I bet I'm a sort of driver that bugs some of you, I'm the sort of person that drives to the speed limits, so if I'm told it's a 30zone I will do 30...but these other kind and I'm sure there are a couple on FOC really irritate the pea eye double ess out of me!

Drove up to see the parents on the weekend and it's a twisty single carriageway A road I need to take, it goes through villages and towns, for the most part it's a fun drive, I doubt the most fuel efficient encouraging drive because of the tight corners and banked bits, it's fun... But some people drive me insane...

I'm there steaming along and zoink, stuck, somebody is trundling along at 35-45 mph in a '60' zone, now don't get me wrong, you might not be comfortable pushing it, you might not know the road etc... Then you hit a small village and it's a 30 zone... So it's a Sunday, it's a nice day, balloons tied to things, therefore evidence of kids and these people continue at their 35-45 speed... They put some distance between me and them so that when it hits the 60 zone again I have to catch them up and miss a few overtaking spots....

I don't understand their brains...they're not comfortable to keep good speed, but they're comfortable to speed through sleepy villages...

Motorways or even the 60 zones I can understand speeding more so, as technically it's out of the way of pedestrians etc, but small villages/towns etc?! Just madness...

There's far more to driving safely than just being aware of the speed limit :

Speed limits are exactly that - the absolute limit that the authorities deem to be safe

Just because, for example, one is driving in a 30 zone, it isn't always safe or indeed sensible to drive at 30, road conditions, road layout, inclement weather, volume of traffic, driver fatigue, vehicle roadworthiness & the unknown '' what if '' factor should all be present in the drivers mind when deciding on appropriate vehicle speed within any given speed limit

This does my nut too, people who dawdle on national speed limit road but then continue that speed and break the limit through a 30 zone.

I like to drive quite hard and spirited but only up to the limit.

I know what you mean Ian...I call them the 40-club. 40mph EVERYWHERE regardless of speed limit. I agree with Mark that it is a limit and may not always be safe to drive at the limit...but I think the point Ian made was about exceeding the limit in a 30 zone which IMO is dangerous (young kids playing, etc).

There's far more to driving safely than just being aware of the speed limit :

Speed limits are exactly that - the absolute limit that the authorities deem to be safe

Just because, for example, one is driving in a 30 zone, it isn't always safe or indeed sensible to drive at 30, road conditions, road layout, inclement weather, volume of traffic, driver fatigue, vehicle roadworthiness & the unknown '' what if '' factor should all be present in the drivers mind when deciding on appropriate vehicle speed within any given speed limit

I totally agree, however it is a useful indication on the speed that is deemed safe on that road under the ideal circumstances (or perhaps average circumstances)... Today driving back it was bucketing it down, surfaces were waterlogged and spray was awful, so I had little desire to do the national speed limit, and when I found myself behind someone who was going slower, I wasn't overly bothered because they obviously feel for the conditions their speed is safe for them... Until they hit a town.... Where they drop from 40 to 35... (30 zone).. So what I mean is someone's deemed the 60 Road to be 60 in good conditions, these other drivers felt 60 in those conditions was dangerous (I agree). Then we get to a town and someone deems 30 to be the right speed for a town.. Yet these people don't do 30... Well if the weather is slowing you up outside of towns, shouldn't the speed be on a sliding scale?

60->45

That's a 25% reduction in speed...

So surely that should somewhat apply in a town or village so you'd expect it to be something like 22.5mph as a limit?

It's not as black and white in reality but I just find it amusing that people have no concept of why limits are in place in populous places...

The sad fact is that too many so called '' qualified '' drivers are idiots who have conveniently forgotten some of the fundamentals of safe driving

Stopping distances being one of the most important ones but the list is endless

I would bet a substantial sum that approximately 30 % + of all full licence holders would fail a driving test if they had to take one tomorrow :)

Some qualified drivers also forget that passing ones driving test is reaching the MINIMUM standard required to be allowed to drive unsupervised

We all then should learn something new every time we drive our vehicles as driving is a life skill that one never completely masters

I agree, Mark! My Dad said to me the day I passed my test..."Now you start to learn how to drive".

Can you fail a test for road rage?! Like raging in the cage, not actually getting out going mental?

Yes you can

I wonder what box they tick for road rage, lol?

I probably still have my sheet somewhere....

I'd fail then....

I'd fail then....

