Drivers who speed up when being overtaken

BrianD3

Rant time. What is it with morons who dawdle along at 45 mph on a National primary road and as soon as you try to overtake them they speed up to make life as difficult as possible for you. Are these just begruding Irish w*nkers who can't stand to see anyone making better progress than them.

The worst is whn nyou're stuck behind a queue of 4 or 5 indecisive dawdlers who are following a lorry at 45 mph and are refusing to overtake even when perfect opportunities present themselves. So they have no intention of overtaking but God Forbid that anyone further back in the queue tries to make progress by "leapfrogging" their way to the front of the queue. What will generally happen is the dawdler you're trying to overtake will *deliberately* close the gap to vehicle in front to block you from overtaking putting you in a dangerous situation if you've already started your maneouvre. Eg you start your maneouvre with the intention of slotting into a 100 foot gap but by the time you get to the gap it has shrunken to 10 feet becasue the ****** you've overtaken has floored the throttle. Pure begrudgery IMO. Does this happen in other countries? I can't imagine that this happens much in England because drivers actually know how to make progress over there and don't have a phobia about overtaking or being overtaken.

Ther was good thread on this topic a while back where a few posters were trying to justify this speeding up behaviour. It was said that the dawdlers close the gap to the car in front "becasue they feel threatened" :rolleyes: Yeah and by speeding up when you're being overtaken you're increasing the danger to everyone in the vicinity so this makes no sense.

IrishRover

Yeah, I'd say it's Irish begrudgery alright.

The solution is turbo power (sorry )

Squirrel

I thought it was illegal to speed up when being overtaken

junkyard

What about the w*****s who pull out in front of you at speed, then slow down. They should have their licence taken off them!

murphaph

Squirrel wrote:

I thought it was illegal to speed up when being overtaken

It is.

murphaph

The worst ones are the ones who slow down for really long sweeping bends and then speed back up to on or over the speed limit on the straights so you can't overtake-all the while failing to make use of the wide hard shoulder which they should be moving into to allow you overtake safely.

I don't drive fast, keep to the limits and all that. Dangerous overtaking is worse than any slowcoach though and I find since getting on a motorbike that people seem happy to force oncoming motorcyclysists to alter course, moving over to the hard shoulder which can be very dangerous on 2 wheels!

CJhaughey

I had this happen about a year ago, citroen dawdler speeding up and slowing down in the end I went to overtake and he pulled across to stop me as I was level with his drivers door, it was either hit some ugly stone hidden in the untrimmed verge or stripe my door on his wing mirror, guess which one won?
I pulled back in and left a black stripe from his wing mirror all down my side from behind the front wheel to halfway down the door.
Once I was past him I continued on my way, he must have been in shock because he flashed me from 1/2 a mile back but no way was I stopping!

OLDYELLAR

Oh god , I had some tw*t speed out in front of me the other day , I slowed down left him out wasnt too pissed next thing hes literally doing 10miles an hour , I just thought oh I dunno hes forgetting his indicators must be pulling in , but oh no he continues like this and right out to the white line where nobody else could pass him , so Irritating! :mad:

Our man in Havana

Indecisive dawdling should be an offence with points attached.

Ever driven Waterford-Kilkenny (N9-N10)? You will know all about indecisive dawdlers after a few days of driving that road. On the very few overtaking spots the indecisive dawdlers will floor it to stop you overtaking. Kilkenny has earned its well deserved title of slowest drivers in Ireland.

mike65

Bond-007 wrote:

Ever driven Waterford-Kilkenny (N9-N10)? You will know all about indecisive dawdlers after a few days of driving that road. On the very few overtaking spots the indecisive dawdlers will floor it to stop you overtaking. .

Down the hill under the bridge into Ballyhale per chance?

