Not to the people who drive/ride even slower lol

Driving home yesterday and in a 20 zone outside a school 2 cars had crashed one ended up on the pavement with a crumpled left side and the other on its roof on the other pavement. Amazing how modern cars can handle it and can get away with speeding.

I do wonder where these people are going that means they have to get there as quickly as possible. I drive a 1965 Beetle so going fast isn’t really an option. The amount of people who seem to think that sitting on my back bumper will magically make my car faster is amazing. I see nothing wrong with going at 55mph on a 60 limit road. It’s a limit, not a target.

You appear to be assuming there is some logic behind it.

Somebody I know did the slowing down thing when being tailgated (I will also slow down in such circumstances, it’s the safest thing to do, I couldn’t care less what the driver behind thinks of it), the driver behind kept tailgating ever closer, they kept slowing down until they were stationary with the car behind so close that it couldn’t pull out to overtake without reversing 🙂

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

Sounds like you might as well have not bothered overtaking, then…

On my motorbike its quite fun to sit at 30 right up to the point where it goes up to 60 and wait for the tailgatting **** in the people carrier (its always a people carrier) to pull out and over take and then open the throttle and disappear into the sunset.

A diesel is a fer better weapon for flooring is as you leave the 30 zone with a tailgater tight behind – no need to wait for them to pull out for full effect.

martinhutch – Member

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.

Aye, I drive past one of the big local schools at lunchtime quite often, everyone wants to do 40mph through the 20 limit. I sit bang on 20, slower if the kids are spilling onto the road which they often are, most days I’ll have horns and flashing lights behind me, fannies.

THere’s also the “must overtake cyclist” thing if you’re on a bike, our campus is 15mph limit and most people respect that most of the time, but if there’s a bike in front even if it’s doing 15, lots of people want to overtake. Then their cars make horrendous noises over the speedbumps. Same through my village, it’s all 20.

There’s a lot of open 30mph zones near me, I’ll pass the old grannies with slow reactions driving at 26 mph no qualms. They shouldn’t even be driving if they don’t trust themselves at 30mph or are unable to look round a roundabout to see what’s coming before coming to a dead stop

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

I used to find it was boy racer or BMW types up my backside, but over the last 5 years or so I’ve found it’s (and I’ll probably get a hammering for being sexist here) more often women. They don’t try to overtake, they just drive right up to your bumper. ‘They’ = some, not all.

The overtakers at 30 though on my current commute are Jags, Mercs, Range Rovers, etc. Go storming past at 50 in a 30 through quaint posh villages I drive through. Probably then turn off into their big estate up the road.

Though I’m getting fed up of massive stretches of 30mph out in the country on unlit roads in Oxfordshire/Berkshire just because someone’s posh house is along that road, when in Surrey (loads of Posh places) you get 50 and 40 zones along country roads with big houses lining them, then 30 only where you’re really into a street lit village/town.

I see nothing wrong with going at 55mph on a 60 limit road. It’s a limit, not a target.

But as has been discussed on here many times, the speed should be suitable for the conditions and you would be failed in a driving test for driving at 55mph in a 60 zone *if the speed wasn’t appropriate for the circumstances*.

Theres absolutely NO need to overtake in a 30.

I haven’t had this happen to me for ages – but then, this morning on a bit of road that has recently been changed from NSL to 40, I was doing bang on 40 & this bloke decided he was going to overtake.

Thing is he’d sat behind for well over half the stretch of road where the 40 limit exists, and it was only on the approach to the 30 limit into the next village that he overtook. It was a really leisurely overtake so he was virtually on the 30 sign before he pulled back in.

He then bombed through the village, but then within abut 1/2 mile of entering the next stretch of NSL I had caught him up, as he was doing a leisurely 50mph…..

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

… and you know there are double white lines along the next half-mile of twisty road, right up to the roundabout? There is a point of view that says both of you are a little safer if you check they’re awake and concentrating.

… or I don’t need to risk a whiplash injury, thanks.

If its not safe to get past I drop right back. Beit in a 30 or a NSL. No point causing a distraction to the driver infront of you.

But as has been discussed on here many times, the speed should be suitable for the conditions and you would be failed in a driving test for driving at 55mph in a 60 zone *if the speed wasn’t appropriate for the circumstances*.

I’d like to hear a driving examiner’s take on that one.

There is certainly a section for “Progress” on the marking sheet, which includes “appropriate speed” and “undue hesitation”.

But I don’t know if 55 in a 60 would qualify as a Serious or Dangerous fault.

