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

there would be zero benefit in going via Loch Ness between Inverness and Edinburgh. The only reason you would do that is for the scenery, and if you had an extra few hours. Same goes for going via Aberdeen. All routes between Edinburgh and Inverness will require 60mph roads, large roundabouts and dual carriageway/motorway, all of which OP wanted to avoid. But any route other than the A9 would add serious amounts of time - hours - to a journey which is already 3+ hours long. If 40mph is her top speed then those journeys will be even longer and more exhausting.

The bus/train or just driving at normal speeds dependant on road conditions are the only sensible options.

I see it was today you were driving OP. Hope you made it to Edinburgh safely however you got here.

There aren't places to pull over regularly to let others pass and rejoining the road again would be more dangerous for her.

After a 12 hour shift driving behind a crawler driving well below the speed limit is bloody frustrating! People are more likely to take risks when it shouldn’t be necessary. Drive at the speed limit unless weather ,road conditions change the safety of the road.

I thought there was, the Dartford Tunnel? (I might be wrong, it's the one bit of the M25 I've never done.)

Ah yes, so she did. My mistake for not reading it properly. Whilst the A82 through Glencoe is the most stunning road ever, the same sentiment applies - you don't want to pissing about there at this time of year when you are trying to get to Edinburgh.

Argh don’t get me started on people pootling over the Queensferry crossing at 40mph to take in the view. If you want longer to enjoy the view walk/wheel or take the train over the Forth.

Going Inverness to Edinburgh via Aberdeen would take an extra 2hrs even with the the AWPR (which does my head in as I feel like I am going in the wrong direction, the new road is so featureless) plus you may as well drive home via Glasgow and Loch Lomond and up past Loch Lomond and Fort William in order to do a one driver full circuit route of (most of) Scotland.

Yes agree rejoining the road is more risky than just driving at the appropriate speed. I hate having to rejoin the A9 when it’s busy.

I didn't say MORE dangerous, I said AS dangerous.
That's why slow drivers will get stopped by the police as they cause accidents.

That's not a B road route though. Those are all other A roads so would still need to be driving at 60 or would cause the same trouble as on the A9. Apart from the bottlenecks at Elgin and Keith, it's not much worse than the A9 now the AWPR is open.

I hope @ScarboroughFairy managed to get to her destination in a timely manner and safely - for her and other road users if she drove.

I think it is time you surrendered your licence.

It wasn't a suggestion, I was just saying it was possible to drive that way as people were commenting that she had said A90 originally, which we assumed was a mistake. She would have a tiny bit of A90 after the A9 I suppose.

Yes me too. I actually hope she had a nice lie in and a leisurely breakfast and sacked off the whole idea of going to Edinburgh at all. A special mention and a wave from the Moray Firth to @Willowywisp for trying to explain Scotland to people who have never been to Scotland. The suggested ‘alternative’ routes made by some folk gave me a good laugh. I was tempted to suggest she just drives down to Cornwall and then back up to Edinburgh. It should only take the OP about two weeks 😂.

Idiotic. Yes you can get pulled and hopefully you do. Inconsiderate driving.

Please show me the law that says you are not allowed to drive too slowly. Yes, you should be considerate and not inconvenience other roads users. You might get stopped for driving slowly if the police think it's a sign that you're drunk or something, but I've never heard of a law about not driving too slowly and I can't find any reference to one online.

I'm not angry about it, and you're right it is important that you stay within your limits. But you should be aware that slow driving would be a driving test fail and is prosecutable where it causes a danger to others. I am not sure "there wasn't much traffic so I thought it would be ok" would cut it as a defence.

It's not about how much you are irritating the people behind you or how much someone on the internet is angry about it. But you should care about something that has changed in your driving behaviour which would stop you passing a driving test now, and is potentially an offence. It's worth a Google, if you haven't already, about where the boundary is between acceptably slow driving and what the law might deem careless or dangerous, even if you consider it fine.

Cheers 😂.

No, its dangerous and inconsiderate.
If you feel you have to drive "Well below the speed limit" you probably arent fit to drive on public roads.

It's pretty easy to find - 'Google is your friend', as the saying goes.

https://www.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rs/road-safety/driving-offences/

gosh get off your high horse
so much anger, i hope you dont drive with that much aggression

As I said, it's on the thread already and I won't be wasting any more time be reposting stuff I've already posted because you cannot be arsed to do the leg work and either find it online yourself or scan for it in the thread. I'm not your skivvy!

Exactly - just as I thought and you have proved my point. ,(And I did check on Google before I posted.) You just haven't understood what I said or what the law actually is. The offence is driving inconsiderately, not driving slowly. On an empty road you can drive as slowly as you like. Driving slowly is not an offence in itself, as I have said. But if your slow driving causes a nuisance to other road users, that could be an offence.

jesus arent you a bad tempered fucking poster
in the first place it was only some posts in she mentioned which actual road
this isnt scotsnet
you are being a nasty piece of work to me

You are the Mumsnet thread equivalent of someone driving at 40mph on a 60mph arterial trunk route. Just getting in the way of other people and not giving a shit about that because you're so self-absorbed.