Who thinks driving under the speed limit can be a danger?

[bodie]

Ever been stuck behind someone doing 25mph in a 40 zone?  It's frustrating.  I have learned some level of tolerance,  but this goes out the window when i am in a rush.

This morning i was in that scenario again.  I was six or seven cars behind.  A car that was a few in front of  me very nearly had a nasty crash trying to overtake.  It was really close.

It got me wondering how many crashes happen a year by people moving too slow!   Yes they do, indirectly cause accidents because they cause tailbacks of angry agitated people trying to meet deadlines or get to appointments/ meetings etc.

I distinctly recall when i took my own driving test that obviously going over the speed limit would fail you,  but also,  you could fail for not keeping up with the flow of traffic.  Is that not the case any more? 

So who are these people clogging up the roads? obliviously leaving trails of mayhem and crashed cars, smoke etc not to mention all the beep beeping!   If they ever chose to look in the rear view they would likely see trails of destruction and still not realise they had something to do with it.  Most likely they would slow down oven more,  saying to themselves these roads must be hazardous, look at all the accidents 

Thing is they don't look in the rear view mirror,  well not that I've seen!  Whenever i get chance to actually pass them safely (and they don't move over do they?) i can't help but notice they are usually so close to the windscreen and wearing an imaginary neck brace (they never glance over as you pass them either).   I hate to say it but 9/10 of them are either really old,  or its a school run mum.

That is gonna make me sound nasty,  but it is true!  Why?   I don't know?

Just think of all the motoring campaigns, clunk - click the seatbelt one,   then drinking and driving,  drug testing,  using mobile phones etc,  but i never seen one about 'keeping up with the flow of traffic' - yet it must make some contribution to the figures of accidents/ road deaths.  They fall under the radar because they are unlikely to have accidents themselves and completely unaware how many they are causing.   

How can they be completely unaware they are causing tailbacks?  Wouldn't be so bad if they were at least aware and pulled over every now and then.

No i am not trying to be a Nazi and take their licence away,  but the next motoring campaign should be to educate these drivers.  It's got to be their turn!

[Calavera]

I don't know about danger, but the very slow drivers can be extremely annoying and come off as inconsiderate of others on the road. Of course, if it turns out to be an old man or woman, one can understand ... but then, why drive if you're too old to drive effectively on the road?

I definitely think there should be some max age limit for driving.

[Parts]

It's a hazard and very frustrating. Here there is a set minimum speed on the highways but it's rather low and anyone going that speed is asking for trouble.  Keeping up with traffic is the best way to stay out of an accident. Here at least if your driving way too slow you are likely to be pulled over

[renaeden]

They call it loitering here, but I am not sure if you can be fined for doing it. I think it is hazardous.

["couldbecousin"]

I don't know about danger, but the very slow drivers can be extremely annoying and come off as inconsiderate of others on the road. Of course, if it turns out to be an old man or woman, one can understand ... but then, why drive if you're too old to drive effectively on the road?

I definitely think there should be some max age limit for driving.

 There's a bumper sticker I saw once that sums it up:

 Barely Alive? Too Old To Drive!


 In the interest of fairness I will add that at 45 I am too ditzy to drive and always have been. 
 

['Butterflies']

Old people are the worst.

Church is a huge thing here, and attempting to drive anywhere on a Sunday is annoying.
You are certain to get stuck behind some oldie driving at 20 on a main road.
Im sure most of these peoplr only drive once a week.

[Al Swearegen]

Yes this pisses me off no end. 90KM sign they pass and they ar doing 70-80KM. It is inconsiderate and yes iut is normally oldies.
"I have been driving for 50 years and have never had an accident" (but how many have you caused). :I feel comfortable with  the speed I am driving here." (Great then do it where the speed limit is the speed you are driving at). "People are so impatient and in such a rush these days" (yes because old farts like you can not drive to the speed limit and are making us late) "90KM is too fast. It was never 90KM years ago" (Time change road conditions, change population changes, and speed limits change, keep up or get off the fucking road!)

[earthboundmisfit]

According to Top Gear, all the roads in England are clogged with caravans.

