UKH

Just in case you were not aware...

https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/a82a85-average-speed-cameras-now-live/

Average speed cameras introduce one sickeningly stupid danger that we should all be aware of and try to avoid whenever possible. 

People get into a 60mph mindset and cannot escape from it. You will get people trying to over a 56mph truck while doing 60mph. They are endangering everyone on the road. Once you have been behind that truck for five minutes you can do any speed you like for the few seconds it takes to get past it without going over the permitted average. Minimum "Time Exposed to Danger", maximum safety for all. 

Keep your eyes open for this effect in the oncoming traffic stream. 

You car's trip computer can help you keep track of your average speed between camera posts. 

More focus on your speedometer and less looking out for hazards? Forget the big brother cameras, surely the biggest improvement that could be made to driving safety is to make all drivers take some compulsory re-training every 5-10 years as a condition of keeping their licence?

Easier, just set cruise control and chill. 

That's all well and good if you have a fancy car with such gadgets. The rest of us need to keep our eyes on the speedo more than would be desirable!

I like the average speed cameras on the A9. It seemed no problem to me to get a feel for the speed. Certainly makes for a more relaxed journey and it is hard to argue against slightly longer journey times being a price worth paying for the reduction in accidents. And people do seem to forget that the cameras are simply enforcing the existing speed limit!

On the A82? Please let us know how you get on.

Agreed. The speed limit does not change at all: average speed is just the way the cameras measure, it does not mean that vehicles are permitted to exceed the speed-limit as long as they maintain the avarage. 

I agree with sticking to the speed limit, but if it means spending 3 seconds overtaking instead of 10 seconds, I would condone a temporary breaking of the limit. 

They make me paranoid. I definitely spend too long looking at Speedo. I don't drive fast, and normally I don't speed, but feel I have to check constantly in average camera zones just incase. Most of the time you can't speed anyway as there are trucks etc and I absolutely don't overtake on the A9 (or almost anywhere really). I just sit out the slow sections. It doesn't stop me obsessing about the speedo though!

I nearly posted a reply like that and then I looked at section where the cameras will be and it's definitely a bit you could use cruise control on for large sections. There wouldn't be a lot of point having cameras on the sections where cruise control wouldn't work.

The A9 "feels" SO much safer since the cameras arrived.  Just prior to that it was getting diabolical and we would avoid it or time our use of it to when traffic (or at least certain types of traffic) was least.

The only remaining prob is the bullying HGVs!  Which will also be a prob on the A82 (more-so with the single carriageway).

And average cams mean LESS speedo watching - compared with instantaneous speed cameras.  With instantaneous, if you accidentally exceed the limit while accelerating around a corner or being pushed along by a steep descent and there is a camera there you are screwed.  With avg. cams, if you notice that happening, you can just ensure you stick much lower for the next few mins to average it out.  Less stress.  And why are we all forced to drive so close to the limit anyway?  Its supposed to be a max, not a mean.  The bullies again.

But you shouldn't need such costly and awkward infrastructure.  In this internet of things and cheap gadgets, every vehicle should have a speed data monitor and dob you in to the authorities (then or later) if it ever records you having nasty driving behaviour.

Or, get rid of humans and get the driverless vehicles here fast!  Solve many safety probs.

Is there a lot of point in overtaking the truck at all though? Ususally there's another one not too far ahead.

10 miles at 60 mph = 10 mins
10 miles at 56 mph = 10 min 42 sec.

What you are describing is an event data recorder. Many cars have them, though there are no set standards for what they record. The police or insurance can retrieve the data after an accident to find out about speed and braking, for instance. In addition, many cars have, effectively, a 4G mobile phone, that can send data to call an ambulance if the airbag deploys.

All BMW's after 2012, for example have an edr. It doesn't seem to have made much impact on the way some of them are driven. Perhaps a big sticker on the windscreen would help to inform the drivers that their car might grass them up.

Out of interest, has anyone on here ever been caught by an average speed camera? 

I know a couple of people. They have been in and around Nottingham and the county for decades now, so I tend not to get too het up about them. Better than spot cameras for regulating speed

Interesting.  But yeah, I'm talking about these things actively dobbing people in constantly.  Not just after accidents.  Minefield for political and social awkwardness.  So will never happen in the UK.  Hence you need to eliminate the human driver altogether.

Has experience changed your mind? I thought I remembered you complaining on here about the A9 ASC's a while ago. Apologies if I'm wrong about this.

