Speed limits are just that - they are not a target to get to as quickly as possible.

 

There is NO reason for anyone to be overtaking you at 50/60 +mph on a 30 , or 70/80+ on a 60 single carriageway road provided you are doing a sensible speed to keep up with the flow of traffic. It is just downright impatience.

Even the emergency services are not immune from the traffic rules & motorist are not legally bound to move out of the way when there are blue lights coming from behind, these driver we are told have been trained to asses the road & take appropriate action.  

As a matter of courtesy I will let them past, as one day i may just need them & would hope other would do the same.

 

With the numbers of cars on the road & the number ever increasing, getting annoyed/ stresses or whatever you want to call it is pointless, it will only lead to higher blood pressure and increased risk of heart attack.

We will reach the stage probably in 25-30 years where the whole country will be gridlocked & walking will be quicker, it will then be pavement rage

my favourite that I see is getting in the left lane at an island and thinking its fine to go all the way round the island in that lane to turn right.

just my opinion

Is that bad driving? On the risk of being crucified but I do that. It's just being a bit smart/cheeky.

As for the tailgating issue, I'm with those who pull over and let them pass. It's not bothering me. I think I already drive quickly so if someone still needs to get past, be my guest...I rather still be alive at the end of the journey.

In general, the worst you can do is assume that everyone else is out for a fight. It's not going to make your journey very relaxing.

I wasn't saying driving standards have got better - but specifcally being tail-gated

Whilst I'd agree that the general standard of driving is falling through the floor, I've been surprised at how increasly if you make space in front, folks back away behind

imho folks should drive in a considerate manner rather than a passive-aggressive defensive bubble

That's why I bought a vRS.  If they can keep up enough to tailgate, then fair play to 'em!

With the PD engines, you could drop a gear and smoked them out...!!

That what my mate used to do in his Fabia vRS.... 

what about one of those tailpipe flamer kits for discouraging tailgaters? that would be awesome seeing a 10 foot flame cooking a car to a crisp

Find somewhere you can pull over safely indicate and let them pass, they have gained 5 metres on their quest. You've won the war buying the car you have, let them win the skirmish!

There was a little poem a few years decades ago about such drivers.  I can't trace it now, nor remember most of it, but it ended something like this:  

 

".......the chap you have to mind

Is the one behind the car in front 

And in front of the car behind" 

 

Anyone remember it?

Is that bad driving? On the risk of being crucified but I do that. It's just being a bit smart/cheeky.

As for the tailgating issue, I'm with those who pull over and let them pass. It's not bothering me. I think I already drive quickly so if someone still needs to get past, be my guest...I rather still be alive at the end of the journey.

In general, the worst you can do is assume that everyone else is out for a fight. It's not going to make your journey very relaxing.

yes it is bad driving. nothing smart or cheeky about it to be honest. if that's the case why stop at red lights ? might as well be a bit cheeky and sneak through a gap if you can.  ; )

We will reach the stage probably in 25-30 years where the whole country will be gridlocked & walking will be quicker, it will then be pavement rage

I'm a Postie and there's already pavement rage, you try push a 5 feet long, 4 feet high & 3 foot wide BRIGHT Fn red trolley through the town centre shoppers on a Saturday lunchtime to finish work and START your weekend. 

 

Regards tailgaters, I don't experience it very often although I drive in the South East with some of the most congested roads in the country but, what I have found is lifting off the throtle & indicating left usually gives the tailgater all the encoragement they need to perform their overtaking maneuver.  Now, whether the on-coming road is clear or not when doing this, does depend on just how annoying they are and how easy you find it to sleep at night.         

yes it is bad driving. nothing smart or cheeky about it to be honest. if that's the case why stop at red lights ? might as well be a bit cheeky and sneak through a gap if you can. ; )

It was a rhetorical question.

In any case, I do tend to exploit little loopholes here and there if it stops me from queuing and if that's the only thing that makes me a bad driver...I can just about live with myself.

I think the issue with turning right from the left hand lane is if the approach has two lanes and the car on your right intends to go straight on.

There is NO reason for anyone to be overtaking you at 50/60 +mph on a 30 , or 70/80+ on a 60 single carriageway road provided you are doing a sensible speed to keep up with the flow of traffic. It is just downright impatience.

 

Whilst I agree totally with the general sentiment of this thread. I am appalled that, with increasing frequency, people seem incapable of "sensible" or even "reasonable" speed. And when you do choose to overtake someone safely, who is doing 20mph or more less than is safe to do so on a given stretch it's becoming a familiar to see road rage and flashing high beams because you dared not to follow their example of roadmanship. 

 

On three occasions this has happened in the last year. Two of them were 40-50 something women, one of which was clearly furious I'd dare to do such a thing, and the other, well she was gesticulating so wildly I thought something was genuinely wrong... so at the next appropriate point I pulled over. Her car stopped some 200yds behind, did a messy turn in the road and drove off the other way. 

 

The other occasion was a male new golf gti driver, for who, badge snobbery was clearly an issue at being overtaken. If I want to chill about people behind I let the cruise control take the strain, but he overtook and braked down even slower to the point of recklessness, so I took a different route! 

Edited 24 March, 201412 yr by jtypecav

I think the issue with turning right from the left hand lane is if the approach has two lanes and the car on your right intends to go straight on.

Might have misread this then. I though he was getting upset if there is a queue in the left hand lane with people wanting to turn left and someone is going past all of them to the front in the right lane, circling the roundabout to end up in the same place as those wanting to turn left.

