it helps spread traffic out and prevent bunching.

Sorry – you’re saying that everyone travelling at different speeds prevents bunching?

I understood that to be that slow moving police cars cause bunching.

I understood that to be that slow moving police cars cause bunching.

Ahh, the old police car in the inside lane doing 65 but everyone is scared of doing more than 70.1mph past them…

They’re doing below the limit so you CAN pass them! 🤣

My Passat is a 2018 model so definitely not brand new and the same model been built since 2015 or something. 70 on the cruise control is 69-70 on GPS.

My Skoda Superb, also a 2018 build by the same VW group and on the same platform as the Passat needs to be an indicated 74/75 for 70mph on the SatNav.

So much so that if I am driving the A9 I will stick the SAtNav on the screen for accurate speeds on the average speed sections.

It Varies. I drove different cars at work and speedo accuracy varied from almost accurate to near 10% over.

Tyres hadn’t occurred to me. We have cross climates on both cars. Would that make up the difference and I’m in fact miss informed (even by personal experience) about the speed differential?

I need to do some tyre research I think. Was thinking of going back to summer/winter sets from all seasons at some point. Be interested to see if there’s a change.

tootling up the M1 in outside lane

Rather than waiting until I’m on top of someone I’ll flash my lights from a distance if they look like they’re “tootling”, usually wakes them up.

But as someone who’s spent their life ‘making progress’ plus too many years commuting on a motorbike, folk not really paying attention are very easy to spot.

yesterday i got a chap ($%$£) on the M9 going through the 50mph speed camera at Newbridge flashing and widely gesticulating at me as i slowed to 50mph for the camera. I was in the outside lane, but then the inside was also full of traffic and doing 50mph. He then proceeded to undertake me at the earliest opportunity with a variety of hand gestures, then spun off onto the M8 eastbound cutting someone else up and i expect straight into the back of the que towards Edinburgh. Some people are just c0ck$.

There’s not a lot you can do OP other than just pull over when you can, and get out of his/her way.

Sounds to me like OP isnt a very confident driver.

Tootling up the 3rd lane, getting undertaken, getting stressed.

Arses will be arses so you should have either speeded up and over taken the lane 2 driver or indicated to pull back in and pulled in behind the car that had speeded up.

IMO no one should be tootling on a motorway, to me that implies with little awareness or care

Maybe consider an advanced driving course / motorway driving course?

Channel your inner Ogmios. Gentle acceleration to get past the car to the left then move out of the way, to allow your new friend to attend to their urgent business. Safe travels.

Since getting caught out in a crash for cash incident I’ve fitted my cars with front and rear dashcams. Easy DIY job. I’m much more relaxed about the range rovers that own the outside lane doing 100 knowing I’ve got evidence and their number plate on camera.
The barrister on my case said they didn’t necessarily sway or help court decisions, but they’re better than nothing and you can upload dangerous driving footage to a police portal

Yep on the dashcam. Wife got tailgated & bullied in a similar way near Bristol. When she pulled out of the way the other car overtook and then feinted into her lane as it went past, pulled in front and brake-checked a couple of times before then blocking her attempts to then overtake and brake checking again.
The moron then pulled off the motorway at the very next junction so he’d gained precisely nothing for being a bellend, as this was on the M5 coming North away from the Cribbs Causeway junction so the next junction was probably about a mile or a mile and a half.
Fortunately we have full front rear and side dashcams so I downloaded the footage and sent it all to the Bristol police who responded pretty quickly with a “yeah, we’ll be having a word with this one, would you be willing to give evidence in court?”
Nothing has happened yet but it does make you feel a bit better just being able to do something in response.

yup, front and rear dashcam are a winner, has the undocumented benefit of keeping me honest so its easier not to react in a negative way.

Pricks that tear about the place, overtaking dangerously, undertaking, tailgating etc only draw attention to themselves to the police or run out of luck and end up in a smash. As previously stated, hang back, let fannyballs do whatever he’s going to do and keep yourself safe.

If you’ve got a dashcam, send the footage into the police, they love it when someone does much of their work for them, or will use the info- number plate etc to go looking for them.

I’ve sent dashcam footage and an associated witness statement to Cheshire Police a couple of times. Not had to go to court, but one of my clips subsequently turned up in a Facebook compilation video of piss poor driving. I’m pretty sure both were actioned from the replies I got from police, but it would be nice to know the final outcome. Little resource for that I assume.

I just need someone to tell me to calm down and ignore it.

Actually not helpful. You’ve been in a frightening situation where your body has reacted, as it’s designed to, by going into a full-on adrenaline rush, just as it would if you were physically assaulted or threatened. It’s not ‘nothing’, it was an unpleasant, frightening experience for you and your family and it’s quite natural that you’re shaken up.

Acknowledging that rather than thinking it should be ‘nothing’ is a good start. Most of us thankfully don’t get in those situations regularly adn unfortunately there’s not much you can do about it in the bigger sense that there is a small number of aggressive idiots on the road.

Sure you can consider what you might do if something similar happens in the future and there’s nothing wrong analysing your own driving, but you shouldn’t be blaming yourself. There’s no excuse for what this driver did.

