K2k6 reminded me...
... of a trip I made up the A9 many years ago.

Now, for those who don't know it, it's worth pointing out that the A9 is the most dangerous road in the UK. The section that joins Perth to Inverness is a weird mixture of dual-carriageway and single-carriageway, with not much space to overtake on the single-carriageway bits. Just after the bit that K2k6 was talking about, the two halves of the dual-carriageway separate by a couple of hundred yards, so when you're heading north you appear to be on a two-lane road with no obvious indication that it's half a dual carriageway. The southbound half is 100 feet or so above you, and you can't see it for the trees that grow in the massive "central reservation". With this in mind, it's easy to see how when you're tired and "get-home-itis" has set in, you can get confused between the dual- and single-carriageway sections.

So it came to pass that I was held up behind a van. "I'll get him after this bend", I thought, "No hang on, it's dual." <snick> and I cogged my trusty steed down one (Mercedes W123 230TE, huge old 80s bus of a thing) and started to pass.

It wasn't dual, was it?

I got back in with a reasonable amount of room to spare. What seriously braketested the car coming the other way was the chap on a bike who'd followed me out. He managed to squeeze through the gap between me and the southbound car, but he was close enough that I could read his clocks...

I saw him stopped for a fag in a layby about a mile further on. So, I stopped to share my flask of tea. By fsck he looked like he needed it.
(gordonjcp, Tue 17 Feb 2009, 10:54, 2 replies)

My mate
did exactly the same many years ago. At Dunkeld. With 5 of us in the car.

I saw the lights coming towards us, and yelled, "Ian, this isn't a dual carriageway".

"Oh shit", quoth Ian, and knocked it down a couple of gears, just making it past the lorry.

It's not the best of roads.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Tue 17 Feb 2009, 11:20, closed)

Know it well....
And have done the Perth to Wick trip a few times. The only Darwinism is from the cunts in the authorities who think they won't get lynched by not sorting it out. I think it was around 30 deaths last summer...
(wormburn, Tue 17 Feb 2009, 16:33, closed)