Motorists beware

Might have to slow it down to 75 to be sure. I'm ok on other roads, I don't break the official limit. Just motorways.

 

I am sure that the cameras on the managed M62 section continue to function when the system is not on. ie set to 70mph plus tolerance. They are crafty buggers as well because you Sally past each limit at say 60 and they slip a 50 in to catch you out.

 

WHY?

If you did the longest possible motorway journey in the UK (Exeter to Perth) at a constant 70mph it would take 7 hours while at 80 it would take 6 hours. Is 1 hour really worth the elevated stress levels and consequent health problems? Not to mention the significantly increased risk of accidents. Its 70 for a reason, stick to it.

I live in the Midlands and the M42 used to be a parking lot mainly due to drivers constantly trying to go the maximum speed they could which only resulted in queues and accidents. Now with active management and average speed cameras it never get snarled up, traffic moves freely if slightly slower.

 

I'm not sure about the "never get snarled up and traffic moves freely" bit Brush, I regularly drive from Barnsley to Cradley Heath in the West Midlands using the M42, its a bloody nightmare, I'm always stuck in traffic,

 

I have no problems with cameras set in locations such as schools and hospitals, in fact why not make them compulsary. I always try to drive within the speed limits but have occasionally found myself breaking the speed limit when not concentrating, this tends to happen on roads where the speed limit is set well below what is a safe speed to travel. For instance the road in to Dewsbury and Batley, dual carriage way with central barrier 50mph speed limit. The road past Pugnys near wakefield asda, open road, grass verges either side no buildings yet 30mph. Both roads constantly have camera vans on them. I wonder why...

 

A million times better than it was before the active system was put in

I'm usually driving on it at the busy times and it just seems to keep moving. The worst bit is from Jn 10 to 9 before the active system starts.

 

It's easily done. I have the setting enabled on my Sat Nav so if I accidentally go above the limit (plus a tolerance of about 3mph) then it makes a loud "Boing!" noise. My new van (which is lovely, BTW!) also has cruise control and I use that more and more, particularly on those long stretches of 50 on the motorways. Between those two measures I'm pretty confident I manage to stay inside the limit. I've certainly never had a speeding ticket in over 20 years of driving.

 

Oh oh you've gone and said it now matey

 

he he. You'd think by my age I'd know better than that. (nervously awaits postman)

 

Because 70 genuinely feels slow. It just does.

 

Which have to be accompanied by a sign as you enter the restricted zone (but not necessarily repeaters).

 

But its not slow.

 

I know what you're saying mate but can you honestly say you've never gone over the speed limit?

 

yes but you drive past the one( it's commonplace that that's all there is) you do a couple of jobs and come out onto a road, worse if its one that's been 30 for years and it takes some remembering when you've got other stuff on your mind, like I said they have money for cameras but not so much for repeater signs

 

But it feels it.

 

I'm intrigued as to what you believe the reason is behind the 70mph speed limit and why driving at 75mph on your speedo is more stressful.

There is a genuine reason the limit is 30mph. This is the speed at which your body stays stationary and spins on it's axis when hit by a car rather than being bounced forwards away from it. If your head hits the engine block you're generally toast - whereas being pushed away - as long as you don't hit a lampost you'll generally be ok. (- which is why I've never understood why there is anything other than a 30mph limit where pedestrians and vehicles share a carriageway). But there's no science behind the 70mph limit on motorways and definately no science behind 40's, 50's and 60 limits last time I checked.

There is a financial reason why councils allow the national speed limit 60mph in the countryside.- they don't have to put out signs every couple of hundred yards - so it's cheaper for them to allow people to tear around the the countryside rather than reduce the speed.

It's also cheaper to have roads at 30mph where there are already lamp posts for the same reason. If there are lamposts and no speed signs - it's 30 - and this is a good thing.

However - on motorways it makes no odds either way in normal conditions with dry weather for cars to be do anything up to 87mph. This number has been statistically arrived at - and even at this level the motorways are the safest roads in the country.

And none of this takes into account the fact that your speedo is build to a budget so driving at 75 on your speedo in many cases you're not actually doing 70.

Additionally there is a significant body of evidence that - as Ponty72 points out - 70 just feels slow. What this means in reality is drivers get bored, become innattentive, loose concentration and have accidents. On motorways there is is significant evidence that faster drivers are "driving" rather than "travelling" and in light traffic are safer. It might not make sense but again - it demonstrates that there is no reason for it to be 70. (note this is based on the entire populace - not any driver specifically)

Here are some other graphs I picked up in my time - which I apologise for being a little dated - they are from a report from when I worked in insurance.



This one shows that it matters not what the speed limit - death rates are generally linked to driving style. No correlation between speed limit and death.



This one show the impact in the states of when the speed limit was actually increased. Deaths reduced. - Ok only by 10mph and still less than the 70mph.



However this one shows that when the natural speed limit or the 85th percentile increases on the autobahn the death rate actually reduces.

However in heavy traffic and with "drivers" - some going innappropriately fast and some bumbling along at 70 loosing concentration accidents do happen. So who do you blame. Most people would blame the guy going the fastest rather than the guy checking out his nostril hair and day dreaming about his tea - certainly the police would as a speed is definate and can be calculated from skid marks and dents and such like and only the daydreamer knows what was going on in his head.

So I would say that advocating sticking to 70 mph "because the government has told you to" - seems somewhat outside of cultural norms for most folk I know from Barnsley and a warning to those who might drive appropriately given their experience, equipment and prevailing conditions is entirely appropriate.

Fundamentally I fail to see how operating these cameras outside the peak congestion times - supported by traffic management etc as you note works well on the M42 - or in known accident black spots like Stocksbridge by pass (where they have been tremendously effective) can be anything other than a stealth tax.

And - as many suspect - the reason is to generate cash - then really they should just be up front about it and implement a congestion charge type scheme or add tax to fuel. Raising cash this way just winds people up for no good reason.

 

i was driving down the m1 where it said variable speed cameras so i was going about 85

how long does speed tickets take to come through

 

I reckon it's about 14 days mate