[Closed] People overtaking in 30 zones

Bristol was mostly 30 and I don't recall ever being overtaken. Recently it dropped to 20 in quite a few residential areas. Now I seem to get overtaken fairly regularly by people way over the limit. Pretty reckless in residential streets with parked cars. Not sure what the solution is though.

Regularly get overtaken (while on the bike) outside a school, its a green 20 sign (so recommended, 30 actual limit) and im doing 20 as its downhill, but they are always doing over 30. All this according to the electronic speed sign with the sad face, not sure how accurate they are?

Get it reported. Even if they do nothing its logged, so if (when) there is an accident, it improves the chance something will get done.

Happened on my old commute, contacted the local police via the 101 number and told them where it was happening and my estimation of the speed that the overtakers were doing.

Unmarked A6 and an officer with a hand held laser speed gun appeared about a fortnight later....caught 20 or so people in a 40 minute enforcement period apparently....

Death penalty for speeding, just replace speed cameras with radar triggered Anti Aircraft guns and make it self policing.

You do the speed limit anywhere and you'll get someone right up behind you looking angry.

The vast majority of drivers break the speed limit in my experience. I don't think telling the police will achieve anything. Even if you provide the police with video evidence of drivers breaking the law they'll rarely do anything with it.

When I (rarely) drive into work there's this long 30mph stretch where I experience the same as you. Angry drivers stuck right on my bumpers, dangerous overtaking. All this past a school front gates when there are children around.

Strangely these drivers suddenly calm down when we get onto my company estate where the limit is 20mph and speeders are reported to their boss. Repeat offenders get reported up the tree.

They should do that on the public roads, it'd have a much more effective result than fines.

Bit of both if its a bad/dangerous stretch for it then mention to plod but the reality is almost everyone speeds

Death penalty for speeding, just replace speed cameras with radar triggered Anti Aircraft guns and make it self policing.

You are Kim Jong Un and I claim my £5

[i]The vast majority of drivers break the speed limit in my experience.[/i]

Yep, in 30's anyway and then continue at 40ish once back into NSL...

I don't worry about it, just drive on the cruise at 30mph (or less if appropriate) taking the correct position on the road.

I'm not suggesting that one region has worse drivers than another, but while driving in Urmston, Manchester, I've twice had people overtake me when I've been doing about 33-34mph. I did report one of them to the police, but never heard back.
Yes, report them to the police and ask that you're given feedback.

The trouble round where I live is that speed limits that have been in place for 30 years have suddenly and for no apparent reason be reduced by between 10 and 20 mph. Given that nothing has appeared to change with either the road or the use of the land either side of it then I find it difficult to see the reduction as having anything to do with road safety and everything to do with cash generation.

The city ringroad has been 70 for the last 30 years, now they have increased the number of lanes its a 40?? The road out of the village has been national speed limit for as long as anyone can remember, its now a 40? Nothing on the road has changed. Another stretch of dual carriageway that used to be national speed limit now ossiclates between 40 and 50 along its length. It has motorway style junction and no pedestrian access

Yeah many people drive aggressively in built up areas, pointless. I wonder if some people though think others are driving too slowly as cars tend to over state their speed? When I use my satnav I tend to use that to check my speed and see that I can go faster than the speed indicated by my car and still be in the speed limit. People are so impatient with other cars, no wonder cyclists cause them so much distress!

Overtaking in a 30 is rife - almost de rigeur - on my commute (febrile hell pit in the West Midlands)

By definition if everyone else is doing it, it must be OK

In your local area, there'll be some kind of 'local policing' thing set-up for just this kind of thing..

Look them up and drop them an e-mail or give them a tinkle. They might get a mobile camera stuck there to catch 'em.

A while back we were cycling back into Oakham from Rutland water & passed a police car with radar gun catching people speeding as they came out of Oakham.
A yoof in a Mini was flying towards us a bit further along the road, breaking the speed limit by a decent margin so my mate waved his arm at him in a slow down gesture to try to warn him about plod. His response was to stick his fingers up and speed up - I hope he got what he deserved down the road....

