Why can nobody overtake?
Discussion
A few years ago, I had fun driving my GTI PP on wide B roads with no oncoming traffic or sharp bends. However, some drivers were going as slow as 40mph in a 60 zone. I overtook one car and left a 5 car length space, but the driver behind me seemed annoyed. I don't understand why people in this country have a culture of queuing and not overtaking when it's safe to do so.
I appreciate that there are both learner drivers and inexperienced drivers, and I certainly don't intimidate or tailgate anyone. However, overtaking is a normal part of driving and should not cause undue stress.
I appreciate that there are both learner drivers and inexperienced drivers, and I certainly don't intimidate or tailgate anyone. However, overtaking is a normal part of driving and should not cause undue stress.
KTMsm said:
Piginapoke said:
The main issue with the A14 is the lorries, it really needs to be 3 lanes not 2. Just relax and get where you’re going?
It was a 4 hour trip each way at 70Less at 77 and a lot more at 60
Speed matching of trucks is intentional which is why they take miles to overtake each other. Cars could be next stuck against 70mph for miles on end
bigothunter said:
Your speedo might show 60 but trucks are hard limited at 56mph. Some operators set their limiters lower (typically 52mph). Trucks can go faster than 56 downhill but most drivers apply the brakes to prevent 'overspeed' events being recorded on their tachographs.
Speed matching of trucks is intentional which is why they take miles to overtake each other. Cars could be next stuck against 70mph for miles on end
I drive by GPSSpeed matching of trucks is intentional which is why they take miles to overtake each other. Cars could be next stuck against 70mph for miles on end
It was the cars driving in the overtaking lane at 60-65 !
I wasn't flashing until there was a decent size gap of a few hundred metres, the problem is when there is a line of say 4 - the other 3 following may not be happy doing 60 but unless they demonstrate this to the driver in front, we're all stuck
KTMsm said:
It was the cars driving in the overtaking lane at 60-65 !
I wasn't flashing until there was a decent size gap of a few hundred metres, the problem is when there is a line of say 4 - the other 3 following may not be happy doing 60 but unless they demonstrate this to the driver in front, we're all stuck
With so much emphasis on speed and rigid enforcement of (often lowered) speed limits, 60-65 is about the 'going rate' on dual carriageways. We all need to adjust our sights downwards and anticipated journey times upwards I wasn't flashing until there was a decent size gap of a few hundred metres, the problem is when there is a line of say 4 - the other 3 following may not be happy doing 60 but unless they demonstrate this to the driver in front, we're all stuck
Some people (two in my years of driving) can't overtake because I blocked them...
First on a relatively quiet Highlands road. I was following a car that was speeding up/slowing down, crossing the centreline as oncoming cars passed and did the same when I attempted to overtake. Car approaching fast behind (70+ I reckon) moved out to pass at speed so I moved out with hazards on to prevent it. Unsurprisingly this road captaincy resulted in full beam and hand signals. It then took several attempts for him to pass the old Rover nearly getting forced off the first time. We sat well back until turning off into a hotel a few miles further on.
Second near home where an Outlander behind us and the car in front was obviously keen to pass. I moved partly out to overtake as we cleared the bend onto the following straight but sat there for 5 secs or so until we cleared the cottage exit on the right. Most locals just don't go until past the exit for obvious reasons and the owner has form for swinging out without looking left. The Outlander also moved out clearly unhappy that I was in his way and going nowhere. Sure enough the cottage owner swung out into the road having looked right but not left and we both moved back in - Outlander was fully on the other side at that point. When we passed the lead car the Outlander just stayed where he was. No doubt he'd have been apoplectic had no hazard materialised.
Captain 5.
First on a relatively quiet Highlands road. I was following a car that was speeding up/slowing down, crossing the centreline as oncoming cars passed and did the same when I attempted to overtake. Car approaching fast behind (70+ I reckon) moved out to pass at speed so I moved out with hazards on to prevent it. Unsurprisingly this road captaincy resulted in full beam and hand signals. It then took several attempts for him to pass the old Rover nearly getting forced off the first time. We sat well back until turning off into a hotel a few miles further on.