It will pass with time – someone drove straight into me at a relatively low speed a few years ago and it really shook me up for weeks – but for now, I’d acknowledge that you’ve been in a frightening situation that’s caused a huge adrenaline rush without any release and it’s something that most of us aren’t used to dealing with, fortunately our world mostly protects us from that sort of thing.

That’s my take. I get wanting to ‘ignore it’, but actually I think maybe appreciating that it was a frightening experience and going from there, is a better start.

You should see the tossers flashing me when I’m in the fast lane with the caravan on the back😁

Those saying that 70 indicated is more like 65 need to check their speedo. Modern cars are more accurate.

Not really, the accuracy has been fairly stable since ABS/traction and stability control systems became standard on new cars. As that’s generally the module that is used to calculate the speed. The whole calculation process, including accuracy, is a legal requirement in most markets. It’s not changed hugely in the last 15ish years.

Just trying to raise awareness not to rely on under reading and to know the offset of the vehicle you are driving.

There isn’t an offset, there are two or three, as the calculation model (and accuracy requirement) changes based on speed. Also, each calibration will cover a range of tyre rolling diameters (at a range of pressures).

I can speak with some authority on this, as I spent

the last few years reading the bloody standards and implementing the functionality.

Some judgmental pricks on here today, condemning the OP’s driving from a few ambiguous lines.

Take it easy OP, sounds like a mini-PTSD episode.

I was brake tested by some utter space cadet in a Caravelle on one of the non-motorway bits of A1(M) in Lincolnshire or thereabouts a few years ago. He came charging up behind as I was in lane 2 doing no less than GPS 70 passing traffic in lane 1. After I’d pulled into lane 1 (only a couple of seconds later) he pulled across in front of me and braked for no obvious reason. Luckily I’d already started slowing as soon as he pulled over, but I’m now even more careful about preserving my braking distance around those kind of fools.

You should see the tossers flashing me when I’m in the fast lane with the caravan on the back😁

The fact you use the term “fast lane” shows you’re an ignorant fool, and towing in (the 3rd lane) it proves it.

Just one of those bad timings when a slight bend means the car on left is going slower but annoyingly just as fast as they’re on inside of a curve in the road.

I doubt that the slight bend in the road on a motorway accounts for him going any faster than you one lane apart – more the weird behaviour of drivers when someone goes past them and being unable to maintain a set constant speed. Happens all the time.

However, if you don’t feel confident enough to give it a little extra when you need to get past someone, then maybe the motorway isn’t the best place for you to be – you should be reading the road, looking 2-3 cars ahead and also checking your rear view mirrors, as well as anticipating what the vehicles in lane 1 and 2 are going to be doing. At all times

I always laugh at the term “fast lane”. They all have the same speed limit. Sometimes the left lane goes faster that the right. Quite often when people pull on a 3 lane motorway and automatically go to the right hand lane causing congestion, leaving the left and middle lane empty. Maybe it’s an ego thing to be in the right hand lane for as long as possible. Or maybe certain brands have a little red light on the dashboard that flashes when smaller cheaper cars pass them saying “must get in front”

You should see the tossers flashing me when I’m in the fast lane with the caravan on the back

Hmm – perhaps a refresher on the Highway Code is neccessary.

“Rule 265

The right-hand lane of a motorway with three or more lanes MUST NOT be used (except in prescribed circumstances) if you are driving

any vehicle drawing a trailer
a goods vehicle with a maximum laden weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 7.5 tonnes, which is required to be fitted with a speed limiter
a goods vehicle with a maximum laden weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes
a passenger vehicle with a maximum laden weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes constructed or adapted to carry more than eight seated passengers in addition to the driver
a passenger vehicle with a maximum laden weight not exceeding 7.5 tonnes which is constructed or adapted to carry more than eight seated passengers in addition to the driver, which is required to be fitted with a speed limiter.”
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/motorways-253-to-273

Surely the caravan comment was a joke?

You should see the tossers flashing me when I’m in the fast lane with the caravan on the back😁

Surely the caravan comment was a joke?

Yep, big load of whoosh going on here I think!

However, if you don’t feel confident enough to give it a little extra when you need to get past someone, then maybe the motorway isn’t the best place for you to be

Not just this one but **** me there are some condescending comments on this thread.

I am entirely confident in giving it some to get by someone (and am confident in all other respects when it comes to driving) however the speed limit is 70 so that is as fast as I go on the motorway.

If the car in front of me in the middle lane is doing say 65 I will check the outside lane and if it is clear, pull out and continue to do 70. If some dick comes barrelling up behind me I will continue to do 70 until I am clear of the car I am overtaking and then I will pull back in and the dick can get on their way. They can flash their lines, stick fingers up at me – whatever – their problem and not mine.

Nothing to do with my ability, confidence or anything else as a driver. Thems the rules. I am perfectly entitled to overtake said car and am under no obligation to speed up just because someone wants to do 80+, particularly if to do so would mean exceeding the speed limit.

