Drivers so bad they provoke road rage!

[Twerto]

Slow Driving and Safe Driving

Paul Ripley explains how driving too slowly can be just as dangerous and antisocial as excessive speed

 

There is no need to feel guilty for driving at less than the speed limit if that is what safety requires, and I would never condemn anyone for doing so; indeed, I have frequently pointed out that speed limits represent a maximum, not a safe speed for all conditions.

 

Excessive speed is a causal factor in relatively few accidents (less than 10 per cent). Nevertheless, crude or not, speed limits save lives, and nobody in their right mind would argue against their sensible application. Irrespective of what limit is attached to a particular section of road, and whether it is sensible or not, we all have a duty to drive legally and, more importantly, safely.

 

Like other responsible drivers, I may choose to drive below a given speed limit if it isn't safe to proceed any quicker. But this requires judgment. To drive along a motorway at 30mph in good conditions because I didn't want to go any faster would not be a safe thing to do.

 

Similarly, if you drive at 40mph in a 50mph zone when there is no justification for such caution, you should not be surprised if a queue of drivers builds up behind you. And at that point you should take their rights and feelings into account as well as your own. How would you feel if you were held up by someone who shared your philosophy, but regarded 20mph as the ideal speed?

 

We all have to share the available road space, and to do so safely requires co-operation, courtesy and compassion. Yet some motorists don't seem to understand the effect they have on others. Persistent dawdling and/or obstruction can wreak havoc on the tempers of following drivers who lack a masters degree in patience, and their increasingly desperate attempts to overtake can be highly dangerous.

 

It is foolish of them to take risks, but the slowcoach at the head of the procession must share some of the responsibility for allowing the situation to arise. We are dealing with humans, not robots.

 

It is said of some drivers that thay have never have had an accident but have caused hundreds, and there is an element of truth in that stereotype. It is certainly hard to believe that the many drivers who travel everywhere at a steady 40mph - 20mph below the speed limit on the open road, but 10mph above the limit in villages and towns - are safer than those who vary their speed according to the prevailing conditions and the posted limit.

 

Try to ensure that when you drive below the limit you do so for a good and justifiable reason and not because you are unaware of the needs of others or get some kind of kick out of imposing your philosophy on them. If you really don't feel comfortable at a higher speed, allow following drivers to overtake you, as The Highway Code demands.

 

And if you find yourself in a procession but are unwilling to pass those ahead of you, then for goodness' sake leave an adequate space between you and the car in front so that those who wish to overtake can safely slot into the gap as they work their way past the queue; forcing a driver to overtake several vehicles at once, or making it hard for him to pull in, is a recipe for disaster. Selfish drivers are bad drivers, and potentially dangerous at any speed.

[Para Handy]

personally i think the worst drivers are the ones who drive at 40 mph on the main road, by all means dilly and dally just dont do it in my time.

if you drove at 40 in your test you would fail.

 

If you don't like people who drive at the speed they want to drive at the overtake them. How that for a new

 

But not on a blind corner, with 4 or 5 cars and a bus in front of you. Usually, by a 17 year old pimply faced youth, with a small car with a big bore exhaust attachment fitted ( To make it look soup’ed up ) go faster strips (so it looks like it can travel at warp speed) and the radio turned up so loud, that one could hear at the space station..

Or described in one word.

 

im·be·cile's

 

See how good I am. I have broken up the word so all such imbecile’s can pronounce what they are

[Phil Scitt]

Malakoff vans, both red and white

sure it was malakoff? I've never seen any white vans, I thought they were all red.

[turningright]

re Groilic... is english your first language as i have no comprehension of what you were attempting to convey.

[turningright]

i do actually have quite a lot to say about impetuos driving , its let me down more as once and now am suffering from arthritis as a direct consequence of crashing. Think on road hoggs, its bad enough collecting your own injuries , but dishing them out on the public will hardly do either. It is very seldom anybody travels at low speed on main roads, rare enough in fact to make no odds at all to the "right witted". These days there are quite a few cyclists , so what do you make o them then? 10mph? run them ower?

being someone who drives at the speed limit and incidently has never had a notable accident, i would suggest overtaking them, what would you, not so carefull but self pronounced "right witted" members of the motoring public do?

[hoosn]

i do actually have quite a lot to say about impetuos driving , its let me down more as once and now am suffering from arthritis as a direct consequence of crashing. Think on road hoggs, its bad enough collecting your own injuries , but dishing them out on the public will hardly do either. It is very seldom anybody travels at low speed on main roads, rare enough in fact to make no odds at all to the "right witted". These days there are quite a few cyclists , so what do you make o them then? 10mph? run them ower?

being someone who drives at the speed limit and incidently has never had a notable accident, i would suggest overtaking them, what would you, not so carefull but self pronounced "right witted" members of the motoring public do?

i would have thought"right witted" drivers would kinda stay cool, and overtake when they can do so within the distance they can see and no cause distress or fear to any other traffic. I may be picking up your mails wrong ,in that you appear to be coming accross as a quite impetuos driver

[turningright]

my post inferred i get irratated by drivers at well below the speed limit for no given cause.

you are either misinterpreting the post or muddling up your words.

impetuous no impatient yes

[turningright]

="Para Handy

If you don't like people who drive at the speed they want to drive at the overtake them. How that for a new

 

But not on a blind corner, with 4 or 5 cars and a bus in front of you. Usually, by a 17 year old pimply faced youth, with a small car with a big bore exhaust attachment fitted ( To make it look soup’ed up ) go faster strips (so it looks like it can travel at warp speed) and the radio turned up so loud, that one could hear at the space station..

