Can't decide what's worse, Prius or SUV drivers doing 50mph

[Truckosaurus]

...on the motorway.

Having been slowed up by several of these rolling roadblocks this weekend, pottering along at a fuel saving 50mph in lane one of a two-lane motorway, I can't decide which is worse, the smug Toyota Prius drivers thinking they are saving the world or people with huge SUVs that can't afford to drive at 70mph.

There really should be some law saying you should at least make an attempt to drive at the speed limit on a clear sunny day.

[Chris71]

The one that gets me are Prius owners hammering along at 90+mph. I guess some are taking it out on their company hacks, but for the rest it shows up just how shallow their commitment to environmentalism really is when they're outside of Notting Hill.

[Lets Torque]

The Prius driver is worse IMO, there is no specific reason but I just don't like them.

Having said that a Prius came down the outside lane of the M1 at 90mph flashing his lights at a Transit to get it out of the way!

[kambites]

Truckosaurus said:

There really should be some law saying you should at least make an attempt to drive at the speed limit on a clear sunny day.

Why? The speed limit is just that: a limit, not a target. I often pootle along at 56mph in the inside lane if I'm not in a hurry.

Edited by kambites on Monday 23 May 10:46

[neil_bolton]

kambites said:

Why? The speed limit is just that: a limit, not a target. I often pootle along at 56mph in the inside lane if I'm not in a hurry.

Absolutely, I can make a huge impact on my fuel usage if I'm tootling along at 50-60 rather than 80mph, especially seeing as the police are pretty hot on catching you in unmarked cars these days if you're hammering along.

If people are driving well, in Lane 1 and not bothering anyone, then why not?

ETA: as above, the Priuses hammering along at 90mph are very annoying - most likely not set up on tyres that can handle high speed handling as are the cars not really the greatest handlers. Half of them are only brought for tax reasons - and not for anything else.

[Truckosaurus]

kambites said:

Why? The speed limit is just that: a limit, not a target. I often pootle along at 56mph in the inside lane if I'm not in a hurry.

Why? (although 56 is slightly better than 50)

1) You are creating an unnecessary holdup for your fellow motorist due to trucks (especially) having to move into the outside lane to get past.
2) Increased hazard of moving slower than expected. It seems that many motorist's observation skills are below par and they won't expect a car to be going 20mph slower than them.

[StottyZr]

Truckosaurus said:

kambites said:

Why? The speed limit is just that: a limit, not a target. I often pootle along at 56mph in the inside lane if I'm not in a hurry.

Why? (although 56 is slightly better than 50)

1) You are creating an unnecessary holdup for your fellow motorist due to trucks (especially) having to move into the outside lane to get past.
2) Increased hazard of moving slower than expected. It seems that many motorist's observation skills are below par and they won't expect a car to be going 20mph slower than them.

At 56 I would assume he is sitting behind a lorry. So this doesn't make a bit of difference to other drivers...

[300bhp/ton]

Truckosaurus said:

...on the motorway.

Having been slowed up by several of these rolling roadblocks this weekend, pottering along at a fuel saving 50mph in lane one of a two-lane motorway, I can't decide which is worse, the smug Toyota Prius drivers thinking they are saving the world or people with huge SUVs that can't afford to drive at 70mph.

There really should be some law saying you should at least make an attempt to drive at the speed limit on a clear sunny day.

Yes, who'd of thought that driving within the legal limit at a legal speed would cause such an attitude. All hail the free society!!!


You do realise, it's a speed limit don't you? There's nothing that says you have to run at the limit.

[PaulB81]

My M reg Disco with 220k miles on it will barely even do 70. VERY rare that I go on the MWAY with it but when I do it will hold you up

Its uses are generally greenlaning, dog walks and runs to the tip (and getting around when the weather is st)

[300bhp/ton]

Truckosaurus said:

kambites said:

Why? The speed limit is just that: a limit, not a target. I often pootle along at 56mph in the inside lane if I'm not in a hurry.

Why? (although 56 is slightly better than 50)

1) You are creating an unnecessary holdup for your fellow motorist due to trucks (especially) having to move into the outside lane to get past.
2) Increased hazard of moving slower than expected. It seems that many motorist's observation skills are below par and they won't expect a car to be going 20mph slower than them.

