50 mph Average Speed Cameras

Strider590

tomoney wrote: »

Speedos generally do ready 10% higher but its not an exact amount of 10%

Using my OBDII reader, my cars ECU reads 30mph at GPS 30mph and 72mph at GPS 70mph.

The dashboard display on the other hand, reads 34mph at 30mph and 77mph at 70mph.

It seems the inaccuracy is deliberately built into the display unit.

Notmyrealname

meer53 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies peeps. I do wonder sometimes, like tonight, i was driving back at about 7pm, pootling along at 50mph and people were zooming past at 70mph at least, it just made me wonder whether i could have speeded up a bit ! Glad i didn't now. I do think some people think you can just be doing 50 when you pass the camera and any speed in between !

I was on the M62 last Monday. Eastbound the cameras were turned off with signs on the side of the road saying the cameras were not in operation and in addition to that, the initial 50MPH limit and repeater signs had been removed. Blind unobservant braindead drivers were pottering along at 50MPH and braking for the non-operational cameras clearly signed at each camera "This Camera Not In Operation". The rest of us who actually observe what is going on around us were doing 70.

Did you notice any speed limit signs as you entered the area where the cameras were and were there any repeaters? If not then the national speed limit of 70MPH applies regardless of the presence of cameras.

meer53

Notmyrealname wrote: »

I was on the M62 last Monday. Eastbound the cameras were turned off with signs on the side of the road saying the cameras were not in operation and in addition to that, the initial 50MPH limit and repeater signs had been removed. Blind unobservant braindead drivers were pottering along at 50MPH and braking for the non-operational cameras clearly signed at each camera "This Camera Not In Operation". The rest of us who actually observe what is going on around us were doing 70.

Did you notice any speed limit signs as you entered the area where the cameras were and were there any repeaters? If not then the national speed limit of 70MPH applies regardless of the presence of cameras.

Can't say i noticed any signs saying the cameras were off eastbound, must admit though they seem to have been there so long, i would probably still do 50 !
Recently as well as driving to work and back on the M62 (4 days a week) i've also been driving to Wakefield and back via the M62-M1 to drop daughter off at her Dads and have stopped coming back on the westbound bit by Jct 27 as the traffic is ridiculous where the cameras are. I come off at Dewsbury, at least i can get into 4th gear then ! Wonder if they'll turn them off over Xmas ?

vax2002

adouglasmhor wrote: »

That doesn't give you the right to obstruct other road users. And you obviously don't understand it at all from your post above. of cousres if you drive around at 25mph in a 30 or 45 in a 50 you won't get points, you will still be a pain in the bum though.

I have held a full licence for a bike since 1979 and a car since 1980, only driving offence I have been done for is 3 up on a Lambretta in a side street (in 1980 odds after seeing quadrophenia).

If I drive at 50mph on my speedo in a 50 mph speed camera stretch of road, how does that mean I am obstructing other drivers, by not believing someone on a forum that I can drive at 60 MPH and I wont get a ticket.
I will drive at 50 mph on my speedo and if my speedo reads a bit low, as you inform me it does then I will have a safe buffer from 3 points and a fine.
If it does not, then I wont get a ticket.
What I would like to know from those who push it to the max, how much time do you save on a 3 mile stretch by risking your licence ? 16 seconds ?
What do you need to do that wont wait 16 seconds ?

SHIPSHAPE

vax2002 wrote: »

What I would like to know from those who push it to the max, how much time do you save on a 3 mile stretch by risking your licence ? 16 seconds ?
What do you need to do that wont wait 16 seconds ?

Excellent post.

What is it with these speed demons? I've never understood these idiots, I'd just abolish the fine and increase the points to an instant 12 month ban and get them off the roads.

They're a bloody menace.

mikey72

SHIPSHAPE wrote: »

Excellent post.

What is it with these speed demons? I've never understood these idiots, I'd just abolish the fine and increase the points to an instant 12 month ban and get them off the roads.

They're a bloody menace.

I drive at 50 as well. They can either fume behind me at 48mph, or overtake, and spend the next ten minutes sitting next to me, overtaking at 2 mph faster.

