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

Why?! You don't HAVE TO drive at 60 in a 60 but why would you be going so much slower?! Adverse weather conditions, I get it. Using your spare tyre which has a speed limit on it because you're en route to a tyre replacement, that makes sense.

Are you too nervous to drive at the speed limit? Is it a dual carriageway or a country lane? Lots of country lanes which have a 60mph require you to go much slower in sections with poor visibility etc but your post makes it sound like you're intentionally going to go super slow compared to the general flow of traffic and that sounds mad and dangerous and incredibly frustrating for people who have factored in a 60mph speed limit to their time of travel.

It helped me from the start to realise I didn't have a choice but to respect other road users and the conditions set down.

Also, it's not "just one road all the way to Edinburgh". It's one road all the way to Perth. Then it's roundabouts, motorway south to the Forth Bridge, more motorway and dual carriageway.

And presumably the whole thing in reverse to get home. Potentially in the dark, unless she's leaving Edinburgh by 2pm.

A lot of crashes in that road happen because tourists end up on the wrong side of the road when it changes from dual to single carriageway . You get people coming off a long haul flight and straight into a hire car on the other side of an unfamiliar road…I see comments all the time online about picking up a hire car at Edinburgh airport and heading up to Skye. Rather than take a day to rest and get used to the surroundings they want to go a six hour drive on unfamiliar roads that are backwards to them.

No. That is far too slow and you can potentially cause people to make dangerous overtakes.

Agree - or when making a wee stop off at the house of Bruar or Dalwhinnie, and pulling back out onto the main road on the wrong side.

My friends DS is a police officer. He said most crashes are driver error and then speeding will increase the seriousness of the crash.

You should not drive at all if you are that nervous. I am someone who really does not speed but it’s true that going under the speed limit a lot can also cause crashes.

We drove in rain that was coming down like sheets yesterday and the dual carriageway we were on had water pooling all over it, that’s the sort of time people drive a lot under the limit and it’s acceptable when conditions are dangerous.

No it isn't.

It's discourteous to other drivers, and a blanket intention to drive at 40mph on a 60mph indicates a lack of confidence in your own driving skills that indicates you probably shouldn't be driving. But it's the drivers speeding and doing dangerous overtaking manoeuvres who cause accidents, not the driver doing less than the speed limit.

I live in a rural area with a lot of single lane roads. I might be irritated if the person driving in front of me is going a bit slow, but I'm not afraid they're going to kill me. The idiots racing round a bend on the wrong side of the road are my concern.

True - then it's up to 70mph. Broxden roundabout at Perth can be horrid too.

The A9 is very bad for dangerous overtaking, which shouldn't happen, but people driving at 20 miles below the speed limit make it much worse. Also HGVS that legally have to go slower on the single carriage sections then speed up on the dual sections so they're difficult to overtake.

There are perfectly good buses and trains between Edinburgh and Inverness, which are less stressful.

I honestly couldn't be bothered sifting through the thread to find your original post but, as you've asked, I shall reply. Here's your original post, for reference, and my response was to say "you haven't driven on the A9, have you?" It was a rhetorical question because, as other posters have said, there are a hell of a lot of English folk chiming in on this thread that do not have the foggiest idea about the road in question (or roads in ascotland more generally). So why not just say nothing. You could have replied to me by saying "no, I haven't and I don't even live in Scotland so my contribution is just clogging up the thread" or just ignored me. Anyway, this was your post:

"OP, you'll be fine. Don't go deliberately slowly, but find a vehicle you are comfortable driving behind and just stick behind it. Both easier and safer. Changing lanes/overtaking is really the only slightly hard thing about main roads, apart from that they're much easier than city driving - so if you're not in a rush and don't need to go out of the slow lane, you'll be just fine.
If you're feeling uncertain about the navigation, have a look at key points on google street view before you leave. It's really reassuring."

So, rather than be an arsehole and pick apart your post - I just commented "you haven't driven the A9" or words to that effect. In other words, don't talk pish. Your advice is wrong here. But, as you've asked, here is what is wrong with your advice to the OP, point by point:

