Being overtaken...

[Pints]

ORD said:

Number 1 is is usually explained by 2 things - (1) speed limits stop them going much faster and (2) driving behind someone who can't quite bring himself to drive at the limit is irritating. I will quite often overtake someone who is driving at 54 in an NSL, not least because that drops to 45 around bends and up hills. I'll then pull back in and drive at 60, and he'll usually speed up because the overtake woke him up, at which point there is little or no speed difference.

It's useful to have a spotter up front.

[8potdave]

Someone nearly killed me once by doing this. I was in almost the same situation other than the conditions were clear, pulled out to overtake the first car and he completely closed the gap between him and the car he was following. Luckily for me the front car saw what he was doing and hit the brakes so I could get by them safely. I was almost past when a young lad in a Saxo came round the corner at well over 90mph and almost clipped the front of my car. It was a hairy situation completely caused by this moron. Because the front car braked I had no option to duck in behind them both like the OP did.

So just to avoid being overtaken this muppet thought he would endanger a load of lives.

[ToothbrushMan]

But, im not to be concerned with folk who get irritated if I choose to stay within the limit (im not talking single carriageways where your urgent progress is apparently being thwarted)thats your problem not a result of my driving. Also i think youre kidding yourself if you honestly believe that we live in a country where because somebody is doing maybe close to the limit they will lessen their overtaking velocity merely to stay within the law. we can all be deliberately obtuse in order to come out looking like butter wouldnt melt

Edited by ToothbrushMan on Saturday 27th September 08:16

[ToothbrushMan]

i think too there is an element of taunting or borderline provocation of cars in front behind this "waking up" of drivers theory some people chuck about like theyre wide awake and everyone they absolutely has to get past is half asleep.....a subtle dig but no cigar i'm afraid

i think most overtakes could be done without fuss or fear if the press on type of overtaker just calmed themselves down a bit and didnt bully their way around people and we all know the difference.

[mclwanB]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=28&...

We've been here many times before (android being a pain about links but google overtaker haters).

How about a police contribution to road safety by running a tv campaign highlighting that it's dangerous driving (with the associated penalties)? Sorry, I forgot they're being told they must correct the heinous- but easily provable- crime of 41mph in a 40mph limit with no houses/ hazards like the only time you see them around here, a practice which has literally saved nobody....

[ToothbrushMan]

I think drivers in the mould of Ord above would would be far less irritated if I reduced my speed by say 5mph in order that his ilk can overtake me and remain within the limit. How uncharitable of me to drive at 55 or 57 in a 60 or 65 or 67 in a 70! in my view if you want to get past me to gain 2 or 3mph then youre probably the sort of driver that would be irritated by anything other drivers do as that simply woukdnt quite be good enough to match their own

[Cliftonite]

ToothbrushMan said:

Overtake me if you wish.Thats fine.Gripes I have though are;-


< s n i p >


4. people who move for an overtake but then just hover in your blind spot. youre thinking what are you doing sat out back there.....do it if youre going to do it then dont fanny about playing silly beggars

.

(4)


It is good practice to pull out first (to get a good look) before accelerating.

[mph1977]

Cliftonite said:

ToothbrushMan said:

Overtake me if you wish.Thats fine.Gripes I have though are;-


< s n i p >


4. people who move for an overtake but then just hover in your blind spot. youre thinking what are you doing sat out back there.....do it if youre going to do it then dont fanny about playing silly beggars

.

(4)


It is good practice to pull out first (to get a good look) before accelerating.

here in lays theproblem , those who have never been taught how to overtake , or whose lazy ADI only taught 'banana' overtakes can;t process this if they actually notice , although nothing is quite as bad as the person who wakes up as they are beign overtaken and promptly accelerates ...

[Allyc85]

I was in the Swiss Alps last week, and most people indicated and waved me past when I caught them. Such a nice change from the UK where most people only drive for themselves!

Personally I couldn't care less if someone wants to go faster than me, and if possible I try and help them get past.

[MC Bodge]

mph1977 said:

Cliftonite said:

ToothbrushMan said:

Overtake me if you wish.Thats fine.Gripes I have though are;-


< s n i p >


4. people who move for an overtake but then just hover in your blind spot. youre thinking what are you doing sat out back there.....do it if youre going to do it then dont fanny about playing silly beggars

.

(4)


It is good practice to pull out first (to get a good look) before accelerating.

here in lays theproblem , those who have never been taught how to overtake , or whose lazy ADI only taught 'banana' overtakes can;t process this if they actually notice ,

It is fine in theory, and I do it in practice on my reasonably pokey motorbike.

In a typical small-petrol-engined car or mid-sized-diesel car, summoning up the required acceleration isn't always that easy. A semi-banana/semi-have-a-look (with an eye out for the car in front suddenly slowing) is a reasonable approach.

[CapnSlow]

I get some aggressive gesticulations when I pull out a little to have a look to see if it's safe to overtake, only to see a car, pull in behind the overtakee and not go for it. FFS I didn't overtake. Didn't risk lives. Did assess the situation as not safe. Did do the right thing. Luckily I have a very calm temperament (occasionally) and just ignore the dawdler and her gesticulations. Well it's often a her.

[chrispj]

Cliftonite said:

.

(4)


It is good practice to pull out first (to get a good look) before accelerating.

