Roads where drivers either always break the speed limit or never go near it...
- Thread starter Janesy B
- Start date
A48 along the River Severn up to Gloucester.
I have to use it Mon-Fri and I've never once come across someone who drives at the designated speed. If you stick to the speed limit which is 50/60MPH depending on the section, chances are someone will come flying up behind you out of no-where. For the speed I've seen some people appear in my rear-view mirror they must be getting on for 70-80MPH on a single-carriageway road.
On the flip side you can again be doing the speed limit and come across someone doing 40MPH in a 50/60 limit. Use a designated overtaking section and they take a disliking to it and sit on your backside to prove a point, how about wake up before you start driving? If you're really unlucky there is no-where to overtake them.
Then there are the few speed cameras that have been put up along the road next to some schools. The signs read "30MPH When Lights Flash" right at the top of the sign, with the standard 50MPH speed limit sign below it. People only seem to be capable of reading the first part of the sign, so they slow down. 8AM, 12PM, 5PM, 1AM, they slow down regardless. To make things even more ridiculous they only slow to 40MPH so (even if the speed cameras worked for the 30MPH limit imposed for 1 hour a day or whatever) they would still be speeding and get flashed by the speed cameras, so why not stick to 50MPH.
I have to use it Mon-Fri and I've never once come across someone who drives at the designated speed. If you stick to the speed limit which is 50/60MPH depending on the section, chances are someone will come flying up behind you out of no-where. For the speed I've seen some people appear in my rear-view mirror they must be getting on for 70-80MPH on a single-carriageway road.
On the flip side you can again be doing the speed limit and come across someone doing 40MPH in a 50/60 limit. Use a designated overtaking section and they take a disliking to it and sit on your backside to prove a point, how about wake up before you start driving? If you're really unlucky there is no-where to overtake them.
Then there are the few speed cameras that have been put up along the road next to some schools. The signs read "30MPH When Lights Flash" right at the top of the sign, with the standard 50MPH speed limit sign below it. People only seem to be capable of reading the first part of the sign, so they slow down. 8AM, 12PM, 5PM, 1AM, they slow down regardless. To make things even more ridiculous they only slow to 40MPH so (even if the speed cameras worked for the 30MPH limit imposed for 1 hour a day or whatever) they would still be speeding and get flashed by the speed cameras, so why not stick to 50MPH.
Isn't that DC2 meaning Civic?
This all the dam time in Milton Keynes! "oh I'm turning right at the next roundabout, I'll just hang out in the right hand lane for the next mile whilst doing 40-50mph just in case!"
Yeah.. but I forgot about that bit when I posted re the white van.
I personally hate the people who pull out infront of you forcing you to either do a quick overtake, or lose anything between 10-40MPH of speed. I'd like to pin this solely on OAPs, however i'm finding it is white vans more and more, alongside angry females.
One incident last week involved me approaching a right-hand bend, with a merging minor road on the corner. Woman at corner gave way, as she should joining the main road. As I was about 15m away, she started to pull out, clearly oblivious to me approaching at 45MPH. She continued, and then booted it (as best as you can in a Nissan Juke). I had to slam the anchors on and come to a virtual stand-still as she pulled off with her 12sec 0-60 skills.
One incident last week involved me approaching a right-hand bend, with a merging minor road on the corner. Woman at corner gave way, as she should joining the main road. As I was about 15m away, she started to pull out, clearly oblivious to me approaching at 45MPH. She continued, and then booted it (as best as you can in a Nissan Juke). I had to slam the anchors on and come to a virtual stand-still as she pulled off with her 12sec 0-60 skills.
They are unbeatable surely...
If you did this to me my speed would gradually drop to single figures and I'd be making the car very wide.
***** are worse than the under-speeders.
2 things that tend to bug me - following some dawdler down country lanes who wander all over the road and nowhere suitable to get past, then get to a set of traffic lights and they go straight through on amber leaving me sat there with the red light for company.
And all the people who slow down to 60 going through speed cameras on an unrestricted dual carriageway
And all the people who slow down to 60 going through speed cameras on an unrestricted dual carriageway
Soldato
- Joined
- 14 Jul 2005
- Posts
- 17,616
- Location
- Bristol
I do this in Bristol.
To be fair it's a section of road that is 40 and then 50. I'll sit at the limits respectively but in the right lane because it's quicker and at the end of the road I need the right lane anyway. If someone is obviously intent on breaking the speed limit I will get out of their way though. Generally the left lane is full of idiots doing 30mph though so I trundle past legally.
I've had someone in a people carrier (don't know if kids were in it) sat right on my bumper in a built up 30 limit (I was at 30) and then they've overtaken me up hill (barely had the power to do so), into oncoming traffic before. That amazed me the most I think.
I also had a van trying to overtake me in a 30 with me at 30 but too much traffic around and I made my car quite wide too...he then proceeded to use the a small/flat roundabout the wrong way to get past only to turn off at the next side road anyway. He was driving a stickered up business van too, smart guy that one although it was a rough area so I didn't fancy calling to complain.
