Who Are Those People Who Drive Slowly in Single Lane Highways and Then Speed up When You Get to Overtaking Lanes?

Odin on 15/01/2021 - 14:08
Last edited 15/01/2021 - 16:31 by 1 other user

Seriously, just did a bit of a trip over Christmas, and noticed this so frequently on the country roads.

It would be a single lane road, and you'd get people (in all sorts of cars) driving at changing speeds (going from 100km/h down to 70km/h) with no rhyme or reason, then as soon as you get to an overtaking lane - BAM, they're pumping 110km/h for the whole thing. When it ends, they're back to their usual random speed.

It drives me mental.

I always thought that the considerate thing to do is to realise that if someone catches up behind your car - the logical conclusions is that you're going slower than them on average, so the polite and considerate thing to do is to allow them to pass as early as possible.

Does no one else feel this way?

Automotive

Comments

  • p1 ama on 15/01/2021 - 14:14
    +62

    I drive a lot in the country and realise this as well. It's usually city drivers who never leave the suburbs and never drive above 60 km/h, so they resort to that default speed when they don't have someone "leading".

    • Scrooge McDuck on 16/01/2021 - 01:39
      +9

      Even worse are the drivers who immediately move into the overtaking lane instead of keeping left. I had a bus do that up a hill the other day on Mona Vale Rd.

        • GrueHunter on 16/01/2021 - 13:28
          +26

          Or you could stay in the same lane and drive past them on the inside /taps forehead

          • Boogerman on 16/01/2021 - 14:29
            -7

            @GrueHunter: I was assuming there’s a car next to them

          • supersabroso on 16/01/2021 - 23:49

            @GrueHunter: I love doing this. They just look like idiots in the fast lane risking a fine from a cop while everyone drives past them at the proper speed.

          • deelaroo on 18/01/2021 - 20:54
            -3

            @GrueHunter: The post downvoted to hell saying overtake over double lines is as illegal as undertaking is. You are not allowed to overtake from the left lane. Its unenforced, but its as much a rule as not crossing double lines.

            • tomleonhart on 19/01/2021 - 01:56
              +3

              @deelaroo: There’s no such thing as undertaking if there are 2 marked lanes on the road. Mcduck said the bus moves right when the overtaking lane opens up therefore it’s not illegal.

              Undertaking is when you overtake on the left when there’s only 1 lane.

        • brendanm on 16/01/2021 - 15:24

          We've got ourselves a bona fide rocket surgeon right here.

      • Jono05 on 16/01/2021 - 13:50

        This but with trucks.

        • capslock janitor on 17/01/2021 - 15:41

          MY CRUISE CONTROL JUST SPEEDS UP WHEN THE GUY IN FRONT SPEEDS UP TOO OK 🥺

      • Leeroy Jenkins on 16/01/2021 - 20:33
        +2

        this is so bloody true. These drivers should be fined! They always get me boiling!

    • This Guy on 16/01/2021 - 11:10
      +4

      I think it's more experience and confidence.

      I was behind a friend that drove ~80km a day, mostly on a single lane highway. They also had a black ice problem near their home.

      I followed him down a mountain pass one day and he rode his brakes to keep to 20kmph.

      He was driving for black ice, on the coast, in the middle of the day. But he has lost friends on bends…

      I myself have driven stupidly slow to stop a passenger screaming at me for 'going too fast' when doing 10kmph under by the speedo. I let people pass at the overtaking lanes, but I can also see why others would speed up as when the road thickened that passenger calmed down. That person had been in a head on collision and never really recovered mentally.

      Just the other day I was following someone doing 20 under on a b road in an old, but very clean Camry. They indicated to change streets on a banked bend. My take is they lived their for so long they formed a habit from when that turn was a T intersection and were driving to habits formed when the road and cars were far less safe.

      So yes, some suburb drivers drive overly cautiously, but so do plenty of regional drivers.

    • entropysbane on 18/01/2021 - 15:12
      -1

      No doubt. And maybe the overtaker is a threat. It can also be a tell they aren’t using cruise control. Those weird button thingamies on the steering wheel they have never ever used.

  • AdosHouse on 15/01/2021 - 14:15
    +22

    People are stupid. It must have something to do with the size of the road. Because even around where I live, on the Bruce Highway, 3 lane section doing 80-90km/h, as soon as the 4th lane opens up, boom 100km/h. Same further down on Gympie Rd.

