Breaking the speed limit whilst overtaking

[dth]

Keep going at the speed limit (if safe) until you've finished the overtake then move back in. Same with red lights isn't it really, wait until they change to move.

Legally of course that's what you should do (assuming that it's the quickest way to get out of the emergency vehicle's way - e.g. depending on how far through the overtake you are, slowing and dropping back in behind your overtakee might be a quicker way to get out of their way).

I would find it disheartening if someone felt it was morally preferable to delay an emergency vehicle rather than commit a minor transgression, if safe, of a regulation like a speed limit or a red traffic light in order to help them on their way.

Blue light drivers should not expect any other driver to brake the law. If they do, they need reporting and retraining!

[GJD]

I would find it disheartening if someone felt it was morally preferable to delay an emergency vehicle rather than commit a minor transgression, if safe, of a regulation like a speed limit or a red traffic light in order to help them on their way.

Blue light drivers should not expect any other driver to brake the law.

Indeed not. I hope it's clear that I didn't say they should.

[dth]

I would find it disheartening if someone felt it was morally preferable to delay an emergency vehicle rather than commit a minor transgression, if safe, of a regulation like a speed limit or a red traffic light in order to help them on their way.

Blue light drivers should not expect any other driver to brake the law.

Indeed not. I hope it's clear that I didn't say they should.

Correct but I sense two agendas!

[GJD]

Correct but I sense two agendas!

[dth]

Correct but I sense two agendas!

The spoken and the unspoken!!

[GJD]

Correct but I sense two agendas!

The spoken and the unspoken!!

I still don't know what that means. The only thing I left unspoken was pretty much exactly what you said afterwards. When I first typed that post, I wrote, more or less, "Not that blue light drivers should expect any other driver to break the law (and in my experience, they don't expect that), but I would find it disheartening if...". But then I thought, no, that first bit's unnecessary - it goes without saying, it's beside the point and it will just add needless distraction to what I'm trying to say - so I deleted it before posting. Obviously, I now wonder if it might not have been simpler to leave it as was .

[dombooth]

You should do. That's what revs are there for. And it's fun

I don't want any extra expense. Whether it be on repairs or fuel.

Dom

This is getting very off-topic, but how old was your car when you bought it?

It's a late '56 reg and I bought it last september.

Dom

[dombooth]

Keep going at the speed limit (if safe) until you've finished the overtake then move back in. Same with red lights isn't it really, wait until they change to move.

Legally of course that's what you should do (assuming that it's the quickest way to get out of the emergency vehicle's way - e.g. depending on how far through the overtake you are, slowing and dropping back in behind your overtakee might be a quicker way to get out of their way).

I would find it disheartening if someone felt it was morally preferable to delay an emergency vehicle rather than commit a minor transgression, if safe, of a regulation like a speed limit or a red traffic light in order to help them on their way.

Blue light drivers should not expect any other driver to brake the law. If they do, they need reporting and retraining!

Damn right!

Dom

[GJD]

Blue light drivers should not expect any other driver to brake the law. If they do, they need reporting and retraining!

Damn right!

Oooh! That's what I said! Now dth thinks you've got two agendas .

[dombooth]

Blue light drivers should not expect any other driver to brake the law. If they do, they need reporting and retraining!

Damn right!

Oooh! That's what I said! Now dth thinks you've got two agendas .

Lol! Sleeps for me. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Dom

[TripleS]

Directly linking speed limits with safety undermines basic principles of AD which is one reason you are getting such a negative response.

Mindlessly driving at or within speed limits regardless of any other safety considerations is not driving safely.

However, when many of the posts on this thread are read, it is impossible to avoid the impression at one level or another that in certain quarters, lip service is given to the legal responsibilities of driving together with associated attitudes in the widest sense of the word. Some appear to favour choosing their interpretation of safe driving above everything else including in certain situations where exceeding the speed limit is quoted as the only option.

There will always be exceptions, but most cases where exceeding the speed limit is cited as the way to make something safer will have been better planned at an earlier stage as advanced drivers to avoid the situation in the first place. Maybe in arguing fine principles, we are all guilty of not putting enough caveats into our thoughts. Hence, my first paragraph in this post.

It is interesting that Dom picks up on this and other comments as a much less experienced driver than many on here and correctly, in my view, puts legal compliance higher in the pecking order of driving decisions than many on here appear to do from the impressions given by their posts.

Agreed, and I can't say he's wrong to take such a rigid attitude to legal compliance. Even so, I prefer to see more exercise of judgement as to what is necessary to achieve a proper level of safety. When he's been driving for another few decades he may shift more towards a more flexible approach, although the way things are shaping up he may not get the opportunity to acquire that experience: driving as we have known it might no longer exist.

From a motoring standpoint I reckon being born in 1940 was about right.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[TripleS]

What about the situation on a motorway? The car being overtaken is travelling at about 67/68, the overtake is taking an eternity. Then in the mirrors comes flashing headlights and blue lights approaching at a fair rate of knots.
What would you do?
Regards
Brian Haddon

Boot it, complete the overtake, and move over: and I would be very surprised to get into any bother for doing that.

If I did get into trouble for it, I would feel I'd met the wrong sort of policeman.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[TripleS]

No-one is asking you to brake

I didn't say braking, but I raised slowing (so as to drop back in behind the overtakee) as a possibility - in the context of one's options within the law. But I only raised it to clarify that I was considering a situation where doing so was not the quickest way to get out of the emergency vehicle's way.

I think you will find it was Dom who first mentioned braking in reply to my post and Chris picked up on it. But this whole thread is getting me tangled up and I've now got a headache. All these shocks at my age can be telling.

Pah, wait till you get as old as CK......then you'll know what it's all about!

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[TripleS]

Keep going at the speed limit (if safe) until you've finished the overtake then move back in. Same with red lights isn't it really, wait until they change to move.

Legally of course that's what you should do (assuming that it's the quickest way to get out of the emergency vehicle's way - e.g. depending on how far through the overtake you are, slowing and dropping back in behind your overtakee might be a quicker way to get out of their way).

I would find it disheartening if someone felt it was morally preferable to delay an emergency vehicle rather than commit a minor transgression, if safe, of a regulation like a speed limit or a red traffic light in order to help them on their way.

Blue light drivers should not expect any other driver to brake the law. If they do, they need reporting and retraining!

No, they shouldn't expect other drivers to break the law, but if it happens in the course of helping them they should not make an issue over it.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[SteveH]

I would have thought the answer to this question was pretty clear cut, but an article I stumbled upon on Yahoo answers suggests there's some debate over this:

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/in ... 552AAHow5x

What is the consensus of opinion amongst people on this forum?

If you are on a motorway, overtaking someone who is slower but decides to speed up to the same speed as you- what do you do? Stay right next to the other one in the middle or outside lane? Hope not...
Slow down? That would be more dangerous then getting past the other one breaking the limit to get into the safer position of the inside lane.

Nothing illegal about this as you have basically acted within the spirit of the law that imposes the limit for safety.

The question however is: Why would you want to exceed the limit? If you do it in order to get past someone for your own advantage or in order to not get stuck in a less safe position i.e. as a consequence of an unexpected situation e.g. in order to get back into the inside lane.

Steph