Road anger and aggressive overtaking

[Ivan]

Hi, everybody.
There is a clear trend of thermic vehicles overtake Ng me angrily even if I am driving with a decent 60 mph. Is it only me that feels bullied or it is a trend?

 

[Andy L]

Try 62 mph some lorries can do 60 and may get a bit irate if you're holding them up and they can't get passed you.At 62 you are out of their way as for other cars they can easily overtake you so why worry.

 

[Vipar]

Speed limits are not a target.

 

[Kithmo]

I had two plebs overtake me as I slowed and indicated to turn right into a cafe where there was a solid white line and chevrons down the centre of the road, with a gap for turning right. I was at the speed limit and indicating before I slowed down and the first one was tailgating me, so I expected some idiocy from him but the one behind him just followed like a sheep and if I hadn't been expecting the idiot's actions and looking in my door mirror I could have been side swiped by the surprise second vehicle.

 

[Cocijo]

Hi, everybody.
There is a clear trend of thermic vehicles overtake Ng me angrily even if I am driving with a decent 60 mph. Is it only me that feels bullied or it is a trend?

Hi, sorry that you’re feeling bullied.

If you’re really concerned then you should try to analyse your driving and the conditions that these situations occur in and then try to understand how the experience can possibly be improved.

You’ve posted here so I assume that you’re looking to try to understand the reasons and find solutions.

Whilst some motorists will always be aggressive, if you are consistently and frequently getting this type of behaviour, looking into the reasons more fully will help.

Where are you driving on the motorway or derestricted roads?

When you say a ‘decent 60’ what do you mean? If you’re driving on a motorway with a speed limit of 70mph why not drive at or close to that speed limit when it’s safe to do so?

How is your lane discipline? By this I mean are you confident to use all 3 lanes when available and safe/sensible to do so?

Can you maintain a sensible speed and keep up with traffic? Again when legal and safe to do so.

Do you have good all round awareness in traffic, and maintain this picture if what’s around you when driving?

Of course these are just some of the very basic things to consider.

Many drivers are set in their ways, but by self examination and with a willingness to learn, you can improve things.
If you really want to improve a lot and feel more in control when confronted with a stressful situation, and also help avoid these situations through greater awareness, then try a course like the IAM for example.
Good luck.

 

[Gadget Geek]

Hi, everybody.
There is a clear trend of thermic vehicles overtake Ng me angrily even if I am driving with a decent 60 mph. Is it only me that feels bullied or it is a trend?

There will always be a minority of impatient, egocentric drivers who believe they own the road and that speed limits and road signs don't apply to them. Just dive safe, get a dashcam to record them when they mess up, and have the satisfaction that one of you is a better driver and it isn't them.

 

[Maciej]

I have not experience it any more than back when I drove regular car. I can almost guarantee that majority of people have no idea you are driving electric.

However I agree with response from @Cocijo that we would need more info to assess what is a problem. If you are driving 60 in a 60 zone this sounds like very unusual amount of aggressive drivers. If you are hogging middle land doing 65 this is probably very common response. While yes speed limit is not a target moving slower than the rest of a traffic is considered hazardous driving and can get you fined especially in placed where you have opportunities to join a slow lane.

 

[Ivan]

Yeah, I am doing it normally. It's rather the other drivers, getting annoyed with am EV on road. But that's cultural as well, I believe, as here in France, people are not as tolerant

 

[Cocijo]

Yeah, I am doing it normally. It's rather the other drivers, getting annoyed with am EV on road. But that's cultural as well, I believe, as here in France, people are not as tolerant

Why are they getting annoyed with EV’s?

 

[Gadget Geek]

Why are they getting annoyed with EV’s?

Probably threatening their masculinity.

 

[Tiny Tim]

It's hard not getting annoyed with what I feel is over aggressive and self-centred driving that I see every time I go out. Just wait until they get into EV's with the more responsive acceleration!!

Several things that my driving instructor taught me when I first learned 20 odd years ago but still sticks with me:
1- It's a speed limit not a target (as already mentioned)
2 - If people want to pass you when you are already travelling at a safe speed, don't try to stop them - they can't crash into you if they are in front of you - let the 'idiots' pass and make life easy for yourself!
3 - There is no such thing as a ´slow' lane, all the other lanes are overtaking lanes and you should be in the inside (slow) lane unless you are overtaking (anyone sat in the middle lane of a motorway for no good reason is best avoided - it probably means they are not sufficiently aware of what is going on around them!)
4 - Always have an escape route in mind when overtaking or being overtaken
5 - Try not to touch the brakes on a motorway - look ahead and anticipate slowing traffic (this is all the more useful with an EV, of course) - a twitch on the brakes can create standing traffic several miles behind as many increasingly over-react because they were travelling too close to the car in front in the first place
6 - Assume everybody else on the road (and pavement) is an idiot!

 

[hmadsen]

The only person i know, that complains about people "aggressively overtaking by speed-demons" is my mother.

She is near 70 and once i was travelling with her, when someone "overtook her aggressively".

I then pointed out to her that she was doing 38 on a 50 mph road, so i understood those overtaking her, very well.

Yes, there are aggressive fools out there, that will gladly overtake a few cars, to get a couple of cars ahead, when there is a lot of traffic, and then push in, making everyone else behind brake to make room for them, but the majority of times i see someone overtake, it is because someone is driving "slow" compared to the speed limit and road conditions.