Given that nothing has appeared to change with either the road or the use of the land either side of it then I find it difficult to see the reduction as having anything to do with road safety and everything to do with cash generation.

So they are full of speed cameras then? with no signs telling you the new limit? doubt it.

The city ringroad has been 70 for the last 30 years, now they have increased the number of lanes its a 40??

The road out of the village has been national speed limit for as long as anyone can remember, its now a 40? Nothing on the road has changed.

Another stretch of dual carriageway that used to be national speed limit now ossiclates between 40 and 50 along its length. It has motorway style junction and no pedestrian access

Ban seat belts and air bags, make it compulsory to have a 6" metal spike sticking out of the middle of the steering wheel. Line the interior of each car with cheese grater's.

That should slow them down. 🙂

chrismac - Member

The trouble round where I live is that speed limits that have been in place for 30 years have suddenly and for no apparent reason be reduced by between 10 and 20 mph. Given that nothing has appeared to change with either the road or the use of the land either side of it then I find it difficult to see the reduction as having anything to do with road safety and everything to do with cash generation.

The city ringroad has been 70 for the last 30 years, now they have increased the number of lanes its a 40

- Reducing noise for surrounding residential areas?
- As a reaction to accidents in the area?
- Controlling the flow of traffic joining roads in the area to reduce congestion?

There is normally a reason behind speed limit changes. You might not be aware of it, or agree with it, but it will have been done for a reason.

Nothing on the road has changed.

There's all sorts of reasons for changing limits, including finally realising that car centric transport infra is detrimental to almost everyone else, I'm sure they're not doing it just to piss you off.

(I'm not saying they're reasons most/all of us would agree with, but I'm pretty sure they don't just change limits for a laugh)

<edit> as other people have more eloquently stated while I was typing.

Repeat offenders get reported up the tree.

OP you can report it to the traffic police, they may set up a speed gun there

Same for me, always stick to the speed limit in urban environments and have people pull crazy overtakes or stick glued to the bumper.

have the accident stats changed? "It's always been XX mph" is a crap excuse to keep an old limit or ignore a new one.

^^ This ^^

My old commute used to be along a NSL 'A' road.

During a 12 month period or so three different Tubby Power Rangers managed to spangle themselves to death in near enough the same exact spot (sweeping flat bend with open fields, meaning a cross wind could easily catch them out) and all the NSL sections of that road for a good 7-8 miles in either direction were dropped to 50, didn't impact journey times a bit...

What really pisses me off are the people who just sit at 40.

The road from work to my house goes from 60-40-30-40 and the number of people who just sit at 40 just amazes me.

I overtake them in the 60, and then by the end of the 30 they are up my chuff!

The road through my village goes from NSL, to 30 to "advisory" 20 (e.g. black border rather than red).
And rightly so, there are parked cars both sides and often kids and elderlies walking about.

There's no room to overtake, but when I drop my speed for the 30 and then the 20 I frequently earn a tailgater who displays their impatience by attempting to rub bumpers with me.

The 20 was put in after a mass petition by the people in the village - but clearly some of them only wanted it to apply to other people.

(and yes, when we get back to the NSL I usually leave them behind)

I don't ever see it (apart from the odd moron) on 30 zones but I regularly get overtaken in 20 zones in Harrogate.

However, this morning I nearly had a head-on as a woman blasted around a blind bend on a narrow road doing a good 50+ in a 30 - I had to mount the kerb to get out of her way. 10 seconds after that I had someone reverse straight out of the drive onto the road making me have to emergency swerve onto the wrong side of the road - if the timings had been a little different I could have been sandwiched in the most ridiculous and needless accident with my little girls in the car 🙁

And traffic lights. What TF is it with people now, it seems that people think that when the lights change back to red that it means that the person behind them has to stop.

Then last week I had a woman *start* a three-point turn whilst I was travelling quite close behind!

The average standard of driving really does seem to have deteriorated in the last few years.

Leeds outer ring road, there's a stretch of 'dual carriageway' which is a 40 limit. There's a light controlled pedestrian crossing half way down the stretch with [b]flowers in the railings[/b].

