would achieve little. If my goal objective was to save as much time as possible I would be down the road a couple of minutes sooner than I otherwise would have. However, I'm on my way to work, so getting there earlier is not my target ;)
 
Where is the logic in saying roads are busier?

Have half the car owners in this country suddenly become unemployed and have taken to clogging up the roads?

I think it's down to the weather conditions and decreased visibility personally. My car scares the hell out of me in this weather to be honest :D
 
i dont understand people that drive under the speed limit on the open road and then drive over the limit in built up areas!!! and then there are the people that you overtake because they are so slow, and then 5 mins later you look in your rear view, and they are all over your arse!
 
Haze said:
i dont understand people that drive under the speed limit on the open road and then drive over the limit in built up areas!!! and then there are the people that you overtake because they are so slow, and then 5 mins later you look in your rear view, and they are all over your arse!
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I don't bother overtaking people unless I know theres plenty of road ahead mainly because there's no point but also to avoid this.
 
I'm finding the same problems at the moment; everybody is out to drive much slower than the speed limit. Perfect example last night..somebody was doing 25 through a 40 limit, slowing down to 20 going up hills, and then when we hit the 50 limit they carried on doing 25 :mad:

I overtook them at the earliest (safe) opportunity and got given several flashes of their headlights once I'd completed the manoeuvre.

The most annoying thing at the moment is even when I do get a clear stretch of road, you can guarantee that somebody will pull out of a side road in front of you and then dawdle along.
 
scratch said:
The most annoying thing at the moment is even when I do get a clear stretch of road, you can guarantee that somebody will pull out of a side road in front of you and then dawdle along.
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This annoys me so much. They'll see you coming, pull out anyway and make you have to slow down when they could have just waited for you to go past because there's no one else behind you. This happened the other day but thankfully the guys allowed me to overtake him. I still wondered why he bothered pulling out just in front of me...
 
scratch said:
The most annoying thing at the moment is even when I do get a clear stretch of road, you can guarantee that somebody will pull out of a side road in front of you and then dawdle along.
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Yes

And those people that drive with their front fogs on, and theres no fog..
 
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