Mike.

unkel

Bond-007 wrote:

Ever driven Waterford-Kilkenny (N9-N10)? You will know all about indecisive dawdlers after a few days of driving that road. On the very few overtaking spots the indecisive dawdlers will floor it to stop you overtaking

Yep exactly what happened to me going down from Dublin last Sunday. Tinker family in a Toyota Hiace. I could see the children jumping around the double cab area, possibly researching the ideal launching position :rolleyes:

Going back up tomorrow. As previously posted and of not much help to the OP but the torque of a V8 petrol does help to get rid of the problem

Our man in Havana

mike65 wrote:

Down the hill under the bridge into Ballyhale per chance?

Mike.

Indeed Mike, have you played this game before.

I always try to get away from the trucks and dawdlers on the downhill strech, the skoda has achieved some speeds on that hill. Sadly the boys in blue from Thomastown are well aware of the antics down that hill.

AMurphy

BrianD3 wrote:

.....
The worst is whn nyou're stuck behind a queue of 4 or 5 indecisive dawdlers who are following a lorry at 45 mph and are refusing to overtake even when perfect opportunities present themselves. .....
.

And then you find the lorry (or JCB) driver who will not pull in even when the possibility exists and so the merry dance continues mile after mile....
Generally here if a truck, camper, large slow moving vehicle fails to pull in to the "turnouts" they get a prize also for pbstructing traffic.

Our man in Havana

AMurphy wrote:

And then you find the lorry (or JCB) driver who will not pull in even when the possibility exists and so the merry dance continues mile after mile....
Generally here if a truck, camper, large slow moving vehicle fails to pull in to the "turnouts" they get a prize also for pbstructing traffic.

Pity the Gardai don't do they same here. :mad:

IrishRover

I have to say I have found that pretty much without expection, every trucker I have met on the roads (Irish and other) has been both an excellent and courteous driver. In my experience, truck drivers always puill to the side to let people past when they can and often signal to let you know when it's safe to pass.

I know why this is too - they drive a big dangerous object long distances for a living and so their priorities are to minimise the chances of having an accident and keep their stress levels low while at work. They're not interested in picking battles with other drivers, they just want to get where they're going safely and with the minimum of aggro.

AMurphy, I don't think we're talking about turnouts or climbing/slow moving vehicle lanes here but hard shoulders or lay-bys so the truckers are under no obligation to pull into these - in fact these lanes aren't for driving in, but most of our main roads here have these "unused lanes" and so that's what they get used for.

oilsheik

Tractors are another problem, however last yr a farmer was in court for causing a mile long-tail back on the Kilkenny/Waterford road. I'm no legal expert but I think once a slow moving vehicle has more than 10 cars behind it has to pull in at the at a suitable place to let the traffic through. In fairness some tractor driver do it but other feel the road is an extension to their farm.

ambro25

I've had that happen a fair few times over the years. As an inexperienced young driver, it's scary enough when attempting an overtaking manoeuver (in the right circumstances: bright clear day, 2-miles stretch of road with no oncoming traffic, no side wind, etc, etc... ) and as a seasoned driver, it can still be pulse-quickening depending on the curcumstances.

I'm now fairly 'resolute' when that happens (i.e. when the car I'm overtaking speeds up), and (provided I'm alone in the car) I usually take it upon myself to 'educate' the motortits with not accelerating faster, but matching his acceleration and pulling closer-and-closer (laterally) to him - i.e. forcing him off the road until he brakes. Usually does the trick. Requires a smidgin' of balls, a fair bit of skill and absolute disregard for the paintwork.

Needless to say, it's downright dangerous and in all probability breaching several dozens rules of the road and statutes, so do not attempt this at home

stevenmu

Tbh I've done both (speeding up with someone overtaking, and going slow in the bends and speeding up in the straights) but only in certain circumstances. If someone behind me is obviously going faster or tries to overtake properly, I'll do whatever I safely can to help them get past me and on their way. But then there's always the f**ker who thinks that driving within centimeters of your back bumper is a good idea. Like ambro25, I've taken it upon myself to educate these c**ts, and usually after a few miles of crawling around every bend behind me, and having to pull back in behind me when they try going around, they learn there lesson and back off a bit.

iregk

I would never speed up when being overtaken but I think the reason is the who ego thing. Your over taken your not quite fast and powerful as you thought.

