Pace Drivers

[Steve ( West Mids )]

From AutoTrader:

Pace drivers for motorway

23 January 2006 by Alex Eckford

Road chiefs are recruiting "pace" drivers to make sure motorists stick to speed limits.

The trial scheme will see volunteers employed to keep a steady speed of 70mph or less in the third lane of the motorway.

More than 30 motorists have already applied to be Community Pace Drivers in Doncaster, Yorks.

The town's metropolitan borough council claims accidents which occur at lower speeds result in less severe injuries.

However it has come under fire from road safety gear suppliers Speedsafe, who have branded the scheme foolhardy and incompetent.

Speedsafe spokesman Paul Smith said: "Imagine the chaos caused by a pace car at 70mph in lane three of a motorway."

"This level of incompetence is breathtaking - safety depends on drivers adjusting speed to the environment."

[javadude]

Plenty of them in lane 2 and 3 of the M4 already. Leaves lane 1 nice and clear though.

[Anees]

Absolutely rediculous!! :tsktsk:

[IanB]

Why do councils dream up such nutty ideas? Sounds like an encouragement to undertake.

If they use standard speedos, which as we know can legally overread by up to 10%, that'll ruffle a few feathers!

[whitie]

That is the most stupid thing I've heard since...

I dunno but its silly!!

[peter026]

I can see their point of view....................But what dickheads

[eXOBeX]

There are already drivers who do a perfectly good job of making the surrounding drivers drive at 70mph, and they do more besides. TRAFFIC COPS!

Hiring civvies to do half a bloody job! It's MORE COPPERS we need! Jeeez....

[MartinC]

as long as they don't have the power to nick you for undertaking, then fck em.

haven't heard such a half @rsed idea in while now.....nice one!!

[rayg]

Well its a good way of getting people into road rage!!

[lelandv]

Sounds like a good report to include on the ITV2 programme "Drivers from Hell" ;)

Watched it the other night and I was totally amazed at the driving "skills" of some of the featured people...

L.

[MacRS200]

Can't believe that the police would sanction this.

Assuming they don't, the police can pull anyone driving like that. There have been cases in the past of people being convicted of, driving without due care I think, sitting in the outside lane doing the legal limit. Highway Code says you should pull over when the inside lane is clear regardless of what speed you are doing.

Anyway our taxes are paying the salaries of idiots to sit and come up with ideas like this.

[lexus boy]

Gives me chance to undertake while they are all queued up

[terdancam]

i undertake all the time, 'cos quite frankly the highway code/'law and normal modes of driving haven`t matched up for about 40 years.

i`m looking for the neon sign you can put in your car windows that flashes up as you pass by "what exactly are you overtaking D***head?"

And b4 people say "but undertaking is wrong", who is wronger (!) the guy sat in the overtaking lane, or the one who is actually awake and making progress. And by progress i don`t mean getting in front of one car, i`m talking a whole bunch in free moving traffic, whether fast or slow.

Don`t forget none of these rules have been updated since they came out, yet we have far better cars and a far greater number of them, and i would venture driving dynamics have changed.

The fact that 22 million car owners flash their headlights to let people out is seen as a big no-no in the HWcode--you should only use them to warn people you are there...........................bang.

what we need is more jam-sandwiches on the roads, driven by big sergeants with mustaches called Steve who carry big batons and handcuffs---not revenue generating boxes or half arsed schemes. :D

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

Bottom line is they need to scrap the "can't undertake" rule and leave it as a free for all...then the civvies doing the 70MPH thing can act as mobile chicanes and make it more fun for the rest of us...

[MacRS200]

Just had a thought on this one "Racing and Pacemaking" are specifically excluded from insurance cover.

So if you see one ram them and ask why were you sitting in lane 3 when lane 2 was clear? the driver will answer proudly "I am a pace car" and you can reply "oh dear you must be driving without insurance then"

[Nick The Greek]

Just had a thought on this one "Racing and Pacemaking" are specifically excluded from insurance cover.

