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

But you'll be MORE. Likely to be j. A crash driving 20 mph slower than other people on the road. Can't you get the train instead?

I saw your reasons in your previous comments, but as a road user, your fear of crashing does not constitute a good reason to be inconsiderate of other road users.

A good reason would be things like: fog; congestion; a temporary restriction etc. NOT your own personal fear.

I don’t know this road but images suggest it is a dual carriage way so the actual speed limit is 70. 40 would categorically be dangerous. On a motorway you must not go at 35 or under so the same common sense applies. If you’re not comfortable, don’t do it. Get more training because you are a danger to yourself and others currently. Just get cruise control and sit behind a lorry but please get some lessons.

@ReadingCrimeFiction Because it frustrates other drivers who can then make mistakes.

That's not the real reason why driving slowly is hazardous, and any driver who feels frustraton at someone else driving slowly should certainly not be behind the wheel of any car.

The issue with driving at 40 mph on a road on which everyone else is driving at 60 mph is that it's creating a large difference in speed. A difference in speed is the part that's hazardous.

To use another example, a 20 mph car among 30 mph cars would not be much of an issue, but a 20 mph car on a motorway with 70 mph cars is likely to cause a crash.

You are more likely to cause a crash due to annoying other drivers resulting in them getting impatient and them overtaking. Maybe the road has so many accidents on due to slow drivers?

That said, if you only want to drive slow buy an old car that can’t go very fast or a tractor so the choice is taken out of your hands and you can have no blame 😂

Drive at the speed you feel safe.

However, if it is a single carriageway road, please be prepared to pull over every few miuntes to allow people behind you to pass. It is unfair to slow other drivers down or to put them at risk by expecting them to overtake you by pulling out into oncoming traffic.

The police can pull you over for driving too slowly. I saw an episode of Traffic Cops and they have a man a ticket for driving too slow on a dual carriageway.

It’s the A9 rather than the A90, and there are quite often very bad accidents. It’s not a great road to drive because it’s sporadically dual carriageway. The road is 70mph limit on the dual and 60mph the rest (with average speed cameras), but for lorries it’s 50mph.

OP please please don’t stick at 40 the whole way, it’s so dangerous for other road users. It will only make people more frustrated! There are regular buses and trains from Inverness to Edinburgh if you’re not confident.

erm… nope. only if the 70mph drivers had their eyes closed.

I thought that was mostly A9? Either way, these are the main roads in that part of Scotland aren’t they? So if you drive significantly slower than everyone else - including lorries - then you may unfortunately end up with them driving up your arse before trying to overtake.

Sounds like you need to take the bus. The very bus from Inverness to Edinburgh that will be overtaking you if you’re doing 40 on the A90, which for the majority has 70 limit, not 60. You don’t sound fit for driving and if you’re taking on this journey first thing in the morning I’ll be also worried about your guaranteed fatigue added to the mix… by replying to threads at this time of night. Please take driving safety seriously, OP- yours and others safety needs to be a priority.

You drive to the condition of the road and within the speed limit. If it's a windy, country road then obviously you can't be tanking along at 60 all the time. However, blanket doing 40 for no good reason is pretty stupid and potentially dangerous as you'll force other road users to have to overtake you and if there's no real opportunity to do so, you'll cause tailbacks and people will get very frustrated which makes them potentially make stupid decisions. My 1st driving instructor was an ex copper and he told me they would pull people over that were driving excessively slowly as it's so dangerous. He insisted I got comfortable driving at the speed limit right from the off. You drive at the limit, or close to it, unless the road type or weather conditions dictate otherwise. Deciding to drive 20 miles per hour under the limit before you head off is just weird and stupid. If you are so insecure in your own driving abilities it would be a very good idea to get some advanced driving lessons to improve you confidence (and ability if needed).

No, this is not OK except in weather/ road conditions that indicate a slower speed is necessary.

You will cause other drivers to brake suddenly if they come up behind you at 60 around a bend, and you will cause unsafe lane changes too.

If you're not confident driving closer to the speed limit, take a bus, train, or taxi, and I recommend refresher driving lessons too.

If your car is not able to go faster than 40, you need to have it fixed or get a new car.

okay i'm just not sure if i can get to space on a bus or train and i'm worried about diversions and thingslike thati would be relying on my sat navto tell me how to avoid the dual carriage wayi have never done the journey beforemaybe it's not possiblei've got familythat lived about halfway between both places and they tell me there are regularly crashes on the a nineespecially on bends

Get a taxi or public transport.

Erm... yes.

And if you were doing 30 on a stretch of road where the speed limit is 60 where I live, you would be pulled over and given a ticket.

There are maximum and minimum speed limits on US highways, with sound reasons for both limits.

If you can't cope with diversions or unpredictability on the road...

you shouldn't be driving. People have been very kind on this thread. But the police can and will pull you over for driving too slowly and you will create hazard and danger.

that's as nice as I can be about it.

Show up early for the bus. Someone will miss it.

Book yourself in for driving lessons.

Whilst I don't disagree with your, we don't live in America, and I'm quite glad of that because (amongst other things) their road crash and fatality rata is far worse than ours. They are not a model here.

Look up the Solomon Curve. Slow drivers are more likely to be in accidents than those travelling at the same speed as the traffic. The bigger the difference between your speed and then prevailing speed on the road, the more risk you are putting on yourself and the other road users.

It might sound counterintuitive but once you are keeping up with the traffic, driving becomes much easier. You have more time to react to everything and there is a much lower cognitive load. The spaces in front of you and behind you are staying big enough, not constantly changing and disappearing. It's as if the gaps have stretched out.

ETA but of course you shouldn't just slam your foot down harder than you feel you can cope with, because that would not be safe either.

The dual carriage way bits are probably safer than the single carriageway, as it’s easier for faster drivers to overtake safely on them. And they don’t usually have sharp bends, and generally have better junctions. Why would you try to avoid those bits? Probably hard to, and you’d be having to rejoin the main road more often.

Honestly you do sound a bit clueless - not your fault if you’ve had very limited driving experience but sounds like you might benefit on going for some drives beyond your normal range with an instructor.

i'm so anxious about tomorrowi might not go at all i'll see how i feel in the morningi wanted to get there for a meeting

But surely you'd be slowing down for the bends anyway...

I actually think you should do the journey as it'll help push you out of your comfort zone and you could do with it. But no silly preconceived ideas about doing it at 40! Drive to the road and the road conditions. You don't need to be hitting 60 but try to be considerate to others, and practice feeling more comfortable going a bit higher on open flat stretches.

If you don't feel safe driving on that road then make other arrangements. You are more likely to CAUSE and be involved in a crash by just deciding to drive slowly because you're scared rather than assessing the road and driving accordingly. I live in a very rural area in Scotland which has seen a lot of retirees move into the area from more urban areas in England. You can always tell these people by the fact that they drive at 35 to 40 mph on 60 roads. Not talking single track roads with passing places, I mean B roads where doing 60 is perfectly reasonable and safe. Absolute nightmare. Worse than the tractors as at least agricultural vehicles know to let you pass. It can add ages on to a journey being stuck behind someone crawling along at 40. Don't do it.

Please please either surrender your license or get some lessons. Not driving over 40 and avoiding duel carriageways are ridiculous and do absolutely nothing to make you safer. Statistically over 50% of accidents happen within 5 miles of home. You are not making yourself safer by not driving appropriately for the road conditions.

I am really beginning to think we ought to have regular driving tests to check for competency and weed out driver who are not competent to drive appropriately in all circumstances.