Robert Marshall, who is a longtime road safety campaigner in Scotland, has launched the new ‘T’ plate, which is designed to alert local drivers to the fact that a holidaying motorist is in their midst
Motorists can now slap a ‘T’ plate on their vehicles when driving on holiday.
Where the ‘L’ and ‘P’ plates are common sights on our roads, the ‘T’ plate is a new addition to the furniture of the highways.
The ‘tourist’ plate is designed to alert other drivers to your newly arrived status in the area, warning them that they may wish to hang back a little as you take on tricky bits of road for the first time.
It is the brainchild of Robert Marshall, who is a longtime road safety campaigner in Scotland. Along with Laura Hansler, Robert has been fighting hard to reduce deadly crashes on the notorious A9, which runs up the centre of Scotland.
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The single-carriageway nature of the road means drivers face getting stuck behind lorries or overtaking on short stretches of tarmac. For those just visiting the area, this can be difficult and dangerous. Scotland’s post-COVID rise as a road trip destination has exacerbated the problems.
Drivers Domain UK warns: “Tourists also pose a problem – a number are often distracted by the stunning scenery and don’t pay full attention to the road. In the winter months, the A9 can see some of Scotland’s worst weather. Deer strikes on the A9 are also common.”
Laura tested out the ‘T’ plate on Friday. She was pleased and surprised by the results, with many drivers dropping back to give the tourist’s vehicle more room.
“On a 15-mile stretch of road, I pulled out in front of a different vehicle, let the vehicle gain on me, and looked to see what would happen. I tested it on white vans, HGVs, cars and wood trucks. There was a definite marked pullback, without hesitation. I was surprised by how much,” she told the Mirror.
“People were far more polite than I thought they’d be.”
Robert came up with the idea for the ‘T’ plate following a trip to Tenerife, when he grew “sick and tired of people coming up behind him” on the roads. Stress levels rose so high that he ended up in tears.
His experience may be familiar to those who have attempted to drive a hire car on a busy road while on holiday.
For those who don’t live along the 273-mile length of the A9, Scotland’s longest trunk road delivers a similar thigh-clenching experience. The stretch between Perth and Inverness will now not be dualled until 2035, ten years after the Scottish Government first promised to complete the project.
Since 2012, there have been 51 fatalities and 208 serious casualties on the A9. The worst year came in 2022 when there were 13 deaths in a single year. According to Laura, there was “a massive spike at the end of 2022.”
“People are losing homes and husbands. What COVID brought about was a lot of homegrown tourists. The number of motorhomes and campervans, whether loaned or hired, is phenomenal. We’ve not quite hit the peak with that,” she continued. “The place can be quite saturated.”
‘T’ plates are available to buy online now for £9.99.