On the occasions I drive to work instead of cycling (and can more easily gauge relative speed) there are often cars doing 10-20 over the limit. Idiotic as it's always tailed back for the roundabout at the far end.

three different Tubby Power Rangers

I'd be surprised if the same one managed it twice to be honest!

Personally I've never been overtaken in a 30 residential zone while driving, so would be odd to me. I stick rigidly to the 30 limit. One odd thing I have noticed is I get relatively few people tail gating or trying to over take when I'm driving the van. When I borrowed my mum's tiny 1.0l daihatsu go kart thing I had loads of folk try and overtake in dodgy places and drive right up the rear, even when I was driving at the same speeds as the van. Same thing happens when riding a bike I fear. People look at someone on a bike or in a crappy little car and think "peasants, f*** em".

My house is on a 30 section in a village, about 500m after it reduces from NSL. We get some scary speeds past the house. It makes putting the bin out, crossing the road or pulling out of the drive a stressful experience. The council have just installed speed survey kit on the road so hopefully we'll get some more traffic calming or a speed camera soon.

What TF is it with people now, it seems that people think that when the lights change back to red that it means that the person behind them has to stop.

Yep. We frequently hear "Cyclists Don't Stop At Red" and fair enough, some don't.

But I see drivers go through amber or "just red" lights every day.

Highway authorities don't always help. Near my home is a steep hill leading up into a village. The approach has an overtaking lane to allow people to pass slow moving vehicles climbing the hill, but this continues beyond the 30mph limit sign right into the village. Unsurprisingly a lot of people are speeding through there.

The road out of the village has been national speed limit for as long as anyone can remember, its now a 40? Nothing on the road has changed.
[i]Safer?[/i]

No...probably not. we'll be back to a 5mph limit soon with a man waving a red flag walking in front of the car, if some people had their way. There's sooo much more people can do to drive safely than just slow down. Speed as almost NEVER the factor in making a road unsafe.

Speed as almost NEVER the factor in making a road unsafe.

We'll be back to people doing 100mph limit through residential streets if some people had their way 😆

Speed as almost NEVER the factor in [u]making[/u] a road unsafe.

Not making, but it has a massive effect on the consequence.

No...probably not. we'll be back to a 5mph limit soon with a man waving a red flag walking in front of the car, if some people had their way. There's sooo much more people can do to drive safely than just slow down. Speed as almost NEVER the factor in making a road unsafe.

Admit it, you lifted that off the DailyMail comments section?

Poor spelling and grammar. Check
Contradictory statements and concepts. Check
No basis in fact. Check
Hysterical use of hyperbole. Check.

Without getting squarely into the speed/safety relationship, I do find it pretty shocking when someone is sufficiently put out about you obeying a 30 through a built-up area, or a 20 outside a school, that they are prepared to overtake.

It's not something I've experienced that often at all round my way, standards must be pretty pisspoor in some of the places you guys live.

I drive or ride down [url= https://www.google.co.uk/maps/ @54.964614,-1.414527,3a,75y,352.42h,81.66t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s7cNeq26F7T51pLna_A4r6A!2e0!6m1!1e1]this section of road[/url] every weekday. It's a 30mph limit. Without fail every morning someone will pull into the bus lane to undertake a car doing 30mph. It's an exercise in futility as there's a busy roundabout at the end which they have to stop at 9 times out of 10.

we'll be back to a 5mph limit soon with a man waving a red flag walking in front of the car, if some people had their way. There's sooo much more people can do to drive safely than just slow down. Speed as almost NEVER the factor in making a road unsafe.

I respectfully Disagree, Speed is a factor, or rather the increasing expectation some people have that completing your journey faster is almost of higher priority than completing it alive, and that everyone else on the road should share this skewed notion...

One odd thing I have noticed is I get relatively few people tail gating or trying to over take when I'm driving the van. When I borrowed my mum's tiny 1.0l daihatsu go kart thing I had loads of folk try and overtake in dodgy places and drive right up the rear, even when I was driving at the same speeds as the van. Same thing happens when riding a bike I fear. People look at someone on a bike or in a crappy little car and think "peasants, f*** em".