Or described in one word.

 

im·be·cile's

 

See how good I am. I have broken up the word so all such imbecile’s can pronounce what they are

 

there is no greater envy of that of the old wishing to be young again.

maybe these stereotypical youths you deride dont have the infinate wisdom you have accrued but lets hope they learn without the bitterness

[hoosn]

is no for anybody to judge what speed under 60 is right or wrong n if they have a reason (including fuel ecconomy) is thier decision. "Impetuos" takes in such things as impatient , hasty , rash, and inconsiderate,not the makings of a safe driver, all of which is in your statements turningright, and now judgemental and dictatorial appears to be creeping into it too, i take it santie never came wi a highway code? did he ?

[turningright]

is no for anybody to judge what speed under 60 is right or wrong n if they have a reason (including fuel ecconomy) is thier decision. "Impetuos" takes in such things as impatient , hasty , rash, and inconsiderate,not the makings of a safe driver, all of which is in your statements turningright, and now judgemental and dictatorial appears to be creeping into it too, i take it santie never came wi a highway code? did he ?

 

impetuous

adj.

1 acting or done rashly or with sudden energy.

2 moving forcefully or rapidly.

 

apparently the oxford dictionary doesnt quite agree with your all encompassing, convenient definition.

at no point have i condoned or promoted agressive, inconsiderate or your version of impetuous driving.

the point states people travelling too slowly without due cause are inconsiderate and at times dangerous.

and incidently most modern cars are in fact geared to achieve close to maximum fuel efficiency at motorway cruising speeds.

[shetlandpeat]

You will need to remember that to overtake someone at 40 mph, you need to be going faster, well so obvious. But, it does not mean you can break the speed limit.

And remember the two unbroken lines in the middle of the road, you cannot cross unless the vehicle you are overtaking is travelling at a very slow speed, 10 or 15 MPH. (I will check, but I think it is 10)

 

But also, you need to keep a 2 second gap from the slower vehicle for your safe braking, so, to add it all up, you need a very long stretch of straight road to safely overtake, without being considered a bully.

[hoosn]

^^^^^, i retract nothing about my interpatation of the word impetuous, its the impression your giving. Well said above, and well said para handy. Seems the case for patience and safety prevails. As far as i'm aware, if anybody needs or wants to drive safely below the 60mph limit, they are perfectly entitled to do so. I personally neither condemn or condone anybodys speed , but "attitude drivers" are definately a hazard at any speed. Roughly a mile of cars goin at a steady 50 out of town yesterday safely, only takes one "bull in a china shop" to cause a multi vehicle incident there , n what for? 10mph

[tarhellja]

Something that I've been noticing a lot lately, is the high number of vehicles with only one headlight working. Perhaps drivers are unaware of this while they are inside their vehicles.

[turningright]

^^^^^, i retract nothing about my interpatation of the word impetuous, its the impression your giving. Well said above, and well said para handy. Seems the case for patience and safety prevails. As far as i'm aware, if anybody needs or wants to drive safely below the 60mph limit, they are perfectly entitled to do so. I personally neither condemn or condone anybodys speed , but "attitude drivers" are definately a hazard at any speed. Roughly a mile of cars goin at a steady 50 out of town yesterday safely, only takes one "bull in a china shop" to cause a multi vehicle incident there , n what for? 10mph

 

50 mph for a mile of cars is quite exceptional, this is nothing what so ever to do with the original postings of 40 mph without due cause, not 50 mph because there is a mile of traffic ahead.

once again deviating from the facts, arguments and even the english language with presumptions, and fabrications to support your self serving ramble.

[turningright]

You will need to remember that to overtake someone at 40 mph, you need to be going faster, well so obvious. But, it does not mean you can break the speed limit.

And remember the two unbroken lines in the middle of the road, you cannot cross unless the vehicle you are overtaking is travelling at a very slow speed, 10 or 15 MPH. (I will check, but I think it is 10)

 

But also, you need to keep a 2 second gap from the slower vehicle for your safe braking, so, to add it all up, you need a very long stretch of straight road to safely overtake, without being considered a bully.

 

most people interpret all these things in a fraction of a second to determine whether it is safe or indeed prudent to overtake.

experienced drivers do most of the differential accelerating before pulling out giving even more time to evaluate the situation.

the idea you keep a 2 second gap whilst overtaking is proposterous and infact impossible,

this equates, in the common execution of an overtaking manouvre, to a safe and fluid move and not at all requiring this vast expanse of straight road you claim