Signs that show your speed.

Lum

I like these signs, and they do make a difference if done right. It's like asking nicely whereas the speed camera option means that a week later you get a telling off and end up moaning about it.

If the area is genuinely dangerous to drive fast through, then telling someone off a week after the event isn't going to protect anyone's kid who might be in the road.

Problem is there's no money in it, whereas speed awareness courses are currently a nice little earner for the council even if fixed penalties no longer are.

Bongles

art_for_arts_sake wrote: »

Car speedos are allowed +/- 10%, if I remember correctly, so if it said say 33 mph in a 30 mph zone you'd still be in the clear.

You remember incorrectly - or half-correctly perhaps.

Your speedo is allowed to overread by up to 10%. It may overread by less than 10%. It is not allowed to underread at all.

So if you're speedo says 33, your true speed is somewhere between 30 and 33. With an indicated 33 in a 30 zone, you will only be legal if your speedo happens to overread by the maximum permitted - 10%. Personally, I don't think I've ever owned a car that overeads by that much.

Bongles

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

Well, the automatic actual speed and speed limit signs work with me, even if it may be for the wrong reason. I "play" with them to see how accurate they are. Therefore. I'm doing the right speed. It always strikes me as a nice bit of reverse psychology.

I'm not sure if it's what you meant to say, but just to be clear...

The 'right speed' is the speed at which you can stop in the distance you can see to be clear and can reasonably expect to remain clear. The speed limit, your speedometer and flashing signs by the side of the road can not help you with this. Hazards that demand driving slower than the speed limit are everywhere and someone driving at the speed limit in the vicinity of such hazards is not driving at the right speed.

marlot

thor wrote: »

Maybe they should only flash up the speed limit instead of the actual speed the car is doing like they do where I live. It may not stop the persistent speeders but at least it will stop idiots from being able to show off.

Round here, they do exactly that.

There's a road which alternates between 40 and 30, and it can sometimes be hard to remember which limit applies. By flashing 30 the signs have reduced traffic speeds in the slower portions quite noticeably.

Lum

Bongles wrote: »

You remember incorrectly - or half-correctly perhaps.

Your speedo is allowed to overread by up to 10%. It may overread by less than 10%. It is not allowed to underread at all.

So if you're speedo says 33, your true speed is somewhere between 30 and 33.

It's actually 10% + 6.25.

So at an indicated 30mph you could actually be doing just over 23mph. On a 60mph single carriageway you could be doing as low as 47.5 mph and annoying the hell out of everybody behind you.

Bongles

Lum wrote: »

It's actually 10% + 6.25.

Ah - thanks. Wikipedia would seem to agree with you, although scanning through the two relevant bits of legislation - Community Directive 75/443 and ECE Regulation 39 - the requirement would seem to be 10% + 4kph. I must be missing something.

Either way, the speedo is allowed to overread by more than I said it was.

But whatever the maximum permitted is, it doesn't have to overread by that much so there's no guarantee that an indicated 33 isn't faster than 30 true speed.

Herzlos

I think the point of these things is to provide a gentle reminder to anyone whose speed has unintentionally crept up, allowing them to correct it before entering a town, rather than to discourage speeding, because the problem speeders will probably just ignore it anyway.

art_for_arts_sake

Oh well, it's a fair cop guv, I stand corrected. I must remember to check my facts before posting as the old grey cells are getting a bit frayed from age and alcohol. Just don't breathalyse me, as drink may have been taken. I try to keep to the limit whenever I can in my car but I must admit I'd love to put one of those signs into the red on my bike as you can't be charged for speeding on a bike. Knowing my luck I'd probably be done for "riding wantonly and furiously" instead.:o

nickj_2

it is nice to have something that isn't fleecing you of cash but i find a lot of them are placed in places where you need to be concentrating on the road rather than being distracted by a flashing sign , ie , near a junction etc

sarahg1969

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

If the limit is 30 or 40, and not a temporary 20, then they are doing exactly what they're programmed to do.

Of course they are.

Driving at 40 outside a primary school at kicking out time is not sensible. But the signs are still smiling.

The same signs will frown at drivers doing 41 at 3am.