The sheer number of camera vans here, hiding, hunting, has also made this problem worse. Especially since the speedometer in a car, usually shows more than what the actual speed is.

My speedometer has to show 86 kph for the car to be doing 80 kph. A lot of people "only" do 80 kph on the speedometer, which translates to somewhere between 70-75 in reality.

I wish it would be mandated that new cars should have a speedometer that shows the correct speed, this would be very inexpensive to implement with today's technology, as they could be constantly calibrated, using the GPS signal, and if a car did not have satnav, it would still be rather inexpensive to implement a GPS solution.

 

[Merry]

Hi, I am easily coming to a 220 miles plus on a motorway with all the heaters, music, lights, etc ON all the time, given I don't drive faster than 50-55 mph. Same model, long range battery

I hate to bring it up again, but I'd be looking at what you posted there vs what other drivers expectations are - I suspect your answer lies in there.

Whether that is right or wrong is another debate entirely.

 

[hotcfdog]

Get front and rear dash cams.

Share all crappy driving online. Shame the drivers.

 

[Cocijo]

Or perhaps expose your own shortcomings….

 

[m4rmite]

Get front and rear dash cams.

Share all crappy driving online. Shame the drivers.

Sadly i see poor driving from people with dashcams as well, some moves they make and speeds (fast and slow) they drive at would get them in more trouble than the recorded offender.
I overtook a car driving through an estate, he slowed to 12mph for the blips that are speed humps, only getting back to 15mph when in between. 30 Road.

The rage the 70+ yr old showed when i went past was abysmal.
The road was clear and wide enough for a safe pass.
12mph is taking the mick.

Many moons ago i drive at 50mph on the motorway, in a poorly mini, lorry drivers were beeping the horn nigh on constantly as they overtook.

Shame they don't see what they are doing when overtaking another lorry for 3 miles until successful.

 

[AK OK]

Speed limits are not a target.

More of a minimum

 

[Ivan]

It's hard not getting annoyed with what I feel is over aggressive and self-centred driving that I see every time I go out. Just wait until they get into EV's with the more responsive acceleration!!

Several things that my driving instructor taught me when I first learned 20 odd years ago but still sticks with me:
1- It's a speed limit not a target (as already mentioned)
2 - If people want to pass you when you are already travelling at a safe speed, don't try to stop them - they can't crash into you if they are in front of you - let the 'idiots' pass and make life easy for yourself!
3 - There is no such thing as a ´slow' lane, all the other lanes are overtaking lanes and you should be in the inside (slow) lane unless you are overtaking (anyone sat in the middle lane of a motorway for no good reason is best avoided - it probably means they are not sufficiently aware of what is going on around them!)
4 - Always have an escape route in mind when overtaking or being overtaken
5 - Try not to touch the brakes on a motorway - look ahead and anticipate slowing traffic (this is all the more useful with an EV, of course) - a twitch on the brakes can create standing traffic several miles behind as many increasingly over-react because they were travelling too close to the car in front in the first place
6 - Assume everybody else on the road (and pavement) is an idiot!

Hi, sorry that you’re feeling bullied.

If you’re really concerned then you should try to analyse your driving and the conditions that these situations occur in and then try to understand how the experience can possibly be improved.

You’ve posted here so I assume that you’re looking to try to understand the reasons and find solutions.

Whilst some motorists will always be aggressive, if you are consistently and frequently getting this type of behaviour, looking into the reasons more fully will help.

Where are you driving on the motorway or derestricted roads?

When you say a ‘decent 60’ what do you mean? If you’re driving on a motorway with a speed limit of 70mph why not drive at or close to that speed limit when it’s safe to do so?

How is your lane discipline? By this I mean are you confident to use all 3 lanes when available and safe/sensible to do so?

Can you maintain a sensible speed and keep up with traffic? Again when legal and safe to do so.

Do you have good all round awareness in traffic, and maintain this picture if what’s around you when driving?

Of course these are just some of the very basic things to consider.

Many drivers are set in their ways, but by self examination and with a willingness to learn, you can improve things.
If you really want to improve a lot and feel more in control when confronted with a stressful situation, and also help avoid these situations through greater awareness, then try a course like the IAM for example.
Good luck.

Thank you for your in-depth reflection. It was rather a rhetoric question as I don't have the same experience when I am driving my thermic Skoda the same way. It's pretty much the fact that I am in an EV that startles the morons.

 

[Ivan]

Why are they getting annoyed with EV’s?

I don't know but it's rather the small hot hatches of the 90's and the early millennia minis that are the most commonly affected by the road anger. And as an EV is considered an obstacle against their superiority, nothing better than to smash it's finesse by roaring behind it or poisoning it in the exhaust pipe gases.

 

[jaykew]

I believe that your mother was probably driving safely and within her level of capability. There is no reason why anybody should act aggressively towards her. The act of overtaking could have been completed just as effectively without aggression. There are very few circumstances on the road where aggressive driving can be justified or where it will result in a better outcome. Replacing aggression with tolerance and consideration for the safety of others would make driving a more pleasant experience for everyone.
Sorry if this sounds a bit pompous but I really do believe that there is no place for aggressive behaviour on the road.