    • MattyD on 15/01/2021 - 15:48
      +44

      I reckon it's a FOMO thing. I suspect that, psychologically, these people feel like they're making less progress if they have another car pass them.

      Like they're in a queue, not a car.

      • relentless on 16/01/2021 - 14:52
        +5

        Must be #1, first to arrive, first over the intersection

        • serpserpserp on 17/01/2021 - 22:29
          +1

          You must make good time.

    • Lichen6420 on 17/01/2021 - 19:55
      +5

      I have though about this a bit over the years and I am convinced it is a subconscious thing drivers do when the road widens up, I don't think there is actually that many idiots on the road… I hope.

      Drives me insane too.. I usually just go stuff it and punch around them at speed but it is REALLY annoying, especially on regional highways in QLD where overtaking lanes can be few and far between, in some places 30-40mins or more between.

      For me keeping distance from cars on regional roads is a big safety issue, I like to see as much of the road ahead as possible and like to remove the possible idiot factor of other drivers by not hanging around other vehicles wherever possible.

    • resisting the urge on 20/01/2021 - 15:15

      They do say in driver training, drive to the conditions.

      1. Overtaking lanes are usually built with a minimum of hazards that might prevent safe overtaking, such as junctions, crests, bends, etc.
      2. A road with more lanes accommodates more speed for given quantity of traffic.

      So people invariably speed up:
      - May wrongly think they have been maintaining the fastest safe pace, and knowing the road has become safer, so more speed is safe, as far as the law might permit
      - Because the extra lane makes encourages them to realise there is a queue behind them wanting them to hurry up (which they will do out of embarrassment or to avoid the dirty looks of all the ones who overtake)

      After that, you have the ones who:
      - Are concerned about hitting wildlife
      - Believe their speedo is correct
      - Speed up and slow down because they are thinking about something else, involved in conversation, dealing with anxieties or trauma, are otp, in another world, etc.
      - Are stubborn cranks who think they are going at the maximum acceptable speed and everyone else should slow down to their pace anyway
      - Have nfi
      - Are scared of single lane roads and driving in general
      - Etc.

      Not sure there is much more to it than that.

      What ceases to amaze me is how anyone would expect anything more from us, we're all just really a bunch of idiotsovergrown monkeys. 99.9x% of our evolution wired us to swing in trees and run around, not drive machines.

    • NatoTomato on 15/01/2021 - 14:22
      +8

      This doesn't apply here, even in jest. They speed up to the speed limit when the second lane opens up.

      • Seraphin7 on 15/01/2021 - 14:27
        +43

        Mate, I hear you.

        These types (both those who are seemingly incapable of driving at the limit and those who speed up when overtaking lanes emerge) are deadset menaces on the road and should be ordered to the nearest licence shredder.

        I appreciate there is the occasional "excuse" for driving below the speed limit, but in free flowing traffic, perfect driving conditions, etc., if you are unwilling or otherwise incapable of driving at the limit, that is sign that you are not competent to be on the road.

          • ozboygsl on 16/01/2021 - 09:25
            +38

            @shadow7412: instead of trying to preach and assume a nonexistant moral high ground by telling someone to stop being impatient, try not being stupid

          • timthetoolman on 17/01/2021 - 08:12

            @shadow7412: If you're happy for someone to be driving so slowly due to hazards that you can safely overtake(20-30 under?) Why do you think it's fine to overtake?

          • Caped Baldy on 17/01/2021 - 20:39
            +6

            @shadow7412: I've been stuck going 50 kmh behind a slow driver over the Gladesville Bridge in the right lane travelling westward. Dangerous AF to merge safely back in to the centre lane.

            Driving slow definitely has the potential to be more dangerous.

    • Thy-San on 15/01/2021 - 14:22

      And that’s why the wifey failed the DKT 😹

    • dogboy on 18/01/2021 - 11:38
      +2

      Watch out - morons on this site don't understand sarcasm.

  • SF3 on 15/01/2021 - 14:18
    +6

    yeah - came across this before too, super annoying.

    People can't seen to drive at signage speed when there are (slight) turns on the road, maybe to make up for their slowness when they have a straight road.

