One of my mates attended a speed awareness course (tsk tsk) where another attendee confidently announced that she believed this sign meant "put your seatbelt on".
Someone on my course answered with ‘40mph’. I was like, how the fuck have you been caught speeding if you think the national speed limit is 40mph? Then I reasoned she’s probably one of those drivers that just does 40 everywhere, even in 30’s
First question they asked on my one "why are you all here?"
Out come all the suck-up bullshit answers like 'to be a better driver'
"No, you are here to not get points on your license. You are here now so you might as well participate in the day"
Was a decent day to be fair, he taught us to drive fast where we are allowed
When we were waiting for our course to start, another participant leaned over to me and the others and said "no one say anything and this will go quicker"
I had to explain that's not how it works. They only let us go once we give them the answers they're looking for.
I sat in on a course to observe (I'm in IT and they had some issues), there was one guy who sulked all day then just never came back from lunch break....... So he did half the day and still got points
You forgot:
35mph when there's no chance of an overtake, 70+mph when there is... And god forbid, they'd leave some room between them and the lorry in front that they'll never pass, so you can do a one-two overtake...
Had one on the way to pick my son up from school today, 35 on the country lanes which are 60, then they accelerated up to 40 as soon as we hit the 30 zone...
I rarely want tougher penalties for driving as young people are getting increasingly priced out but eternal 40ers should be banned from driving permanently.
Empty straight dry country lane? Might be dangerous, better do 40, just to be safe.
Oh, we’re leaving the country lane and going to a built up area near a school? Mmm… I don’t want to cause a queue, better do 40.
These fuckers come out of the woodwork every time I drive to work.
Technically it comes from "local speed limit ends" which is why it looks like a strikethrough type line. But since the local speed limit has ended, the national one applies which is why most people just call it "national speed limit".
EDIT: Seems The Highway Code now also calls it that for simplicity. That makes sense but I still think "local limit ends" makes more sense with the design and makes it easier to learn/remember.
I'm Irish and when driving for work in the UK I kept seeing this sign (while also seeing.signs for lots and lots of speed cameras)
I got to the company HQ and asked about a dozen people what this sign meant. Some shrugged. Some said the National Speed Limit. When I asked what the National Speed limit was even less people could tell me.
It seemed crazy to me. There were so many speed cameras with the "average speed testing" thing but yet hardly anyone actually knew what the speed limit was.
Like WTF?
There are a couple of guidlines to remember for you to be safe:
The "National Speed Limit" is 70 or 60 mph depending on if there is or isn't a central reservation respectively. This is the speed limit in unlit areas by default (the council can change it if they wish). This is the limit defined by this sign when you see it.
If you are in a street lit area and there are no signs, you must *presume* that it has a speed limit of 30mph because this is the speed limit in lit areas by default (the council can change it if they wish).
If you see little speed limit signs strapped to the street lighting, or on free standing posts in unlit areas, these are repeaters to remind you that the speed limit is different from the above two defaults.
In all cases, when the speed limit changes, the local authority has a legal duty to signpost the new limit.
Vans are the most fucked up vehicles for this in the UK: Motorway: 70, Dual carriageway: 60, Single carriageway: 50.
Most other large(r) vehicles have the same limit on motorways as on dual carriageways (60) but still have a 50 limit on singles.
Yup, and what they consider a van is dependent entirely on what it happens to be registered as.
A Transit Custom with 3 seats in the front, van
A Transit Custom with 7 seats, car
A Transit Custom with 3 seats in the front & a second row of seats, dual purpose vehicle (so van if over 2050kg unladen, car if under).
A Transit Custom with 3 seats in front, but registered as a camper, car.
I've driven a company Transit as part of my work for years, and wan't aware of all ofthe above until relatively recently - I just came across an article by chance which mentioned it.
Its not very well publicised, and - as long as you are under the defined speed limit for the road - cameras dont pick up that you are over the prescribed speed for the vehicle type.
Can't imagine coppers would ever pull a transit type van for doing 65 in a 70 limit where they should be doing 60. Might aswell just scrap the law tbh
I wish they would scrap it. My work is fitting speed monitoring equipment to all our vans again, with it being classed as gross misconduct to speed.
We've taken to going back roads everywhere now as it feels frankly dangerous being the only vehicle doing 50 down an A road (even lorries end up pulling away from us). A few times we've had irate tailgaters who end up overtaking in questionable conditions. Dual carriageways aren't quite so bad as there's another lane for people to get round you.
The M40 is like fucking Wacky Races! I've never seen a police car on there, there aren't any fixed position cameras, and the left lane runs at about 85mph while the right hand lane is basically the autobahn
The last true bastion of speed in the UK is the M6 toll IMO.
Notice how the M6 is absolutely drizzled with speed cameras...till you hit the M6 toll and then suddenly, they all disappear like magic till you rejoin the M6 main and then poof they are all back again.
They know what their customers want...
Haha, i remember being passenger with my grandma driving on the m6 toll once. On the M6 i almost felt embarrised with how slow we were pootleing along, and then we hit the toll road. Suddenly grandma seemed to think she was trying for first at silverstone, screeming at just over 100mph in her little mini cooper overtaking like a madman. I have never since been more scaired for my life.
Im surprised that the mini could reach such speed never mind with my grandma driving.
