A9 average speed camera preparatory work starts today

If you can’t concentrate on both you’re not fit to drive.

..and yet you might have a driving licence ad be entitled to anyway.
Shame not everyone asks your permission before getting in a car and driving isn’t it.

How does the molgrips “fit to drive” test work?
You get overtaken by a motorcycle do you
a – relax, it’s just a guy on a motorbike going faster than you?
b – jettison the caravan, pull the flat cap down over your eyes and prepare to accelerate to double figures?
c – burst into tears and immediately post a strongly worded thread on STW?

On a three lane motorway, the middle lane is for
a – you alone?
b – you and any other caravan puller?
c – what other lanes?

A82 here as well. Slower but easier to enjoy, and if is getting stressful, it’s nothing a bacon roll and cup of tea at Glencoe Mountain can’t fix.

1. Does driving in average speed camera areas make one concentrate more on their speedo than concentrating on the road ahead?

If you can’t concentrate on both you’re not fit to drive.

give me speed limiter mode on cruise control.
the technology is there, and indeed implemented on some models of car.
mention that on a road bike forum and you’d be hounded out for not being fit to drive if you can’t estimate speed accurately, whilst keeping eyes on the road.

in a 20 zone? I stare at teh speedo since getting to 10% over the limit is very easy.

I prefer the A82 to the A9 as well, but it’s also a road that suffers from some very dodgy overtakes by impatient drivers stuck behind slow traffic – tourists admiring the scenery etc. I think I’ve had more near misses from folks doing dangerous overtakes on the A82 that I have on the A9, although I’ve seen a fair few on both. I know it’s a stereotype but the vast majority do seem to involve Audi’s these days!

1. Does driving in average speed camera areas make one concentrate more on their speedo than concentrating on the road ahead?

Many many cars have Cruise Control now. I use mine most of the time on the motorway (and often coming into town on multi lane roads with 40 or 50 limit).

If you’re unable to cope with this most SatNavs have the option of a speed alert and will beep when you exceed the limit – no need to take your eyes off the road.

The reality is taht you drive at the same speed as the bulk of traffic (which is all trying to drive at 50 now) and check occasionally.

2. Would driving at a steady pace have a negative impact on one’s alertness?

Most motorway driving is at a steady pace – the majority of people drive at or near the limit on any road. Yes, it’s boring but there’s little risk if you leave a sensible space between you and the car in front (2secs/4 secs is way more than most people leave)

I’m far more

Despite it’s reputation, IMO I believe it’s a safer road…if you’re patient and don’t get wound up by the sometimes slow tourists!

I too prefer the A82. I’ve done about 10,000 miles on it in the last couple of years and can honestly count on one hand (ok, maybe two!) the number of idiotic overtakes I’ve seen. I think with the A82, people who don’t know the road tend to be content with sitting behind something moving a bit slower, since it’s windy and interesting enough not to make them feel like they must overtake. Then those who know the road will generally sit “patiently” until one of the known good spots.

It often feels more dangerous, but I think in reality it is not. The overtaking opportunities are far more limited and tend to be more obvious IMO. There are very few spots which give you the illusion of being a good spot to overtake and then turn out to be risky etc, plus the overall speed on the A82 is slower so overtakes tend to also be slower.

The A9 is just odd. I sometimes sit, being overtaken while doing 60 and wonder to myself “who are these people?”. There’s a lot of heroes who seem to fall into the stereotype, but there’s also a huge number of middle aged women in 4x4s and old men in bashed up Astras. You just don’t seem to see that on the A82 (it seems like it’s more limited to van drivers and Audi Gods trying out their Quattro on the first drive in the car that isn’t their commute to the sales office at the Staple factory)

Regardless, I never feel more uncomfortable in a car than hitting a straight section on the A9 and seeing a lorry coming towards me in the other direction with a queue of cars behind it. Chances are someone will have a go.

driven it many many times.

There is no way I’ve ever averaged above 60 on the road north of perth so can’t see what difference average speed cameras will make. As the chap pointed out earlier, the HGVs doing 40 causes frustration and huge tailbacks, especially when they tailgate each other. Never driven an HGV but why is it unsafe for them to drive at 60 on a road like the A9, its hardly a country road.

And don’t mention the selfish twunts in the HGVs who try to overtake on the duel carrigeway section, and take the entire 2 mile length of it to do so.

How does the molgrips “fit to drive” test work?

blablablabla

What a thoroughly crap post. Not even good enough to properly piss me off.

The Audi thing, btw – I think many of the speedsters are reps, and they tend to get Audis/BMWs/Mercs as company cars.

When it gets turned into a dual carriageway, all that’s needed is a few signs like this:

I also agree that allowing trucks to go faster until it’s dualled might not be a bad idea. 40mph can feel frustratingly slow, especially in my German motorway münscher. It’s creating a situation that tempts potential idiots to be actual idiots – although, I guess that potential idiots would probably find 50mph frustratingly slow too. 😕