45 mph national speed limit?

45 mph national speed limit?

Author
Discussion

mybrainhurts

90,809 posts

254 months

Sunday 12th January 2014
quotequote all
TransverseTight said:
Rant, rant, ranty rant
Yes, but what about all that global warming you'll be making?

I think you ought to walk.

Vipers

32,797 posts

227 months

Monday 13th January 2014
quotequote all
Cooperman said:
Please don't tar all 'elderly' drivers with the same brush.
Indeed, may I join you there, same as we should not tar all the youngsters as loons on our roads, just some biggrin




smile

QBee

20,904 posts

143 months

Monday 13th January 2014
quotequote all
I am with the OP on this.

For years i would regularly get stuck for mile after mile behind Mums with kids in the car on open country B roads (NSL = 60), doing 45 mph. No way could I get past, always a car coming the other way on the straight bits.
Same Mum would carry on at 45 into a village 30 limit, past the primary school at 8.45 am.....defies belief.

Just this morning I was driving down the A1, 2 lanes each way dual carriageway, at 70mph on cruise control. White 13 plate 5 series BMW up my chuff as i am passing an HGV. I move back to lane 1 and he steams past me at about 85mph, then slams on the brakes down to 55mph, still in lane 2, as he has seen a fixed speed camera.
So if he believes we are in the USA, why was he doing 85????? And should I ignore him, continue at 70 and undertake him, or slam on myself and panic the HGV driver?

tts the lot of them. I of course am perfect.

rs1952

5,247 posts

258 months

Monday 13th January 2014
quotequote all
QBee said:
I am with the OP on this.

For years i would regularly get stuck for mile after mile behind Mums with kids in the car on open country B roads (NSL = 60), doing 45 mph.

.....

Same Mum would carry on at 45 into a village 30 limit, past the primary school at 8.45 am.....defies belief.
Erm... just a thought.

How old are mums with pre-teenage kids likely to be? Probably under 40

wink

Duke147

629 posts

147 months

Monday 13th January 2014
quotequote all
Dr Jekyll said:
To me driving up to the speed limit is like driving through a green traffic light.

It certainly isn't compulsory.
It may very well not be safe.

It's something you are allowed to do if safe to do so.

But If it is safe to do so and you hold others up by not doing it, you are a twunt.
Very good analogy!

This problem is very prevalent on the roads around Harrogate - must be the aging population wink. It is such a problem that I honestly can't remember the last time I didn't have to overtake somebody in order to travel at anything like the NSL on a single carriageway road. The other trick is to pull out of a junction in reasonable time... but then not get above 30 in an NSL area. Given that you could reasonably expect somebody to get going if they'd pulled out in front of someone; this practice has led to some harshly applied brakes.

I have seen the result of frustration caused by these bumbling buffoons - it wasn't pretty. A head on collision between a Range-Rover and another 4x4. Range Rover was on it's side having rolled at least once and the other 4x4 was snapped in half, unrecognisable. Emergency services were just arriving.

Newspaper report stated that the driver of the Rangie had tried to overtake a "slow-moving car." I tried to find said article, but it was a few years ago now and it was a small, local newspaper which had it in.

A case of 2 wrongs not making a right, but making a tragedy.

SK425

1,034 posts

148 months

Monday 13th January 2014
quotequote all
Vipers said:
SK425 said:
Vipers said:
So do you leave the 2 second rule gap, or leave that plus room for someone else to nip in front of you
I don't think you need to maintain an extra gap like that constantly - a sensible, normal following distance should be fine. You can always open the gap as the overtaker is passing. Or before they pass, if they're looking keen and you think it will help them.
To open a gap you have to slow down, resulting in the vehicle behind you having to slow down, against the HC rules etc, the overtake chappie should plan the overtake so not to result in causing others to slow down or reduce their safe stopping distance from the vehicle in front of them.




smile
Isn't the vehicle behind you actually the vehicle that just overtook you? The two of you are swapping positions in the queue. As they come past, what's behind you is the space they've just vacated. A few more people involved if it's a multiple vehicle overtake, but the principle's the same. Anyway, if you have a sensible gap ahead, I can't see how fitting in with a vehicle that's just overtaken you is going to cause any great disruption to drivers behind you.

Have I misunderstood where you're coming from? I thought you were asking about what would be a polite following distance in order to help people overtake. All I'm saying is that I don't think it's necessary to follow at twice the distance you think you need on the basis that someone might overtake into the space ahead of you. You can cross that bridge when you come to it.


Edited by SK425 on Monday 13th January 13:23

supersport

4,040 posts

226 months

Monday 13th January 2014
quotequote all
Duke147 said:
Very good analogy!