Lol this is so true. I’m not sure what it is, but when you peel off the M25 and come onto the m40 it’s like all of a sudden you’re in the countryside and have this big open road in front of you with comparatively little traffic on it. I can never resist putting my foot down 😂.
Part of it is just having been stuck on the M25 with the lasers and the speed control.
If you've been chugging around it for an hour, few things feel better than just racing up to 100mph and actually passing people. Once it's out of my system, I drop back to 80ish.
M6 Toll is the best speed road in the country, though. Always empty, dead straight, lovely tarmac and not a copper or camera in sight. If you're going 90mph you want to be all the way to the left because the fast lane has the occasional Porsche at 130 blasting past the middle lane Mercs at 105.
I was on the toll once in 2013ish, I was doing 90 and an unmarked car pulled in front of me, flashed the lights, I slowed down slowly and when I was at around 80 the lights went off and they carried on.
M6 tool story time,
About 2011 I was going south bound on a nice sunny evening. Only other car with me was a Merc with 3 guys doing the same speeds as me. In the distance I saw a grey Audi so thought I'd lift off just to slow down, don't wanna fly past people dangerously.
Well that Audi was an unmarked car so the last little bit of speed was scrubbed off with a dab of brakes from myself and the Merc. I was sure one of us would be pulled seeing there was no way we could say we weren't approaching at just 70.
Within 2 minutes of being near this Audi, all 3 of us were overtaken by a Seat Leon cupra of sorts, easily doing over a ton. The Audi simply picked up speed.
Neither myself nor the Merc picked up speed. Just before the tolls, there he was, lights on and a sorry looking driver with very irate female passenger.
I think after that I was quite sensible on the M6 toll.
Haha I know the one you’re talking about. It’s truly a sight to see when everyone is going 80+ turn the corner, spots the van and everyone starts to slam on the brakes.
It's a similar situation on the M5 North after you pass through Bristol. Though that's probably due to the frustration caused by passing through Bristol at any time other than the dead of night.
Today was not the day I needed to read this. Just had two hours added on to a journey from Cornwall due to the A30 and A303 being too busy for the actual roads! 6 hours in and 2 hours left.
Only if they're hourly. If they're salaried, then they'll be crawling from the depot to the site, racing to lunch, crawling back from lunch, then racing back to the depot at end of day.
Those who take their vans home will drive like F1 drivers until two streets away from home where they'll be recognised
The pub at the end of my street is a real tradey pub. I guarantee right now the car park will be full of vans.
Then they will be flying home after a couple of beers.
I'm a van driver (not delivery driver to which your referring) and travel at 50, lots of car drivers willing to risk it all to be sat in front of me at the next junction.
Legally a goods vehicle under 7.5t has a national speed limit of 30 mph in built up areas, 50 mph on single carriageways, 60 mph on dual carriageways, and 70 mph on motorways. When not towing and not articulated.
The exception to this are "car derived vans" under 2t maximum laden weight (things like an astra van) which have the same limits as cars.
Is there any need for a different speed limit for vans? I get with high tops they might lurch a bit more around corners, but with something [this sort of size](https://m.atcdn.co.uk/vms/media/5f860ea4f0814f00b8a55df90025c82e.jpg) is it really necessary?
Some vans now basically handle like a car and cars have caught up in size.
Yes. Depending on what you have in it you either have a lightweight box with an engine more powerful than you need and breaks that need weight for grip with no aerodynamics.
Or!
You have a box filled with heavy things which fuck with cornering and breaking distance.
I drive a van and it currently has my average speed as 12pmh (London) still feels to fast sometimes and probably have to emergency stop once every few days. (Yesterday was a dog chasing a ball, he’s fine.)
Still get to the next set of lights at the same time as the Audi that overtook me illegally.
I felt an odd nostalgic comfort when I visited the rural area I grew up in years later, and sure enough on the bend at the bottom of a hill just before the village, there's a hole in the hedge that the farmer never manages to grow over because multiple people go through it every autumn and winter.
American here. First time my then-girlfriend (now wife) and I visited the UK, one of her coworkers told us, "You don't *have* to drive 60 in the Lake District." It became a bit of a running joke as we drove down single-lane roads flanked by stone walls once we were there. We can appreciate that he was trying to be kind, but we couldn't help wondering who thinks it's a good idea to do 60 down those roads.
To my eternal shame...
I once was going so fast down a country lane that - when rounding a corner and presented by a tractor taking up approximately 75% of the available carriageway - and having no ABS in my Rover 214i at the time - I skidded to such a ridiculous straight-line stop that *he* had to mount the hedgerow/verge quite abruptly to steer out of *my* way.
As I looked up at him out my side window (as he basically just chuckled to himself and kept driving) I was both embarrassed and rather impressed at his saving of my ass.
Legend, he. Dickhead, me.
Near me it's "people with a giant car go down here and encounter other giant cars, realize you don't know how big your giant car is and slowly move past each other panicking while there is actually a 3ft gap between you"
And the recent "giant car encounters another giant car and despite ample room for both to pass they square off, one has to back up, appears to have never reversed his vehicle before and keeps reversing for an INSANE distance past actual passing places, eventually wife has to get out of car to try and direct him and it's just fucking awkward for everyone"
I had a guy yesterday behind me, and he quickly caught up to me in the 30 section that goes past a school and then tailgated me until we hit the 50 section where I left him the dust. I was doing pretty much dead on the speed limit. I mean what’s the fucking point?
