Slow drivers on country lanes
Discussion
Pan Pan said:
coppice said:
Some comments above are utterly risible ; the limit on my local roads is 60 but you would have to be insane to drive at 60 on nearly all of them. Sure,it's a pain if somebody interrupts your journey by daring to drive more slowly than you but the hair trigger outrage at people minding their own business by driving a bit slower than is felt appropriate is intolerant and selfish in equal measure .
Wanting to drive at the legal posted limit is neither intolerant, or selfish, wanting to drive at speeds significantly above or below the posted limit is. coppice said:
Pan Pan said:
coppice said:
Some comments above are utterly risible ; the limit on my local roads is 60 but you would have to be insane to drive at 60 on nearly all of them. Sure,it's a pain if somebody interrupts your journey by daring to drive more slowly than you but the hair trigger outrage at people minding their own business by driving a bit slower than is felt appropriate is intolerant and selfish in equal measure .
Wanting to drive at the legal posted limit is neither intolerant, or selfish, wanting to drive at speeds significantly above or below the posted limit is. There are two sides to the equation.
I have given one example where someone perfectly capable of covering the ground safely up to and, being honest, above the permitted limit is not doing so for a particular reason. The key being faster traffic was assisted in overtaking at the earliest opportunity.
Pan Pan said:
The point I was trying to make is that if someone is not suited to a particular activity, be it driving, flying a jet fighter, carrying out brain surgery etc to a required standard, they should perhaps consider whether they ought to be undertaking that particular activity.
That is particularly hard to check and you cannot lump drivers with professions such as steering a jet. A driver has to pass an arbitrary set of tests to get a bit of paper that will last them for the rest of their lives, there is no ongoing requirement for improvement or re testing to see that standards are maintained, if those standards were even there at the test pass (something I wonder at in many cases). Then take into consideration someone travelling not too slow and not too quick but well within on a road, something they consider to be OK, then why would they question their ability? Many are enabled with the use of a car, take that away and many peoples lives will be a lot worse. If they are not so inclined to hit the loud pedal, then take a deep breath and get on with life. Obviously there is too slow to consider.
coppice said:
Pan Pan said:
coppice said:
Some comments above are utterly risible ; the limit on my local roads is 60 but you would have to be insane to drive at 60 on nearly all of them. Sure,it's a pain if somebody interrupts your journey by daring to drive more slowly than you but the hair trigger outrage at people minding their own business by driving a bit slower than is felt appropriate is intolerant and selfish in equal measure .
Wanting to drive at the legal posted limit is neither intolerant, or selfish, wanting to drive at speeds significantly above or below the posted limit is. Crikey - what a lot of assumptions you make about me- all of them wrong. Not noted for pottering in my R400 Seven but do have the commonsense not to drive like a plank along narrow lanes with poor visibility. And gosh- you do lots of miles - clever old you, what a trump card to play .
coppice said:
Crikey - what a lot of assumptions you make about me- all of them wrong. Not noted for pottering in my R400 Seven but do have the commonsense not to drive like a plank along narrow lanes with poor visibility. And gosh- you do lots of miles - clever old you, what a trump card to play .
Ah! so its OK for you to make assumptions about the way I drive, but not for me to make assumptions about the wayyou drive. I have a Seven as well, and possibly I have had it for much longer than you have had yours, clearly I have managed to survive driving it on country lanes, I have also been pilot for over 40 years, so it seems I might also have enough common sense to survive flying aeroplanes of all kinds, as well as drive motor vehicles for long distances.
It all comes down to having the wherewithal in the brain, eyesight, reflexes, aptitude, anticipation departments to safely carry out these activities to a `suitable' standard.
Those who cannot, should consider whether they are safe, or OK to continue doing so, no matter how they choose to get about.
Used to get abuse for driving "slowly" in my old pick up truck - most folk not even aware that different limits apply to different classes of vehicle, and in a lot of cases the limit on U.K. roads is ten m.p.h slower for a pick up than for a "normal" car... (won't bore you with the details tho').
I find these arguments against slow drivers on country lanes selfish and narrow-minded. The roads were built to enable people to get around. They aren't there for the purpose of having fun. That's what tracks are for, surely. Motorways and dual carriageways were built for faster, higher volume road traffic. I used to live in the countryside and I know that lots of local drivers use the country lanes because they are slower, and perceived as safer, as they find the main roads more threatening. The odd slow driver or tractor never bothered me.
Pan Pan said:
coppice said:
Pan Pan said:
coppice said:
Some comments above are utterly risible ; the limit on my local roads is 60 but you would have to be insane to drive at 60 on nearly all of them. Sure,it's a pain if somebody interrupts your journey by daring to drive more slowly than you but the hair trigger outrage at people minding their own business by driving a bit slower than is felt appropriate is intolerant and selfish in equal measure .