I'm used to the countryside 40/50mph brigade though and just ignore them these days, carry on legally through posted limits and usually safely enjoy the NSL sections (with them in the distance behind).
City driving just makes me laugh though really, so many people jump lights all the time only to get stuck on another one a few yards up the road etc. I don't really let them bother me any more, I'll normally just ignore them or if they are right on my bumper, slow down and flash brakes.
I think the funniest thing I often see is people and speed bumps, it seems to be a challenge to go over them as fast as you can around Bristol....but I crawl over them, much to the annoyance of others.
I think one thing we've got here that helps people drive slower is utterly awful road surfaces. Even in softly sprung cars you crash and jolt about if you try and drive over 20 in lots of areas (30 limits).
Absolutely, 90% of people have no idea about driving on the left so we might as well just give up and pass both sides like plenty of countries do.
Under and over speeders are annoying, they are nothing compared to truckers though. Fairly frequently I am driving along a very quiet M54 (2 lanes for those that don't know), approaching two trucks then just before you arrive to overtake the rear one pulls out and proceeds to take 5 miles to overtake. Nothing gets me in a rage quite like this.
Motorway drivers are an irritation in a jam too. Almost everybody is super keen to go and for ever accelerating as much as they can at any opportunity then braking 2 seconds later which just amplifies the wave of stop/starting down the road. I don't know why people don't just relax and drive at a constant speed even if it's 5mph that's way better than stopping and starting every 100m, ffs look further ahead than the car in front!
The trucks don't choose to use that exact moment to overtake. Their overtake maneuver started way way earlier. Holding you up for however long it takes wont mean anything after 2 mins as you would have made that time up.
The HGV driver however if he has to back off could take him an age to get back up to speed. Let alone the cost in fuel
The HGV driver however if he has to back off could take him an age to get back up to speed. Let alone the cost in fuel
It won't make any difference to them either, the speed difference is almost nothing. They should have some damn consideration. If you pulled out on someone like that and held them up for miles driving a car then you would be a total ****. If their vehicle is incapable of overtaking in a timely manner than they shouldn't go for it.
Soldato
- Joined
- 14 Jul 2005
- Posts
- 17,616
- Location
- Bristol
Combined with...
Today I joined the M5 at 6.30pm to find it was fairly solid with traffic, mostly going accelerate for 2 yards, slam on the brakes, etc. along with 'omg that lane is moving, quick I must change lanes' followed by a min later them changing lanes again for the same reason.
I sat in the left lane all of the time, trying to maintain a rolling speed and gently braking when I could see the traffic ahead was stopped. I had a nice relaxed journey and most of the people along side were likely annoyed.
I never trust any of my cars in traffic so prefer the left lane for the simple reason that if it's stop start and my car fails for any reason, I can pull onto the hard shoulder easily. This also has an added benefit of lanes 2 and 3 usually being full of morons doing stop start and lane 1 being fairly free flowing. I 'undertook' loads of people because I was sat in the left lane bumbling along with traffic at 60, then when we got to someone doing 50 I'd pull out, overtake and pull back in, carry on at 60-70 depending on traffic levels and go down the road faster than most people sat in lanes 2 and 3 wthout intentially trying to get past them.
Combined with...
Today I joined the M5 at 6.30pm to find it was fairly solid with traffic, mostly going accelerate for 2 yards, slam on the brakes, etc. along with 'omg that lane is moving, quick I must change lanes' followed by a min later them changing lanes again for the same reason.
I sat in the left lane all of the time, trying to maintain a rolling speed and gently braking when I could see the traffic ahead was stopped. I had a nice relaxed journey and most of the people along side were likely annoyed.
I never trust any of my cars in traffic so prefer the left lane for the simple reason that if it's stop start and my car fails for any reason, I can pull onto the hard shoulder easily. This also has an added benefit of lanes 2 and 3 usually being full of morons doing stop start and lane 1 being fairly free flowing. I 'undertook' loads of people because I was sat in the left lane bumbling along with traffic at 60, then when we got to someone doing 50 I'd pull out, overtake and pull back in, carry on at 60-70 depending on traffic levels and go down the road faster than most people sat in lanes 2 and 3 wthout intentially trying to get past them.
Perfectly fine - when it's congested then you might find that lanes on the right are busier; okay to pass on the left under those circumstances.
Also undertaking is defined as deliberately moving left to overtake. So if you're in lane 3 following someone and move 3-2-3 to undertake and return to lane 3, you're in the wrong. If you're sat in lane 1 doing 70 and pass someone doing 68 in lane 2, chances are you'll be a-ok. Certainly it's my approach; I should keep left unless overtaking; no need to overtake anyone in lane 1 so on we go!
I can understand your annoyance with that one, especially on a motorway like the M54.
Sounds to me like the trucker in question didn't bother to check his mirrors properly prior to the pull out - or, just not care!
In that situation I always wait for approaching cars prior to overtaking another vehicle ( you know what I do for a living!!)
The 5 mile overtake is due to the truck being overtaken not bothering to lift off just a tad, which is more than enough to help the passing truck get past quickly, again, I do this, it's IMO considerate and more to the point, safer.
It infuriates me that many HGV drivers don't.