If the car in front of me in the middle lane is doing say 65 I will check the outside lane and if it is clear, pull out and continue to do 70. If some dick comes barrelling up behind me I will continue to do 70 until I am clear of the car I am overtaking and then I will pull back in and the dick can get on their way. They can flash their lines, stick fingers up at me – whatever – their problem and not mine.

Nothing to do with my ability, confidence or anything else as a driver. Thems the rules. I am perfectly entitled to overtake said car and am under no obligation to speed up just because someone wants to do 80+, particularly if to do so would mean exceeding the speed limit.

Amen to that. I do exactly the same thing.

I am entirely confident in giving it some to get by someone (and am confident in all other respects when it comes to driving) however the speed limit is 70 so that is as fast as I go on the motorway.

If the car in front of me in the middle lane is doing say 65 I will check the outside lane and if it is clear, pull out and continue to do 70.

So the car in lane 2 is doing 69.9mph and you want to stick to 70, you’ll crawl past it forever?

Haha yes, you’d think the smiley face would give the joke away. I thought I’d lob the ” fast lane” in just in case the caravan bit didn’t give them enough to fret about 😁

So the car in lane 2 is doing 69.9mph and you want to stick to 70, you’ll crawl past it forever?

Why not? So long as I am edging by then I am using the lanes correctly and driving fully within the law.

That said the chances of them doing 69.9 consistently and for a prolonged period of time are remote and it is more likely that either a) they are drifting between 69.9 and 70+ and I will remain behind them or that they will slow down somewhat and I will overtake them.

But yes, let’s say they are doing constant 69 and I have my cruise control set at 70 then assuming the outside lane is clear when I commence the manoeuvre then I will overtake them at a difference of 1mph. As I said at the start of this reply – why not? It is entirely legitimate whereas giving it a bit of right foot and going past at 75 is not.

You should see the tossers flashing me when I’m in the fast lane with the caravan on the back😁

Surely the caravan comment was a joke?

Yep, big load of whoosh going on here I think!

Loads of whoosh, unlike when the OP was overtaking. 😀

Why not? So long as I am edging by then I am using the lanes correctly and driving fully within the law.

The OP wasnt edging past though, the car in lane 2 was travelling quicker, so he should have pulled back in or accelerated (naughty boy) to resolve the issue.

Yep, big load of whoosh going on here I think!

Yep, caravans displace a lot of air at 80mph.

70 is the legal limit, yes – however it’s quite safe to do more than that* and unless you’re doing waaay in excess you’re unlikely to be done for speeding.

*As above, 70 indicated is actually less, so if you want to do exactly 70, stick the cruise control at 73mph, give or take 1/2mph

*Also, lets remember the 70mph speed limit was set in 1965 when the UK’s best selling car was a Morris 1100 with 48bhp and a top speed of 78mph. Cars have moved on a bit in safety in the last 57 years. France seems to do just fine with an 80mph speed limit in the dry. Anyway, let’s not derail this any further.

*As above, 70 indicated is actually less, so if you want to do exactly 70, stick the cruise control at 73mph, give or take 1/2mph

GPS and speedo are pretty much the same in my car so 70 is 70. And even 73 won’t stop a cock doing 80-90+ from coming hooning up behind so makes little or no difference. And it may be safe but it is not legal. And yes, when the cameras are on in the 70 bits as they sometimes are then you will get a ticket for breaking the speed limit and not always with the 10% tolerance.

The OP wasnt edging past though, the car in lane 2 was travelling quicker, so he should have pulled back in or accelerated (naughty boy) to resolve the issue.

Except at the point the dick was behind them they couldn’t

Actually thought he wasn’t even going to stop, I can’t get into the inside lane(s) as the guy there has decided he now wants to speed up.

And yes, when the cameras are on in the 70 bits as they sometimes are then you will get a ticket for breaking the speed limit and not always with the 10% tolerance.

They aren’t going to catch you at 75mph

Except at the point the dick was behind them they couldn’t

Actually thought he wasn’t even going to stop, I can’t get into the inside lane(s) as the guy there has decided he now wants to speed up.

Ah so you just sit there for the next hour blocking 2 lanes ?

1. Either indicate to move over and reduce your speed a little allowing you to pull back over.
2. Be really naughty and go to 75 mph and pull in in front. Yes the world might end, but I doubt it.
3. Be a complete arse and stay along side the car for the next hour further winding up the idiot behind you.

Ah so you just sit there for the next hour blocking 2 lanes ?

The whole point of the OPs thread is that they had not been idly sitting there – they were overtaking quite legitimately and then they had someone up their arse and at that point they could not move over as at the same time the car next to them decided to speed up. Further, by the sounds of things it was not safe to slow down either as the car behind was very close.

And why should they speed up and break the limit? The fault is entirely 100% that of the driver getting right up their arse and being aggressive.

There is nothing in the post about this being a two hour stand-off with the OP trying to wind people up.

It seems that a number of people think that a driver abiding to the law has less rights to be on the road than dicks who like to speed.

But yes, let’s say they are doing constant 69 and I have my cruise control set at 70 then assuming the outside lane is clear when I commence the manoeuvre then I will overtake them at a difference of 1mph

Yep, putting yourself in danger for no reason – you need to really get some training.