1. "OP you'll be fine" - highly doubtful given she has never driven on a motorway and would need to negotiate Edinburgh, which can be a nightmare for anyone that hasn't done it before.
2. "find a vehicle you are comfortable driving behind and just stick behind it" - how exactly would she choose a vehicle she is comfortable behind? If doing 40mph, all the vehicles will be behind her and there will be no one ahead for miles. However, if she did want to drive at a sensible speed, she'd be behind whoever was in front of her as, for large sections, it's single carriageway with no overtaking so you're stuck behind whoever is in front of you, like it or not. Hence why she would be such a menace at 40mph.
3. "changing lanes/overtaking is really the only slightly hard thing about main roads, apart from that they're much easier than city driving" - well, apparently not as she says she drives locally (Inverness - a city) yet wants to drive at 40 on the main trunk road that connects the Highlands to the Central Belt. Besides, the hard thing on that particular road is actually negotiating the junctions to come on and off and all the cars trying to get by at the dualled sections before they run out of road again. If she needed a pit stop along the way (I don't know how strong her bladder is or if she would need to eat/drink/rest) then getting on and off the road is much harder and more dangerous than changing lane (which she wouldn't need to do if she was crawling along at a snail's pace). You refer to the A9 as "they", as if it's just the same as every other A road in the UK - it's absolutely not and is totally unique in several respects.
4. "if you're not in a rush and don't need to go out of the slow lane, you'll be just fine" this is horrible and dangerous advice. There is no "slow lane". There are some sections of dual carriageway but otherwise she will be impeding the flow of traffic entirely if she just goes slow because she's not in a rush. The police would stop her and possibly fine her and giver her penalty points on her licence. Not to mention the road rage she would cause and the massive tailbacks which would likely make the national traffic news as they'd be so disruptive to others' journeys.
5. "If you're feeling uncertain about the navigation, have a look at key points on google street view before you leave. It's really reassuring." The navigation? It's one arterial trunk road. There is no navigating once on it. And what on earth do you think she's going to see as "key points" along 160 miles of road on street view? Random trees and hills and the road. Utterly useless advice for this route.

So, those are my reasons why it was beyond obvious to me that you don't know the A9 and therefore your advice is as much use as a chocolate teapot.

I was also told by my driving instructor that driving too slow is dangerous. On the day I took my test he took me on a different route I'd never been on but told me this is a test route they sometimes use, he noted the speed limit was 60 and said to me you need to be driving 50 ish to demonstrate you have clocked the speed limit. Weirdly I actually got that route and passed, I followed his instructions (it was a dry clear day).

My dad drives very slowly and it is dangerous, people will pull out in front of him as they think they have time/don't want to be stuck behind him or worse they will overtake him when it isn't safe as they are frustrated they are being held up by him. I don't say anything but it is definitely not safe. He drives at the speedlimit on the motorway though, it's normal roads he does it on, I've no idea why, he's a very capable driver and never used to do it.

I wouldn't do it, you aren't safer, unless it is raining and you are driving according to the weather conditions.

Have you ever driven this road? Folk will be right up her arse and trying to make dodgy passes where they shouldn't, putting themselves and others at risk. Someone driving slowly on the single carriageway sections is anything but calming to the traffic on the A9.

Lol! Tell me you've never driven on the A9 without telling me you've never driven on the A9!

Please do not drive on the A9 at 40mph, it would be very dangerous on that road.

Be aware around Dunkeld and Birnam (that is where accidents tend to happen) and watch out for anyone pulling in or out or across the A90.

Driver speed (too fast) and frustration (others going too slowly causing frustration and unsafe overtaking) are the main issues on the road.

There are enough dual carriageways and sections for over taking that the road is safe enough. But it is really not safe to drive at 40mph - people will attempt to overtake you at unsafe points.

Obviously drive to the conditions, if it is wet or snowy then be aware of the road and other vehicles.

It’s a speed limit, not a speed requirement.
Other drivers need to stop being in such a rush to go nowhere, we’d have less accidents.

Same - you fail the test if the examiner can't see you're adjusting your driving speed for changing speed limits.

The A9 is the main road from Perth to Inverness. Driving on it at 40mph is incredibly dangerous. Couple that with a combination of high numbers of tourists driving slowly in large vehicles, lorries and trucks as well as usual traffic and one slow driver can cause huge problems.

While 60 is only a recommendation and not a target I think 40 is to slow, and I'm like you only drive local.

I'll happily do 45 in a 50 but would never do 40 in a 60, to be honest 50 is probably about my top limit of my comfort zone.

None of the other routes have slower roads .

We're talking about the main trunk road connecting the Highlands to the Central Belt, not some country road.

Loving all the non Scottish experts telling OP to use another route 🤦‍♀️

I think you need to drive the same speed as everyone else. If you drive too slow you could cause an accident

No, it isn’t ok, It is as dangerous as going too fast (causes more unnecessary overtaking, braking etc). If you cannot drive on that road, get more lessons to build your confidence.

Actually the road has multiple sections that switch from single carriageway to dual carriageway and back again, making it uniquely dangerous.