Driving on Single Track Roads
Always drive on the LEFT – Keep LEFT
Whether driving your own vehicle or a rental vehicle, if you’re used to driving on the other side of the road, it’s a challenge to remember to KEEP LEFT. It’s probably most difficult when you’re making a turn on to another road. It’s a good time for the driver to encourage some ‘back seat driving’ and get everyone to remind the driver, whenever they’re turning, to repeat something like:
- We’re turning left and we need to KEEP LEFT, or
- We’re turning right and we need to KEEP LEFT
Please take the time to rest. Do not drive when you’re tired – the driver needs to be especially alert. Stay safe.
Oncoming traffic
If you’ve never driven on single track roads before, then you’ve a whole new skill to learn! There is only one lane of road for the traffic travelling in both directions. Things to remember are:
- Look ahead – as you approach a passing place, if there’s already a vehicle between you and the next passing place then pull in to the LEFT and wait for the oncoming vehicle to go past you.
- Do not drive off the road surface. Please stay on the road surface – driving on the grass ruins the ecosystem, damages the road edge, can often give you a flat tyre, or you can end up in a hidden ditch!
- Be prepared to reverse (back up). If you and a vehicle coming towards you, end up meeting not at a passing place – the vehicle closest to a passing place should reverse in to it. This means you will need to be able to reverse your vehicle with confidence. If you don’t like driving backwards then pay extra special attention not to drive past a passing place when there’s a car coming towards you!
- Plan ahead – nearly always when you come to a passing place you can glance ahead and see the next one – or sometimes the next two or three. If there’s a vehicle travelling towards you, THINK – where are we going to pass each other. Plan ahead!
Be repared to reverse (drive backwards)
If you aren’t confident and proficient at driving backwards, then driving on single track roads isn’t for you.
If you’ve rented a vehicle, especially if it’s a motorhome, make sure you can put it in to reverse and back up confidently.
To avoid the need for backing up be especially cautious of driving past a passing place if there’s already a vehicle between you and the next passing place.
Never park in a passing place
Passing places must only be used for pausing to:
- allow traffic coming towards you to go past you
- allow traffic wanting to travel faster to get ahead of you
When a passing place is on a bend or at the brow of a hill, keep left so that you don’t collide with oncoming vehicles – the extra road width the passing place provides is there to help with visibility.
Pull in to let traffic pass you
Hopefully you’re enjoying your visit. You may not be travelling as fast as you might at home. The scenery and the fresh air can do that to you!
Whether you’re driving a car, camper van or motorhome – if you’ve got traffic behind you, pull over in a lay-by or passing place and let the traffic pass. This could be local people going to work, going to an important appointment or taking the children to school.
Because the roads are busy and often winding and mountainous it can be difficult to overtake. So please be thoughtful, those you let pass you will be very appreciative and give you a wave or a bip of their horn. By letting vehicles pass you’ll be reducing frustration and helping everyone stay safe. Thank you.
Spare a thought for our “posties” – the postal delivery workers have their work cut out for them on busy single track roads. Their red vehicles are quite distinctive. Please always try to give them priority – they’ve an important job to do.
Avoid becoming part of a convoy
Whether you’re travelling with other vehicles or on your own, when you’re driving on single track roads avoid making a convoy of three or more vehicles.
Most passing places can only take two or at most three small vehicles. If three or more vehicles travelling together in one direction meet three or more vehicles travelling in the other direction then they have great difficulty in getting past one another.
To avoid making a convoy, slow down a bit so that the vehicles in front get a passing place or two ahead of you. If someone behind is keen to get past then pull in to a passing place and let them go past you. Then when the road’s clear, drive on, but let the faster vehicle get at least another passing place ahead of you (i.e. don’t tailgate).
“Over the sea to Skye.”