With the PD engines, you could drop a gear and smoked them out...!!

That what my mate used to do in his Fabia vRS....

Just dropping a gear or two in the mk1 fabia vrs was enough to make the car almost stop with no brakelights - enough to scare the living day lights out of most tailgaters.

Personally I tend to ignore them. They usually end up miles behind as soon as I get to a corner.

The only irritating thing is someone going stupidly slowly on the bends and then 60+ on the straights meaning you can't legally overtake. All I want to do is have a nice, fairly consistent driving speed.

Edited 24 March, 201412 yr by gullyg

With the TSI DSG VRS it's actually quite hard to maintain a slow steady (legal) pace. The torque and quick seamless shifts means that when leaving the lights and with little throttle input I tend to find myself waaay ahead of every other car. I'm not going over 2500-3000 rpm and I really need to keep a watch over my speed. Never had this issue with my 1.6 Leon.

 

Also never had a tailgating issue since the RS...

Much more here, some in the same vein as above, but perhaps some additional thoughts.

http://www.advanced-driving.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4487&hilit=tailgating

Ok, so how do I avoid road rage? That's right, I leave the car in the garage and catch the train. The car is for "special" occasions only, lol.

As one of the Policeman said on the progamme Traffic Cops "95% of people could not careless about how they drive".

Your wasting your time trying to re-educate them.

Move over, overtake, turn off and carry on, whatever it takes to have little or no interaction!

A cheery wave whatever happens - usually whilst using all of my lovely BHP!

As one of the Policeman said on the progamme Traffic Cops "95% of people could not careless about how they drive".

Your wasting your time trying to re-educate them.

Move over, overtake, turn off and carry on, whatever it takes to have little or no interaction!

A cheery wave whatever happens - usually whilst using all of my lovely BHP!

The irony is the police are just as bad. I've manged to get them done for traffic offences on one occasion but usually your complaint ends up he said she said.

The other week we were almost pushed down the m6 by a police support unit van flashing his headlights.

No lights, no sirens, no alternating headlights just BMW style flashing and tailgating.

We moved out of the way and he did the same to another couple of cars before cutting across three lanes and down a slip road.

I would have complained but the driver of our car (not me) was speeding.

Edited 25 March, 201412 yr by gullyg

Camera in the back with a sign smile your on camera.

I get this every time I go out, I drive to the speed limit although very occasionally I have crept over it.

 

For me it tends to be any Peugeot's but mainly 206's, Audi's, Citroen Picasso's, Vauxhall Zafira's & 2nd gen Renault Clio's.

 

They are all very good in a straight line, but I completely leave them in the corners, then you can see them speeding up to be right on your tail again.

 

I was driving down a country lane the other day doing just over 60, and I had a Range Rover so close he could have got in the boot, he obviously decided he was above the law and promptly put his foot down and overtook me and completely disappeared.

 

The road I live on is a 20 area due to a school being up the road, it is straight for about 100 metres, with speed bumps though not very high, yet almost every driver including the people who live in the road, drive up it as though it is Santa Pod raceway, my cat was knocked over and killed by a speeding Peugeot.

 

The government would make a fortune in speeding fines.

 

Drivers are getting worse, the amount of times I see people where I live go through red traffic lights is incredible.

 

A few months ago we had four way temporary traffic lights at the end of our road, my light would change to green and I wouldn't be able to go as there was still four or more cars coming through on red, from one of the other lights.

The irony is the police are just as bad. I've manged to get them done for traffic offences on one occasion but usually your complaint ends up he said she said.

The other week we were almost pushed down the m6 by a police support unit van flashing his headlights.

No lights, no sirens, no alternating headlights just BMW style flashing and tailgating.

We moved out of the way and he did the same to another couple of cars before cutting across three lanes and down a slip road.

I would have complained but the driver of our car (not me) was speeding.

The police aren't required to use blues & twos for every emergency call but I would agree that this is a bad example and gives a very poor public image. The TSG guys tend to be a law to em self's.

IPCC or professional standards department of said force if you deem it such. However they would easily justify that from your description.

Hi all,

 

I'm 44 and been driving for what seems like a lifetime. I'm lucky enough to now be driving an Octavia VRS TSI Dsg.

 

I love driving, however have noticed over time that others are tending to drive much more aggressively now and that I'm encountering road rage frequently from others! All ages, from Mums on the school runs to old ladies/men?

 

My question is, when someone is driving really close behind you, what is the correct course of action?

 

I've tried the slowing down to annoy them and the speeding up to get away although often think to myself that, No, I'm not in the wrong and sticking to the speed limit, I'm overtaking, plus there's cars in front so I can't go anywhere and yet despite this, other drivers stay dangerously close to my rear bumper, why?

 

I would like to add that mostly, I will just pull over and let the fool drive by,....

It must be something about fife drivers, when I was down in Dunfermline at Xmas driving on aberdour road I ended up getting out the car after a driver started tailgating because he says I brake checked him. Erm no, I braked for a speed bump just outside the new chippie if you know it, and he was approaching fast from behind, speeding.

Try driving a "Classic" car at the speed limit,  a large number of the driving community think because mine's over 40 yrs old their speedometers are wrong and I must be driving slowly, so they have to climb all over me to make me speed up. I think they get so close they cannot see the V8 badge in the bottom right hand corner of my boot lid.  

(Don't get me started on the "Classic car approaching, I'll pull out in front of it because it will slow me dow... OH SHHIII !......" brigade.)