Thank you to the lady who tried to drive through my boot this morning on the A15. Sitting behind a tractor about 30 Mph a gap starts to appear, ready to go, indicate and as oncoming traffic passes by, pull out and the silver CLS behind tries to push me out of the way by pressing horn and filling mirror. Flick back slightly in surprise and Merc pulls back, immediately go again and Merc is already coming through as I am out. Stuff it, had enough of this intimidation, foot down and I'm gone with middle aged woman straight up my chuff at the road's limit of 60 mph. My wife says this happens to her a lot when she's in her Sirion and it appears to be the "my car is posh therefore you should move out of the way" syndrome. I understand that dithering drivers should be overtaken. Neither my wife or myself dither, we go when there's a safe gap.

Thank you to the lady who tried to drive through my boot this morning on the A15. Sitting behind a tractor about 30 Mph a gap starts to appear, ready to go, indicate and as oncoming traffic passes by, pull out and the silver CLS behind tries to push me out of the way by pressing horn and filling mirror. Flick back slightly in surprise and Merc pulls back, immediately go again and Merc is already coming through as I am out. Stuff it, had enough of this intimidation, foot down and I'm gone with middle aged woman straight up my chuff at the road's limit of 60 mph. My wife says this happens to her a lot when she's in her Sirion and it appears to be the "my car is posh therefore you should move out of the way" syndrome. I understand that dithering drivers should be overtaken. Neither my wife or myself dither, we go when there's a safe gap.

So, was the merc already overtaking behind you? Or did she pull out at the same time as you?

I do this a lot

You may not think you dither but you probably are

A safe gap to overtake for a powerfull car is slightly different to a safe gap for a low powered car.

Yep agree with "big jase" what you call a safe gap and what a car behind or a couple of cars behind sees as as a safe gap are two different things.

Bottom line you should be checking your mirrors before executing the manoeuvre, what about motor bikes they tend to filter up the outside of slower queues all the time?

Highway code extract:

162

Before overtaking you should make sure

the road is sufficiently clear ahead

*road users are not beginning to overtake you*

there is a suitable gap in front of the road user you plan to overtake.

163

Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should

not get too close to the vehicle you intend to overtake

use your mirrors, signal when it is safe to do so, take a quick sideways glance if necessary into the blind spot area and then start to move out

not assume that you can simply follow a vehicle ahead which is overtaking; there may only be enough room for one vehicle

move quickly past the vehicle you are overtaking, once you have started to overtake. Allow plenty of room. Move back to the left as soon as you can but do not cut in

Edited 2 May, 201511 yr by Defenderben

Come on chaps, RB was behind a tractor in a VRS.  If he was dithering, he probably wouldn't have posted about the CLS.  Most sensible people would prefer to get past a tractor on an A road, particularly if there's a queue.  Safely, and yes, being spatially aware of what's going on around you.

 

I get bullied a surprising amount in my Del Sol due, I think, to its size.  It's totally different in the Superb.  The flip side is that before the Superb, I had a HOT 9-5 Aero.  Yes, I could get past more cars than most, but it is a big car mentality in that most of the time everything was in my way.

 

Gaz

I do this a lot

You may not think you dither but you probably are

 

Drives: BMW  :D    Sorry, I couldn't resist!

But yes, as you say I find lots of people dither myself. I usually stick to a 3 strikes rule, if there's been 3 clear opportunities for me to overtake both the person in-front and the vehicle they want to overtake ill wait for them, by the 4th (or if its been about 20 seconds on a perfectly clear straight stretch) then I'll go, keep an eye on the mirrors

I do this quite a bit if I'm in something with enough power, long straight section of road, stuck behind a tractor doing 25, Combo into 2nd and flew past the 4 vehicle queue, no one else went even when perfectly safe to do so

I do this a lot

You may not think you dither but you probably are

A safe gap to overtake for a powerfull car is slightly different to a safe gap for a low powered car.

I never follow cars through overtakes on the bike.

Simply because my mind cant comprehend with just how slow most of em are.

Depending if there room afterwards, can usually wait for em to pull in, open up and overtake both vehicles in about a tenth of the time it took the car to overtake 1.

Its annoying

In the car, even with my foot to the floor its taking years too long, so if theres any much faster vehicles vehicle with keen drivers, i let em go first.

Cos i know what its like.

I don't do dithering but I definitely do chilling.  If I am the first car behind a tractor for example I tend to go when safe but if it's not totally clear then I'll chill 'till a safe opportunity arises.  I also keep an eye out in the mirror to see what's behind and try to second guess who might be impatient enough to try to overtake a few cars in one go.  What does surprise me is people who try this manoeuvre in very underpowered cars and end up being on the wrong side of the road for a worrying length of time. 

 

I always leave a decent gap between me and whatever is in front for various reasons, one being it gives me space to play with depending on what other people are doing.  Plus, it makes overtaking easier/safer as I can see further down the road.  This can annoy some people as they see a space and think there should be a car in it. Anyway, it works for me.