    • Subere on 17/01/2021 - 14:50
      +2

      Drivers that tap their breaks on any bend of a road or slight decline are the worst.
      They think their car is going to spin out of control with this 10 degree bend in the road

      • Kangal on 18/01/2021 - 02:23

        You know its a serious problem, when, even Odin is annoyed by it

  • Melb69 on 15/01/2021 - 14:25
    +2

    You should drive close to the speed limit and vary your speed roughly near that to keep the flow behind you running smoothly. Ie So many drivers stick to the RHS lane on 20km below the speed limit. The tail gating might be another issue why the car in front slows down and then speeds up if passed. Also these drivers are in their on worlds. What do you mean there are other cars? Concentrating more on the passengers convo then the driving.

    • Seraphin7 on 15/01/2021 - 14:28
      +10

      Concentrating more on the passengers convo then the driving.

      These types are flat out remembering to breathe in my experience.

      • Scrooge McDuck on 16/01/2021 - 01:50
        +12

        In, out, in, out… *what comes after out again?*

        …

        *GASP!* IN-OUT-IN-OUT…

  • Travis J on 15/01/2021 - 14:28
    +5

    It think it's because when there's one lane, it feels like they are the only one on the road if the don't look in the rear view mirror. When there's more than 1 lane, there would be other cars in front of them so they keep pace with the car in front or notice that everyone is overtaking them.

  • MS Paint on 15/01/2021 - 14:29
    +36

    This does my head in. I travel regional roads a lot.

    Why don't they set their cruise control at a safe speed for the conditions?

    Varying speed between 70-100 is so uneconomical too.

    Aggggh. Stop doing this you idiots.

    • superuser on 16/01/2021 - 13:21
      +2

      How do i know I'm an idiot if I'm an idiot?

      • Yawhae on 17/01/2021 - 07:22
        +3

        Easy, you'd know if you were smart if you were smart.

        • tanabe88gg on 20/01/2021 - 09:06
          +2

          Drs Dunning and Kruger might have something to say about that

          • Tunblor on 20/01/2021 - 13:38

            @tanabe88gg: I don't trust doctors, I know more than the sum of hundreds of years of scientific method because I "do my own research."

    • entropysbane on 18/01/2021 - 15:14

      They most likely don’t know how to use it, as they never had to.

      • Bren20 on 15/01/2021 - 23:57
        +40

        I don't mind slow drivers, that's fine

        I hate slow drivers who speed up in overtaking sections. It's inconsiderate, and you're response doesn't seem to understand the topic

        • Jackkkkkk on 18/01/2021 - 15:39
          +2

          He's one of those idiots who thinks he's not an idiot on the road. Hahaha

      • smartazz104 on 16/01/2021 - 18:03
        +7

        Why do these idiots speed up when there is an overtaking lane then? Suddenly they feel confident enough that they will actually break the speed limit to stop someone passing them. No, it's not about "competent" drivers driving at a speed they feel comfortable at, it's about obvious idiots who don't have a clue about their surroundings.

      • OMGJL on 17/01/2021 - 00:31

        you may need to drive at a slower speed that is safe for the conditions. Driving really slow on high way is not safe for the conditions in the first place.

  • [Deactivated] on 15/01/2021 - 14:36
    +12

    A lot of variables to your post to consider , all contextual and also depending on the road. let me give you a few.

    1. people are stupid

    2. speedo's are often out by 5-10% from the factory , each car is different but as the car ages they go out by a few more % (but not as drastic as 15% or higher) , so while you might be doing 110 according to your speedo , you are realistically doing about 100. check with multiple GPS apps or devices if you don't believe me.

    3. some cars have different profile wheels/tyres to factory which will make them faster or slower depending on their setup (this can range from marginal to very noticable) , to give you an example i have to be doing 122km/h on my speedo to be right on the dot at 110 on the highway.

    4. people are stupid

    5. sometimes when an overtaking lane makes an appearance , there is usually a speed limit sign at the start or just before the overtaking lane begins so people travelling down the lane might realize "oh ok i better speed up to maintain the correct speed" as they were probably not maintaining correct speed to begin with.

    6. people who travel on the road can greatly differ in age and perception of speed , i.e an older person might not be as attuned to the road as a younger person so they might "feel" they are going fast when they actually are not but are concentrating more on their vision then their speedo thus leading to a discrepancy in speed between you and the other driver.

    7. distraction (see points 1 and 4) , additionally some people can get caught up in conversation or might be playing around with their maps on their 6-8 inch LCD panel or playing with their phone.

