>>Why oh why can't people who are at the speed limit continue at that speed past a camera??????
Because they think the limit is lower than the speed they are currently travelling.
On the A20 near Brands Hatch there is a hill called Death Hill. Half way down on the downhill side is a speed camera with a speed limit of 60mph (derestricted two-way road). One day I was following a small van at 55mph, when he saw the speed camera he braked hard until he past the camera at............30mph! What a plonker! He could have easily caused an accident because he did not know the speed limit. Luckily at the bottom of the hill I had to turn off, otherwise I might have stopped him and told him he nearly caused an accident (he wouldn't as I always leave a big gap between my car and any I am following as you never know what someone might do).
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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Another good case for having the posted speed limit displayed in large numbers on the back of the camera! But, of course, we can't be sure when the limit is in some cases and places, and they'd rather have our dosh and give us points than make a real contribution to road safety!
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an awful lot of people drive on complete auto pilot........they haven't a clue what the speed limit is on that stretch, so when they see the camera they brake automatically to 'make sure'
these same people wouldn't know to notice the school sign or the peds walking between parked cars or the splash of diesel on the floor etc,etc
total lack of awareness......which IMHO is far worse than those who sometimes put their foot down, but are more aware
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A BMW and myself were travelling along the A17 in Licolnshire recently,occasionally exceeding 60 mph.and we could see a van with a camera mounted in the back just before the 40 mph.limit for a level crossing and village.Both of us slowed but noticed a long line of cars at the side of the road,helping the police with their inquiries.All on auto-pilot;you could see the van from at least 1/2 mile away.
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As has been suggested many times before, why not put the speed limit on the back of the camera.
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Bit of a problem on a Truvelo - you wouldn't see the sign until it was too late!!
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"total lack of awareness"
So you are always aware of exactly the speed you are traveling at and what the applicable speed limit is and you do not have the slightest qualm when you see a camera that you might be slightly over the limit.
If you are I congratulate you on your superb driving skills but for those of us whose skill is not at your exemplary level and who suffer from the reflex action of covering the brakes when they see the dreaded GATSO perhaps you might take it on board that it is a fairly common reaction and make allowances.
IMHO a lot of accidents are caused by those who overrate their driving skills and put their foot down when they shouldn't
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IMHO a lot of accidents are caused by those who overrate their driving skills and put their foot down when they shouldn't
>>I think my earlier statement and this most recent one from you, put together, is pretty accurate.....I still stand by my comments though
given a choice of being a passenger (and i'm not a very good one).....with someone who has good vision and awareness and hoofs it a bit..or...someone that only ever pootles around and often has no vision.. i'd choose the former every time
there are an awful lot of the latter out and about on our roads, i see them every day..and the sad thing is they think they're safe........they're not........they don't see things
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i'd choose the former every timethere are an awful lot of the latter out and about on our roads, i see them every day..and the sad thing is they think they're safe........they're not........they don't see things
Yeah, well, spot on as so often westpig.
To give the devils their due though there are some intermediate drivers too, people who aren't dangerous or slow but are a bit rough with their cars, or people who rigidly observe the law but are brisk according to their lights and even notice mimsers, like my dear wife who thinks I am often a bit terrifying (but she can drive and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing), and of course good and ambitious drivers can also give you heart-stopping moments.
Never mind when you were 16 and despite everything, don't you sometimes award yourself a slap on the wrist westpig? All I can say is I do, although I seldom actually frighten myself these days.
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Don't sweat the small stuff Luckless.
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Never mind when you were 16 and despite everything, don't you sometimes award yourself a slap on the wrist westpig? All I can say is I do, although I seldom actually frighten myself these days.
oh how true........ as i'm getting older i've begun to notice i'm not as sharp as i was and my fear of mortality is a little stronger, the closer i'm getting to it
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We've got a Gatso on the A48 in Cardiff in a 40MPH section. The times I've been doing an indicated 38-40 in a line of freely moving vehicles only to have to brake to 30-35 for some 'nice person' who thinks the camera is set for lower!! (Same thing on the A470, south, just after the traffic lights following the M4 interchange) Why oh why can't people who are at the speed limit continue at that speed past a camera??????
I probably have to stick my hand up and confess to being one of the 'nice people'. I'll admit that it is super-annoying for the person behind and a bit intimidating if you're actually driving but the first few times I drove round Cardiff I really had not idea what the speed limit was. Plenty of signs saying 'here be cameras' but none telling me what speed to do.
As someone says earlier in the thread, whenever there is a camera sign it should have the speed limit on it.
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Harrumph, well, no offence vtg, but the highway code and so on... there are these sort of general principles...
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I always presumed that the absence of regular speed limit repeater signs was an indicator of one thing - a 30mph limit.
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Exactly-street lights and no other signs is a 30 mph. limit. Any other limit on a lit road will have signs at beginning and end and on repeaters.
Unlit single carriageway is 60 mph unless a different limit is shown at beginning and end and on repeaters.
Unlit dual carriageway/M/way is 70 mph.unless a different limit is shown at beginning and end and on repeaters.
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The Honda is clearly annoying, but you can avoid some of the problems. When (s)he overtakes and then moves in, you should increase the distance between your car and his/hers so that if they brake, you will not have to brake sharply. Yes the Honda is annoying, but why loose your rag over something you cannot control. Chill out. Don't let them get under your skin.
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Exactly-street lights and no other signs is a 30 mph. limit. Any other limit on a lit road will have signs at beginning and end and on repeaters. Unlit single carriageway is 60 mph unless a different limit is shown at beginning and end and on repeaters. Unlit dual carriageway/M/way is 70 mph.unless a different limit is shown at beginning and end and on repeaters.
What about this one, then? Driving through Coventry the other day, I passed the Browns Lane works where they used to make Jaguars. It's a wide, straightish single carriageway with plenty of street lamps, evidently built to service the factory, and the streetlamps have repeater signs for the 50mph (I think - it may have been 40) speed limit. Anyway, now that the factory is no more, and the volume of traffic is much less, the speed limit signs have been sprayed over with grey obscuring paint, leaving effectively, single carriageway, streetlamps and no signs. It seems like madness to drive along such a good, clear road at 30mph but what would I say to a PC who stopped me for doing 50?
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but what would I say to a PCwho stopped me for doing 50?
You would explain politely that vandals had obscured the limit signs but you happen to know what they say, unlike the PC who must be new round here lad, aren't you?
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I always presumed that the absence of regular speed limit repeater signs was an indicator of one thing - a 30mph limit.
Hence the problem on the Cardiff ring road; as you drive down Northern Avenue it is clearly marked forty, but as you come into the city itself the speed signs become very infrequent but the cameras increase. With it being in the city and in the presence of street lights, and with the dire warnings of my father with regards to speeding in Wales ringing in my ears, I defaulted to theb safety of a thirty limit, and must have irritated a few people behind me...
In my defence, I didn't (and don't) slam my brakes on - I just tootled along at thirty until I was one hundred percent sure that forty was ok.
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