Slightly off topic...but it concerns 'the older generation'. I am puzzled by why their insurance premiums are so cheap?! ...QUOTE]

[extract]

Hmmm. :holmes: Insurance premiums used to be based on actuarial statistics. Logically interpreted very basically, a Sunday driver has a one in seven chance of an accident as against a 7-day driver, especially logical since most "normal" drivers will be on the lookout at "oldie" times and generally will probably be more likely to have an accident themselves by avoiding a dippy driver (old or not). I accept this could be a load of old tosh BTW.

OTOH I wonder how much "loading" there is these days? Given that less affluent oldies will go for cheaper insurance, all the salesmen have to do is to offer a cheaper rate, hoping that there will be few claims. In actuarial terms, the oldy rate is probably far in excess of normal rates and probably subsidises other claims. Again, this could be a load of old tosh, though it might be worthwhile for oldies to check the pay-out performance before signing on the dotted line.

Mo

The way I see it is 70mph is the limit and that is that. If I'm in the 3rd lane and overtaking at 70mph then tough, you can all wait.

Pretty sure that's not actually the case - IIRC' date=' if you are in a faster moving queue of traffic, then you are allowed to overtake on the left.

If there are two queues of traffic side by side, each consisting of one car, one travelling to right at 65mph and one to the left at 70mph, then this is in accordance with the Highway Code...

It's also not illegal to overtake on the left (hasn't been since the 70s) - you'll only get done for it if an officer deems you to be driving without due care and attention.

Rob.[/quote']

I think the 'faster moving queue of traffic' rule only applies when driving very slowly now (i.e. in a traffic jam). I think they changed it to stop people ducking into the middle / inside lane under circumstances exactly as you describe. But I could be wrong...

The way I see it is 70mph is the limit and that is that. If I'm in the 3rd lane and overtaking at 70mph then tough, you can all wait.

I thought all skodas were electronically limited to 55mph

There is no way I am going to check if thats true though

I thought all skodas were electronically limited to 55mph

There is no way I am going to check if thats true though

Don't tell me I've broken another car's restrictor :eek:

Thank you for all your feedback!

Today I managed to nearly crash into an Octy vRS with some bird in it who obviously forgot that indicating left to go OFF the roundabout tends to imply coming off, rather than going another one further down... Obviously to busy yapping on her friggin mobile, no handsfree, beeped my horn for about 20 seconds before she even noticed...

Dumb. - That's the first Octy vRS driver I've come across who drove badly though, amazingly (no offence intended). Annoyed the living cr*p out of me tho.

I end up doing the slow lane-drive-by regularly. I don't consider it undertaking when I pull into the slow(er) lane, joining that lane at the correct speed, which happens to be 20-odd mph higher than the fast(er) lane. If then a safe gap appears in the fast(er) lane where I am able to pull out into that lane safely and make nice progress again, then so be it.

It's different from the swap lanes like mad to get past one car at a time. That is more dangerous and could cause accidents..

M25 recommendations tend to be stay in lane at any rate, so I'm guessing overtaking lane type stuff doesn't apply under those conditions then?

Usually the M25 is quite busy so I daren't change lanes in case the **** behind closes the gap and won't let me back in.

The M23 is the worst though. People just seem to sit there in the way, when people are blatantly in a rush to get to the airport or something, or when I was rushing back to work. They just don't seem to comprehend the concept of other road users.

Plus there are often police all over that road, there is even that bloody Evo VIII that blasts up and down that all day long, and those frigg'in V70's everywhere. GRR!!!

Really? I've never seen police on the M23.

That's what I thought until I got stopped twice in one week and I've just come back now and seen an unmarked Evo at the side of the road, and a proper E-class estate patrol car going northbound.

Maybe this merc guy thought he was driving in Belgium

We have the same problem here so it's not a British thing at all. Anyway someone said he likes to drive in France. France is OK, as long as you're not on the 'peripherique'. Germany rules though. If someone is in front of you and you're going faster 99% chance they'll move out of the way. Never had anyone cutting in either. The Autobahn is constantly monitored for such things and I believe the Polizei doesn't like 'em.