Me too, i have zero tolerance now for bad drivers and just yell at people to pull over if they want to give me abuse. Ive only got out of the car once and the muppet locked himself in his car yet before i got out of my car he was very vocal indeed! If im in the wrong i put my hand up and apologise yet for some reason other people like to pretend they've done nothing wrong and then give me the hand gestures and verbal! I can only take so much of plonkers!

The driving examiner will terminate the driving test if the candidate exhibits road rage - resulting in test failure

The driving examiner will terminate the driving test if the candidate exhibits road rage - resulting in test failure

Maybe if you scare them enough with your outburst they might still pass you!

I wouldn't say I ever have proper road rage, but I do vent at people who wrong me on the road. Particularly people who don't say thank you when you stop to let them through.

Helps me move on from the situation, got to be better than bottling it up.

I have been in the car with a driver who got proper ragey though, quite scary. No way could they have full concentration on the road the state they were in.

I come across these drivers every day. But I will put my hand up to the fact that if I have been driving for a long period of time on a national speed limit road, Especially motorway, (actually getting to drive at the national speed limit). I have maybe came into a 40mph/30mph zone, slowed down to the limit in question. but maybe after 20 or 30 seconds later looked at speedo and I might be sitting 5 or 6 mph above speed limit,

Once you have been driving at national speed limit and motorway speeds for a long period of time, 30mph seems as though your about to come to a halt. believe me I am not using this as an excuse.

But as for the 40mph drivers where ever they go. they in my opinion are the worse on the road. especially on country roads where it is safe to do the national speed limit. These are the drivers that cause frustration on other drivers, which makes the frustrated driver take silly risks to get past the inconsiderate A hole driver who couldn't care less whats going on around about them.

My journey to work used 30mph 40mph and National speed limit zones. The amount of times I have sat behind someone on the national speed limit at 35/40mph and the same speed on the 40/30mph zone is unbelievable, As said by Alex,

Well I was behind some idiot yesterday who randomly slowed down, as if he was lost... So I moved out to overtake him and he started accelerating and throwing his hands out the window..... That made me livid, purely because I had to put the anchors on and pull back in behind as it was about to become unsafe to overtake and then I was somehow the victim of his abuse because he:

- Couldn't maintain his speed; or

- He was lost and couldn't grasp the ability of using his indicators to international signal "I don't know where the **** I am going, you better go past because I'm going to creep along until I find my turning"....

I actually did get out my car yesterday to have a word with a learner driver who crossed over the centre line as they turned into a junction I was approaching... They made no effort to pull back in and just stopped in my way... It was a kind word because my heart was beating, but I got a blank look as if again, I had done something wrong... I pointed out her car was over the centre line and aimed at me... "DUUUUUH" no real response...

Learner drivers really do test my patience sometimes Ian - especially the ones that continuously stall, or toddle along at a snail's pace in rush hour traffic on important roads.

Learner drivers really do test my patience sometimes Ian - especially the ones that continuously stall, or toddle along at a snail's pace in rush hour traffic on important roads.

I'll admit I do tend to give learner drivers a bit of a break most of the time, but when they stop within 2 feet of your door and issue a look as if to say that I am wrong and I shouldn't be there, I get mad...

As much as I love driving now, I wasn't a duck to water when it came to learning to drive. So I have plenty of patience for learner drivers.

The problem is usually the instructor sticking them in stupid places or taking them on roads they are not ready for.

On more than one occasion I have had a learner parked up opposite our drive making it impossible for me to swing in as I normally do.

The standards of driving instruction have plummeted since I retired . . . . :)

Having passed a car and bike test, it still amazes me that a learner in a car can be taken out on any non-motorway road with nothing more than a provisional license and a passenger who has a full license. When I took my bike test, I had to pass basic training to show I could control the vehicle before being allowed out on a public road.

I have sympathy for the learners and I do try to have patience with them, but it does royally p*** me off when they are taken on busy roads when they clearly are not ready.

I think it's extremely unfair on the learner driver to put them in those situations, thats why I didn't holler at this girl... I spoke calmly and asked if she was OK and whether she knows where the centre line is... But she responded so blankly that I told her she nearly gave me a heart attack!

Mr Numpty in the passenger seat made no comment, so it makes me wonder looking back if they had the legal right to be on the road. I know if I was a passenger I'd have apologised profusely as realistically it's that persons responsibility... Probably both stoned...

We must remember that we were all learners at one point.

Tbh I still learn something new every day (even as an advanced driver).

I'm a firm believer that if you don't put someone out of their comfort zone when dealing with situations on the road then they will learn nothing.