Being overtaken...

[JagXJR]

Laser Sag said:

Many many years back I had a visit at home from 2 of her majesties finest following a complaint from a fellow motorist.
My heinous crime was to have overtaken 3 cars in one go which were doing 40 to 45 on a straight section of NSL road, sun shining dry.
My mistake it seems was that when I passed the final car I gave him the bird as he flashed me several times accompanied by much arm waving.

Now I admit that perhaps I shouldn't have reacted with an apparently threatening/abusive gesture but as was agreed by said officers there was nothing wrong with my manouevre except the other driver didn't like me overtaking.
It was more of a shame that as a complaint was made they had to waste their time coming and talking to me about a standard bit of motoring practice.
They did also say that even when driving around in a fully marked up patrol car they will still get people flashing them for having the audacity to overtake them.

It is a shame that more motorists can't appreciate that when driving that is what they are supposed to concentrate on DRIVING, not their passenger, the bunnies in the fields or their shopping lists etc.

Why did plod not educate them. I understand that they have to investigate the complaint, that's their job after all.

Surely this is a good chance to educate the ignorant???

[ORD]

I really think that 98% of the flashing and other nobish conduct arises from the fact that the dawdler doesn't like being woken up or distracted from texting, reading a book or whatever it is people who drive at 45mph everywhere are actually doing!

[JagXJR]

Raize said:

I don't indicate for the turn because if I did, there is a high probability that someone will turn in in front of me, then trundle at 40mph in an NSL causing me to have to overtake them. If I know that there are no decent opportunities to overtake on the road then it would be insane to take that risk.

If you did this to me, once it is apparent you are turning in you would have me cutting across in front of you. Perhaps knobish but you really should indicate. I wouldn't however hold you up as I tend to travel at the limit if safe to do so.

I adopt this approach due to the many muppets that do what you do to avoid me getting in front, then compound their knobishness by travelling slow in front of me to hold me up.

I only do it when it is safe, wouldn't want someone crashing into my treasured car with their crapmobile after all.

Doing (or not doing) something that stops others maybe doing something that you imagine they will do is a bit illogical.

[Fastdruid]

Laser Sag said:

They did also say that even when driving around in a fully marked up patrol car they will still get people flashing them for having the audacity to overtake them.

I've done a double overtake on a fully marked up patrol car plus dawdler doing 40 in a 60 before.

Was very very careful not to break the speed limit doing it though rather than my normal bury the throttle until I'm past method.

[ORD]

I'm not sure whether or not this has been mentioned already, but I find it irritating when people say that the overtaker was unnecessarily loud or fast.

If I drop into 2nd and get past as quickly as possible, it is not to be intimidating, it is because I do not trust the person I am overtaking not to (a) otherwise fail to notice that I am moving alongside and (b) drift all over the road. I don't know whether or not that helps, really, as I am essentially saying "If I overtake loudly, it's because I think you are a f+cking terrible driver"

[Pan Pan]

ORD said:

I'm not sure whether or not this has been mentioned already, but I find it irritating when people say that the overtaker was unnecessarily loud or fast.

If I drop into 2nd and get past as quickly as possible, it is not to be intimidating, it is because I do not trust the person I am overtaking not to (a) otherwise fail to notice that I am moving alongside and (b) drift all over the road. I don't know whether or not that helps, really, as I am essentially saying "If I overtake loudly, it's because I think you are a f+cking terrible driver"

Unfortunately no matter how slow they might go, ANYONE who overtakes `them' will be seen in their eyes as a reckless speeder. As posted on another similar subject, if someone does not have the ability to drive at the low set posted limits or at least at the speeds most of the drivers around them want to travel at, they need to consider if they are suited to driving a motor vehicle at all.
Any driver who allows a huge queue of (often frustrated) motorists to build up behind them, whilst the vehicles in front have disappeared off into the distance is the problem / dangerous driver on that stretch of road.

[Horse Pop]

ORD said:

I'm not sure whether or not this has been mentioned already, but I find it irritating when people say that the overtaker was unnecessarily loud or fast.

If I drop into 2nd and get past as quickly as possible, it is not to be intimidating, it is because I do not trust the person I am overtaking not to (a) otherwise fail to notice that I am moving alongside and (b) drift all over the road. I don't know whether or not that helps, really, as I am essentially saying "If I overtake loudly, it's because I think you are a f+cking terrible driver"

Very much this. Just as a matter of safety I don't like to mess about.

