Overly Cautious Drivers

[J4CKO]

It seems churlish to moan about them, and I am not really but those that lurk on your back wheel despite adequate and plentiful overtaking oportunities, I like to think that it is ladies mesmerized by my frankly awesome buttocks, rooting round for their camera phone but in actual fact it is usually the terminally nervous, usually in a micra, I appreciate the consideration, really I do but just get past me already !!!!

Or, much worse, one that dithers and then chooses the absolute worst moment to go for it, like the girl in the Punto that drove behind me a for about quarter/half a mile and decided to overtake as I was pulling out for a parked car and the first car for ages coming the other way was there as well ! did she expect me to stop behind the parked car, pile into it at 20 mph or just dissapear, the car comign the other way blew its horn (justified I thought) I shouted some rude words and off she went.

 

[HLaB]

What I find strange is the driver who sits behind me for ages on straights where there is plenty of safe overtaking room, they then overtake on a blind bend !

 

[Davidc]

Had a learner do that this evening, in the pitch dark (all right, bright moonlight), on a country lane.

Went past after about a mile and a half, and ten minutes. I then realised it was a learner and understood the problem, but very worrying even though (s)he kept at a safe distance and behaved perfectly.

Hope they enjoyed my new spoke reflectors though.

 

[thomas]

I would obviously prefer over cautious to someone who just doesn't care...however, when you get someone like that behind you I find I'm waiting for them to cut me up or overtake inappropriately.

On a bit of my old commute the road isn't really wide enough to be overtaken properly, but wide enough for most cars to get past without me really having a problem. It can be nice when you get someone cautious behind who just waits until the road widens at the end though.

 

[garrilla]

The term 'nervous' might have been more apt.

That sound is not them over revving the engine, its the brain chuntering away, "should I go, will I kill him, is there room, yes go, no wait, may be, oh **** it I'll go now, oh shoot, sorry mate!"

 

[BrumJim]

Overly cautions learner drivers aren't a problem, as far as I can see. I scalped one good and proper yesterday. Bit more challenging than the road sweepers.

 

[John the Monkey]

I would obviously prefer over cautious to someone who just doesn't care...however, when you get someone like that behind you I find I'm waiting for them to cut me up or overtake inappropriately.

With ditherers, it can help to motion "wait" at pinch points etc - palm held out towards them until you've passed the traffic island or whatever it is.

 

[Grendel]

What I find more dangerous are the ditherers in front, crawling along at a snails pace for no discernable reason, and likely to go in a random direction when least expected.

 

[HLaB]

Overly cautions learner drivers aren't a problem, as far as I can see. I scalped one good and proper yesterday. Bit more challenging than the road sweepers.

I scalped one last night heading up the Inverkeithing high street but to be honest I didn't find them much of a scalp, they were slowing down for a mini rbt.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Worst combination is surely the ditherer in front coupled with Dr Impatient behind you .. I had that this morning: 30 limit, car up front had come out of a side road and was sloooooooooooooooooowly accelerating, then another car, then me in primary, then Dr I in his Transit.

We'd got to about 20mph and were ever-so-gradually accelerating; it was downhill and so I was comfortably keeping up with the flow. I'd let a couple of car lengths open up between me and the car in front (we'd squashed up a bit when ditherer had come out of the side road causing a lot of braking all round and I wanted a gap back) and was just going to go for a higher gear ready to maintain station, when I heard Dr I give it some beans in the Trannie, obviously assuming that I was about to drop off the pack and preparing for the overtake.

I'd had a few looks back previously and got eye contact, was in primary, so figured another good look back was in order. Which I did. He went for it anyway. I thought about closing the gap up, but then realised that he'd probably just swing in once he'd "got past" me, by which time I'd be alongside the middle of the van so I eased off and gave ground. In fairness, he gave plenty of room on the way past, but I did have to make space for him to come into; why did he bother? He'd got in front of me, but ended up going no faster than he had been.

We then came to a rolling stop at a roundabout 400 yards further on; had we completely stopped I might have asked him (politely) why he'd felt the need to overtake me and would he have gone past me if I'd been in my car in the same situation. But we didn't quite need to completely stop and I wasn't really that cross .. just a bit vexed.

 

[Amanda P]

You get the odd driver who dithers behind you for ages, then decides to overtake.

But they've forgotten to change down a gear or two. So they crawl past in fifth, engine labouring and threatening to stall, clouds of black soot and diesel smoke, taking ten times as long as they should and endangering you and any oncoming traffic...

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Coming at this from the other side, I don't like waiting behind cyclists when it's not safe (in my view) to overtake and having them get increasingley stressed and waving me past. Erm, no, I'll decide when it's safe to overtake, thanks.

 

[John the Monkey]

Coming at this from the other side, I don't like waiting behind cyclists when it's not safe (in my view) to overtake and having them get increasingley stressed and waving me past. Erm, no, I'll decide when it's safe to overtake, thanks.

I try not to do that - I do try to indicate when I *don't* want people to try to go around me. It's hard not to get the fear when someone's *right* behind you, although it's easier when they're not tailgating. (Not suggesting that you'd tailgate, RT, just to be clear).

 

[wafflycat]

Coming at this from the other side, I don't like waiting behind cyclists when it's not safe (in my view) to overtake and having them get increasingley stressed and waving me past. Erm, no, I'll decide when it's safe to overtake, thanks.

+1.

 

[janm399]

I also found that I am much more assertive when I'm doing my usual speed; most drivers seem to consider anything over 25 mph fast enough and behave accordingly.

Now, to waving drivers past. There are two railway bridges on my commute where I always move to primary and my speed drops down to about 20mph. Once I clear the bridge and a pinch point, I move to secondary, glance back and give thumbs up and wave to overtake to the car behind. I usually get a wave or indicator-thanks back and the 2 - 3 cars that follow usually give me plenty of space.
In general, though, I am very careful about waving cars past; drivers seem to regard someone waving (or flashing) them past as license to go. I feel that if I made a mistake in my judgment and waved a driver past when it wasn't safe, I fear he or she would go for it and I'd end up with the bruises.