50mph on the motorway.

[swiftsteve]

I drive at around 57mph, economical and just fast enough to overtake lorries (making sure I'm actually doing 57 and not believing the speedo).
My users handbook actually states not to exceed 60mph, although I have done occasionally.

 

[eddie]

Elderly………possibly.
Stupid……….a matter of personal choice.
Well insured, cautiously driving to the road conditions, within their comfort zone and capability and considerate………..
Most definitely!
And you don’t have to be old to be stupid.
Any age will qualify.

My 85 year old mother in law considers 50 mph a "safe speed" and lane two being the "safest place"

She should surrender her licence as lane hogging at 50 mph is illegal and dangerous, my initial post was tongue in cheek, but I stand by what I say

 

[gus-lopez]

I'm sure that MPG has something to do with it, it is an obsession with many drivers. There is absolute proof that driving at >70mph will cost you many more pennies than driving at 50mph.

& at 50mph the emissions will likely be far higher due to lower gears?
I cannot maintain 50 mph in top gear using cruise control, it is the drop out speed. If I do not use cruise it is still trying to tear the gears out of the box. If I then use 4th + cruise we now have increased emissions. .
In France on the a& N roads I spend most of the time in cruise in either 3rd gear 70km/hr or less & 4th for 80km/hr

This gives an actual speed (measured by the GPS) of 58mph, so just ahead of the HGVs limited to 56mph. Other vehicles may read a different higher speed than actual.

Although EU regs mandate 56mph/90km/hr as the limited speed most run here at the spanish limited speed ,which is the same as the UK national gov limit, of 100k/hr for hgv's.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

My 85 year old mother in law considers 50 mph a "safe speed" and lane two being the "safest place"

She should surrender her licence as lane hogging at 50 mph is illegal and dangerous, my initial post was tongue in cheek, but I stand by what I say

Jolly Good!

 

[PaulyP]

Just came back from our static near Lancaster, M6 doing 70 mph on cruise in my car, middle lane overtaking a HGV a motorhome in the outside lane passed me quite easily, must have been doing around 80 mph, amazing how many vehicles pass me when I’m doing a steady 70.

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[gus-lopez]

Just came back from our static near Lancaster, M6 doing 70 mph on cruise in my car, middle lane overtaking a HGV a motorhome in the outside lane passed me quite easily, must have been doing around 80 mph, amazing how many vehicles pass me when I’m doing a steady 70.

look on the bright side I was doing the same but travelling at 80mph when the motorome overtook me in the 3rd lane,
.

..............

with a toad on the back.

 

[phase3begins]

I think everybody is getting cabin fever. Over 200 responses (including this one) to a simple, probably rhetorical, question.
xxxx

 

[Landy Andy]

considerate

They often aren’t though. They are happy doing their speed, which is below the speed limit, I go to overtake and they speed up, because they either don’t want to be overtaken, or they think it’s their job to set the limit. That’s my experience.
Why don’t they just be happy doing what they want, and leave the rest of us to do what we want.

 

[PaulyP]

look on the bright side I was doing the same but travelling at 80mph when the motorome overtook me in the 3rd lane,
.

..............

with a toad on the back.

As far as I understand when towing anything on a motorway you are restricted to 60mph and not allowed to use the outside lane, there are obviously a lot of people who don’t know this as I’m regularly overtaken by vehicles with trailers.

 

[Wikky]

I'm a fan of keeping just ahead of the HGVs. The last thing I want to see is a lorry right up my bumper!

I've experimented with the Cruise Control on our Peugeot Boxer based Elddis Accordo and compared it with the readout on a GPS. I've concluded that the best speed to set the CC to is 62mph. This gives an actual speed (measured by the GPS) of 58mph, so just ahead of the HGVs limited to 56mph. Other vehicles may read a different higher speed than actual.

My speedo and GPS agree with your findings also.

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[Paulypaul]

50mph M4? If its between the M25 and Reading that'll be the speed limit while the roadworks are in progress.

I often see motorhomes around the country blasting through 50mph roadworks oblivious to speed limits? So it goes both ways doesn't it?

 

[2657]

Why don’t they just be happy doing what they want, and leave the rest of us to do what we want.

Very true for both points of view.

My philosophy of life

 

[JJ]

Speeding drivers are anti-social sods...

Not an opinion... a fact!

JJ

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

They often aren’t though. They are happy doing their speed, which is below the speed limit, I go to overtake and they speed up, because they either don’t want to be overtaken, or they think it’s their job to set the limit. That’s my experience.
Why don’t they just be happy doing what they want, and leave the rest of us to do what we want.