    8. they might be driving on a space saver spare Tyre which often limits them to travel at no more then 80km/h to maintain safety for themselves and others , you can't really often see if they are on a spare tyre as sometimes the conditions do not allow for the driver to have it placed on the rear left or right as properly required.

    9. people will often speed up just to be jerks to other people trying to pass them , but the reality is most people are already speeding over the limit anyway so in order to overtake them you have to be going a great deal faster thus really making the overtaking lane almost purposeless.

    10. confidence , there are a lot of drivers on the road that are not confident and/or get scared easily and is also amplified if they are driving by themselves. a lot of under confident people will often travel 10km/h below the speed limit or more.

    11. international drivers , a lot of drivers that are new to australia and are unfamiliar with the roads and the direction of travel will also drive under the speed limit

    12. not all cars have cruise control (thanks MsPaint) , and a person might be in a rental or unfamiliar car and might not know how to activate it and control it or it might not be working at all.

    That is just a few things i can think off the top of my head right now , just remember while you might have a lot of experience and confidence on the road , a lot of people don't. you share the road with other living human beings who differ greatly to yourself. it is us as individuals to respect that and learn to share the road and have some simple driver etiquette

    • Seraphin7 on 15/01/2021 - 14:51
      +6

      Some answers to your points …

      1. Find the stupid ones and get them off the road.

      2. I've not found that level of discrepancy personally, but I will say that in my general experience if you are sitting "on the speed limit" you will likely pass more cars than pass you.

      3. I'm sure this is true, but I'm not sure this would be the "typical use case" we're dealing with in the OP.

      4. See 1.

      5. See 1.

      6. If you can't be generally aware of all environmental factors while driving, you should be off the road.

      7. See 1.

      8. Again, not sure this would be the "typical use case" we're dealing with in the OP.

      9. See 2.

      10. Don't go on the road, or at least high speed and/or complex roads and conditions until you have attained this confidence.

      11. See 10.

      12. See 6.

      Ultimately, IMHO, enjoying the privilege of a licence should also require you to be a genuinely competent operator of a vehicle in all driving conditions which includes not being a hazard or hinderance to other competent operators. This requires you to be able to drive to the conditions presented, which when stripping away all the edge cases, basically means you should be able to drive to the speed limit in free flowing traffic and perfect driving conditions.

      The test of a "competent driver" should be a higher bar than simply not getting booked and/or not having accidents … as above, it should include being able to drive (within the law) in a way that is not a hazard or hinderance to other drivers. I would argue that driving materially below the speed limit (assuming good conditions) is both a hazard and a hinderance.

      • modiika on 18/01/2021 - 10:06
        +4

        in all driving conditions which includes not being a hazard or hinderance to other competent operators. This requires you to be able to drive to the conditions presented, which when stripping away all the edge cases, basically means you should be able to drive to the speed limit in free flowing traffic and perfect driving conditions.

        I disagree, seriously, it's not a hazard to travel a little below the speed limit, its the other drivers fault if they are so impatient they do something reckless and no doubt illegal in an attempt to pass. And when it comes to driving its never perfect conditions. Ultimately, society doesnt work catering just for the best and the fastest (we can all be amazing drivers, some of us are 80, some are 18, some of rarely ever drive, some of us have a lifetime of expereince on teh otherside of the road) we have to share the road, man i (profanity) hate bikes on proper roads but it is what it is. Its a pain to those of us in that category (best and fastest), but that's the price for living in a society.

        As much as slow drivers are annoying, i am way less annoyed by slow drivers (who speed up and the wrong time) than i am by the dangerous overtakers, the ones who take 'minor corners' at the speed limit or well above.

        I've driven on many heavily curvey roads, and the number of jackasses you see tailgaiting a slower car doing strong turns is insane to me. If they are an unconfident driver (maybe the car is older, or unfamiliar) riding their ass isnt going to improve their performance, it makes it worse. Stress degrades performance for everyone.

        I dunno at the end of the day, there are dangerous slow drivers, but too many in this thread are acting like traveling a little below the speed limit is the worlds greatest road crime because it might inconvenice them. While, speeding up and preventing a safe overtaking is a hazard, in my experience its mostly been an inconvenience. But preferable to the car heading the wrong way down a highway (saw that one for the first time last year, couple had their head in a map, and were so focused arguing over the map as they turned on to the highway, that it was split… I often wonder what happened to them and whether they avoided a crash) or in the last few weeks, the number of times (ok just thrice) i've been over taken by cars weaving through fairly busy traffic without signalling at 30+kmph above the limit is crazy, particularly when their control over the car at that speed seemed less than ideal.

