A caravan refusing to pull over ruined our scenic Scottish journey - why do selfish drivers towing tourers think they rule the roads?
Published: | Updated:
Heading up to Glencoe along the single carriageway A82 recently, cruising at the 60mph speed limit, we were making good time and enjoying the sweeping elemental scenery as the Highlands began to unfurl in all their glory.
Towering cliffs arose, peaks of Munros loomed and scree tumbled down to great flinty lochs.
It was a joyous drive, especially after negotiating clogged motorways from Derbyshire, where we began. This was a treat we’d been looking forward to, widely considered one of Britain’s most scenic roads.
And then we came to a virtual standstill. We’d joined a queue of at least 20 vehicles, led by a motorhome, though it may have been a caravan.
Our speed fell to 30mph, peaking if we were lucky at a heady 35mph. Soon 20 or 30 cars (probably more) were stuck behind us adding to the motorcade.
Yet, in an act of outright selfishness affecting well over a hundred people, the motorhome/caravan did not pull over in one of the many laybys. It was a blatant act of anti-social behaviour.
Caravans have to take it steady...but why can't they learn to pull over and let others pass?
We crawled along for half an hour imagining the smug driver ahead stubbornly blocking the way – no doubt believing in their right to drive at whatever speed they pleased.
This is legally correct. The Highway Code does not stipulate a minimum speed limit aside from some tunnels or bridges.
Join the discussion
Should caravans pull over rather than hold up traffic - or do they have the right to make others drive at their pace?
Everywhere else, you can go as slowly as you like – in theory – even on motorways. Although on the latter, police could issue a verbal warning if it put others at risk. In extreme circumstances, ‘you could be prosecuted for careless driving’, says the RAC, with potential £100 fines.
Yet the law on any other road, such as the A82, permits slow-going, even at half the limit.
But the Camping and Caravanning Club, established in 1907 when most caravans were horse-drawn, is clear. It says that if slow driving ‘leads to a build up of traffic behind your unit, pull over when it is safe to do so to allow faster vehicles to pass’.
This is sensible advice, not just to prevent hold-ups. Not doing so can also encourage risky overtaking.
Motorhome moans: While they can legally drive slower, sitting behind a holiday home on wheels can be frustrating for other vehicles on the road
Slow ride: Tom experienced this first-hand during a trip through Glencoe to the Scottish Highlands
Up in the Highlands for ten days on my recent climbing trip, I witnessed this first-hand. Dicey manoeuvres were common, often involving high-powered vehicles overtaking several cars at once in caravan/motorhome bottlenecks.
In a recent statement, the letting broker Nationwide Vehicle Contracts confirmed the dangers of such hold-ups, saying slow driving causes ‘frustration’ that ‘can anger other drivers, leading to tailgating, dangerous overtakes and reckless driving’.
It’s a recognised problem. Yet many caravan and motorhome drivers seem not to care a jot.
Tension between caravans/motorhomes and other drivers could easily be avoided – if only the slowcoaches would pull over a little more often.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.