How to use passing places without annoying everyone!
After 23 years of driving the single-track roads around the North Coast 500, I am always watching two things: where my vehicle is positioned and what is approaching in the distance. If I cannot confidently reach the next passing place before an oncoming vehicle, I stop at the one beside me. I may flash my headlights to make the other driver aware of my presence, although a flash must never be treated as an invitation to proceed, and I indicate before moving left. Waiting for certainty is always better than meeting another vehicle halfway between two passing places.
If the passing place is on your left, pull into it and leave enough room for another vehicle behind if the space allows. If it is on your right, do not cross the road into it. Stop close to the left-hand verge, opposite the centre of the passing place, and allow the oncoming vehicle to move around you through the space. Passing places work from either direction, which is why they are positioned more closely around bends and blind summits than on open sections with long views. They are provided for passing, reversing and overtaking, not for parking, photographs or picnics.
Traffic behind you matters just as much as traffic ahead. If a faster vehicle catches you, use the next suitable passing place and allow it to overtake. Indicate clearly and, once safely positioned, reinforce the invitation with an arm signal if necessary, although the following driver must still decide when it is safe to pass. Do not allow a tight convoy of three vehicles to form because many passing places cannot contain them all. When an oncoming vehicle appears, the final car may be left blocking the road and its driver may be unable or unwilling to reverse. Break up the convoy and continue with clear space around you.
Never drive onto the verge because you cannot face reversing. Soft ground can pull a vehicle into a ditch, while the broken edge of the tarmac can damage the vulnerable inner wall of a tyre. A moment of avoidance can become several hours awaiting recovery, followed by a journey to Inverness, an emergency hotel room and two lost days of your holiday. The Highway Code specifically tells drivers to reverse to a passing place when necessary and to pull over rather than hold up traffic. Local people may be travelling to school, visiting a patient, repairing essential equipment or responding to an emergency. They are not part of your sightseeing adventure. Check ahead, check your mirrors and let them pass. If you cannot reverse your vehicle safely for 50 metres, you should not be driving it on a single-track road.
If this concerns you at all, book one of our North Coast Explorer private tours.