        • GG57 on 18/01/2021 - 11:05
          -1

          Why would someone downvote that post?

    • MS Paint on 15/01/2021 - 14:54
      +3

      not all cars have cruise control (thanks MsPaint)

      But all of my experiences have been with modern cars that I know for a fact have cruise control. Why are people scared to use this in their car? I'm guessing a lack of understanding and self education (ie not reading TFM).

      Also, in NSW P platers are restricted to 90km/h. This causes more trouble than it worth in my experience as most cars attempt to overtake.

      some cars have different profile wheels/tyres to factory

      I love following these cars because they mostly love cars, modify them for their enjoyment and know how to drive.

      The Camry with hub caps and factory dimension tyres are the PITA drivers.

      • [Deactivated] on 15/01/2021 - 15:00
        +2

        Agree with what you have said

        But honestly speaking , even though a car might be modern. these days car manufacturers have split car designs in 3 tiers (peasant , average peasant , premium)

        Only those that can afford average peasant or premium will have that feature included in the car.

        I am being deadset serious , cruise control is usually an added optional because it costs more to the manufacturer to fit it.

        Also ABS brakes are not standard on all cars and it should be , more so then cruise control.

        And people who have the "baby on board sticker" usually drive like (profanity) , prove me wrong.

        • brendanm on 16/01/2021 - 15:30
          +5

          Also ABS brakes are not standard on all cars and it should be

          Abs has been mandatory since 2003.

          Also, the vast majority of cars in the last 10 years will have cruise, even in pov spec.

          • modiika on 18/01/2021 - 09:51

            @brendanm: Agree. I did alot of shopping for a car recently. I didnt find one that didnt have cruise control.

            I do think for many older drivers though, cruise control is a 'new' technology and not one they've all mastered. Also its pretty useless for city driving, so alot of drivers dont have cause to use it very often.

            My new car has that smart cruise control which adjusts speed to maintain a safe distance, but the less smart speed controls are annoying, tricked by hills, and end up too close to some one in front of you going the speed limit because they are a little less consistent, but difficult to overtake without significantly exceeding speed limit. I dunno, cruise control just isnt a magic bullet and I get why many dont seem to use it.

            I also think that another reason people speed up, is just seeing the car so close, or tryign to overtake, is a reminder they are going slow.

            Also I think some people just assume the car they have come up on has always been going 10/20km below the speed limit, when it may just have been a minute or two. Also sometimes when turning in off side roads you dont see a posted speed sign you might travel a safeish speed. Happened to me a ton in Tasmania i was constnatly confused on one trip what the speed limit was meant to be, partly because there were no other cars around. But even if there is one, if they over take you, are they speeding, or are you going to slow. You cant take a single other car as a guide sadly.

    • iDroid on 16/01/2021 - 10:42
      +1

      people are stupid

      'nuf said.

  • djones145 on 15/01/2021 - 14:43
    +13

    it's silly, on country roads, i prefer to move to the side and let people pass, i like to have no one around me when I drive

    • goraygo on 16/01/2021 - 17:20
      +2

      it's so nice and kind of you, unfortunately not many like you. :(

  • Headless on 15/01/2021 - 14:52

    Do you drive to 60km according to your speedo or to what Google Maps says? is that why people are driving slow due to the governments "safety standards"?

    • thereyougo on 16/01/2021 - 10:10
      +1

      Speedo's have upto 10% tolerance and the size of your tyres have an affect on your speedo also. GPS speed at 110kl/h speedo will show 103-107kl/h. I've put bigger diametre tyres on my 4x4, now my speedo and GPS are exactly the same not showing 4-5kl/h slower doing 110kl/h as they were before.

      • Headless on 16/01/2021 - 22:08
        +1

        Its accurate up to ~60k, then gets more inaccurate as you go along - I read that this is a requirement by the Australian government

        • Zythyx on 18/01/2021 - 09:12

          Please provide the article where you read this

      • RocketSwitch on 18/01/2021 - 09:37

        Tell that to the cops who fine you going 6 over lol

      • Harby7 on 20/01/2021 - 14:56

        I was doing 102, got pulled over by HWP who's LIDAR showed 102… must not have been much tolerance in the vehicle i was in.

        • maiuspala on 20/01/2021 - 16:00

          Did it happen in 100 zone?

