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

You are going to piss a lot of people off...

@ScarboroughFairy absolutely NOT. If you can’t drive to the conditions of the road then don’t go on it . It’s as bad as speeding .
Sit in the inside lane at 55 if need be but do not out others at danger by driving at 40mph .
Do not hog the outside lane either .

I mean, who actually plans a day in advance, what speed they’re going to drive at?

Having read all the OP's posts - I don't think someone this anxious about driving should attempt a long drive like that. Or be driving at all tbh. It's dangerous to drive defensively and/or be too timid. Public transport is your friend OP.

Someone sh*tting themselves about having to do a long drive that's well out of their comfort zone!

If she was doing 55-60 yes. Not if she's doing 40, for 160 miles.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, driving significantly below the speed limit can be classified as failing to meet the required standard of a competent driver and you could be prosecuted by the police and get points or a fine. Obviously the police would not be prosecuting tractor drivers because driving slowly is entirely appropriate for the vehicle.

@ScarboroughFairy jesus! I’ve just read your update. .I know the a9 like the back of my hand and you are the problem op . You and others like you .
Stay in the inside lane and drive at 60 . Watch well ahead and watch for other cars possibly coming out of other lanes trying to nip out.
You should be an experienced enough drive to use your reaction time if needed . The road is set at the speed it is to keep traffic flowing .
drivers over take people like you and you cause the crashes you are reading about.

Drive at 60 or stay off the road !

Frustration kills

Yes, I've noticed this, I think a lot of drivers don't realise they're average speed cameras. There's no point slowing down/braking when you see them as they'll have clocked your speed over the last couple of miles.

By driving at 40mph on a 60mph road, you would just as likely be the cause of a crash as not having to avoid someone's else's poor decision making. If you're driving on a road with bends, and you're doing 40mph, if you round a bend and there's another car behind you still a way back that hasn't seen you ahead, and they go round the bend doing nearer 60mph, they're potentially going to have to take action to avoid hitting you, as will anyone else in their vicinity.

All that being said, I still have the mantra in my head from my brother teaching me to drive: "It's a speed LIMIT, Lulu, not a target!"

Hopefully you get the train OP, I know the A9 well and with all kindness, it’s drivers like you who contribute to the amount of accidents on that road. Not enough sections of dual carriageway forces other drivers to overtake out of frustration, and it makes it less safe for everyone. Hop on the train, have a lovely time in Edinburgh and get there and back safely. I totally understand your anxiety about driving that road, which is exactly why you shouldn’t do it.

Please do not drive on a motorway at 45 especially late at night, and I especially hope you are only doing that on inside lane.
Lorries travel at 55 and suddenly coming up on you doing 45 is a recipe for disaster,
So many long tailbacks on motorways are caused by someone driving 50 in the middle lane causing lorries to back up as they can’t use the outside line and forcing all out traffic in the outside lane.
There really should be an extra test before people can drive on the motorway as sone many just don’t know the rules

Crashes on bends ??? I think your family have to stop fear moungering you .
These crashes usually happen when .
someone drives down the wrong side of the road . ( they don’t live in the uk )

Someone is over taking ( as someone who can’t drive is sitting at 40mph )

Or some idiot takes a chance and cuts out from the one of the a joining roads thinking they can make it across before the car coming towards them does.

If you sit in the left lane (at 60) and are hazard aware you should be very fine .

Possibly some of those crashes are from people who are driving far too slowly for the road and conditions being rear-ended.....
As others have sad it's as dangerous to drive too slow as it is to drive too fast.
You need to find another route on slower roads.

Average speed makes it even more dangerous as people are speed dial watching and if you’ve got people doing well below the speed limit, you can’t just cruise control.

Unlikely to be more than one lane if the speed limit is 60...

Speed limit isn't a minimum to be reached, but saying that, if doing 40mph it would be better to change your route to roads that are that kind of speed limit. You will cause frustration from other drivers and that can cause people doing dangerous things.

I get giddy driving too fast now, something's going on with my health, and 40mph is about my max. Am absolutely fine and dandy under that and feel well. I wouldn't dream of entering a national speed limit road.

This. Sometimes it's absolute madness to drive 60 mph on one of those awful country lanes and definitely much more dangerous to speed than to go at a sensible speed like 40 mph. A speed limit is just the upper limit, not the speed you must drive.

If you want to drive at 40mph you can. Others can overtake you if they wish. Thing is most people will not overtake you as they very rarely do in the UK. Go to France and drive at 40mph and the locals over take and are gone.

People often Trott out that its safer to drive nearer the speed of an A road, but id be really interested to see the studies on this statement?

I drove last year from near Inverness to near Glasgow and it was a string of traffic travelling at around 40/50mph. I stopped in a lay-by as had calls to make, I then started driving again and came up two behind the van that had been following me!

Please no. I've just driven to work on a 50mph limit road behind someone doing 35. There are very limited opportunities to safely overtake and I wasn't able to do so. I would rather the person had pulled over - there were at least four opportunities for them to do this!

Going slower doesn't mean you are less likely to get into an accident if that is what you are worried about. Being significantly slower than the rest of the traffic will likely increase your chances of an accident - e.g. someone driving into you.

If I remember correctly most of the A9 between Inverness and Edinburgh is single carriageway although there are some sections of dual carriageway. Its average speed cameras too isn't it. I'd say you will get more stressed and anxious with people coming up behind you and trying to overtake as you are slow than if you drove a bit faster.

People wanting to speed make it more dangerous- it’s the speeders at fault and those who are not capable of controlling their speed reasonably shouldn’t be on the road

Good luck with your journey op. It took me a long time to gain confidence as a driver and I still sometimes choose to take a train over driving, eg long motorway Journey in evening or going into a city centre I don’t know.

Generally a 60 road is considered safe to do 60 in reasonable conditions. Sometimes you may go slower in parts if it feels unsafe for whatever reason but you shouldn’t be planning to go at 40.

So you don't know the road AND you haven't read the thread.

No the speed limit specifically isn't a target!

Rule 146
Adapt your driving to the appropriate type and condition of road you are on. In particular

• do not treat speed limits as a target. It is often not appropriate or safe to drive at the maximum speed limit

I'm not saying that the OPs plans are on, I don't. But if you have been treating the speed limit as a target, then you are specifically told not to do this in the highest code.