But what I hate is the other side of the fence. The ass who thinks he has the gap and actually doesn't. Driving from wicklow ever day I see it and seen it wednesday morning while I was driving. Truck way down the road in front of me and about 5 cars inbetween me and the truck. The gap between me and the car in front was very short, it was early and I was in no rush so I had no intention of over taking and was quite happy to keep to 50mph. The car behind me though has other ideas and decides when he hit some straight he is obviously going to try and over take both of us with another truck oncoming. By the time he got his nose out he was slamming the breaks and diving back in behind me. What kind of asses are they that try it and dont have the gap.

Add to that when we got to the lights he was still behind me but rather than wait 10seconds for the light to change no, up onto the path to drive around traffic and take the turn off...

ambro25

stevenmu wrote:

But then there's always the f**ker who thinks that driving within centimeters of your back bumper is a good idea. Like ambro25, I've taken it upon myself to educate these c**ts, and usually after a few miles of crawling around every bend behind me, and having to pull back in behind me when they try going around, they learn there lesson and back off a bit.

You *may* have gotten me wrong, m8 - I'm educating motortits that speed up when I'm overtaking them, not faster cars that want to overtake me (doesn't happen often, I must shamefully add )

Edited my earlier post to make it clear(er)

Cyrus

some people on the road are just so stupid and they dont realise how dangerous there poor driving is. personally im neither a speed demon or a dawdler, i like to move along and generally keep within the limits but i like to make decent progress
Overtaking on narrow national roads does still scare me at times so if im not comfortable overtaking i make sure to leave a gap large enough in front so that im not impeding anyone else, surely thats not so hard to do, most people wont tho, its always one numpty that holds everyone up!

however the people that pull out and then drive at 10mph are the worst, its normally old people or women that cant drive, they are so nervous about pulling out they just go for it and then proceed to dawdle once no on has been killed by their stupidity!

btw is it illegal to overtake more than 1 car in same maneouvere

seamus

Cyrus wrote:

btw is it illegal to overtake more than 1 car in same maneouvere

No.

murphaph

iregk wrote:

I would never speed up when being overtaken but I think the reason is the who ego thing. Your over taken your not quite fast and powerful as you thought.

But what I hate is the other side of the fence. The ass who thinks he has the gap and actually doesn't. Driving from wicklow ever day I see it and seen it wednesday morning while I was driving. Truck way down the road in front of me and about 5 cars inbetween me and the truck. The gap between me and the car in front was very short, it was early and I was in no rush so I had no intention of over taking and was quite happy to keep to 50mph. The car behind me though has other ideas and decides when he hit some straight he is obviously going to try and over take both of us with another truck oncoming. By the time he got his nose out he was slamming the breaks and diving back in behind me. What kind of asses are they that try it and dont have the gap.

Add to that when we got to the lights he was still behind me but rather than wait 10seconds for the light to change no, up onto the path to drive around traffic and take the turn off...

I'm pretty much like you, I keep roughly to the 100k speed limit and drive with caution, however if you are travelling behind something and you do not wish to overtake you are supposed to leave a sufficient gap for people who do want to overtake to slot in in front of you. It's in the rules of the road IIRC, it's certainly in the UK's Highway Code. It's common sense really-they may be wreckless idiots but think of the poor ba$tard that they might hit head on around the next bend because you didn't leave a gap.

iregk

Yeah I suppose. didn't actually know that was a rule but yeah maybe the gap certainly could have been bigger. In either case saying that the gap was eve twice what it was he never had a chance either way with an on coming truck!!! What gob****e tries that one?

seamus

murphaph wrote:

I'm pretty much like you, I keep roughly to the 100k speed limit and drive with caution, however if you are travelling behind something and you do not wish to overtake you are supposed to leave a sufficient gap for people who do want to overtake to slot in in front of you. It's in the rules of the road IIRC, it's certainly in the UK's Highway Code. It's common sense really-they may be wreckless idiots but think of the poor ba$tard that they might hit head on around the next bend because you didn't leave a gap.

