Should i contest- speeding

[Entai]

yea, hope the van men show some common sense, although they must know where they parked up would have caused the eventual chain of events.

Anyways, I was in the "fast" (right) lane because people turn LEFT, and that lane is as such much slower traffic.

Braking would have been a bad idea, already in his blind spot, people behind ME, unless i slammed on the brakes (dangerous) it would have been faster to get in a safe position by speeding up a bit rather than slowing down, since if I had slowed down to allow the left person to merge, it would have required me to be at least "behind" by a car length for it to be safe for him to move in, and the obstruction which was the van was fast approaching. The way the cars were stacked (both lanes) he would have ended up needing to STOP behind the van before then merging in.

I made a judgement call. Right call for the situation, but i think i'll pay the price (60 squids and 3 points) for it.

You would not have had to brake at all, just lift slightly off the throttle so that the car on your inside is going slightly faster than you, by this I mean aorund half to one lph difference, they woudl only have to move forward a few inches relativeto you, for you to be in their mirror and able to see you if necessary.

If they then want to merge it is up to them to mirror signal manouver safely, you have done all that you need to do by being in a position whereby they can see you.

Obviously I was no there but I would be very surprised if the van was parked in such a way that it totally blocked the left lane, I am sure it would have been possible that if the right hand lane moved slightly towards the crown of the road there would have been rooom for the left hand lane to pass the van without having to fully merge with the right lane.

In this situation there is absolutely no need to accelerate in any way whatsoever.

 

[frosty03]

It's good to be aware of what somebody may do and prepared to take action if they do but taking reactive steps because of what somebody MIGHT do is ridiculous and will get you into trouble - you know, like 3 points on your license.

If you are driving along and see somebody in a side turning indicating to you perform an emergency stop incase they dont look out for you and pull out?

If there are 2 lanes, i move over to the right, let them out or incase they dont see me. If just 1 lane, i actually will slow down to the point that i can stop if the person actually pulls out in front of me. Obviously if he pulls out just when i'm 1 foot away there is nothing i can do, but i do prepare for the odd person pulling out.

You can judge how someone is going to behave, ie if they are actually stopped and looking as opposed to someone doing a "rolling stop".

 

[[TW]Fox]

If there are 2 lanes, i move over to the right, let them out or incase they dont see me. If just 1 lane, i actually will slow down to the point that i can stop if the person actually pulls out in front of me.

So on an NSL A Road you do 20mph past every junction with a car waiting to pull out? Seriously? Because any faster and you'd not stop if they pulled right out on you.

 

[Fr0dders]

the trouble is, this argument is all with the benefit of hindsight

if you had know the camera van was there ,youd have applied the brakes to let him out instead, or simply carried on at the same speed, and make him brake instead.

But thats a key point, if somebody is in the inside lane with an obstruction ahead of them, and they want to move into your lane. If they begin to indicate and you dont move, they are far more likely to brake and try and pull in behind you, or to accelerate possibly and pull in front of you.

Nobody blindly pulls over into the side of a car.

 

[Janesy B]

You're supposed to anticipate and get ready to react to dangerous situations. Not react to every potentially dangerous situation. Slowing down to 20 on an NSL road puts you at serious risk of you being rear ended because the person behind didn't realise you were going so slow. So basically you are creating more problems by reacting to everything.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Nobody blindly pulls over into the side of a car.

I must have been dreaming then when somebody did exactly that three years ago when I was in a very similar situation in my Mondeo.

If you are driving along and see somebody in a side turning indicating to you perform an emergency stop in case they don't look out for you and pull out?

I'll make an assessment of the situation, judge if they are paying attention, creeping etc. I would normally move over to the white line to give a bit more room and if I deemed it appropriate reduce my speed slightly and hover over the brake in anticipation for them pulling out.

Well, that's what the advanced driving lessons taught me to do anyway and it has saved me from a few bumps.

Oh, and the advanced driving lessons also recommended EXACTLY what the OP did - maneuver the vehicle into a safer area which can include increasing speed if that accomplishes the task quicker/more effectively than braking.

Unfortunately intelligent and safe driving and mandatory speed limits are not necessarily compatible.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Well, that's what the advanced driving lessons taught me to do anyway and it has saved me from a few bumps.

Oh, and the advanced driving lessons also recommended EXACTLY what the OP did - maneuver the vehicle into a safer area which can include increasing speed if that accomplishes the task quicker/more effectively than braking.

I have taken the same lessons and they absolutely do NOT recommend you take action such as that the OP did SIMPLY BECAUSE a car in an adjacent lane was indicating.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

SIMPLY BECAUSE a car in an adjacent lane was indicating.

But the OP didn't say he accelerated JUST because the other driver was indicating. The OP also made an assessment of the situation and thought the other driver wouldn't see him. There are other factors the OP hasn't mentioned which may have influenced his decision - density of traffic, closing speed on the obstruction etc.

