A question about variable speed limits

[Guest Hooli]

Another reason (if we needed one) to do a 'Junkman' and not use the autobahn. It's rather ironic that the fastest roads in the country often flow the slowest for mostly profit related reasons. The main other reason is stupidity on the part of car users.

[SiC]

I believe* that the smart cameras (the grey ones in the gantries) are only turned on if the speed limit signs are lit, showing a limit <70mph. The yellow cameras at the side of the road are on all the time.

Not true for everywhere! They're most certainly on all the time along the M4/M5 Interchange around Bristol. Part of the reason why they're catching so many speeding motorists making so much money.

[MikeR]

one often travels the M6 north of Preston , it has no speed cameras ,no  variable limits , no use the hard shoulder nonsense , its quite refreshing to use compared to the stuff south of the Viaduct , and given the distance I go it does not matter if I do 55, 60 or 70 ( plus gps correction .. honest !!) , the ETA time only varies by a few minutes , but the fuel use does !!    , the only fun bits are were the motorways merge ....

[wuvvum]

In countries where large numbers of people have guns, speed cameras are unknown.

I'd rather have speed cameras than weekly school shootings tbh.

[martc]

Not true for everywhere! They're most certainly on all the time along the M4/M5 Interchange around Bristol. Part of the reason why they're catching so many motorists making so much money.

We did have a thread a while ago were someone commented that they had read that some authorities, with slashed budgets, were switching cameras on permanently for money raising, sorry, safety reasons.

 

On the same course my friend* asked if rectangular signs with a speed limit on them were mandatory, eg, for those who know it, the slip road onto the M18 from the M62 now has a speed limit of 50 (rectangular) for no apparent reason. My friend* commented that mandatory signs should be round. In this case the instructor reluctantly admitted that they were guides only. The course attendee then extended the arguement to the old fashioned rectangular illuminated dot matrix signs still seen on, for example, the Humber Bridge - were they compulsory or not (after all they are not round). The reply consisted of a hard Paddington stare.

 

What we need is some sort of guide (let us call it a 'Highway Code') were such information is laid out in a clear, concise manner to prevent confusion.

[Dave_Q]

I could have sworn it used to say specifically that the yellow matrix signs were advisory only, but the online version doesn't seem to.

 

It does however say that mandatory speed signs show the speed in a red circle, therefore the old matrix signs are not mandatory.

 

 

When a person who definitely was me did a speed awareness course, the instructor was happy to confirm the advisoryness of the old style signs.

 

Edit: found it. Temporary maximum speed advised.

 

[New POD]

Another reason (if we needed one) to do a 'Junkman' and not use the autobahn. It's rather ironic that the fastest roads in the country often flow the slowest for mostly profit related reasons. The main other reason is stupidity on the part of car users.

Before heading From Wolves towards Merseyside tomorrow lunch time. I will look at the most reliable information available and decide if the M6 or the A41 is best.

On a good day one is exactly 1 hour and 50 mins for 95 miles and the other exactly 2 hours and 5 mins.

on a bad day 2.5 is more likely but to achieve that on the A41 you have to overtake everything.

[cort1977]

In countries where large numbers of people have guns, speed cameras are unknown.

 

That's not entirely true but certainly in the south of one gun-owning country they are pretty rare. 

 

Of course Texas has about 3800 road deaths a year with a population of 27 million.  Comparing to the UK total of 1792 with a population of 60 million suggests that enforcing speed limits might be a good thing as well as seat belts and drink driving of course.

[martc]

I could have sworn it used to say specifically that the yellow matrix signs were advisory only, but the online version doesn't seem to.

 

It does however say that mandatory speed signs show the speed in a red circle, therefore the old matrix signs are not mandatory.

 

 

 

When a person who definitely was me did a speed awareness course, the instructor was happy to confirm the advisoryness of the old style signs.

 

Edit: found it. Temporary maximum speed advised.

 

 

 

My friend* doesn't want to come out of the closet yet. He must have had a bit of a knob of a lecturer on his course. Have you found any mention of the rectangular speed 'limit' signs?

I've had a quick look at the online Highway Code and can't find them - but it does say that rectangular signs are for 'information'.

[3VOM]

That's not entirely true but certainly in the south of one gun-owning country they are pretty rare. 

 

Of course Texas has about 3800 road deaths a year with a population of 27 million.  Comparing to the UK total of 1792 with a population of 60 million suggests that enforcing speed limits might be a good thing as well as seat belts and drink driving of course.

Yep, you are more likely to be killed in a car accident than shot in the US.

[martc]

According to the first websites I looked at, in 2015 -

 

13,286 people shot dead and 26,819 people injured by guns in the USA (total dead and injured = 40,105). 35,485 killed in a motoring accident in the USA,

26 people shot dead (can't find how many just injured) and 1,732 killed in a motoring accident in the UK

 

321,000,000 people in USA in 2015 = 0.0041% of the population shot dead but, interestingly 0.012% of the population were killed or injured by shooting and 0.011% killed on the road.

 

65,000,000 people in UK = 0.00004% of the population shot dead and 0.0027% killed on the road.

 

So, according to the internet, more people were killed/injured by guns than by motoring in the USA in 2015.

[SiC]

In 2015, around 155,000 people died from cardiovascular disease in the UK. A large proportion of that is due to poor lifestyle choices.

 

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/publications/statistics/cvd-stats-2015

[martc]

610,000 in the USA in 2015...

 

Anyhow back to speed cameras - sneaky buggers aren't they?

[catsinthewelder]

According to the first websites I looked at, in 2015 -

 

13,286 people shot dead and 26,819 people injured by guns in the USA (total dead and injured = 40,105). 35,485 killed in a motoring accident in the USA,

26 people shot dead (can't find how many just injured) and 1,732 killed in a motoring accident in the UK

 

321,000,000 people in USA in 2015 = 0.0041% of the population shot dead but, interestingly 0.012% of the population were killed or injured by shooting and 0.011% killed on the road.

 

65,000,000 people in UK = 0.00004% of the population shot dead and 0.0027% killed on the road.

 

So, according to the internet, more people were killed/injured by guns than by motoring in the USA in 2015.

 

How many people were injured by car accidents in the USA in 2015?  I'm willing to bet it was more than 690 so more people were killed and injured by cars than guns.

[Guest Hooli]

In 2015, around 155,000 people died from cardiovascular disease in the UK. A large proportion of that is due to poor lifestyle choices.

 

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/publications/statistics/cvd-stats-2015

 

If only they'd do it before they breed.

[myglaren]

Trafficmaster. They were (are?) based in Milton Keynes, they were even factory fitted in Vectras and Omegas at one point.

As you say they had a system of yellow cameras on bridges on motorways and major routes. I think gps technology overtook them. Their big fancy HQ building they had built in the mid 90's in Cranfield is broken up into smaller units now and the Trafficmaster sign dissapeared a few years ago.

 

I have that in my C5 - and the previous one.

Has never worked as the subscriptions had lapsed.

 

I heard that there were 'blue boxes' at the roadside that monitored your progress and the system offered advice on the best rout with regard to traffic.

 

Never seen a blue box yet.

 

[jollysmart]

On the same course my friend* asked if rectangular signs with a speed limit on them were mandatory, eg, for those who know it, the slip road onto the M18 from the M62 now has a speed limit of 50 (rectangular) for no apparent reason. My friend* commented that mandatory signs should be round. In this case the instructor reluctantly admitted that they were guides only. The course attendee then extended the arguement to the old fashioned rectangular illuminated dot matrix signs still seen on, for example, the Humber Bridge - were they compulsory or not (after all they are not round). The reply consisted of a hard Paddington stare.

The M62/M18 50 sign has been there for a long time I don't think it is a recent thing, on the bridge the normal limit is 50 but virtually nobody sticks to that but maybe the status of the road means that the limit is unenforceable as it is not strictly a public highway as you have to pay for use and I have never seen any safety revenue vans there although they are regularly seen on the A15 close to the south side of the bridge.

[MarvinsMom]

Who is responsible and accountable for the training and decision making of the person who made the decision yesterday to set all the speed limit signs on the M1 (between Leeds And Nottingham) to 60 mph.

 

Traffic was very moderate. Not empty but no reason why 70 should not have been the limit.

 

I should like the contact details perhaps name and address of their boss, so I can make a complaint.

 

grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

 

the stretch of the M1 from Sheffield down to Mansfield is set at 60mph all the time on a weekday.

 

i understand it is some bullshit to "improve air quality" in sheffield.

 

which i think is bollocks cos on the M18 there are no variable speed limits so you get off the M1 and speed up to cruising speed, thereby killing many kittens, nuns and polar bears proving what a load of horse shit it really all is.

 

wanna improve air quality in sheffield? do away with sets of traffic lights every 10 uards though out sheffield!

 

or better still, test a 20 megaton h-bomb on the place, that would do millions and millions of pounds worth of improvements to the place.....

[sierraman]

I live in Sheffield and I'd sooner be choking on all the fumes than have the smart motorway installed. Its all bullshit about emissions getting worse, my grandfather remembered the Smogs in the 1950's from the industry that was going on, so its hardly getting worse is it.

 

On the subject of emissions I'm surprised the Government is doing all it can to ensure we live to be 120, from the sounds of it we are at breaking point in the NHS, so I'd have thought me choking to death at 30 with lungs looking like they need a decoke would save the NHS a fortune.

[busmansholiday]

Shortly, the only bits of the M1 between East Mids airport and where it joins the A1M north of Leeds that will not be 'smart' with the requisite number of cash genetators installed, will be J35A to J39 (Barnsley) and beyond J42 (Leeds). So either nobody cares a fuck about air quality in these two areas or as Leeds is implementing a LEZ, the motorways have fuck all effect on it.

[New POD]

But other than writing to my MP, how to I find out the name of the person who makes the decision.

[sierraman]

The junction just before Barnsley that's where people go for it like mad after being subjected to 50 miles at 50mph. I think the average speed round there must be about 90mph.

[dollywobbler]

Ok. Appears I'm the only person on Autoshite who likes smart motorways. I find they encourage flow in places that would usually just grind to a halt.

 

I've never seen different limits in different lanes, though occasionally one of the signs won't be working. I wonder if the speed limit can then be enforced?

[sierraman]

I don't know but not sure I'd chance my arm finding out.

[DodgeRover]

Ok. Appears I'm the only person on Autoshite who likes smart motorways. I find they encourage flow in places that would usually just grind to a halt.

 

I've never seen different limits in different lanes, though occasionally one of the signs won't be working. I wonder if the speed limit can then be enforced?

You want* to spend more time on the M25, I see it regularly there along with the 60-50-40 speed drop at successive gantries when there is no obstruction to traffic flow and you've got a foreign HGV mm away from your bumper.

 

The M23 is being converted to a Smart motorway now, god knows why the majority of flow problems could be solved by re sequencing traffic lights and adding longer slip roads , I guess they must have cash burning a hole in there pocket or the firms doing it are major party donors.

[Pillock]

I love smart motorways.

I've been using the same stretches of motorway (M1 between Leeds and M25, M42, M5) for long enough to remember them with and without variable limits and all lane running.

 

They're better now.

 

Yes, you may get slowed down to 50mph sometimes. I'd rather carry on a bit slower whilst a phantom "everyone brake for no reason" tailback fizzles out in three miles time, than be doing 70 and get caught up in it. I'd prefer to see cameras on every gantry just to equalise matters and stop the hard braking.

 

In a decade of smart motorways I can only recall a few times where I've thought "hmmmm, 50mph is a bit random for this time of day" or whatever. It seems pretty helpful and accurate to me.

 

Red crosses? Should be an instant ban, absolutely no reason to use that lane. The ban should partly be for endangering other road users, and partly for thinking you're somehow more important.

 

Rectangular speed signs are advisory and can't be enforced, same as the yellow ones. The police could go down the route of driving without due care if you had an accident as a result of ignoring advice though I guess.

[Kringle]

The answer to all these types of questions is simply to not register your car in your name. It's a system that relies on people's honesty to catch them breaking the law, which is so absurd it's actually quite funny when you think about it.

Eh? What's all this malarkey about? Who would you register it under? What address?

I'm quite distrustful of big brother, are you saying my name and address on the v5 is optional?

[Kringle]

I live in Sheffield and I'd sooner be choking on all the fumes than have the smart motorway installed. Its all bullshit about emissions getting worse, my grandfather remembered the Smogs in the 1950's from the industry that was going on, so its hardly getting worse is it.

 

On the subject of emissions I'm surprised the Government is doing all it can to ensure we live to be 120, from the sounds of it we are at breaking point in the NHS, so I'd have thought me choking to death at 30 with lungs looking like they need a decoke would save the NHS a fortune.

Well the trick here is to ensure house prices are so high that both partners have to work full time jobs with little flexibility for having families, meaning people can't try for children until they are much older, less fertile and with infertility on the increase the population will fall. Saving the NHS.

 

Oh yes I could write sensationalist drivel for the Daily Mail. Although strangely this is a plausible theory.

 

We digress.

[Lacquer Peel]

In Daily Mail land high house prices are a good thing.

[wuvvum]

Eh? What's all this malarkey about? Who would you register it under? What address?

I'm quite distrustful of big brother, are you saying my name and address on the v5 is optional?

Just fill in the trade section of the V5 with some illegible squiggle - that takes it out of the seller's name without putting it into yours.