The Dreaded Guidelines again!

the limit is maximum not a minimum . we can and i shall drive at a legal speed as best i can if its too slow for some then tough . nobody cares . they really dont give a monkeys . some just like overtaking .
as for guides and rules some like thgem .need guides as they cant think for themselves .
some like making, giving guides as it makes them feel important .
drive slowly and drive safely . movement and speed are the main causes of accidents .plus bad driving .
driver need to allow more time for the journey not go fast.
 
Goodness, Firefox, are you really saying that you drive everywhere at the fastest safe speed you can? :scared: How awful.


I love to potter sometimes, driving at walking speed to enjoy a view where there is no layby available is the only way I (as driver) get to see the views. I won't do it if there is someone behind, but up on the hills what's the problem?

On Jersey the speed limit is 15mph once you leave the main roads. It is a wonderful place to drive, you never get anyone flying round a blind corner towards you, you can pause to say hello to pedestrians as they pass & following cyclists is not a problem as you are going at the same speed. I wouldn't object to the same idea in the UK as it isn't usually that far to get to a main road should you be in a hurry. Maybe it will happen as road congestion rises.
 
Smaug said:
I doubt that they think it "clever", it's far more likely that they are worried about the size of a vehicle that they are not comfortable with driving.
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My thoughts exactly ........ LOL , how many times have you seen a Motorhome / Camper / Van coming the other way and the driver has looked absolutely Petrified !

Hands at 10 to 2 , white knuckles and eyes wide open fixed on a point several yards in front of them doing a steady 30-ish MPH ...................LOL.
 
Fully agree with safe driving. That's why I said originally that people should do 50mph "where roads/conditions allow". 50 is fine (where conditions allow) even though the limit may be 60 for most. It's people going at 30-35 on good roads and in good conditions I object to. It may have been fine in the 1950's, but with today's roads I regard unnecessarily slow drivers as inconsiderate to the majority. Police will of course advise you to keep within the limits, but they'll also advise you to match your speed to the traffic and conditions - that's also considered safer driving. Driving unnecessarily slow brings it's own dangers eg Frustration of other road users leading to accidents.
 
How long is it since you drove in the UK? What you say used to be true 30 odd years ago, but not today in my experience.

UK drivers are often very reluctant to overtake unless on a dual carriageway. Even driving a small car, moving over to the left & signalling left turn on a long straight, cars behind will often just stay behind. It's as tho overtaking has become, like smoking, a socially unacceptable activity for many.

When they do overtake, they do not change gear but simply pull out in top & slowly draw alongside & eventually ahead with very little speed differential. Perhaps overtaking is not taught in the driving test?
 
ive spent years pootlin round the lanes and even a roads on tractors that did about 18mph flat out, i see no problem whatsoever in pootlin along at whatever speed suits me, my mood and the view. you could even argue that the slower youre going the easier it is for the maniacs behind to overtake...theyll try whether youre doing 35 or 65, it dont make any difference to the lead foot brigade who seem to think the right foot should be jamming a pedal against the floor at all times regardless.of other traffic and road conditions..
 
Well, it won't be a popular view here, as many people here are retired, or not working, and have more time to get where they want at what speed they want.

But the original idea of the guidelines was to help motor home users be more considerate to the rest of the population. And I can tell you for certain that it's more considerate (and safer) to keep up with the traffic at a reasonable speed where conditions allow, and not to use the roads for a self serving purpose such as low speed sight seeing and/or "holiday mode" and/or relaxation. Most people using the road have a schedule to keep and would expect to do 50 mph on a good single carriageway road where conditions allow.
 
Firefox said:
Well, it won't be a popular view here, as many people here are retired, or not working, and have more time to get where they want at what speed they want.

But the original idea of the guidelines was to help motor home users be more considerate to the rest of the population. And I can tell you for certain that it's more considerate (and safer) to keep up with the traffic at a reasonable speed where conditions allow, and not to use the roads for a self serving purpose such as low speed sight seeing and/or "holiday mode" and/or relaxation. Most people using the road have a schedule to keep and would expect to do 50 mph on a good single carriageway road where conditions allow.
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they may expect .but that isnt the case .they dont know the weight of a vehicle .
in fact it could be said mine is on the log book as a motor tractor it could be that i can only do 30mph on a normal road and 40mph on a motorway.
locomotives are the same.
i have long vehicle signs on the back ,so i expect other to know i will be slow . if they keep pushing then i just pullaway from the hedge and drive slower. i have as much expectation as them . they may have a schedule but it should allow for slow vehicles . its actually illegal for a company not to allow it and force speeding by drivers .
 
