Slow drivers create more accidents on high speed roads than fast drivers.

[User157088589849]

I've never understood why slow driving is taken less seriously than fast drivers on high speed roads. If I see a high  speed driver, I just move out the way and let them get on with it. But whatever the weather conditions nothing irritates me more than a slow driver in heavy traffic on a high speed road. Should also add - a slow driver on a country road in the middle of winter at night is another accident waiting to happen.

Is it just me who thinks this? I'm certain they create the majority of accidents. We are told by the authorities that driving high speed can kill but slow drivers can create massive damage when drivers are so uncertain of what they are doing.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Slow drivers cause others to be more aggressive in order to get around them or out of the way, so, I agree.

[User157088589849]

Slow drivers cause others to be more aggressive in order to get around them or out of the way, so, I agree.

but are we less patient because of modern technology giving us everything almost instantly?

on a politics note, surely increasing the speed limit has its benefits?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

on a politics note, surely increasing the speed limit has its benefits?

Only if the speed limit was not set based on safety concerns, but others, such as fuel economy.  I admit to being a slow driver, tho except on rural interstates, my slowness is limited to driving only the speed limit. (Too many drivers treat speed limits as if they were minimums, a la Fahrenheit 451, instead of maximums.)  My default top speed for rural interstates unless I need to go faster to meet my schedule is 100 km/h. (Going a little faster than 60 mph helps keep me from ending up in clump of drivers doing 60 which is a favored speed for my fellow slow drivers, and 100 km/h is helpfully marked on the speedometer so it's easy to follow.

Going 100 km/h has the dual advantages of improved fuel economy and giving me a built in safety factor for my schedule as I can easily speed up if I get delayed.

[opebo]

This is generally true, though it depends on the relative speeds and the type of highway.

[ElectionsGuy]

Agree and Disagree. Agree because people going below the speed limit may get bumped into/crashed into because they were going to slow, and as Grumps said, make people angry. Disagree because fast drivers ultimately cause more damage than slow drivers in the end. Fast drivers are more common, so probably Lean Disagree.

[Beet]

I'll never forget the night I was heading westbound on I-66 in late February 2008. I was working on the Hillary campaign and it was the night before I was supposed to ship out to Texas (boy did they need help!) We all worked crazy hours in those days so by the time I got off work there were no other cars on the road so I was going fast, maybe 75. There was a mist in the road that obscured visibility but it was hard to tell by how much since it was so dark anyway. I vaguely noticed a pair of red headlights in front of me, in the distance. I figure they're probably going 60 or so so I'd catch up to them and pass them to the side. I waited to catch up to them. All of a sudden I was right on them. How did I get so close? It was then that I realized they weren't going ~60, they were going more like 35 or so. F__kers! I was about to rear end them, and rear end them hard. At the last minute, I tried to swerve into the left lane to miss the collision. It seemed to work, but then I felt the wheels go wobbly beneath me. Before I knew it I had lost control and was heading straight into the bushes off the right side of the road. This is it, I thought to myself, bracing for impact. Instinctively I turned the wheel to the left and suddenly the car was in a full spin, turning back towards the road. I vaguely remembered that in those situations you're supposed to turn into the spin. It worked! After a 270 spin the car came to a rest in the middle of the road, facing backwards. By the grace of God there were no other cars in sight. The slow car in front of me was still visible in the distance but if they'd seen my wild gyrations they hadn't slowed. If I had died they would have just driven away. It was my fault, anyway.

Slow drivers, say what you want about them (now us). All I know is, I'd rather be in 10 fender benders than one of those 70 mph into a tree through the windshield types.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

On some of those country roads, the speed limit is ridiculously high given their narrowness and sharp turns you can't see around.

[DemPGH]

I have to disagree. I think a lot of crashes are the result of tailgating or loss of control (you hear about and see a lot of people skidding off roads), which would be higher speed drivers, but I generally think that most wrecks occur as a result of general distraction, which can be at any speed.

[barfbag]

Slow drivers are a huge minority and therefore cause a disturbance from the norm. They're very dangerous. What this country needs to have is retesting every four years when renewing our driver's licenses. This would weed out bad drivers and not discriminate based on age.

[OAM]

It depends on your definition of slow.  Driving the speed limit is acceptable.  Five over is acceptable.  Five under is annoying, but assuming there's a good reason, I'll deal with it.  Less than five under you're a terrible person who isn't very considerate, like people who don't use turn signals.  More than five over *might* be okay if conditions are very conducive at the time, IE you're the only one on the road.

What's probably more important, though, is following distance.  At the very least two car lengths if you're not in a downtown area, IE constant stop signs/lights.  The faster you're going, the more following distance is needed.  I drive five over, and wouldn't have an issue with someone doing ten over if they didn't get so damned close.  At least one out of four get so close I can't even see their headlights.

[dead0man]

Lane discipline is the bigger problem.  And don't get me started on the clueless idiots that don't accelerate to highway speeds before trying to merge.

[OAM]

Eh, that might be a regional thing actually.  Around here there are some idiots who are all over the rare, but they're typically rare, in places with little traffic/where it's easy to avoid them, and not doing much else wrong at the moment.

For merging onto highways, some states actually have stop signs at the end of the on ramp, though I've never seen one in person, just photos.

[dead0man]

I've seen the stop signs, but I'm not sure where.  I remember the onramps for the PA Turnpike were AMAZINGLY short and that may have been where I saw them.

and Illinois drivers are better than average when it comes to lane discipline....in my experience at least.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I've seen the stop signs, but I'm not sure where.  I remember the onramps for the PA Turnpike were AMAZINGLY short and that may have been where I saw them.

The only time there are stop signs on the ramps of the PA Turnpike are when there is construction, but the ramps are AMAZINGLY short.....the exits they are rebuilding though are getting much longer ramps, basically you're own lane for a long stretch before you need to yield.  They're clearly not done with that yet.

[OAM]

I've seen the stop signs, but I'm not sure where.  I remember the onramps for the PA Turnpike were AMAZINGLY short and that may have been where I saw them.

and Illinois drivers are better than average when it comes to lane discipline....in my experience at least.

The area I was thinking of was when I was google street viewing San Fransisco.  I've never been to California, so I'm not sure if it was a standard feature.  At least that's where I *thought* I saw them.  Now that I think about it I might have seen some in person in MO too.

I'd argue that in IL lane discipline might be high because we're very possessive of our space and might retaliate   To be fair, I've never driven in Chicago, and only been there twice, so my experience is also downstate.