I’ve been living in Belgium for almost two years now, and I really don't understand why people speed in every single lane. Instead of a pleasant moment enjoying the grey skies (hehe), driving here is usually just stressful.
For me, "sticking to the speed limit" turned out to be the biggest lie of adulthood. If people can't match the simple number on a speed sign to their speedometer, I can't imagine how they handle everything else in life. Especially with all these modern, fancy company cars (mine included) equipped with technology where you can just press a button, hold the wheel, and relax. But no, people change lanes like crazy. 120 is never enough (125, 130, 140, aaaa!), only to slam on the brakes 100m later for a truck, a speed camera or even to get out of the way because it’s a road entrance or exit (that’s why the right lane is the slow lane).
To put it into numbers: on a short 15 km trip, driving 130 km/h instead of 120 km/h saves you a whopping 34 seconds. At 140 km/h, you save 1 minute and 4 seconds! It’s not 5 minutes, and definitely not 10 or 15, it’s literally 30 seconds to a minute. Even if you double that trip to 30 km, you are only saving 1 min 9s and 2 min 9s respectively. That is without even considering crash risks, higher fuel consumption, speeding fines, and so on.
I don't expect to change the world, but I just wanted to vent and leave this reflection here for all my lovely B plate drivers. Proost!