I believe we're due compulsory speed limiters on new cars from 2022 (heaven knows how the technology will work, but that's a whole other thread!) so cameras will pretty much become obsolete?
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/mandatory-speed-limiters/
(and driverless cars seem to be a reality these days, or in the not too distant future)

As for me: sat nav (to indicate correct speed as speedos under-estimate) + cruise control (not posh car, Peugeot 307) and peace of mind (and stops me being a speedo-watching junkie).  Life becomes boring, but hopefully life continues.

I too am slightly perflexed by being limited at 60mph, but getting behind at wagon doing 56mph, and would in the past have accelerated (beyond the speed limit briefly) to over-take where possible.  Now I think twice (because there may be a camera van lurking on the straight stretches where I can have enough room to pass).  And so may sit in a queue.  Will this have the unintended consequence of longer queues forming and idiots taking bigger risks to get out of the queue?

Should slower vehicles with queues behind be encouraged to pull over (like in Oregon?).  To my mind, the introduction of compulsory speed limiters and the accompanying legislation missed lots of opportunities, like encouraging slow vehicles with queues behind to pull over, as mentioned above (even if it is in legislation already, it could do with being brought higher into consciousness). Insurance black boxes are a great idea for incentivising owners to drive off-peak and spread the load on the roads, something that could be developped for everyone perhaps, but another missed opportunity (spread the load).

I also like the idea (skog) of retraining every 5-10 years, especially over a certain age (I hate the idea of self-certification over age 70, but I'm not sure what the answer is).  I can't see it being a vote-winner any time soon, so it'll never get any air time.  I had the privilege of being made aware of my speed one afternoon a litte while ago, and it was a great refresher course (for things I'd forgotten, or had changed since I did my driving test etc) after 30 years of driving

I think part of what makes it feel safer though is that the HGV speeds have increased therefore reducing the incentive for people to overtake. This won't be an option on A82/85. I can't imagine HGVs doing 50mph there, seems too fast for that road so there will still be people doing crazy overtakes. I have had some scary near misses on that road with people heading straight for me as they try to overtake where there really isn't space. There are a couple of places ona  few roads where I might overtake if the driver is REALLY slow (a tractor or a bike usually), but only if I can see a really long way. I just wait, it won't kill me to wait but it might to overtake. I think on the A9 it has been a combination of the increased HGV speed and the average cameras that has made the difference.

I prefer to be able to see what's going on regarding the road ahead, and then be able to take action to avoid any possible incident.

I'd rather not be staring at the back of a truck that's completely obscuring the road ahead, having to concentrate on it's brake lights as they would be the only indication that there was a problem.

For example, if there was a hole or a piece of debris in the road ahead, which the truck would pass over, I would have to swerve on my motorbike to avoid same. With a clear view then a gentle repositioning in the carriageway is all that is needed. Similarly more time is available to see (and read) road signs when you have a clear road ahead.

Overtaking is frequently the safer option, rather than playing "follow my leader".

Or sit further back from the truck to see the road? Plenty of stopping distance never did anyone any harm!!

It's only new cars getting speed limiters though. It will be at least 15 years before that trickles down to my level! I also can't imagine cruise control reaching me any time soon! It will be a long time until cameras are obsolete. 

Yes, I would say slower vehicles should definitely have to pull over but maybe not for the sake of 4mph. If they are maintaining 56mph, then fine, if they are at 45 or slower then maybe then they should have to allow passing every few miles. Also on motorways they shouldn't be allowed out of the inside lane!

[...]

Which makes perfect sense unless there happens to be another truck, also doing 56 mph 200m up the road. If there is, you just swap 1 set of tail lights for another (rinse and repeat).

No, I'm pretty sure I've never complained about them!

Yeah but it’s only a couple of miles. Cruise control just seems excessive even for that section. It’s definitely a different road from 30 years ago. That section was a great opportunity for overtaking. Just too busy now.

Sitting far enough back at 56mph would pretty well guarantee someone else (car/white van man ?) overtaking me so that I'd then have another vehicle between myself and the truck. This would actually make things worse, as the vehicle in question would probably brake and swerve in front on seeing the obstruction (very) late. Particularly dodgy wherever there's a bend.

I'll give you that. But it would be much safer to sit 150m behind the front truck, and be able to see ahead, whilst the truck I'd just overtaken was sat 48m behind me. We'd all be able to see what was ahead then.

Sometimes there's no point, but sometimes I want to get in front of a vehicle if it's very windy or if they're driving erratically.