['Butterflies']

According to Top Gear, all the roads in England are clogged with caravans.

Caravans are only really a big problem at holiday times, at least in Scotland.
I suppose England does have slightly longer, warmer summers, so maybe more caravans down there.

[Icequeen]

It pisses me off to no end, but some of them don't have anyone.

Around here most of them have lived in a house all their lives, they don't want to leave it or they can't afford to, it's not near a bus line, it's not near shit. They need groceries, and have to go to the dr. like everyone else. Kid's are in another state, and their friends are either in worse shape then they are or already gone.

Helped out a couple in their 70's before the holidays when I saw the wife struggling trying to load up the groceries, the husband couldn't help he had a walker and the lights were on, but no one was home. She was happy her kids were flying in for Thanksgiving.

Thought, fuck, this could be me in another 30 years. I have no "support network" of church friends or neighbors willing to drop in and check on my ass (scared them all away ), I sure as hell won't be able to afford assisted living or a old fart's home, and you can't always depend on family to be their. I'm just glad my health is okay and I was able to be here to take care of my mom so that she didn't have to try and do it alone.

[bodie]

Yes i know what you mean IQ,  and i am not suggesting taking their licence away.  Maybe
a refresher course,  which might give them a bit more confidence too.  Or perhaps designating certain roads as 'fast moving' or in high demand and asking them to not use at rush hour.


The person in the car today really should not have been driving.  They clipped the kerb several times,  didn't see if it was an old person,  but whoever it was couldn't control a car at 20mph so really is endangering lives by doing so.

I think a lot of old people get treated very badly.  If they are not supported by their family then they should get support to stay in their homes for as long as possible.  A lot of the 'Old Peoples Home's' in the UK are closing down and being replaced with more sheltered housing and home help services.  Also lots of shops are willing to deliver,  some will even collect your prescription off your doc and deliver your medication.    I saw a tv documentary about some homeless veterans.  It disgusted me.  They put however many years in,  to serve their country and end up on the street.

['Butterflies']

Its worst here in N.Ireland.

The driving test was introduced here later than the rest of the UK. Most of the real oldies here have never set a test.
Neither my great aunt or uncle set a test, and they were hopeless drivers. My great uncle still occasionally drives, and he rarely gets above second gear.

[Natalia Evans]

I can't stand slow drivers and I am not talking about people who are going slow due to road conditions or due to being dark out or due to weather or just going under ten or five mph under for no reason or because of lot of traffic on the road.

But two wrongs don't make it right. People should pass safely, not try and break the law by passing in a no passing zone. They should wait until they can pass but make sure there are no cars coming towards them and that it's in a  passing zone. There is never an excuse and people should try and leave early as possible so they have minutes to spare. Like instead of leaving a half hour to get there, leave an hour early so you have thirty minutes to spare. Also people should never tail gate. No excuse for that either and it doesn't get you there any faster. I have no sympathy for drivers who were breaking the laws because they got stuck behind some dumbass so they turned into bad drivers themselves. Besides did you know some people will drive even slower if you tail gate them just to piss you off and sometimes they slam on their breaks so you crash into them. Since we have that law here that the driver behind you is always at fault (unless you back into them) if they rear end you, people abuse it for revenge if you tailgate them. I see nothing wrong with that advantage because it serves them right for tailgating.

Oh I have no idea how slow you can go on roads but I certainly won't go too slow. I also understand people may go a little slow because of traffic or because they are trying to find the right turn to take. I can take that. I also think being too good of a driver can be a bad thing because then it turns you into a bad driver, know what I mean? I do hate driving if there is lot of cars on the road because then I drive too slow but that is why I go in the slow lane and that is only on highways or freeways. I will usually go ten under because that is what the slow lane is for. Slower traffic always keep to the right. People that want to go the speed go in the fast lanes. I have also driven 65 in 75 just to save on gas when the gas prices were so high and are again and this be on the way to Montana or Spokane. And no I didn't hold up traffic because there were hardly any cars on the freeway since it be in the middle of nowhere and cars that caught up to me always passed me. I think they have 75 in Washington on highways or freeways because there is hardly traffic on the road due to being out in the middle of nowhere. But in Oregon, they have it at 65, then when you get in Washington, the speed limit changes to 75. Then it goes down when you get closer to town or city and in the city. I think it's 50 through Spokane and then it goes up to 75 again after you leave the area.

