Exceeding the speed limit whilst overtaking - opinions

[jimmy156]

redgriff500 said:

You wouldn't ?

I do wonder whether some posters drive on the same roads I do.

Lovely A roads that have been reduced to 50 - no point even trying to stick to such a stupidly low limit.

I think you are going to need something really pretty quick to overtake someone doing 80 on your average NSL road.

Assuming you're leaving proper space between you and the overtakee to begin with, its going to to take quite a bit of space to complete the overtake, and your probably looking at going north of 100mph.

It certainly wouldn't be on in my car (150bhp). I think you would need something e90 M3 quick, minimum, to safley do manoeuvres like that.

[Patrick Bateman]

I'll usually sit at a max of 70 in a single carriageway NSL anyway, won't normally overtake someone doing 65+ but there are plenty of dawdlers around the 50mph mark.

[blueg33]

Jimmy No Hands said:

6 cars and 1 van on the A64...

Fosseway last weekend, 10 cars all following the caravan. I could easily see 2 miles with nothing coming and the Tuscan is good at those passes

[Mastodon2]

lazystudent said:

I was in North Wales last summer and was on the A5 where it goes into a crawler lane and there's a long straight sans junctions- there were about 4 police cars waiting for people to see the straight and put their foot down to make perfectly safe overtakes to get past lines of caravans, dawdlers etc. Albeit a lot of people when "frustration overtaking" will exceed the speed limit. Bet they filled their quotas that day

Easy time for the Talivan to spin a few quid into the government coffers. How would Cameron fund his dinner parties otherwise?

[fluffnik]

lazystudent said:

I was in North Wales last summer and was on the A5 where it goes into a crawler lane and there's a long straight sans junctions- there were about 4 police cars waiting for people to see the straight and put their foot down to make perfectly safe overtakes to get past lines of caravans, dawdlers etc. Albeit a lot of people when "frustration overtaking" will exceed the speed limit. Bet they filled their quotas that day

It's a bad law that suits only parasites and foul oppressors.

[Brett748]

If I'm overtaking on the offside off the road I'll always complete the move as quick as possible. Obviously you should only overtake when you have enough view to see it is safe with a margin for safety however there's no way I'm going to stop accelerating at 60 and crawl past. Its just dangerous.

[redgriff500]

jimmy156 said:

redgriff500 said:

You wouldn't ?

I do wonder whether some posters drive on the same roads I do.

Lovely A roads that have been reduced to 50 - no point even trying to stick to such a stupidly low limit.

I think you are going to need something really pretty quick to overtake someone doing 80 on your average NSL road.

Assuming you're leaving proper space between you and the overtakee to begin with, its going to to take quite a bit of space to complete the overtake, and your probably looking at going north of 100mph.

It certainly wouldn't be on in my car (150bhp). I think you would need something e90 M3 quick, minimum, to safley do manoeuvres like that.

That is kind of my point - what speeds you think are safe depend entirely upon your car and your experience.

My RX7 (340bhp 1250kg) doesn't feel unsafe at 130+ on an A road and there are a lot of faster cars about.

But try explaining that to a doddery old magistrate.

[andy-xr]

redgriff500 said:

That is kind of my point - what speeds you think are safe depend entirely upon your car and your experience.

My RX7 (340bhp 1250kg) doesn't feel unsafe at 130+ on an A road and there are a lot of faster cars about.

But try explaining that to a doddery old magistrate.

You cant. For the same reason you cant explain away a potential 90mph difference in speed between you and other cars/drivers on the road.

[kingofdbrits]

I've had to take what I can best describe as an advanced driving lesson as a requirement for our company car insurance. It was actually a very informative lesson and having an ex-traffic cop with 32 years experience show you how to make good progress on an A road was very informative, this lesson also included making a safe overtake and exceeding the speed limit.
This guy was also the instructor for advanced police drivers so I'm a little surprised a safe overtake would result in FPN, perhaps times have changed as this was over 10 years ago.

[Alfanatic]

redgriff500 said:

That is kind of my point - what speeds you think are safe depend entirely upon your car and your experience.

