Road Speed Limits

[Glutton4...]

I think the growing trend for driving in or nearer the middle of the road, certainly in rural areas, is the amount of un-repaired pot-holes at the sides! Yes, I am guilty.

Our local roads are appalling, and I have taken to emailing the locations to the County Council via their website.

[Capsid]

Cars are death machines and people need to realise this. Nearly 5 people a day die on the roads, although the numbers have halved since 2000.

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...sv.csv/preview

I drive up and down the M1 twice a week. Most of the time it's crawling along, the reason invariably is someone has driven into the back of someone else. I try and allow the 2 second gap and look at the car that's about at least 5 in front to anticipate the braking.

One thing that does slow traffic down are two lorries overtaking each other for several miles making all the cars bunch up behind to squeeze pass on the outside lane.

One incident that still irritates me was when I was on a dual carriageway. Suddenly very bright lights flashed me from behind, so I moved over to let them pass. They zoomed off only to turn left off the road several hundred yards ahead. Drivers are in their own little world and just see another car not the occupants within.

[KittyColdNose]

I still have all the phrases running through my head that my instructor used to come out with. Sarcastic singing "oh I love the white line", to make me move left and "It's a speed limit not a target" are just two.

The driving test no longer has stopping distances, it's the 2 second rule. I also was taught to double it in less than ideal conditions as someone else has already said.

[Highlander]

The irritating thing about leaving a safe stopping distance is that the idiots behind thinks its a space for them to race into. The A9 is a classic example. Some of it is duel carrigaway, most is normal two lane (there and back) A road. The government have plans to duel the whole of it but at the moment it is a killer road. Any stopping distance space gets filled and when you reach a duel section its like a Le Mans start.

My other bug is being accused of rubbernecking. Even if I had blinkers and blacked out side windows I could go no faster than those who are rubbernecking in front of me so why should I get the wave on from the plod? Where can I go???? there is no road in front of me to move into!!!

Rant over.

[Two_Sheds]

Am I the only one who bothers to drive anywhere even close to speed limits anymore?

No, I do it too, but I do have to endure aggressive tailgating by Audis and Beemer drivers. (I don't deliberately block them, but neither will I do 20 over the limit just so they can get home quicker).

We have a 20 zone in our road, which has a school on it, and is supposedly a safe route for cyclists: well it would be in anyone did 20, but most do over 30, and they do NOT give way to cyclists, they just push past


If drivers spent a couple of days on a bike, they would have greater respect not only for other road users but also for the speed limits. I've been hospitalised twice, and the OH once, by drivers who've hit me after trying to pass me too close & too fast.

[DannyRam]

I was taken down to Devon in a large van type thing along with 4 others. This guy was the ultimate tail gater. 90 miles an hour and he was inches from the car in front. I thanked him for the ride but don't offer me a ride again, thank you very much. He was quite hurt at the suggestion that he was dangerous. When I mentioned it to the others in the group. they all laughed as it is 'his thing'. Barmy sod scared the sh.. life out of me!!

[FB.]

If drivers spent a couple of days on a bike, they would have greater respect not only for other road users but also for the speed limits. I've been hospitalised twice, and the OH once, by drivers who've hit me after trying to pass me too close & too fast.

I agree. I've done as many miles on a bike as in a car and I find that a lot of car drivers will bully cyclists as if somehow someone on a bike has a lower priority than the same person would if in a car.

I've had two bikes seriously damaged. One was driven completely over by a car who did not give way to me coming from his right - it was a miracle how I didn't end up being driven over along with the bike!
The other was when a car didn't give way to their right, pulled out, with me going across the bonnet and through their windscreen into their lap!

Admittedly many cyclists don't signal or behave erratically, but I certainly do (and I can get points on my driving licence if I behave badly on a bike). However, cyclists tend to have giveaway body language that can give strong clues about their intentions if car drivers are as alert as they needed to be to pass their test.

On the subject of driving tests: when I was a learner driving a car with L-plates, that also was like a beacon attracting bad driving around me. Taxi drivers were the worst, followed by bus drivers.
Even on my driving test I had to contend with two separate, dangerous cutting-up incidents involving taxis; my examiner was a former police driver and after the test he complimented me on giving him a smooth drive despite others on the road behaving badly.

[FB.]

Had to do a lot of miles around the Cambridge area this afternoon.
While out, I was within a few mph of the speed limit yet three out of four drivers overtook me and left me far behind. One overtook me at well over 60mph and continued into a village at probably 70mph despite signs for 30mph.
many other were probably doing 75mph on 60mph roads.
I often had a tailgating queue behind me.

We later had to go into Cambridge, near the football ground in very heavy traffic due to football having just ended. In the space of less than a mile I had to do THREE emergency stops for cars who were stationary but suddenly accelerated from stationary to switch lanes into my lane without signalling.

About a quarter of the cars also seemed to think it was OK to queue-jump using the BUS-ONLY lane, cutting into the front of the honest driver's queue so that the honest drivers didn't get anywhere but the bus-lane-cheats managed to make good progress.

Never in my life have I, nor my wife, seen such atroctious displays of driving arrogance and incompetence.

[WendyC]

On the subject of cyclists and bad drivers, we have a website run by Sussex police for reporting bad driving. My husband, who cycles to work amongst other places, kept getting hassled by a driver and reported him. After the second complaint they contact the driver. This driver is now very courteous and passes my husband slowly and gives a wide berth. Did the trick. I'm sure other areas have the same service. You just need the car reg.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Funny when I was in the army I never had trouble with car drivers, I was never tail gated, no one ever pulled out in front and certainly no one ever tried to bully me.

Wonder if it had anything to do with the fact I was driving armoured vehicles.

Potty