I didn’t know that cars were fitted with speed limiters!. Or why is it that so many car drivers now sit in the inside lane of 2 and 3 lane motoways driving at 45 to 55mph?. They cause the traffic to bunch up and increase the risk of an accident. When i drive my car on a motorway and its safe to do so , i drive at the speed limit. I thought thats what motorways were for. Are these drivers asleep, stupid, drunk or just plain scared of the speed and traffic. If the latter, should they be driving at all. I mean when you can pass them at 56mph and the road is clear surely something is wrong. Last point. Do the police stop them and question why they are driving so slowly. NO!. And to day i saw a woman driving at 50mph with a poodle on her lap. And it was jumping about. Sorry. I feel better now.
Hi tortoise.
What you are seeing is old age pensioners going on their summer holidays.
Normally you will see them on the local supermarket car park in Nissan Micras or brand new Rovers.
After slipping the clutch and revving the engine for ten minutes they will finally park lop - sided in the parking bay , allowing no - one else to park either side of them.
With a Readers Digest map, a trilby and a tartan travel rug on the back seat the driver ( Victor Meldrew ) will be covered in sweat while his wife will sometimes get out and direct him ( still revving the engine !) into the space.
Remember one thing.
One day you will be plodding up the M6 full of trucks at the grand old age of 70 + and you’ll be thinking “It wasn’t like that in the old days” and your wife will say “slow down and flash that truck in !!!”
My Mom’s gone to Scotland this week - but travelled by coach.
After a certain age, all O.A.P.'s should travel this way.
Cheers.
HI Tortoise
I am a truck driver and have been for last 45 years when in my truck { daf } I only drive at 50 m p h because I am paid by the hour. When in my car I do the same because it is my petrol and my time .I do this on dual carriageways and 3-lane motorway why should I have to drive at 70 m p h just to please some drivers
Who want to break their necks? To get where they are going as long as I am driving
Safely and not causing a problem to other drivers why should it bother you.
And by the way I do drive Nissan mica
Regards powershot
powershot:
I am a truck driver and have been for last 45 years when in my truck { daf } I only drive at 50 mph…
But there’s a difference between you and this type of motorist. This motorist sits in the middle lane, mile after mile, for the whole of their journey at 50 mph. They don’t pull into the inside lane to allow trucks to overtake so the trucks use the inside lane to undertake. They don’t consider they’re doing anything wrong, they’ don’t understand the principles of motorway driving. They, and most other drivers, have never been formally taught how to drive on motorways. Its your LGV, PCV and Emergency Services drivers that have had some formal training. The only form of instruction they’ve had is by a relative, who has also had no training. Its not their fault, its the systems’ !
If you’re doing 50 mph on a motorway, you’re most likely to be on the inside lane - only using the middle lane to overtake ! That’s the difference !
powershot:
HI Tortoise
I am a truck driver and have been for last 45 years when in my truck { daf } I only drive at 50 m p h because I am paid by the hour. When in my car I do the same because it is my petrol and my time .I do this on dual carriageways and 3-lane motorway why should I have to drive at 70 m p h just to please some drivers
Who want to break their necks? To get where they are going as long as I am driving
Safely and not causing a problem to other drivers why should it bother you.
And by the way I do drive Nissan mica
Regards powershot
I KNEW IT WOULD ONLY BE A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL ONE CAME FORWARD TO ADMIT TO "[ZB]EVERYONE ELSE ON THE ROAD, I WANT TO DAWDLE ALONG, GET UNDER EVERYONE’S FEET AND CREATE THE BIGGEST JAM BEHIND ME AND ULTIMATELY [ZB] OFF EVERY OTHER DRIVER ON THE SAME PATCH OF ROAD
I’m sick of this “I’m alright” attitude with drivers. When will you fools get it into your tiny heads that motorways were built to for people to get from A to B in the quickest possible time and to yet again quote the dictionary : “Main road for fast-moving traffic”.
If you’re so concerned about the cost of fuel that you have to dawdle along at 20mph below the speed limit then you shouldn’t have a bloody car and if it’s “your time” then get out from under everyone’s feet and go do your (probably) unnecessary journey along some single track roads where you can dawdle along with the tractors and others from the “nowhere to go, all day to do it” brigade.