In all my 30 plus years of commercial driving I can honestly say that the scenario of people speeding up as you overtake them could be counted on 1 hand in my personal experience, either on motorways,A roads or whatever.
Boot Lid lickers, Bumper Bar Boys and Tailgate Tim’s however, are another story and in my opinion are far more dangerous because if they are that much of a hurry they will undoubtably force an error, either to the vehicle they are tailgating, or themselves in their haste for getting wherever , yesterday.
And this isn’t just cars.
Have had busses up my back end in a 30 zone and I am doing 32 and they are still pushing!
Same with a few HGV lorries in urban areas.
Was actually tailgate ended by a HGV once at some traffic lights ,who decided to set of before me as the lights changed.
He had stopped so close to my back end, and was so high up in his cab, that he claimed he did not see me in front of him and below his vision line,
Shunted me across the lights then claimed I had stopped suddenly and got all aggressive as on a taco delivery schedule and late. Went to check his own dash cam and yes, he was at fault!
Wrote of my Audi A4 bumper and bent the boot. Not a scratch on the front, steel, bumper construction on his lorry.
Thankfully, no one hurt, but oh so uneccisary!

 

[Paulypaul]

As a hgv driver I do experience people doing under 56mph (trucks limited to 56 mph) and rather than tailgating them, when you go to overtake they either speed up and leave you in lane 2 looking like a numpty to the vehicles behind, or they match your speed and just refuse to let you overtake? Even worse are the ones that wait till you're 3/4 of the way past them, then they decide to match your speed preventing you from completing the overtake?

I guess it's the mentality that "how dare you try to overtake me when I'm quite happy doing 53 mph on a motorway or dual carriageway?

However, I have to admit that there are equally as many hgv drivers who do exactly the same. If someone is overtaking me, all I have to do is back off for a split second, which allows him to overtake and pull in....not make him suffer by trying to match his speed. Its just rude and inconsiderate.

What really gets me though are the people coming down the slip road, not even a glance in the off side mirror, so you pull out to let them onto the carriageway and they don't even say thank you, or they speed up leaving you out in lane 2, or, they just won't let you overtake. Some hgv drivers included.

Courtesy on the road is a thing of the past I'm afraid and some people drive with blinkers on.

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[Eggs]

No one seems to be asking anyone to break the speed limit, just go along with, or a little faster than the heavies, surely it's not a big ask?

 

[Abacist]

Well it took an age to get from Exeter to Stoneleigh today - so much traffic on the M5. People ducking and diving between lanes to overtake a car or two but sod everyone behind having to stand on the brakes! 2 lunatic motorcyclists weaving in and out of the traffic between lanes 2 & 3 just asking to be killed!

Now chilling with a G & T

 

[Pausim]

The Highway Code is very clear about joining a motorway. Sadly too many people wrongly make no effort to match their speed with the traffic already on the motorway. Some of the HGVs might be hard pressed to get up to 56 MPH but for everyone else the slip roads are long enough to easily achieve this. It goes on to say you should remain in the left-hand lane long enough to adjust to the speed of traffic, it does not suggest you slow down and inconvenience the traffic. It very reasonably says the joining traffic should be the ones adjusting their speed.

Rule 259​

Joining the motorway. When you join the motorway you will normally approach it from a road on the left (a slip road) or from an adjoining motorway. You should

• give priority to traffic already on the motorway
• check the traffic on the motorway and match your speed to fit safely into the traffic flow in the left-hand lane
• not cross solid white lines that separate lanes or use the hard shoulder
• stay on the slip road if it continues as an extra lane on the motorway
• remain in the left-hand lane long enough to adjust to the speed of traffic before considering overtaking.

 

[busby]

As a hgv driver I do experience people doing under 56mph (trucks limited to 56 mph) and rather than tailgating them, when you go to overtake they either speed up and leave you in lane 2 looking like a numpty to the vehicles behind, or they match your speed and just refuse to let you overtake? Even worse are the ones that wait till you're 3/4 of the way past them, then they decide to match your speed preventing you from completing the overtake?

I guess it's the mentality that "how dare you try to overtake me when I'm quite happy doing 53 mph on a motorway or dual carriageway?

However, I have to admit that there are equally as many hgv drivers who do exactly the same. If someone is overtaking me, all I have to do is back off for a split second, which allows him to overtake and pull in....not make him suffer by trying to match his speed. Its just rude and inconsiderate.

What really gets me though are the people coming down the slip road, not even a glance in the off side mirror, so you pull out to let them onto the carriageway and they don't even say thank you, or they speed up leaving you out in lane 2, or, they just won't let you overtake. Some hgv drivers included.

Courtesy on the road is a thing of the past I'm afraid and some people drive with blinkers on.

It's only Brits being polite that do that it doesn't happen much in Europe.If approaching a motorway down a slip road do not expect them to pull out to let you in.Its up to you to regulate your speed to stream in..I think it's much safer.BUSBY.