This problem is very prevalent on the roads around Harrogate - must be the aging population wink. It is such a problem that I honestly can't remember the last time I didn't have to overtake somebody in order to travel at anything like the NSL on a single carriageway road. The other trick is to pull out of a junction in reasonable time... but then not get above 30 in an NSL area. Given that you could reasonably expect somebody to get going if they'd pulled out in front of someone; this practice has led to some harshly applied brakes.

I have seen the result of frustration caused by these bumbling buffoons - it wasn't pretty. A head on collision between a Range-Rover and another 4x4. Range Rover was on it's side having rolled at least once and the other 4x4 was snapped in half, unrecognisable. Emergency services were just arriving.

Newspaper report stated that the driver of the Rangie had tried to overtake a "slow-moving car." I tried to find said article, but it was a few years ago now and it was a small, local newspaper which had it in.

A case of 2 wrongs not making a right, but making a tragedy.
A59 one of the worst roads known to man, populated by twunts incapable of driving above 40mph, takes me days to face up to going down it during the day.

Vipers

32,797 posts

227 months

Monday 13th January 2014
quotequote all
SK425 said:
Vipers said:
SK425 said:
Vipers said:
So do you leave the 2 second rule gap, or leave that plus room for someone else to nip in front of you
I don't think you need to maintain an extra gap like that constantly - a sensible, normal following distance should be fine. You can always open the gap as the overtaker is passing. Or before they pass, if they're looking keen and you think it will help them.
To open a gap you have to slow down, resulting in the vehicle behind you having to slow down, against the HC rules etc, the overtake chappie should plan the overtake so not to result in causing others to slow down or reduce their safe stopping distance from the vehicle in front of them.




smile
Isn't the vehicle behind you actually the vehicle that just overtook you? The two of you are swapping positions in the queue. As they come past, what's behind you is the space they've just vacated. A few more people involved if it's a multiple vehicle overtake, but the principle's the same. Anyway, if you have a sensible gap ahead, I can't see how fitting in with a vehicle that's just overtaken you is going to cause any great disruption to drivers behind you.

Have I misunderstood where you're coming from? I thought you were asking about what would be a polite following distance in order to help people overtake. All I'm saying is that I don't think it's necessary to follow at twice the distance you think you need on the basis that someone might overtake into the space ahead of you. You can cross that bridge when you come to it.


Edited by SK425 on Monday 13th January 13:23
What I mean is often you are driving with the safe distance in front of you, mainly when you are looking for a gap to overtake, and along comes someone who has misjudged the overtake, passes you and pulls in, now your safe distance is reduced, causing you to slow down. Obviously if you have no intention of overtaking the car in front, then no worries leave a bigger gap.

Anyway not to dwell on it. We should all drive with consideration to others. I think we are agreeing here.




smile



Moonhawk

10,730 posts

218 months

Monday 13th January 2014
quotequote all
Hark said:
61 plate Suzuki 4x4 thing tonight doing 25-35mph on a winding, unlimit 60mph road. Took me 5 minutes to find somewhere to pass safely.
I dont think I have ever seen a Suzuki car being driven at NSL. I dont know what it is about Suzuki cars - but they do seem to attract that type of driver.

TransverseTight

Original Poster:

753 posts

144 months

Monday 13th January 2014
quotequote all
servantleader said:
I too find people that drive 40/50MPH in a NSL incredibly annoying (if in a car of course). If they cannot give their driving more concentration then they should not be on the roads. I will always overtake these people when safe to do so, sometimes I can overtake 4-5 cars on a particular stretch of road.

I have a feeling that a lot of 'older' (those being 40+) people think the NSL sign means 50Mph? I'd love to find out if that was true.
You hit the nail on the head with this. I have over the years asked members of family, people who I'm getting a lift off and colleagues at work. And it seems there's some confusion. A lot of people think it's 50. Which is what leads me to conclude we need to petition No 10 to replace the (/) with a number.

It's really just poor knowledge of the signs, and poor observation of them. Take the case of the road I hate to drive most often, there's a 40 either end before coming back into the 30, national speed limit for 5 miles in between, with a short stretch of 30 in the middle that goes round a roundabout. People slow down for the 30, and speed back up again, but only to 40. They know the speed limit has changed, but obviously not that it's 60. I guess they don't know what the (/) means and assume it means pick a random speed, close to the last sign you saw.

Sadly there's only 3 points on the road to which over take, it's fairly straight, only 2 corners, but a bit hilly with hidden dips, and then a stretch with illuminated bollards. Actually this bit is interesting... it goes through a hamlet which has street lamps, but they have reposted the national speed limit sign to remind you that although there are streetlamps the national limit applies. Yet most numpties slow down to 30. AAAAARGH. I slow if there's a car waiting to pull out of the junctions, or someone with a dog looking like they might think about crossing (and could be deaf), but other than than there's no reason to fall below 50.

