Safe Speed Forums

I wanted to add to the last topic, but was prevented by shouting matches.(So paul, forgive me if i add this one- i come from an area/time where you pass if you can ,not where you are told to)
My point was simply to ask how often we see on D/C eg A14 tailgaiting by persons in obvious firms cars ( mondeo/ etc) -they pass etc and then n single lane road we find them holding up traffic as they can't/wont pass mr flat cap at 45 , although the road is clear and they have the opertunity.

Had an interesting experience this morning on the way to work.

I met "Mr Flat Cap" this morning on an unclassified road , after sitting behind him (safe distance - no tailgating here) for 2-3 miles at 30-40 mph, I was presented with an opportunity to pass. After going through the usual mirror-inicate-manouvre , I proceeded to pull out to pass only to have said gentleman pull into the middle of the road , why ? I hear you ask , ....... to avoid driving through a puddle !!!

All this happened well below the posted speed limit I might add .

I usually decline to overtake because some people randomly speed up- it happened to me when I was driving my 1.6 VW Polo and tried to overtake a small van who was crawling at 25mph in a 60 NSL (SC) - the roads were a bit bendy and poorly surfaced, but I was familiar with them, and usually progress through at about 35-40mph - but the van driver must have been a stranger to the area - which I could respect

None the less, we came out the woody area and into the open, where the road becomes a 2-3 mile runway, - I didn't overtake, anticipating that the driver would speed up when in the open- he didnt speed up for the first few hundred yards, and the other side was empty so I dropped into 2nd gear and floored it, but as soon as I moved out, the van took off like a rocket - being a diesel, it pulled harshly at low speeds, - I was side by side with him for a couple of seconds when I realised the insanity of the situation, slowed down and cut back in behind him

Since then, I've been reluctant to overtake on SCs' while in the Polo. I now drive a 2.0 318i BMW - which easily plows around

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My friends call me RuFFy

GG - now if in past you had found that in puddle there was large pothole ( don't know about Aberdeen, but where i hail from it's not unknown --invernessshire) and it had wrecked a wheel and tyre - what would you do - I'd avoid all puddles on the principle that there could be something nasty in them - from other posts i believe that IAM reccommend this course of action -
Consider cardboard box on road - can you see inside it - is it a box or has it got a brick inside - don't know -got round it -safer and cheaper.

Does this "obstuction" in the road override the drivers obligation to check thier mirrors before changing lane ?

Sorry, but even if this was the case (which by the way it wasn't), I still consider the chaps driving irratic and dangerous.

That all depends on the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Do you feel obliged to check your mirrors before you slam the brakes on to avoid little Johnny who has just run out in front of you?
Would you feel obliged to check your mirrors before frantically veering in to L3 on the motorway because the numpty in L1 hasn't seen you for whatever reason and is coming in for a broadside with you if you don't move?

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

Obviously in your two examples one could probably forgive a little indescretion, but in my original posting I was highlighting the chaps presumed inability to see beyond his own bonnet.

He was travelling on a straight piece of road at just over 30 mph , and I can assure you the puddle certainly didn't move into his path.

Just because he didn't see the puddle until the last minute, that doesn't mean he wasn't paying attention to the road ahead.

I could show you two roads where I live right now (both long & straight), and you won't see hazards such as puddles (I use the term "hazard" loosely in this sense) until you are right on top of them.
From a personal point of view, if the above scenario were to happen to me (and it has done before now), then I would opt for staying where I was and simply go through it rather than swerve out for no "apparent" reason.

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

I almost binned my car when on a NSL road at night by driving through a large and deep puddle that I hadn't seen (being dark), and the drag effect caused me to swerve violently. (thankfully the road was wide enough to be able to regain control without crossing the white line) So yes, if ITS SAFE TO DO SO I will avoid pot holes and puddles (and if I'm on the bike, bags, boxes, roadkill or anything else that might cause me a problem)

The fact remains that if mr flatcap was only driving at 30MPH then the chances are he was either blind or incapable of comprehending hazards at a reasonable speed, and therefore shouldn't really be on the road anyway. The fact that he didn't see the puddle is neither here or there because if he were using his mirrors adequately he should have KNOWN that botach was there and in the process of overtaking, so the 'check before moving out' comment is really pointless.

As for the comment about swerving into L3 because someone has pulled out into L2 infront of you, or to the side of you, when I'm on the motorway Im generally looking into the lane(s) next to me anyway to make sure that if I have to make a rapid meneuver I can do safely.

This actually saved my life and that of my 2 passangers last new year. I was driving along the A417 around Cirencester at night (about 11:30PM) and I had seen a car approching a junction to join the D/C (no sliproad, just a T junction). He was i guess about 400 yards in front of me when I first saw him, but with the speed I was travelling, by the time he decided to pull out in front of me, had I NOT been checking L2 for traffic, and knew that it was clear for about 1/2 a mile, and had to check before making a RAPID lane change I would have hit him.

Point is, you need to be aware of everything around you at all times - as is stated on the site, nothing just 'happens out of nowere', so regardless of the details of the situation, Mr Flatcap wasn't paying attention

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

I find my journeys to and from work along the A134 Thetford to Bury so attriociously slow, usually due to Mr flat cap and or lorries, tha I will take every opportunity, (in complete safety) to overtake.

What startles me is that even if its an open clear road, that the driver of the vehicle I OT gives me a look as though I am a diseased ridden leper!

Overtaking has become a real crime round here.

Julesm I have to admit that there've been times when I've passed something on the bike (with plenty of room to spare) and the oncoming traffic - again usually Mr. Flatcap has flashed his lights at me to tell me off

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.