bish667

iTrader: (1)

It comes down to the different type of drivers.

1. the type that can and will overtake anything to drive at the speed they want.
2. the type that cant overtake and get stuck behind slower moving vehicles, causing long queues.
3. people that dont overtake as they believe its evil and anyone overtaking safely are the devil because they went over 60.

swampster

iTrader: (1)

Driving 15-20mph below the speed limit acceptable when road conditions allow you to safely drive upto the limit?

My driving instructor would have had a coronary... his mantra.. if it's 40 and you can do 40 then you do 40, if it's 50 and you can do 50..etc..etc not 1 mph over and not 1 mph under.

Wasn't there something that used to be in the driving test called 'not making adequate progress'? Whereby you'd fail your test for not driving to the speed limit if the conditions allowed?

I dunno, I might be completely wrong, but I was always told to drive to the speed limit

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

My wife failed her test for driving at 60mph and not overtaking when it was 1 mile before her turning

bish667

iTrader: (1)

I got 6 minors in my driving test:
3 for driving at 28/29mph instead of 30
2 for not getting up to speed fast enough
1 which was unrelated to this topic

I almost failed for not driving fast enough. This backs up what your saying mate.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

having read through this thread and taken on board peoples thoughts and (opten) strong opinions...

blueblaster may i ask what speed(s) you typically do in the following situations.

30mph built up area
60mph country lanes (inc twisties)
60mph long straight
70mph two lane carriage way
70mph motorway (think you said approx 55-60mph on this one)

also, have you ever crept above the speed limit in your years of driving or ever had a quick blast in whatever it is your driving. ie breaking the speed limit, but in what could be described as safe conditions (if that makes sense).

andy

Ghetto Dude3

on my drive to work have have a few 40mph roads (people seam to think they are 25mph) and 1 x 60mph road (always some old ****tard doing 30 at the front of a large que) and i have been hassled numerous times for overtaking

generally find its the older drivers who dwaddle about to be honest, some of them should not be on the road, FACT

just had a corker of an example, when an old bloke was trying to pay for a carwash and could not work out why his hand would not come out the window, that would be because your window is not down mateybobs

honestly you would have to see it to believe it, once is a mistake, to then spend approx 1min and repeated attempts to get the hand out the window is just madness

pnbond007

iTrader: (1)

I travel to Wales quite often and enjoy a quick spin around the great roads outhere, yes i'll overtake people who I come across along the journey but i'll overtake in a safe manner & not put myself or any other road user at risk by my actions.

It's amazing when taking this measured approach to swift driving do I come across a guy driving his volvo along quite slowly, however when I position myself to overtake he/they speed up and make the job a little more difficult..


Guess it's the rear view mirror stereotyping the image of a hooligan behind the wheel.

Varboy

There is absolutely nothing morally or legally wrong with making progress whilst driving and that includes overtaking.

I have been fortunate to be on 3 separate advanced road skills courses and ALL instructors who were ALL ex-traffic actively encouraged me to overtake (where safe) and excercise appropriate speed for appropriate conditions. (interpret this as you will). One one of the courses, I focussed almost exclusively on the 'art' of overtaking. I say art as to do it safely is almost an art.

Even after the course, I still get the occasional flash of headlights etc from someone I have just overtaken but as someone eluded to, this is just normal reaction from some people, to a rapid, noisy, spoliered car overtaking them and not due to any increased risk to them or any other road user.

I personally think that all drivers should be encouraged to take more driver training as roads are becoming busier, cars are becoming quicker and draconian speed enforcement all the more prevalent.

Guv

iTrader: (8)

Sorry mate but i consider that to be dangerous, i used to be a professional driver, I would fume when i used to see motorists driving along at 50mph- 60 mph forcing lorries and coaches to overtake them which then in turn pushes everybody over a lane and which further in turn then slows traffic down.

The fact that HGV's and coaches are fitted with speed limiters and when they are going uphill the last thing they need is some slow bod trundling along trying to save a bit of juice especially when it is still safe to 70mph on the motorway.

I think cars should have a minimum spend limit of 65mph on the motorway, if you can't drive safely and sensiblely at this speed on the motorway and be fully aware of your surroundings then get off the ****ing road!!!!

p1doc

just take your foot off the accelerator for a few seconds
martin

martwrxsl

I bet you would.

How about the arseh*les who drive at 30mph in a 60mph and you go to overtake them, then they dicide to put their foot down. If you drive a subaru it doesn't make much difference because you'll still go past them anyway , but this is a very dangerous thing that is happening more often.

bish667

iTrader: (1)

brilliant

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

My two cents:

1) 45 in a 60, fair enough if you don't want to drive at the limit, one should drive at a speed they feel comfortable at, but don't get annoyed if others exercise their right to go faster. There are also limits; cars should make "reasonable progress" for the conditions. I'd certainly overtake you at that speed (when conditions permitted)

2) An overtaking move should require no action from the person being overtaken, although IIRC the highway code does suggest that it is good courtesy for the person being overtaken to lift off the accelerator to facilitate the overtake. If the person you're overtaking has to brake, you shouldn't have been overtaking!

