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Agree. I failed my first driving test in the late 60’s for doing less than the speed limit!
The tester said I failed due to “not making due process” Wonder if that still applies today?
and please use their services
Driver Convicted For Hogging Middle Lane
- Thread starter Ricardodaforce
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Agree. I failed my first driving test in the late 60’s for doing less than the speed limit!
The tester said I failed due to “not making due process” Wonder if that still applies today?
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There really ought to be a minimum speed limit on national speed limit roads, especially dual carriageways and motorways. There really shouldn't be a situation where a lorry is overtaking cars.
This morning as I joined a dual carriageway the inside lane was coned off (as usual no sign of any actual work being done) as I reached the end of the cones, I was catching up with a car. The car had gone quite a way before the driver realised he was blocking the outside lane travelling at 60 in a 70mph zone, but eventually they moved to the inside lane to let me overtake.
There was traffic further up the road getting close to an exit which I know most cars will be taking, so after overtaking the car I indicated and moved to the inside lane, meanwhile the car I had just overtaken moved back into the outside lane, for no reason at all, they weren't going to be overtaking me as they were driving slower and I was pulling away from them and any of the cars in the distance were to far away and as I suspected most exited at the slip road.
This morning as I joined a dual carriageway the inside lane was coned off (as usual no sign of any actual work being done) as I reached the end of the cones, I was catching up with a car. The car had gone quite a way before the driver realised he was blocking the outside lane travelling at 60 in a 70mph zone, but eventually they moved to the inside lane to let me overtake.
There was traffic further up the road getting close to an exit which I know most cars will be taking, so after overtaking the car I indicated and moved to the inside lane, meanwhile the car I had just overtaken moved back into the outside lane, for no reason at all, they weren't going to be overtaking me as they were driving slower and I was pulling away from them and any of the cars in the distance were to far away and as I suspected most exited at the slip road.
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While on the M56 I did see a wagon pull out and try to overtake another wagon. The wagon driver tried to overtake, but could not, seemed like lack of speed. The wagon driver stayed in the middle lane for a little while, then pulled back into the left hand lane, obviously failing to overtake. I do see this quite a lot.
Agreed - if the law were changed. Until then, not a good solution.
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People sitting in the middle lane of 3 effectively make that stretch of road 2 lanes. When we lived near Heathrow and used to travel the M4 to Bristol to see my son, I could quite easily (once past Reading) sit in the inside lane @ 70 with the cruise control on and drift past cars sitting in lanes 2 & 3. And the look you get!!!
Just to add, I wasn't "undertaking" I was just sitting in lane 1 as nothing was in front of me (in that lane). And the more stupid thing is when you come up behind somebody in lane 3 when lan 2 is empty, give them a flash, they move over, then pull back out once you've gone by.... Cretin's the lot of them.
Just to add, I wasn't "undertaking" I was just sitting in lane 1 as nothing was in front of me (in that lane). And the more stupid thing is when you come up behind somebody in lane 3 when lan 2 is empty, give them a flash, they move over, then pull back out once you've gone by.... Cretin's the lot of them.
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Who mentioned driving on country lanes at 60mph?
My comment was about failing driving test for not making due progress in the 1960s
Gremlin
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Making due progress is not about speeding down the road. To me it means not travelling at an appropriate speed to match the conditions
Gremlin
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Same here and I would never drive at high speeds on back roads, but you did say doing less then the speed limit.
I find it wrong that you can be made to drive faster then you feel confident at, yes it's annoying to get stuck behind
someone doing 30/40mph on a road with few overtaking places, and when you get to one a car is coming the other way,
but rather that then someone trying to speed up and something happen
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I asked Admin for a user title
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I think you will find you can also fail for being over cautious (at least you used to be able to).
Too slow and nervy is simply dangerous.
I once crashed into the back of somebody whilst on the slip road joining a motorway. I was a decent distance behind them and looked over my shoulder to find a gap to join the motorway . Mr nervous numpty had panicked and stopped at the end of the slip road.
I hit him in the rear but who's fault was it really?
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You should drive to the conditions as appropriate, a twisty national speed limit road would be a 60 limit but doesn't mean it's safe to drive at that speed, a straight flat road with great visibility and a national speed limit would be wrong to drive at 35/40.
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I encounter such people every day as I drive to and from work, thankfully I have never hit one. I reckon they are the same people who brake heavily and slow quickly then indicate as they enter an exit slip road, even though the slip road is perfectly long enough to do all the braking and slowing necessary.
Gremlin
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As long as you don't encounter an idiot in a BMW and yes I have it on dashcam.
Doing just as you stated, there is a junction with a clear view of the road, BMW stopped
and just before |I got to him decided to pull out. Luckily nothing coming the other way so
I could brake and swerve round him.