And on your mood, and on the level of risk you personally feel comfortable with. And much, much more importantly, the road conditions, traffic, surroundings, being predictable..

Yes, what speed feels safe has a lot to do with your car. What speed actually is safe has very little to do with the car.

[Sam.F]

blueg33 said:

Jimmy No Hands said:

6 cars and 1 van on the A64...

Fosseway last weekend, 10 cars all following the caravan. I could easily see 2 miles with nothing coming and the Tuscan is good at those passes

I don't really like doing big multiple overtakes but often you find that's the only option these days, particularly further south where you get a lot of "lemmings" who are happy to dawdle along at 42mph running line astern on a long straight with nothing coming the other way... compare that to the A69 yesterday where a line of about 10 of us *all* passed a slow poke in a Citoen Picasso in the space of 2 straights on the Haydon Bridge bypass, very satisfying to see that amount of "proper" overtaking going on in this day and age!

[Buggerlugz]

68 in a 60 on the wrong side of the road = 3 points + £60

my opinion is theyre s

[redgriff500]

Alfanatic said:

redgriff500 said:

That is kind of my point - what speeds you think are safe depend entirely upon your car and your experience.

And on your mood, and on the level of risk you personally feel comfortable with. And much, much more importantly, the road conditions, traffic, surroundings, being predictable..

Yes, what speed feels safe has a lot to do with your car. What speed actually is safe has very little to do with the car.

See the "and your experience"

I grew up surrounded by good A roads and have driven them for 20+ years without a single accident.

However what cannot be argued and why fun motoring is doomed is that in the event of a freak occurrence the likely damage will be horrific at 120+ compared to 50 which is the limit most NSL's have been reduced to.

[blueg33]

Sam.F said:

blueg33 said:

Jimmy No Hands said:

6 cars and 1 van on the A64...

Fosseway last weekend, 10 cars all following the caravan. I could easily see 2 miles with nothing coming and the Tuscan is good at those passes

I don't really like doing big multiple overtakes but often you find that's the only option these days, particularly further south where you get a lot of "lemmings" who are happy to dawdle along at 42mph running line astern on a long straight with nothing coming the other way... compare that to the A69 yesterday where a line of about 10 of us *all* passed a slow poke in a Citoen Picasso in the space of 2 straights on the Haydon Bridge bypass, very satisfying to see that amount of "proper" overtaking going on in this day and age!

I don't normally do that many at once, but they were well enough spread for me to have get out options without cutting anyone up. The pass started as being 2 cars, but I had a clear view so was able to do the rest. I know that road well, so am aware of any entrances, layby's etc.

I wouldn't do such an overtake if I know that there is a turning coming up where someone could potentially turn right

[VinceFox]

Tell you what i have noticed, i overtake a lot less when ive recently ridden as well. It seems so bloody pointless in a car by comparison.

Edited by VinceFox on Sunday 15th April 15:16

[Alfanatic]

redgriff500 said:

See the "and your experience"

I grew up surrounded by good A roads and have driven them for 20+ years without a single accident.

However what cannot be argued and why fun motoring is doomed is that in the event of a freak occurrence the likely damage will be horrific at 120+ compared to 50 which is the limit most NSL's have been reduced to.

I'd say experience only makes you aware of more possible hazards that might be hiding in the environment, and the only lesson that gives is either a) nothing ever happens, so you get faster, or b) something unexpected happens, you realise you can't think of everything, and compensate by slowing down. I would also predict that experienced drivers may set faster average speeds over a journey, but will tend to hit lower maximums within the journey - all other things being equal.

Perhaps the reality is somewhere in the middle. Experience (at least the right kind of experience) certainly helps a driver to better choose when to put the hammer down, but "expect the unexpected" doesn't mean think of everything, it means being able to cope with the things that you didn't think of, and that might mean doing 60 when it seems safe enough to do up to 70.

Twenty years without a crash is impressive but is as much an indication that he road is really not an especially dangerous environment for a driver in the first place. It is, However, a very dangerous environment to be doing 120mph in the unlikely event that something unexpected happens though, as you said.