 

[Itsmcb]

It's only Brits being polite that do that it doesn't happen much in Europe.If approaching a motorway down a slip road do not expect them to pull out to let you in.Its up to you to regulate your speed to stream in..I think it's much safer.BUSBY.

I tell my daughter who's only a few months ago passed her test to put her foot down on a slip road to match or be going faster than the traffic on the motorway. It's easier to lose speed than gain it over a short distance. She was reluctant at first.

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[Captain Yoghurtpot]

I tell my daughter who's only a few months ago passed her test to put her foot down on a slip road to match or be going faster than the traffic on the motorway. It's easier to lose speed than gain it over a short distance. She was reluctant at first.

And does she use a door mirror to look and join, or the method of a quick glance over the right hand shoulder?
Mirrors are not gods gift to a maidens prayers!

 

[2657]

I tell my daughter who's only a few months ago passed her test to put her foot down on a slip road to match or be going faster than the traffic on the motorway. It's easier to lose speed than gain it over a short distance. She was reluctant at first.

When my kids had passed their tests and contemplating motorway driving my advice was to aim for around 50/55 mph when aproaching the end of the slip road and accelerate or decelerate as necessary. Any adjustment in speed will only be small and try to judge speeds in the mirror.

 

[gus-lopez]

It's only Brits being polite that do that it doesn't happen much in Europe.If approaching a motorway down a slip road do not expect them to pull out to let you in.Its up to you to regulate your speed to stream in..I think it's much safer.BUSBY.

Very true. Unfortunately in the UK there are plenty of slip roads where you would never exit due to sheer volume of traffic and nowhere for them to go ,apart from stop. That is why they have to put traffic lights on them .

 

[Landy Andy]

In all my 30 plus years of commercial driving I can honestly say that the scenario of people speeding up as you overtake them could be counted on 1 hand in my personal experience, either on motorways,A roads or whatever.
Boot Lid lickers, Bumper Bar Boys and Tailgate Tim’s however, are another story and in my opinion are far more dangerous because if they are that much of a hurry they will undoubtably force an error, either to the vehicle they are tailgating, or themselves in their haste for getting wherever , yesterday.
And this isn’t just cars.
Have had busses up my back end in a 30 zone and I am doing 32 and they are still pushing!
Same with a few HGV lorries in urban areas.
Was actually tailgate ended by a HGV once at some traffic lights ,who decided to set of before me as the lights changed.
He had stopped so close to my back end, and was so high up in his cab, that he claimed he did not see me in front of him and below his vision line,
Shunted me across the lights then claimed I had stopped suddenly and got all aggressive as on a taco delivery schedule and late. Went to check his own dash cam and yes, he was at fault!
Wrote of my Audi A4 bumper and bent the boot. Not a scratch on the front, steel, bumper construction on his lorry.
Thankfully, no one hurt, but oh so uneccisary!

You won’t experience it as you are happy to be doing the slower speed. I get it all the time. Even my father does it. It’s an old person thing.

 

[Ivory55]

There are places with short slip roads , some on the A1 , the bypass around Peterborough has some.

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[Eggs]

There are places with short slip roads , some on the A1 , the bypass around Peterborough has some.

The A14 in this part of Suffolk has some of those short on slip roads where you can't build the speed up to join the main carriageway at an appropriate speed, you wait. On the whole most on slips allow you to gather enough speed to join safely, unless you are a rubbish driver.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Joining the M5 southbound the vehicle in front was a Passat that stopped accelerating along the slip road at only 40 mph. What a dangerous moron.

I had to drop back and wait for another gap in Lane 1 then boot it with every Italian turbo horse the Ducato has, to merge safely at 60.

 

[bobnick]

Speaking of driving tests, i taught my eldest to drive, he past 1st time.
Driving school taught my younger one, 4th attempt he past. 28 lessons. What do i think?

 

[Jonny1953]

What really gets me though are the people coming down the slip road, not even a glance in the off side mirror, so you pull out to let them onto the carriageway and they don't even say thank you, or they speed up leaving you out in lane 2, or, they just won't let you overtake. Some hgv drivers included.

Courtesy on the road is a thing of the past I'm afraid and some people drive with blinkers on.

I think that the problem here is that some people actually believe that as they are indicating they have right of way, same as when someone indicates and pulls out to overtake and just expects the vehicle coming up behind has to pull out to miss them

 

[Itsmcb]

Speaking of driving tests, i taught my eldest to drive, he past 1st time.
Driving school taught my younger one, 4th attempt he past. 28 lessons. What do i think?

My daughter had 10 lessons over three months and did just over a 1000 miles over the same three months in her own car as practice with me. She had complete control over her car, steep hill starts, reversing etc were no problem by the end. Passed first time too.

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