Yep, a lot of the behaviour is triggered by perception, once she'd learned I kept on at my missus to ditch the 'P' plates, when she eventually did the tailgating and aggressive passes noticeably dropped off... her driving hadn't changed but the pricks behind no longer saw her as a "New Driver" and hence an obvious target for bullying...

Human nature played out with 1.5Te metal boxes innit...

People look at someone on a bike or in a crappy little car and think "peasants, f*** em".

Sadly seems to be true.

There's sooo much more people can do to drive safely than just slow down

Have been out driving with rocket jr the last few months (he's learning to drive) and it is quite an experience to drive with someone who never breaks the law and sticks to the Highway Code.

I don't get a great deal of it round these parts (Newcastle/Gateshead area). Maybe once a year someone will pass me in a 30. What I do get a LOT though is what has already been mentioned above regarding tailgating.

Tailgating is my absolute biggest pet hate - it is pure distilled stupidity. It is dangerous first and foremost, it is pointless as you don't actually achieve anything and it costs money in fuel as people constantly brake and accelerate and causes increased wear on engine/brakes. In terms of motorway car accidents I reckon tailgating accounts for many 2 car accidents tripling to 6+ car accidents as those behind the initial bump fail to stop in time and rear end the car in front.

I used to take great pleasure in my old Passat (where the passenger side water jet shot a great deal of water straight over the back of the car) in emptying the washer tank over tailgaters. My proudest moment was lady in a BMW convertible with her kids in the car with the roof down about an inch off my bumper. I give her plenty of chances to back off then I did that really annoying thing where you slow down to 15mph... Strangely this made her very angry! So I just pulled the washer stalk and held it on and give the Beemer, it's lovely white leather interior and the occupants a good dousing.

I think someone on here mentioned using rear foglights (only if there is one either side of course) to faux brake. People do seem to get puzzled if you do this and accelerate at the same time!

On my commute it's mostly urban roads with regularly spaced traffic islands/bollards, and have had drivers overtake me on the wrong side of the bollards as I trundle along at 30mph.

The newly 20mph limit (used to be 30) in my part of SE London is an interesting place to observe... most, I think will drive around 30, some stick to 20, some are doing 40+.

I suspect to a small minority of stupid/psychotic people, speed limits are seen as some kind of challenge to their freedom and when they see a 20 or 30 limit their response is to drive faster as some kind of protest/stick it to the man effort. Maybe we can include an immaturity test in the driving test?

Given the efforts so far of our political class to solve dangerous driving, self-driving cars seem like a more likely solution to this problem than hiking up the standards of the driving test or more police... bring them on. Tests are already underway in the UK...

I usually ride to work or get the train. On Tuesday I took my car to the garage for it's MOT so I had to drive in the morning rush hour - bloody pandemonium - people driving with so much emotion and no sense! - I'm so glad I hardly drive these days

I think someone on here mentioned using rear foglights (only if there is one either side of course) to faux brake. People do seem to get puzzled if you do this and accelerate at the same time!

As above aggravating someone else when you are both engaged in a potentially dangerous activity is the mark of a premier-league bell end

Jeeeessssss, not yet another thread for the self righteous to vent their frustrations on yet another person who's driven in a way they don't personally like? Sounding like the Jeremy Vine show on here at the moment 🙄

It is funny tho. Maybe BMW lady won't tailgate as much anymore after her lovely interior (and kids) got soaked? Maybe not.. but it was funny seeing steam coming out of her ears. It made me feel better anyway knowing I had inconvenienced her in some way.

Jeeeessssss, not yet another thread for the self righteous to vent their frustrations on yet another person who's driven in a way they don't personally like? Sounding like the Jeremy Vine show on here at the moment

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-ultimate-estate ]Other STW Motoring threads are available... [/url]

Jeeeessssss, not yet another thread for the self righteous to vent their frustrations on yet another person who's driven in a way they don't personally like? Sounding like the Jeremy Vine show on here at the moment

It's not about liking it or not, most of the driving folk are talking about in this thread is illegal. I can sort of see an argument for why motorways should be 80mph speed limit or whatever but 30mph zones exist for a good reason.