Second near home where an Outlander behind us and the car in front was obviously keen to pass. I moved partly out to overtake as we cleared the bend onto the following straight but sat there for 5 secs or so until we cleared the cottage exit on the right. Most locals just don't go until past the exit for obvious reasons and the owner has form for swinging out without looking left. The Outlander also moved out clearly unhappy that I was in his way and going nowhere. Sure enough the cottage owner swung out into the road having looked right but not left and we both moved back in - Outlander was fully on the other side at that point. When we passed the lead car the Outlander just stayed where he was. No doubt he'd have been apoplectic had no hazard materialised.
Captain 5.
457892345 said:
I think one factor about overtaking a lot of people get scared about is that they will get done for speeding as they do so. Either they wrongly believe there are cameras hiding somewhere or that it might be an undercover car etc.
Doing an overtake at exactly the posted limit and no more is fine for slow moving traffic like cyclists or horses but against another car can be dangerous a lot of the time as the distance travelled while on the wrong side is far greater.
If Joe average is following a vehicle doing 50 in a 60 nsl and gets scared of going over 60 for any amount of time then the chances are there's never a point where hes going to have the time and space to overtake safely, so he doesn't.
The undercover car thing put me off overtaking a lot of the time too when I first started driving... Thankfully tetra detectors exist so now I can be 99.9% sure before I start that it's OK and can put my foot down to higher speed to execute faster, safer overtakes without worry.
I've never liked seeing people overtaking slowly, but you make a very good point about them not wanting to break the speed limit though. Doing an overtake at exactly the posted limit and no more is fine for slow moving traffic like cyclists or horses but against another car can be dangerous a lot of the time as the distance travelled while on the wrong side is far greater.
If Joe average is following a vehicle doing 50 in a 60 nsl and gets scared of going over 60 for any amount of time then the chances are there's never a point where hes going to have the time and space to overtake safely, so he doesn't.
The undercover car thing put me off overtaking a lot of the time too when I first started driving... Thankfully tetra detectors exist so now I can be 99.9% sure before I start that it's OK and can put my foot down to higher speed to execute faster, safer overtakes without worry.
Edited by 457892345 on Tuesday 7th March 08:32
I overtook a bus the other day in a 60 nsl area on a nice clear and straight bit of road, and when I looked down to pull back in I was doing a 100! I just like to get the overtaking job done as quickly as possible if I can though and I've always been the same. Having a fairly quick car helps in that regard I reckon, however most turbo petrol/turbo diesels(EVs) have enough punch for overtaking nowadays, especially in comparison to some of the gutless NA engined cars that I started out driving in.
I remember my Dad nearly killing us all in my Mum's Sierra 1.8 LX years ago because it didn't have as much shove as he was expecting(he was used to his 5.0 V8 Mustang in comparison)...needless to say that he very swiftly swapped it for a Sierra XR4x4 after that experience though.
KTMsm said:
bigothunter said:
With so much emphasis on speed and rigid enforcement of (often lowered) speed limits, 60-65 is about the 'going rate' on dual carriageways. We all need to adjust our sights downwards and anticipated journey times upwards
No we need to push the zombies out the way !But after getting nowhere in over 50 years of reacting, my brain says the game is up. Days of the enthusiast are over - we are simply out of kilter with overwhelming modern culture of 'safety' and 'environmental' restrictions.
So f
k it - autonomous EV cars cannot come soon enough. They are a potential route out of this mess.cerb4.5lee said:
I've never liked seeing people overtaking slowly, but you make a very good point about them not wanting to break the speed limit though.
In Spain, they have a sensible extra limit you're allowed to exceed the normal limit only when overtaking.It's 20kph over the limit - interestingly there were arguments that lowering/removing the extra limit would be more dangerous as people wouldn't be passing as quickly.
bigothunter said:
KTMsm said:
bigothunter said:
With so much emphasis on speed and rigid enforcement of (often lowered) speed limits, 60-65 is about the 'going rate' on dual carriageways. We all need to adjust our sights downwards and anticipated journey times upwards
No we need to push the zombies out the way !But after getting nowhere in over 50 years of reacting, my brain says the game is up. Days of the enthusiast are over - we are simply out of kilter with overwhelming modern culture of 'safety' and 'environmental' restrictions.
