Caught Speeding - New Rules? Any Advice/Experience?

AdrianC

GwylimT wrote: »

...since it changed from a 70mph single carriageway...

No such thing in the UK, and hasn't been since the oil crisis in the mid 70s.

GwylimT

AdrianC wrote: »

No such thing in the UK, and hasn't been since the oil crisis in the mid 70s.

If you read my post, you can clearly see that I have written that at some point the road reduced to 60mph (didn't live here then, so not sure of when the change was), as obviously as a single carriageway the speed limit on such a road was 70mph.

AdrianC

GwylimT wrote: »

If you read my post, you can clearly see that I have written that at some point the road reduced to 60mph (didn't live here then, so not sure of when the change was), as obviously as a single carriageway the speed limit on such a road was 70mph.

Yes, I know - and I'm telling you when the most recent time that change could have been was. The 70mph blanket limit was reduced for the oil crisis, and never reinstated to single carriageway roads afterwards. The maximum any single carriageway could legally be since the mid 70s is 60mph.

Now, your satnav may well pre-date that time, but...

I rather suspect that the real reason for the erroneous 70mph claim is that there was no information on the road in the database, so it defaulted to the highest known legal speed for the country. This is one of many reasons why it's very unwise to rely too heavily on such devices.

Richard53

GwylimT wrote: »

No, but for some reason on satnavs the speed limit hasn't been updated since it changed from a 70mph single carriageway, to a 20mph one way road with parking one side.

One thing to remember: the map of speed limits appears to be whatever was sent to the mapping organisation at the time the map was last updated. My Tomtom had a mystery 40 mph section on a local road that was clearly NSL for its whole length. Turns out it was restricted to 40 during road works a couple of years before.

Geoff1963

I think I am being misinterpreted.
The National Speed Limit is 60 mph for single-carriageway roads, and 70 mph for dual carriageway roads, so they don't have numbers. In the Isle of Man, the black diagonal on a white circle genuinely means no limit.
Even though they have no numbers, there are repeater signs at various internals, confirming this.

The point I'm making is that except for motorways, and 30 mph areas, there are always repeaters ; so if you haven't seen a sign for a while, and you know you aren't on a motorway, that's what the limit will be.

Challenge : post a link to a Google Streetview image of a repeater ( small ) 30 mph sign.

AdrianC

Geoff1963 wrote: »

The point I'm making is that except for motorways, and 30 mph areas, there are always repeaters ; so if you haven't seen a sign for a while, and you know you aren't on a motorway, that's what the limit will be.

Nope.

If there are no repeaters, but there are street lights at regular intervals, it's a 30mph limit.
If there are no repeaters, no streetlights, and it's a single carriageway, it's a 60mph limit.
If there are no repeaters, no streetlights, and it's a dual carriageway, it's a 70mph limit.
If there are no repeaters, and it's a motorway (regardless of streetlights), it's a 70mph limit.

Challenge : post a link to a Google Streetview image of a repeater ( small ) 30 mph sign.

Any 30mph limit without streetlights needs repeaters.
https://goo.gl/maps/5opQXsUQYJB2

AdrianC

...and, just as a reminder...

This is a single carriageway:


This is a dual carriageway:


Count the carriageways, not the lanes...

BeenThroughItAll

docmatt wrote: »

Ha, says the guy who drives a super bike

Ah, but the reason I don't get caught speeding is because I pay attention to the speed limits. I actually was caught last June, and since then I've been paranoid about speeding - something the OP seems to struggle with due to basically not being aware of the limit or their speed.

I know what the speed limit is and when it comes to those that are (and should be) rigorously enforced in urban areas, at accident blackspots, and the like, I stick religiously to them (benefit of a superbike with cruise control).

Sure, out of town I may occasionally stray over 60MPH, but the main reason I own the bike I own is because I WANT to, not because I can ride around at 150MPH everywhere. There's tracks for that - my road riding is pretty sedate; that's why I tend to do most of my riding alone, no pressure to 'perform' that way.

Geoff1963

https://goo.gl/maps/5opQXsUQYJB2

Well done AdrianC for finding that.

However :

If there are no repeaters, no streetlights, and it's a single carriageway, it's a 60mph limit.

The village of Finstock, 10 miles North West of Oxford is 30 mph througout, based on the signs as you enter ; but it has neither streetlights nor repeater signs.

Managed motorways are a problem.
If a stretch is being managed down to 40 mph, but has a section of roadworks with boards showing 50, I wouldn't like to argue that from any 50 mph board to the next gantry, I can go faster.
I also wouldn't like to argue that if just one lane has a blank sign, I can stay at 70, when it is more likely to be defective.

Geoff1963

This is a dual carriageway:

That has caught me out before. I was stuck behind a lorry for a while, then relieved to see a "dual carriageway ahead" sign ; which turned out to be two single lanes.