The M4 @ Newport

Wig

Would anyone care to explain to me why the M4 is 50 mph for all those miles East of Newport?

Beamish

Haven't got a clue hun but sure is a pain in the bum,especially when we are travelling up from St Mellons to Bristol airport at 3am in the morning with not a car in sight!

We actually got pulled over the other day (at 3.30am) by the police for doing 55 mph, again on our way the Bristol airport, the funny thing was that at midnight my husband had officially retired from South Wales Police, we were stopped and asked a few questions, the car was checked over etc etc, what really confused us was that the Police car was a 4x4 with what looked like Irish number plates,it was actually in the middle lane from Tredegar House junction all the way to the Magor junction (WHY?) can only think it was a police car on trial from Ireland! who knows, but just be warned there is a 4x4 Police vehicle on the M4 between Cardiff & the Bridge with Irish number plates!

With regards to the 50mph in that area I can only put it down to the Sun glaring as you come out of Brynglas tunnels going east and as your going around the bend lol .

The 50mph is causing more chaos than its worth though isnt it.

Babs

PasturesNew

Because of all the traffic joining/leaving and all the lane changing that people have to do on that stretch. Not to mention what seems like never-ending roadworks.

I used to just get in the outside lane and sit there on the speed limit rather than dicing with death in the other lanes with people going all over the place.

Becc4

that stretch of road has had several bad accidents in recent years, yes the 50mph is pain but isnt better to get there in one piece, btw my hubby travels the m4 weekly so have first hand experince of delays etc

Wig

I had the misfortune of going out of Wales a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't see any roadworks or cones so it can't be because of this.

I don't see that the sliproads on/off are any different from any other motorway. So why not make it 50mph 500 yds before and after each junction?

It's a nonsense! All that wasted money for all those huge gantrys and specs cameras

And I'm going again next weekend. It's enough to make me look at alternative 'A' routes.

Mclaren4022

Hi - after the tunnels it is no longer fifty - it is a variable speed limit - if there are no flashing signs - it is back to 70 now that the barriers have been replaced - if they are flashing - obey whatever speed it shows as that is what it catches you on!
Cheers

MrsAtobe

There used to be at least one accident per week on the M4 around Newport, which is why I'm guessing they've introduced the speed limits. If you think it's bad, just think what it's like for us poor souls who have to use it every day.

FatAndy

The A55 in North Wales is 70 mph pretty much all the way from Chester to Holyhead but it drops to 50mph as you pass through Colwyn Bay. Apparently this is because the road passes within a certain proximity of residential areas and the lower speed limit is supposed to reduce noise pollution for the residents of those areas (although given the number of drivers who ignore the 50mph limit they must still have to put up with a lot of noise).

Idiophreak

I think I've worked out what's going on with the M4 in Wales...Put simply, the Welsh hate the English and want to keep us out.

I studied at Swansea for 4 years, so have a lot of friends down there, but the constantly slowing speed limits on the M4, combined with aggressive policing by SWP, means I just don't bother going these days. Just takes too long.

charlie792

It is a joke - I live in Newport and so going anywhere normally requires the motorway.

It is now variable speed limit but how the hell they can justify the crazy speeds they suggest we should be driving Ive no idea....Around 8pm last week (the road was pretty empty) the limit was set to 20! why?

Stephen_Leak

To catch "speeding" motorists. It's just another form of indirect taxation.

The variable limit signs have a red border around the number, and therefore conform to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002, Diagram 670. (The old "matrix" signs don't, although a wise motorist should always work on the assumption that maybe this time they haven't been left switched on.)

However, I noticed that, at the current beginning of the variable limit at the westbound entrance to the Brynglas Tunnels, the overhead signs displayed a pair of Diagram 671 signs, the diagonal National Speed Limit sign. Paragraph (4)(b) of Direction 11 of the TSRGD specifically prohibits the use of this sign on motorways. They should've been to Diagram 670 (ie. a red circle with 70 in it), as seen at the start of motorways and entry slip roads. Therefore, the "temporary" 50mph limit had not legally ended.

Confused? Of course you are. That's exactly what they want you to be. Especially when the NIP arrives in the post.