Also another thing I have heard is even going the speed limit can get you pulled over due to not going with the flow of traffic. So that means following the law can be illegal so you have to break the law to follow the law. So if all the traffic goes fast on the road, why not raise the fricken speed limit or would traffic go even faster if they did that? I don't get the point of speed limit signs if you are to break them all because of traffic going faster than the maximum speed. I think there are lot of gray areas in traffic laws and it's all based on common sense.

I used to want to honk at old people but my parents told me that can scare them and get them into an accident. I was a kid then and thank goodness I wasn't driving. now I wouldn't dream to honk at an old person. I did once hear a story in middle school by a teacher that someone in her family got stuck behind an old lady so she honked at her and she sped up. My parents and I have gotten stuck behind my great uncle at times when he be on the road going to town. Old people shouldn't drive if they can't go the speed limit or at least go ten miles under it depending on what road they are on. I wouldn't say not all old people shouldn't drive because my mom's parents drive like they are young. They go the speed limit. They will even drive across the USA to visit my parents than taking the plane or train. When my dad's father got too old and got in a car accident one day, my parents and my uncle started to limit his driving and then not letting him drive far and then they wouldn't let him drive anymore at all because he was too old and an unsafe driver.

[Natalia Evans]

After reading IQ's and Bodaccea's I see their good point about elderlies on the road who shouldn't be. Not all of the have families or support so they are on their own and they need to get to appointments or get groceries somehow. That is sad. Everyone should have compassion for them and I am sure neighbors don't always know an elderly living next door to them isn't a good driver if they have never seen them on the road. If they are always driving over your plants or trash cans, then that is a hint they need help. But sometimes people have their own lives and are too busy to help out with their elderly neighbor. My parents were nice to move to Montana to help out caring for my dad's parents because they were getting older and needing more help and my uncle was doing all the work and it was too much for him. Then by the time I was an adult, they needed 24/7 care so my parents got caregivers because they couldn't all do it themselves around the clock. My grandparents money paid those caregivers and then when my grandfather died, my grandmother didn't get enough money anymore to pay for her caregivers so she was placed in a home for elderlies. Then when that place shut down, my family moved her out here and my aunt and uncle found a place for her. My grandparents were lucky they had support from their adult kids and not all of them have that. It was even sad to find out that lot of adult kids don't see their parents in retirement homes after putting them there. So I don't ever understand the logic "Who will take care of you when you're old?" when someone decides to not have kids. Duh, people get placed in nursing or retirement homes. I think it's selfish to expect your own children to give up their lives to care for you 24/7. I certainly won't expect mine to take of me when I am old. I would rather be in a retirement home and he can come visit me with the grand kids and they can take me out sometimes. It wouldn't be 24/7. My great grand mother put herself into a retirement community for elderlies where she get the help she needed and then when she broke her hip, she went to a nursing home, she never wanted any of her kids to take care of her 24/7. Instead they came and visit her but she never went out because she thought old people should never be in public and then there she was old herself and also thought she can't go out in public anymore. She was one of those people who was repulsed by the elderly and thought they should never be seen in public. I wonder how she got her own food? Delivery? I wonder how she went to her appointments? I wonder how old is too old for her to be out in public? But she is dead now so I can't ask and my grandmother has Alzherimer's so she wouldn't know a thing. Maybe my dad would know.

Anyone remember that South Park episode about old people driving and they always crashed or hit people and then when they all lost their licenses, they seeked revenge? Then at the end it was decided they should decide when they should stop driving and Stan's grandfather agreed.

[eris]

It can be very dangerous to do it on the parkway. If you go under 65 someone WILL ride your ass, I see it everyday. It's safer to do 70 than 60 on the parkway. But going a little slower on old country roads at night in the rain is ok as long as you stay consistent with your speed.
and I also think anyone over 65 should be retested for driving every few years.