You think you’re so safe and out of everyone’s way doing your 50mph in the inside lane but you’ve no idea whatsoever of the agro you cause. AND AS AN EX-TRUCKER YOU SHOULD BLOODY WELL KNOW BETTER
Rob, I’m not going to edit this post, but I do want to remind you of the forum rules regarding personal attack, and point out that this post is very borderline.L.
My attitude to speed changed when my son was born.I adopted a self imposed limit of 55-60 when driving on motorway/dual carriageway.I wanted that extra margin of safety it brings because as we all know there are too many [zb] idiots on the road and some of them have found their way on here!Speed limits in this country remain at 50/60 on duals depending on vehicle and 60/70 on motorways depending on vehicles.The problems are created by drivers not driving on the left after overtaking/sitting in lanes 2 and 3 thereby blocking the road for those wishing to overtake,or sitting there at speeds below the limit oblivious to other road users.If I,m doing 50 in the left hand lane WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? Maybe YOUR DRIVING TOO [zb] FAST!
If you’re going to put that many stars in, you might as well swear and let the auto-censor do the hard work for me!!! L. 
tartanraider:
My attitude to speed changed when my son was born.I adopted a self imposed limit of 55-60 when driving on motorway/dual carriageway.
Why 
So you could put yourself and your kid at an even greater risk by having 44 tonne of metal sitting 2" off your rear bumper suggesting you either get out of his [zb] way or get your toe down 
Don’t say it doesn’t happen, because you know as well as anyone else in reality it does as you’ll see from your own wagon when watching other wagon drivers on the road.
I wanted that extra margin of safety it brings because as we all know there are too many [zb] idiots on the road and some of them have found their way on here!
That’s a matter of opinion.
Speed limits in this country remain at 50/60 on duals depending on vehicle and 60/70 on motorways depending on vehicles.
Another one that doesn’t know the speed limits for different classes of vehicle, unless you’ve deliberately excluded the biggest class of vehicles on the roads.
The problems are created by drivers not driving on the left after overtaking/sitting in lanes 2 and 3 thereby blocking the road for those wishing to overtake
Agreed, but you can’t blame them. When they do move over and then catch up to the slower vehicle in front, they indicate to pull out ot overtake it and no [zb] will let them out 
so they simply stay in the middle lane. The same goes for the endless queue of cars in the outside lane. They won’t move into the middle lane for the same reason.
…or sitting there at speeds below the limit oblivious to other road users.
At last, some sense, but hang on …
If I,m doing 50 in the left hand lane WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?
[groan] 
…see your statement above as you’ve clearly forgotten what you wrote and contradicted yourself 
Maybe YOUR DRIVING TOO *******FAST!
Errr, okayyyyyyy. 56mph on a motorway is too fast I GIVE UP Terry, giz a bag of crisps buddy…
a PROFESSIONAL driver should use the overtaking lane and certainly shouldn’t be 2 feet from ANYONES bumper
tartanraider:
a PROFESSIONAL driver should use the overtaking lane and certainly shouldn’t be 2 feet from ANYONES bumper
Agreed. But why should a speed-restricted wagon be needing to overtake a non-speed-restricted car perfectly capable of 70mph+ on a motorway in the first place
You spend a few minutes thinking about the positions of all the different classes of vehicles on a congested motorway on a typical evening :
Everything is flowing fine; the trucks in the inside lane are all merrily sitting behind each other all doing 56mph. Cars are trundling along the middle lane doing 70mph with the 7.5 tonners and the rep mobiles and the like in the outside doing approx 80mph. All lovely, everyone’s getting where they want to go at a sensible pace and everyone’s happy.
THEN… what do we have… Artic up front puts his indicator on wanting to pull out. WHY Because there’s a Micra/Rover dawdling along doing 50mph. So the guy in the middle lane indicates to pull into the outside lane; someone kindly lets him in, but the vehicles behind him all start braking to compensate for the reduced stopping distance. Then the other half dozen following cars in the middle lane don’t want to be stuck behind the truck doing 56mph - just as the trucker doesn’t want to be stuck behind the “I’m alright Fred” Micra/Rover driver doing 50mph getting his most economical fuel consumption - and so they all want to be in the outside lane too.
