Whats the problem with doing 45mph in a sixty limit?

The limits are maximums not targets to aim for, i regularly tow at that speed although i could go to 50mph if i wanted.

if you can't overtake then get a car with more poke, or slow down. I suspect some of you are the typical tailgaters?

I'm not a tailgater! but, If I'm stuck behind a person mimseying along. I get people tailgating me!

If there is a continuous stream of traffic coming the other way on a single carriageway it is just not possible to overtake with any car regardless of how much 'poke' it may have.

Whats the problem with doing 45mph in a sixty limit?

The limits are maximums not targets to aim for, i regularly tow at that speed although i could go to 50mph if i wanted.

if you can't overtake then get a car with more poke, or slow down. I suspect some of you are the typical tailgaters?

You should do the speed that is right for the conditions. So if you could do 50mph then that is what you should be doing rather than intentionally holding people up.

I'm certainly not a tailgater but at all times you should be making best progress based on road conditions other wise you are part fo the problem on the roads.

Whilst people who do 45 mph in a 60 mph zone when conditions are good are annoying enough there are some who do 45 mph in such areas but are most unhappy when you overtake them. I have had some who close the gap to prevent you getting in, some who honk and flash like you have done something wrong and some who tailgate you simply because you have overtaken them.

Its especially bad in summer on a nice Sunday morning and evening when families have been on sea side visits.

Those drivers need taking off the road. OK, drive at 45 mph but don't get upset and impede those who wish to drive at higher but still safe and legal speeds.

Had one of those this morning. On my way from Lutterworth to Gaydon each morning along the Fosse Way, I usually come upon a new Freelander doing a consistant 45-48, won't go any quicker along clear lanes, but carries on at that speed through the villages. Today I caught him (her?) near Bretford. Once past the turn for Wolsten the road was clear ahead for about 1/4 mile - in third gear (with 360Nm at my disposal) I was past in about 50m and didn't pull back in till there was about 3 car lengths by which time the gap between us was opening at a relative speed of about +35mph. Grade A1 pr@t in my book.

Further down the Fosse, even the Gaydon-bound coaches do 50 or so along most stretches and I'm quite happy to sit in behind them in the queue (it gets progressively busier as you approach Gaydon). But there's no excuse for holding up others needlessly on relatively clear and straight roads.

Whats the problem with doing 45mph in a sixty limit?

The limits are maximums not targets to aim for, i regularly tow at that speed although i could go to 50mph if i wanted.

if you can't overtake then get a car with more poke, or slow down. I suspect some of you are the typical tailgaters?

B***dy inconsiderate, especially as it is road safe enough to do 60 mph in most places. This was at going home time, so you would only overetake if you wanted to kill yourself, and the inconsiderate so and so ended up with a queue of many vehicles behind. Quite clearly of driver totally unaware of their impact on others.

Edited by Trilogy on 28/10/2014 at 13:52

On some roads I drive on there are clear signs telling you to pull over and let others past if there is a queue behind you. But you still get those that ignore them.

Lorries are limited not only by the law but also by their weight and size. In most cases the drivers are professional and allow others to pass, in some cases they indicate when its safe to do so.

Overtaking is a skill most road users appear to have lost or have never learned. They are happy in most cases to drive along in a 45 mph snake even when its safe to get a move on.

I'm sure he was quite aware but was exercising his right to drive at a speed to suit him.

Caravans are limited to 50mph on single roads, some lorries are also limited for various reasons, i suppose they also upset you.

You should have been behind a wheel when we could actually enjoy driving at speed, thats all in the past now so get use to it, i've seen to many "drivers" speed past a convoy only to be found at the tail end of another.

Years ago, when I used to tow for work (not towed since), I would always let others by whenever I could just like my late father did. Fortunately there are some considerate motorists just like some others who have posted here. xtrailman, are you one of those? Or do you exercise what you consider to be a right to inconvenience others?

People mantaining good progress in relation to the limits imposed on their vehicles do not upset me e.g. the Morrisons HGV that drive along the same road at 40 mph.

38-45 mph is down right selfish for a car without anything being towed. You seem to think holding up the majority is quite acceptable.

Whats the problem with doing 45mph in a sixty limit?

The limits are maximums not targets to aim for, i regularly tow at that speed although i could go to 50mph if i wanted.

I've towed and as soon as I notice a queue forming behind, I'd dive into the first lay-by I come across.

How many do that nowadays?

Remember the saying "It's number two who makes the queue".

They do it differently in the United States.

Two weeks ago I was passed by a four X four travelling at 75MPH on the two lane Interstate in Arizona. He was towing a large trailer. On the trailer was a large powerboat. Overthere it is common for even the big rigs to travel at 70+ mph. No 'limited to 40/55 mph' nonesense.

Never saw anyone driving stupidly slowly, possibly because the main highways have a minimum speed limit posted.

(Tolerance and consideration)

Yes I remember them,but dont remember what happened to them,a lot of drivers only see in their own space,no one else exists

Rightly or wrongly, those who see speed limits not as a maximum but as the minimum too, probably are the majority, especially those working, and usually younger than 55 or so.

Lets look at it another way, If you were on a driving test and did 40mph on a NSL single carriageway, Your very likely to be marked down for failing to make progress.

As a point of interest, do driving tests ever get out of town far enough to include NSL roads? Mine didn't, and that was in 1966: towns and cities are bigger than they were then.