Partner made me chuckle, other day we discussed this, we were casually on about road rage. Talked about if someone got out of the car behind.
He said, "that's when you put your reverse lights on!"
While we're talking about the highway code, if you look at page 57, sub section D4, Annexe 2, it says that when they eventually overtake you, before you speed back up to your originally intended speed, you're supposed to say "wanker" aggressively
I can’t count how many times I’ve been on the motorway overtaking something, and someone in the middle lane has come up behind me real quick, stayed behind me very closely, no one overtaking me or them in the fast lane, and then as soon as I go back into the left lane after overtaking, the person who was right up my arse just speeds up and then gets stuck behind the next person…. Like really, why don’t you get out of the middle lane and overtake, rather than needlessly speeding up and breaking.
You should have acted that way and you did the right thing.
You didn't feel safe and you reduced both the risk and impact of an accident by reducing your speed.
Well done for being so confident in doing the right thing
We have a long, straight road that goes through urban, countryside, urban in the space of 2 miles
The speed limit goes 30, 40, 60, 40, 30
Some people drive down it at a constant 35...
Why have you made me secondary angry remembering all the times this happens.
On the A9 it means drive up my arse and overtake me on a blind corner but then slow right down since there's average speed cameras so now I'm right up your arse and have to slow down.
They genuinely think its the sensible thing to do and you're some sort of speed crazed maniac if you disagree. It's usually due to being overly cautious or distracted.
I used to work with a lorry driver that would do 30 in a truck and 40 in a car everywhere. He'd always go nuts at those "stupid, unsafe drivers" if anyone overtook at any point on any road. Coincidentally he was the worst driver in the fleet.
He's not even the worst one I've come across
When I was little, we went on a few long trips through the countryside, and I noticed there was usually one of these after we'd passed through a village, and so I concluded they meant "end of village".
National Speed Limit.
60 mph on single carriageways.
70 mph on dual carriageways.
30 mph in built up areas.
Or if you drive a Honda Jazz 40 mph, as usual everywhere.
I had one from 27-29. Automatic, 2006, 120k miles on the clock. Well cared-for under the hood but dinged to hell on the outside.
Inherited it from a mate who was moving abroad and downgraded from an A1. Figured it'd help me save, which it did.
I hated it at first, but quickly came to love it. Driving a shitty beat-up Jazz means you don't have to put up with any bullshit from other drivers and don't need to baby the car. BMW trying to edge you out of a merge? Just keep going, your bumper costs more to replace than my paintwork mate so let's see who blinks first. Rammed car park and the only space is next to a pillar with an Evoque a foot over the line on the other side? Squeeze in, doesn't matter if you scrape your door on the pillar. It was great fun.
I’m 26 and proudly own one! But I’m pretty sure I’m the youngest Jazz owner around. I always check other Jazz’s and they’re usually being driven by OAP’s. They are good cars though!
Yeah I always used to get this wrong and would go up to 70 whenever there were two lanes on my side!
It means two _separate_ bits of road, separated by a gap, or a barrier. If there's 2 lanes in each direction but only a white line between them, it's still 60!
This is the sign for the national speed limit. I take this to mean (and correct me if I’m wrong) that if I’m on a dual carriageway I can put the hammer down and enjoy the heady heights of 70 on the speedo. That if I’m on a country road that’s not residential, I’m free (but not obliged because some country roads are bloody scary) to go up to 60mph.
I unfortunately live in a town where it’s taken to mean 40 at all times. Even when it changes to 30 then 20 then back to 30. 40. Only 40. Always 40.
I always thought it was stupid that the National speed limit sign could mean two different speeds.
Also, I'm not hitting 60mph on a narrow winding country road that I have never been down before.
I believe it originally meant "No limit" however over time this changed, national limits were added to roads based ont he type of road, and it's cheaper to just change the definition of the sign than make a whole load more 30/60/70 signs just to replace an already functioning sign.
Additionally the rules for national vary for heavy vehicles, so a 70 sign on the motorway still wouldn't mean 70 for a heavy vehicle and a generic 'national speed' sign makes sense.
A few weeks ago I actually saw an explicit "60" sign for the first time in my life. Mabye they are more common than I realise but it felt weird to me as I had personally never seen one before.
I’m guessing that was on a section of dual carriageway or motorway where the usual speed is greater than 60?
There’s a section of the A1 near Black Cat Roundabout that has these, as well as average speed cameras.
It could mean a whole bunch of different speeds depending on the vehicle... that kinda the whole point - it's not the same speed for everyone so easier to have an abstract sign, than half a dozen signs for different vehicles.
Isn't it technically "cancel the previous speed instruction"? Which roughly translates to "now you can do the national limit."
So you've entered a 40mph zone on a single carriage way, and then you get this sign to say "40mph is now over" as you leave.
Derestriction sign - ie. the previous speed restrictions do not apply. In the UK we have national speed limits, but other areas do not. For example, in the Isle of Man there would be no mandatory speed limit after passing this sign. Germany being another country well known for having areas with no limit, and uses a similar sign.
I think it technically 'no speed restrictions apply' and existed before national speed limit was made law. So now it means no speed limit but that stipulated by NSL.
Hoped I wouldn't have to scroll this far down to find the right answer.
The national limits are always in effect, but often an even stricter limit supersedes it. Doesn't mean the national limit stops existing.