Notmyrealname

vax2002 wrote: »

If I drive at 50mph on my speedo in a 50 mph speed camera stretch of road, how does that mean I am obstructing other drivers

I am a lorry driver. The vehicle I drive has its tacho checked for calibration every 2 years and has to be more accurate than a car. In the wagon I am forced to do 45 MPH behind someone in a car and cannot get past them because of the car drivers in L2 who should be in L1 who are also doing 45MPH.

If you're in L1 you're not a problem. But if you're like the melons hogging L2 then you are a problem. I cannot go in L3 because the law doesn't allow me to.

"But you'll only lose 5 minutes" is the usual cry. Yes but if I do that stretch 6 times in a day, thats 30 minutes. I am legally restricted in the hours I can do and that 30 minutes can mean the difference between doing a run or not and can cost me a few hours overtime and the company I'm driving for £200 or more in lost business. Multiply that over a week and then over the 3 years these roadworks are in place and thats over 2000hrs overtime I could lose and £150k worth of lost business for my employer.

Lum

flang wrote: »

Also like to add that as a motorway worker we also work nights. (In some cases 30-40%)
I'm always amazed at the amount of idiots that speed past at 100mph!

I'm not surprised by people doing this. Dismayed maybe, but not surprised.

The problem is that a lot of motorway roadworks are 9-5 jobs, yet they leave the 50 or 40 limit up 24/7. Then you get the overnight "roadworks" with no limit where they put the cones up 5 hours before the actual work takes place, then someone comes along, changes the bulb on the streetlight in half an hour, sods off and the cones are taken away a few hours later.

It means that the majority of roadworks that night-time drivers encounter are empty and so cry-wolf-syndrome sets in as drivers assume that night time roadworks are always empty and are just wasting everybody's time.

FWIW, when roadworks have an advisory 50 limit, I'll tend to ignore it, but will be keeping an eye out for any sign of activity, as soon as I see someone I'll slow down, otherwise sod it I'm not breaking any laws or putting anyone in danger.

Personally I think that roadworks speed limits should be a part time thing, except in the cases of narrow lanes or contraflows obviously. If the speed limit signs were covered up and cameras switched off at every roadworks once the workers have gone home, it would eventually sink into people's heads that when the 50 signs are up there are actually people there working.

They also need to put a stop to things like that M6 roadworks from a few years back that had 4 miles of 50 limit, but only 1/2 a mile was actually being worked on at any one time, the rest didn't even have cones!

adouglasmhor

vax2002 wrote: »

If I drive at 50mph on my speedo in a 50 mph speed camera stretch of road, how does that mean I am obstructing other drivers, by not believing someone on a forum that I can drive at 60 MPH and I wont get a ticket.
I will drive at 50 mph on my speedo and if my speedo reads a bit low, as you inform me it does then I will have a safe buffer from 3 points and a fine.
If it does not, then I wont get a ticket.
What I would like to know from those who push it to the max, how much time do you save on a 3 mile stretch by risking your licence ? 16 seconds ?
What do you need to do that wont wait 16 seconds ?

Are you a policeman? Do you have a letter from the Queen saying the highway code does not apply to you?
It's none of your beeswax whether they are speeding or not. I have never had a ticket for speeding either. My point is by not following the highway code you are little better than them. All you have to do is move left one lane to let them through, is that too hard for you?

Lum

Notmyrealname wrote: »

"But you'll only lose 5 minutes" is the usual cry. Yes but if I do that stretch 6 times in a day, thats 30 minutes. I am legally restricted in the hours I can do and that 30 minutes can mean the difference between doing a run or not and can cost me a few hours overtime and the company I'm driving for £200 or more in lost business. Multiply that over a week and then over the 3 years these roadworks are in place and thats over 2000hrs overtime I could lose and £150k worth of lost business for my employer.

Applies to anyone travelling long distance too. When I was in that line of work, driving a car, I obviously wouldn't do that same stretch 6 times a day but hitting 6 sets of roadworks over the course of 4-5 hours driving was pretty much normal.

That half hour you discuss would be the difference between hitting the Birmingham area at 2:30 (relatively free flowing) or hitting it at 3:00 (car park), so now we're looking at an overall delay of about 2 hours to the journey.


For long distance lorries I suspect it's even worse, even without the Birmingham effect, 30 minutes could be the difference between getting home with some time left on the tacho vs having to sleep in your cab at the side of the road just outside the city you live in, then waking up to find a bunch of chavs have stolen your load and set your vehicle on fire, which is always a risk if you have to stop overnight.