So f
k it - autonomous EV cars cannot come soon enough. They are a potential route out of this mess.When autonomy comes I want it to be total. I want to be able to tell the vehicle where it’s going and let it get on with it. I don’t even want it to have windows necessarily; I won’t need them.
London and it’s surroundings has already reached the ‘it’s not worth it any more’ stage.
Further out from there, there are still opportunities to enjoy driving.
aturnick54 said:
I've had the same on the A14. Elderly woman eventually moved into the middle lane only to give me the finger as I passed.
What on earth goes through their pea-sized brains is beyond me.
There are only 2 lanes on A14. i.e no middle lane.What on earth goes through their pea-sized brains is beyond me.
Problem is 99.999% racing elephants ( Lorries failing to overtake each other for miles), in the hope of getting to Felixstowe 13 seconds earlier.
Well some of us can. Just got my sporty car out of winter storage and went for a Sunday afternoon drive. Overtake handed on a silver platter, thanks to a very uncharacteristically quiet A30 in Surrey. BMW in front of me is very slow to get up to speed an eventually manages 30 in a 40 limit, and as we enter an NSL, makes almost no attempt to speed up. So I do that which is necessary. Sorry about the terrible rattle and creak from the dashcam mount. Thankfully, you can't hear any noise from it when driving. After the overtake, nothing interesting happens except the McLaren sighting at the lights at the end of the video.
Gary C said:
The worst is when an offended driver who leaves a gap, closes it when you begin an overtake just so they can leave you out to dry while shaking their fist and shouting.
Had this on the A444. Went to overtake a car doing 40 in a 60, then they sped up to 65. Slowed down as I tried to cut back in which almost resulted in a head on with a wagon coming the other way.
LunarOne said:
Well some of us can. Just got my sporty car out of winter storage and went for a Sunday afternoon drive. Overtake handed on a silver platter, thanks to a very uncharacteristically quiet A30 in Surrey. BMW in front of me is very slow to get up to speed an eventually manages 30 in a 40 limit, and as we enter an NSL, makes almost no attempt to speed up. So I do that which is necessary. Sorry about the terrible rattle and creak from the dashcam mount. Thankfully, you can't hear any noise from it when driving. After the overtake, nothing interesting happens except the McLaren sighting at the lights at the end of the video.
Thought that looked familiar, then saw the Italian/pub at V. Water; "uncharacteristically quiet" really doesn't do justice to how unusual the situation is, it's a nice long, well sighted section (esp. for somewhere so suburban) but zero oncoming is a proper treat. AmyRichardson said:
Thought that looked familiar, then saw the Italian/pub at V. Water; "uncharacteristically quiet" really doesn't do justice to how unusual the situation is, it's a nice long, well sighted section (esp. for somewhere so suburban) but zero oncoming is a proper treat.
Are you local to me then? Yes, the A30 is usually an endless stream of 40mph everywhere drivers, all bunched up so you can't overtake. Well I do sometimes overtake up to 4 cars, but only in this car which has the legs for it. My other cars don't really have the power to take more than a couple before an oncoming car halts the fun.But the council are trying to get this section reduced to a 40mpm limit. For what purpose, I have no idea. I haven't seen many accidents along it, although my mother did get her Capri written off opposite the Wheatsheaf pub in 1982 before there were traffic lights there. But that section is already 40.
Anyway, I have already objected to the speed limit change:
https://www.surreysays.co.uk/environment-and-infra...
911hope said:
aturnick54 said:
I've had the same on the A14. Elderly woman eventually moved into the middle lane only to give me the finger as I passed.
What on earth goes through their pea-sized brains is beyond me.
There are only 2 lanes on A14. i.e no middle lane.What on earth goes through their pea-sized brains is beyond me.
Problem is 99.999% racing elephants ( Lorries failing to overtake each other for miles), in the hope of getting to Felixstowe 13 seconds earlier.
It's the Suffolk end of the A14 which is the absolute worst for s
tty attitudes and road slugs.....because it's Ipswich territory, the most god awful town you're ever likely to encounter.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff