Motorway tips on slowing down

[Ironborn]

Got my license 4 years ago and I seem to have developed a heavy foot. I drive too damn fast on the motorway, I'm surprised I haven't been caught yet. I try to ban myself from the third lane, but it doesn't last, something will set me off, like for one I'll see a nice car zoom past me, and I just begin to follow it, soon or later I find my myself overtaking it at license losing speed, too late to back out now, I'm committed. Zero self control is the department Any advice?

 

[wangdoodle]

Ever thought of taking the advanced driving test?
Opens your eyes a bit!

 

[coatesy]

have you tried leaving the hand brake half on.....

nah im just messing. you will scare your self one day and then you will think twice about going super fast every where!

 

[jb0o]

Purposely drive through a Gatso 3 times, accumulating 9 points. Then you'll be scared to speed

 

[GazJSmithy]

Set cruise control to 70mph them tuck your leg away!

 

[sliced]

change the music your listening to? Drum and basss is gonna make you drive like your on a track!

 

[kwistof]

change the music your listening to? Drum and basss is gonna make you drive like your on a track!

Totally agree with the music choice....

Also maybe worth changing the DIS to show the instant mpg, so you can see how much your heavy foot is costing you in the long run?

I'm in the same boat as you though when it comes to seeing a nice car that wants to have a play....I just can't help myself! lol

 

[jojo]

Watch this.

[ytv]Y7lCM9ElUqQ[/ytv]

 

[Cozza McA]

Watch this.

[ytv]Y7lCM9ElUqQ[/ytv]

little bit extreame but does get the message across..
love the bit when they do the pinky wave thing.

 

[StateOfPlay]

I have just done a speed awareness course. They showed a reconstruction of one of britains worst motorway pile up on the m4 in 1991. The driver that caused it probably fell asleep. Drivers behind the crash could not stop in time. 10 people died, 51 cars were involved. If the cars had been driving at or below the speed limit they may have avoided crashing into the pile up.



It may be that you are a safe driver, and you are fully concentrating whilst bombing along at 80 or 90 mph. But you cannot control other drivers around you. Remember, you may need to stop quickly, the faster you are going, the more time you need to come to a stop.

And this statistic really got me;

If a pedestrian is hit by a car driving at 30mph they have an 80% chance of survival

If a pedestrian is hit by a car driving at 40mph, they have a 10% chance of survival.

I know, better not to get hit by a car, but if you do, you better hope the person driving is doing 30mph and not 40mph.

 

[WOLF]

Just consider.......
The money used to pass your test and buy your car,the length of time it took to be able to drive and suppose you lost your license.....how would it change your life,work,wife or GF,family life!!!

My son had his license revoked 6 years ago for getting too many points in his first year.He has to pass his theory and take his test allover again.......

Your driving license is very precious mate,look after it

 

[Cabbyfan]

My office window overlooks a one way road with 2 lanes, 30 mph limit. Every day we watch the same young lads and lasses in their saxo corsa golf pug etc racing, lane weaving and doing way over the limit. I'm old and sensibl now but if only they knew what crashing a car at 25 to 30 actually felt like and the damage done it would make them think. Scares the hell out of me some days the way they drive.

 

[jdp1962]

Got my license 4 years ago and I seem to have developed a heavy foot. I drive too damn fast on the motorway, I'm surprised I haven't been caught yet. I try to ban myself from the third lane, but it doesn't last, something will set me off, like for one I'll see a nice car zoom past me, and I just begin to follow it, soon or later I find my myself overtaking it at license losing speed, too late to back out now, I'm committed. Zero self control is the department Any advice?

i actually found your opening post pretty depressing. Taking it at face value and assuming you're not having a laugh, what it amounts to us that you're driving dangerously, you know you are, but don't have enough self-control to stop. Since you've asked for advice, I'll offer you some, but I don't think you'll like it. My advice, mostly for others' sake rather than yours, is stop driving till you have grown up and acquired some of the self-control you admit is presently lacking.

 

[Cabbyfan]

One thing I definitiy know slowed my speed down was the potential cost in insurance repair work people etc etc if anything happened. Diving fast in inappropriate places or overtaking just because it seems like a good idea actually doesn't save much time. Lost count the number of times some numpty has blown my doors off on the way to work only for me to end up one or two cars behind him a mile or two later...

 

[MBK]

I did take a look at this post last night but thought you might be having a laugh so didn't reply.

My honest answer is to practice mindfulness, your mind will become calmer and being passed by a nice car will just mean you say 'hey nice car' to yourself rather than chase it down! I think many others have nicely articulated the many reasons the road can be dangerous.

Now the other side to this is, if you really want to play, get yourself to a track day. The mindfulness still stands, you will go much faster being mindful than all fired up with adrenaline. There are no speed limits, all the traffic goes the same way and you get to see if you're any good through the corners as well as with the loud pedal.

Keep it safe on the road, have fun on the track!

 

[StateOfPlay]

 

[s3dave]

Get a push bike and cancel your insurance...

 

[Ironborn]

Cheers for responses. Guys I don't drive like a maniac, switching lanes and all that. I just keep finding myself speeding. Maybe 80-90 at most and if someone passes faster ill tag along. I'm by far not the worst person you will meet on the road. I was just wondering if there is anything you guys do to keep that speed low. Because I know I’m not the only one, I get overtaken quite a lot. Yeah retrofit cruise control is something I want to do, not sure if it will be any use though. Sad music for 400+ miles, i'll have a mental breakdown. Steev hit the spot, I would go mad without a car, can’t even imagine it.

As for thinking of others and canceling my insurance and stop driving, no way! When you choose to drive you have accepted the risks that come along with it. Just like taking public transport, you could get stabbed or bombed. Choose to use your bike, you could get crashed by a HGV. Not saying I fit in that catalogue.

 

[ESD1711]

When you choose to drive you have accepted the risks that come along with it.

It could also be said that, when you choose to drive, you have accepted a certain degree of responsibility too......

I'm not gonna preach about speeding or taking the bait from a passing car or whatever else like that, i'd imagine most of us have been guilty of that at one point or another.

To admit that you have no self control and regularly find yourself at licence losing speeds unable to stop yourself displays a complete ignorance towards the responsibility you accept the moment you turn that key.

Granted, 4 years of driving probably has you outwith the n00b category, but its still not a massive amount of driving experience.

Consider the risks and the consequences.

 

[superkarl]

get a ****ing grip.

 

[Furkz]

just get cruise control and use it. everyone overspeeds sometimes, so not worth the lecture but i think your only saviour would be cruise control or a nagging wife next to you. unfortunately i have the latter but prefer cruise control

 

[skyinsurance]

Ever thought of taking the advanced driving test?
Opens your eyes a bit!

Good advice

 

[Jameze]

And this statistic really got me;

If a pedestrian is hit by a car driving at 30mph they have an 80% chance of survival

If a pedestrian is hit by a car driving at 40mph, they have a 10% chance of survival.

But not every pedestrian is a good person...





In all seriousness though...

I used to be kind of similar in my last car, but since buying my Audi I've been a lot more sensible with my speed. Mainly because I want to keep a clean license and don't want to have to fork out anymore money on insurance than I already am! Being aware of what speed you're doing always helps me - it's very easy to drive above the speed limit and not realise you're doing so. To combat this I've set a speed warning in my DIS at 80mph which has helped me quite a lot, as soon as it beeps it reminds me that I'm speeding and I know to slow back down...

Also, being pulled over for speeding (for me anyway) opens your eyes. I pulled out on a 30 road, accelerated to 59mph (without even realising - hadn't had the car long so it was a lot more responsive than my previous car). I slowed down once I'd got up to speed and carried on at 30mph but was lit up from behind... I'd actually pulled out in front of a police car and then proceeded to do almost double the speed limit. After a few words of advice I was let on my way - you don't get many chances like that so I've learnt from it!