Any lorries doing 56mph on this road would be 16mph over their speed limit.

To those people arguing that there is not much lost by sitting behind a heavy goods vehicle doing 56mph on the A82 I would suggest looking at the different speed limits for heavier vehicles.

While for a car the A82 is 60 mph, for a van it is 50 (which many on here will own), and for a goods vehicle in excess of 7.5T it is 40 mph. 

So that theoretical 10 miles, at 60 mph 10 minutes, at 40 it is 15 minutes, over a long run up the A82 or A9 where you may be doing 80 or more miles at that speed it becomes 1:20 to 2:00. Would you really want a journey taking an extra 40 minutes just to avoid passing a vehicle?

I'll hold my hand up to that bit of thread derailment, however it was in reply to someone who talked about a truck doing 56... However since 7.5Te and above will be going so much slower than the cars can, it means you will get to back of the next one even quicker.

In an earlier life I commuted Matlock / Stockport - what I found (eventually) was top speed makes bugger all difference to journey time, because there was always another truck / tractor / caravan 'in the way' and usually less than a mile up the road.

Maybe the A85 is different and there are only 2 - 3 trucks in that 15 mile stretch at any one time, and no vans etc, but it does seem unlikely

Chill becomes a problem. Also known as "without due care and attention".

If your vehicle has an average speed readout then that may be a better approach since your speed is more likely to change to suit the hazard conditions and drivers remain more engaged.

maybe they could sort the state of the road out - potholes and don't get me started about the Loch Lomond section - Certain Death !!

Yes, much better we all drive like maniacs. I find it certainly keeps me fully alert.

No, in this context chilled simply means not getting stressed about the journey taking a bit longer because you have to drive a bit slower and because it's not worth taking every overtaking opportunity.

Makes no odds. Since limiters came in there is no doing 40 laden on the way out and 65 empty on the way back: 56 is the de facto speed limit everywhere for trucks. They don't get to make a living any other way. And yes, even on the A82(T), if they are in a DAF or Merc and the load CofG is not too high. The reality of the English/A9(T) 50 limit is that 57 is the normal trigger for prosecution and the trucks can only do 56, to effectively the govt has just given in to the reality of the limiter situation. 

Yes.

'When I grow up I want to be alive.'

Good call. Besides, in twisty roads HGV have to really slow down in the bends and takes them a while to accelerate again slowing down farther. I don't really blame HGV's for going slow, they have to, so it is what it is, not the drivers fault.

 But what really gets my goat is people like some posters sugest above sitting behind them happily at the same low speed for miles on end, making it impossible for the people behind to safely overtake without having to do a triple or quadruple overtake which quickly develops into a long convoy of vehicles doing 30 in a 60mph road due to the lorry slowing down in the bends. The A30 around Devon is particularly bad for that where a couple of selfish drivers can easily add hours to your journey

Good news.  On any road I've driven that has average cameras (the A14 near us has had them for years), the traffic flow has been greatly improved and markedly better than when the same limit has been enforced by spot cameras.

If the opportunity to safely overtake is there then you could have chosen to overtaken the truck yourself.  If you have chosen not too, then remaining behind the truck but also keeping a sensible gap will allow others to conduct their overtakes more safely.  Safer for them, safer for you, safer for others. 

If the overtaking car needs to slot into the gap between you and the truck as part of their phased overtake then simply drop back a bit further to give them a little more room once they have done so.  This maintains your safety margin and increases your forward visibility.

The A82 is a vastly different road from the A14.  The A14 is a severely congested dual carriageway that's mostly flat and straight.  You'd be lucky to achieve 40mph on it on some days!

I don't care if I slow you down, my safety comes first so I don't overtake. I am happy to be selfish when my safety is what is at stake. 

You don't need to sit that far back to make it safe. You only need to know that you can safely stop if the vehicle in front does and that will naturally leave enough space to spot pot holes etc. If another car choses to be dangerous with overtaking then you ease off and let them in. It's a very rare occurrence, whereas crashes through hasty overtakes are not rare.

That is, of course, fine, but, if you have no intention of overtaking, it is important and good manners to hang back far enough behind the vehicle in front for the car behind you to bne able to safely overtake you and pull in between you and the vehicle in front.

I leave a safe stopping distance, what other drivers do is their issue. If they do try and overtake and find they don't have time then of course I ease off otherwise I am again in danger from them. People need to leave enough time to not rush country roads! 

It is also better for the environment for us all to drive at steady speeds.

