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

Cyclists have a phrase that goes, "you can be right, or you can be alive". For example, it may be your right of way, but it's better to yield to a twat rather than get hit by them. Someone who gets road rage from driving behind someone going inappropriately slowly might be in the wrong but ultimately it's better to avoid causing accidents in practice rather than focusing too heavily on how unreasonably slowly you are technically allowed to go.

You are obviously not a competent driver. If you drive too slowly on any road it will infuriate drivers behind you. You should always drive within the speed limit without holding up traffic behind you for any good reason. People are driving on that road who might have appointments, get to work in plenty of time, drop children off at school. You are a hazard on the road and should find another way to travel on public transport.

Driving at 40mph in a 60mph area without any obstructions or fault with your car makes you an unsafe driver. The police could caution you over this.

That is dangerous and would really frustrate me as a fellow road user. Basically rage baiting

I failed my driving test (in Edinburgh) twice for driving too slowly outside a school. Once was considered a minor, twice in the same test was considered a serious fault.

But I think the speed here is a red herring. I was a very anxious driver (the reason why I drove too slowly and failed driving tests).

Being extremely anxious on the road isn’t safe, you need to be able to drive in any road conditions and scenarios. You never know when you might have a diversion or need to drive in an unexpected situation. Please look into refresher lessons and doing an advanced driving course.

This is what I did after eventually passing my test. I drove between Stirling and Edinburgh with my instructor on the M9 (for those in England this is the motorway portion of the A9) as motorway driving terrified me. This was many many years (decades) ago. I learned to love motorway driving and now have no anxiety about driving (just everything else).

Said kindly, if you find it frightening to drive at an appropriate speed then you will definitely not feel safe with a queue of angry drivers tailgating you, honking furiously, and attempting dangerous overtakes.

That’s too slow if it’s on a main road. You could actually cause an accident by people trying to overtake you.

Should you be driving at all?

The main reason there are so many crashes on the A9 is that drivers get frustrated and impatient travelling at significantly slower speeds for long periods, and try to overtake at risky spots. Yes, it is their fault and they shouldn't make risky overtakes, however the main cause is people like yourself driving well under the speed limit. So you are more likely to cause, than avoid accidents if you drive it at 40. The road is long, the people driving on it are usually travelling a long way and extending their time by 1/3 because you are too nervous is a poor reason. It is a main road, plenty wide enough and safe to travel close to the speed limit. The only exception to this would be in poor weather, which is also regularly encountered on this road

Public transport is very readily available between Edinburgh and Inverness, if you don't feel competent to drive closer to the speed limit you should take the public transport and not drive. To note, large vehicles are restricted to 50 so that would be likely seen as more acceptable and you could well end up behind a lorry anyway.

This was not the update I was expecting! I don't know whether to say well done for facing your fears and doing it anyway or...nevermind. I'll just leave it at that I think. Safe travels!

These days you would DEFINITELY fail your driving test for doing 40mph in a 60. Absolutely nuts and could cause a serious accident. That old chestnut "It's a limit, not a target" is NOT strictly true. Where safe and clear to do so and when conditions allow, you should aim to drive as close as possible to the stated speed limits. Obviously you wouldn't be driving at 60mph on narrow winding country roads, but on a wide main road, provided traffic is free flowing, you should drive as close to the speed limit as is possible, and certainly not be holding other drivers up.

You need to get some more lessons and work on building your confidence, as soon as you can.

I drive up the A9 regularly and also the other way via Aberdeen. The reason there is so many accidents on that road is bad driving and frustration. Driving at 40 along that whole road is frankly suicide and you could be to blame for causing frustration and yet another fatality on that road

10mph, 15mph 20mph would all make these things happen, the best speed is 0mph!

That happens on the A1 all the time.

There's a bus running between Edinburgh and Inverness that I hope she took!

No that wouldn't be safe. You should be going at least 55 if the road is free and clear with no traffic. If your not comfortable driving on a 60 road then really you shouldn't be driving. Have you only recently passed your test?

If you'd fail a driving test for doing it then it's best not to do it. So take the train.

And you would fail a driving test doing 40 all the way down a 60mph road.

A lot of the A9 is single lane each way. The Scottish Government pledged to have the whole 110 miles between Perth and Inverness upgraded to dual carriageway by 2025; to date 35% of the road is dualled and the latest estimate for the remainder to be done is 2035.

65% of the 110 miles of the A9 between Perth and Inverness is one lane each way.

My issue is not you driving slower (or faster), as that is your right and should be the case when driving.
My issue is you are pre-judging a speed based on 'feeling', not on reality of the conditions you face while driving.
It may be that to drive slower than a limit is safer due to things like fog, rain, snow, heavy traffic. But it may also be that on a clear, dry day that to 'keep up' with traffic is less stressful for all and actually safer.
I would hope a good driver makes the judgement as they go.

Most of the contracts are yet to be awarded (only 4 of the 11 sections have been awarded).

Have they made progress on that massive section they were working on just south of Tomatin? It was about 12 miles of roadworks when I was up in October.

Nope, she drove! 😱

It's an example of one way you can be a nuisance to other drivers. It goes not say that driving slowly is an offence - it's only wrong if it causes a nuisance. Obviously, on a busy main road it's a nuisance but on a deserted road, you can drive as slowly as you like because you are not inconveniencing anyone else. Driving slowly is not the offence, causing a nuisance is. Read the law again and you will see that I'm not cherry picking.

About to leave work (in Edinburgh) and will cross any roads with caution! Cannot believe she drove 'up to 50' all the way down here.

Please, please OP get some refresher lessons booked in when you can as you really need to get more confident before doing this again. Am very confused as to the timing as well as surely you are just getting here now? Are you driving straight back?

And how big was the queue behind you?

Hopefully she is staying over