3) People who try and impede a perfectly legitimate overtaking move by accelerating, moving out etc should have the book thrown up them, petulant, immature and dangerous behaviour.

4) It's not queue jumping!

5) A wave or flash of the hazards as a thank you gesture when someone lets you pass goes a long way!

6) TBF I see lots of examples of bad and potentially highly dangerous overtaking by people basically just being impatient, aggressive t**ts, to make matters worse, they're usually in a car with insufficient performance to do it swiftly. Safe overtaking is to be encouraged and commended, but safety first!

Sometimes its quicker, safer and less stressful to just hang back and maintain a constant speed.

Ns04

vash

Back in 2003 I was driving to Farnham down the country roads from Fareham.

Just past Meon Valley is a really long fairly wide road which gently sweeps off to the left.

Anyway its about 8.30 on a sunny September morning and I had been sitting in trundle of traffic all the way for about the last 20mins.. No real chance of over taking but I knew this straight was coming.

I was bout 5 cars back behind a slow moving gardening truck, got to the straight.. Indicated pulled out, checked and then planted my foot.. Went straight past the cars in question who were happy to just bimble behind this truck at about 35-40 on a National Limit road...

All was going well until the white VW Van that was directly behind the truck decided it was a good idea to over take too.. Unfortunately he decided that the best to do this was when i was already a third past him.. which resulted in a massive dent along my 3 month of Scooby from the passenger side door and a new rear arch...

Annoying enough yeah.. but you should have read the accident witness report from the old lady who was about 3 back from the white van... I have lost it but surfice to say according to her i was drinking blood, while dragging babys behind my satan wagon, plotting the next terror attack on London all while doing the most dangerous over take in the history of the world..

This all went to court and I won 100% simply on the fact that I even if she felt it was dangerous, the guy in the white van who hit me must have felt it was safe as he tried to do it too... but through my car

Vash

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

sorry lost me there but see what your saying.... just.... kinda.... maybe

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Eeek, nasty.

IIRC I think this is why some courses advocate that you signal, pull out to overtake, flash your lights to attract the attention of people in front to your position and then accelerate.

Or just don't overtake more than one vehicle at a time!

Prasius

iTrader: (1)

Overtaking *WHERE SAFE* is the biggest thing I think. I admit that I get annoyed where someone will insist on jumping one or two cars at a time, crossing solid centre lines and hatchings in order to do it; when you can see that there is a mile long queue in front of you and your only going to get stuck in another one of these queues another 2 miles down the road (a common occurance on the A17).

I'll overtake when I can and when I can make progress after I've over taken. Having a 300+BHP car hasn't, however, gifted me the ability to see around blind bends, or through hills.

lunar tick

iTrader: (2)

As usual, NS gives a fair and balanced account of the situation

What irks me round here in rural Cumbria are those that dawdle along fast A roads at 40mph but then carry on at 40mph even when they enter a 30mph zone through a village. It's as though they don't realise that their car will actually travel at speeds other than 40mph

Varboy

Your anecdote Vash is a perfect example of third party perception. ie you drive a loud fast car with a wing on it, therefore you will drive like t**t.

Sad, I know, but true.

vash

Hehe I wasnt there this is what my insurance company told me

I was just happy to get my excess back...

Matt

Blueblaster

Right, back from Sainsbury's....

I'll try to answer every question, but I might miss one or two by accident. I'll sure someone will remind me if I do .

Stevebt, I am sorry but I don't believe you. No one in their right mind would overtake a marked police car on a single carriageway and squeeze into the space in front of him. No way.

Stevebt, there is no way your wife failed her driving test for doing 60mph and not overtaking. It might have been the final minor error that cost her on a totting up basis or perhaps it was just another example of how terrified she was behind the wheel, but on its own you would not fail for that.

Bish667, I drive a new Civic diesel. Previously a MY05 STI and a CTR. Also on driving tests, if you had been failed for driving 28/29mph in a 30mph zone you would have won an appeal in a flash. There must have been something else going on as well.

Chocolate_o_brian the answers would be
30mph
would depend on the exact road
55-60mph
55-60mph
55-60mph
I drive for economy and road conditions not because I'm scared. Current Blueblaster land speed record is 152mph in the STI in Germany enroute to Italy - didn't last long because it was using so much fuel.

Now, everyone seems to think I am anti speed. I am not. The original poster asked why other motorists get annoyed when he picks them off one by one as he advances past a queue of traffic. I have stated that it is because there probably isn't room to do so and his actions make it at best uncomfortable for the other drivers. I have never said he shouldn't stick his foot down at an appropriate moment and blast past the lot of them in one go. I have no problem with that. What I do have a problem with is bobbing in and out of a queue of traffic in the belief that just because you have the pace to pass the car in front you have the right to overtake. You don't. You assess the space available and you make your manoeuvre. A successful overtaking manoeuvre involves not disrupting the progress of any other vehicle.


