Scotland Keeps 60mph Limit on Single Carriageways

Plans to drop the national speed limit on Scottish single carriageways from 60mph to 50mph have been scrapped, after an overwhelming majority of drivers told Transport Scotland they'd got it wrong.

The public consultation, which ran from November 2024 to March 2025, received nearly 20,000 responses. The result? A resounding 77% said the current 60mph limit is about right, while 90% didn't believe cutting speeds would actually reduce casualties.

The Right Call

This is welcome news for anyone who drives Scotland's stunning A-roads. A blanket 50mph limit would have done little to address the real causes of rural road incidents (driver skill, observation, and judgement) while frustrating competent drivers and probably increasing dangerous overtaking.

Transport Scotland's cabinet secretary Fiona Hyslop acknowledged that "one death on our roads is one too many," but crucially recognised that arbitrarily lowering limits isn't the answer.

What Happens Next?

Rather than the blunt instrument of reduced limits, Scotland will focus on:

• Analysing road-specific speed impacts rather than blanket changes
• Increasing HGV limits on single and dual carriageways
• Reducing speed differentials between lorries and other traffic—addressing a genuine frustration that leads to risky overtakes

That last point is particularly sensible. The closing speed between a car at 60mph and an HGV at 40mph creates exactly the conditions that encourage poorly-judged overtakes.

The Bigger Picture

Scotland's goal remains achieving the world's safest roads by 2030. Frustratingly the quickest fix would be more driver training, but as that's deemed a voluntary activity, we'll be back to more enforcement no doubt.

December 2025