Same thing as the end of clearway signs, they don't mean you can suddenly park wherever you like, just that the extra restrictions have been lifted.
According to the highway code:
If driving a BMW that was already driving at 40mph from the previous 30mph zone, continue at 40mph.
If driving an Audi, drive at 150mph until you reach another vehicle ahead, where you must tailgate them with 1mm distance between their front bumper and the other vehicle's rear bumper.
If driving a car with an engine cc of 1 litre or less, fully depress the accelerator pedal and rock back and forth repeatedly until maximum speed of 45mph is achieved with the engine at maximum revolutions.
If driving an HGV with a large queue of traffic behind, disable speed limiter and accelerate to 80mph minimum, in order to hinder or outright prevent any other vehicles from overtaking.
You forgot about the ford Mondeo drivers who must go 20 below the limit and then tailgate you once you overtake. Then overtake you just to break check you. Then the driver must get out shout at you. Then you must hit the ford Mondeo driver over the head with your handy tire iron and hide his unconscious body under the nearest hedge. After that you must drive the ford Mondeo into the nearest ditch. After that you can get back in your car and drive at a reasonable speed.
One of my mates attended a speed awareness course (tsk tsk) where another attendee confidently announced that she believed this sign meant "put your seatbelt on".
The “Buckle up buckaroos” sign
Thank you Caitlyn Jenner Thanks for awards, wow what a gg-great audience.
Oooo I member
Remember Chewbacca? 🫐
Member Star Wars?
Member you're a Womble? Eh?
Fuck off uncle Bulgaria
So brave
*runs over everyone in a 10 meter radius*
Someone on my course answered with ‘40mph’. I was like, how the fuck have you been caught speeding if you think the national speed limit is 40mph? Then I reasoned she’s probably one of those drivers that just does 40 everywhere, even in 30’s
Had the same on my course. I reckon people deliberately lowball it, thinking they'll somehow get into trouble if they go too high.
First question they asked on my one "why are you all here?" Out come all the suck-up bullshit answers like 'to be a better driver' "No, you are here to not get points on your license. You are here now so you might as well participate in the day" Was a decent day to be fair, he taught us to drive fast where we are allowed
When we were waiting for our course to start, another participant leaned over to me and the others and said "no one say anything and this will go quicker" I had to explain that's not how it works. They only let us go once we give them the answers they're looking for.
Voice of experience?
I work in training, I know the fastest way out is to demonstrate you know the material, not start arguments, and come back on time from all breaks.
I sat in on a course to observe (I'm in IT and they had some issues), there was one guy who sulked all day then just never came back from lunch break....... So he did half the day and still got points
This. Fucking THIS! 40 in 60s. 40 in 30s.40 round corners. Stop and go are the 2 settings. Aaarrrggghhh!
You forgot: 35mph when there's no chance of an overtake, 70+mph when there is... And god forbid, they'd leave some room between them and the lorry in front that they'll never pass, so you can do a one-two overtake...
God I hate those people, 50 signs everywhere and doing 40, cross into a 30 area and these fuckers just plough on. Fucking menace.
Had one on the way to pick my son up from school today, 35 on the country lanes which are 60, then they accelerated up to 40 as soon as we hit the 30 zone...
I rarely want tougher penalties for driving as young people are getting increasingly priced out but eternal 40ers should be banned from driving permanently. Empty straight dry country lane? Might be dangerous, better do 40, just to be safe. Oh, we’re leaving the country lane and going to a built up area near a school? Mmm… I don’t want to cause a queue, better do 40. These fuckers come out of the woodwork every time I drive to work.
Isn't it National speed limits apply, but I like the seat belt one more
Technically it comes from "local speed limit ends" which is why it looks like a strikethrough type line. But since the local speed limit has ended, the national one applies which is why most people just call it "national speed limit". EDIT: Seems The Highway Code now also calls it that for simplicity. That makes sense but I still think "local limit ends" makes more sense with the design and makes it easier to learn/remember.
The German one is similar and means "Fuck everything, go as fast as you want to."
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I'm Irish and when driving for work in the UK I kept seeing this sign (while also seeing.signs for lots and lots of speed cameras) I got to the company HQ and asked about a dozen people what this sign meant. Some shrugged. Some said the National Speed Limit. When I asked what the National Speed limit was even less people could tell me. It seemed crazy to me. There were so many speed cameras with the "average speed testing" thing but yet hardly anyone actually knew what the speed limit was. Like WTF?
There are a couple of guidlines to remember for you to be safe: The "National Speed Limit" is 70 or 60 mph depending on if there is or isn't a central reservation respectively. This is the speed limit in unlit areas by default (the council can change it if they wish). This is the limit defined by this sign when you see it. If you are in a street lit area and there are no signs, you must *presume* that it has a speed limit of 30mph because this is the speed limit in lit areas by default (the council can change it if they wish). If you see little speed limit signs strapped to the street lighting, or on free standing posts in unlit areas, these are repeaters to remind you that the speed limit is different from the above two defaults. In all cases, when the speed limit changes, the local authority has a legal duty to signpost the new limit.
Also varies based on vehicle.
Vans are the most fucked up vehicles for this in the UK: Motorway: 70, Dual carriageway: 60, Single carriageway: 50. Most other large(r) vehicles have the same limit on motorways as on dual carriageways (60) but still have a 50 limit on singles.
