Is overtaking a lost art?
Discussion
Second Best said:
I daily a 17bhp car that, on a good day, can hit 55mph after over 25 seconds of brutal acceleration.
I still overtake people who think 37mph is a sensible speed on a well-sighted piece of road. Of course, when we get to the next village and I drop to 30mph, as is the prevailing speed limit, they're tailgaiting me as if I'm the hazard. As expected I normally drop my speed as I'd rather not a 2 ton Land rover shunt me if I need to brake for any reason (e.g. someone stepping into the road or a horse around the blind corner, where it's 30 for a reason) at any speed more than acceptable in a 30. Particularly a 2 ton Evoque is about 4 times the mass of my car and I, so there'll only be one loser in that scenario (well, a few if there's a horse on the road).
Whilst I have to plan my overtakes well and, touch wood, I've not come across someone accelerating to block me in my 17bhp vehicle, there's still some finesse and reading the road required. To be honest, 90% of cars I overtake in that are Ubers, who have no f
king idea what they're doing anyway.
I also drive a 567bhp weekend car, in which overtakes are unsurprisingly very easy and I can dispatch a train quite quickly. I assume because of the noise (112dB, unmodified) people like to flash their lights and throw me a small road party, but sadly I'm normally too far up the road to participate in their impromptu disco. I've had one or two Insignias / Transits etc try and speed up to block my overtake, but I expect they realise that the speed difference isn't worth fighting.
My local area is mainly older folks, which is double-edged. Some of them are happy to keep their speed up through the local NSLs, if they're doing 55+ then I'll happily sit a respectable distance behind them, but you also get those who do 37mph everywhere. Thankfully, for now, the former is more common than the latter.
My area has lots of older folks also. It is rarely worth overtaking as there is a plentiful supply further up the road. Unless traffic is very light and luck is on your side, the benefits of overtaking on single carriageway roads are negligible.I still overtake people who think 37mph is a sensible speed on a well-sighted piece of road. Of course, when we get to the next village and I drop to 30mph, as is the prevailing speed limit, they're tailgaiting me as if I'm the hazard. As expected I normally drop my speed as I'd rather not a 2 ton Land rover shunt me if I need to brake for any reason (e.g. someone stepping into the road or a horse around the blind corner, where it's 30 for a reason) at any speed more than acceptable in a 30. Particularly a 2 ton Evoque is about 4 times the mass of my car and I, so there'll only be one loser in that scenario (well, a few if there's a horse on the road).
Whilst I have to plan my overtakes well and, touch wood, I've not come across someone accelerating to block me in my 17bhp vehicle, there's still some finesse and reading the road required. To be honest, 90% of cars I overtake in that are Ubers, who have no f
king idea what they're doing anyway.I also drive a 567bhp weekend car, in which overtakes are unsurprisingly very easy and I can dispatch a train quite quickly. I assume because of the noise (112dB, unmodified) people like to flash their lights and throw me a small road party, but sadly I'm normally too far up the road to participate in their impromptu disco. I've had one or two Insignias / Transits etc try and speed up to block my overtake, but I expect they realise that the speed difference isn't worth fighting.
My local area is mainly older folks, which is double-edged. Some of them are happy to keep their speed up through the local NSLs, if they're doing 55+ then I'll happily sit a respectable distance behind them, but you also get those who do 37mph everywhere. Thankfully, for now, the former is more common than the latter.
You actual arrival time is dictated by traffic conditions.
911hope said:
My area has lots of older folks also. It is rarely worth overtaking as there is a plentiful supply further up the road. Unless traffic is very light and luck is on your side, the benefits of overtaking on single carriageway roads are negligible.
You actual arrival time is dictated by traffic conditions.
It's got to be quite heavy traffic or quite a short journey for that to apply, I think. Travelling any distance at 2/3 the speed you could safely and legally use is obviously going to add you your journey time. If you can safely and legally overtake there's really no reason not to, and by not building up a queue you are avoiding impeding people who do wish to travel faster. You actual arrival time is dictated by traffic conditions.
Personally, I also dislike following slow drivers.
911hope said:
My area has lots of older folks also. It is rarely worth overtaking as there is a plentiful supply further up the road. Unless traffic is very light and luck is on your side, the benefits of overtaking on single carriageway roads are negligible.
You actual arrival time is dictated by traffic conditions.
Overtaking isn't solely about journey time. You actual arrival time is dictated by traffic conditions.
otolith said:
911hope said:
My area has lots of older folks also. It is rarely worth overtaking as there is a plentiful supply further up the road. Unless traffic is very light and luck is on your side, the benefits of overtaking on single carriageway roads are negligible.
You actual arrival time is dictated by traffic conditions.
It's got to be quite heavy traffic or quite a short journey for that to apply, I think. Travelling any distance at 2/3 the speed you could safely and legally use is obviously going to add you your journey time. If you can safely and legally overtake there's really no reason not to, and by not building up a queue you are avoiding impeding people who do wish to travel faster. You actual arrival time is dictated by traffic conditions.
Personally, I also dislike following slow drivers.
So what if the benefit is negligible? The cost is less than negligible, and there is clearly some benefit in resuming your original speed or you wouldn't have been doing that speed in the first place.
The only real effort is in reading the road well enough to spot the opportunity, which you should be doing anyway.
I live near a couple of level crossings. In the few years I've lived here I can no longer count (on my fingers) the number of times I've overtaken someone and parked up in town to do my business, and the slow drivers have been stopped by the level crossings, sometimes adding over 10 minutes to a journey.