When I do edge out carefully, that's when people start wandering over the line.

Edited by Horse Pop on Tuesday 30th September 13:53

[Pan Pan]

Horse Pop said:

ORD said:

I'm not sure whether or not this has been mentioned already, but I find it irritating when people say that the overtaker was unnecessarily loud or fast.

If I drop into 2nd and get past as quickly as possible, it is not to be intimidating, it is because I do not trust the person I am overtaking not to (a) otherwise fail to notice that I am moving alongside and (b) drift all over the road. I don't know whether or not that helps, really, as I am essentially saying "If I overtake loudly, it's because I think you are a f+cking terrible driver"

Very much this. Just as a matter of safety I don't like to mess about.

When I do edge out carefully, that's when people start wandering over the line.

Edited by Horse Pop on Tuesday 30th September 13:53

Evo called this reducing the TED (Time Exposed to Danger) to the absolute minimum. I have seen some overtakers pull out at a dawdle, (even when vehicles are approaching in the opposite direction) Perhaps they don't realize their throttle pedal has more travel than the half inch they `normally' use??

[ORD]

Pan Pan said:

Evo called this reducing the TED (Time Exposed to Danger) to the absolute minimum. I have seen some overtakers pull out at a dawdle, (even when vehicles are approaching in the opposite direction) Perhaps they don't realize their throttle pedal has more travel than the half inch they `normally' use??

A lot of modern turbo cars provide about 90% throttle at about 1/2 of the pedal travel (or at least feel that way), so pressing the pedal harder might just result in disappointment when you expect all that spare power to come and it doesn't!

[Liquid Knight]

Autodysfunctional Egotism. Some people simply can not take being passed on the road. Especially if it's by what they deem to be an "inferior" vehicle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQHWA8hgj_A

It happens all the time when I drive my Panda, sometimes when I drive my Punto but never in my X1/9.

[shoestring7]

I've just got back from over 1500 miles on the bike from one end of the country to the other and back again. I've notice two things; the first is the number of new 50mph limits on normal A and B roads. My satnav maps are about a year old, and there were miles of roads from Sussex to Argyll that the satnav marked as 60mph, whereas the roadsigns were 50mph - often for no clear reason.

Second is the almost universal diving into the kerb as soon as my bike's headlight appears in a car's RVM, presumably to allow me past - even if there's on-coming traffic. That's very nice (although I'd like to choose where I overtake) but I can't think that this is an outbreak of good manners, do they expect all bikers to follow them home and eat their babies?

SS7

[Mr2Mike]

theboss said:

I agree with you for the most part, especially about lack of any consideration and forward planning, however the lack of identifiable spaces is (IMHO) a part of the problem and one that we can all influence positively if we're ever 'in' the queue and being overtaken.

The bottom line is only properly stty drivers make a maneuver that relies, at the outset, on other people creating a bail out strategy for them.

[Pan Pan]

ORD said:

Pan Pan said:

Evo called this reducing the TED (Time Exposed to Danger) to the absolute minimum. I have seen some overtakers pull out at a dawdle, (even when vehicles are approaching in the opposite direction) Perhaps they don't realize their throttle pedal has more travel than the half inch they `normally' use??

A lot of modern turbo cars provide about 90% throttle at about 1/2 of the pedal travel (or at least feel that way), so pressing the pedal harder might just result in disappointment when you expect all that spare power to come and it doesn't!

I am referring to those who even dawdle during an overtake of an even slower vehicle. If a driver commits to an overtake they should really try to carry it out as quickly and cleanly as possible, to reduce the TED to the minimum.

[mwstewart]

shoestring7 said:

Second is the almost universal diving into the kerb as soon as my bike's headlight appears in a car's RVM, presumably to allow me past - even if there's on-coming traffic. That's very nice (although I'd like to choose where I overtake) but I can't think that this is an outbreak of good manners, do they expect all bikers to follow them home and eat their babies?

I like/respect bikers as road users who do usually display good roadcraft, hence I'm always happy to pull to the side like this.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth

[Liquid Knight]

Pan Pan said:

ORD said:

Pan Pan said:

Evo called this reducing the TED (Time Exposed to Danger) to the absolute minimum. I have seen some overtakers pull out at a dawdle, (even when vehicles are approaching in the opposite direction) Perhaps they don't realize their throttle pedal has more travel than the half inch they `normally' use??

A lot of modern turbo cars provide about 90% throttle at about 1/2 of the pedal travel (or at least feel that way), so pressing the pedal harder might just result in disappointment when you expect all that spare power to come and it doesn't!

