Breaking the speed limit whilst overtaking Part 2

[MGF]

Well having spent the time and effort to reply to Dom's post the thread was locked and I lost the text. Can't see the point in threatening to lock a thread then locking it without further reason to do so.

[ROG]

I wondered as well ....

I saw the warning go up and then waited to see if a member defied the warning but it was then locked after what seems a normal post ..... unless something was removed before it was locked ??

[martine]

It was locked because the original poster had changed the title again to 'bickering...' - as long as they were prepared to alter the context of the thread at will to make their own point then I saw little point in continuing...the thread had gone far, far away from the original dicsussion.

Can we move on now and stop disecting our own navels?

[MGF]

...Yes if you was going 30mph faster then yeah I'd say just keep going as it would be quicker but with a 20mph difference (depending on how quick Mr. Van Man is moving towards me) I think I would brake and make good use of the horn.

Do you think you would avoid swerving if you were alongside him?


Not sure.

Dom

2nd attempt

The reason I ask is that when something unexpected happens and there is a serious risk of collision the response is generally made so quickly that traffic regulations are not considered. Waremark said that he didn't even look at his speedometer when he accelerated. I don't blame him. He's focused on getting out of the way. In these circumstances one just brakes, accelerates or swerves in reaction to the danger. I believe he wouldn't consider the exemptions to the prohibition on crossing white lines if he decided to swerve.

I accept that many people excuse breaking the limit by claiming safety when they could've been safe by braking or avoiding the overtake in the first place. Often people are careless to get into a situation where they need to break the limit and if not, advanced drivers inevitably engage in an analysis with the benefit of hindsight to improve their planning.

These are different situations to avoiding an accident and I suspect when it happens to you, your reaction will be based on an immediate response to the danger and not a consideration of traffic regulations.

[waremark]

To continue from the other thread ....

GJD, I agree that a headlamp warning would probably have attracted the van driver's attention. Of course the warning would have to be long, in order to avoid confusion with a 'you go first' style flash. However, do you ever give a light warning on a multi-lane road to a vehicle which is currently in a lane to your left, even if it is closely following another vehicle? I don't. In such circumstances I generally position to the right of my lane to maximise horizontal seperation, and cover but don't use lights and horn. As mentioned before, I often consciously think about the point of no return after which it is too late to brake; on this occasion I was not thinking about that.

Dom, I don't know whether I would have avoided over-running the van if I had braked instead of accelerating. Equally, I don't know whether the acceleration of the car I was driving made a difference (not the M3, but still reasonably quick). I probably had 2 metres horizontal seperation from the van. With my closing speed, even without accelerating, I might have been in front of him before he would have hit me. The acceleration will have reduced the time I was alongside him, but only slightly.

In the event, my lights and horn evidently did the trick. The last time I saw him in my peripheral vision he was still moving out towards me, but the first time I looked in my mirror afterwards the van had pulled back in and the car behind me was overtaking him.

I carried out a little experimentation today on a dual carriageway - in lane 2 and about to overtake a heavy with no-one behind me, I tried firm braking just before I reached the heavy. However, due to speed limit constraints my closing speed was not very high and I was able to remain behind the heavy. If you ever find someone doing 50 (or less) on a DC it might be interesting to try the same experiment.

[dombooth]

Well having spent the time and effort to reply to Dom's post the thread was locked and I lost the text. Can't see the point in threatening to lock a thread then locking it without further reason to do so.

I know how you feel.

Dom

[dombooth]

...Yes if you was going 30mph faster then yeah I'd say just keep going as it would be quicker but with a 20mph difference (depending on how quick Mr. Van Man is moving towards me) I think I would brake and make good use of the horn.

Do you think you would avoid swerving if you were alongside him?


Not sure.

Dom

2nd attempt

The reason I ask is that when something unexpected happens and there is a serious risk of collision the response is generally made so quickly that traffic regulations are not considered. Waremark said that he didn't even look at his speedometer when he accelerated. I don't blame him. He's focused on getting out of the way. In these circumstances one just brakes, accelerates or swerves in reaction to the danger. I believe he wouldn't consider the exemptions to the prohibition on crossing white lines if he decided to swerve.

I accept that many people excuse breaking the limit by claiming safety when they could've been safe by braking or avoiding the overtake in the first place. Often people are careless to get into a situation where they need to break the limit and if not, advanced drivers inevitably engage in an analysis with the benefit of hindsight to improve their planning.

These are different situations to avoiding an accident and I suspect when it happens to you, your reaction will be based on an immediate response to the danger and not a consideration of traffic regulations.

I agree that the laws wouldn't be considered within the split second to decide what to do when threatened with something going to hit you. With that situation mentioned I wouldn't swerve if something was coming down the hill towards me.

Dom

[dombooth]

To continue from the other thread ....

I carried out a little experimentation today on a dual carriageway - in lane 2 and about to overtake a heavy with no-one behind me, I tried firm braking just before I reached the heavy. However, due to speed limit constraints my closing speed was not very high and I was able to remain behind the heavy. If you ever find someone doing 50 (or less) on a DC it might be interesting to try the same experiment.

If I find one I'll give it a go and post the video from my in car camera. Next time I'll be using the motorway is my birthday - 14th.

Dom

[GJD]

GJD, I agree that a headlamp warning would probably have attracted the van driver's attention. Of course the warning would have to be long, in order to avoid confusion with a 'you go first' style flash.

Yes, that's what I was thinking of.

However, do you ever give a light warning on a multi-lane road to a vehicle which is currently in a lane to your left, even if it is closely following another vehicle? I don't.

That's a fair point - no, I don't. One of the differences in the incident I referred to (the incident that's caused me to think about the value of a long headlamp flash) is that I was not on a multi-lane road.