Complete sh##ts to break a speed limit. I have a stretch near me that has a 30 limit that often sees tossers overtaking me . I wait until I see a twitch or an indicator then indicate right and flick the fogs on. That buggers them up nicely

OP,

Stay calm nothing to worry too much.

Just drive your car defensively by sticking to the limit.

If other drivers want to break the limit let them be as they are the ones that are going to run over someone not you.

If people want to run into the street let them be so long as you are not the one driving over them. Others will run over them like road kill so let them be.

As they say ... chill man ... chilllll ...

You do the speed limit anywhere and you'll get someone right up behind you looking angry.

As a safety precaution, I reduce my speed further in such circumstances...

What really pisses me off are the people who just sit at 40.

The road from work to my house goes from 60-40-30-40 and the number of people who just sit at 40 just amazes me.

I overtake them in the 60, and then by the end of the 30 they are up my chuff!

Either that or they steam past you in the 30 bit, then are under your feet still doing the same 40mph once you're in the NSL. So, what, you're speeding, performing a risky overtake, and still going to get to where you're going [i]later[/i] than if you'd driven at the limits? People, I swear.

Is there a regional aspect to this? I see little of this here in Scotland.

Best one ever was someone overtaking on the way to Gisburn - 30mph zone through Sawley village - that is really going to make mtbers popular with the locals. He then blasts off into the distance down narrow lanes with blind bends.

All for about 1 minute time gain. We did a steady safe drive to the forest and as we drove past Cocklett he had just about finished parking. Twunt.

I wait until I see a twitch or an indicator then indicate right and flick the fogs on. That buggers them up nicely

As a safety precaution, I reduce my speed further in such circumstances...

As a safety precaution, I reduce my speed further in such circumstances...

And you guys think you are better drivers than the people overtaking you? You need to take a look at your attitudes too.

That's actually the correct hing to do, as per the highway code iirc.

[quote=codybrennan ]Is there a regional aspect to this? I see little of this here in Scotland.Differences seem to be more local than that. There's a 30mph limit all the way from my old house in Balerno into the centre of Edinburgh and I'd regularly get overtaken when adhering to the speed limit (and allowing for speedo error).

That's actually the correct hing to do, as per the highway code iirc.

[quote=johndoh ]The Highway Code tells you to slow down if someone is driving too close to your tailgate?

[b]168[/b]
Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed,[b] slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass.[/b] Never obstruct drivers who wish to pass. Speeding up or driving unpredictably while someone is overtaking you is dangerous. Drop back to maintain a two-second gap if someone overtakes and pulls into the gap in front of you.

Ahh, slowing down to let a vehicle pass is a different situation to what I assumed was being described above where the driver advocates slowing down merely to irritate the other driver – the sentiment I assumed the above poster was making.

But I could never see a situation where (realistically) someone driving a car in a 30mph zone at 30mph should ever have to slow down to let another vehicle overtake.

Slowing down makes sense. Stopping distance are determined by speed. If the driver behind is driving too close for the speed we are doing then I'll slow down to a more suitable speed for his stopping distance.

(I realise no one actually bothers with a two-second stopping distance, but once it gets into the sub-500ms range it is too damn close!)

Why would someone be driving driving on your tailgate if they aren't trying to get past you?

@GrahamS I wager you would be failed on a driving test if you did that.

Scotroutes - see my above post - I don't see why a road user should have to slow to allow such a driver past - see the first part of the text you posted [b][i]If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed[/b][/i]

Yep and they'd have failed theirs for driving too close.

[url= http://m.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2+seconds+at+30+mph&x=0&y=0 ]Two second stopping distance at 30 mph is 26.8 metres[/url].
Some people seem happy to leave less than a metre. 🙁

Yep and they'd have failed theirs for driving too close.

Ahh, slowing down to let a vehicle pass is a different situation to what I assumed was being described above where the driver advocates slowing down merely to irritate the other driver – the sentiment I assumed the above poster was making.

No, I meant what I said. If someone is tailgating me, they are increasing the risk of an accident, so it makes sense for me to reduce speed in order to mitigate it.

