I've always known as a fighter pilot that speed is life. Anything else is rubbish.
However, I guess there are a lot of posters on this thread who deliberately sit in the outside lane and block the progress of those who have a life to lead and claim that they have paid their road tax and are quite entitled to drive at what they consider to be a safe maximum speed. This is a peculiarly british habit and needs to be actively discouraged by a pass either side law as practised in USA for years.
And for those mentioned above who parsimoniously claim that one should obey all speed limits, of course one should but just remember that nobody is perfect and who wants to be a nobody?
It's not speed that kills but those who do not drive safely.