Safe Speed Forums

This happened to me this morning and I would be interested to see how it might have or did pan out.

I was being followed by BIB and I was following old dodderer doing approx 40MPH in 40MPH limit. We all turned on to NSL and old dodderer continues on dead straight road at 36MPH (sat nav reading). After a few hundred yards of this road is still straight with clear vis for a good distance and now no oncoming traffic. I check mirror, see plod and long queue behind plod but no one making overtake signals so I pull out past dodderer.

Now my diesel estate isn't the quickest thing around but I'm having trouble passin dodderer and by the time we hit about 45-50MPH, I think that if something comes over horizon, I'm going to have to pull back in soon. At this speed dodderer must have hit suicide peak and stopped accelerating, so because the road is still clear I can finish overtake.
I check rear mirror and see that plod and rest of queue have dropped back quite a way behind dodderer so it wasn't my imagination, he was obviously accelerating although he had had about 1/4 mile previously to increase his speed from 36MPH which he was quite happy with.
I assume plod had not followed too closely to see what was the outcome and give me a safety gap if I had to pull back in. The road is dead straight for ages still and although I am dissappearing into the distance at 60MPH now, I can see that dodderer is now still holding up plod and queue at I presume his 36MPH original speed, he certainly wasn't doing close on 50MPH any more.

Now if something had come over horizon and I had to abort overtake, or if dodderer had gone on to 60MPH and I would have had abort to anyway...I wonder what plod would have done about what was an obvious overtake block from dodderer and I wonder if he followed him and pulled him a bit later?

_________________
My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

I don't bother overtaking anyone like that, I just KNOW they're going to floor the gas pedal and try to ditch me.

_________________
The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Then if nobody bothers overtaking these dodderers you get a big queue doing 36MPH on a good straight NSL, they should be retested, he was at least 70.

_________________
My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.

Yet another reason to have a car with some grunt.

I had a bloke in a BMW accelerating noticeably whenever it would have been possible for me to pass him today, but I was in my van... cue usual muttering about wishing I was in my Clio.

There is an upgrade available for your van on eBay

_________________
Driving fast is for a particular time and place, I can do it I just only do it occasionally because I am a gentleman.
- James May