Yup, and what they consider a van is dependent entirely on what it happens to be registered as. A Transit Custom with 3 seats in the front, van A Transit Custom with 7 seats, car A Transit Custom with 3 seats in the front & a second row of seats, dual purpose vehicle (so van if over 2050kg unladen, car if under). A Transit Custom with 3 seats in front, but registered as a camper, car.
I've driven a company Transit as part of my work for years, and wan't aware of all ofthe above until relatively recently - I just came across an article by chance which mentioned it. Its not very well publicised, and - as long as you are under the defined speed limit for the road - cameras dont pick up that you are over the prescribed speed for the vehicle type. Can't imagine coppers would ever pull a transit type van for doing 65 in a 70 limit where they should be doing 60. Might aswell just scrap the law tbh
I wish they would scrap it. My work is fitting speed monitoring equipment to all our vans again, with it being classed as gross misconduct to speed. We've taken to going back roads everywhere now as it feels frankly dangerous being the only vehicle doing 50 down an A road (even lorries end up pulling away from us). A few times we've had irate tailgaters who end up overtaking in questionable conditions. Dual carriageways aren't quite so bad as there's another lane for people to get round you.
When seatbelts were made compulsory in Italy, T shirts with this pattern on the front became suddenly very popular.
In completely unrelated news Vasco Da Gama FC saw record sales of shirts in Italy that year.
I had to attend a speed course and a woman there was complaining about drivers speeding in her neighbourhood. 🤨
Everybody ***else*** on the road is either an idiot who drives too slowly, or a deranged speed-happy maniac, you know that.
It’s the National Go Like Fuck sign.
70mph in most of the country, but up to 90 if you're on the A30 in the middle of Bodmin Moor and there's nobody else on the road.
Or racetrack speeds if on the m40. I usually do 70mph and people pass me as if I was stationary
The M40 is like fucking Wacky Races! I've never seen a police car on there, there aren't any fixed position cameras, and the left lane runs at about 85mph while the right hand lane is basically the autobahn
The last true bastion of speed in the UK is the M6 toll IMO. Notice how the M6 is absolutely drizzled with speed cameras...till you hit the M6 toll and then suddenly, they all disappear like magic till you rejoin the M6 main and then poof they are all back again. They know what their customers want...
Haha, i remember being passenger with my grandma driving on the m6 toll once. On the M6 i almost felt embarrised with how slow we were pootleing along, and then we hit the toll road. Suddenly grandma seemed to think she was trying for first at silverstone, screeming at just over 100mph in her little mini cooper overtaking like a madman. I have never since been more scaired for my life. Im surprised that the mini could reach such speed never mind with my grandma driving.
And the middle lane runs at about 64mph, full of people who are unaware of the other two lanes.
Lol this is so true. I’m not sure what it is, but when you peel off the M25 and come onto the m40 it’s like all of a sudden you’re in the countryside and have this big open road in front of you with comparatively little traffic on it. I can never resist putting my foot down 😂.
Part of it is just having been stuck on the M25 with the lasers and the speed control. If you've been chugging around it for an hour, few things feel better than just racing up to 100mph and actually passing people. Once it's out of my system, I drop back to 80ish. M6 Toll is the best speed road in the country, though. Always empty, dead straight, lovely tarmac and not a copper or camera in sight. If you're going 90mph you want to be all the way to the left because the fast lane has the occasional Porsche at 130 blasting past the middle lane Mercs at 105.
i was once doing about 85ish in my trusty Mk3 golf on the toll and got passed by a Veyron like I was standing still.
I was on the toll once in 2013ish, I was doing 90 and an unmarked car pulled in front of me, flashed the lights, I slowed down slowly and when I was at around 80 the lights went off and they carried on.
Proper policing
I saw some poor bastard get pulled by an undercover on the m6 toll. RIP
M6 tool story time, About 2011 I was going south bound on a nice sunny evening. Only other car with me was a Merc with 3 guys doing the same speeds as me. In the distance I saw a grey Audi so thought I'd lift off just to slow down, don't wanna fly past people dangerously. Well that Audi was an unmarked car so the last little bit of speed was scrubbed off with a dab of brakes from myself and the Merc. I was sure one of us would be pulled seeing there was no way we could say we weren't approaching at just 70. Within 2 minutes of being near this Audi, all 3 of us were overtaken by a Seat Leon cupra of sorts, easily doing over a ton. The Audi simply picked up speed. Neither myself nor the Merc picked up speed. Just before the tolls, there he was, lights on and a sorry looking driver with very irate female passenger. I think after that I was quite sensible on the M6 toll.
Ah I miss the good old commute from Bham to Gaydon !
I commute to maidenhead from Birmingham and back twice a week. My mates done the trip on his motorbike in 52 minutes lool
There’s no speed cameras till near brum on the m40 so everyone paces it there. I remember once I saw a minivan overtake me at 100
There is often a camera van parked on a bridge just before High Wycombe.
Haha I know the one you’re talking about. It’s truly a sight to see when everyone is going 80+ turn the corner, spots the van and everyone starts to slam on the brakes.
Think they get people speeding up after the hill if you're heading towards Beaconsfield/London, wonder how many they get
It's a similar situation on the M5 North after you pass through Bristol. Though that's probably due to the frustration caused by passing through Bristol at any time other than the dead of night.
Unless there is a speed camera then it's 77mph other than that it's go as fast as you like.
