Why is everyone driving so SLOWLY?

I think it is a decline in driving confidence (i.e. not overtaking) as well as generally more traffic.

Also, ageing population. Those people who years ago would be commuting doing 65-70 on the A roads are now elderly and doing 40-50 on their way to the Edinburgh Wool Mill. Maybe.
 
Roads seem busier far earlier in the morning - I have needed to get up almost 45mins earlier to just-to-say stay ahead of rush 'hour' where 3yrs ago I didn't need to.

Additionally, my route is fairly rural (single lane 60MPH NSL) with a fair few elderly drivers (stick to 30-40MPH everywhere), alongside HGVs and Agricultural vehicles.

All it usually takes is any two vehicles of those mentioned above to meet, and you have a tailback nearly a mile long as everyone is ground to a speed of 30-40MPH, due to the overtaking opportunities not allowing for more than 1 vehicle to be jumped safely.

'Safely' - many folk overtake on blind corners and over crests of hills, which I frankly cannot devolve myself to consider an option.

Additionally, the weather seems to provoke extremes in driving behaviour. Lower than 10'C prompts some people to drive and 40MPH maximum, then you get some absolute prat with something to prove who decides that 65MPH in a 60MPH isn't fast enough...
 
The sadcases sat on the motorway at 55 whilst being overtaken by trucks cause so much disruption to the flow/pace of traffic.
 
Overtaking seems to be regarded as a sin these days, there's a 4 mile national limit stretch between where I was living and working last year, I could regularly pull 3 overtakes of people doing 35 or less, then filling up with righteous indignation when they were passed.

The motorways have slowed down as well. I have spent a lot of the last 3 years doing J1-J15 of the M40 to visit the OH. Three years ago, you could be sat at 85 and have several cars come up behind you at warp speed, flashing their way through. More recently, sit at 80-85 and bar very few exceptions, you're the fastest thing on the road!
 
A lot of old people driving very slowly (well under half the limit) and wandering over the while lines in the last few weeks when driving in the dark on the way home :(
 
Duke said:
A lot of old people driving very slowly (well under half the limit) and wandering over the while lines in the last few weeks when driving in the dark on the way home :(
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Well I'm going out in my car for the first time in 2 weeks, let's see if I fit your stereotype.
 
abbotsmike said:
Overtaking seems to be regarded as a sin these days,
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Then I am undoubtedly condemned to eternal damnation :D

It's not just the apparent increase in dawdling fools either, the number "comfort brakers" seems to have exploded in recent years, i.e. the annoying people that constantly dab the brakes for absolutely no good reason at all.

Trains of muppets that blindly trundle down roads like a line of sheep is one of the reasons I love using my bike.
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
erm your MPG goes down because in winter conditions your car takes longer to warm up, you use more energy using devices (rear demister etc)

Unless they are driving really really slow or your using the wrong gear you should see better MPG not worse.
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Of course the colder temps will affect the mpg, however traffic is twice as bad in winter around here, even though I only cover 2 roundabouts
 
I don't know what it is but I don't like it!

the journey to my parents house is becoming more congested with cars pottering along at 10+mph lower than the speed limit. I love the ones who go slowwww for ages...then the moment you start over taking they start to speed up too.... what is really going through their heads at this point I wonder :p

motorway back from bolton on the weekend was a bit of a pain (m6/5/4), a few cars in the left lane, more in the middle lane and the most in the overtaking right lane. It's sooo frustrating as people going 55ish in the left, then people pretty much not even over taking in the middle lane and then people attempting to overtake at 60 in the right lane and then refusing to pull in afterwards because they could see another car a mile down the road.

I was sat behind one guy for about 5-10 mins wanting to over take him as he was doing about 60-65 with minimal traffic in the other lanes. I waited and then flashed my lights to see if he'd get the hint..... nope....a few more mins pass and we actually got undertaken by a car. now I wasn't going to do this as I know a wild copper would randomly appear and pull me up on it. so flashed the lights again and he pulled over...HOORAH! victory fro all driving kind.... until I noticed after I overtook (and moved into the middle lane to over take the slows in the left) he actually pulled back out into the right lane for no good reason? wtf? :p
 
The A road I take to work which is a 50, and in parts NSL, seems to have become a 40 over the last year. Bloody buses don't seem to know the speed limits either.

I find driving increasingly frustrating recently.
 
Janesy B said:
The sadcases sat on the motorway at 55 whilst being overtaken by trucks cause so much disruption to the flow/pace of traffic.
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I've only had to do this once when my bike blew a coil and it's unnerving to say the least, I can't fathom why people would do this because they think it's safer. More often though it's HGVs playing who's got the highest limiter, or using back roads as a cut-through and causing massive tailbacks whenever they get to a roundabout.
 
I can't seem to go anywhere these days without getting stuck behind dawdlers.

To avoid an accident on the motorway last night, I took a different route home, through most country roads. Got stuck behind some doddery old fool doing 25MPH in a national speed limit, braking for every corner and almost diving into the hedges at the side if someone came the other way. Rage :mad:
 
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