People who brake when coming into average speed limit zones

[panholio]

Maybe it's just me, but when I approach a 50mph average speed camera zone on the motorway (which seem to be covering a significant proportion of our network at the moment), I just let my foot off the accelerator and slowly drift down to the new limit. The first "camera" is usually a couple of hundred yards into the zone, and it's an average check anyway so all good.

So why am I often behind total fking plebs who proceed to initiate a full on jamming on of the anchors the second the see the 50 limit? They then proceed to dab the brakes at every yellow camera gantry thing throughout the zone? WTF?

I was behind one today, we were both in lane 3 overtaking slower traffic until the loon decides to virtually lock up in front of me, resulting in us being undertaken by the cars in lane 2. fk me...

[Hooli]

Because they are fktards.

[Lordglenmorangie]

Phantom brakers they are every where, fking drive me bonkers. A sure sign they should not have passed a test to be on the highway .

[jonah35]

Regardless of cameras the limit is 50.

You are effectively speeding if you don't brake.

[Munter]

OP does sound like someone who tailgates someone so they are not starting to slow when they would usually want to. Eventually the driver ahead then has no choice but to slow up hard to avoid speeding.

You should be expecting the car ahead to be doing 50 at the 50 sign. If you are expecting it to speed...it's not the fault of the car ahead.

[CAFEDEAD]

Sorry; I tend to brake to (an indicated) 60mph at the first camera and stay there, rather than try and compute an average 60mph.

[jamiem555]

I find people brake at the cameras themselves, even though they were maintaining the speed limit beforehand. It's bloody annoying as I usually just set the cruise control and off I go. The A9 from Stirling to Inverness is now covered completely in them. Avoid if possible!

[CAFEDEAD]

Munter said:

OP does sound like someone who tailgates someone so they are not starting to slow when they would usually want to. Eventually the driver ahead then has no choice but to slow up hard to avoid speeding.

You should be expecting the car ahead to be doing 50 at the 50 sign. If you are expecting it to speed...it's not the fault of the car ahead.

If they're not doing more than the lorry doing 56mph in lane 1, they shouldn't be in lane 2, 3 or 4 regardless of whether they don't like other people speeding.

[panholio]

Munter said:

OP does sound like someone who tailgates someone so they are not starting to slow when they would usually want to. Eventually the driver ahead then has no choice but to slow up hard to avoid speeding.

You should be expecting the car ahead to be doing 50 at the 50 sign. If you are expecting it to speed...it's not the fault of the car ahead.

This is an interesting take on it and probably the way I should be thinking about it. I was a good 2 seconds behind today's example but it's a valid point.

[Northernchimp]

On the A1 at Elkersley, as it drops from 70 to 40 with average speed cameras, I break from 70 to 40, because i don't see the point in slowing down sooner and I don't speed in those zones. Am I supposed to lift off 200m before it? I don't see the issue.

[V8forweekends]

I think a lot of people have no idea how the average cameras work, or probably even what average means. A woman on the radio yesterday said the average (I know, I know) reading age for the UK is 12 - have a think about that.

[Kinky]

I drive through the roadworks on the M3 daily, which have the SPECS cameras and a 50 limit.

I am absolutely astounded at the volume of people who fly past at 80+, then slam on the brakes at the camera, then back up to 80+, and repeat at every camera.

And no, it's not from people joining at a junction in-between cameras. I am just astounded to the number of people who do this.

[V8forweekends]

I'm always astounded by the number (although it's not huge, it's astounding that it's >0) of people who sail on through at 70/80 in a SPECS enforced 50. They must know something I don't.

[trashbat]

CAFEDEAD said:

If they're not doing more than the lorry doing 56mph in lane 1, they shouldn't be in lane 2, 3 or 4 regardless of whether they don't like other people speeding.

Have you ever actually been on a managed motorway in the UK?

[Mr Tidy]

Munter said:

You should be expecting the car ahead to be doing 50 at the 50 sign. If you are expecting it to speed...it's not the fault of the car ahead.

Maybe, but I mostly find the "car ahead" (Toyota in front of you probably, and getting in the way?) seems to enter a 50 limit at 45 at best!
And that means it should be in another lane anyway - if you are not overtaking the inside lane is where you need to be FFS.

[Hoofy]

Even worse is when they're doing 10 under the limit then see a camera and brake. FFS.

[sim72]

V8forweekends said:

I think a lot of people have no idea how the average cameras work, or probably even what average means. A woman on the radio yesterday said the average (I know, I know) reading age for the UK is 12 - have a think about that.

It's gone up, then - about 20 years ago when I was at university the textbooks used to give a figure of between 9 and 10 (and yes I know she should have used "mean", but let's face it...)

Incidentally - for anyone thinking that score is ludicrous - the standard SRS test only goes up to 17.3 years (i.e. if you get 100% in the test, your reading age is 17.3 as that's the age at which you are supposed to be fully literate). You can't have a reading age of 42 or whatever.

Edited by sim72 on Monday 16th February 00:06

[Mr Tidy]

Exactly - just a general lack of awareness all round.

[anonymous-user]

Hooli said:

Because they are fktards.

+1

I put them in the same category as people who brake whenever a car comes towards them from the opposite direction on an A road.

I was following one tonight and couldn't bear to be behind them for any more than about 5 miles so I had to absolutely wring the last drop of BHP out of the 1.7 Astravan I was driving just so I could get past them and not suffer it any longer.

If you are that utterly terrified of a car coming towards you on a road, as is bound to happen BECAUSE ITS A fkING ROAD AND THERE ARE OTHER CARS ON IT then you should have your licence removed immediately.

[so called]

I run through these average 50 zones at 51 to 53 because of the the speedo accuracy tolerance.
Plus, when you add the fact that my MB speedo is 6% down on my GPS speed, you very often come up behind drivers in the mid 40's.

Interesting that my TVR is accurate to the decimal while my MB is way out.