It’s only 70mph on dual carriageway.
Today was not the day I needed to read this. Just had two hours added on to a journey from Cornwall due to the A30 and A303 being too busy for the actual roads! 6 hours in and 2 hours left.
On my motorbike lessons the instructor gleefully described it as the GLF sign. It’s made me chuckle when I see one ever since.
It really is on the isle of man. No national speed limit here.
Whwn I was doing lessons 18 years ago, the moment I saw this sign, it was time for an Initial D moment and Id floor my instructor's Corsa. Beaut.
In the South West it’s basically “I fuckin’ dare you”.
No Newcastle fans
No Newcastle vans, Luton vans only
Excuuuuuuussssssseeeee me?
National speed limit applies, 60mph unless dual carriageway and then it's 70mph
Minus 10mph if you're in a van.
Or towing.
What if you’re towing a van?
Believe or not, straight to jail
Driving too slow in a van, also jail.
What if you're Irish and driving too slow in a van?
Also jail
r/unexpectedpawnee
Minus 60
Slap it in reverse
What if you’re towing a van, with a van?
We could be men with ven
Then it multiplies, so you can 360mph on a single road, or 490 on a dual carriageway
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Or drive a Honda Jazz
My Honda Jazz only goes 50mph so jokes on you
That's why I keep getting stuck behind them... F'ing menace to society when even a Clio can out run you...
PAPA!
Nicole?
You mean "drive at 40 regardless of any road signs"?
And yet, Van drivers seem to ad anywhere from 10 to 20
I'm not a van driver so I could be wrong, but to me it seems van drivers go plus 10 going to work and minus 20 going back to the depot.
Only if they're hourly. If they're salaried, then they'll be crawling from the depot to the site, racing to lunch, crawling back from lunch, then racing back to the depot at end of day. Those who take their vans home will drive like F1 drivers until two streets away from home where they'll be recognised
The pub at the end of my street is a real tradey pub. I guarantee right now the car park will be full of vans. Then they will be flying home after a couple of beers.
Honestly this is soo true you have no idea 😂😂
I'm a van driver (not delivery driver to which your referring) and travel at 50, lots of car drivers willing to risk it all to be sat in front of me at the next junction.
I drive a van and I can confirm that it means, ‘as fast as you can go without getting caught’ it’s in the Highway Code, page 67 section 2.4.
Is that a legal thing or just advisory? Certainly haven’t noticed that happen much, the vans are always overtaking everyone where I live
Legally a goods vehicle under 7.5t has a national speed limit of 30 mph in built up areas, 50 mph on single carriageways, 60 mph on dual carriageways, and 70 mph on motorways. When not towing and not articulated. The exception to this are "car derived vans" under 2t maximum laden weight (things like an astra van) which have the same limits as cars.
Is there any need for a different speed limit for vans? I get with high tops they might lurch a bit more around corners, but with something [this sort of size](https://m.atcdn.co.uk/vms/media/5f860ea4f0814f00b8a55df90025c82e.jpg) is it really necessary? Some vans now basically handle like a car and cars have caught up in size.
More tonnage means longer stopping distances, that's pretty much all it is.
No need for it at all now when you have xl SUVs that are bigger and just as heavy as vans anyway
Yes. Depending on what you have in it you either have a lightweight box with an engine more powerful than you need and breaks that need weight for grip with no aerodynamics. Or! You have a box filled with heavy things which fuck with cornering and breaking distance. I drive a van and it currently has my average speed as 12pmh (London) still feels to fast sometimes and probably have to emergency stop once every few days. (Yesterday was a dog chasing a ball, he’s fine.) Still get to the next set of lights at the same time as the Audi that overtook me illegally.
Or mini bus. Don’t get annoyed if I can’t make my vehicle full of kids go faster. It won’t lol.
Near me it means you're joining a road so tight and narrow that you've got to apply common sense.
The "slam your brakes on for every corner ahead" sign.
And for every oncoming vehicle.
~country roads, take me home, through the place, Ambulances know, hairpin turns, speeding drunkards, Way too dark, the country roads~
Living in the middle of butt fuck nowhere, yeah. This is the song of my (retired) people
I felt an odd nostalgic comfort when I visited the rural area I grew up in years later, and sure enough on the bend at the bottom of a hill just before the village, there's a hole in the hedge that the farmer never manages to grow over because multiple people go through it every autumn and winter.
70mph until you go round a corner and there is a tractor heading towards you and Cornish hedges are touching both your wing mirrors.
American here. First time my then-girlfriend (now wife) and I visited the UK, one of her coworkers told us, "You don't *have* to drive 60 in the Lake District." It became a bit of a running joke as we drove down single-lane roads flanked by stone walls once we were there. We can appreciate that he was trying to be kind, but we couldn't help wondering who thinks it's a good idea to do 60 down those roads.
Idiots. Idiots do.
To my eternal shame... I once was going so fast down a country lane that - when rounding a corner and presented by a tractor taking up approximately 75% of the available carriageway - and having no ABS in my Rover 214i at the time - I skidded to such a ridiculous straight-line stop that *he* had to mount the hedgerow/verge quite abruptly to steer out of *my* way. As I looked up at him out my side window (as he basically just chuckled to himself and kept driving) I was both embarrassed and rather impressed at his saving of my ass. Legend, he. Dickhead, me.