    • spaceflight on 16/01/2021 - 23:28
      +2

      people are driving slow due to the governments "safety standards"?

      What "safety standards" are these?

      Its accurate up to ~60k, then gets more inaccurate as you go along - I read that this is a requirement by the Australian government

      Oh you just don't know what you are talking about.

      There are no "safety standards" that make people drive slower

      The speedo must not indicate a speed less than the vehicle’s true speed or a speed greater than the vehicle’s true speed by an amount more than 10 percent plus 4 km/h.
      What this means:
      For a vehicle travelling at a true speed of 100km/h, the speedo must read between 100km/h and 114km/h. The effect of this is that many drivers will find that at 100km/h they are driving up to 14km/h below the speed limit if they rely on the vehicle’s speedo.
      The speedo must always read 'safe', meaning the vehicle must not travel faster than the speed indicated by the speedo.
      This change was made to align Australian vehicle rules with those already in place in Europe
      https://www.racq.com.au/cars-and-driving/safety-on-the-road/…

  • slow on 15/01/2021 - 15:01
    +26

    Same with people who cant stick to a speed, on both single and dual lane.

    I sit on cruise control on a steady 100. Idiot comes past on the right and then pulls in front. Gradually slows down, I then have to slow down, and eventually pass and go back in front and sit at 100 again.. Then a few minutes later they come past again and the process repeats. Drives me crazy as well

    I think people just don't concentrate and don't keep an eye on the speedo

    • FlipCrank on 15/01/2021 - 15:12
      +7

      The speeding threshold is too low so you get people going 5 under (which is what they have been campaigning for some stupid reason) on an already conservative speedometer.

      • stanstho on 18/01/2021 - 02:20
        +1

        This is why I sit around 95kph (true 95 - GPS speedo) by default in my 30 year old car with no Cruise control. I've got 4 tickets driving an empty M1 at 2am doing between 103kph and 107kph because it's so easy to drift 5% up or down across hours of driving late at night.

        I genuinely believe the brutal margins on our cameras are the primary reason for this behaviour. The risk of copping a $200 fine is too high to risk sitting on the limit exactly for anybody without a GPS speedo and cruise control, so they settle a little under.

        The overtaking lane speed up is poor form, however. No defending that.

  • SF3 on 15/01/2021 - 16:05
    +22

    Those drivers, IMO lack situational awareness - if they have noticed people were queuing up behind them at "bends" because they were slow, out of courtesy should let others behind them pass (maybe do 90km at 100km zone at the straight section, and wave people through - I've seen this before, so people can be courteous)… but their lack of situational awareness leads the driver to only be concerned about themselves.

    • thereyougo on 16/01/2021 - 10:01
      +7

      Caravaner's used to do this, not now. On the Stuart Hwy, Mildura to Renmark, I've frequently see a caravan sitting on eighty holding up a kilometre of road-trains, tankers, freight trucks and cars. The truckies must have the patience of a saint or basically they can't do Jack s#@t about it. Wake up caravan folk, pull over or speed up to the speed limit, if you can't you've got the wrong vehicle.

      • mauricem on 19/01/2021 - 10:52
        +2

        "The truckies must have the patience of a saint"

        If you tune in to channel 40 on your UHF you wouldn't say that!

        • spaij on 19/01/2021 - 22:15

          Suppose it's what helps them deal with the morons on the road.

  • kanmen on 15/01/2021 - 16:34
    +17

    I agree with the comments above about general stupidity and incompetence. This just goes back to the fact that a solid amount of people shouldn't have their license. There are people who tend to zone out and are in their own worlds, who have no situational and outside awareness of what's going on around them, can't multi-task and are really a hazard to everyone out there on the roads. It absolutely drives me insane.

    I found this out when I used to work for a place where I had to travel to different places and I had a colleague who was like 28 and didn't have their license and kept failing the test. I went out with her one day where I supervised her driving and oh my god I thought I was going to die. She went through 2 big roundabouts without looking right. How do I know she didnt look right? Well as her supervising driver I looked right but she looked right ahead and went while I saw my life flash in front of my eyes as a car already in the intersection came hurtling towards us. This happened twice.

    She was also this kind of annoying person, varying between 90kms and 110kms on regional highways where the speed limit was 100km/ph. I was so embarrassed when cars passed us and I had to keep reminding her to keep her speed constant and/or to speed up or slow down. A week later she passed her driving test. Go figure.