On my speed awareness course the instructor advocated pulling over when you're being tailgated and just let the idiot be on their way. takes away the conflict and a lot less stressful for you.
I've done it a few times and can recommend it... it makes life a lot easier. Why prolong the stress?

johndoh
@GrahamS I wager you would be failed on a driving test if you did that.

I recently took my test - the line is, if you're being tailgated, you increase the distance to the car in front, so that you won't need to brake as hard if anything happens.

I had a massive tipper truck tailgating me on an A road at 60 the other day. I was cruising in the MX5, top down, hair blowing in the wind - as you do.
Getting tailgated by something that big when I'm in my ladies go-kart isn't very pleasant.

Anyway, they overtook me and the car in front in a single overtake that had someone on the other side of the road slam on the brakes and beep horn etc.

Watched him do another few dodgy overtakes ahead.

Eventually all the other cars between us turned off and I kept cruising along at 60 (I just keep it sitting at 60 all the time - the fun for me is going round the corners at 60).

Just as we got to the roundabout to go on the motorway they were right in front of me, waiting to go on - this was about 20 mins after they overtook me.

His dodgy driving didn't really help him get anywhere faster.

Driving standards seem to be on the same downward curve as humility, graciousness and consideration towards fellow bean s. Could be they are all related...could be I'm another ageing fart harping on about the good old days, but I get close-passed on my bike in 30 zones all the time, and they ain't doing 30.

Dear fellas, I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.

Why would someone be driving driving on your tailgate if they aren't trying to get past you?

Because they are idiots who are either texting, faceaching, instachatting or whatever they do and driving is the last thing on their mind.

simmy - Member

Why would someone be driving driving on your tailgate if they aren't trying to get past you?

Because they are idiots who are either texting, faceaching, instachatting or whatever they do and driving is the last thing on their mind.

Or they don't have any idea about stopping distance thinking that a car can stop immediately whenever they brake.

I get tailgate all the time not because I am driving slow, I am not, but for whatever reason people just misjudge the stopping distance. I either speed up a little to keep the distance or slow down to let them pass.

😯

I speed everywhere because:
a) I can get away with it. b) modern cars can handle it. c) there is little to stop me from doing so.
The near future will bring automatic speed limiters fitted to your car and a bit further on, self driving cars, the later of which I am really looking forward to, I can black out the windows and watch porn on my boring commute.
Driving is no longer a pleasure it is a chore and for these last remaining years I will continue to speed on an early Sunday morning when every other bod is still in bed and no one else is one the road.
F.U you boring heath and safety toupee wearing old men.

I speed everywhere because:
a) I can get away with it. b) modern cars can handle it. c) there is little to stop me from doing so........

F.U you boring heath and safety toupee wearing old men.

Thank you, you've made my night. Welcome to Sanctimonious Track World. 🙂

chrismac - Member
The trouble round where I live is that speed limits that have been in place for 30 years have suddenly and for no apparent reason be reduced by between 10 and 20 mph. Given that nothing has appeared to change with either the road or the use of the land either side of it then I find it difficult to see the reduction as having anything to do with road safety and everything to do with cash generation.

The city ringroad has been 70 for the last 30 years, now they have increased the number of lanes its a 40
- Reducing noise for surrounding residential areas?
- As a reaction to accidents in the area?
- Controlling the flow of traffic joining roads in the area to reduce congestion?

There is normally a reason behind speed limit changes. You might not be aware of it, or agree with it, but it will have been done for a reason.

The road is rural and doesnt have any houses along that stretch, just fields and no accidents before or since.

There is no rational reason for it. Even the council when asked couldnt come up with one.

As for the ringroad its has been a disaster, wider and slower and it spend more time resembling a car park than a road. It used to flow reasonably well, now its a crawl at best during peak times that didnt happen a year ago when it was 70

Only selfish morans speed in a 30 mph area.

F.U you boring heath and safety toupee wearing old men.

Well done for perfectly proving Malvern Rider's point. 🙄

Me, me, me, screw everyone else.

I wager you would be failed on a driving test if you did that.

I also concur that slowing down is the correct thing to do as per driving instruction. Make more distance/ available stopping time.

Thing is tail gating must work or people wouldnt do it. I slow down but most people must speed up or jump out of the way or something otherwise people wouldnt do it.