Is it okay to drive well below the speed limit on a main road?

[ScarboroughFairy]

Hi all, tomorrow I’ll be driving on a main road where the speed limit is 60mph, but I’m thinking of sticking to 40mph. I know it’s well under the limit, but I just feel safer at that speed. Does anyone else do this

My driving instructor always told me that driving too slowly was almost as bad as driving too fast. I never asked the logic but always drive close to the speed limit as a result - unless weather conditions mean it’s not safe to do so.

Is there a reason you don’t feel comfortable driving above 40? Do you drive on motorways?

Lots of.people will tell you its fine. And maybe it is. But it depends on the road. If you are going st 40, are you going to be causing delays for all the people who are perfectly capable of driving at the higher speed? If yes, then YABVU. If no, go ahead.

Unless the driving conditions are bad no it’s dangerous because other drivers will be driving the speed limit and be coming along doing 60 behind you and trying to overtake all the time.

Why would your purposefully plan to do this? Surely the normal thing to do is judge driving conditions as you’re driving?

Because it frustrates other drivers who can then make mistakes.

Because if other drivers assume you are doing a different speed, they might make different decisions.

First thought is no. You will make people impatient and that will result in overtaking manoeuvres.

second thought is why would you do that?

Winding country roads? Fine to go slower.

Main road? No, particularly if there is no easy way of overtaking you. Driving slowly there would be dangerous.

If you aren’t confident about driving at the speed limit where it is safe to do so, then you shouldn’t really be driving at all.

Came on to say this!

No! It can be more dangerous than driving too fast and you will infuriate other users especially if it is single lane. If you dont like driving over 40mph take alternative transport.

I thought you could get fined/points for driving too slowly if you end up causing disruption or dangerous conditions.

I dont see any problem with it. Either its a single lane road, in which case national speed limit just means they havent had a need to assess the road rather than 60 being sensible - there are plenty of national speed limit roads near us where 60 would be a death wish and are driven at 35-40 in general.
Or if its a road with multiple lanes people can safely overtake.

This is exactly what I came to stay. You need to be able to drive appropriately to the conditions, and if that includes an easy stretch of road where it’s safe up to 60mph, you need to be prepared to drive appropriately.

Is the reason you don’t feel safe because you haven’t driven for a long time, or have recently been in an accident? If so, get some additional lessons with an instructor before you drive alone again, to get confidence back. If it’s just that you aren’t up to driving properly, please don’t do it! It’s not safe for everyone else, including your passengers.

If it's a single track road, then no, of course not. You should not be driving if you're too afraid to do more than 40mph on a 60mph speed limit road. In Scotland, you can be pulled over and fined for going too slow. It's bad driving, and can cause frustration in other drivers, and in turn, can cause accidents.

@AlcoholicAntibiotichas summarised it.

There are also plenty of single lane national speed limit roads where it’s perfectly safe to go at the national speed limit.

The safe speed depends on the actual road, but a blanket “planning to go at 40” doesn’t sound like someone who is a competent motorist.

All drivers should sometimes drive below the speed limit, because it should be a judgement based on the road and driving conditions. Just because it's legal to drive at 60 on a single track winding lane doesn't mean you'd be same to do it, and that's without thinking about adverse weather even on good roads.

The speed limit is a maximum and not a target, the highway code explicitly reminds us of this. However you should be going at a decent speed for the road and conditions unless there's a good reason why not.

. Deciding on advance to only go 40 on a 60 road is weird. There may be good reasons for feeling at that speed but it's a decision to take if the situation warrants it. Deciding it somehow on principle is just weird. I don't think it's extreme enough personally to be dangerous, but it might annoy other drivers. If they take dangerous action to get past you, that's their choice though. It is discourteous to other drivers and will impede traffic flow unless it's a quiet stretch though.

I don't agree with the OP but other drivers have to take ownership for dangerous overtakes. "They annoyed me so I overtook when it wasn't safe" is no one's fault apart from the risk taking driver.

It seems weird to me to make that decision in advance instead of assessing road/weather/driving conditions.

if you can’t drive safely at over 40 mph should you be driving at all?

Mind you, what annoys me more than people doing 40 in a 60 is when the road drops to a 30 and they still drive at 40 instead of slowing down

No I don’t. And why would you?

It's a bad idea.

Yes, if you’re driving a hearse.

I agree with most of the comments on here.

If you must piss off other drivers drive at 40 mph on a good road in good conditions then please use your rear view mirror and pull in at regular intervals to let the tailback you have created overtake you.

I hope you aren't one of those 40 mph drivers who sticks at 40 when it goes down to 30.

Or don't use indicators. Holier than thou enrages me.

Driving instructors clearly tell you driving slower than the road limit is as dangerous as driving to fast