Wanting to drive at the legal posted limit is neither intolerant, or selfish, wanting to drive at speeds significantly above or below the posted limit is. 
Pan Pan said:
coppice said:
Crikey - what a lot of assumptions you make about me- all of them wrong. Not noted for pottering in my R400 Seven but do have the commonsense not to drive like a plank along narrow lanes with poor visibility. And gosh- you do lots of miles - clever old you, what a trump card to play .
Ah! so its OK for you to make assumptions about the way I drive, but not for me to make assumptions about the wayyou drive. I have a Seven as well, and possibly I have had it for much longer than you have had yours, clearly I have managed to survive driving it on country lanes, I have also been pilot for over 40 years, so it seems I might also have enough common sense to survive flying aeroplanes of all kinds, as well as drive motor vehicles for long distances.
It all comes down to having the wherewithal in the brain, eyesight, reflexes, aptitude, anticipation departments to safely carry out these activities to a `suitable' standard.
Those who cannot, should consider whether they are safe, or OK to continue doing so, no matter how they choose to get about.
Can't be bothered to read the whole thread but surely the point is that public roads have to be shared with drivers of all abilities, vehicles with different braking and handling characteristics, and, on country lanes, cyclists, walkers and occasional livestock. So, a bit of caution and patience is usually required.
As a pilot, you should understand about safety margins, so I am surprised you seem to be quite so uncomprehending of the need to allow for contingencies. I suspect you are not a commercial pilot.
I find some of the comments on here absolutely staggering, particularly those of a driver of what should be a reasonably fast car who thinks that 60 on a country lane is excessive.
My early motoring career was spent in rural Leicestershire where there are lots of single track OS Yellow roads / lanes, i.e. you cannot get side by side unless one car uses the verge to get past. Most of the farmers and their wives would be driving at 60 in their 1300 Escort or similar and slowing appropriately for corners / horses / farm machinery coming the other way. More often than not, people would drive a little faster.
The only conclusions I can come to are that our definition of lane must be wildly different and that those who can't drive at 60 should stick to becoming paddock poseurs at the track days they attend while not actually going out to avoid being labelled "the mobile roadblock" or something similar.
My early motoring career was spent in rural Leicestershire where there are lots of single track OS Yellow roads / lanes, i.e. you cannot get side by side unless one car uses the verge to get past. Most of the farmers and their wives would be driving at 60 in their 1300 Escort or similar and slowing appropriately for corners / horses / farm machinery coming the other way. More often than not, people would drive a little faster.
The only conclusions I can come to are that our definition of lane must be wildly different and that those who can't drive at 60 should stick to becoming paddock poseurs at the track days they attend while not actually going out to avoid being labelled "the mobile roadblock" or something similar.
GavinPearson said:
I find some of the comments on here absolutely staggering, particularly those of a driver of what should be a reasonably fast car who thinks that 60 on a country lane is excessive.
My early motoring career was spent in rural Leicestershire where there are lots of single track OS Yellow roads / lanes, i.e. you cannot get side by side unless one car uses the verge to get past. Most of the farmers and their wives would be driving at 60 in their 1300 Escort or similar and slowing appropriately for corners / horses / farm machinery coming the other way. More often than not, people would drive a little faster.
The only conclusions I can come to are that our definition of lane must be wildly different and that those who can't drive at 60 should stick to becoming paddock poseurs at the track days they attend while not actually going out to avoid being labelled "the mobile roadblock" or something similar.
My equivalent motoring career was in neighbouring rural Northants. There the typical 60mph+ merchants were the farmers sons' and young workers in modified hot hatches with CB radios. Occasional police roadblocks were a hazard - looking for rustlers! My early motoring career was spent in rural Leicestershire where there are lots of single track OS Yellow roads / lanes, i.e. you cannot get side by side unless one car uses the verge to get past. Most of the farmers and their wives would be driving at 60 in their 1300 Escort or similar and slowing appropriately for corners / horses / farm machinery coming the other way. More often than not, people would drive a little faster.
The only conclusions I can come to are that our definition of lane must be wildly different and that those who can't drive at 60 should stick to becoming paddock poseurs at the track days they attend while not actually going out to avoid being labelled "the mobile roadblock" or something similar.
Pan Pan said:
It all comes down to having the wherewithal in the brain, eyesight, reflexes, aptitude, anticipation departments to safely carry out these activities to a `suitable' standard.
Yep.. and the public road isn't a place to try and exercise and test those attributes if there is even a 1/2% chance of you endangering another member of the public (due to human error) in the course of performing these activities. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff