Ever decreasing speed limits!

[chrisd]

My gripe is the unfair use of variable sped cameras for entrapment. We have some on the M20 where you are varied between, say, 60 and 50 mph, then a couple of 70 mph and the next one will be 50 for no obvious reason but that the one that has the speed cameras working. Sometimes that'll be the only working, with a restricted speed, in daytime with hardly any traffic on the road!

Cash cows!

 

[delc]

My gripe is the unfair use of variable sped cameras for entrapment. We have some on the M20 where you are varied between, say, 60 and 50 mph, then a couple of 70 mph and the next one will be 50 for no obvious reason but that the one that has the speed cameras working. Sometimes that'll be the only working, with a restricted speed, in daytime with hardly any traffic on the road!

Cash cows!

The Government is now allowing Local Councils to keep the money raised by speed cameras, so no wonder there are so many ridiculous speed limits springing up!

 

[FairwayDodger]

It's going to be great sitting in 2nd or 3rd gear all the time...surely it will increase emissions with everyone over revving their way across town.

Most people will ignore it.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

No probs with reducing speed limits if they have been done for specific reason and through a study

Shouldn't be to gain money

I'll just leave a bit earlier

 

[Hacker Khan]

Anybody who commutes on the M3 through Surrey are having their lives made a misery due to roadworks to turn it into a so called "Smart Motorway". These are ongoing until the end of next year. The idea is that at certain times of day motorists may drive on the hard shoulder with a reduced speed limit and lots of very expensive signage. Don't know what you are supposed to do if your car breaks down or has a puncture, because there is nowhere to pull off! :mmm:

They monitor the lanes constantly so if someone breaks down then they immediately put up the cross signs to stop people driving in the inside lane (they are no longer the hard shoulder). Also there are still pull in points every so often so you can pull in and be off the inside lane. They have had these types of motorway around Birmingham for ages and they do work well.

 

[Hacker Khan]

My gripe is the unfair use of variable sped cameras for entrapment. We have some on the M20 where you are varied between, say, 60 and 50 mph, then a couple of 70 mph and the next one will be 50 for no obvious reason but that the one that has the speed cameras working. Sometimes that'll be the only working, with a restricted speed, in daytime with hardly any traffic on the road!

Cash cows!

The speed limits are controlled using traffic counters in the roads that will automatically slow down the speed if the amount of traffic goes over a threshold. It is probably the tolerances for the threshold that are causing this issue.

Studies have proven that slowing people down to say 60 on a very busy motorway does mean that traffic flows better than people going from 80 to 50 back up to 80 all the time, which is what mostly happens if there are no variable speed limits. But agree that slowing everyone down to 60 or 50 on a relatively clear motorway can be annoying.

 

[Tashyboy]

Could anyone explain what exactly a "smart motorway" is.

 

[Paul77]

The speed limits are controlled using traffic counters in the roads that will automatically slow down the speed if the amount of traffic goes over a threshold. It is probably the tolerances for the threshold that are causing this issue.

Studies have proven that slowing people down to say 60 on a very busy motorway does mean that traffic flows better than people going from 80 to 50 back up to 80 all the time, which is what mostly happens if there are no variable speed limits. But agree that slowing everyone down to 60 or 50 on a relatively clear motorway can be annoying.

That's actually a really valid point. I remember a thing Top Gear did with folk driving round a circle at a certain mph. Everyone had to stick to it. A simple task but ended in chaos

 

[woody69]

Anybody who commutes on the M3 through Surrey are having their lives made a misery due to roadworks to turn it into a so called "Smart Motorway". These are ongoing until the end of next year. The idea is that at certain times of day motorists may drive on the hard shoulder with a reduced speed limit and lots of very expensive signage. Don't know what you are supposed to do if your car breaks down or has a puncture, because there is nowhere to pull off! :mmm:

I'd suggest you wait until you get home to do that Del otherwise you'll be on here moaning about the lack of available dogging spots in no time at all.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Could anyone explain what exactly a "smart motorway" is.

Basically a motorway that uses traffic management systems/sensors to automatically close or open up the hard shoulder/inside lane and also to vary the speed limits to improve the flow of traffic.

 

[NWJocko]

Basically a motorway that uses traffic management systems/sensors to automatically close or open up the hard shoulder/inside lane and also to vary the speed limits to improve the flow of traffic.

Ones round Birmingham towards M42 work really well. Those and the average speed checks at roadworks rather than folk slowing down for speed cameras at certain points help the flow of traffic considerably in my experience.

 

[Imurg]

It's a rare occasion that I've been along the M42 and it hasn't been flowing well since they had this system.
It's on the M25 too, on the M4/M3 stretch....again, it seems to work although it takes much less to jam things up

 

[MegaSteve]

Spent too much time not going anywhere on the M25 between M3/M40 junctions to be convinced traffic management, using speed limits, offers any kind of a solution...

 

[Fyldewhite]

The new part of M74 motorway has permanent 50 and 60 limits. So why did they bother building it to motorway specifications.

Hmmm. I got done on this stretch just after it opened. I was travelling from Lancashire up to the Highlands (a journey I'd done many times before), had the cruise set at 74 mph (I know, I know but hardly the crime of the century) and had had this on since Preston up the M6/M74.....about 2 and a half hours. I found myself on the new stretch, thought I'd gone wrong somewhere as I didn't recognise it and was basically looking at the big overhead signs to try to get my bearings. Cue blue lights, I pulled over as I thought he was on an emergency, was surprised when he stopped me and genuinely had no idea why. It was dry, bright sunshine and all I could say was "you must be joking, it's a motorway" whereupon he smiled, pointed down the road to the bit where it goes to 50 from 60 and said "ya nid tae tek more notice o'the signs sir". Genuine mistake....simply hadn't seen the 60 signs, no real harm done, not a mistake I'd have made again if I'd just had a warning, but the other copper had already got the ticket written before I got in the back of the car. No discretion, no common sense, Gutted,

Since then, I've been a regular user of this stretch and very wary of it. I think the speed limit changes something like 70-60-50-60-70-60-50-70 over a 6 mile stretch.....the last 50 zone is about 400 yards!! Absolute nonsense.

 

[c1973]

Hmmm. I got done on this stretch just after it opened. I was travelling from Lancashire up to the Highlands (a journey I'd done many times before), had the cruise set at 74 mph (I know, I know but hardly the crime of the century) and had had this on since Preston up the M6/M74.....about 2 and a half hours. I found myself on the new stretch, thought I'd gone wrong somewhere as I didn't recognise it and was basically looking at the big overhead signs to try to get my bearings. Cue blue lights, I pulled over as I thought he was on an emergency, was surprised when he stopped me and genuinely had no idea why. It was dry, bright sunshine and all I could say was "you must be joking, it's a motorway" whereupon he smiled, pointed down the road to the bit where it goes to 50 from 60 and said "ya nid tae tek more notice o'the signs sir". Genuine mistake....simply hadn't seen the 60 signs, no real harm done, not a mistake I'd have made again if I'd just had a warning, but the other copper had already got the ticket written before I got in the back of the car. No discretion, no common sense, Gutted,

Since then, I've been a regular user of this stretch and very wary of it. I think the speed limit changes something like 70-60-50-60-70-60-50-70 over a 6 mile stretch.....the last 50 zone is about 400 yards!! Absolute nonsense.

Was the cop an extra from Whisky Galore?

 

[williamalex1]

Was the cop an extra from Whisky Galore?

Or maybe from " The Scot Squad" comedy :rofl:

 

[ScienceBoy]

Good thing in general, especially in towns if it gets more onto public transport.

 

[JustOne]

A stretch of a local urban A road, which had a 40 mph limit for donkeys years, was reduced to 30 mph a couple of years ago. The new 30 sign was very small and located just after a sharp bend with a new speed camera located about 50 yards further on. This caught out loads of local people, who hadn't realised that the limit had been changed! As I said, deliberate entrapment to generate speeding fines! :angry:

Sounds a good place (accident blackspot?).... it's when the road is STRAIGHT that it gets on my tits.

Our industrial park was a 40 and is now a 30...... the road is 3 lanes wide, the verges are a further 20ft either side, then there's a pavement and any buildings are a further 50ft from the road, NO HOUSES, kids playing or parked cars (double yellow) and the road is straight

 

[Foxholer]

Spent too much time not going anywhere on the M25 between M3/M40 junctions to be convinced traffic management, using speed limits, offers any kind of a solution...

While I sympathise with you, I'm certain that it DOES achieve its goals! But those goals are not what an individual driver considers their goal! I was an M25 user (J11 to J5 and/or J3) when the first 'active traffic management' (ie variable speed limits) were implemented. The morning tailback from Junction 11 instantly moved back to virtually Junction 10 and has not really moved since! However the total volume of vehicles that passed through J11 actually increased - throughput is actually the management goal, not speed!

However, there are some 'interesting' situations and I have a suspicion that the 'management' is not so much 'active' as 'automatic' based on time - something that was to be specifically excluded! There are also some interesting thoughts on what the various actual limits mean. 60 is pretty much pointless - though with potential to gather points! 50 often means there's been an incident/sitution somewhere ahead and, for me, is the only real one worth having! 40 and 30 are pointless/laughable, as you are probably barely moving when these are on - 'wouldn't it be nice' is the normal thought!

And a note on congestion! There will never be any less than the current level! While loads of money can/will be spent on increasing capacity/throughput, this will just mean that those drivers who have been put off using the particular road because of the congestion, will pour onto it, so the congestion will become the same - even though the throughput has increased!

The only way to reduce congestion on the roads permanently, imo, is to make Public Transport more efficient/desirable. And that's a huge ask! Edinburgh actually had/has a 'reasonable' (imo) approach, even if the execution is not always successful! The Council should, however, come clean and admit (even be proud of the fact) that it is actively hostile to cars in the central area - at least in rush hour!

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Spent too much time not going anywhere on the M25 between M3/M40 junctions to be convinced traffic management, using speed limits, offers any kind of a solution...

Fully agree

Went through the same area on wed morning going to Blackmoor - no accidents but the speed was restricted on the signs to 40 mph which ground the cars to halt - then past terminal 5 and the signs disappear and traffic flows at 70 and it's the same volume of traffic

So it caused a delay of over an hour for no accidents at all