I'm not a betting man but I would wager that at least once, I've overtaken someone, beat the level crossing, parked up, got my milk or whatever, and then been waiting at the other side of the crossing before they've even passed.
Would I overtake into some busy town or London traffic? Debateable, but let's say no for the time being. Would I overtake in a rural area? Yes, 100%, every time without question.
I'm not a betting man but I would wager that at least once, I've overtaken someone, beat the level crossing, parked up, got my milk or whatever, and then been waiting at the other side of the crossing before they've even passed.
Would I overtake into some busy town or London traffic? Debateable, but let's say no for the time being. Would I overtake in a rural area? Yes, 100%, every time without question.
RedAndy said:
2gins said:
And this is why one needs 400 bhp.
400bhp not needed for most overtakes, but 400bhp thing just means you can dither, decide not to overtake, then decide to do it after all, and still make it past.PhilAsia said:
911hope said:
Second Best said:
. Would I overtake in a rural area? Yes, 100%, every time without question.
100% hmm. Can we assume that's after checking it is safe to overtake?otolith said:
Mine have 220-340bhp (albeit the 220 is dragging under 900kg) and I think the remaining overtakes more power would facilitate are well into diminishing returns.
Mine is 100 bhp, still get a fair few opportunities to overtake. When I get to drive my parents' Audi, which is 200 bhp, it's a beastie. One advantage was being able to keep power in reserve, whereas in my Mini it's a question of planning and revving the engine up. Although not as much as it was in the 60 bhp Citigo I learnt to drive in.I occasionally overtake but I do feel like other road users don't like it. Not sure why. I also worry about webcam heroes submitting footage to the boys in blue. So i do feel naughty or as if i am pushing my luck when I do it.
I recently bought a Van. I was driving it recently and someone over took me. I was actually quite pleased. It definitely gave me a sense that its not just me overtaking. Other people are clearly doing it too.
I recently bought a Van. I was driving it recently and someone over took me. I was actually quite pleased. It definitely gave me a sense that its not just me overtaking. Other people are clearly doing it too.
ATM said:
I occasionally overtake but I do feel like other road users don't like it. Not sure why. I also worry about webcam heroes submitting footage to the boys in blue. So i do feel naughty or as if i am pushing my luck when I do it.
I've felt exactly the same as this too, and we certainly live in a different world now to what I've been used to in the past for sure. Life is all a bit too safe for me now, but I also appreciate that it is just the way it is now with all the health and safety stuff etc though.
Driving home last night in a NSL I caught up with 5 cars, the lead car restricting us to 35mph tops. There were multiple opportunities for the cars near the front of the queue to overtake but didn't take the opportunity. At one point I could have got past them all but decided to stay put. Through the next two villages most of the cars peeled off and I was behind the car second in the queue. Towards the end of the second village there were parked cars on our side of the road and the vehicle overtook them causing an oncoming vehicle to stop! I caught back up with it in a NSL and overtook, resulting in him flashing his lights, fking wker!
king wker!The main reason I overtake is economy, I have a 18 mile twisty single carriageway before I get to dualled part.
Sitting behind someone who brakes hard for every corner then dawdles round it before powering off ruins my mpg, easier to overtake on a straight, consume less fuel therefore saving the planet.
And yes said dawdler will then arrive on my rear bumper as they proceed to do 40 through the 30 limit villages, cowardly move to speed in a high risk area
Sitting behind someone who brakes hard for every corner then dawdles round it before powering off ruins my mpg, easier to overtake on a straight, consume less fuel therefore saving the planet.
And yes said dawdler will then arrive on my rear bumper as they proceed to do 40 through the 30 limit villages, cowardly move to speed in a high risk area
The reason a lot of people will not overtake is just confidence and a lack of understanding of the speed limits. They just guess instead of really knowing. Vans and trucks aside who are restricted to different limits obviously.
We all know now that the speed limit on a non dual carriageway NSA road is about 45mph at a guess, so if you overtake people doing that you are rightly flashed for doing wrong.
I am seriously convinced that the reason some people do this is that they either enjoy having a clear view ahead, or actually enjoy being at the front of a queue.
Have you also noticed that the vast majority of times if they are coming up to a roundabout or traffic lights they nearly ALWAYS get through while everyone else has to stop? It is the traffic Gods.
We all know now that the speed limit on a non dual carriageway NSA road is about 45mph at a guess, so if you overtake people doing that you are rightly flashed for doing wrong.
I am seriously convinced that the reason some people do this is that they either enjoy having a clear view ahead, or actually enjoy being at the front of a queue.
Have you also noticed that the vast majority of times if they are coming up to a roundabout or traffic lights they nearly ALWAYS get through while everyone else has to stop? It is the traffic Gods.
LukeBrown66 said:
so if you overtake people doing that you are rightly flashed for doing wrong
Whoah hang onWho decides if someone else is doing wrong or right?
Who decides who can tell someone else they are doing wrong or right?
Flashes are simply aggressive. They choose to flash other road users because they think they have the right or they know better. This is aggression and arrogance and just bad form if you ask Me.
It is impossible to know what someone else is thinking so we can only guess. I also have a simple rule which is to never try to guess what an idiot is thinking because by definition they are an idiot so we can never know or even really guess what they might be thinking.
Flashing is just a form of road rage. Flashers might argue it is not or it is something else but it is still road rage. Road rage is the act of trying to tell another road user something with actions so without language or words. If you flash someone who then tries to stop suddenly to discuss this flashing further with You then who is in the right and who is in the wrong.
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