Good Driving

I am talking about England and English roads and road markings. Things like road markings and speed limits vary locally, some other principles would seem to be universal.

Overtaking;

I regularly drive a piece of main road with no dual carriageway and few chances to pass. The people who miss the overtaking chances are of two types, those who drive well back from the vehicle in front and don't try to get past and those who drive in the overtaking position, or closer, and still can't get past. The first is slightly better than the second, at least he isn't the meat in the sandwich and has got a view of the road.

But good driving, is about getting information from the road and using it. How should you do it?

Stay well back where you can see the road ahead and not just someone's back end. Most of this road has an almost continuous hazard warning line or double lines so there is no point being in the overtaking position, but don't give up, you are in place to see a change coming. As the road markings change to the shorter, more spaced centre line accelerate into the overtaking position, if it doesn't work out slow down and drop back again, nothing lost.

But if everything is clear you are already going faster than what's in front when you reach the overtaking position, if you drive there all the time you can only go the same speed as them, get the timing right and you're past. Being good means being alert and reactive to what's happening on the road.

Speeding;

Most of us have done it, travelling along a main road, we come to a small village that hasn't been bypassed and suddenly the speed limit drops to 30 for a bit, 35-40 feels a lot slower than 60 but if there is a camera van it's enough to get you stopped.

You drive the car, I'll do the maths. If it's a mile through the village it takes one minute at sixty, two at thirty and a minute and a half at forty five, so you stand to save about half a minute max. unless you are totally insane.

Discount all talk of accidents, you are the perfect driver and never have them. If the speed trap clocks you at under thirty five and you call him sir you might just drive away after he has checked you and given you a lecture, ten minutes and a bit of humiliation.

At thirty five it would take one minute forty two seconds to do the mile, you need to get away with it seventy five times to save the ten minutes of check and lecture, the humiliation stays.

Get booked and the time factor jumps, count in all the time you spend earning the money for higher insurance rates and fines, or the time spent writing letters. On the other hand if you drive at the limit and keep a clean licence what do you lose? A few seconds, a view of the back of what's in front of you? You will catch up soon enough when you get out of the village, because very few people actually drive at sixty in the sixty limit, where it's safe and legal.