What happens next The outside lane suddenly comes to halt because all their stopping distance has been sapped up by those moving from the middle lane; further back down the queue those who can read the road see the outside is coming to a halt so pull into the middle lane to avoid the hold-up and then those in the middle lane move to the inside lane with the trucks because the middle lane might be coming to a halt too. Then all the truckers in the inside lane have had their stopping distance taken by the cars that have moved from the middle lane and that lane comes to a halt too. ALL BECAUSE OF ONE DRIVER WHO WANTS TO DAWDLE ALONG AT 50MPH
Don’t believe me Take a trip along the M6 nortbound from the top of the M5 up to the M56 at evening rush hour and see for yourself.
I’m all for minimum speed limits and with happily welcome the plod strictly enforcing it. With the exception of laden HGV’s, vehicles (ie. cars) that refuse to keep up with the flow of traffic (that’s what causes the congestion and queues) should not be allowed to use the road in question.
Ahhhh,the flaw in your argument.No-one manges to get up to 50 mph in the rush hour! 
tartanraider:
Ahhhh,the flaw in your argument.No-one manges to get up to 50 mph in the rush hour!
NO BECAUSE WE’RE ALL TRYING TO GET PAST YOU.
What’s so important that you HAVE to do 56 in your truck instead of 50?
tartanraider:
What’s so important that you HAVE to do 56 in your truck instead of 50?
Because 56mph is plenty slow enough as it is. While I have no problem with you folks that want to spin the job out taking a full 9hrs driving to get from Leeds to Bradford via M621/M62/M606 so that you actually manage to exceed £200 per week for 300 hours work, the majority of us (as evidenced by a look at the wagon speeds on any major road/motorway) want to get where we’re going in a sensible amount of time and 56mph is a sensible and plenty slow enough speed to do it.
I don’t claim to be right but if it came to a poll of the entire UK’s HGV drivers, I am confident that the vast majority would agree that wagons and other road users dawdling along on motorways, dual-carriageways (doing less than 56mph) and major (good) A/Trunk roads (doing less than 50mph) are a total nuisance and hindrance.
With respect.
I will also add that whilst most of us find caravans a nuisance on motorways, I don’t have any problem with them doing 50mph as I am aware of the delicacy and unstableness of them at higher speeds. However, they need to stick to 50mph, not vary as and when they feel like it between 45 and 60mph thus causing similar problems to the above posts.
Have you got one of those stickers on the back “How’s my driving?”.I bet your gaffers phone never stops ringing if you have
tartanraider:
Have you got one of those stickers on the back “How’s my driving?”.I bet your gaffers phone never stops ringing if you have
No, but I have had trailers that have had them on. Afaik, I’ve only ever had one two complaints about my driving from folks and one was complete [zb] (apparently I’d overtaken a car in 30mph zone, through a village, on a blind bend, past a school - NEVER). The other one was when a woman couldn’t read the road markings and claimed I’d cut across her lane near Glasgow airport off the M8 when in actual fact I hadn’t at all. I got out of the cab and had words with her asking her what her problem was and she then phoned the plod and reported me, which got back to my gaffer. Apparently it’s some big crime in Scotland if you get out of your vehicle and confront someone who’s beeped you So there 
.
I had a long reply ready for this topic but RobK has summed it up to a T. Agree 110% with him.
When you take you test whether it be car or Lorry you are expected to drive to the speed limits if it is safe to do so and not hinder other road user’s.
Its not to much to ask that cars, van’s etc do a resonable speed on the motorway network. If they all did 60 then eveything would flow more smoothly.
There seems to be a growing number of drivers that have to drive 10 or 15 mph below the speed limits in good conditions.
Wayne.
Wayne:
I had a long reply ready for this topic but RobK has summed it up to a T. Agree 110% with him.When you take you test whether it be car or Lorry you are expected to drive to the speed limits if it is safe to do so and not hinder other road user’s.
Its not to much to ask that cars, van’s etc do a resonable speed on the motorway network. If they all did 60 then eveything would flow more smoothly.
There seems to be a growing number of drivers that have to drive 10 or 15 mph below the speed limits in good conditions.
Wayne.
That reminds me of another thing actually Wayne.
When you do any class of vehicle driving test there is a fail point :
NOT MAKING GOOD PROGRESS or words to the effect of.
Enough said
On a single carriageway that is fair comment,on duals and motorway you have overtaking lanes
tartanraider:
On a single carriageway that is fair comment,on duals and motorway you have overtaking lanes
I know for sure that your examiner would fail you on a motorway if you didn’t exceed 50mph for either NOT MAKING PROGRESS and/or possibly not observing speed limits. All part and parcel.
[maybe Jonathan can back me up or correct me on that ]