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

I would say this has to be rage-bait but my morning commute tells me it’s probably not!

narrow b roads yeah fine other roads not so much

i should have said that the reason that i'm considering this is because there are so many crashes on the road there's one every week

Which road is it?

Please don’t be that person.

YABU if the conditions are normal. I'd be pissed off if I was sat behind you.

Do you know that they were due to excess speed?

That makes absolutely no sense. You can still be badly injured in a crash at 40mph. The only way you can be sure of not crashing is by not driving and tbh, that seems like the safest option for you and other drivers sharing the road with you.

i'm not sure i think so

it's the a ninety

Lots of stretches of B roads, for example, have a National Speed Limit but that doesn’t mean it is necessarily suitable to drive at 60mp, narrow, windy roads especially. Even winding single track roads with no verges can be no speed limit other than national speed limit, but it would be obviously reckless to hurtle along them at 60mph.

Ditto roads such as the Wrynose pass in the Lakes.

ETA … have just clocked that you said ‘where safe to do so’ … so actually not disagreeing.

They may have been caused by that person crawling along well under the speed limit....if you can't drive with the prevailing conditions presented at the time of your journey then you should not be driving.

This.

Maybe you could do the pass plus? If there were that many accidents caused by speed then the limit would be changed. We have a section of A road that was a 60 but had a corner that met with another road. A few accidents happened and the limit was reduced to 50.

i will be driving down toedinburgh from in inverness

If this FOI request from a year ago is correct, the road doesn’t seem that bad.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400439878/

Absolutely not. If you cannot drive at a speed that is safe and appropriate for the conditions, then really, you should go back and have more driving lessons to build your confidence.

You can get in trouble for driving so slowly without good reason as it could be considered as "driving without reasonable consideration for other road users", of course depending on the context.

am afraid of getting into a crash i usually only drive locally

Thankfully we won’t be driving along that road behind you . There’s nothing like a Sunday morning driver when you’re trying to be somewhere. Like YOU might have all the time in the world , but others behind you probably haven’t !

I've just had a look at that road on Maps where you have mentioned, and it really doesn't strike me as reasonable to drive 20mph under the limit. Unless you're expecting incredibly bad weather with poor visibility? I'd have failed my driving test driving at 40mph in a 60 zone on a road like that (weather/conditions depending obviously). There being lots of accidents is not a reason to drive slowly.

I’ve had to convert to kmph as that’s all I’ve ever used but OMG that’s the difference between the speed limit on normal city roads with traffic lights and the speed limit on the highway! Do you have any comprehension how much slower you will be than everyone else? I think it would feel more dangerous to have everyone whizzing by you as you pootle along. I hate driving on those tiny country roads with hedges each side and the locals drive up your arse flashing their lights at you because they know the route so well. But on a main road it doesn’t seem safe to do this unless you’re responding to road or weather conditions.

You clearly aren't a competent driver if you are asking this.

I failed my driving test for this decades ago. There was a lot going through my head, including that by driving slower I'd have to cover less road and be less likely to make a mistake, and that the route was the way to the crem and the traffic was often slow along there as you'd be in a queue behind a hearse. So it seemed like a normal speed for that road.
So, drive to conditions, not imaginary hearses.

Whilst 60 mostly means unclassified, typically the speed limit has been designed to mean people can drive safely at that speed. Using your common sense, this doesn’t mean winding country roads that are not quite wide enough for two cars or at sharp bends if they are wide enough. If you can only drive at 2/3rds of the speed limit, you shouldn’t be driving. You should be competent enough to drive to the conditions of the road and not be a hazard to other road users - which you will be. Why should they have to drive slower or risk overtaking because you’re unsafe and incompetent?

Drive to the conditions. If it's a windy road, hidden dips, lots of parked cars, wet weather, icy, foggy, then yes, you should drop your speed. A good clear road, dry conditions, clear visibility, then you probably shouldn't be dropping as low as 40mph.

If you know there are lots of crashes, it's good to be aware of why - a side road with limited visibility of vehicles joining the main carriageway, signs indicating deer crossing are likely, a commuter route where vehicles are likely to be travelling into the rising or sinking sun - whatever else, they're all reasons to be even more aware of potential hazards, but not necessarily to drop your speed by so much.