So if it wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg, I'd also petition for repeat testing of drivers every 10 years. There's a lot of people who have picked up bad habits over the years, and considering your driving a car, it is effectively as dangerous running down the swinging a carving knife above your head.

mybrainhurts said:
Yes, but what about all that global warming you'll be making?

I think you ought to walk.
Are you stalking me? ;-)



Edited by TransverseTight on Monday 13th January 17:41

tottacrolla

78 posts

204 months

Monday 13th January 2014
quotequote all
45 in a 60 drivers are like the Orcs in Lord of the Rings easy to kill (overtake) but there are bloody hundreds of 'em !
You get past one, a clear road for half a mile and there is sure to be another. lol

Moonhawk

10,730 posts

218 months

Monday 13th January 2014
quotequote all
The way speed limits are being cut - i'd be surprised if there are any NSL roads left in a few years (dual carriageways notwithstanding).

Many of the NSL roads around my village have been cut to 50mph or even 40mph despite there being no history of serious accidents on these roads and no increase in housing etc.

There are hundreds of speed limits under review in my county at the moment - without exception, they are all reductions.

servantleader

113 posts

126 months

Saturday 18th January 2014
quotequote all
To all the 'oldies' wink , I did not mean any offence, so I hope none was taken. However I was seriously questioning those who think that the NSL sign means 50mph on a single carriage way, and it (in my opinion) seems to be those who are older than myself.

I don't know the history of the signs but it did get me thinking that perhaps it used to mean 50mph on a single carriage way, in the 'olden days' maybe? wink




Dr Jekyll

23,820 posts

260 months

Saturday 18th January 2014
quotequote all
servantleader said:
To all the 'oldies' wink , I did not mean any offence, so I hope none was taken. However I was seriously questioning those who think that the NSL sign means 50mph on a single carriage way, and it (in my opinion) seems to be those who are older than myself.

I don't know the history of the signs but it did get me thinking that perhaps it used to mean 50mph on a single carriage way, in the 'olden days' maybe? wink
It was for a brief period in the 70s, there was also a 60 limit in dual carriageways which perhaps explains that common misconception. Both limits were raised in about 1977.

Vipers

32,797 posts

227 months

Saturday 18th January 2014
quotequote all
servantleader said:
To all the 'oldies' wink , I did not mean any offence, so I hope none was taken. However I was seriously questioning those who think that the NSL sign means 50mph on a single carriage way, and it (in my opinion) seems to be those who are older than myself.

I don't know the history of the signs but it did get me thinking that perhaps it used to mean 50mph on a single carriage way, in the 'olden days' maybe? wink
None taken from a "Mature" driver, there are those who think NSL on a single carriageway means 80, judging how fast the Scubee Doo passed me today on a single carriageway, plank.......




smile

Cliftonite

8,406 posts

137 months

Saturday 18th January 2014
quotequote all
The NSL sign used to mean NO speed limit!

Happy days!!!

(When it snowed every winter!)


QBee

20,904 posts

143 months

Saturday 18th January 2014
quotequote all
servantleader said:
To all the 'oldies' wink , I did not mean any offence, so I hope none was taken. However I was seriously questioning those who think that the NSL sign means 50mph on a single carriage way, and it (in my opinion) seems to be those who are older than myself.

I don't know the history of the signs but it did get me thinking that perhaps it used to mean 50mph on a single carriage way, in the 'olden days' maybe? wink
I went on a speed awareness course last year. Only two of us actually knew all the speed limits correctly, out of 22 on the course. Both of us over 50 yrs, both having taught someone to drive in the last ten years (and hence tested them on the highway code).

WD39

20,083 posts

115 months

Wednesday 5th November 2014
quotequote all
Hark said:
61 plate Suzuki 4x4 thing tonight doing 25-35mph on a winding, unlimit 60mph road. Took me 5 minutes to find somewhere to pass safely.
Exactly what I would do on that type of road. Particularly if it was an unfamiliar location.
All and sundry seem to be in a great hurry nowadays.The thing is, most are not, they just like speeding.

WD39

20,083 posts

115 months

Wednesday 5th November 2014
quotequote all
A59 one of the worst roads known to man, populated by twunts incapable of driving above 40mph, takes me days to face up to going down it during the day.



Calm down dear! Think of the stress. Since I became a '40mph driver' some years ago driving has become a pleasure again. I am relaxed and confident, best decision I have made, (driving wise). My boy racer days now seem positively dangerous.

Red Devil

13,055 posts

207 months

Wednesday 5th November 2014
quotequote all
Who me said:
Touriste Englisi(Kent/essex) was a summer hazard .
Oi! I was beginning to like you until you came out with that one. shoot

Besides, I avoid the summer months (don't fancy being a meal for those pesky Highland biting midges)

Plus I doubt I'll be a rolling road block. wink