40 everywhere - why?

[joebongo]

Since moving to the Epping Forest area 3 years ago I've noticed an increasing trend for the majority of vehicles to do 40 everywhere. It causes dodgy overtakes by frustrated drivers and general frustration at the queues of cars that build up behind them.

It spans all ages, races, age of car, type of car - the full spectrum, but why?

A 20 year old clapped out Metro I could begrudgingly (?sp) understand if it was being driven by an old dear, but aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

[Cock Womble 7]

Simply because speed kills, don't you know.

[Cupramax]

joebongo said:

It spans all ages, races, age of car, type of car - the full spectrum, but why?

Retards who have no idea of the speed limits. Nothing more, noting less... speed kills...

[joebongo]

Can't be speed kills cos they do it in 30, 40, 50, 60 mph zones, and in built up residential areas and by schools and playgrounds.

[Ry_B]

Safety is no accident

Overtakers I'll see you at the undertakers

speed kills

bla bla bla

[derestrictor]

Modern Britain.

Lowest common denominator dominates in all areas.

Overpopulation agitates.

The mob rules.

Dire.

[torres del paine]

derestrictor said:

Modern Britain.

Lowest common denominator dominates in all areas.

Overpopulation agitates.

The mob rules.

Dire.

Pithy.

Dire indeed.

[Dr Derek Doctors]

Hmmmmm I used to think it was just blithering idiocy and the speed kils message but....my recently aquired Pug 406 DT struggles to crack 40mph on anything other than full throttle on a motorway so its just not worth the hassle of trying to ramp/hammer the thing to go any faster and then because its so slow to accelerate the last thing you want to do is slow down.

[joebongo]

Like I say above, it's not the speed kills mantra. This is something else causing it. If you were genuinely concerned with that aspect you wouldn't "speed" through 30's at 40.

[mrmr96]

joebongo said:

Like I say above, it's not the speed kills mantra. This is something else causing it. If you were genuinely concerned with that aspect you wouldn't "speed" through 30's at 40.

You're overthinking it. The answer is simply that they are stupid.

[joebongo]

mrmr96 said:

joebongo said:

Like I say above, it's not the speed kills mantra. This is something else causing it. If you were genuinely concerned with that aspect you wouldn't "speed" through 30's at 40.

You're overthinking it. The answer is simply that they are stupid.

Really? I know this is Essex, but since passing my test in '89 I don't remember there being this many cocktards on the road, or rather this high proportion of cocktards.

[Patrick Bateman]

mrmr96 said:

joebongo said:

Like I say above, it's not the speed kills mantra. This is something else causing it. If you were genuinely concerned with that aspect you wouldn't "speed" through 30's at 40.

You're overthinking it. The answer is simply that they are stupid.

I'd go with that for the majority.

Having said that it's not that often I come across the '40 only' crowd, 50mph tends to be quite common though on single carriageway NSL.

[Munter]

It's the speed at which they feel in control. Any faster and they get scared. And they don't feel going any slower would help in a 30 as they are perfectly in control....

[Balmoral Green]

Pick a speed, and stick to it, 40 is fine.
Pick a lane and stick to it, the middle one is fine.

This is the mindset, so they don't have to think about too much else.

[Thorburn]

Had this driving back from Somerset this evening, overtook a guy in a Boxster S on a nice, wide, gently winding stretch of road in my girlfriends Fiesta 1.25.

If I can keep a pace of 60mph along there in that he can go a bit quicker than 40!

When I lived in Somerset I used to drive the same route to work every weekend, and every time I'd get stuck behind the same Micra. 40 through the NSL, 40 through the village with a 30 limit.

Edited by Thorburn on Sunday 7th November 20:10

[joebongo]

Munter said:

It's the speed at which they feel in control. Any faster and they get scared. And they don't feel going any slower would help in a 30 as they are perfectly in control....

I think you might be onto something there.

But what about...they manage to go 65 in the middle lane on motorways so is it the fact it's a single carraigeway that scares them or the fact they have to turn the wheel to negotiate bends?

Or could it be that if they do 40 everywhere they don't have to change gear unless stopping?

Or it could be as you say that they are plain scared.

[silverthorn2151]

Funnily enough I was only remarking this morning to SWMBO that I was getting hacked off with the standard of driving in our area which recently seems to have gone down the pan.

Where are we? Chingford, just by Epping Forest. Must be the same people that are pissing off the OP.

It's people driving at 20 in a 30, for no reason......35 up the Epping New Road and so on.

It's very difficult not to get a bit irritated.

[Morningside]

Balmoral Green said:

Pick a speed, and stick to it, 40 is fine.
Pick a lane and stick to it, the middle one is fine.

This is the mindset, so they don't have to think about too much else.

And dont bother to indicate your intentions either.

I checked your profile to see if you lived in Suffolk as this is a normal method of driving - 'monospeeders' as I think one PH member coined.

Mainly I think is the real media(?) fear of speeding and getting caught. And to be honest there is a lot of really, really bad drivers out there. What has happened now is that people are starting to drive 10 or 20 Mph below the speed limit, just to be 'safe'.


Shockingly, if you follow these people into town, they tend to speed UP!

In hate them so much. I think that the Police should stop them as they are a danger to others! Why? Because a lot of people WILL take stupid risks in overtaking them when they are poodling around at 20mph and getting pissed off.

[havoc]

There are only two solutions:-
- a REAL excess of power in your car;
- some sort of powerful firearm to shoot these morons!

[volvoforlife]

Morningside said:

Balmoral Green said:

Pick a speed, and stick to it, 40 is fine.
Pick a lane and stick to it, the middle one is fine.

This is the mindset, so they don't have to think about too much else.

And dont bother to indicate your intentions either.

I checked your profile to see if you lived in Suffolk as this is a normal method of driving - 'monospeeders' as I think one PH member coined.

Mainly I think is the real media(?) fear of speeding and getting caught. And to be honest there is a lot of really, really bad drivers out there. What has happened now is that people are starting to drive 10 or 20 Mph below the speed limit, just to be 'safe'.


Shockingly, if you follow these people into town, they tend to speed UP!

In hate them so much. I think that the Police should stop them as they are a danger to others! Why? Because a lot of people WILL take stupid risks in overtaking them when they are poodling around at 20mph and getting pissed off.

You never know when a speed camera is coming up. You can't seriously be expected to know the speed limit of any given road 100% of the time.. Sometimes its 30mph, sometimes its 40mph, sometimes its 50mph. People will stick to the middle ground (40mph) so that they can brake to 30mph if needed. I have been on so many roads which look like they should be 50mph, but are in fact 30mph with those horrible Truvelo speed cameras placed on the bends. So if I was going 40mph I was able to brake in time.




Of course nobody ever cares about the safety implications of constantly monitoring your speedo, trying to guess the speed limit, and braking at speed cameras. We just want more cameras including those new ones which now monitor your distance between you and the car in front and your seatbelt.