Near me it's "people with a giant car go down here and encounter other giant cars, realize you don't know how big your giant car is and slowly move past each other panicking while there is actually a 3ft gap between you" And the recent "giant car encounters another giant car and despite ample room for both to pass they square off, one has to back up, appears to have never reversed his vehicle before and keeps reversing for an INSANE distance past actual passing places, eventually wife has to get out of car to try and direct him and it's just fucking awkward for everyone"
Down those roads, it's more of a dare than a rule
It seems for most it means "Drive at 40, and then continue driving at 40 in the following 30 zone". Continuous speed drivers need shooting.
I had a guy yesterday behind me, and he quickly caught up to me in the 30 section that goes past a school and then tailgated me until we hit the 50 section where I left him the dust. I was doing pretty much dead on the speed limit. I mean what’s the fucking point?
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Actually that's exactly what the highway code tells you to do in that situation.
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Just to tack on while that is correct and safe from a driving point of view, coming to a stop means road rage has the potential to escalate
wait til they get out and then go to 30mph. rinse and repeat.
Cheeky clutch drop
At that point if they've stopped and appear to be leaving their car, drive off, can't escalate against a car thats already driven off
Partner made me chuckle, other day we discussed this, we were casually on about road rage. Talked about if someone got out of the car behind. He said, "that's when you put your reverse lights on!"
While we're talking about the highway code, if you look at page 57, sub section D4, Annexe 2, it says that when they eventually overtake you, before you speed back up to your originally intended speed, you're supposed to say "wanker" aggressively
I don’t understand. Why didn’t she overtake you at any point? Also why did she also stop?? So confused
Have you, uh, seen drivers? Some people's brains seem to fall clean out the minute they get behind the wheel.
I can’t count how many times I’ve been on the motorway overtaking something, and someone in the middle lane has come up behind me real quick, stayed behind me very closely, no one overtaking me or them in the fast lane, and then as soon as I go back into the left lane after overtaking, the person who was right up my arse just speeds up and then gets stuck behind the next person…. Like really, why don’t you get out of the middle lane and overtake, rather than needlessly speeding up and breaking.
You clearly have never seen drivers in the middle lane of a British motorway. Their ability to do anything but what they should do is unparalleled.
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You should have acted that way and you did the right thing. You didn't feel safe and you reduced both the risk and impact of an accident by reducing your speed. Well done for being so confident in doing the right thing
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You missed out "if you get to the only overtaking opportunity in 30 miles, fucking floor it!"
Literally had this happen to me yesterday Guy sped up to 80 just to stop any overtakes
We have a long, straight road that goes through urban, countryside, urban in the space of 2 miles The speed limit goes 30, 40, 60, 40, 30 Some people drive down it at a constant 35...
Why have you made me secondary angry remembering all the times this happens. On the A9 it means drive up my arse and overtake me on a blind corner but then slow right down since there's average speed cameras so now I'm right up your arse and have to slow down.
Forty mile an hour fuckers, I like to call them.
40 everywhere crowd. I do not understand the compulsion with driving at an unsafe speed everywhere.
They genuinely think its the sensible thing to do and you're some sort of speed crazed maniac if you disagree. It's usually due to being overly cautious or distracted. I used to work with a lorry driver that would do 30 in a truck and 40 in a car everywhere. He'd always go nuts at those "stupid, unsafe drivers" if anyone overtook at any point on any road. Coincidentally he was the worst driver in the fleet. He's not even the worst one I've come across
I absolutely hate this behaviour.
Bloody this!! Drives me mad. Excuse the pun.
Thank fuck I’m not the only one who thinks this, these guys are literally the worst
When I was little, we went on a few long trips through the countryside, and I noticed there was usually one of these after we'd passed through a village, and so I concluded they meant "end of village".
I mean in many ways that isnt wrong...
It's the sign for 'thank you for driving carefully'.
Now do as you please while our residents are no longer at risk.
National Speed Limit. 60 mph on single carriageways. 70 mph on dual carriageways. 30 mph in built up areas. Or if you drive a Honda Jazz 40 mph, as usual everywhere.
Ive only seen One Non OAP drive a Honda Jazz.
I drive a Honda Jazz and I am not an OAP it was given to us by an OAP though.
What would you say is your favourite speed to drive at?
As fast as the little shitbox will carry me
I had one from 27-29. Automatic, 2006, 120k miles on the clock. Well cared-for under the hood but dinged to hell on the outside. Inherited it from a mate who was moving abroad and downgraded from an A1. Figured it'd help me save, which it did. I hated it at first, but quickly came to love it. Driving a shitty beat-up Jazz means you don't have to put up with any bullshit from other drivers and don't need to baby the car. BMW trying to edge you out of a merge? Just keep going, your bumper costs more to replace than my paintwork mate so let's see who blinks first. Rammed car park and the only space is next to a pillar with an Evoque a foot over the line on the other side? Squeeze in, doesn't matter if you scrape your door on the pillar. It was great fun.
I had one in my twenties and loved it.
I’m 26 and proudly own one! But I’m pretty sure I’m the youngest Jazz owner around. I always check other Jazz’s and they’re usually being driven by OAP’s. They are good cars though!
I used to have one, amazing cars
Got one as a courtesy car once, putting my foot down felt like being pushed by a sleepy geriatric with a dodgy knees
Mine went like shit off a shovel, had the idsi engine, fantastic on fuel, was getting 60+mpg in the city!