 By sitting there you are putting yourself in danger. First off, you have no visibility of what is happening ahead. Then on top of that you will be the cause for an impatient driver to try and overtake several vehicles at once possibly causing in accident in which you might be affected.

 If you do not want to overtake and want to ensure your safety, you have to leave enough gap to allow people to do so, or pull over once in a while to let people go through. That is i believe mentioned in the Hoghway code, so not only you'd be selfish and affecting the flow of traffic negatively, you are also in contravention of the highway code

In that case then it's all good. The '2 second gap' rule while doing 50mph gives a 44m gap, which is plenty to allow people to overtake. If however the gap you leave is any less then that is not a safe stopping distance, so yet again it comes back to the highway code and who is the one driver creating a hazard

You can hardly call the A82 or A9 country roads!

As a regular traveller on the A82, where tightly spaced queues readily form behind camper vans, amen to this.

Especially when the front vehicle is a gritter.

I don't need to see further than the truck if I am not planning on overtaking. I only need to be able to stop.

I cannot be held responsible for someone else's recklessness. If they do reckless overtakes and need to squeeze in then I allow them to.

If I am not the front of the queue, then pulling over does no good, there is still a 40mph truck at the front of the queue! 

The A82 is! There are a couple of short sections with some visibility, but very few and it is a road riddled with accidents in the summer.

Nobody is talking about let alone excusing reckless overtaking. Can you not see that, if you have no in intention of overtaking (which is perfectly reasonable), then it is polite and sensible to leave a big enough gap in front of you for cars to overtake you when it is safe to do so and pull in without any need to squeeze in. If you do not do so, there is of course no excuse for reckless squeezing in or multiple overtaking, but you are preventing chances to overtake safely

I don't agree with that. Driving along a windy road with speed limits and lots of oncoming traffic is difficult enough to do safely. To have to worry about the needs of those behind to go faster is unreasonable, so I don't. I just try to be courteous to everyone, which mean's, almost entirely, to try not to endanger them. 

Why do you consider overtaking to be reckless?  Overtaking provided it's done properly is perfectly legal and sometimes a procession of traffic trundling along at well below the speed limit behind a truck, with seemingly no desire for anyone to overtake, cannot be passed safely in one go. 

Hence the need for staged overtaking, overtaking the convoy in stages as conditions, visibility and safety allows.  For some reason this perfectly legal maneuver frequently seems to wind other drivers up - probably because those drivers are nose to tail and haven't allowed enough room between each other in the first place.  Hence I guess they feel that the overtaker is somehow squeezing in?

It is not in any way difficult to slow down a bit for a few seconds to allow a good gap to open up in front of you. It even has the benefit of improving your own safety.

It is not in any way unreasonable to allow safe overtaking. On the contrary it is unreasonable and discourteous not to do so - simply bad driving.

Except that you have justy admitted that you arer not.

You were talking about people overtaking multiple vehicles. That is reckless.

Well, no. You must be a better driver than me. Give nervous drivers like me some slack. It is unreasonable to pressure other drivers into having to take into account more than they can safely manage. My commute today includes a few miles of windy narrow B road, often too narrow for a white line in the middle. In my and everyone else's interests I take it as slowly as seems safe for us all, yet more often than not I have cars behind me wanting to overtake, in my view unsafely, putting me under pressure. F*ck'em, I say.

I drive a lot in that sort of roads and i'm shit at it, driving slower through them than your average granny.

Invariably, there will always be some local who can drive them with the eyes closed at 90mph with a bottle of whisky in their system manifesting themselves in my rear view mirror. All i do, is to pull over at the first chance i get and let them through. That has the benefit of not being pressured to drive too fast for my skills, letting the local go on with his business happily, and gives me a bit of a warm glow knowing i'm not a selfish plank who just held someone back for no reason other than pure "f*ck them".

I'm with Robert on this. People driving too close together makes overtaking much more dangerous. It's fair enough if you don't want to overtake - people shouldn't be doing things they don't feel safe/confident to do - but there's no reason not to leave sufficient space between you and the vehicle ahead of you that another car could move into during their overtake. There's absolutely no reason not to do that - it makes you safer anyway by giving you better visibility and more time to stop.

Well do that too, as I did today to the fancy BMW that pulled off the A30 on to the B road, just behind me, looking like it would want to take the rest far faster than I would. 

It's not quite as crude as f* 'em all, all the time, as I guess you can imagine.