So if you see one ram them and ask why were you sitting in lane 3 when lane 2 was clear? the driver will answer proudly "I am a pace car" and you can reply "oh dear you must be driving without insurance then"

[Fidgits]

well, thats a complete load of tosh...

considering the motorways are our safest roads - and based on above comments, the action is just going to cause illegal undertaking, much more dangerous than doing 80mph in all honesty...

if it was on 30mph roads, or even 40 roads near schools at kick out time, id go - yeah, makes sense...

but this is lunancy!

[Bazza]

i thought passing on the inside was legal

sure mr scarface said it was :o

[Fidgits]

if your in a queue of traffic or the car is turning right it is ;)

"yes occifer, at that speed i figured he was slowing to turn right across the other carrigeway!"

[Bazza]

if your in a queue of traffic or the car is turning right it is ;)

"yes occifer, at that speed i figured he was slowing to turn right across the other carrigeway!"

so if you are in the middle lane of a motorway

doing a steady 60 mph

and the outside lane is queuing up and only doing 55mph

should you brake !

or steadily pass on the inside

[The Editor]

so if you are in the middle lane of a motorway

doing a steady 60 mph

and the outside lane is queuing up and only doing 55mph

should you brake !

or steadily pass on the inside

Good point Bazza !! - Why they just can't make undertaking legal in this country is beyond me... Oh and while they at it they should allow turning left on a red light legal as well. It would get the traffic moving and flowing which lets face it at the moemtn it doesn't !!

Of course with the standard of driving in this country it would couase absolute carnage on the roads with the d**kheads not being able to cope with it all !! :tsktsk: :tsktsk:

The Ed

P.S. - 25 DAYS TILL I PICK COLLECT MY NEW GS !!! :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Fidgits]

if your in a queue of traffic or the car is turning right it is ;)

"yes occifer, at that speed i figured he was slowing to turn right across the other carrigeway!"

so if you are in the middle lane of a motorway

doing a steady 60 mph

and the outside lane is queuing up and only doing 55mph

should you brake !

or steadily pass on the inside

id say that is a queue, and therefore within the limits of the highway code to say you can safely pass on the left....

as long as you dont pull into the outside lane once past the queue that is :winky:

[lelandv]

if your in a queue of traffic or the car is turning right it is ;)

And of course on one-way roads. I had that very question on my RoSPA test back in the 80's.

"Under what three instances may you overtake on the left?"

1. In queuing traffic where the queue on the left is moving ahead of the right.

2. When traffic on the right is intending to turn right.

3. On a one-way multilane street. (Dual carriageways do not count as one-way streets for these purposes)

I think there is a qualification of the one-way road in that it must be urban with turns/junctions on either side, rather than a long carriageway-like road.

I didn't know the 3rd one when I took the RoSPA test, it was the examiner who pointed it out. Still passed though.

L.

[jonny]

The problem with undertaking in this country at the moment is the amount of people who do not signal.

Quite why these people get into their car and forget where the signal stalk is located is quite beyond me. As it is, it is dangerous to undertake in the middle lane when there is greater chance of the person in the outside lane moving over without signalling or looking!

I have to say that this rant is generally aimed at old drivers who seem to have no more space in their shrinking craniums for the highway code.

Rant over.

[lelandv]

As it is, it is dangerous to undertake in the middle lane when there is greater chance of the person in the outside lane moving over without signalling or looking!

Strictly speaking, it is not a requirement [on the motorway or dual carriageway] to signal when moving from the outside lane back to the middle lane, or from the middle to the nearside lane as you are deemed to have been overtaking and returning to the left lane is implicit. I was actually once politely criticised by my advanced driving instructor for signalling to return to the left lane. My argument was simply that it removed any ambiguity of my intentions because of the way the other twits on the road are driving.

L.