 

As for the big car syndrome I can totally buy into the OPs experiences.  I tend to spend most of my time driving the Vectra and find that people don't hassle me too much and rarely pull out on me.  When driving the Ignis though, I experience a totally different drive on the same roads.  People pull out on me, hassle me in the rear view mirror and seem to have a desire to run the little car off the road on a regular basis.  It alters my perceptions of other people and their attitudes to fellow human beings, as the little car definitely gets picked on by mid sized cars and above whereas the Vectra only gets hassled by similar sized vehicles and those that are larger.  No doubt studies have been conducted into this but I guess it's a simple case of human psychology at play.

 

As for being the bigger car at times, I am also guilty of being a tad impatient with others when in our larger car.  It's probably because I don't like to see wasted opportunities that could make everyone's day pass a little bit easier.  I don't give them grief at all but simply seethe quietly behind the wheel.

I don't do dithering but I definitely do chilling. If I am the first car behind a tractor for example I tend to go when safe but if it's not totally clear then I'll chill 'till a safe opportunity arises. I also keep an eye out in the mirror to see what's behind and try to second guess who might be impatient enough to try to overtake a few cars in one go. What does surprise me is people who try this manoeuvre in very underpowered cars and end up being on the wrong side of the road for a worrying length of time.

I always leave a decent gap between me and whatever is in front for various reasons, one being it gives me space to play with depending on what other people are doing. Plus, it makes overtaking easier/safer as I can see further down the road. This can annoy some people as they see a space and think there should be a car in it. Anyway, it works for me.

As for the big car syndrome I can totally buy into the OPs experiences. I tend to spend most of my time driving the Vectra and find that people don't hassle me too much and rarely pull out on me. When driving the Ignis though, I experience a totally different drive on the same roads. People pull out on me, hassle me in the rear view mirror and seem to have a desire to run the little car off the road on a regular basis. It alters my perceptions of other people and their attitudes to fellow human beings, as the little car definitely gets picked on by mid sized cars and above whereas the Vectra only gets hassled by similar sized vehicles and those that are larger. No doubt studies have been conducted into this but I guess it's a simple case of human psychology at play.

As for being the bigger car at times, I am also guilty of being a tad impatient with others when in our larger car. It's probably because I don't like to see wasted opportunities that could make everyone's day pass a little bit easier. I don't give them grief at all but simply seethe quietly behind the wheel.

Defo true about being hassled in a smaller car.

I get it in the fabia (probably think im old and defenseless, so they think they can get away with it) but in the van its a different story. A lot fewer people get in a vans way. I guess they perceive the driver to be a big hairy arsed builder.

Get it less on the bike too, but its a lot easier. If i have a tailgater or dont like the look of whos following me, I'll just wait for a speedlimit change and make space, or just nip past the car infront, or just go past a car at the traffic lights.

 I'm gone with middle aged woman straight up my chuff at the road's limit of 60 mph. 

Do you limit your speed when overtaking, or was this after the manoeuvre was complete? I discussed overtaking speed with my IAM instructor, we both agreed the sensible approach is get back into the right side of the road as quickly as possible, so I don't hold back overtaking more than one vehcile, but clearly accelerating up to insane speeds would be a risk if a vehicle pulled out on you as you were passing. It's all about minimising the risk, whilst making progress.

This can annoy some people as they see a space and think there should be a car in it. 

 Even if the space isn't big enough for them in some cases.

I have noted over the years lots of short legged people drive big cars, some need cushions to get them high enough to see over steering wheel.

Have seen (usually ladies) driving their car looking through spokes of steering wheel, not high/ tall enough to look over top of steering wheel..

Couple of things occur to me.  Firstly as I am local and know the A15 well.  It is considered to be one of the most dangerous roads in the Country.  There is no such thing as a dangerous road but in parts this has more than it's fair share of collisions and many of them fatal due to the undulating road and loss of view.  So it depends on where you mean by the A15 because parts of it are far worse than others.  We also being a rural area have many tractors trundling about.  Overtaking these is often done by some with a complete lack of safety very often no doubt caused by frustration of being held up for a fraction of their total journey time.  So I understand the op wishing to make sure it was safe to overtake.

 

Secondly the saying 'he who hesitates has lost' is often true and others around us will have different driving skills, reaction times and temperament  to us.  Whilst we are sat making our minds up someone else may easily have seen an opportunity that they believe they can take advantage of.  We need to be aware of that and as others have said we have a duty to ensure it is safe to overtake both front and rear.

 

I very often come up behind a great long line of vehicles behind a tractor and no one is going to overtake because they are waiting for the first one to go and they never will because they are too close to have a view.  If you cannot see what is beyond the tractor or whatever it is in front of you then you cannot be in a position to overtake safely.  At some point one of the vehicles on this queue is going to go for it and that is when very often one of the others in front does as well without checking behind (especially the blind spot).

 

For what it is worth I also don't buy into the bit about big car small car and consider it more to be a confidence issue be it false confidence or not.