So what about lorries running at 50mph then?

[Man from UNCLE]

neil_bolton said:

ETA: as above, the Priuses hammering along at 90mph are very annoying - most likely not set up on tyres that can handle high speed handling as are the cars not really the greatest handlers. Half of them are only brought for tax reasons - and not for anything else.

I highly doubt that there are any prius drivers out there anywhere on N rated tyres.

[marcosgt]

I've often thought there should be a minimum speed limit on motorways, but realistically it would probably have to be 50 MPH so what's the point?

M.

[kambites]

StottyZr said:

At 56 I would assume he is sitting behind a lorry. So this doesn't make a bit of difference to other drivers...

Yes, driving slower than the lorries so they have to overtake you all the time is a bit antisocial. I have done it occasionally for very short trips though, generally when towing something very heavy and I wouldn't do it at busy times.

I've never seen a Prius doing this, though. Usually it seems to be OAPs who do it, rather than the stereotypical middle aged, middle class Prius driver.

[Man from UNCLE]

StottyZr said:

Truckosaurus said:

kambites said:

Why? The speed limit is just that: a limit, not a target. I often pootle along at 56mph in the inside lane if I'm not in a hurry.

Why? (although 56 is slightly better than 50)

1) You are creating an unnecessary holdup for your fellow motorist due to trucks (especially) having to move into the outside lane to get past.
2) Increased hazard of moving slower than expected. It seems that many motorist's observation skills are below par and they won't expect a car to be going 20mph slower than them.

At 56 I would assume he is sitting behind a lorry. So this doesn't make a bit of difference to other drivers...

You are correct, but there's a lot out there these days doing less, sometimes a lot less, than 56.

[off_again]

As said, its a limit and not the minimum speed. I have no issues with anyone who drives at lower than the limit. Actually, on a nice day, its great to kick back, open a window or two, slot into lane 1 and click on the cruise! I often travel at odd times and its nice to just take your time. Hell, sometimes I even drop off the motorway and take the A roads for the hell of it...!

[Chrisw666]

Truckosaurus said:

Why? (although 56 is slightly better than 50)

1) You are creating an unnecessary holdup for your fellow motorist due to trucks (especially) having to move into the outside lane to get past.
2) Increased hazard of moving slower than expected. It seems that many motorist's observation skills are below par and they won't expect a car to be going 20mph slower than them.

We live in a free society, the speed 'LIMIT' is 70 miles per hour, on most sections of road there are no posted minimum speeds, if I choose to drive at 50 miles per hour other driver will have to become better at observing the road ahead of them, or learn to accelerate to complete an overtake.

Not every drive is a race, not every driver wants to be auditioning for a part as the next Stig.

The 3 issues that driving at low speeds makes apparent is that some drivers have very poor driving skills, and some have poor attitudes to other road users, some have both.

[Truckosaurus]

If by choosing to drive at 50mph you end up causing an inconvenience (however minor) to others travelling legally at 69mph (or HGVs @ 56mph) then is that not bordering on selfishness?

[kambites]

Truckosaurus said:

If by choosing to drive at 50mph you end up causing an inconvenience (however minor) to others travelling legally at 69mph (or HGVs @ 56mph) then is that not bordering on selfishness?

Yes, it's bordering on it. But so are an awful lot of things that drivers (and people in general) do all the time. I'd rather people drove at 50mph on the motorway than parked on pavements so you can't get a pushchair past without walking on the road.

Ultimately the driver has every legal right to do what he's doing, and I think most people would argue every moral right too.

Edited by kambites on Monday 23 May 11:29

[300bhp/ton]

Truckosaurus said:

If by choosing to drive at 50mph you end up causing an inconvenience (however minor) to others travelling legally at 69mph (or HGVs @ 56mph) then is that not bordering on selfishness?

No.

[Chrisw666]

Truckosaurus said:

If by choosing to drive at 50mph you end up causing an inconvenience (however minor) to others travelling legally at 69mph (or HGVs @ 56mph) then is that not bordering on selfishness?

WTF are you on?

Seriously?

Is getting annoyed at people who are travelling more slowly than you and who may cause you to slow down slightly over the course of your journey also selfish?