I'd love to know what car everyone else drives who has replied to this thread. It is only when you drive a runofthemill car that you realise that some of the speeds you were travelling at in your performance car were not such a great idea after all. Such cars have so much performance that they give the driver false confidence. And I think it is safe to say that because this forum is frequented by mostly young-ish men the vast majority of people posting have an over-inflated opinion of their driving ability.

Varboy, nearly missed you. Can you imagine if one of your advanced instructors had to stand up in court and justify why he is teaching people to actively break the speed limit. I appreciate that breaking the speed limit while overtaking is probably safer than the actual overtaking manoeuvre taking longer because you're sticking rigidly to the limit, but the papers would have a field day with your statement. "Advanced Driving Instructor Tells Student to Break Speed Limit".

So to repeat. Speed is not bad. Inappropriate speed is very bad. And weaving in and out of a queue of traffic when the space is not available to do so is just dangerous and inconsiderate.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

ah you see i have a solution for this on one road i travel in particular.

cant remember the road name but its the first exit off the top off motlash hill roundabout that leads into broughton (where the mrs rents live).

60mph bit of road that leads into a 30.

so get old dodderer who sits at 40-45 in the 60 part, so thats 66-75% of the limit. overtake safely etc and when it approaches the 30 i slow right down to 30 as per the law. guess whos making ground up on me so then i slow down to 66-75% of 30mph which is 20-22.5mph. that pisses them off, especially if its only one car behind me.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

il give you three guesses

Blueblaster

So? Doesn't make you right.

Per month I get overtaken by at most a couple of lorries and they are always unlaiden and usually going about 65mph. No problem for middle lane traffic. If I approach a slip road I'll look for a gap in the middle lane, accelerate up to the speed for that lane, pull out, pass the slip road and the slow down again. Nothing dangerous in that at all. Where it becomes dangerous is when people are driving well in excess of 70mph in the outside lane (sound familiar?) and traffic has to pull out forcing the speeding traffic to stand on the brakes. If you stuck to the 70mph limit and gave yourself enough room behind the car in front then you wouldn't have a problem. So why don't you take your Spec C and shove somewhere unpleasant. And while you're at it, you "get off the ****ing road".

Varboy

Exactly, that's what I thought and asked.

I'm sure if it came to it, that they would deny such a statement as you correctly say, if the media hounds of hell got their teeth into that one, they would think it was Christmas.

All of them when asked 'why are you encouraging me to break the speed limit' they all replied (NB not verbatim) I am not condoning breaking the speed limit, the speed limit should be adhered to, I am encouraging you to use appropriate speed for appropriate conditions.

I'm sure you will respect that everyone speeds from time to time, including traffic cops with many times more relevant driving experience as yourself and if you respect that, you will probably understand why advanced instructors may coerce pupils to exceed the speed limit.

rbaz

iTrader: (1)

I have a classic STI and a Pug Partner 1.9D van for work.
It’s a pain in the **** when I am in the run of the mill slow van especially when people refuse to leave enough room to overtake. It’s just too slow.
In the Scooby it doesn't matter that much as you can usually overtake the lot with ease just have to watch out for the occasional idiot that doesn't look in there mirrors before they pull out to overtake.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

can i just point out that this seems contradictary to what your saying.

isnt the motorway 70mph in every lane? or were you referring to the speed of traffic in that lane within the speed limit of 70mph. sorry not trying to pick an argument as i would obviously lose, just picked up on this one and wish to debate the point.

Blueblaster

Why should I? Why should I have to compensate for someone else's bad driving?

sandyRS16i

iTrader: (13)

Sorry, if the speed limit is 40,50,60 or 70mph then you SHOULD make every attempt to travel at that speed IF the conditions, environment and the vehicle type permits it. Sitting at 40mph in a 60 zone IS not safe unless you are a HGV or PCV etc.

As for braking when someone overtakes, if you leave the adequate gap (2 second rule) then you should never need to brake, a gentle lifting/adjusting of the throttle will suffice. Siting, tailgating a slower car if you have neither tha capability or inclination to pass is DANGEROUS, you should always be checking mirrors and be aware of vehicles around you, that includes faster cars and adjust the gap infront accordingly.

Those who cannot drive at an acceptable speed should be prosecuted IMO, If i can get 3pts for +10% then those who travel slowly should get 3pts for driving at -10% unless the environment/visability/type of road or vehicle typr dictates it unsafe.

To those who say overtaking is dangerous, I'm basing this on using stretches of road with good visability, passing safely and not endangering vheicles with around or coming towards. If thats still unacceptable to some on here, then perhaps getting some advanced tuition where you will be instructed to drive at or near the limit and how to psoition a car would be useful.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

I didn't say I would squeeze in as I would pull past him and the car in front . as for my lass and her test, its true as she gave the examiner a hard time after it

I myself have failed a test years ago for doing 27mph in a 30mph limit so