Recent research by Brake and Direct Line has revealed that almost half of drivers are guilty of overtaking at dangerous speeds on single carriageway rural roads.
47% of the 942 drivers who took part in the survey claimed they had hit speeds higher than 60mph to overtake on a country road in the past year, while 23% confessed they do it at least once a month. 12.5% also admitted to doing so despite not being able to see oncoming traffic.
The suggestion is that drivers apparently feel a false sense of security on rural roads, leading to 749 deaths in 2009 on single carriage roads where a car's speed exceeded 60mph.