@Alan - I'm not meaning to include your vehicle which is an exception and has cloaking device so people will not not associate with typical motorhomes anyway :lol-053: So your stance is perfectly reasonable.

I'm really referring to the average 3.5 tonne coachbuilt or panel van, no doubt with a 130 BHP Turbo engine and 6 speed box which drives just like a car. These are the ones which people drive along sight-seeing on busy A Roads and which get motorhomes a bad name as obstructive vehicles.
 
i am a great believer that larger vehicles need extra training . unfortunately as you say they may not be heavy but large . i,m always saying visit a local hgv school i,m sure a day or two wont break the bank . but as the rules dont say it .then the drivers wont do it .
i,m also a keen motorcyclist .i think the staggered training for m,bikes is great.
but how we tell a retired driver of family saloons they must go on a course . !!!!
i know in france now lots of the young are getting full hgv licenses just so they can drive big or truck campers . it will start here as well its the older drivers cause the biggest problems i,m sure .
 
I try to go with the flow as much as possible but like some others, I am limited to 50 mph on single carriageways. Where it is safe to do so, I travel at a couple of mph over the speed limit. This means that I can maintain 5th gear and do not waste fuel by revving higher in a lower gear. I am also aware that I have no worries regarding time but others do and I would not hold anyone up if it is possible to let them pass me. It's true that some of them will be knobheads but not all. I give them a left indicator flash when the road ahead is clear and quite a few car drivers acknowledge the gesture when they pass.
 
vwalan said:
i am a great believer that larger vehicles need extra training . unfortunately as you say they may not be heavy but large . i,m always saying visit a local hgv school i,m sure a day or two wont break the bank . but as the rules dont say it .then the drivers wont do it .
i,m also a keen motorcyclist .i think the staggered training for m,bikes is great.
but how we tell a retired driver of family saloons they must go on a course . !!!!
i know in france now lots of the young are getting full hgv licenses just so they can drive big or truck campers . it will start here as well its the older drivers cause the biggest problems i,m sure .
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hi alan
what do you mean by truck campers? do you mean demountable camper on a pick up?
 
no thats an american term for pickup campers . i meant 7.5ton .10ton or bigger . loads doing it in france and germany . i was amazed how many young women are doing it as well . great drivers . but the use of trucks/lorries . gives cheaper base longer lasting and a vehicle thats under stressed most of the time .
i have had demountables but most are too top heavy really. there are a few french ones .
there really is a growing market abroad for larger safer vehicles .rather than overweight converted builders vans . many are living full time in them as house prices over there have increased alot in recent years . france as become almost unlivable . gone are the 10 grand places .or the 40 grand up and finished places .
 
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After a quick scan of the various opinions regarding a suitable driving speed, I'd like to say that I am right behind vwalan.

So could he please get a b****y move on?!! :):drive::)
 
NO. dont you play how big a line can you get behind you . even better if you can slow down tractors .ha ha .
i do pull over . let lots pass but i,m notr going faster just because a guide says so.
the worse of all is m,homers that cant reverse .
some are worse than metro and nissan micra drivers .
 
Smaug said:
At long last here is my first attempt at 5 guidelines for new MH users; I await your comments, but shall ignore the idiots who think that I am trying to draft legislation!
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More rules. We do live in a Nanny State after all. Are you a Labour MP?
 
vwalan said:
NO. dont you play how big a line can you get behind you . even better if you can slow down tractors .ha ha .
i do pull over . let lots pass but i,m notr going faster just because a guide says so.
the worse of all is m,homers that cant reverse .
some are worse than metro and nissan micra drivers .
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that's just ridiculous ,there are no worse drivers than micra drivers ! but I have to admit,i enjoy watchingpeople reversing- cars, vans,caravans, always get a bit of fun out of it !
 
there must be good returns on profits for rear light makers . i have seen little car drivers reverse into left and right hedges one after the other . sometimes several times in one reverse move . its so funny .they struggle to turn the steering wheel when stationary then dump the clutch and bash the hedge . pull forward then repeat it the other way . i feel like getting out and offering to reverse for them but its that tight cant get out the cab. they always stop in the narrow bit and say i cant get through yet 10yds back passed a pull in . i,m still laughing now just thinking of them .
 
vwalan said:
NO. dont you play how big a line can you get behind you . even better if you can slow down tractors .ha ha . .
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One of the best vehicles I had for creating traffic queues was my fifty year old Landrover (Series 2A). Even though I would considerately pull in now & then to let them pass, on a busy road another queue would soon form behind me.

I must admit, it did make me smile at times, until the time I drove round a bend and got stuck behind a road-roller doing about 4mph!

I used to drive it as hard as I could towards a local 60mpm speed camera, but I never could get it to flash!! :)
 
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