    I think drivers don't get taught when they are learning about how to keep their speed constant. It's about figuring out the right pressure on the accelerator to keep the car at one speed but instead we have drivers who waste petrol with their varying speeds.

    • SF3 on 15/01/2021 - 16:41

      A week later she passed her driving test. Go figure.

      It could be her the road, upsetting the OP! :D

      • kanmen on 16/01/2021 - 12:56
        +1

        I genuinely think half the posts in this forum about car crashes are her, or at least people like her who should not have been granted a drivers license and are truly a hazard on the road.

  • tebbybabes on 15/01/2021 - 17:26
    +18

    While not excusing the practise, I also recognise that driving a single lane naturally nudges us to drive slower. While a larger open space naturally nudges us to drive faster.

    Eg. how quickly we would drive on a narrow alley vs a large empty suburban street. Even if they weren't signposted. It's a traffic engineering thing. So when the road opens up to two lanes, there is then this tendency to speed up.

    • RockyRaccoon on 16/01/2021 - 07:27
      +7

      Voted up, because it’s probably a big factor of this occurring.

      Unfortunately it goes with being totally unaware or couldn’t give a damn about others on the road.

      Actually it’s an offence to accelerate while being overtaken. Problem is that it’s so hard to prove, and requires a lot more policing involvement than a simple speed camera.

      Too hard and no financial incentive for the governments

    • JayM on 16/01/2021 - 22:28
      +2

      I think you've nailed it. It's all about a driver's perception of safety.

      "I'm on a single lane road with bends so i better not look at the speedo in case i drift onto the other side and cause a crash"

      "Oh look, it's an overtaking lane and I see i'm not going the speed limit so i better speed up to the actual limit"

      Ad infinitum

    • Milkywayss on 16/01/2021 - 23:42

      I think this is why. Not because everyone is an a-hole or stupid. Because overtaking lanes are in areas with better conditions. Lacking situational awareness to let others pass - sure. But unless you’re tailgating them before I don’t think anyone is doing this deliberately, and they’re likely just paying attention to their own driving as safe as they can.

  • Austaurean on 15/01/2021 - 18:44
    +3

    Cause inconsiderate A holes, that dont know how to drive

  • bobwokeup on 15/01/2021 - 22:43
    +1

    Funny you should post about this as I was thinking the same thing when we recently got back from a camping trip. I ended up overtaking those cars on a non-overtaking lane but on dotted white lines of course. It’s actually really dangerous fluctuating your speeds when the limit is 110km/h.

  • Meho2026 on 15/01/2021 - 22:55
    +13

    I think the same, I try and tell myself its because the overtaking lanes or double lanes are at points where the road is wide and straight and these bad drivers just feel more confident. I know its not true and its really due to a psychological disturbance.

    I know exactly who these people are though and they walk among us.
    Just have a look at some of the forum topics, there's a common theme.
    Ever notice how there's people who say things in response to the loss of civil liberties "if you're doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about"
    Then that comment gets like 35 up votes and you're thinking how is that possible.
    They're the same sort of people who think that sniffer dogs all over NSW are a good thing.

    On a motorway these people also hog the right hand lane driving exactly the speed limit, they believe it is their absolute right to decide no one is going to drive over the stated speed limit.
    You know what else they do when the right lane is travelling over the speed limit so they dare not enter it?
    They drive below the speed limit in the middle lane when the left lane is empty.
    Yes, its all the same people.

    Its a sickness.

    • xylarr on 16/01/2021 - 08:30
      +8

      I've often found the fastest lane, in practice, is the far left lane

  • Bren20 on 16/01/2021 - 00:01
    +1

    I've got a similar question, I've sometimes found myself well and truly exceeding the speed limit to overtake cars that speed up in overtaking areas, I know it's speeding but I wonder if it's actively enforced by police?

    • RockyRaccoon on 16/01/2021 - 07:33
      +7

      Yes it is, often speed cameras are put in dual lane sections to catch exactly that.

    • JayM on 16/01/2021 - 22:33

      Got stuck behind someone doing 90 in a 100 zone then I had to speed up to 140 to overtake them. There was a police car over the ridge right at the end of the overtaking lane. Luckily I had slowed down to a more reasonable speed by then.

    • Milkywayss on 16/01/2021 - 23:39
      +1

      Why would it not be? Here speed cameras are a lot more common on overtaking lane areas than regular highway

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