Made me more cautious on that particular stretch in case he does it again
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Friends and I have noticed this over the years. We used to think people were crap drivers. Turns out they're just lazy. As soon as a police car is around, everyone drives sensibly.
I'd ordinarily agree with this but I've had two experiences that have made me reconsider. First was a tyre puncture (from a pot hole on the motorway no less) that meant I had to use a spacesaver tyre. Rated at 50mph. I hated the fact I had to travel at that speed on the inside lane of a motorway. It felt very unsafe. Second experience was a rainstorm so heavy that it was like driving through fog. A minimum speed of 50mph would have been dangerous. I think the safest was 30mph as visibility was so poor.
I'm still amazed that I have been able to this. To be able to undertake traffic because no one wants to be stuck behind a lorry. So they're all stuck behind another car in the middle lane, doing around 60mph - ie no faster.
Driving is one of those skills you need to have confidence in. IMO if anyone loses their confidence in driving, they should stop driving. They're more likely to make a mistake or, worse, make a decision that causes an accident or hazard to other road users.
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I assume you were on main road and idiot driver (isn't always a BMW driver) in side road pulled out? Try that when you're on the main road on a motorbike, not funny at all, especially when you swerve and hit something head-on on the opposite side of the road (who of course was driving sensibly and minding their own business) - don't ask me how I know, the memory is still painfull.
There's no getting around the fact that you can be doing everything right and some pillock ruins your day.
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You may feel safer around here... A couple of the local roads are 50mph B roads, with good visibility, yet I still get stuck behind that idiot in an SUV or micro car that wants to travel at 30, no matter what the road or conditions....
I will hold my hands up and admit I'm not the slowest driver out there, but when it comes to country lanes with blind bends, then the phrase "appropriate speed" really needs to be applied.
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Are they signposted 50 or National Speed Limit. Not casting any doubts on your knowledge but a lot of drivers think the circle and black bar is 50 on a B road (unless noted otherwise), 60 on a dual carriageway (no motorway) and 70 (in the fast lane
) on motorways. 30 means whatever you feel like and 40 means it's far too fast unless it was the last sign before the 30 then the 30 doesn't count unless it's 20.Confused? I think lots are
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Are they signposted 50 or National Speed Limit. Not casting any doubts on your knowledge but a lot of drivers think the circle and black bar is 50 on a B road (unless noted otherwise), 60 on a dual carriageway (no motorway) and 70 (in the fast lane
Confused? I think lots are
Matt, a few years ago I was requested to a "speed awareness course" (stupid title as I was very aware of my speed - 80 on a 4 lane motorway in good conditions and light traffic) However it became very apparent that most people there had no idea of NSL's and even more worrying, the basic 30mph in built up areas unless you can see a repeater sign..... How these people get licences I will never know. They were almost all convinced that bikes filtering was illegal.....
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A few years ago "filtering" was a grey area, however a court case provided a judgement that it was legal but came close to not being so and in a collision the motorcyclist had to prove he was driving with due care and attention, so any reckless speeding between cars was going to result in non payment by car insurer should there be a collision, so I only ever filter really slowly. Car drivers still/always thought it was illegal (unless they rode/ride a bike as well of course), jealousy is a terrible thing
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Indeed - but the trouble with too many motorcyclists is they don't think about the consequences of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. My daughter, who rides a 750cc bike, has very unkind words for some of her fellow bikers, who seem determined to make every driver hate all bikers. My wife, who has held a bike licence for 40 years but no longer rides, has similar views.jealousy is a terrible thing
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I went on a speed awareness course about a year ago and the woman running it said this is now a big thing and they even run courses instead of issuing 3 points so there's obviously been a crackdown.
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I've had a bike and/or licence since I was 16 (so near as damn it 50 years), still ride, but it frightens me how some bikers ride, maybe it's just a getting old thing.
After all we need organ donors and young people do provide the best organs (generally
)
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Indeed, I was given options of course/points for a minor infringement of 5mph (should have been done for not paying due care - I didn't see the 30 limit on a country lane as I wasn't paying attention, so I took the lesser charge) and did a speed awareness course, wasn't at all condescending, I thought it would be and well worth going on.
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It's an old saying but I bet we've all known bold bikers and know old bikers but very few old, bold bikers.
Mr Bump
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I am also a dead slow driver, on a 60 country road my max is 50 regardless of if I can see to the horizon and the road is straight as a ruler, I drive to how comfortable I am always will do, motorways my cruise control is set to 70mph and I will use whichever lane I need to so general mostly in the middle lane, moving out into the outside to pass slower traffic. if I find myself in the outside lane alongside someone in the middle who has sped up I might add a few more mph's to the cruise. if they then speed up which chease breathers tend to do then I just sit there.
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My car is fitted with both cruise control and a limiter. I find the limiter far more useful as I just set it to the current limit and settle down two or three car lengths behind the car in front. The cruise control turns out to be far less useful even on motorways.