 

[L33h]

looks at the petrol gauge going down and think about the money in your wallet lol

 

[k1ano]

Getting caught and banned for speeding (2 week ban for 110.5 mph over 5 miles in 1995) was the best thing that happened to me in a motoring sense ... I did a lot of stage rallying in my teens and early 20's (which would ordinarily stop people driving fast on the roads) but I still got caught up in the 'rat race' of commuter traffic and 3rd lane toe-to-tail driving. This breeds bad habits and frustrations in not being able to get where you want to go in good time and so can encourage faster and more selfish driving. Losing my licence made me realise that I had to change behaviour and think 'bigger picture' i.e. my safety, the safety of others, taking responsibility for journey planning and learning to enjoy driving more without the speed. So I just re-applied the basic principles of planning my journey better, using the lane 1 and 2 more with a corresponding reduction in speed to flow with these lanes better, planning my overtaking, waiting for gaps, not getting stressed with drivers not letting me out, understanding and anticipating the behaviour of trucks and respecting them more. I soon realised (on my long weekly commutes) that I could still flow in the traffic with cars sat in lane 3 whilst I was much less stressed in lanes 1 & 2 with more space and safer gaps etc. and an all together engaging drive where I was thinking more and not on auto-pilot.

 

[Ghost]

Maybe this thread was in the back of my mind, thats why I woke up thinking about it at 4:30am and this is what was on my mind….


Who took away my best friend
That could make us all smile
Come rain or shine

Who took away the soul of the party
Who could get us all up dancing
Even Gran who's well over 80!

Who took away my brother
Who was born on the same day
Now life will never be the same way

Who was it who made our car spin out of control
Who was the driver who made his car roll

(Read Slowly)
When we stopped moving.. there was only carnage around
I screamed at my brother.. back came was no sound

There is the driver that did this
Just walking away
It's his Image I Now see
I see ever day


Now at the party there is one empty chair
We are lost for a reason
Maybe someone didn’t think or care

I wish he could just see our pain our loss
Then maybe just maybe he'd not have driven so fast?
Than for my brother that day.. that day may not have been his last

R I P Bro

 

[Sandra]

Spooky, that has to be the most sad, but beautiful poem i have ever read, im just speechless, not much makes me cry, but reading that did. Its so poignant and i thank you for sharing it. Maybe , just maybe, that will make people slow down a little, as the consequences are not nice to read about for any of us. When im driving, i would rather stick to the speed limit and get there late than not at all. X

 

[Crazyfool]

I have just done a speed awareness course. They showed a reconstruction of one of britains worst motorway pile up on the m4 in 1991. .....And this statistic really got me;

If a pedestrian is hit by a car driving at 30mph they have an 80% chance of survival

If a pedestrian is hit by a car driving at 40mph, they have a 10% chance of survival.

This is a good course and a real eye opener. I would have suggested getting a lower performance car, but the problem these days is all cars can easily reach 100mph, it just comes down to how fast you reach it; so that's not really going to help.

The instructor actually said to us that he rekoned only 2 or 3 attendees will be affected by the course, the rest will return to speeding again. One person admitted being cuaght by a Gatso on the way to the speed awareness course!

Ever thought of taking the advanced driving test?
Opens your eyes a bit!

I recently attended an advanced driving course as part of my work requirements and found it to be very useful.

I know you feel you are influenced by vehicles passing you at a higher speed, but the biggest issue and the trap most people fall into is leaving it to the very last minute to commence their journey; instantly putting themselves in a situation where they are in a rush. Have you thought about adding an extra half an hour to your journey, ie starting earlier to alleviate this pressure.

As part of my work we seriously have to consider whether driving is the safest method of travel. Our company prefers us to use public transport. When I do drive, there is a lot of pressure on me to ensure I arrive at my destination safely. This makes me add additional time and it's probably the only time where I spend the majority of my journey in Lane 1. Whch to be honest, turns it into a really nice relaxing drive.

 

[a6_chris]

I'll link some of the Northern Ireland DOE road death/speed/carelessness advertisements in the morning.

Some are pretty bad and would put you off driving!

 

[camerontarver]

I use to be the same as your self on the motorways. What I did is changed insurance company's to the ones where they put a box in your car and monitor how you drive and reward you with cheaper insurance the safer you dive I was told by a mate there is a few that will not cover you if you go over the speed limit and crash if this is true I do not know but it is a good idea.

I use insure the box right now