This is one of the things that really, really annoys me; we have a 70mph limit on motorways, it's well publicised and well known. However, how many can say hand on heart that they abide by it?
"Going with the flow" usually means 70mph+ in the middle and fast lanes on most motorways outside peak hours. It has got to a point where you can quite happily be going with the flow and overtake a traffic police car on a (quiet) motorway at, say 80mph*, and they won't even bat an eyelid. (* I accept that that this threshold speed maybe vary - but my point is that you and everyone else in that "flow" are still openly and flagrantly breaking the law). So in effect, 70mph has become a soft limit - talk about mixed messages! Personally, I'd rather that they raise the motorway limit to 80mph and STRICTLY enforce it. (Most of continental Europe has a 130kph limit for their motorways and that seems to work OK).
I confess I've done this heaps of times on UK motorways. I've overtaken lots of police cars when sitting on 80-85mph which is what I always sit on if traffic and conditions permit and non of them have ever pulled me over.
I used to work with a Welsh carpenter years ago whos son was really high up in the Welsh police force, he told me that the UK police wont generally pull you over on a motorway unless you go over 90mph. The exception to this is if your driving a complete shit box that doesnt look like it should even be on the road.
Most police know that most modern cars and in particular all the German high end cars are perfectly safe sitting on 80-90mph.
Living here in Australia and in particular Queensland I really miss UK motorways!
Here people just dont understand how they are meant to work, its obviously not taught in driving lessons as even new drivers are oblivious to how they are meant to work.
Here its a case of pick a lane, any lane and do what ever speed you want!
Under taking is common and the police do nothing, at times its the only way to get around the tosser doing 15-20kmh below the speed limit in the fast lane, but I try and avoid doing it.
Trucks can drive in any lane and often hog the fast lane driving slowly.
Merging is my biggest annoyance as people just dont seem to realise that they should be getting up to speed on the slip lane to match the speed of the vehicles on the motorway, so often they are merging at 50-60kmh with vehicles on the motorway doing 100-110kmh, which then slows the entire motorway down as people have to brake.
There is no lane discipline! If the motorway is deserted at 4am, there will be dick heads sitting in the middle and fast lanes, with no other vehicles around for kilometers!
There is no courtesy from a lot of drivers, no body flashes to acknowledge some one and let them in and sometimes I indicate for 10-15 seconds before moving into a gap and then they still start flashing the lights/beeping the horn and carrying on.
Another big annoyance is the low speed limits! They build brand new motorways/toll roads, 4-5 lanes wide, nice big central reservations, nice big long slip lanes, plenty of signs, beautifully smooth concrete/bitumen and then set the limit at 100kmh (60mph)
Sometimes when I'm driving on the motorways here, trying not to get too annoyed at the disgusting standard of driving all around me I dream of German motorways and how dam efficient and skilled the drivers are over there!
90€ and a point of my license
) . Similarly situation for fleet owners and their drivers.