If you need to do this it's normally a good sign you were far too close to the car in front to start with. Ideally by the time you pull out (to look and go) you'd be be going 15 - 20 mph faster than the car in front, closing fast but with enough space to pull back in and slow down if something has appeared. Minimizes the amount of time you're on the wrong side of the road. Also cuts down the amount of time the overtakee has to wake up and do something stupid... Staying further back you can normally see much further past the vehicle in front and spot the gaps earlier. It was the only method that made overtaking possible (or remotely safe) in my asthmatic old 1.4 82ps Astra that was my 1st car, the theory still holds true in my Lotus and my slightly tweaked turbo-petrol Skoda. Mind you in the Lotus you have to stay well back to see past these massive BMW X5s and the like...

[MC Bodge]

chrispj said:

If you need to do this it's normally a good sign you were far too close to the car in front to start with. Ideally by the time you pull out (to look and go) you'd be be going 15 - 20 mph faster than the car in front, closing fast but with enough space to pull back in and slow down if something has appeared. Minimizes the amount of time you're on the wrong side of the road. Also cuts down the amount of time the overtakee has to wake up and do something stupid... Staying further back you can normally see much further past the vehicle in front and spot the gaps earlier. It was the only method that made overtaking possible (or remotely safe) in my asthmatic old 1.4 82ps Astra that was my 1st car, the theory still holds true in my Lotus and my slightly tweaked turbo-petrol Skoda. Mind you in the Lotus you have to stay well back to see past these massive BMW X5s and the like...

The danger is that the "overtakee" might suddenly brake hard. Unlikely, but it can happen, and you would need to lose an extra 15-20mph.

[Horse Pop]

In the Haynes Advanced Driving Manual John Lyon recommends a triangular overtake where you pull out and assess first. I think it relies on having a fairly grunty engine mind you.

[Neith]

I had an annoying one recently.

I was on a dual carriageway which I'd joined from a roundabout. A sliproad merges onto the dual carriageway. I was in the right-hand lane because a passat and a caddy van were in the left. A bit further down the road is another roundabout where I need to turn off left.

The passat and the van are crawling along so I decide to go past and tuck into the left lane after them. Passat driver decides to floor it. I'm already at the limit and don't fancy speeding so I decide to drop back a bit as there's a big space between passat and the van. The van driver then decides to tailgate the passat to block me from getting into the lane, despite me indicating to show I want to pull in. They both repeat this slow down/speed up stunt until the next roundabout, effectively blocking me in the right hand lane.

I indicated right on the roundabout, went all the way round and turned off where I needed…ahead of the passat who had to wait for me to turn off

[MC Bodge]

Where you, perchance, "cutting it a bit fine"?

[CapnSlow]

Neith said:

I had an annoying one recently.

I was on a dual carriageway which I'd joined from a roundabout. A sliproad merges onto the dual carriageway. I was in the right-hand lane because a passat and a caddy van were in the left. A bit further down the road is another roundabout where I need to turn off left.

The passat and the van are crawling along so I decide to go past and tuck into the left lane after them. Passat driver decides to floor it. I'm already at the limit and don't fancy speeding so I decide to drop back a bit as there's a big space between passat and the van. The van driver then decides to tailgate the passat to block me from getting into the lane, despite me indicating to show I want to pull in. They both repeat this slow down/speed up stunt until the next roundabout, effectively blocking me in the right hand lane.

I indicated right on the roundabout, went all the way round and turned off where I neededâ?¦ahead of the passat who had to wait for me to turn off

You had a couple of nobs to deal with. Well done for getting past them

[Neith]

MC Bodge said:

Where you, perchance, "cutting it a bit fine"?

Nah, there's a decent run of dual carriageway between the two roundabouts. The adjoining sliproad that the Passat and van joined on is a little after the 1st roundabout. Unfortunately it was about 5:30pm so traffic is normally busy anyway, not helped by people refusing to let anyone sort into the correct lane.

Because the roundabout I joined from leads you into the right-hand lane (the sliproad becoming the left) there's no option but to switch into the left lane after the sliproad. The sliproad joins from a more major dual carriageway so at rush hour it's normally a constant stream of traffic trying to get into the right-hand lane for the upcoming roundabout while everyone who joined from the previous roundabout is trying to get into the left lane.

[ORD]

Driving at 54 on straights and 45 around bends and up hills in an NSL is bad driving. If someone driving like that is properly awake, he is either not competent to drive or deliberately holding up traffic.

I can't for the life of me understand people who are upset by being overtaken. A dangerous overtake, sure, but a safe and courteous overtake shouldn't leave you feeling all picked on!

[CB2152]

I tend to use a 10-20% guideline. If they're doing 20% under the limit, it's probably going to be quite easy to pass in a reasonable time without breaking the law (at least too much).

Depending on the road and conditions, I'll only seriously consider an overtake if the car(s) in front are doing 10-20% under the speed limit.
For example, the other day I was following a line of 4 cars, the front car being a learner driver. We came off a roundabout onto a single carriageway road with a 40 limit. The line stayed at 34mph, so not quite 20%, but considering the road was dead straight for 0.34 miles before a set of traffic lights, and visibility was excellent, it was plenty safe enough. Hence I pulled into the opposing lane, set cruise control to 44mph and drove past the whole line of cars. Pulled back into our lane and reached the traffic lights just as they went Amber. The line of cars behind ended up waiting at the lights whereas I got to them and was able to go through.

That was quite satisfying, albeit a bit odd being on the other side of the road for so long with nothing coming the other way