Things have moved on since then. Even I know (took my test in '65) that nowadays the test includes at least one section of road that isn't restricted to 30 MPH.

The ones that bug me are the mono-speeders.

I followed one today, 43mph in the NSL section and then still 43mph through the village with a school, Two large yellow boards with 30 signs and also another electronic sign that flashes up with "30mph Slow Down" if your going faster than 30.

So driver A is doing 45 mph in a 60 zone.

Driver B is behind.

Solution:

Driver B passes driver A. If driver B can't pass because of oncoming traffic, how is that driver A's fault? If they can't pass because the road has bends and hills, how is that driver A's fault? If they can't pass because they don't have enough power, bottle, skill etc, how is that driver A's fault?

If they take an unnecessary and ill judged risk to pass, whose fault is that?

So driver A is doing 45 mph in a 60 zone.

Driver B is behind.

Solution:

Driver B passes driver A. If driver B can't pass because of oncoming traffic, how is that driver A's fault? If they can't pass because the road has bends and hills, how is that driver A's fault? If they can't pass because they don't have enough power, bottle, skill etc, how is that driver A's fault?

If they take an unnecessary and ill judged risk to pass, whose fault is that?

But if driver A was doing 60 mph driver B would not need to overtake.

On the A140 at rush hour time you'll hardly ever get an opportunity to pass, even though it is Roman road, unless you want a head on collision! The most annoying aspect of these slow drivers is they inconvenience people who CAN drive up to 60mph and SLOW down to 30 mph for those limits. Sadly, the 38-45mph driver usually maintains this speed for 30 mph limits therefore leaving law abiding citizens behind and frustrating them. Speeding by 25-40% in these limits is so dangerous, but these people are in their own bubble, totally oblivious to the danger.

Totally agree skidpan with your sentence. Some think inconveniencing the majority and ruining good traffic flow is acceptable.

For those who want to go at 45 mph hitch a ride with a Morrisons HGV or get the bus.

>>"But if driver A was doing 60 mph driver B would not need to overtake."

If A was in a Vauxhall and B was in an Audi or BMW, he would.

You mean the Vaux driver wouldn't bother overtaking the VRs?

No I, er, HE, wouldn't. Because he'd be giving the VRs driver a nod of acknowledgement that he made a considered choice of car instead of just following the SUPeriority-complex herd.

RT, it is really about maintaining good progress and maintaining traffic flow within the conditions and limits. The road I'm referring to in the first post is one where good progress can be made quite safely on most stretches, so no excuse for 38-45 mph car driver not to make progress that evening. No one was in front of him/her/it. If people are going to drive 35% less than limit they should let others by when a queue develops. I would, if I drove that slowly.

I take the view, like Lewis Hamilton, that if you want to overtake going faster than me that's fine, but don't expect me to slow down to let you past.

However, the Highway Code (a little known publication that some drivers have been known to use as a sort of reference book) says

Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass. 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.

And the answers to the questions are.....?

This morning on the way to Heathrow airport I decided to go via the m25 as I thought save going through town make my life a bit easier with what should be less congestion (5am) for most of the journey was no problem flowed fine doing 65-70 mph. But at one stretch with 4 lanes jusy befor Clacket lane services you had one lorry in lane one going as fast as hes limiter would allow, lane two ypu have a van doing exactly the same speed as lorry in lane one (couldn't he have just sat behind or gone in front and done that speed?) In lane three you have another lorry gong just a fraction after than the vehicles in lane one and two.

This ment every one who wanted to make reasonable progress had to get in to lane four to over. Only problem being is you had all the Audi, BMW and mercedes drivers doing 90+ who won't let you over this hapoend for nearly 10 miles these three people all wanting to travel side by side. It's only a milde annoyance but why do people have to be so inconsiderate?

>>"that is what he is meant to do"

He's not 'meant' to do 60mph - as others have already pointed out, that's the limit, not a target.

He's not doing anything illegal; it all hinges on just how slow he's going, and whether he's holding you up for more than an insignificant period of time.

On any particular 60 mph road, a lorry may be restricted to - what is it, 40 or 45 mph. If you want to go faster, you'll have to overtake the lorry. And if you're capable of overtaking an artic lorry doing 40-45, then it ought to be no big issue for you to overtake a (much shorter) car doing 45 mph, should it.

I'm almost 72, I don't drive slower, I anticipate hazards ahead and allow adequate stopping distance to take account of slower reflexes.

I agree many older drivers dawdle, (maybe due to poor eyesight as well as other issues) there are in my opinion more problems due to incompetent /inconsiderate/aggressive drivers of all ages.

This includes tailgaters, slow creepers, those who don't use indicators, those who don't know they have headlamps on full beam (or badly adjusted) and the truckers who form moving roadblocks when overtaking.

(Regarding the latter, a 100 mile trip at 56 mph takes 107 minutes. At 55.5 mph it takes 108 minutes. Assuming the faster truck stops for red lights, two of those will use that minute, any smaller speed margin give less advantage and causes more delay to other users.)

Forgot to mention, car A has an old lady passenger with osteogenesis imperfecta.

Who are you to judge what is best progress?

Meant to do....where the hell does that come from?

Road is safe and clear sounds awfully subjective?

I am surprised how many people on a car fourm don't understand nail, head, contact!

If I'm on a road where the limit is 60, I'm much less bothered by being behind a car doing 45 than by the car following 3 feet behind me whose driver wants to be doing 75 mph.

People who drive too fast are much more of a menace on our roads than people who drive too slow.