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I've had a bike and/or licence since I was 16 (so near as damn it 50 years), still ride, but it frightens me how some bikers ride, maybe it's just a getting old thing.
After all we need organ donors and young people do provide the best organs (generally
I used to commute into the City almost every day, on various bikes, including a GSX-R600 & a FireBlade, and I can honestly say that I understand how most motorcycle accidents happen. The amount of riders putting themselves (and others) at risk is often well over 50%. I stopped riding in Europe with my mates as they were just going too fast in the wrong places. Knee down @ 50mph through a blind bend on a mountain pass is just stupid. I came around one corner to find one of my mates on his backside, and his bike on 2 pieces as he's hit something on the road and lost traction. His bike spun off, hit a wall and it broke the swing arm in half.... Yet the following year he was going even faster....
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Of course you should always drive at what speed you (and your vehicle) feel is appropriate, but with all due respect saying "I always drive at 50 max" on a 60mph road is potentially frustrating other road users who would consider the conditions safe at 60. I find following someone at 50 slightly aggravating, however, only mildly so, the ones that really cheese me off are those doing 35/40 max on said road, particularly where I live as there are few if any places safe to overtake. I think when you get to that point it may be time to take stock and see if you are in fact still ok to drive a car/bike.
When I did my BikeSafe course with the MET Police a few years ago they were at pains to point out that exceeding the speed limit is sometimes required in order to be a safer driver, don't think that would hold up in court though, nor being on the opposite side of a country lane so you can see round corners better!
Paul I'm sorry but your last paragraph reads badly, in the case you mention you should perhaps slow down slightly and pull back in so as to not impede others?
I am prepared to drive at or close to whatever the speed limit is for the road as long as the conditions are safe to do so; that means taking into account road surface quality & condition, visibility & light levels, precipitation, traffic volumes & proximity to other road users & pedestrians.
I will be the judge of what speed I am driving at, not the 'speed merchant' behind me driving aggressively. If he/she wants to risk their life, that's fine by me as long as they don't risk mine.
I did a defensive driving course in the 1990s when I had a company car & was doing anywhere between 25,000 and 40,000 miles per year & that taught me to anticipate what others around you might do & be prepared to take evasive action.
I will be the judge of what speed I am driving at, not the 'speed merchant' behind me driving aggressively. If he/she wants to risk their life, that's fine by me as long as they don't risk mine.
I did a defensive driving course in the 1990s when I had a company car & was doing anywhere between 25,000 and 40,000 miles per year & that taught me to anticipate what others around you might do & be prepared to take evasive action.
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I let them overtake me, even if I have to slow right down to do so.
Me too, when it is safe to do so I will happily move out of the way and allow them to pass (even when driving a BMW). I even use my indicators to indicate my intention to change lanes.
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You will be drummed out of the BMW owners club for that.Me too, when it is safe to do so I will happily move out of the way and allow them to pass (even when driving a BMW). I even use my indicators to indicate my intention to change lanes.
I have 'almost' left it for now anyway, as I am driving a Mini Cooper S convertible (made by BMW).
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Riding a motorcycle is the ultimate in defensive driving.... You learn a lot very quickly. As for milage, at one point in my life I was doing 60k a year, a new company car every 9 months....
Good man... I've had 5 Mini's, wife has an an R56, son has an R53. My current model is a 2017 Clubman JCW, best car I've ever had...
Mr Bump
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maybe old chap, but I am still of the opinion you drive to the safest you can for 1st yourself and the people in the car and 2nd other road users, i also am of the opinion the maximum permitted speed in this country i believe is 70mph, no one i understand apart from the emergency services is allowed to exeed that.
DK602
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Maybe old chap the fact of the matter is that if you are driving so slowly on a public road considering it to be safe for you & your passengers but you impede the progress of others then you really should be deemed 'not fit or capable' of driving to a required standard and have you licence revoked.
Sitting in lane three of a motorway doing 70mph with the thought 'nobody should be going quicker than this anyway' and refusing to move over to the left is 'bonkers' - you are not a law maker.
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One thing I kept seeing and wondered if it's legal:
1. Cars stopped at traffic light, motorbikes cross the central line into oncoming lane to get to the front of the pack.
2. Cars driving on motorway at (or slightly faster than) speed limit, and motorbike zipping through between right-most and middle lane.
I know filtering in between slow moving or stopped traffic at slightly faster speed is not illegal. But the above 2 doesn't feel right.
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First one is, as long as there isn't a solid white line in the road, second one would mean they are probably traveling in excess of the speed limit, so no.
I did have a woman open her door on the M25 once while she was stationary, and I was doing about 5-10 mph between lanes 2 & 3. I stopped in time but let the bike roll right up to her open door, clutch in, at about 10k rpm. She was rather startled, my GSX-R could be rather loud........