People that drive 50 on motorways - why?

[MonkeyRacing]

Same day couriers.... I used to flirt between 53mph (2250rpm) and 58mph (2500rpm). Those set speeds though so as not to annoy the wagons. When every penny counts it does make a difference. 70+ mpg at 53, 65ish at 58.

I apologise now for anyone I've held up!

[MonkeyRacing]

I will just add 58 is my minimum now, 53 just feels like it takes to damn long to get anywhere!

[robinessex]

giantdefy said:

J4CKO said:

I think part of the problem is that there is an expectation that cars will be doing a certain speed, when drivers go too far either side, you get problems, you get Mr 520D late for a meeting doing 95 and Doris doing 45 there is a 50 mph speed differential, crashes occur,

And the one at fault is Doris doing the speed she wishes not the 520D doing 25mph over the limit????

Correct!

[Artey]

giantdefy said:

J4CKO said:

I think part of the problem is that there is an expectation that cars will be doing a certain speed, when drivers go too far either side, you get problems, you get Mr 520D late for a meeting doing 95 and Doris doing 45 there is a 50 mph speed differential, crashes occur,

And the one at fault is Doris doing the speed she wishes not the 520D doing 25mph over the limit????

I'd rather be surrounded by people who fly above speed limit as they will most likely be focused and have awareness of their surroundings, than silly tits who think that doing 45mph releases them from any responsibility (cause they aren't speeding).

[Pete317]

Artey said:

giantdefy said:

J4CKO said:

I think part of the problem is that there is an expectation that cars will be doing a certain speed, when drivers go too far either side, you get problems, you get Mr 520D late for a meeting doing 95 and Doris doing 45 there is a 50 mph speed differential, crashes occur,

And the one at fault is Doris doing the speed she wishes not the 520D doing 25mph over the limit????

I'd rather be surrounded by people who fly above speed limit as they will most likely be focused and have awareness of their surroundings, than silly tits who think that doing 45mph releases them from any responsibility (cause they aren't speeding).

Plus, Mr 520D is more likely to spot Doris from a long way off than Mr switched-off 70.

If anyone's worried about speed differentials, they should stay away from NSL roads with their 120mph speed differential. Even urban two-way streets have a 60mph speed differential.

[Allyc85]

Another thing I hate on the motorway is people braking for slip roads in lane 1, when they were barely doing 60mph as it was! Do t hey really think they won't make it and will go skidding past? Or that they will never stop before the junction? Bloody incompetent muppets!

[GC8]

jmorgan said:

Work around them, not hard. Its the ones that play along the 54-57 mph that are a pain.

Who accelerate as you start to overtake them, only to be caught within half a mile, dawdling in the nearside lane again. Better than in the middle lane, I suppose.

[Digby]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Digby said:

The kind of thread that makes you wonder what some of the posters are doing on a motorist forum.

"I will NOT travel at, or near, motorway speeds on a motorway....now, where can I sign up to tell the world of this?"

PistonFeds - Speed never matters

This is the kind of drivel that makes me despair of motoring forums, that everyone is possessed with either speed or acceleration.

You can be a motoring enthusiast into bubble cars, 70s mopeds, etc. My mate rides a 1927 Harley. It weights a tonne and has about 15 hp I think. It would never get anywhere near 70. It takes half a mile to stop from about 40. Is he not allowed to be a PH?

So your justification for rubbishing my comment is that your friend has a Harley which can't stop and some people drive bubble cars and ride mopeds?

Drivel overload.

[MikeDelta]

If you can't beat 'em, etc.

Motorways are less of a pain
in the anal orifice at 50 to 55 (GPS)

55 rather than 60 saves me a lot of overtaking
and means I keep company with truck drivers,
who, by and large, are the best.

In round figures, 55 gives me 18mpg,
60 only 15.

Esceptico said:

Why do people do this? It is so annoying having cars driving at 50-55 such that lorries are forced to overtake (and hold everyone else up whilst they do). Is it for fuel economy reasons? But surely driving 55 rather than 60 can't make much of a difference. Or do they lack confidence? But even then, if I were lacking in confidence I'm not sure I would want to be overtaken by trucks and lorries all the time.

[Justin Case]

Are there that many frightened drivers on the motorway in any case? At least two friends of Mrs C avoid driving on motorways because they don't like being passed by trucks. The fact that neither of them know the limit for trucks is 56mph may be a contributory factor.

All drivers aren't experts so I don't mind them being a bit cautious. What does annoy me is the drivers doing 50 to save a few miserable pennies. If you can't afford to drive at a safe 70 on a motorway then you can't afford a car, that's it. I normally drive at about 70-75, a little slower if I have the children with me; this seems reasonable as I don't tend to get mixed up with the slow stuff nor have to keep braking.