I am referring to those who even dawdle during an overtake of an even slower vehicle. If a driver commits to an overtake they should really try to carry it out as quickly and cleanly as possible, to reduce the TED to the minimum.

But if the difference is the velocity of the two vehicles in that example is so negligible why bother overtaking in the first place?

I see it a lot on dual carriageways when one truck is limited to 50mph and the other is limited to 53mph the pass takes getting on for a mile and a half to complete from two second behind to two seconds in front and in the mean time there's a procession of impatient drivers waiting pass both trucks.

On a single carriageway taking TED into consideration overtaking anything with less than a 5-10mph difference just so you can get to the next roundabout/junction/set of lights a few seconds sooner is idiotic.

[Liquid Knight]

Overtaking Mr Average annoys me as well.

The other day in a sixty zone, clear road, dry conditions perfect light a Land Rover Discovery was sat at 48mph. So I passed safely and carried on to sixty. A few miles later I slowed for a forty zone and Mr Average was a good distance behind me. By the end of the forty he was on my back bumper, waving, looking to overtake, flashing his headlights. One overtake attempt into a blind bend and nearly hit a cyclist head on. We got to the end of the forty zone, I accelerated back to sixty and left him behind again.

Seriously I wish I had a rear view camera instead of just a front one as it was some of the most stupid driving I have ever seen on a public road.

[mph1977]

Pan Pan said:

ORD said:

Pan Pan said:

Evo called this reducing the TED (Time Exposed to Danger) to the absolute minimum. I have seen some overtakers pull out at a dawdle, (even when vehicles are approaching in the opposite direction) Perhaps they don't realize their throttle pedal has more travel than the half inch they `normally' use??

A lot of modern turbo cars provide about 90% throttle at about 1/2 of the pedal travel (or at least feel that way), so pressing the pedal harder might just result in disappointment when you expect all that spare power to come and it doesn't!

I am referring to those who even dawdle during an overtake of an even slower vehicle. If a driver commits to an overtake they should really try to carry it out as quickly and cleanly as possible, to reduce the TED to the minimum.

i'd agree with that but it's not a speeders charter if you have to go over the speed limit or the speedlimit + a couple of MPH more to make the overtake you have picked the wrong time and/or place...

[ORD]

mph1977 said:

i'd agree with that but it's not a speeders charter if you have to go over the speed limit or the speedlimit + a couple of MPH more to make the overtake you have picked the wrong time and/or place...

I think it would take the world's worst cop to take that view.

[Mr2Mike]

mph1977 said:

i'd agree with that but it's not a speeders charter if you have to go over the speed limit or the speedlimit + a couple of MPH more to make the overtake you have picked the wrong time and/or place...

Can't agree. You take the opportunities given to you and if someone can make a safe overtake by briefly exceeding some arbitrary limit rather than having to sit behind a queue of clueless sheep for god knows how many miles, then I have no problem with that whatsoever.

mph1977 said:

absolute hoot to overtake when i ran a bug eyer scorpio with the 2.3 16 v

Hmm, sounds like you would explode from joy if you ever drove a car with some actual performance.

[mph1977]

Mr2Mike said:

mph1977 said:

i'd agree with that but it's not a speeders charter if you have to go over the speed limit or the speedlimit + a couple of MPH more to make the overtake you have picked the wrong time and/or place...

Can't agree. You take the opportunities given to you and if someone can make a safe overtake by briefly exceeding some arbitrary limit rather than having to sit behind a queue of clueless sheep for god knows how many miles, then I have no problem with that whatsoever.

unfortunately the law and the vast majority of advanced driving texts / training for those without exemptions doesn't.

your arrogant assertion is " the law doesn't apply to me i'm far too important / i have such leet skillz " ...

This is the second most dangerous type of driver on the road after the catatonic steering wheel operative as they don;t have egos which write cheques that their vehicle and/or driving skills can't cash with the consequent on costs in disruption, acute and rehab treatment , ongoing care etc etc etc.

Mr2Mike said:

mph1977 said:

absolute hoot to overtake when i ran a bug eyer scorpio with the 2.3 16 v

Hmm, sounds like you would explode from joy if you ever drove a car with some actual performance.

people expect a performance car to overtake them they don;t expect an aging barge to , nor a small car with more torque than the average executive car of 20 years ago

Edited by mph1977 on Tuesday 30th September 22:53