For example - if the obstruction seems to "appear" suddenly, i.e. around a bend then people are much more likely to swerve to avoid the obstruction BEFORE checking theer mirrors etc - which is exactly what someone did when they hit the side of my car a few years ago.

I do agree in principle though - someone indicating to move into your lane doesn't necessitate the person in that lane taking avoiding action.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Yes he did - read his OP.

Noticed people indicating right to merge into my lane

He made the assumption they would move simply because the were indicating.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Thought he would not see me

But you're right - he hasn't elaborated on why he made that decision.

 

[frosty03]

But the OP didn't say he accelerated JUST because the other driver was indicating. The OP also made an assessment of the situation and thought the other driver wouldn't see him. There are other factors the OP hasn't mentioned which may have influenced his decision - density of traffic, closing speed on the obstruction etc.

For example - if the obstruction seems to "appear" suddenly, i.e. around a bend then people are much more likely to swerve to avoid the obstruction BEFORE checking theer mirrors etc - which is exactly what someone did when they hit the side of my car a few years ago.

I do agree in principle though - someone indicating to move into your lane doesn't necessitate the person in that lane taking avoiding action.

The obstuction did "just appear", since it was just past a small incline. They parked there so people wouldnt see them and slow down!

Thanks for all the useful pieces of advice. But the situation was just that. I judged it to be a situation where there was a high possibility of the person just indicating and pulling out AND i was in their blind spot (so there are 2 presumptions. 1 is that they wouldnt have bothered to even look, 2 is that even if they did check the mirrors they wouldnt have seen me). My experience is that most people dont look to check the blind spot before pulling out, just mirrors, which would have definately not have seen me. I could have maintained speed (presuming the person knew i was there), and if they did end up hitting me it would have sent me onto the oncoming traffic, and even not hitting me would have caused me to swerve abit and even if i didnt hit the oncoming lot, it would have freaked them out abit and possibly caused problems that side.

The risk odds were high enough that in that split second i thought that simply going faster a little bit would have been the best, least disruptive action to take. Going from 33ish to maybe 38-39 to make yourself seen isnt dangerous driving. Speeding it is, but it isnt dangerous.

I also agree in principle with the need to not always taking action, to a point. If you can help it, it is better to presume the person will do something daft and give them plenty of room, without causing a danger yourself.

 

[iaind]

How is it? He could have achevied the same thing by braking.

This is what I was going to say. Braking would have been the more sensible choice in this case

 

[Usel]

By accelerating surely your creating more problems as your reducing the size of the gap infront of you. So potentionally you could rear end the car infront of the car your concerned about as they move across.

 

[Scania]

He was in the fast lane.

No such thing.

 

[Fr0dders]

AND i was in their blind spot .

if you were in their blind spot surely it would be easier to slow down to let him by then ?

If your in their blind spot, your not halfway past them, so the shorter distance would be to pull back and brake.

Its perfectly possible to let somebody gain a couple of feet on your witout slamming on your anchors and causing a massive tailback.

 

[Solari]

Yes he did - read his OP.



He made the assumption they would move simply because the were indicating.

The problem is that too many people on the road think that 3 flashes of an indicator gives them the right to pull across regardless Foreign lorry drivers are a case in point but I've seen plenty of people in cars do this. I tend to drop back if I can but it's not always safe if some knobber is tailgating you.

 

[[TW]Fox]

The problem is that too many people on the road think that 3 flashes of an indicator gives them the right to pull across regardless Foreign lorry drivers are a case in point but I've seen plenty of people in cars do this. I tend to drop back if I can but it's not always safe if some knobber is tailgating you.

I agree which is why you need to be ready but you cant take evasive action every time somebody indicates incase they are a moron! You need to be READY to take action, but not actually taking it.

 

[Solari]

I agree which is why you need to be ready but you cant take evasive action every time somebody indicates incase they are a moron! You need to be READY to take action, but not actually taking it.

Aye, I always make sure I know what's going on in the lane to my right on the motorway.. it's got me out of a few situations that could have been very nasty indeed where some plonker has suddenly pulled out (usually while doing ~20mph less than the traffic in my lane) - I've actually had somewhere to move over to safely

I bought the Roadcraft book some time back but haven't actually read much of it Must get round to doing that.

 

[Glaucus]

As people have said if you get a speeding fine, pay it. you can't contest it. It's not a valid reason for speeding. That's if they even believe you. They will just hit you with 4 points and probably a couple hundred fine.

 

[monkey_boy]

If the OP was concerned about not being seen, he was presumably in the blind spot of the car that was indicating, meaning that the nose of his car was level or behind driver on his right hand side, so the indicating car was to all intents and purposes in front. How does speeding up make that situation safer? Surely it takes longer to accelerate out of that position rather than brake out of it?
It probably looked to the other driver like you were just closing the gap and not letting him in. None of that matters no though I guess. Wait for the NIP. If it comes, pay it and forget about it.