"New 30mph limit on the A40 Westway is dangerously slow" blog discussion

William_Barnes

If the road wasn't a flyover I'd think the speed reduction was to help prevent damage to your car/bike when going over all the potholes in our roads.

It won't be long before they need to reduce the speed limit on the A3 as they clearly don't seem to want to fix the holes and cracks that are forming long it. And hitting those at 70 is getting rather dangerous.

On a side note, where are the health and safety people when you need them, hopefully not fallen down the potholes.

robbies_gal

i think its ridiculous-until recently the a13 was 40mph way too slow it feels like youre not moving-its now got average speed cameras so theyve upped it to 50 which is fairer but 30 sounds ridiculously slow for the westway

Simon_c_2

I totally agree. I lost respect for 30mph signs a *long* time ago. They pop up everywhere, because local councillors must be seen to do something in response to some in response to a statistical blip, or a campaign from someone who's lost someone close and (understandably) wants to do something, *anything* to stop others going through the same trauma.

I always tend to drive at the speed for the road and conditions with an awareness of the posted speed limit, but not a ridged commitment to stick to it. So far, I've never been involved in an accident that is even remotly relevant to nor have I ever had points on my license.... May be I'm just lucky.

Money_saving_Martyn

I've often wondered about dynamic speed limits when I'm driving through a built up area at 3am or through some pretend roadworks on the M6 at midnight when the limit is set to 40 and I'm the only human within a 5 mile radius.

balmk wrote: »

It would make far more sense to adopt the dynamic speed limits that we see on some roads when during rush hour the limit is 50 to avoid congestion, and outside of rush hour it is 70.

If there is a lot of traffic, and you slow it down, don't you make the net effect on the congestion worse?

Denando

OH and I drove along it late on Wednesday and nearly ran into the car in front when he braked very suddenly on seeing the '30' painted on the road. There didn't appear to be any signs up at that point, or we maybe just didn't notice as we were too busy cursing the guy in front who saw the road markings before we could and appeared to be driving somewhat erratically. I remember when the A40 was 70mph all the way to the M40. It used to be a GOOD route into London.

And, while we are cursing this road, going eastbound back near the Polish War Memorial (I believe), the limit drops from 70 to 50 and there's a camera just a few feet after the 50 sign. OK if you know it's coming, but new users suddenly see a 50 sign, then have to brake really hard to avoid getting caught on camera. I did once see signs (can't remember where exactly) that gave a 'warning' of the speed limit reducing which was very sensible.

HelenPetersBeads

Money_saving_Martyn wrote: »

I've often wondered about dynamic speed limits when I'm driving through a built up area at 3am or through some pretend roadworks on the M6 at midnight when the limit is set to 40 and I'm the only human within a 5 mile radius.




If there is a lot of traffic, and you slow it down, don't you make the net effect on the congestion worse?

Nope, they work, they slow down the traffic entering the congested area allowing the congestion to ease before lots and lots of new cars encounter it. And no, it doesn't just make the congestion sooner.

chardir

Money_saving_Martyn wrote: »

If there is a lot of traffic, and you slow it down, don't you make the net effect on the congestion worse?

No. Slower traffic allows shorter safe distances between vehicles and reduces sudden braking. This leads to less stop-start driving and overall a faster and safer journey.

glasgowsoundman

Jacka87 wrote: »

Just as a further example of this stupidity...

In Glasgow the M8 goes from 70mph, to 50mph then to 40mph in the space of about a quarter mile, if that. Then it goes back up to 70mph in similar stages over a similar distance. (Around where Glasgow Airport is). i drive by here regularly in off peak times and I have to admit I am rarely driving as low as 40mph and this speed is ridiculous. the interesting thing is a friend got caught speeding here doing 50mph and when he got pulled over and asked if he knew why he was pulled over he said no, thinking I slowed down to 50 I am ok! Only to find out the speed dropped again!

When the next round of works on the White Cart Viaduct are completed, the speed limits should be raised. The reduced speed limit is due to the narrowed lanes, caused by the HGV barriers on the sides of the viaduct. The works will remove these and (I believe) strengthen the bridge, allowing the limit to be raised.

Please note that MOST of the works will be done inside the bridge structure, so there should be limited impact on traffic.

glasgowsoundman

Martin,

The Greater London Authority are responsible for the A40. Transport for London would be the agency within the GLA that has direct responsibility for it.

TfL Customer RelationsFax: 020 3054 5306
Email: [EMAIL="enquire@tfl.gov.uk"]enquire@tfl.gov.uk[/EMAIL]
Post: 4th Floor, Zone Y4, 14 Pier Walk, North Greenwich, London SE10 0ES

Would probably be a good place to start.

MsHoarder

Martin, raising this in a way which sounds disrespectful to a law that exists to try to save lives is irresponsible given your profile.

I'm not familiar with the Westway , but from a map it looks a couple of miles long at most and has junctions. There is a known problem that drivers coming from a faster speed limit do not slow down immediately when entering city streets again, and accidents are more common on inbound city radials from motorways. So possibly it is due to that?

As stated in the article, the problem is not the speed limit but the number of people disobeying it. However the same people would cry blue murder if speed cameras were suggested. The time saved over a couple of miles is marginal, and generally the destination is reached no faster unless the next queue at a junction clears every time the lights change.

As for variable speed limit areas, these are expensive. When we can't even afford to fix all the potholes, putting all the infrastructure in for one of these on a short stretch of dual carriageway would be madness.

mdjohnst wrote: »

I cannot see any logic in some speed limits. I live on a country lane where there is a national speed limit. My parents live on a similar lane but with a 30mph limit.

Does your parents' lane have street lights? The law states that roads with street lights closer together than x yards are 30mph limited by default. This was done early last centuary, and works well on 99% of roads for a fraction of the cost of a full speed limit audit.