Incidentally, according to the gov the top 10 reasons for failing in 2013/14 were:

• Junctions (observation)
• Use of mirrors – (change direction)
• Control (steering)
• Junctions (turning right)
• Response to signals (traffic lights)
• Move off (safety)
• Move off (control)
• Positioning (normal driving)
• Reverse park (control)
• Response to signals (road markings)

(Pass rate was 47.1%)

When I’m flouncing around in the MX5 I like to stick to the limits (as I said before). If there’s a car in front I always leave a big enough gap for someone to overtake me, on their way to overtaking them.

I ain’t the speed police, man!

hora – Member

Theres absolutely NO need to overtake in a 30.

Except in traffic when you have the right number of wheels 😉

There`s nothing better than giving a withering look to some BE who overtook you aggressively only to find you catch him/her up at the next set of lights.

There`s nothing better than giving a withering look to some BE who overtook you aggressively only to find you catch him/her up at the next set of lights.

Sadly the withering look IME makes no difference, they remain stupid…

Sadly the withering look IME makes no difference, they remain stupid…

Without a doubt, isnt it bizarre that stupid people actually consider themselves to be so important as to risk their own and others safety.

A diesel is a fer better weapon for flooring is as you leave the 30 zone

A two stroke motorbike trumps all cars in that situation, simultaenously pebbledashing someone who’s been tailgating you with unburnt oil and eveloping them in a cloud of smoke is one of life’s small pleasures.

konabunny – Member

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

Sounds like you might as well have not bothered overtaking, then…

Hindsight is wonderfull 😕

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?

Thing is tail gating must work or people wouldnt do it.

The answer to these questions is the same thing. Tailgating because you want to go faster than the vehicle in front is bullying, pure and simple.

Why don’t I just pull over? Because the last time I was bullied was aged 15 and I’m fecked if I’m going to start again at 43. Rolling over for these idiots just enables their aggressive behaviour, they’re driving dangerously and you’re rewarding them for it. Then they go on to do it to the car in front, which is someone vulnerable or less experienced who ends up crashing or earning a speeding ticket in a panic. “tail gating must work or people wouldnt do it” – so by that argument, if tailgating didn’t work, people wouldn’t do it? There we go.

When I’m tailgated, generally I’ll just take my foot off the accelerator for a few seconds then drive back up to the limit, creating braking space behind me. If they close the gap, rinse and repeat. Works well. It’s especially effective on vans and lorries, usually the worst offenders IME anyway, as it takes them a while to catch you back up.

Most of the time when I see the “repmobile” types tailgating, it’s as a third party observer as they come slamming down the outside lane of a motorway to encounter some gimp doing 60 in the third lane. If you find you’re being tailgated a lot on multi-lane carriageways it might be worth checking your lane discipline.

@ weatheredwannabe – chapeau sir, that gave me genuine lol.

STW is truly a unique niche in society because I have NEVER EVER been sat in the passenger seat of a car, or out with mates on bikes where the speed limit has been adhered to at all times.

As a matter of interest, do any of the STW’ers ever get a taxi and berate the driver for tailgating or exceeding the speed limit? It is quite rare to get one who doesn’t IME.

I think a lot of us admit to not adhering to the limit at all times – like many others I’ve been caught speeding in higher speed limits. Maybe it says more about your mates than it does about us though if they never obey the speed limits in town.

Maybe it says more about your mates than it does about is though if they never obey the speed limits in town.

Yes it probably does…….they are fairly normal people! If you are going to be assume things about my mates, please read what I said and more importantly didn’t say. I made no mention of ‘town’ or ‘never’.

Well it’s hard to tell when you’re contrasting them with us lot, and we’re just saying that we don’t speed in 30 limits, which is after all what this thread is about. If your mates do also always stick to 30 limits I suggest you find a thread where everybody is being sanctimonious about obeying other speed limits. Of course if you’re going to point out specifics of your wording, did you notice my “if” – I’m assuming just as much as you’re telling us, and wasn’t quite clear what sort of speeding you were referring to.

Maybe you could clarify whether you were referring to speeding in 30 limits, or whether your mates do always obey those?

As a matter of interest, do any of the STW’ers ever get a taxi and berate the driver for tailgating or exceeding the speed limit? It is quite rare to get one who doesn’t IME.

I almost reported one once who was watching TV on a smartphone balanced over the instrument cluster. I regret not doing so.

As a matter of interest, do any of the STW’ers ever get a taxi and berate the driver for tailgating or exceeding the speed limit? It is quite rare to get one who doesn’t IME.

I was in an Addison Lee cab once and explained quite politely that the reason the cyclist was shouting and swearing at him was because he’d just pulled a u-turn right in front of him and damn nearly sent him flying across the road.