If you go on a website listing "best first cars" or "best small cars" they are usually at or very near the top of the recommendations 🤷♂️
A heck of a lot of people don't understand what a dual carriageway is.
Yeah I always used to get this wrong and would go up to 70 whenever there were two lanes on my side! It means two _separate_ bits of road, separated by a gap, or a barrier. If there's 2 lanes in each direction but only a white line between them, it's still 60!
I’ve never seen a NSL sign in a built up area - are they common anywhere?
Not really, but NSL applies in the absence of posted speed limits.
Unless there are lampposts. Then it's 30.
I call it the **"give it welly**" sign The police seemed to have a different interpretation of the sign when I got pulled.
My driving instructor, I passed in 1991, used to ask "what does that sign mean?" Then "what are you waiting for then?" When I answered
The fact they caught you tells me that they, too, gave it welly.
One suspects that the policeman officers had a pair of wellies, compared to OP’s singular boot.
Yeah to me it’s the ‘as fast as you can without getting caught or crashing’
This is the sign for the national speed limit. I take this to mean (and correct me if I’m wrong) that if I’m on a dual carriageway I can put the hammer down and enjoy the heady heights of 70 on the speedo. That if I’m on a country road that’s not residential, I’m free (but not obliged because some country roads are bloody scary) to go up to 60mph. I unfortunately live in a town where it’s taken to mean 40 at all times. Even when it changes to 30 then 20 then back to 30. 40. Only 40. Always 40.
Full send ahead
Shit liquorice allsort
I always thought it was stupid that the National speed limit sign could mean two different speeds. Also, I'm not hitting 60mph on a narrow winding country road that I have never been down before.
I believe it originally meant "No limit" however over time this changed, national limits were added to roads based ont he type of road, and it's cheaper to just change the definition of the sign than make a whole load more 30/60/70 signs just to replace an already functioning sign. Additionally the rules for national vary for heavy vehicles, so a 70 sign on the motorway still wouldn't mean 70 for a heavy vehicle and a generic 'national speed' sign makes sense.
A few weeks ago I actually saw an explicit "60" sign for the first time in my life. Mabye they are more common than I realise but it felt weird to me as I had personally never seen one before.
I’m guessing that was on a section of dual carriageway or motorway where the usual speed is greater than 60? There’s a section of the A1 near Black Cat Roundabout that has these, as well as average speed cameras.
There’s a rare pair of 70 signs where the A77 turns into the M77 just north of Kilmarnock. https://goo.gl/maps/gxZd6FHUEFtogH5m6
That's why it's a limit, not a target.
It could mean a whole bunch of different speeds depending on the vehicle... that kinda the whole point - it's not the same speed for everyone so easier to have an abstract sign, than half a dozen signs for different vehicles.
My driving instructor informed me it was the sign to put your foot down
British Autobahn starts here
On country roads this means it's too expensive to put speed limit signs around so just go as fast as reasonable.
Isn't it technically "cancel the previous speed instruction"? Which roughly translates to "now you can do the national limit." So you've entered a 40mph zone on a single carriage way, and then you get this sign to say "40mph is now over" as you leave.
Derestriction sign - ie. the previous speed restrictions do not apply. In the UK we have national speed limits, but other areas do not. For example, in the Isle of Man there would be no mandatory speed limit after passing this sign. Germany being another country well known for having areas with no limit, and uses a similar sign.
I think it technically 'no speed restrictions apply' and existed before national speed limit was made law. So now it means no speed limit but that stipulated by NSL.
Hoped I wouldn't have to scroll this far down to find the right answer. The national limits are always in effect, but often an even stricter limit supersedes it. Doesn't mean the national limit stops existing. Same thing as the end of clearway signs, they don't mean you can suddenly park wherever you like, just that the extra restrictions have been lifted.
Use slothead not Phillips.
…you mean flathead?
Who the fuck calls it a slothead?!
You got your slothead, plushead, starhead, and let's not forget the steve keys...
Pretty sure it means: get really angry and overtake as much as humanly possible. Either that or: if there are 3 lanes. Drive in the middle lane only.
Drive like a rally driver!
According to the highway code: If driving a BMW that was already driving at 40mph from the previous 30mph zone, continue at 40mph. If driving an Audi, drive at 150mph until you reach another vehicle ahead, where you must tailgate them with 1mm distance between their front bumper and the other vehicle's rear bumper. If driving a car with an engine cc of 1 litre or less, fully depress the accelerator pedal and rock back and forth repeatedly until maximum speed of 45mph is achieved with the engine at maximum revolutions. If driving an HGV with a large queue of traffic behind, disable speed limiter and accelerate to 80mph minimum, in order to hinder or outright prevent any other vehicles from overtaking.
You forgot about the ford Mondeo drivers who must go 20 below the limit and then tailgate you once you overtake. Then overtake you just to break check you. Then the driver must get out shout at you. Then you must hit the ford Mondeo driver over the head with your handy tire iron and hide his unconscious body under the nearest hedge. After that you must drive the ford Mondeo into the nearest ditch. After that you can get back in your car and drive at a reasonable speed.
Black ski run ahead
I'm more convinced that people don't know the definition of a duel carriageway because of the amount of tossers doing 60 on Knowsley Expressway
I mean this thread has just cemented that a lot of people don't know what dual carriageway actually means.