[Jaguar steve]

I do this often. Position myself some 100m or so behind a Lorryist, flip the cruise on then relax and just watch all the bumper to bumper carnage, stupidity and aggression occurring in lanes 2 and 3 whilst enjoying some nice music. It's all good - sometimes even like having your own private motorway all to yourself.

[Riktoid]

Jaguar steve said:

I do this often. Position myself some 100m or so behind a Lorryist, flip the cruise on then relax and just watch all the bumper to bumper carnage, stupidity and aggression occurring in lanes 2 and 3 whilst enjoying some nice music. It's all good - sometimes even like having your own private motorway all to yourself.

Carnage mostly caused by you.

[McVities]

I once had a puncture on the A689 at approx 3:45pm on a Sunday afternoon. This was while taking the scenic route between the M6 and the A1, my final destination for the day was Maidstone. At this point in time, I only had a space-saver, thus the rest of the journey was completed at 50mph.
I was very aware of the speed differential between myself and other road users, so tried to make it as easy on them as possible.

I now carry a full-sized spare always!!

[X5TUU]

Jaguar steve said:

I do this often. Position myself some 100m or so behind a Lorryist, flip the cruise on then relax and just watch all the bumper to bumper carnage, stupidity and aggression occurring in lanes 2 and 3 whilst enjoying some nice music. It's all good - sometimes even like having your own private motorway all to yourself.

Tried this theory out on my way back Birmingham on Friday and it was quite relaxing and was nice not hustling along and having to account for the many idiots in lanes 2/3 (plus managed to eek 38mpg from the Q7, hand calc, was stunned!)

As a warning to others I'll be journeying to Manchester from Newcastle this Friday and will be doing the same ... Be warned!!

[WD39]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

50-55 on a motorway is not dangerously slow. As long as they are in the inside lane. I drive on the motorway daily to and from work and I'm never in a hurry, so tend to sit at about 60. Big difference in fuel economy over 70. I'm in the inside lane doing no one any harm, yet people seem to get very irate about my speed. Which always amuses me.

Well said and shame on the iraters.

(Please)S.dab

Edited by WD39 on Tuesday 28th June 18:28

[WD39]

deltashad said:

robinessex said:

As an ex BSM qualified driving instructor, it was frowned upon if you didn't drive AT the speed limit on any road, unless there was a good reason not to.

Exactly what I was thinking, you are encouraged to accelerate to the speed limit and keep up with the flow of traffic.

If you're that worried about your MPG I think you've bought the wrong car and need to post a 'another what car' thread.

Just frowned upon, or a fail? Frowned upon I can live with.

[Vi16v]

I'm sure it was classed as a minor, then that could add up to a major and fail. It's down as failure to proceed with flow and direction of traffic. Doing less than 60 is most definitely not keeping up. Those who travel too slow also tend to cause problems coming on to slip ramps and also don't move to accommodate those trying to join the road.

Trying to save fuel is no excuse. Thats just being plain awkward and I'll bet the slow drivers would fail sitting a test nowadays.

[Jaguar steve]

Riktoid said:

Jaguar steve said:

I do this often. Position myself some 100m or so behind a Lorryist, flip the cruise on then relax and just watch all the bumper to bumper carnage, stupidity and aggression occurring in lanes 2 and 3 whilst enjoying some nice music. It's all good - sometimes even like having your own private motorway all to yourself.

Carnage mostly caused by you.

I think not. You are most welcome to overtake anytime you like and I absolutely guarantee there will always be a enormous gap in front of me for you to pull into.

[spookly]

X5TUU said:

Jaguar steve said:

I do this often. Position myself some 100m or so behind a Lorryist, flip the cruise on then relax and just watch all the bumper to bumper carnage, stupidity and aggression occurring in lanes 2 and 3 whilst enjoying some nice music. It's all good - sometimes even like having your own private motorway all to yourself.

Tried this theory out on my way back Birmingham on Friday and it was quite relaxing and was nice not hustling along and having to account for the many idiots in lanes 2/3 (plus managed to eek 38mpg from the Q7, hand calc, was stunned!)

As a warning to others I'll be journeying to Manchester from Newcastle this Friday and will be doing the same ... Be warned!!

As long as you stay north of Birmingham then I don't have a problem with this

[CraigyMc]

Esceptico said:

Why do people do this? It is so annoying having cars driving at 50-55 such that lorries are forced to overtake (and hold everyone else up whilst they do). Is it for fuel economy reasons? But surely driving 55 rather than 60 can't make much of a difference. Or do they lack confidence? But even then, if I were lacking in confidence I'm not sure I would want to be overtaken by trucks and lorries all the time.

Sometimes people are ahead of schedule and would prefer to just drive slower.