Warning for millions of drivers who 'blindly' obey long-standing uk law

PAUL BARKER, EDITOR OF AUTO EXPRESS, HAS WARNED DRIVERS OVER HOW TO ADJUST YOUR SPEED BASED OH WHAT ROAD YOU ARE ON AND OTHER DRIVING CONDITIONS. 14:53, 03 Jun 2025 Drivers must follow a

simple rule to decide what speed to drive at, according to an expert. Paul Barker, editor of Auto Express, has warned drivers over how to adjust your speed based oh what road you are on and

other driving conditions. ‌Mr Barker said: "Blindly following the posted limit is the peak of bad driving, and being under the limit is no defence in the case of a collision. "If

you can see a road is badly maintained, then reducing speed to prevent car damage is one example, as is encountering something like a cycling event on a country road or backing off near a

playground, before even considering the dangers created by the weather." READ MORE UK FACES 'SPANISH SCORCHER' HEATWAVE WITH 31C AS EXACT DATE IT STARTS ANNOUNCED ‌Mr Barker

said: "The key thing motorists should always remember is to drive to the conditions, rather than the posted limit. Weather, particularly fog, ice and wet weather mean driving at the

speed limit would be perfectly safe in the dry – be it 30mph or 70mph – but dangerously irresponsible when conditions are treacherous. Article continues below "Similarly, driving past a

school at 30mph or 40mph in the middle of the night is a very different proposition to 3.30pm when children are pouring out of classes and not necessarily paying attention to what is around

them." Mr Barker said: "There are times, especially on higher-speed roads, where driving too slowly can be hazardous. "On a motorway or dual carriageway, a vehicle driving at

significantly below the speed trucks and larger vehicles are travelling, for example, can cause problems if drivers coming up behind them don't anticipate the speed differential and,

at best, have to take sudden avoiding action." Article continues below He explained: "Not even to get out of the way of emergency vehicles, where you are still expected to follow

the highway code completely. "Emergency vehicles with trained drivers, and only when on emergency calls, are the only vehicles allowed to exceed the speed limit."