The driver wasn’t stroppy or petulant in his response (none of this ‘bloody cyclists’ stuff) – he just didn’t understand why it was a problem. I got the impression that he was, to be frank, just too stupid to make the right judgement call in that situation…

I don’t believe that the average human being is too thick to drive carefully, you can easily train people to do more challenging things. We all know human beings are fallible and emotional so we need to adapt the training and testing regime accordingly. ie: much more rigorous and much more focus about safety. More lessons to begin with, more challenging scenarios, motorway driving, harder test, repeat tests – why not every 2 years at the motorist’s expense? Nice job creation scheme for driving instructors 🙂

The few months after an election are usually a good time to introduce unpopular but necessary policies…

The issue is that mainly it’s a test of the skill required to operate the machinery, not the skill required to interact safely with other road users.

Maybe you could clarify whether you were referring to speeding in 30 limits, or whether your mates do always obey those?

Read what I wrote rather than looking for an argument and it’s going OT anyway 🙄

FWIW I tend to ignore tailgaters unless they are really close, in which case Cougars method works quite well. There really isn’t much point in overtaking (and never any excuse for tail-gaiting) on most non-motorway roads these days, in a car anyway, and I can’t fathom out the mentality of people who do it!

Edit : I agree with that brooess. Compulsory re-test every 5 years at least and if you fail you must drive with a suitable ‘plate’ warning others road users you can drive but aren’t very good, until you test again and pass. Double failure would mean starting again at basic level. Too many complications re jobs etc if you stopped people driving immediately. I’m tested every 5 years and would lose my job if I didn’t come up to scratch.

There really isn’t much point in overtaking (and never any excuse for tail-gaiting) on most non-motorway roads these days, in a car anyway, and I can’t fathom out the mentality of people who do it!

I do it (the overtaking thing not the tailgating bit) for the simple reason that i like to travel at the speed limit if possible.

Obvious exception to this is poor visibility, crap weather etc etc….but if the roads are dry, visibility is good and ambient temps are above freeing then i cant fathom why anybody wouldnt want to drive at the posted limits?!

Driving is boring and i’ve got better things to do than waste my life sitting in my car, if the limit is 50 (and weather conditions allow) then i’d like to do 50 please….not sit behind somebody who is happy doing 35-40 all the way along said road….or the people that dont understand the national speed limit signs for single carriageway roads and continue to do 40….its 60 you pillock, for the love of god please speed up!

Having ridden motorbikes for years it is amazing just how much shorter a journey can be if you travel at the speed limit….no law breaking involved, no speeding necessary….just pull onto roundabouts when you see a gap rather than dithering, hold your speed as you approach traffic lights…i just dont understand the drivers who slow as they approach green lights…WTF?!?!…are they wanting them to turn red?!?!….is home life so crap for these people that they dont want to get home?!?!….if the light is green continue at your current speed please…etc etc….you could take so much congestion off the roads and so much time off the usual commute if people just drove properly.

….add to the rant the drivers who seem to forget the roundabout code on arriving at a mini roundabout with other car drivers….there seems to be some kind of weird standoff in that situation with nobody prepared to move first….again WTF??!!

There really isn’t much point in overtaking (and never any excuse for tail-gaiting) on most non-motorway roads these days, in a car anyway, and I can’t fathom out the mentality of people who do it!

Depends on the relative speed really. It the car in front is doing 29 in a 30 then of course there’s no point. On a clear road with a 60mph limit where people often do 30-40 (my best guess is most people who do this have no clue what the NSL on a single carriageway actually is), there’s little reason not to.

Overtaking cars doing 40 or even 50 is worth it on an open road in the real countryside is worth it. Down in the congested speed limited South East it’s not though 🙂

That’s true Cougar, if something is going very slowly and it really does depend on the road/length of journey.

The futility of trying to ‘make progress’ on certain roads really hit home after I first towed a caravan to The Lakes. It only took me 10 minutes longer to do the 70 odd miles chugging along with the van than it did when overtaking where possible with the car alone and most of that time difference was made on the motorway section.

@ weatheredwannabe – chapeau sir, that gave me genuine lol.

Absolutely agree, Woody, made me laugh too. I can’t believe that on a forum of, supposedly, free spirited MTBers we have such sanctimonious attitudes to just about every post.

I can’t believe that on a forum of, supposedly, free spirited MTBers we have such sanctimonious attitudes to just about every post.

I suspect it reflects the fact that many of us are a bit older and have young kids, plus many of us also ride on the road and directly suffer the consequences of bad driving.

FWIW there is nothing particularly “free spirited” about driving like an idiot through a residential area or tailgating people because they won’t break the speed limit.

A “free spirit” doesn’t endanger the lives of other people for their own amusement; a bellend does.