Stupid Unnecessary M1 Average Speed Cameras

cool_dude_2000

Got a Notice of Intended Prosecution the other day. The alleged offence? Driving at 59 mph at 23:55 on the M1 on a Tuesday night in contravention of 'temporary' road works 50mph average speed limit!

Now I am not one for promoting speeding or breaking the law (indeed I previously held a clean license). But there is something very wrong at being clocked just under 60 mph in the early hours on a stretch of motorway when you are the sole car on the road with zero workmen or machinery present during a several mile stretch of 50mph average speed restriction which seems to go on forever!

And I've been doing the exact same journey for over a year. And the 50 mph have still been in place. Oh and never seen a workman either!

Rant over!

pendragon_arther

I can't understand in today's technology why at certain times of night when most people are asleep the computer controlling traffic lights can't turn them off or at least have blinking ambers. There was some talk a few years ago of doing this. I've driven through reds at 2am knowing there was no risk as I could see in all directions there was no other traffic.

RichardD1970

cool_dude_2000 wrote: »

Got a Notice of Intended Prosecution the other day. The alleged offence? Driving at 59 mph at 23:55 on the M1 on a Tuesday night in contravention of 'temporary' road works 50mph average speed limit!

Now I am not one for promoting speeding or breaking the law (indeed I previously held a clean license). But there is something very wrong at being clocked just under 60 mph in the early hours on a stretch of motorway when you are the sole car on the road with zero workmen or machinery present during a several mile stretch of 50mph average speed restriction which seems to go on forever!

And I've been doing the exact same journey for over a year. And the 50 mph have still been in place. Oh and never seen a workman either!

Rant over!

I suppose it's just easier to leave the speed limit in place than having to change it every night then reinstate it every morning, change all the signs etc and create possible confusion in the motorists as to when the lower limits are in force.

How long does it really add to the journey? And, to be honest if you've been doing the same journey for over a year, under these conditions, then you only have yourself to blame.

phill99

Another post where someone has been done for speeding but wants to blame someone else.

System

I think this is more a rage about blanket speed limits through road works regardless of whether workmen are there or not. And when you get a 9 mile stretch of this it is very frustrating and you wonder !!!!!! Highways Agency are actually doiing

It makes me chuckle that when there are some roadworks planned, they always involve 3 sets of roadworks. The first one to install temporary average speed cameras then normally a gap of a few weeks of 'Cameras not in use' signs followed by the roadworks proper. At the end the cameras then have to be removed.

I wonder if they would actually adjust speed limits on managed motorway sections in these situations? I doubt it because 'computer say no'

facade

pendragon_arther wrote: »

I can't understand in today's technology why at certain times of night when most people are asleep the computer controlling traffic lights can't turn them off or at least have blinking ambers. There was some talk a few years ago of doing this. I've driven through reds at 2am knowing there was no risk as I could see in all directions there was no other traffic.

Wouldn't that sort of thing involve:

Common sense
Consideration for motorists
A reduction in [STRIKE]revenue [/STRIKE]convictions of highly dangerous speeding motorists

And you wonder why they don't do it :rotfl::rotfl:

knightstyle

Don't you realise that all these cameras are there to generate money!
There is no road safety involved in the positioning of them just where will we catch most people.
Here in Lincolnshire we have roads with a 50mph limit and the only places there are average speed cameras along them is on a couple of short dual carriageways where you can safely overtake farm tractors etc.
Similarly the dangerous sections of the same roads do not have any limit other than the national 60mph one.

wongataa

cool_dude_2000 wrote: »

Got a Notice of Intended Prosecution the other day. The alleged offence? Driving at 59 mph at 23:55 on the M1 on a Tuesday night in contravention of 'temporary' road works 50mph average speed limit!

Now I am not one for promoting speeding or breaking the law (indeed I previously held a clean license). But there is something very wrong at being clocked just under 60 mph in the early hours on a stretch of motorway when you are the sole car on the road with zero workmen or machinery present during a several mile stretch of 50mph average speed restriction which seems to go on forever!

And I've been doing the exact same journey for over a year. And the 50 mph have still been in place. Oh and never seen a workman either!

Rant over!

Even with no one working at the time the roadworks area is more dangerous then a clear motorway hence the need for the reduced limit. If there were to be an incident involving hitting temporary road surfaces, hidden holes that are part of the works, temporary barriers that aren't designed to work for high speed impacts, works machinery etc then a lower speed helps reduce the severity of the impact.

Roadwork areas can still contain many hazards that have nothing to do with how many workmen are currently visible. In fact roadwork areas may be devoid of people but still need to be barriered off because things like concrete/tarmac maybe setting and that can't be disturbed while it happens.

Just be more careful in the future and stick to the posted speed limits. It isn't difficult to do.

michaels

phill99 wrote: »

Another post where someone has been done for speeding but wants to blame someone else.

Why do we have speed limits?

Is it to maximise road safety?

IN the past it was clearly cost prohibitive to change speed limits according to conditions to match the speed limit to what is safe (although the French always had different motorway speed limits for wet and dry roads)

Given the current technology it is probably much cheaper to vary speed limits according to conditions (after all in places we do it with the variable speed limits on motorways). Yes it would cost more to do this but people also put a value on their time - say the change saved 5,000 people 5 minutes every day for six months that would be a time saving of 108,000 hours - valuing those hours at minimum wage gives £770,000. So it would appear that there is plenty enough to pay for signage stating variable speed limits are higher between the hours of 9PM and 5AM.

OR is there some moral reason that all speed limits should be lowered. I would have thought that the relative riskiness of the 50 mph motorway roadworks section when traffic is light is a lot lower (at 60mph) than that of most stretches of National speed limit 60mph road so it seems entirely random and completely inconsistent with reducing safety to impose a lower limit here.

BykerSands

cool_dude_2000 wrote: »

Got a Notice of Intended Prosecution the other day. The alleged offence? Driving at 59 mph at 23:55 on the M1 on a Tuesday night in contravention of 'temporary' road works 50mph average speed limit!

Now I am not one for promoting speeding or breaking the law (indeed I previously held a clean license). But there is something very wrong at being clocked just under 60 mph in the early hours on a stretch of motorway when you are the sole car on the road with zero workmen or machinery present during a several mile stretch of 50mph average speed restriction which seems to go on forever!

And I've been doing the exact same journey for over a year. And the 50 mph have still been in place. Oh and never seen a workman either!

Rant over!

So what's your rant about, breaking the law and getting caught?

forgotmyname

I got a ticket some years back, dual carriageway with roadworks, they moved the roadworks down over 1/4 mile towards the roundabout but left the reduced speed signs up in the original position.

It could have cost me more to fight it that just payup.