Couple of things occur to me.  Firstly as I am local and know the A15 well.  It is considered to be one of the most dangerous roads in the Country.  There is no such thing as a dangerous road but in parts this has more than it's fair share of collisions and many of them fatal due to the undulating road and loss of view.  So it depends on where you mean by the A15 because parts of it are far worse than others.  We also being a rural area have many tractors trundling about.  Overtaking these is often done by some with a complete lack of safety very often no doubt caused by frustration of being held up for a fraction of their total journey time.  So I understand the op wishing to make sure it was safe to overtake.

 

Secondly the saying 'he who hesitates has lost' is often true and others around us will have different driving skills, reaction times and temperament  to us.  Whilst we are sat making our minds up someone else may easily have seen an opportunity that they believe they can take advantage of.  We need to be aware of that and as others have said we have a duty to ensure it is safe to overtake both front and rear.

 

I very often come up behind a great long line of vehicles behind a tractor and no one is going to overtake because they are waiting for the first one to go and they never will because they are too close to have a view.  If you cannot see what is beyond the tractor or whatever it is in front of you then you cannot be in a position to overtake safely.  At some point one of the vehicles on this queue is going to go for it and that is when very often one of the others in front does as well without checking behind (especially the blind spot).

 

For what it is worth I also don't buy into the bit about big car small car and consider it more to be a confidence issue be it false confidence or not.

Does your missis drive a CLS by any chance,  .

No and if she did she isn't that confident and certainly not aggressive.  Also she wouldn't be driving about in a Taxi.

No and if she did she isn't that confident and certainly not aggressive.  Also she wouldn't be driving about in a Taxi.

Ouch :clap:

This can annoy some people as they see a space and think there should be a car in it. 

 

 Even if the space isn't big enough to get your knob in, some knob will push in .

Shoulda said this.

Edited 2 May, 201511 yr by Tilt

Right let me be clear to all. I was in 3rd gear, indicating with traffic not yet past me on the opposite carriageway. I pulled out as soon as the oncoming car passed on a long downhill stretch with good clear visibility. I didn't dither and please, my VRS will out accelerate the tank behind torque or no torque if it was the usual 320CLS. I am used to nip and tuck racing and judging overtakes as per my karting, I think I was absolutely gob smacked at the arrogance and stupidity of the CLS driver. I accelerated quickly to the limit and no I did not dawdle past the tractor and try to baulk the CLS, frankly I would have outpaced it if the driver had tried to "teach me a lesson". Given that we then sat at 60 on a straight where I was content to let the CLS blast pass towards Lincoln and yet it didn't overtake, probably indicates that they relaxed as that important meeting was either back on track or that they didn't want to die on the way to work. The A15 is a dangerous route.

So, was the merc already overtaking behind you? Or did she pull out at the same time as you?

No sat right behind me at the same speed, she couldn't pull out until the oncoming traffic had passed me.

Yep agree with "big jase" what you call a safe gap and what a car behind or a couple of cars behind sees as as a safe gap are two different things.

Bottom line you should be checking your mirrors before executing the manoeuvre, what about motor bikes they tend to filter up the outside of slower queues all the time?

Highway code extract:

162

Before overtaking you should make sure

the road is sufficiently clear ahead

*road users are not beginning to overtake you*

there is a suitable gap in front of the road user you plan to overtake.

163

Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should

not get too close to the vehicle you intend to overtake

use your mirrors, signal when it is safe to do so, take a quick sideways glance if necessary into the blind spot area and then start to move out

not assume that you can simply follow a vehicle ahead which is overtaking; there may only be enough room for one vehicle

move quickly past the vehicle you are overtaking, once you have started to overtake. Allow plenty of room. Move back to the left as soon as you can but do not cut in

Thanks, I think 38 years of driving on Autobahns and motorways have taught me to check mirrors.

There have been many fatals on the A15  over the years especially on the section North of Lincoln to Caenby Corner and beyond.  Double white lines seem to mean nothing to some drivers now.  Many times it is best to let these idiots get on with it but sometimes like in your case you are unable to get them out of your hair.  Strange as you say that she then continued to sit behind at the speed limit if she was in such a hurry. 

 

Lets face it driving standards have deteriorated now and to make it worse we have the Bank Holiday drivers out this weekend.  I think we all have to keep our wits about us to ensure that the actions of others don't impact (literally) on us and I am sure we all see stuff on a daily basis that beggars belief.

 

Please you escaped from your moment.

Agreed the A15 is very dangerous. I use the stretch between Sleaford and Lincoln most days and have seen plenty of near misses. While it is very frustrating being stuck at 30-40, the number of times someone has gone blasting past me and into the distance, I have then caught up and repassed them in the city. Most of the junctions onto and off the A15 are very dangerous too. The crossroads at metheringham heath for instance, I remember an occasion someone pulled out in front of me to turn right, saw how close I was and had to abort and go straight on. Matter of inches from a big shunt, luckily not been repeated since *touchwood*.

No sat right behind me at the same speed, she couldn't pull out until the oncoming traffic had passed me.

Sometimes when you're in something soo much faster, you forget how slow a normal car is.

Gets a bit frustrating following it at 1/10th throttle.

It would be if her car had actually been faster than mine. Check the figures, we're not talking Ferraris here.