No I wasn't. I was talking about having the courtesy to leave a big enough gap to allow safe overtaking of a single vehicle. Anyway, overtaking multiuple vehicles can sometimes be perfectly safe.

The suggestion was that I was causing an impatient driver to overtake multiple vehicles. The fact that they are impatient is the problem! I don't cause anyone to overtake, that is entirely their decision. If they do a rash overtake manoeuvre then they are reckless

A quote from your message:

Then on top of that you will be the cause for an impatient driver to try and overtake several vehicles at once possibly causing in accident

Where did I say I drive too close? I leave a safe and legal stopping distance and if I need to drop back because someone doesn't make it past then I do. I have a high sense of self preservation when driving!

You are entitled to drive as slowly as you like (I did not suggest you had to drive faster), and if the road is too narrow for safe overtaking then obviously nobody should be overtaking, but if you choose to drive more slowly than others, you should allow overtaking when it is safe to do so or, if necessary, by pulling over occasionally to allow it. 

An aware and couteous driver will ideally "invite" overtaking when opportunities arise by slowing slightly and pulling slightly left, That way the car behind knows that the driver in front is aware of their presence and expecting to be overtaken.

That wasn't me wrote that! In fact I specifically said in my post at 19.03 that failure to leave a big enough gap to allow safe overtaking does not excuse dangerous overtaking.

I may inconvenience the driver behind me not not enabling them to go as fast as they would like, but if so this is not the prime intention, which is to not endanger anyone. That driver's desire to go faster is trumped by my concern to ensure all our safety. Sorry. And it's not like I'm a tractor. I do also want to get where I am going.

Drivers in the UK are dreadful for not pulling over. I don't know whether people are oblivious to the queues behind them or just don't give a shit but either way it ends up with the same result - massive frustration and eventually dangerous overtaking. I find it really stressful having traffic behind me if I know I'm going a lot slower than the speed limit and I'd rather just pull over to let them past!

There is also a special place in hell for people (usually in much better cars than mine) who pootle along really slowly until you come to a nice clear overtaking stretch and then suddenly accelerate, meaning that you can't get past them safely.

Fair enough. The closest i've ever come to coming off the road has always been when i tried going faster due to someone up my arse in small twisty roads, so a long time ago i decided it's best for everyone to have a more holistic attitude to dealing wth them, so if someone wants to go faster it doesn't bother me in the slightest to pull over. Much more relaxing driving those roads when you got nobody behind.
 

I thought the point that was being made was that if you needed to drop back to give someone space to pull in then you weren't leaving enough of a gap. It may be an adequate gap for your own safety but it might be more courteous and help traffic flow if you left enough space to facilitate overtaking.

Word. Grrrrr...

You are not increasing anyone's safety. You are simply being discourteous and a bit selfish. What is your problem with leaving a big enough gap to allow safe overtaking?

Whatever, Robert. I am just trying to get from A to B without hurting anyone.

Mainly, I am not behind something slower than me, but am the slow thing behind things that seem to want to go faster than me, often faster than seems safe.

Not necessarily there are many places with plenty of room to overtake large numbers of vehicles If you can’t see this maybe you shouldn’t be driving.

My version of enough space and theirs is quite different! My approach to stopping distances is similar to that of overtaking. 

I actually driver wee roads at a reasonable speed if no vehicle is in front of me. I am usually at or near the speed limit if conditions allow. I just see no reason to endanger myself or others by driving close or being in the opposing carriageway. Life is precious and there is no need to increase the risk to save a minute or two

Maybe you shouldn't be if you do think it's safe!

I spend my summer driving all over Scotland, often with clients in the vehicle. Most of my clients are french and they comment on how calm and courteous Scottish drivers are. I also regularly passed trashed cars, have to take diversions around crashes and get alarmed by the number of near misses I see. 

Sit back, chill and sing along to your tunes. Don't rush and endanger people.

My apologies, I didn't follow properly who I was writing to.

Speak for yourself. 

The safety of an overtake is purely a function of time spent overtaking versus the distance you can see so obviously the more vehicles you overtake the further you need to be able to see but it is not fundamentally unsafe to overtake several vehicles if you have a clear line of sight. Understanding things like this is part of the basics of driving. 

Do you drive in France much? This will not come as a surprise to anyone who does. As for Corsica, that’s another level of crazy.

That's a very sensible attitude which keeps the blood pressure of yourself and the faster driver low.

Really?

I've driven a fair bit in France and in Corsica as well and not noticed much poor driving. 

Nairobi on the other hand..