Aye. And if someone does try overtake, but halfway between you and the guy in front, realises that he hasn't the roadspace, he's going to push in front of you, whether you let him or not. It just makes sense to leave the gap. What irritates me most in this kind of situation is people who drive right on your ass, waiting to overtake, while you wait to overtake. The amount of times I've had people f-in and blinding behind me because I pulled out to overtake a split second before they did.

stevenmu

ambro25 wrote:

You *may* have gotten me wrong, m8 - I'm educating motortits that speed up when I'm overtaking them, not faster cars that want to overtake me (doesn't happen often, I must shamefully add )

Edited my earlier post to make it clear(er)

I knew what you meant, I probably should have said 'A bit like ambro25' in that I'm trying to educate idiots who are doing something they shouldn't and endangering me in the process, altough our pet peeves and ways of dealing with it are different.

And just to be clear, if someone is faster and wants to go buy I've no problem with that, and I help them do it, it's just when they get right up behind me it p***es me off.

iregk

Why do people do that. A good while back, now were going 4 years here, myself and a mate are just driving along back from town just past saggart. This car pulls right up behind us, could have overtaken any time he wanted as we weren't going anywhere fast. Sits there overtakes eventually gets in front of us then slows right down. As soon as we went to indicate out he floored it.

I will never understand why people insist on playing games and driving right up your ass. Cars dont respect you, they will kill you in a second. So if you dont respect the lump of metal your driving and use it with caution your dead!

Seth Brundle

iregk wrote:

I will never understand why people insist on playing games and driving right up your ass. Cars dont respect you, they will kill you in a second. So if you dont respect the lump of metal your driving and use it with caution your dead!

Last Christmas I was driving up to Belfast from Dublin. It was night and therefore dark. I was actually trying to stay within the speed limit also.
For about 10 miles miles beyond Swords some príck in a MH regd (something like 4422 or 2244) 406 drove right behind me (short of a few feet). If I increased or decreased (40mph) my speed he followed suit. Eventually he overtook me and sped off.
A number of miles later he came up behind me again (must have left and returned to the motorway) and continued this craic. Very unnerving. I was really tempted to slam hard on my brakes and accept whatever happened but for some reason I felt they were gardai (dunno why) and didn't. In a situation like this what could I do?

mike65

kbannon wrote:

A number of miles later he came up behind me again (must have left and returned to the motorway) and continued this craic. Very unnerving. I was really tempted to slam hard on my brakes and accept whatever happened but for some reason I felt they were gardai (dunno why) and didn't. In a situation like this what could I do?

Call the garda?

I might have been tempted to do a brake test with my left foot ie not actually slowing down just triggering the brake lights and seeing what happened. Trouble is the kind of ppl who sit on your ass for miles are exactly the kind of pll you don't want to piss off. I guess the best course of action is to indicate left and pull over and get them past you asap.

Mike.

murphaph

kbannon wrote:

In a situation like this what could I do?

It's times like that that makes you wish you drove 007's DB5! Deploy the oil slick!

30-6shooter

Trouble is the kind of ppl who sit on your ass for miles are exactly the kind of pll you don't want to piss off.

Why do you think that Mike? Are you reckoning that their aggressive tactics on the road mean they`re agressive as a person and might be prone to a bit of road rage? Sure most of the people that do that are 17yr old knobs in their dads car,,,, and are all talk. If you confronted them at the next set of lights i`d bet they`d sh*it themselves.