Safe Speed Forums

Hello,

i'm sorry but you can't really blame the person travelling below the speed limit for idiots doing dangerous overtaking moves. Surely the best thing to do when you approach a slower car is calmly wait and overtake when there is ample space and time to do so safely. Is it too much to ask of some drivers to simply be patient?

This is an interesting point for road safety issues though.

When I travel too and from my local city with my bike on its carrier on the back of the car I generally do about 50mph in the 60mph zones. This is because I am aware that the bike is a great big 'wing' stuck to the back of my car and I don't want to go bombing down the road and have it taken off by the wind, or gusts caused by larger passing vehicles.

Now when I travel down the road at 50mph I see no end of idiots doing dodgy overtaking manouvres past me and no end of them cut me up. What is wrong with a bit of patience on the road? The road in question is actually quite dangerous because it has hills and some tight corners. But still I bare witness to idiots overtaking me on the brow of hills and on blind bends. Why do people do this? Why can't they just be patient as there are plenty of long straight sections on the road?

I am actually thinking of getting a camera installed in my car and videotaping my journeys with my bike carrier on. Would be interesting footage for some traffic cops i'm sure!! I think it would provide plenty of footage for police camera action or something of the like .

They do it because they are idiots, and because we (as a society) have not managed to educate them sufficiently.

Given that there are idiots about, don't you think it would be far wiser to affix your bike properly, drive at the best speed and avoid provoking the idiots?

Tell me, if you saw an obvious nutter with a machine gun, wouldn't you do your damnedest to stay out of his way and not provoke him? Or would you go all self-righteous and say: he shouldn't do that?

Or perhaps, after you've been killed in the idiot's crash, we should tell your wife: "It's OK, it wasn't his fault, it was an idiot."

Sheesh!

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

We've kind of got our hands full with the general 'speed and safety' arguments. Certainly we've called for far better information regarding the overall effects of HGV speed limiters.

I think once the 'speed and safety' case has been fully delivered, then HGV speed limiters will naturally become a casualty.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

As you have chosen to travel at a less than optimal speed for the road what is wrong with keeping an eye out for people who are travelling faster and helping them pass you.

I try to avoid it but on occasions when I have carried an external load for which I feel I need to keep my speed down I will make every effort to assist normal traffic to make normal progress.

For instance earlier this year I transported a couple of six foot fence panels. Well secured but I didn't want to take any chances. The whole route was no more than two miles, entirely in 30mph zones. During this journey I found an opportunity to allow following traffic to pass without unduly affecting my own journey.