I have done, but mostly in the Alps where I favoured the French drivers over the Brits due to the presence of snow on mountain roads! They may have driven like loonies, but at least they had winter tyres and knew how to drive on snow!! I once had to drive in Paris and hated it, but I don't like driving in Edinburgh so I guess that is no surprise! 

My French clients have often driven in England and are comparing the Scots with the English quite often. I presume it's just that there are fewer of us up here so it's easier 

Quite.

I guess some people have a bit more confidence than others, are better judges of speed and distance and perhaps have a car that accelerates and brakes better than others.

What can be a real menace is people driving too close to the car in front. If for some reason an overtaking vehicle has to pull into that space then things get problematic.

Why shouldn't I be driving if I don't feel overtaking multiple vehicles is a good idea? It does not make me in any way a dangerous driver. People don't crash due to lack of overtaking! 

It's not that I can't see spaces, it's that I don't think being in the opposing lane is a good idea. Someone else might have the same idea and pull out without checking their blind spot and hit you at the very moment you are gaining speed to pass. The vehicle you are passing might swerve to avoid a pothole or animal without checking mirrors etc. You are increasing your risk by overtaking and I chose not to. You are also increasing your exhaust emissions, which is also not a very nice thing to do!

Some are genuinely better at judging speed and distance, some are merely confident that they are

Do you mean the eagle eyed overtaker has to swerve his superior car into a non-gap? Surely if he* can judge speed and distance so well, and has a clear line of sight then such a thing  would never occur.

* and I'm guessing it's usually a "he"

The figures I gave were only to fit into the 200m given earlier.

You only need to know that you can safely stop if the vehicle in front does and that will naturally leave enough space to spot pot holes etc.

Unfortunately, some plonker in a 4-wheeled metal box with seat belts and all-around air bags (and maybe a distracting phone call ?) has a different view as to what is a sensible gap compared to the view of someone on 2 wheels. You try slamming on your brakes on a motorcycle when you're slightly leaning over taking a bend - you might find the end result "unnecessarily exciting".

The problem with the approach of speed cameras is the continuation of a narrative over the last twenty years which says 'speed kills'. This is simplistic (and let's be honest, humans seem to like over simplistic 'solutions'), and leads to people believing they're perfectly safe drivers, despite not being in control of their vehicle in corners, driving too close, not paying attention...etc etc. Sure, speed in excess of the limit is sometimes a factor in accidents but the bigger one is speed in excess of either the car's ability, the driver's ability, or the conditions. Witness the number of near misses caused by rented camper vans 'doing' the NC500. 

I've been chastised by some climbers I've given lifts to for driving too fast. Yet these same people will believe they're safe drivers because they do 50mph everywhere...including 40mph zones, drive way too close to other cars in heavy rain on motorways, up icy roads or round blind corners on single track roads. It's all about appropriate speed, and that's a far harder line to quantify, and of course most adults don't like to think that they're not good at something that everyone else does. Too many drivers think that because they've been driving x number of years they're safe and therefore complacency creeps in as they place no desire on ensuring they are always looking to improve their ability. That's where the real danger lies...

The problem arrises when you get half a dozen drivers who are content to sit behind a lorry driving at 38mph. The impatient drivers then 'need' to overtake multiple vehicles and will take unnecessary risks. The key to this is understanding that both parties share some blame if anything goes wrong. Slow cars could, rather than trundle along behind other slow cars, pull over every now and again to stop the build up of traffic. If you are not in a rush then why not do this? It gives the overtaker a safer passage if they only need to pass 1 vehicle.  Overtaking must be one of the most dangerous activities on the road. If slow drivers were forced to pull over, say it was law, fast drivers would be less likely to overtake as they would know the car in front will pull over soon.

I'm not a fast driver by the way. I usually travel with my dog in the car and if I'm stuck behind lots of slow(er) vehicles I stop for 10 mins and take the dog for a walk. I also pull over if I have a driver on my bumper who is obviously keen to overtake. Mainly for my safety, not theirs.

Eire has it right.
A lot of roads have 'hard shoulders' marked by a yellow line, where slow drivers can indicate left, drift onto, maybe slow down a bit, so vehicles can pass.

Are the cameras 'clever' enough to notice that it is an HGV for example and then apply the relevant speed limit?

Good question. I suspect that they are - they will access a database which identifies the type of vehicle.

New Zealand too. It works very well.

Do they really work? I know people who regularly break the speed limit on the A9. They never receive fines unless the cops are standing there with a gun.