Overtaking lanes – Do you know your limits?

This week marks the start of a four-week advertising campaign at various service stations along the A96, reminding motorists of the presence of overtaking lanes and the speed limits that apply to them.

Overtaking lanes exist to allow unrestricted vehicles, such as cars and motorcycles, to safely overtake speed restricted vehicles including good vehicles, cars that are towing caravans or trailers and buses and coaches and have the same speed limits as a single lane road.

Eric Dunion, Area Manager of Police Scotland’s North Safety Camera Unit says, ‘Our main aim is to slow motorists down to the appropriate speed and help to make our roads safer for all users.  We hope that by advertising on fuel pumps along the A96, which features several overtaking lanes, we can highlight the correct speeds to all motorists and get them thinking about their speeds as they fill up their vehicles

Many motorists mistakenly believe that the presence of a second lane means that the speed limit has been raised to that of a dual carriageway, however the definition of a dual carriageway is “a road which has a central reservation to separate the carriageways” therefore no central reservation equals no increase in speed limit.’

Ends.
20/05/2026