Maybe this merc guy thought he was driving in Belgium

We have the same problem here so it's not a British thing at all. Anyway someone said he likes to drive in France. France is OK' date=' as long as you're not on the 'peripherique'. Germany rules though. If someone is in front of you and you're going faster 99% chance they'll move out of the way. Never had anyone cutting in either. The Autobahn is constantly monitored for such things and I believe the Polizei doesn't like 'em.[/quote']

Driving in Germany IS the best. We should all take notes from them!

Continental driving is different in that in some places it's fairly aggressive (i.e. if you dont f*ck off out of the OVERTAKING lane NOT the FAST lane when you should, they'll beep their horn at you)... but at least lane discipline is generally better, and generally more people use indicators appropriately.

Nothing like perfect there either though, and these days I try to be good and just wait, or drop back into the left-hand lane, follow the lorries that are going faster and past on the inside, then pull back out to the right a bit further on as to avoid annoying the motorist that I've just gone past

Not sure what the policy is on pulling over drivers that do 70 mph in the 3rd lane (or 2nd lane) when there is no-one in the 1st lane - however if you were to undertake such a person the police WOULD pull you and at the very least have a little chat about why it's so dangerous. I doubt they'd pull the person in the overtaking lane though...

The A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge is a nightmare. People refuse to pull over. The left lane can be empty for as far as you can see and there will be a queue in the right hand lane. Its unbelievable sometimes.

If I'm cruising on the 4 lane section of the A1 near Peterborough at night and I'm in the left lane and theres someone sitting in the 2nd lane, it depends on how I'm feeling as to whether or not I go round them. I think the vast majority of drivers that do it just aren't paying attention. If I go past them on the inside, they usually wake up as it gives them a bit of a shock and they pull across into the left lane, but I usually go round them and hope that the fact that I move back into lane 1 gives them a hint.

My method is normally to be patient these days. If I'm in the o/s lane and they're not gonna move, I move one lane over and let the Vectra/Mondeo/Merc/BMW behind me aggressively tailgate them until they do. That's normally in the Impreza though. People either nearly fall off the road to get out of the way when they see it or come over all stubborn and irritable and won't move.

Other than M25, I like to drive in the left-most lane. Sometimes that's dangerous though as worn road surface (ruts) the lorries leave make travelling in a particular lane unstable. Also, on older surfaces in rainy conditions, lorry ruts fill up with water. If you haven't got nearly new tyres, you can aquaplane all over the place as well as enjoy the spray of whatever is on the road in front of you.

J.

The Autobahns seem better because bullying is common, high speeds are common and trucks are restricted. I have never seen tailgating in the UK to the levels that I do when I'm in Germany. Knowing that someone might be closing in on you at a vast speed and that the clear rear-view mirror you have right now might fill up in moments keeps you on your toes somewhat.

If you're not back out of the way the *instant* you've cleared the vehicle you were overtaking, then the bullying starts.

Basically, the overtaking lanes don't feel like places you'd want to cruise, which is not the case over here.

I like the Autobahns

as well as enjoy the spray of whatever is on the road in front of you.

It always amazes me in wet weather the people who sit in the left lane following a lorry at two car length's distance and having gallons of spray chucked over their car. :confused: I like to be able to see where I'm going!

Chris

Germans also like to sit very close and slipstream each other I cruised behind a 2.8 V6 VW Carravelle doing 115mph and I was getting 33mpg in a 1.8T Passat!

Talking to an ex traffic cop on this subject ( 10 years out) and he says there is no law to stop undertakng, however it is deemed dangerous driving to flash lights etc then change lanes to undertake then change back again, IYSWIM, to continue in the inside lane and undertake a muppett sat in the middle/ outside would be ok (so long as you don't break speed limit) otherwise what are you meant to do, slam anchors on and stay behind him in an inner lane, or swerve accross 3 lanes to 'overtake.'?

My latest views have been that if I'm doing a good speed in the 3rd lane and quite clearly overtaking at a good rate and some t*sser in a BMW comes up behind me and flashs its hazards, I brake very sharply, to the point where I nearly do 30mph. Why? Clearly they are trying to tell me there is something wrong with my car aren't they? So you should slow down and aim to stop at the next available opportunity, if they hit my back, tough poo, hit me Mr I've Got A Sh!t Load Of Money And Can't Think Of Anything Intelligent To Buy Except A 5 Series That Pollutes (they have very long names, normally Smythe).

And breathe